From: http://www.iol.ie/~afifi/BICNews/Sabeel/sabeel3.htm
There are hundreds of religions flourishing around the world: Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Sikhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Bahaism, Babism, Zoroastrianism, Mormonism, Jehovas Witnesses, Jainism, Confucianism etc. And each of these religions claim that their scripture is preserved from the day it was revealed (written) until our time. A religious belief is as authentic as the authenticity of the scripture it follows. And for any scripture to be labeled as authentically preserved it should follow some concrete and rational criteria. Imagine this scenario: A professor gives a three hour lecture to his students. Imagine still that none of the students memorized this speech of the professor or wrote it down. Now forty years after that speech, if these same students decided to replicate professor's complete speech word for word, would they be able to do it? Obviously not. Because the only two modes of preservation historically is through writing and memory. Therefore, for any claimants to proclaim that their scripture is preserved in purity, they have to provide concrete evidence that the Scripture was written in its entirety AND memorized in its entirety from the time it was revealed to our time, in a continuous and unbroken chain. If the memorization part doesn't exist parallel to the written part to act as a check and balance for it, then there is a genuine possibility that the written scripture may loose its purity through unintentional and intentional interpolations due to scribal errors, corruption by the enemies, pages getting decomposed etc, and these errors would be concurrently incorporated into subsequent texts, ultimately loosing its purity through ages.Now, of all the religions mentioned above, does any one of them possess their scriptures in its entirety BOTH in writing AND in memory from the day of its revelation until our time. None of them fit this required criteria, except one: This unique scripture is the Qur'an - revelation bestowed to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) 1,418 years ago, as a guidance for all of humankind.
Transmission of the Qur'an: Oral & Written
Lets analyze the claim of the preservation of the Quran…
1. Memorization
'In the ancient times, when writing was scarcely used, memory and oral transmission was exercised and strengthened to a degree now almost unknown' relates Michael Zwettler.[1]
Prophet Muhammad (S): The First Memorizer
It was in this 'oral' society that Prophet Muhammad (S) was born in Mecca in the year 570 C.E. At the age of 40, he started receiving divine Revelations from the One God, Allah, through Archangel Gabriel. This process of divine revelations continued for about 22.5 years just before he passed away. Prophet Muhammad (S) miraculously memorized each revelation and used to proclaim it to his Companions. Angel Gabriel used to refresh the Quranic memory of the Prophet each year. 'The Prophet (S) was the most generous person, and he used to become more so (generous) particularly in the month of Ramadan because Gabriel used to meet him every night of the month of Ramadan till it elapsed. Allah's Messenger (S) use to recite the Qur'an for him. When Gabriel met him, he use to become more generous than the fast wind in doing good'. [2] 'Gabriel used to repeat the recitation of the Qur'an with the Prophet (S) once a year, but he repeated it twice with him in the year he (Prophet) died'. [3] The Prophet himself use to stay up a greater part of the night in prayers and use to recite Quran from memory.
Prophet's Companions: The First Generation Memorizers
Prophet Muhammad (S) encouraged his companions to learn and teach the Quran: 'The most superior among you (Muslims) are those who learn the Qur'an and teach it'. [4] 'Some of the companions who memorized the Quran were: 'Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, Ali, Ibn Masud, Abu Huraira, Abdullah bin Abbas, Abdullah bin Amr bin al-As, Aisha, Hafsa, and Umm Salama'. [5] 'Abu Bakr, the first male Muslim to convert to Islam used to recite the Quran publicly in front of his house in Makka'. [6] The Prophet also listened to the recitation of the Qur'an by the Companions: 'Allah Apostle said to me (Abdullah bin Mas'ud): "Recite (of the Quran) to me". I said: "Shall I recite it to you although it had been revealed to you?!" He Said: "I like to hear (the Quran) from others". So I recited Sura-an-Nisa' till I reached: "How (will it be) then when We bring from each nation a witness and We bring you (O Muhammad) as a witness against these people?"' (4:41) 'Then he said: "Stop!" Behold, his eyes were shedding tears then'. [7] Many Quranic memorizers (Qurra) were present during the lifetime of the Prophet and afterwards through out the then Muslim world.'At the battle of Yamama, many memorizers of the Quran were martyred. 'Narrated Zaid bin Thabit al Ansari, who was one of those who use to write the Divine Revelations: Abu Bakr sent me after the (heavy) casualties among the warriors (of the battle) of Yamama (where a great number of Qurra were killed). Umar was present with Abu Bakr who said: "Umar has come to me and said, the people have suffered heavy casualties on the day of (the battle of) Yamama, and I am afraid that there will be some casualties among the Qurra (those who memorized the entire Quran) at other place…"' [8] 'Over the centuries of the Islamic Era, there have arisen throughout the various regions of the Islamic world literally thousands of schools devoted specially to the teaching of the Quran to children for the purpose of memorization. These are called, in Arabic, katatib (singular: Kuttab). It is said that the Caliph 'Umar (634-44) first ordered the construction of these schools in the age of the great expansion'. [9]
Second Generation Memorizers:
"…Quranic schools were set up everywhere. As an example to illustrate this I may refer to a great Muslim scholar, of the second Muslim generation, Ibn 'Amir, who was the judge of Damascus under the Caliph Umar Ibn 'Abd Al-Aziz. It is reported that in his school for teaching the Quran there were 400 disciples to teach in his absence". [10]
Memorizers in Subsequent Generations:
The Number of Katatib and similar schools in Cairo (Egypt) alone at one time exceeded two thousand. [11] Currently both in the Muslim and non-Muslim countries thousands of schools with each instructing tens of hundreds of students the art of memorizing the entire Quran. In the city of Chicago itself, there are close to 40+ Mosques, with many of them holding class for children instructing them the art of Quranic memorization.
Further Points of Consideration:
Muslims recite Quran from their memory in all of their five daily prayers.
Once a year, during the month of Fasting (Ramadan), Muslims listen to the complete recitation of the Quran by a Hafiz (memorizer of the entire Quran)
It's a tradition among Muslims that before any speech or presentation, marriages, sermons, Quran is recited.
Conclusion:
Quran is the only book, religious or secular, on the face of this planet that has been completely memorized by millions. These memorizers range from ages 6 and up, both Arabic and non-Arabic speakers, blacks, whites, Orientals, poor and wealthy.Thus the process of memorization was continuous , from Prophet Muhammad's (S) time to ours with an unbroken chain."The method of transmitting the Quran from one generation to the next by having he young memorize the oral recitation of their elders had mitigated somewhat from the beginning the worst perils of relying solely on written records…" relates John Burton. [12] "This phenomenon of Quranic recital means that the text has traversed the centuries in an unbroken living sequence of devotion. It cannot, therefore, be handled as an antiquarian thing, nor as a historical document out of a distant past. The fact of hifz (Quranic Memorization) has made the Qur'an a present possession through all the lapse of Muslim time and given it a human currency in every generation never allowing its relegation to a bare authority for reference alone" reflects Kenneth Cragg. [13]
2. Written Text of the Quran
Prophet's Lifetime:
Prophet Muhammad (S) was very vigilant in preserving the Quran in the written form from the very beginning up until the last revelation. The Prophet himself was unlettered, did not knew how to read and write, therefore he called upon his numerous scribes to write the revelation for him. Complete Quran thus existed in written form in the lifetime of the Prophet.Whenever a new revelation use to come to him, the Prophet would immediately call one of his scribes to write it down. 'Some people visited Zaid Ibn Thabit (one of the scribes of the Prophet) and asked him to tell them some stories about Allah's Messenger. He replied: "I was his (Prophet's) neighbor, and when the inspiration descended on him he sent for me and I went to him and wrote it down for him…" [14]Narrated by al-Bara': There was revealed 'Not equal are those believers who sit (home) and those who strive and fight in the cause of Allah' (4:95). The Prophet said: 'Call Zaid for me and let him bring the board, the ink pot and scapula bone.' Then he (Prophet) said: 'Write: Not equal are those believers…' [15] Zaid is reported to have said: 'We use to compile the Qur'an from small scraps in the presence of the Apostle'. [16]'The Prophet, while in Madinah, had about 48 scribes who use to write for him'. [17]Abdullah Ibn 'Umar relates:… 'The Messenger of Allah (S) said: "Do not take the Qur'an on a journey with you, for I am afraid lest it should fall into the hands of the enemy"' [18] During the Prophet's last pilgrimage, he gave a sermon in which he said: 'I have left with you something which if you will hold fast to it you will never fall into error - a plain indication, the Book of God (Quran) and the practice of his Prophet…' [19] 'Besides the official manuscripts of the Quran kept with the Prophet, many of his companions use to possess their own written copies of the revelation'. [20]'A list of Companions of whom it is related that they had their own written collections included the following: Ibn Mas'ud, Ubay bin Ka'b, Ali, Ibn Abbas, Abu Musa, Hafsa, Anas bin Malik, Umar, Zaid bin Thabit, Ibn Al-Zubair, Abdullah ibn Amr, Aisha, Salim, Umm Salama, Ubaid bin Umar'. [21]'The best known among these (Prophet's Scribes) are: Ibn Masud, Ubay bin Kab and Zaid bin Thabit'. [22]'Aisha and Hafsa, the wives of the Prophet had their own scripts written after the Prophet had died'. [23]
Conclusion:
The complete Quran was written down in front of the Prophet by several of his scribes and the companions possess their own copies of the Quran in the Prophet's lifetime. However the written material of the Quran in the Prophet's possession were not bounded between the two covers in the form of a book, because the period of revelation of the Qur'an continued up until just a few days before the Prophet's death. The task of collecting the Qur'an as a book was therefore undertaken by Abu Bakr, the first successor to the Prophet.
Written Qur'an in First Generation
At the battle of Yamama (633 CE), six months after the death of the Prophet, a number of Muslims, who had memorized the Quran were killed. Hence it was feared that unless a written official copy of the Quran were prepared, a large part of revelation might be lost. Narrated Zaid bin Thabit al-Ansari, one of the scribes of the Revelation: Abu Bakr sent for me after the casualties among the warriors (of the battle) of Yamama (where a great number of Qurra (memorizers of the Quran, were killed). Umar was present with Abu Bakr who said: "Umar has come to me and said, the people have suffered heavy casualties on the day of (the battle) of Yamama, and I am afraid that there will be some casualties among the Qurra at other places, whereby a large part of the Quran may be lost, unless you collect it (in one manuscript, or book)…so Abu Bakr said to me (Zaid bin Thabit): You are a wise young man and we do not suspect you (of telling lies or of forgetfulness) and you used to write the Divine Inspiration for Allah's Apostle. Therefore, look for the Qur'an and collect it (in one manuscript)'…So I started locating the Quranic material and collecting it from parchments, scapula, leafstalks of date palms and from the memories of men (who know it by heart)…" [24]Now, a committee was formed to under take the task of collecting the written Quranic material in the form of a book. The committee was headed by Zaid bin Thabit, the original scribe of the Prophet, who was also a memorizer of the complete Quran.'…Zaid bin Thabit had committed the entire Quran to memory…' [25]The compilers in this committee, in examining written material submitted to them, insisted on very stringent criteria as a safeguard against any errors.
1. The material must have been originally written down in the presence of the Prophet; nothing written down later on the basis of memory alone was to be accepted. [26]
2. The material must be confirmed by two witnesses, that is to say, by two trustworthy persons testifying that they themselves had heard the Prophet recite the passage in question. [27]
'The manuscript on which the Qur'an was collected, remained with Abu Bakr till Allah took him unto Him, and then with Umar (the second successor), till Allah took him unto Him, and finally it remained with Hafsa, 'Umar's daughter (and wife of the Prophet)'. [28]This copy of the Quran, prepared by the committee of competent companions of the Prophet (which included Memorizers of the Quran) was unanimous approved by the whole Muslim world. If they committee would have made a error even of a single alphabet in transcribing the Quran, the Qurra (memorizers of the Quran) which totaled in the tens of hundreds would have caught it right away and correct it. This is exactly where the neat check and balance system of preservation of the Quran comes into play, but which is lacking for any other scripture besides the Quran.
Official written copy by Uthman
The Quran was originally revealed in Quraishi dialect of Arabic. But to facilitate the people who speak other dialects, in their understanding and comprehension, Allah revealed the Quran finally in seven dialects of Arabic. During the period of Caliph Uthman (second successor to the Prophet) differences in reading the Quran among the various tribes became obvious, due to the various dialectical recitations. Dispute was arising, with each tribe calling its recitation as the correct one. This alarmed Uthman, who made a official copy in the Quraishi dialect, the dialect in which the Quran was revealed to the Prophet and was memorized by his companions. Thus this compilation by Uthman's Committee is not a different version of the Quran (like the Biblical versions) but the same original revelation given to the Prophet by One God, Allah.Narrated Anas bin Malik: Hudhaifa bin Al-Yaman came to Uthman at the time when the people of Sham (Syria) and the people of Iraq were waging war to conquer Armenia and Azherbijan. Hudhaifa was afraid of their differences in the recitation of the Quran, so he said to Uthman, 'O chief of the Believers! Save this nation before they differ about the Book (Quran) as Jews and Christians did before'. So Uthman sent a message to Hafsa saying, 'Send us the manuscripts of the Quran so that we may compile the Quranic materials in perfect copies and return the manuscripts to you'. Hafsa sent it to Uthman. 'Uthman then ordered Zaid bin Thabit, 'Abdullah bin Az-Zubair, Said bin Al-As and Abdur Rahman bin Harith bin Hisham to rewrite the manuscripts in perfect copies. Uthman said to the three Quraishi men, 'In case you disagree with Zaid bin Thabit on any point in the Quran, then write it in their (Quraishi) tongue'. They did so, and when they had written many copies, Uthman sent to every Muslim province one copy of what they had copied and ordered that all the other Quranic materials whether written in fragmentary manuscripts or whole copies, be burnt…" [29]Again a very stringent criteria was set up by this Committee to prevent any alteration of the Revelation.
1. The earlier recension (Original copy prepared by Abu Bakr) was to serve as the principal basis of the new one. [30]
2. Any doubt that might be raised as to the phrasing of a particular passage in the written text was to be dispelled by summoning persons known to have learned the passage in question from the Prophet. [31]
3. Uthman himself was to supervise the work of the Council. [32]
When the final recension was completed, Uthman sent a copy of it to each of the major cities of Makka, Damascus, Kufa, Basra and Madina.The action of Uthman to burn the other copies besides the final recension, though obviously drastic, was for the betterment and harmony of the whole community and was unanimously approved by the Companions of the Prophet.Zaid ibn Thabit is reported to have said: "I saw the Companions of Muhammad (going about) saying, 'By God, Uthman has done well! By God, Uthman has done well!" [33]Another esteemed Companion Musab ibn Sad ibn Abi Waqqas said: "I saw the people assemble in large number at Uthman's burning of the prescribed copies (of the Quran), and they were all pleased with his action; not a one spoke out against him". [34]Ali ibn Abu Talib, the cousin of the Prophet and the fourth successor to the Prophet commented: "If I were in command in place of Uthman, I would have done the same". [35]Of the copies made by Uthman, two still exist to our day. One is in the city of Tashkent, (Uzbekistan) and the second one is in Istanbul (Turkey). Below is a brief account of both these copies:
1. The copy which Uthman sent to Madina was reportedly removed by the Turkish authorities to Istanbul, from where it came to Berlin during World War I. The Treaty of Versailles, which concluded World War I, contains the following clause:'Article 246: Within six months from the coming into force of the present Treaty, Germany will restore to His Majesty, King of Hedjaz, the original Koran of Caliph Othman, which was removed from Madina by the Turkish authorities and is stated to have been presented to the ex-Emperor William II". [36]'This manuscript then reached Istanbul, but not Madina (Where it now resides)'. [37]2. The second copy in existence is kept in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. 'It may be the Imam (master) manuscript or one of the other copies made at the time of Uthman'. [38]It Came to Samarkand in 890 Hijra (1485) and remained there till 1868. Then it was taken to St.Petersburg by the Russians in 1869. It remained there till 1917. A Russian orientalist gave a detailed description of it, saying that many pages were damaged and some were missing. A facsimile, some 50 copies, of this mushaf (copy) was produced by S.Pisareff in 1905. A copy was sent to the Ottoman Sultan 'Abdul Hamid, to the Shah of Iran, to the Amir of Bukhara, to Afghanistan, to Fas and some important Muslim personalities. One copy is now in the Columbia University Library (U.S.A.). [39]'The Manuscript was afterwards returned to its former place and reached Tashkent in 1924, where it has remained since'. [40]
Conclusion
'Two of the copies of the Qur'an which were originally prepared in the time of Caliph Uthman, are still available to us today and their text and arrangement can be compared, by anyone who cares to do, with any other copy of the Quran, be it in print or handwritten, from any place or period of time. They will be found identical'. [41]It can now be proclaimed, through the evidences provided above, with full conviction and certainty that the Prophet memorized the entire Quran, had it written down in front of him through his scribes, many of his companions memorized the entire revelation and in turn possess their own private copies for recitation and contemplation. This process of dual preservation of the Quran in written and in the memory was carried in each subsequent generation till our time, without any deletion, interpolation or corruption of this Divine Book.Sir Williams Muir states, " There is otherwise every security, internal and external, that we possess the text which Muhammad himself gave forth and used". [42]Sir William Muir continues, "There is probably no other book in the world which has remained twelve centuries (now fourteen) with so pure a text". [43] This divine protection provided to the Quran, the Last Reveled Guide to Humanity, is proclaimed by One God in the Quran: 'We* (Allah) have, without doubt, send down the Message; and We will assuredly Guard it (from corruption)' (Quran - Chapter 15, Verse 9).*('We' is the plural of Majesty, and not the Christian plural of trinity)Compare this divine and historical preservation of the Quran with any literature, be it religious or secular and it becomes evident that none possess similar miraculous protection. And as states earlier, a belief is as authentic as the authenticity of its scripture. And if any scripture is not preserved, how can we be certain that the belief arising out of this scripture is divine or man made, and if we are not sure about the belief itself, then our salvation in the hereafter would be jeopardized.
Thus this above evidence for the protection of the Quran from any corruption is a strong hint about its divine origin. We request all open hearted persons to read, understand and live the Quran, the 'Manual for Mankind'.
Notes
1. Michael Zwettler, The Oral Tradition of Classical Arabic Poetry, p.14. Ohio State Press: 1978.
2. Transmitted by Ibn Abbas, collected in Sahih Al-Bukhari, 6.519, translated by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan.
3. Transmitted by Abu Hurayrah, collected in Sahih Al-Bukhari, 6.520, translated by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan.
4. Transmitted by Uthman bin Affan, collected in Sahih Bukhari, 6.546, translated by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan.
5. Jalal al-Din Suyuti, 'Al-Itqan fi-ulum al-Quran, Vol. I, p. 124.
6. Ibn Hisham, Sira al-nabi, Cairo, n.d., Vol.I, p. 206.
7. Al-Bukhari, 6.106.
8. Al-Bukhari, 6.201.
9. Labib as-Said, The Recited Koran, tr. Bernard Weiss, M.A.Rauf, and Morroe Berger, The Darwon Press, Princton, New Jersey, 1975, pg. 58.
10. Ibn al Jazari, Kitab al-Nash fi al-Qir'at al-Ashr, Cairo, al-Halabi, n.d._ vol. 2, p. 254; also Ahmad Makki al-Ansari, al-Difa' 'An al-Qur'an. Cairo, Dar al-Ma'arif, 1973 C.E., part I, p. 120.
11. Labib as-Said, The Recited Koran, tr. Bernard Weiss, M.A.Rauf, and Morroe Berger, The Darwon Press, Princeton, New Jersey, 1975, pg. 59.
12. John Burton, An Introduction to the Hadith, Edinburgh University Press: 1994, p. 27.
13. Kenneth Cragg, The Mind of the Qur'an, George Allah & Unwin: 1973, p.26.
14. Tirmidhi, Mishkat al-Masabih, No. 5823.
15. Al-Bukhari, 6.512.
16. Suyuti, Itqan, I, p. 99.
17. M. M. Azami, Kuttab al-Nabi, Beirut, 1974.
18. Muslim, III, No. 4606; also 4607, 4608; Bukhari, 4.233.
19. Ibn Hisham, Sira al-nabi, p. 651.
20. Suyuti, Itqan, I, p. 62.
21. Ibn Abi Dawud, Masahif, p. 14.
22. Bayard Dodge, The fihrist of al-Nadim: A Tenth Century Survey of Muslim Culture, New York, 1970, pp. 53-63.
23. Imam Malik, Muwatta, tr. M. Rahimuddin, Lahore, 1980, no.307, 308.
24. Bukhari, 6.201.
25. Labib as-Said, The Recited Koran, tr. Bernard Weiss, et al., 1975, p. 21.
26. Ibn Hajar, Fath, Vol. IX, p. 10.
27. ibid., p. 11.
28. Bukhari, 6.201.
29. Bukhari, 6.510.
30. Ibn Hajar, Bath, IX, p. 15.
31. Suyuti, Itqan, Vol.I, p. 59.
32. ibid., p. 59.
33. Naysaburi, al-Nizam al-Din al-Hasan ibn Muhammad, Ghara'ib al-Quran wa-ragha'ib al-furqan, 4 vols., to date. Cairo, 1962.
34. Ibn Abi Dawud, p. 12.
35. Zarkashi, al-Badr al-Din, Al-Burhan fi-ulum al-Quran, Cairo, 1957, vol. I, p. 240.
36. Fred L. Israel, Major Peace Treaties of Modern History, New York, Chelsea House Pub., Vol. II, p. 1418.
37. Makhdum, op.cit., 1938, p. 19.
38. Ahmad Von Denffer, Ulum Al-Qur'an, revised ed., Islamic Foundation, 1994, p. 63.
39. The Muslim World, vol. 30 (1940), pp. 357-8.
40. Ahmad von Denffer, Ulum Al-Quran, revised ed., Islamic Foundation, 1994, p. 63.
41. ibid., p. 64.
42. Sir Williams Muir, Life of Mohamet, vol.1, Introduction.
43. ibid.
Sabeel Ahmed
26 February 1998.
-----------------------------[Currently, he is the co-chairman of the Da'wa Committee and Board of Director at the Muslim Community Center, Illinois. A student of Ahmed Deedat and now works for the 1-800-662-islam hotline of ICNA. His main interest is in comparative religion.]
Saturday, October 06, 2007
Letter from a New Muslim about Ramadan
From: http://www.islamicity.com/
By: Angela Collins
A few years ago Angela Collins adopted Islam as a way of life. You can read about how she discovered Islam at .. Why I decided to submit?. Angela is now living in Brazil with her husband who also adopted Islam as a way of life.
Dear Friends,
As Salaam Alaykum
While missing my Muslim community in California, I started to think about the life I live today as a Muslim. My new life is a gift and also a test from Allah swt. This question came to mind: When you don't have a community enforcing your Muslim character how do you play the role of Muslim? You know how sometimes we are in prayer and we find ourselves more conscious of what is happening around us and what people are thinking of us than our communication with Allah? Because of this, I am glad to have a chance to practice as a Muslim using Allah solely as my guide. Usually I pray in private or in the company of my husband when he leads me. It's nice, because all I am thinking of is Allah swt and how thankful I am that he gave me Marcelo to share the practice of my religion with me. It is difficult for us globetrotters to make it to a mosque for every Jummah or for Taraweh. Since I get to travel with my husband I have had a few opportunities this Ramadan to pray in different mosques around the world. Let me tell you about those experiences:
Islamic Cultural Center of New York
Two Jummahs ago I was in New York and had one of my best ever experiences in mid Manhattan on 3rd Avenue and 96th Street. I met two Muslim sisters wearing headscarfs on the subway who escorted me to the mosque. As women, we walked into the main entrance with pride and with a sole intent to worship. The Khutba was one of those where I wish my husband was with me feeling as motivated as I was by every word of the Imam. And then I asked Allah to help me memorize the sermon so that I could share it with those I love. I made a new girlfriend. Her name is Gabrielle and we intend to meet for lunch every time I visit New York. I looked down at the main worship hall and saw a blend of Arab, Pakistini, Caucasian and African. The mix of cultures gave a true feeling of a Muslim house of worship, the way a Mosque should be. Not that it is a Somalian mosque or a Syrian one, but a mosque for all of the believers with open hearts guided by Allah swt. And when I finished my prayer and was ready to descend back into the subway, I was surrounded by homeless people asking for help. For the first time, outside of Humanitarian Day organized for the homeless by Ilm Foundation in Los Angeles, I was happy they were there. I was happy to look at them and just find every last bill to give equally to them. I saw them as a gift and not as an uncomfortable nuisance. Alhamdulellah! This was a gift from Allah. And it looks like we will be spending Eid in Manhattan this year, so we'll have the chance to revisit this mosque.
Central Mosque London
I can't say as much for my experience at the Central Mosque in London near Regeant Park. What a difference. I went to do Salat al Taraweh and sure enough, in one of the largest mosques I've ever prayed in, there was little in the way of accommodation for women. I was bossed around, scorned at, scolded for my widows peak and told that without a Muslim name I am not a Muslim. I had to remind the proud Arab immigrant that my name is a Muslim name now that Angela has converted to Islam. The name Angela may not be in the Quran but it most certainly the name of a Muslim. I also felt the imam's soul was not present in his recital. I felt that I was among a group of people who were angry and not willing to be tolerant of the differences of their brothers and sisters. That might explain why I didn't see one face of an English convert. Wow, we have a lot to do to bridge the Muslims of the world and I hope my experience that night does not reflect the entire Muslim ummah of UK. While I read the Quran I am reminded about those who we choose as our friends. And at the same time I believe that those who do not adjust into their environment and insist on living in secluded cultural enclaves have lost the whole purpose for why they immigrated to a western country in the first place! That is of course if they put Islam first in their lives. It is to share this gift with many people out there who are hungry to know it. In fact, I had the chance to mingle with some of the London elite. The impression they had of Muslims was heartbreaking. Most of them felt that the Muslim immigrants have become a mob who suck up resources and don't give anything back to those who are not like them (reminds me of the sentiment towards the Jews). Their negative views gave me a great opportunity to talk about Islam and how these people, despite their impressions of any of them, are the holders of the world's greatest religion. They were eager to learn about Islam as a religion that recommends following the teachings of all the great prophets starting with Abraham and about the special nature of Jesus and all of the other parts they find familiar. I was glad that I had this opportunity to share with them the Devine teachings of peace and justice in Islam. It seemed as though, some the immigrant Muslims in UK have decided on their own that the locals are not worthy of their religion. Could there be anything further from what Allah expects from us? I say this because I found the English people I talked to, very open to learning about Islam's teachings and non-judgmental of its message. While I found the immigrant Muslims I met, to be non-social and separated from anyone who was different than them: including other Muslims like myself.
1955 - First Mosque built in Brazil, Sao Paulo
Now I am back in Brazil. I am happy to report that our local mosque is a place I feel very much at home. Sure most of the talk is in Portuguese and Arabic and I am not a fluent speaker in either yet, but for the first time I visited a mosque as a new face, I was treated as though I was an equal member among them. Nobody felt the urge to find what I was doing wrong so that they could correct me. We came, We followed the recitation. We remembered Allah. We grew in knowledge. We socialized by looking for the good in one another. In fact the Imam gave the Khutba in Arabic and they passed out audio listeners to hear his Khutba translated into Portugeuse for the locals. That to me is our duty, to help people understand their religion. Although there are ten Mosques in Sao Paulo I wondered why I didn't see Muslims in the streets. Then it occurred to me that Muslims here simply look like every other Brazilian when they step foot outside of the mosque. This is a group integrated into their country and not separated by their differences (long beards and hijabs). Their understanding of the religion does not make appearances or looking different the priority. This is a group wanting to demonstrate kindness and giving to those in need (they were collecting money for Lebanese victims who were crippled by the war last year) and then willing to openly talk about and demonstrate why they are so happy to be Muslim. My experience here in Brazil reinforces a very important ayat in the Quran for what inspires me as a Muslim: Surah al Bukarah 2: 177: "It is not righteousness that you turn your faces to the East and to the West; but righteous is he who believes in Allah (one God) and the Last Day and the angels and the Scriptures (The Torah, The Gospel, The Psalms, The Quran) and the Prophets; and gives his wealth for love of God to your kinsfolk, and to orphans and the needy and the wayfarer and to those who ask. And to set slaves free (establish justice with those who are oppressed); and to observe proper worship and pay the poor their due. And those who keep their treaty when they make one. And the patient in tribulation and adversity and in times of stress. These are the people who are sincere. Such are the people who truly fear Allah."The rest of Ramadan has left me reading the Quran from beginning to end for the seventh time (Alhamdulellah). I am on Surah 37 today: Saad. While I read it this time, I highlight the ayats related to the many miracles and discussions Marcelo and I have had about our religion and we research and discuss the meanings of these great ayats. I love suhar when Marcelo and I get up to share our breakfast, pray for Fajr and read Quran together. This is the best time of the day. But I worry about my husband as he averages four hours of sleep a night.Marcelo's family has been very accepting and accommodating of our beliefs. In fact yesterday, you should have seen Marcelo's mom fight the doctors to get a female doctor for my gynecological visit. It was quite a scene. What really impressed me though, is that she herself has a male gynecologist and thinks there is no problem with male doctors. Even so, she respects Marcelo and my viewpoints and does not try to convince us to follow her culture or belief. I have come to the conclusion that we are the most fortunate people in the whole world. Allah swt brought us to the truth and to the light and gave us endless gifts from our sight to our ability to read. I want to keep my light shining and inspire you all to keep yours as bright as ever during our holy season of fasting.
I pray that you all may have a blessed Ramadan and most joyous Eid.In Peace-Angela Collins de Andrade Telles(Don't you just love my new "latin" last name)
By: Angela Collins
A few years ago Angela Collins adopted Islam as a way of life. You can read about how she discovered Islam at .. Why I decided to submit?. Angela is now living in Brazil with her husband who also adopted Islam as a way of life.
Dear Friends,
As Salaam Alaykum
While missing my Muslim community in California, I started to think about the life I live today as a Muslim. My new life is a gift and also a test from Allah swt. This question came to mind: When you don't have a community enforcing your Muslim character how do you play the role of Muslim? You know how sometimes we are in prayer and we find ourselves more conscious of what is happening around us and what people are thinking of us than our communication with Allah? Because of this, I am glad to have a chance to practice as a Muslim using Allah solely as my guide. Usually I pray in private or in the company of my husband when he leads me. It's nice, because all I am thinking of is Allah swt and how thankful I am that he gave me Marcelo to share the practice of my religion with me. It is difficult for us globetrotters to make it to a mosque for every Jummah or for Taraweh. Since I get to travel with my husband I have had a few opportunities this Ramadan to pray in different mosques around the world. Let me tell you about those experiences:
Islamic Cultural Center of New York
Two Jummahs ago I was in New York and had one of my best ever experiences in mid Manhattan on 3rd Avenue and 96th Street. I met two Muslim sisters wearing headscarfs on the subway who escorted me to the mosque. As women, we walked into the main entrance with pride and with a sole intent to worship. The Khutba was one of those where I wish my husband was with me feeling as motivated as I was by every word of the Imam. And then I asked Allah to help me memorize the sermon so that I could share it with those I love. I made a new girlfriend. Her name is Gabrielle and we intend to meet for lunch every time I visit New York. I looked down at the main worship hall and saw a blend of Arab, Pakistini, Caucasian and African. The mix of cultures gave a true feeling of a Muslim house of worship, the way a Mosque should be. Not that it is a Somalian mosque or a Syrian one, but a mosque for all of the believers with open hearts guided by Allah swt. And when I finished my prayer and was ready to descend back into the subway, I was surrounded by homeless people asking for help. For the first time, outside of Humanitarian Day organized for the homeless by Ilm Foundation in Los Angeles, I was happy they were there. I was happy to look at them and just find every last bill to give equally to them. I saw them as a gift and not as an uncomfortable nuisance. Alhamdulellah! This was a gift from Allah. And it looks like we will be spending Eid in Manhattan this year, so we'll have the chance to revisit this mosque.
Central Mosque London
I can't say as much for my experience at the Central Mosque in London near Regeant Park. What a difference. I went to do Salat al Taraweh and sure enough, in one of the largest mosques I've ever prayed in, there was little in the way of accommodation for women. I was bossed around, scorned at, scolded for my widows peak and told that without a Muslim name I am not a Muslim. I had to remind the proud Arab immigrant that my name is a Muslim name now that Angela has converted to Islam. The name Angela may not be in the Quran but it most certainly the name of a Muslim. I also felt the imam's soul was not present in his recital. I felt that I was among a group of people who were angry and not willing to be tolerant of the differences of their brothers and sisters. That might explain why I didn't see one face of an English convert. Wow, we have a lot to do to bridge the Muslims of the world and I hope my experience that night does not reflect the entire Muslim ummah of UK. While I read the Quran I am reminded about those who we choose as our friends. And at the same time I believe that those who do not adjust into their environment and insist on living in secluded cultural enclaves have lost the whole purpose for why they immigrated to a western country in the first place! That is of course if they put Islam first in their lives. It is to share this gift with many people out there who are hungry to know it. In fact, I had the chance to mingle with some of the London elite. The impression they had of Muslims was heartbreaking. Most of them felt that the Muslim immigrants have become a mob who suck up resources and don't give anything back to those who are not like them (reminds me of the sentiment towards the Jews). Their negative views gave me a great opportunity to talk about Islam and how these people, despite their impressions of any of them, are the holders of the world's greatest religion. They were eager to learn about Islam as a religion that recommends following the teachings of all the great prophets starting with Abraham and about the special nature of Jesus and all of the other parts they find familiar. I was glad that I had this opportunity to share with them the Devine teachings of peace and justice in Islam. It seemed as though, some the immigrant Muslims in UK have decided on their own that the locals are not worthy of their religion. Could there be anything further from what Allah expects from us? I say this because I found the English people I talked to, very open to learning about Islam's teachings and non-judgmental of its message. While I found the immigrant Muslims I met, to be non-social and separated from anyone who was different than them: including other Muslims like myself.
1955 - First Mosque built in Brazil, Sao Paulo
Now I am back in Brazil. I am happy to report that our local mosque is a place I feel very much at home. Sure most of the talk is in Portuguese and Arabic and I am not a fluent speaker in either yet, but for the first time I visited a mosque as a new face, I was treated as though I was an equal member among them. Nobody felt the urge to find what I was doing wrong so that they could correct me. We came, We followed the recitation. We remembered Allah. We grew in knowledge. We socialized by looking for the good in one another. In fact the Imam gave the Khutba in Arabic and they passed out audio listeners to hear his Khutba translated into Portugeuse for the locals. That to me is our duty, to help people understand their religion. Although there are ten Mosques in Sao Paulo I wondered why I didn't see Muslims in the streets. Then it occurred to me that Muslims here simply look like every other Brazilian when they step foot outside of the mosque. This is a group integrated into their country and not separated by their differences (long beards and hijabs). Their understanding of the religion does not make appearances or looking different the priority. This is a group wanting to demonstrate kindness and giving to those in need (they were collecting money for Lebanese victims who were crippled by the war last year) and then willing to openly talk about and demonstrate why they are so happy to be Muslim. My experience here in Brazil reinforces a very important ayat in the Quran for what inspires me as a Muslim: Surah al Bukarah 2: 177: "It is not righteousness that you turn your faces to the East and to the West; but righteous is he who believes in Allah (one God) and the Last Day and the angels and the Scriptures (The Torah, The Gospel, The Psalms, The Quran) and the Prophets; and gives his wealth for love of God to your kinsfolk, and to orphans and the needy and the wayfarer and to those who ask. And to set slaves free (establish justice with those who are oppressed); and to observe proper worship and pay the poor their due. And those who keep their treaty when they make one. And the patient in tribulation and adversity and in times of stress. These are the people who are sincere. Such are the people who truly fear Allah."The rest of Ramadan has left me reading the Quran from beginning to end for the seventh time (Alhamdulellah). I am on Surah 37 today: Saad. While I read it this time, I highlight the ayats related to the many miracles and discussions Marcelo and I have had about our religion and we research and discuss the meanings of these great ayats. I love suhar when Marcelo and I get up to share our breakfast, pray for Fajr and read Quran together. This is the best time of the day. But I worry about my husband as he averages four hours of sleep a night.Marcelo's family has been very accepting and accommodating of our beliefs. In fact yesterday, you should have seen Marcelo's mom fight the doctors to get a female doctor for my gynecological visit. It was quite a scene. What really impressed me though, is that she herself has a male gynecologist and thinks there is no problem with male doctors. Even so, she respects Marcelo and my viewpoints and does not try to convince us to follow her culture or belief. I have come to the conclusion that we are the most fortunate people in the whole world. Allah swt brought us to the truth and to the light and gave us endless gifts from our sight to our ability to read. I want to keep my light shining and inspire you all to keep yours as bright as ever during our holy season of fasting.
I pray that you all may have a blessed Ramadan and most joyous Eid.In Peace-Angela Collins de Andrade Telles(Don't you just love my new "latin" last name)
Friday, October 05, 2007
Islamic 21st Century Superpower.
From: http://www.islam21stcenturysuperpower.com/page10/page10.html
By: Steven. R. Watts.
THIS ARTICLE DOES not argue that Islam will take over all countries and replace Western civilization with Islamic civilization. Individual, non-Islamic countries will continue to exist, but they will be in the shadow of the dominant socioeconomic model of the Islamic Union. There may indeed continue to be sectarian violence between the Sunni and Shiite communities. But the universal law of economics and the theological teachings of the Qur’an in relation to stewardship will be the dominant conversation going forward and the driver of international relations between communities.The hypotheses presented here is that ISLAM will gain a significant and strategic economic and cultural advantage via the development of a global Islamic Union. Although becoming a superpower is not the intention of this progression, it will be the end result. Islamic cultural consciousness is and will continue to increase geometrically. The potential and promise for a reduction in global poverty and corruption in the areas that are currently target rich environments for the recruitment of radicalized youth, will be realized. New conflict resolution models based on evolving cultural understanding education methodologies will greatly decrease the current conflict scenarios around the world. International relations will become more dependent on theological models of economics designed to benefit more people equally. The Islamic Union, along with its dominant global currency will become the economic equivalent of a military superpower with the critical exception that it will truly span the globe and be multicultural in every sense of the word.The greater objective here is to introduce a possible future where Islam can serve as a stabilizing and peaceful force through the systematic spread of justice and economic opportunity for people that currently and for the foreseeable future have none. Regardless of the outcome of these theories, the world needs to take note of the emergence of a strong Islamic cultural identity and economic engine. The window of opportunity for collaboration between what remains of the Western economic miracle following World War II and the emerging economic superiority of an inevitable Islamic Union is closing fast. The military option to forcing an American or Western solution on people in foreign lands, especially Islamic is gone. If nothing has been learned from Iraq and Afghanistan it is that weapons and war do not promote sustainable long-term economic opportunity and alternatives to extremist actors. The commonly held belief in the West that only Washington, London, Paris, Moscow, or even Beijing can solve the socioeconomic issues facing the world today is outdated at best and insulting in the extreme. Inviting the opinion or ideas of the Islamic world may be a good idea, but it is also not a serious or viable alternative since it once again does not give equal standing or serious consideration to the weight that Islamic leadership can play in forming alternative, peaceful solutions to the ongoing conflicts in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. The sudden success of so-called anti-capitalist, anti-globalization movements of Hugo Chavez in Venezuela, Evo Morales in Bolivia and Alfredo Palacio in Ecuador is another example of the willingness of select countries and communities to try something other than the purely capitalistic model promoted by the West. The success of the Clerics in Mogadishu, in direct response to the desperate attempt by the people of Somalia to try anything other than the constant state of warlord driven chaos, is on the opposite spectrum of alternative public policy and economic alternatives to the status quo. Both the developments in Africa and South America dictate the need for an alternative to the current practices and methodologies of globalization in its current form. The economic interest of countries and corporations will be directly impacted by development of an Islamic Union and the question will not be if it will be successful but what organizational models will need to be developed to provide the proper roadmap for corporations to become a part of this emerging global superpower and engine of economic and cultural growth.Instead of resource wars between countries there will be resource stewardship and sharing. Companies will still exist and make a profit for shareholders, but they will not be allowed to promote and protect corrupt organizations or corrupt models of business. The marketplace will grow globally due to the elimination of poverty and there will be more opportunities for new ideas based upon the increase in and incorporation of intellectual capital from people and communities that have been denied access to the global economic community due to the artificial but very real barriers of fear and ignorance. Instead of free trade or even fair trade there will be just trade. Based on a Theology Economy of Islamic Economics the world engine of creativity and shared services for the good of all mankind will finally be realized. The supply chain of terrorism will be replaced with the supply chain of ideas and peaceful collaboration between cultures and communities.The success of this Islamic vision and strategic investment of human capital presents to the Muslim world today a strong and economically viable alternative to the West. Muslim companies headquartered in Dubai, Emaar and Emirates for example; and others headquartered in other nations like Petronas in Malaysia are demonstrating how they can not only compete with the West but are actually establishing a new corporate business model based on the Qur’anic teachings of stewardship and responsibility to all people. It is not a question of developing a military capable of matching the West, that is so yesterday. They realize, or soon will, that all they need to do is tap into the embedded economic and cultural strength of a new union of Muslims; an Islamic Union. The long-term international economic and cultural trajectory is already in place. Islam will continue to grow demographically, economically, culturally, and theologically. Dubai is successfully demonstrating to the Islamic global community an Islamic Economic model of resource management and community collaboration that is uniquely different from any Western models. The opportunity is and will continue to be there for Muslim and non-Muslim alike to engage in serious and equal partnership on the important matters of the human race; poverty, corruption, and peace. The Islamic Union and its impending superpower status will both enable and challenge it to succeed in a time of great change where there is a desperate need for a truly global cultural and economic transformation that will see peace and prosperity for all people in our time.
By: Steven. R. Watts.
THIS ARTICLE DOES not argue that Islam will take over all countries and replace Western civilization with Islamic civilization. Individual, non-Islamic countries will continue to exist, but they will be in the shadow of the dominant socioeconomic model of the Islamic Union. There may indeed continue to be sectarian violence between the Sunni and Shiite communities. But the universal law of economics and the theological teachings of the Qur’an in relation to stewardship will be the dominant conversation going forward and the driver of international relations between communities.The hypotheses presented here is that ISLAM will gain a significant and strategic economic and cultural advantage via the development of a global Islamic Union. Although becoming a superpower is not the intention of this progression, it will be the end result. Islamic cultural consciousness is and will continue to increase geometrically. The potential and promise for a reduction in global poverty and corruption in the areas that are currently target rich environments for the recruitment of radicalized youth, will be realized. New conflict resolution models based on evolving cultural understanding education methodologies will greatly decrease the current conflict scenarios around the world. International relations will become more dependent on theological models of economics designed to benefit more people equally. The Islamic Union, along with its dominant global currency will become the economic equivalent of a military superpower with the critical exception that it will truly span the globe and be multicultural in every sense of the word.The greater objective here is to introduce a possible future where Islam can serve as a stabilizing and peaceful force through the systematic spread of justice and economic opportunity for people that currently and for the foreseeable future have none. Regardless of the outcome of these theories, the world needs to take note of the emergence of a strong Islamic cultural identity and economic engine. The window of opportunity for collaboration between what remains of the Western economic miracle following World War II and the emerging economic superiority of an inevitable Islamic Union is closing fast. The military option to forcing an American or Western solution on people in foreign lands, especially Islamic is gone. If nothing has been learned from Iraq and Afghanistan it is that weapons and war do not promote sustainable long-term economic opportunity and alternatives to extremist actors. The commonly held belief in the West that only Washington, London, Paris, Moscow, or even Beijing can solve the socioeconomic issues facing the world today is outdated at best and insulting in the extreme. Inviting the opinion or ideas of the Islamic world may be a good idea, but it is also not a serious or viable alternative since it once again does not give equal standing or serious consideration to the weight that Islamic leadership can play in forming alternative, peaceful solutions to the ongoing conflicts in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. The sudden success of so-called anti-capitalist, anti-globalization movements of Hugo Chavez in Venezuela, Evo Morales in Bolivia and Alfredo Palacio in Ecuador is another example of the willingness of select countries and communities to try something other than the purely capitalistic model promoted by the West. The success of the Clerics in Mogadishu, in direct response to the desperate attempt by the people of Somalia to try anything other than the constant state of warlord driven chaos, is on the opposite spectrum of alternative public policy and economic alternatives to the status quo. Both the developments in Africa and South America dictate the need for an alternative to the current practices and methodologies of globalization in its current form. The economic interest of countries and corporations will be directly impacted by development of an Islamic Union and the question will not be if it will be successful but what organizational models will need to be developed to provide the proper roadmap for corporations to become a part of this emerging global superpower and engine of economic and cultural growth.Instead of resource wars between countries there will be resource stewardship and sharing. Companies will still exist and make a profit for shareholders, but they will not be allowed to promote and protect corrupt organizations or corrupt models of business. The marketplace will grow globally due to the elimination of poverty and there will be more opportunities for new ideas based upon the increase in and incorporation of intellectual capital from people and communities that have been denied access to the global economic community due to the artificial but very real barriers of fear and ignorance. Instead of free trade or even fair trade there will be just trade. Based on a Theology Economy of Islamic Economics the world engine of creativity and shared services for the good of all mankind will finally be realized. The supply chain of terrorism will be replaced with the supply chain of ideas and peaceful collaboration between cultures and communities.The success of this Islamic vision and strategic investment of human capital presents to the Muslim world today a strong and economically viable alternative to the West. Muslim companies headquartered in Dubai, Emaar and Emirates for example; and others headquartered in other nations like Petronas in Malaysia are demonstrating how they can not only compete with the West but are actually establishing a new corporate business model based on the Qur’anic teachings of stewardship and responsibility to all people. It is not a question of developing a military capable of matching the West, that is so yesterday. They realize, or soon will, that all they need to do is tap into the embedded economic and cultural strength of a new union of Muslims; an Islamic Union. The long-term international economic and cultural trajectory is already in place. Islam will continue to grow demographically, economically, culturally, and theologically. Dubai is successfully demonstrating to the Islamic global community an Islamic Economic model of resource management and community collaboration that is uniquely different from any Western models. The opportunity is and will continue to be there for Muslim and non-Muslim alike to engage in serious and equal partnership on the important matters of the human race; poverty, corruption, and peace. The Islamic Union and its impending superpower status will both enable and challenge it to succeed in a time of great change where there is a desperate need for a truly global cultural and economic transformation that will see peace and prosperity for all people in our time.
Thursday, October 04, 2007
The Truth & Authenticity of the Quran
From: http://quranicteachings.co.uk/truth_of_the_quran.htm
One of the most important criterion to judge that whatever the Quran says is based on truth, is given in Sura Fussilet (Chapter 41, Verse 53]:
سَنُرِيهِمْ آيَاتِنَا فِي الآفَاقِ وَفِي أَنْفُسِهِمْ حَتَّى يَتَبَيَّنَ لَهُمْ أَنَّهُ الْحَقُّ أَوَلَمْ يَكْفِ بِرَبِّكَ أَنَّهُ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ شَهِيدٌ
In time We will show them Our Signs in the utmost Horizons and within themselves, so that it will become manifest to them that this (Qur'an) is indeed the Truth. Is it not enough for them to know that your Lord is Witness to all things.
Al-Qur'an, 041.053 (Fussilat [Explained in Detail])
As human knowledge and research progresses many realities related to our inner world as well as the outer universe will unveil themselves. Consequently all claims made by the Quran will be vindicated and substantiated. Gradually the whole world will see that whatever Quran says is based on absolute truth. This is because the Book is from the One who oversees everything in the universe. He knows fully well what is going to happen here. His all encompassing knowledge is sufficient guarantee that whatever He has said is based on absolute truth.
But during the last six centuries or so, those who claim to be Muslims have done absolutely nothing in order to vindicate Allah's claim as is given in 41:53. During this period, they have added nothing much to the knowledge about the universe or psychology. It has been the western nations who have done enormous research about our inner world, human behaviors, psychology as well as the outer universe. It is the west who's research has substantiated Allah's claim that whatever He said in the Quran more than fourteen centuries ago is absolutely true.
There cannot be any contradiction whatsoever between the established science and the Quran. This is because both the Universe and the Quran are creations of One God. The universe is the 'work' of God and the Quran is the 'word' of God. Science is about discovering Allah's 'laws in action' in the Universe.
Another criterion to judge whether the Quran is from Allah or man's creation is given in Sura An-Nisa (Chapter 4, Verse 82):
أَفَلا يَتَدَبَّرُونَ الْقُرْآنَ وَلَوْ كَانَ مِنْ عِنْدِ غَيْرِ اللَّهِ لَوَجَدُوا فِيهِ اخْتِلافًا كَثِيرًا
Do they not reflect upon the Quran? Were it from anyone other than Allah they would have found many inconsistencies or discrepancies therein.
Al-Qur'an, 004.082 (An-Nisa [Women])
It is a shame that those who claim to be the believers in the Quran have so many differences among them. If there were no inconsistencies or discrepancies in the Quran, why its believers have differences among them? Quran says that it is not because of any discrepancies in Allah's Book but because of their own selfish rivalry among themselves and their desire to outdo and out-strive each other.
وَمَا اخْتَلَفَ فِيهِ إِلا الَّذِينَ أُوتُوهُ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَتْهُمُ الْبَيِّنَاتُ بَغْيًا بَيْنَهُمْ
None but the very people who were given it (i.e. the Scripture) differed about it after clear arguments had come to themٍ because of their selfish rivalry (in their desire to outdo and out-strive each other)...
Al-Qur'an, 002.213 (Al-Baqara [The Cow])
So, if the west on one hand is vindicating Allah's claim, those who consider themselves the true believers of Allah and His Book are falsifying Allah's claim. The question is, are they really the true believers or just pretend to be so?
One of the most important criterion to judge that whatever the Quran says is based on truth, is given in Sura Fussilet (Chapter 41, Verse 53]:
سَنُرِيهِمْ آيَاتِنَا فِي الآفَاقِ وَفِي أَنْفُسِهِمْ حَتَّى يَتَبَيَّنَ لَهُمْ أَنَّهُ الْحَقُّ أَوَلَمْ يَكْفِ بِرَبِّكَ أَنَّهُ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ شَهِيدٌ
In time We will show them Our Signs in the utmost Horizons and within themselves, so that it will become manifest to them that this (Qur'an) is indeed the Truth. Is it not enough for them to know that your Lord is Witness to all things.
Al-Qur'an, 041.053 (Fussilat [Explained in Detail])
As human knowledge and research progresses many realities related to our inner world as well as the outer universe will unveil themselves. Consequently all claims made by the Quran will be vindicated and substantiated. Gradually the whole world will see that whatever Quran says is based on absolute truth. This is because the Book is from the One who oversees everything in the universe. He knows fully well what is going to happen here. His all encompassing knowledge is sufficient guarantee that whatever He has said is based on absolute truth.
But during the last six centuries or so, those who claim to be Muslims have done absolutely nothing in order to vindicate Allah's claim as is given in 41:53. During this period, they have added nothing much to the knowledge about the universe or psychology. It has been the western nations who have done enormous research about our inner world, human behaviors, psychology as well as the outer universe. It is the west who's research has substantiated Allah's claim that whatever He said in the Quran more than fourteen centuries ago is absolutely true.
There cannot be any contradiction whatsoever between the established science and the Quran. This is because both the Universe and the Quran are creations of One God. The universe is the 'work' of God and the Quran is the 'word' of God. Science is about discovering Allah's 'laws in action' in the Universe.
Another criterion to judge whether the Quran is from Allah or man's creation is given in Sura An-Nisa (Chapter 4, Verse 82):
أَفَلا يَتَدَبَّرُونَ الْقُرْآنَ وَلَوْ كَانَ مِنْ عِنْدِ غَيْرِ اللَّهِ لَوَجَدُوا فِيهِ اخْتِلافًا كَثِيرًا
Do they not reflect upon the Quran? Were it from anyone other than Allah they would have found many inconsistencies or discrepancies therein.
Al-Qur'an, 004.082 (An-Nisa [Women])
It is a shame that those who claim to be the believers in the Quran have so many differences among them. If there were no inconsistencies or discrepancies in the Quran, why its believers have differences among them? Quran says that it is not because of any discrepancies in Allah's Book but because of their own selfish rivalry among themselves and their desire to outdo and out-strive each other.
وَمَا اخْتَلَفَ فِيهِ إِلا الَّذِينَ أُوتُوهُ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَتْهُمُ الْبَيِّنَاتُ بَغْيًا بَيْنَهُمْ
None but the very people who were given it (i.e. the Scripture) differed about it after clear arguments had come to themٍ because of their selfish rivalry (in their desire to outdo and out-strive each other)...
Al-Qur'an, 002.213 (Al-Baqara [The Cow])
So, if the west on one hand is vindicating Allah's claim, those who consider themselves the true believers of Allah and His Book are falsifying Allah's claim. The question is, are they really the true believers or just pretend to be so?
"He is the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth..." (Quran: Surat ash-Shura, 11)
From: http://www.creationofuniverse.com/html/equilibrium01.html
By: Harun Yahya
THE SPEED OF THE EXPLOSION
The explosive vigour of the universe is thus matched with almost unbelievable accuracy to its gravitating power. The big bang was not evidently, any old bang, but an explosion of exquisitely arranged magnitude. Paul Davies, Professor of Theoretical Physics 1
In the first chapter we examined the universe's creation from nothingness as a result of a great explosion. Let us now consider some of the implications of this.
Scientists estimate that there are over 300 billion galaxies in the whole universe. These galaxies have a number of different forms (spiral, elliptical, etc) and each contains about as many stars as the universe contains galaxies. One of these stars, the Sun, has nine major planets rotating around in it in great harmony. All of us live on the third of those planets counting from the sun.
Look about you: Does what you see appear to be a disordered jumble of matter haphazardly scattered this way and that? Of course not. But how could matter have formed organized galaxies if it had been dispersed randomly? Why has matter accumulated at certain points and formed stars? How could the delicate balance of our solar system have emerged from a violent explosion? These are very important questions and they lead us to the real question of how the universe was structured after the Big Bang.
If the Big Bang was indeed a such cataclysmic explosion then it is reasonable to expect that matter should have been scattered everywhere at random. And yet it is not. Instead it is organized into planets, and stars, and galaxies, and clusters of galaxies, and superclusters of galaxies. It is as if a bomb that exploded in a granary caused all the wheat to fall into neat sacks and bales on the backs of trucks ready to be delivered instead of showering the grains every which way. Fred Hoyle, a staunch opponent of the Big Bang theory for years, expressed his own surprise at this structure:
The big bang theory holds that the universe began with a single explosion. Yet as can be seen below, an explosion merely throws matter apart, while the big bang has mysteriously produced the opposite effect- with matter clumping together in the form of galaxies.2That the matter produced by the Big Bang should have formed such tidy and organized shapes is indeed an extraordinary thing. The occurrence of such a harmony leads us to the realization that the universe was the result of its perfect creation by Allah.
In this chapter we will examine and consider this extraordinary perfection and excellence.
The Speed of the Explosion
People hearing of the Big Bang but not considering the subject at length do not think about what an extraordinary plan must lie behind this explosion. That's because the notion of an explosion doesn't suggest harmony, plan, or organization to most people. In fact there are a number of very puzzling aspects to the intricate order in the Big Bang. One of these puzzles has to do with the acceleration caused by the explosion. When the explosion took place, matter certainly must have begun moving at an enormous speed in every direction. But there is another point that we need to pay attention to here. There must also have been a very big attractive force at the first moment of the explosion: an attractive force that was strong enough to gather the whole universe into one point.
Two different and opposing forces are at work here. The force of the explosion, driving matter outward and away, and the force of attraction, trying to resist the first and pull everything back together. The universe came into being because these two forces were in equilibrium. If the attractive force had been greater than the explosive, the universe would have collapsed. If the opposite had been true, matter would have been splattered in every direction in a way never to unite again.
Then how sensitive was this equilibrium? How much "slack" could there have been between the two forces?
Paul Davies: "The evidence is strong enough to acknowledge the existence of a conscious cosmic design."The mathematical physicist Paul Davies, a professor at the University of Adelaide in Australia, performed lengthy calculations of the conditions that must have existed at the moment of the Big Bang and came up with a result that can only be described as astonishing. According to Davies, if the rate of expansion had differed by more than 10-18 seconds (one quintillionth of a second), there would have been no universe. Davies describes his conclusion:
Careful measurements puts the rate of expansion very close to a critical value at which the universe will just escape its own gravity and expand forever. A little slower and the cosmos would collapse, a little faster and the cosmic material would have long ago completely dispersed. It is interesting to ask precisely how delicately the rate of expansion has been "fine tuned" to fall on this narrow dividing line between two catastrophes. If at time I S (by which the time pattern of expansion was already firmly established) the expansion rate had differed from its actual value by more than 10-18, it would have been sufficient to throw the delicate balance out. The explosive vigour of the universe is thus matched with almost unbelievable accuracy to its gravitating power. The big bang was not evidently, any old bang, but an explosion of exquisitely arranged magnitude.3
Bilim Teknik (Science Technique, a Turkish scientific periodical) quotes an article that appeared in Science in which the phenomenal equilibrium that obtained in the initial phase of universe is stated:
If the density of the universe was a little bit more, in that case, according to Einstein's relativity theory, the universe would not be expanding due to the attraction forces of atomic particles but contracting, ultimately diminishing to a spot. If the initial density had been a little bit less, then the universe would rapidly be expanding, but in this case, atomic particles would not be attracting each other and no stars and no galaxies would ever have formed. Consequently, man would never come into existence! According to the calculations, the difference between the initial real density of the universe and its critical density, which is unlikely to occur, is less than one percent's one quadrillion. This is similar to place a pencil in a position so that it can stand on its sharp end even after one billion years… Furthermore, as the universe expands, this equilibrium becomes more delicate.4
It is We Who have built the universe with (Our creative) power, and, verily,it is We Who are steadily expanding it.(Surat adh-Dhariyat: 47)
Even Stephen Hawking, who tries hard to explain away the creation of the universe as a series coincidences in A Brief History of Time, acknowledges the extraordinary equilibrium in the rate of expansion:
If the rate of expansion one second after the big bang had been smaller by even one part in a hundred thousand million million, the universe would have recollapsed before it ever reached its present size. 5
What then does such a remarkable equilibrium as this indicate? The only rational answer to that question is that it is proof of conscious design and cannot possibly be accidental. Despite his own materialist bent, Dr Davies admits this himself:
It is hard to resist that the present structure of the universe, apparently so sensitive to minor alterations in the numbers, has been rather carefully thought out… The seemingly miraculous concurrence of numerical values that nature has assigned to her fundamental constants must remain the most compelling evidence for an element of cosmic design.6
Notes
1. Paul Davies, Superforce: The Search for a Grand Unified Theory of Nature, 1984, p. 184
2. Fred Hoyle, The Intelligent Universe, London, 1984, p. 184-185
3. Paul Davies, Superforce: The Search for a Grand Unified Theory of Nature, 1984, p. 184
4. Bilim ve Teknik (Science and Technics ) 201, p. 16
5. Stephen Hawking, A Brief History Of Time, Bantam Press, London: 1988, p. 121-125
6. Paul Davies. God and the New Physics. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1983, p. 189
By: Harun Yahya
THE SPEED OF THE EXPLOSION
The explosive vigour of the universe is thus matched with almost unbelievable accuracy to its gravitating power. The big bang was not evidently, any old bang, but an explosion of exquisitely arranged magnitude. Paul Davies, Professor of Theoretical Physics 1
In the first chapter we examined the universe's creation from nothingness as a result of a great explosion. Let us now consider some of the implications of this.
Scientists estimate that there are over 300 billion galaxies in the whole universe. These galaxies have a number of different forms (spiral, elliptical, etc) and each contains about as many stars as the universe contains galaxies. One of these stars, the Sun, has nine major planets rotating around in it in great harmony. All of us live on the third of those planets counting from the sun.
Look about you: Does what you see appear to be a disordered jumble of matter haphazardly scattered this way and that? Of course not. But how could matter have formed organized galaxies if it had been dispersed randomly? Why has matter accumulated at certain points and formed stars? How could the delicate balance of our solar system have emerged from a violent explosion? These are very important questions and they lead us to the real question of how the universe was structured after the Big Bang.
If the Big Bang was indeed a such cataclysmic explosion then it is reasonable to expect that matter should have been scattered everywhere at random. And yet it is not. Instead it is organized into planets, and stars, and galaxies, and clusters of galaxies, and superclusters of galaxies. It is as if a bomb that exploded in a granary caused all the wheat to fall into neat sacks and bales on the backs of trucks ready to be delivered instead of showering the grains every which way. Fred Hoyle, a staunch opponent of the Big Bang theory for years, expressed his own surprise at this structure:
The big bang theory holds that the universe began with a single explosion. Yet as can be seen below, an explosion merely throws matter apart, while the big bang has mysteriously produced the opposite effect- with matter clumping together in the form of galaxies.2That the matter produced by the Big Bang should have formed such tidy and organized shapes is indeed an extraordinary thing. The occurrence of such a harmony leads us to the realization that the universe was the result of its perfect creation by Allah.
In this chapter we will examine and consider this extraordinary perfection and excellence.
The Speed of the Explosion
People hearing of the Big Bang but not considering the subject at length do not think about what an extraordinary plan must lie behind this explosion. That's because the notion of an explosion doesn't suggest harmony, plan, or organization to most people. In fact there are a number of very puzzling aspects to the intricate order in the Big Bang. One of these puzzles has to do with the acceleration caused by the explosion. When the explosion took place, matter certainly must have begun moving at an enormous speed in every direction. But there is another point that we need to pay attention to here. There must also have been a very big attractive force at the first moment of the explosion: an attractive force that was strong enough to gather the whole universe into one point.
Two different and opposing forces are at work here. The force of the explosion, driving matter outward and away, and the force of attraction, trying to resist the first and pull everything back together. The universe came into being because these two forces were in equilibrium. If the attractive force had been greater than the explosive, the universe would have collapsed. If the opposite had been true, matter would have been splattered in every direction in a way never to unite again.
Then how sensitive was this equilibrium? How much "slack" could there have been between the two forces?
Paul Davies: "The evidence is strong enough to acknowledge the existence of a conscious cosmic design."The mathematical physicist Paul Davies, a professor at the University of Adelaide in Australia, performed lengthy calculations of the conditions that must have existed at the moment of the Big Bang and came up with a result that can only be described as astonishing. According to Davies, if the rate of expansion had differed by more than 10-18 seconds (one quintillionth of a second), there would have been no universe. Davies describes his conclusion:
Careful measurements puts the rate of expansion very close to a critical value at which the universe will just escape its own gravity and expand forever. A little slower and the cosmos would collapse, a little faster and the cosmic material would have long ago completely dispersed. It is interesting to ask precisely how delicately the rate of expansion has been "fine tuned" to fall on this narrow dividing line between two catastrophes. If at time I S (by which the time pattern of expansion was already firmly established) the expansion rate had differed from its actual value by more than 10-18, it would have been sufficient to throw the delicate balance out. The explosive vigour of the universe is thus matched with almost unbelievable accuracy to its gravitating power. The big bang was not evidently, any old bang, but an explosion of exquisitely arranged magnitude.3
Bilim Teknik (Science Technique, a Turkish scientific periodical) quotes an article that appeared in Science in which the phenomenal equilibrium that obtained in the initial phase of universe is stated:
If the density of the universe was a little bit more, in that case, according to Einstein's relativity theory, the universe would not be expanding due to the attraction forces of atomic particles but contracting, ultimately diminishing to a spot. If the initial density had been a little bit less, then the universe would rapidly be expanding, but in this case, atomic particles would not be attracting each other and no stars and no galaxies would ever have formed. Consequently, man would never come into existence! According to the calculations, the difference between the initial real density of the universe and its critical density, which is unlikely to occur, is less than one percent's one quadrillion. This is similar to place a pencil in a position so that it can stand on its sharp end even after one billion years… Furthermore, as the universe expands, this equilibrium becomes more delicate.4
It is We Who have built the universe with (Our creative) power, and, verily,it is We Who are steadily expanding it.(Surat adh-Dhariyat: 47)
Even Stephen Hawking, who tries hard to explain away the creation of the universe as a series coincidences in A Brief History of Time, acknowledges the extraordinary equilibrium in the rate of expansion:
If the rate of expansion one second after the big bang had been smaller by even one part in a hundred thousand million million, the universe would have recollapsed before it ever reached its present size. 5
What then does such a remarkable equilibrium as this indicate? The only rational answer to that question is that it is proof of conscious design and cannot possibly be accidental. Despite his own materialist bent, Dr Davies admits this himself:
It is hard to resist that the present structure of the universe, apparently so sensitive to minor alterations in the numbers, has been rather carefully thought out… The seemingly miraculous concurrence of numerical values that nature has assigned to her fundamental constants must remain the most compelling evidence for an element of cosmic design.6
Notes
1. Paul Davies, Superforce: The Search for a Grand Unified Theory of Nature, 1984, p. 184
2. Fred Hoyle, The Intelligent Universe, London, 1984, p. 184-185
3. Paul Davies, Superforce: The Search for a Grand Unified Theory of Nature, 1984, p. 184
4. Bilim ve Teknik (Science and Technics ) 201, p. 16
5. Stephen Hawking, A Brief History Of Time, Bantam Press, London: 1988, p. 121-125
6. Paul Davies. God and the New Physics. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1983, p. 189
Harun Yahya: A call for an Islamic Union
From: http://www.khilafah.com/
HarunYahya.com
By Harun Yahya
The Islamic world covers a huge geographic area populated by 1.2 billion Muslims. Unfortunately, it is characterized by tension, conflict, and disorder, all of which continue to threaten global peace and prosperity. All attempts to solve the region's problems have so far failed. But a review of its history shows that a strong central authority, ruling according to the Qur'anic morality and tolerance, as well as respecting all people's rights and belief systems, had enabled this vast region to live in peace. The Ottoman Empire was the most recent example of this. And now, it is time to bring about a new Islamic Union, for the current system, based upon nationalism, materialistic philosophies, and atheism can only worsen the current situation. Such an Islamic Union would enable the Muslim world to live in peace, both internally and externally, and allow the entire world to benefit from its vast natural resources.One of the first things we notice when analyzing the state of the Islamic world is its many internal divisions due to deep-rooted distrust and disputes. Recent history has seen the Iran-Iraq war, Iraq's occupation of Kuwait, and East Pakistan's (Bangladesh) war of independence from West Pakistan. The civil wars and internal conflicts in Afghanistan, Yemen, Lebanon, Iraq and Algeria due to political and ethnic differences made it obvious that something is wrong with the Islamic world. In addition, very divergent religious views and models are being practiced in the Islamic world, because there is no central authority to determine what is and what is not compatible with Islam, establish consensus, and provide guidance to the general public. Catholics have the Vatican and Orthodox Christians have the Patriarchate, but there is no religious unity or central authority for Muslims.However, solidarity is central to Islam's character. After the death of our Prophet Mohammed (may God bless him and grant him peace), the Islamic world was for a long time led by the institution of khilafah, which provided religious guidance to the Muslims. In our day, too, a progressive central authority could be formed. Establishing an Islamic Union and a central Islamic authority, based on democratic principles and the rule of law, would be major steps forward in resolving the Islamic world's current problems. As we progress through this book, we will analyze several aspects of this proposed Islamic Union, such as its ability to:
1- Reach all of the Islamic world. Therefore, it must be founded upon Islam's core principles and not become the organ of a particular denomination or sect.
2- Support human rights, democracy, and free enterprise, and seek to achieve its mission of economic, cultural, and scientific development in the Islamic world.
3- Establish friendly and harmonious relations with other countries or civilizations, and cooperate with the global community and the UN on such issues as controlling weapons of mass destruction, terrorism, international crime, and the environment.
4- Deal with the minority rights of Christians and Jews, as well as foreigners who migrate to Islamic countries, consider their safety a priority, and value interfaith dialogue and cooperation.
5- Seek fair and peaceful solutions whereby both sides make compromises to end conflicts between the non-Muslims and Muslims in Palestine, Kashmir, the southern Philippines, and other regions. It must defend the rights of Muslims as well as prevent radical Islamic movements from driving the situation to into a dead-end.Such a rational, considered, and just leadership will benefit the 1.2 billion Muslims who are struggling with so many problems, as well as all humanity at large.
An Islamic Union founded upon Qur'anic principles will enable humanity to find peace and justice, and the good character prescribed by the Qur'an will deliver happiness. Since the era of the Prophet Mohammed (may God bless him and grant him peace), Muslims led the way in science, reason, thought, art, culture, and civilization, and produced many benefits for humanity.Those who desire a conflict between civilizations will cause more bloodshed and losses around the world. Establishing the Islamic Union will be the most important handicap before those who advocate conflicts.When Europe was in its dark ages, Muslims taught the world science, reasoning, medicine, art, hygiene, and countless other subjects. In order to restart the rise of Islam, powered by the Qur'an's light and wisdom, present-day Muslims have to acquire guidance based on the Qur'an's morality and the Prophet's (may God bless him and grant him peace) Sunnah (His example, or way of life).How can this project be realized? We will investigate this issue as we proceed. Also, it must be remarked here that out of all Islamic nations, Turkey in particular has an important role to play, as it is the heir of the Ottoman Empire, the founder of such an Islamic Union which it ruled successfully for over 5 centuries. Turkey has the social infrastructure and state tradition necessary to fulfill the requirements of this important responsibility. Furthermore, of all Muslim states, it has the best-developed relations with the West and is therefore ideally placed to mediate the differences between the West and the Islamic world. Turkey also has a tradition of tolerance and harmony, and represents the Ahl as-Sunnah belief as the majority of Muslims believe, rather than a certain sect. All of this makes Turkey the most qualified candidate for leading the envisaged Islamic Union.Finally, the solutions proposed here need to be implemented immediately, because the risk of a clash of civilizations between the Western and Islamic worlds is increasing by the day. Setting up the Islamic Union will cause this danger to disappear. History proves that the coexistence of different civilizations is not necessarily a source of tension and conflict. A multicultural state does not experience difficulties because of existing internal differences, but because of its inability to manage those differences. Different cultures that exist side by side choose either conflict or peace and cooperation, depending upon their existing levels of tolerance and whether they can or cannot control those factors leading to intolerance. At present, some Westerners and Muslims prefer hostility and conflict over tolerance and harmony. Thus, misunderstandings and prejudices against Islam and the Muslims continue to present certain difficulties. On the other hand, Westerners feel unnecessarily threatened because of various misunderstandings. Therefore, a solution to these problems is needed urgently to avoid even worse conflicts and misunderstandings.As this book will reveal, the Islamic Union will play an important role in preventing the escalating risk of conflict, for all Islamic countries will move together as one body.
BOOK - A call for an Islamic Union
HarunYahya.com
By Harun Yahya
The Islamic world covers a huge geographic area populated by 1.2 billion Muslims. Unfortunately, it is characterized by tension, conflict, and disorder, all of which continue to threaten global peace and prosperity. All attempts to solve the region's problems have so far failed. But a review of its history shows that a strong central authority, ruling according to the Qur'anic morality and tolerance, as well as respecting all people's rights and belief systems, had enabled this vast region to live in peace. The Ottoman Empire was the most recent example of this. And now, it is time to bring about a new Islamic Union, for the current system, based upon nationalism, materialistic philosophies, and atheism can only worsen the current situation. Such an Islamic Union would enable the Muslim world to live in peace, both internally and externally, and allow the entire world to benefit from its vast natural resources.One of the first things we notice when analyzing the state of the Islamic world is its many internal divisions due to deep-rooted distrust and disputes. Recent history has seen the Iran-Iraq war, Iraq's occupation of Kuwait, and East Pakistan's (Bangladesh) war of independence from West Pakistan. The civil wars and internal conflicts in Afghanistan, Yemen, Lebanon, Iraq and Algeria due to political and ethnic differences made it obvious that something is wrong with the Islamic world. In addition, very divergent religious views and models are being practiced in the Islamic world, because there is no central authority to determine what is and what is not compatible with Islam, establish consensus, and provide guidance to the general public. Catholics have the Vatican and Orthodox Christians have the Patriarchate, but there is no religious unity or central authority for Muslims.However, solidarity is central to Islam's character. After the death of our Prophet Mohammed (may God bless him and grant him peace), the Islamic world was for a long time led by the institution of khilafah, which provided religious guidance to the Muslims. In our day, too, a progressive central authority could be formed. Establishing an Islamic Union and a central Islamic authority, based on democratic principles and the rule of law, would be major steps forward in resolving the Islamic world's current problems. As we progress through this book, we will analyze several aspects of this proposed Islamic Union, such as its ability to:
1- Reach all of the Islamic world. Therefore, it must be founded upon Islam's core principles and not become the organ of a particular denomination or sect.
2- Support human rights, democracy, and free enterprise, and seek to achieve its mission of economic, cultural, and scientific development in the Islamic world.
3- Establish friendly and harmonious relations with other countries or civilizations, and cooperate with the global community and the UN on such issues as controlling weapons of mass destruction, terrorism, international crime, and the environment.
4- Deal with the minority rights of Christians and Jews, as well as foreigners who migrate to Islamic countries, consider their safety a priority, and value interfaith dialogue and cooperation.
5- Seek fair and peaceful solutions whereby both sides make compromises to end conflicts between the non-Muslims and Muslims in Palestine, Kashmir, the southern Philippines, and other regions. It must defend the rights of Muslims as well as prevent radical Islamic movements from driving the situation to into a dead-end.Such a rational, considered, and just leadership will benefit the 1.2 billion Muslims who are struggling with so many problems, as well as all humanity at large.
An Islamic Union founded upon Qur'anic principles will enable humanity to find peace and justice, and the good character prescribed by the Qur'an will deliver happiness. Since the era of the Prophet Mohammed (may God bless him and grant him peace), Muslims led the way in science, reason, thought, art, culture, and civilization, and produced many benefits for humanity.Those who desire a conflict between civilizations will cause more bloodshed and losses around the world. Establishing the Islamic Union will be the most important handicap before those who advocate conflicts.When Europe was in its dark ages, Muslims taught the world science, reasoning, medicine, art, hygiene, and countless other subjects. In order to restart the rise of Islam, powered by the Qur'an's light and wisdom, present-day Muslims have to acquire guidance based on the Qur'an's morality and the Prophet's (may God bless him and grant him peace) Sunnah (His example, or way of life).How can this project be realized? We will investigate this issue as we proceed. Also, it must be remarked here that out of all Islamic nations, Turkey in particular has an important role to play, as it is the heir of the Ottoman Empire, the founder of such an Islamic Union which it ruled successfully for over 5 centuries. Turkey has the social infrastructure and state tradition necessary to fulfill the requirements of this important responsibility. Furthermore, of all Muslim states, it has the best-developed relations with the West and is therefore ideally placed to mediate the differences between the West and the Islamic world. Turkey also has a tradition of tolerance and harmony, and represents the Ahl as-Sunnah belief as the majority of Muslims believe, rather than a certain sect. All of this makes Turkey the most qualified candidate for leading the envisaged Islamic Union.Finally, the solutions proposed here need to be implemented immediately, because the risk of a clash of civilizations between the Western and Islamic worlds is increasing by the day. Setting up the Islamic Union will cause this danger to disappear. History proves that the coexistence of different civilizations is not necessarily a source of tension and conflict. A multicultural state does not experience difficulties because of existing internal differences, but because of its inability to manage those differences. Different cultures that exist side by side choose either conflict or peace and cooperation, depending upon their existing levels of tolerance and whether they can or cannot control those factors leading to intolerance. At present, some Westerners and Muslims prefer hostility and conflict over tolerance and harmony. Thus, misunderstandings and prejudices against Islam and the Muslims continue to present certain difficulties. On the other hand, Westerners feel unnecessarily threatened because of various misunderstandings. Therefore, a solution to these problems is needed urgently to avoid even worse conflicts and misunderstandings.As this book will reveal, the Islamic Union will play an important role in preventing the escalating risk of conflict, for all Islamic countries will move together as one body.
BOOK - A call for an Islamic Union
Quran: Sura Ash-Shuara (The Poets)
From: http://faridi.net/quran/?chapter=2
In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful
26:1
Ta. Sin. Mim.
26:2
These are verses of the Book that makes (things) clear.
26:3
It may be thou frettest thy soul with grief, that they do not become Believers.
26:4
If (such) were Our Will, We could send down to them from the sky a Sign, to which they would bend their necks in humility.
26:5
But there comes not to them a newly-revealed Message from (Allah) Most Gracious, but they turn away therefrom.
26:6
They have indeed rejected (the Message): so they will know soon (enough) the truth of what they mocked at!
26:7
Do they not look at the earth,- how many noble things of all kinds We have produced therein?
26:8
Verily, in this is a Sign: but most of them do not believe.
26:9
And verily, thy Lord is He, the Exalted in Might, Most Merciful.
26:10
Behold, thy Lord called Moses: “Go to the people of iniquity,-
26:11
“The people of the Pharaoh: will they not fear Allah?”
26:12
He said: “O my Lord! I do fear that they will charge me with falsehood:
26:13
“My breast will be straitened. And my speech may not go (smoothly): so send unto Aaron.
26:14
“And (further), they have a charge of crime against me; and I fear they may slay me.”
26:15
Allah said: “By no means! proceed then, both of you, with Our Signs; We are with you, and will listen (to your call).
26:16
“So go forth, both of you, to Pharaoh, and say: ‘We have been sent by the Lord and Cherisher of the worlds;
26:17
“‘Send thou with us the Children of Israel.’”
26:18
(Pharaoh) said: “Did we not cherish thee as a child among us, and didst thou not stay in our midst many years of thy life?
26:19
“And thou didst a deed of thine which (thou knowest) thou didst, and thou art an ungrateful (wretch)!”
26:20
Moses said: “I did it then, when I was in error.
26:21
“So I fled from you (all) when I feared you; but my Lord has (since) invested me with judgment (and wisdom) and appointed me as one of the apostles.
26:22
“And this is the favour with which thou dost reproach me,- that thou hast enslaved the Children of Israel!”
26:23
Pharaoh said: “And what is the ‘Lord and Cherisher of the worlds’?”
26:24
(Moses) said: “The Lord and Cherisher of the heavens and the earth, and all between,- if ye want to be quite sure.”
26:25
(Pharaoh) said to those around: “Did ye not listen (to what he says)?”
26:26
(Moses) said: “Your Lord and the Lord of your fathers from the beginning!”
26:27
(Pharaoh) said: “Truly your apostle who has been sent to you is a veritable madman!”
26:28
(Moses) said: “Lord of the East and the West, and all between! if ye only had sense!”
26:29
(Pharaoh) said: “If thou dost put forward any god other than me, I will certainly put thee in prison!”
26:30
(Moses) said: “Even if I showed you something clear (and) convincing?”
26:31
(Pharaoh) said: “Show it then, if thou tellest the truth!”
26:32
So (Moses) threw his rod, and behold, it was a serpent, plain (for all to see)!
26:33
And he drew out his hand, and behold, it was white to all beholders!
26:34
(Pharaoh) said to the Chiefs around him: “This is indeed a sorcerer well-versed:
26:35
“His plan is to get you out of your land by his sorcery; then what is it ye counsel?”
26:36
They said: “Keep him and his brother in suspense (for a while), and dispatch to the Cities heralds to collect-
26:37
“And bring up to thee all (our) sorcerers well-versed.”
26:38
So the sorcerers were got together for the appointment of a day well-known,
26:39
And the people were told: “Are ye (now) assembled?-
26:40
“That we may follow the sorcerers (in religion) if they win?”
26:41
So when the sorcerers arrived, they said to Pharaoh: “Of course - shall we have a (suitable) reward if we win?
26:42
He said: “Yea, (and more),- for ye shall in that case be (raised to posts) nearest (to my person).”
26:43
Moses said to them: “Throw ye - that which ye are about to throw!”
26:44
So they threw their ropes and their rods, and said: “By the might of Pharaoh, it is we who will certainly win!”
26:45
Then Moses threw his rod, when, behold, it straightway swallows up all the falsehoods which they fake!
26:46
Then did the sorcerers fall down, prostrate in adoration,
26:47
Saying: “We believe in the Lord of the Worlds,
26:48
“The Lord of Moses and Aaron.”
26:49
Said (Pharaoh): “Believe ye in Him before I give you permission? surely he is your leader, who has taught you sorcery! but soon shall ye know!
26:50
“Be sure I will cut off your hands and your feet on opposite sides, and I will cause you all to die on the cross!”
26:51
They said: “No matter! for us, we shall but return to our Lord!
26:52
“Only, our desire is that our Lord will forgive us our faults, that we may become foremost among the believers!”
26:53
By inspiration we told Moses: “Travel by night with my servants; for surely ye shall be pursued.”
26:54
Then Pharaoh sent heralds to (all) the Cities,
26:55
(Saying): “These (Israelites) are but a small band,
26:56
“And they are raging furiously against us;
26:57
“But we are a multitude amply fore-warned.”
26:58
So We expelled them from gardens, springs,
26:59
Treasures, and every kind of honourable position;
26:60
Thus it was, but We made the Children of Israel inheritors of such things.
26:61
So they pursued them at sunrise.
26:62
And when the two bodies saw each other, the people of Moses said: “We are sure to be overtaken.”
26:63
(Moses) said: “By no means! my Lord is with me! Soon will He guide me!”
26:64
Then We told Moses by inspiration: “Strike the sea with thy rod.” So it divided, and each separate part became like the huge, firm mass of a mountain.
26:65
And We made the other party approach thither.
26:66
We delivered Moses and all who were with him;
26:67
But We drowned the others.
26:68
Verily in this is a Sign: but most of them do not believe.
26:69
And verily thy Lord is He, the Exalted in Might, Most Merciful.
26:70
And rehearse to them (something of) Abraham’s story.
26:71
Behold, he said to his father and his people: “What worship ye?”
26:72
They said: “We worship idols, and we remain constantly in attendance on them.”
26:73
He said: “Do they listen to you when ye call (on them), or do you good or harm?”
26:74
They said: “Nay, but we found our fathers doing thus (what we do).”
26:75
He said: “Do ye then see whom ye have been worshipping,-
26:76
“Ye and your fathers before you?-
26:77
“For they are enemies to me; not so the Lord and Cherisher of the Worlds;
26:78
“Who created me, and it is He Who guides me;
26:79
“Who gives me food and drink,
26:80
“And when I am ill, it is He Who cures me;
26:81
“Who will cause me to die, and then to life (again);
26:82
“And who, I hope, will forgive me my faults on the day of Judgment.
26:83
“O my Lord! bestow wisdom on me, and join me with the righteous;
26:84
“Grant me honourable mention on the tongue of truth among the latest (generations);
26:85
“Make me one of the inheritors of the Garden of Bliss;
26:86
“Forgive my father, for that he is among those astray;
26:87
“And let me not be in disgrace on the Day when (men) will be raised up;-
26:88
“The Day whereon neither wealth nor sons will avail,
26:89
“But only he (will prosper) that brings to Allah a sound heart;
26:90
“To the righteous, the Garden will be brought near,
26:91
“And to those straying in Evil, the Fire will be placed in full view;
26:92
“And it shall be said to them: ‘Where are the (gods) ye worshipped-
26:93
“‘Besides Allah? Can they help you or help themselves?’
26:94
“Then they will be thrown headlong into the (Fire),- they and those straying in Evil,
26:95
“And the whole hosts of Iblis together.
26:96
“They will say there in their mutual bickerings:
26:97
“‘By Allah, we were truly in an error manifest,
26:98
“‘When we held you as equals with the Lord of the Worlds;
26:99
“‘And our seducers were only those who were steeped in guilt.
26:100
“‘Now, then, we have none to intercede (for us),
26:101
“‘Nor a single friend to feel (for us).
26:102
“‘Now if we only had a chance of return we shall truly be of those who believe!’”
26:103
Verily in this is a Sign but most of them do not believe.
26:104
And verily thy Lord is He, the Exalted in Might, Most Merciful.
26:105
The people of Noah rejected the apostles.
26:106
Behold, their brother Noah said to them: “Will ye not fear (Allah)?
26:107
“I am to you an apostle worthy of all trust:
26:108
“So fear Allah, and obey me.
26:109
“No reward do I ask of you for it: my reward is only from the Lord of the Worlds:
26:110
“So fear Allah, and obey me.”
26:111
They said: “Shall we believe in thee when it is the meanest that follow thee?”
26:112
He said: “And what do I know as to what they do?
26:113
“Their account is only with my Lord, if ye could (but) understand.
26:114
“I am not one to drive away those who believe.
26:115
“I am sent only to warn plainly in public.”
26:116
They said: “If thou desist not, O Noah! thou shalt be stoned (to death).”
26:117
He said: “O my Lord! truly my people have rejected me.
26:118
“Judge Thou, then, between me and them openly, and deliver me and those of the Believers who are with me.”
26:119
So We delivered him and those with him, in the Ark filled (with all creatures).
26:120
Thereafter We drowned those who remained behind.
26:121
Verily in this is a Sign: but most of them do not believe.
26:122
And verily thy Lord is He, the Exalted in Might, Most Merciful.
26:123
The ‘Ad (people) rejected the apostles.
26:124
Behold, their brother Hud said to them: “Will ye not fear (Allah)?
26:125
“I am to you an apostle worthy of all trust:
26:126
“So fear Allah and obey me.
26:127
“No reward do I ask of you for it: my reward is only from the Lord of the Worlds.
26:128
“Do ye build a landmark on every high place to amuse yourselves?
26:129
“And do ye get for yourselves fine buildings in the hope of living therein (for ever)?
26:130
“And when ye exert your strong hand, do ye do it like men of absolute power?
26:131
“Now fear Allah, and obey me.
26:132
“Yea, fear Him Who has bestowed on you freely all that ye know.
26:133
“Freely has He bestowed on you cattle and sons,-
26:134
“And Gardens and Springs.
26:135
“Truly I fear for you the Penalty of a Great Day.”
26:136
They said: “It is the same to us whether thou admonish us or be not among (our) admonishers!
26:137
“This is no other than a customary device of the ancients,
26:138
“And we are not the ones to receive Pains and Penalties!”
26:139
So they rejected him, and We destroyed them. Verily in this is a Sign: but most of them do not believe.
26:140
And verily thy Lord is He, the Exalted in Might, Most Merciful.
26:141
The Thamud (people) rejected the apostles.
26:142
Behold, their brother Salih said to them: “Will you not fear (Allah)?
26:143
“I am to you an apostle worthy of all trust.
26:144
“So fear Allah, and obey me.
26:145
“No reward do I ask of you for it: my reward is only from the Lord of the Worlds.
26:146
“Will ye be left secure, in (the enjoyment of) all that ye have here?-
26:147
“Gardens and Springs,
26:148
“And corn-fields and date-palms with spathes near breaking (with the weight of fruit)?
26:149
“And ye carve houses out of (rocky) mountains with great skill.
26:150
“But fear Allah and obey me;
26:151
“And follow not the bidding of those who are extravagant,-
26:152
“Who make mischief in the land, and mend not (their ways).”
26:153
They said: “Thou art only one of those bewitched!
26:154
“Thou art no more than a mortal like us: then bring us a Sign, if thou tellest the truth!”
26:155
He said: “Here is a she-camel: she has a right of watering, and ye have a right of watering, (severally) on a day appointed.
26:156
“Touch her not with harm, lest the Penalty of a Great Day seize you.”
26:157
But they ham-strung her: then did they become full of regrets.
26:158
But the Penalty seized them. Verily in this is a Sign: but most of them do not believe.
26:159
And verily thy Lord is He, the Exalted in Might, Most Merciful.
26:160
The people of Lut rejected the apostles.
26:161
Behold, their brother Lut said to them: “Will ye not fear (Allah)?
26:162
“I am to you an apostle worthy of all trust.
26:163
“So fear Allah and obey me.
26:164
“No reward do I ask of you for it: my reward is only from the lord of the Worlds.
26:165
“Of all the creatures in the world, will ye approach males,
26:166
“And leave those whom Allah has created for you to be your mates? Nay, ye are a people transgressing (all limits)!”
26:167
They said: “If thou desist not, O Lut! thou wilt assuredly be cast out!”
26:168
He said: “I do detest your doings.”
26:169
“O my Lord! deliver me and my family from such things as they do!”
26:170
So We delivered him and his family,- all
26:171
Except an old woman who lingered behind.
26:172
But the rest We destroyed utterly.
26:173
We rained down on them a shower (of brimstone): and evil was the shower on those who were admonished (but heeded not)!
26:174
Verily in this is a Sign: but most of them do not believe.
26:175
And verily thy Lord is He, the Exalted in Might Most Merciful.
26:176
The Companions of the Wood rejected the apostles.
26:177
Behold, Shu’aib said to them: “Will ye not fear (Allah)?
26:178
“I am to you an apostle worthy of all trust.
26:179
“So fear Allah and obey me.
26:180
“No reward do I ask of you for it: my reward is only from the Lord of the Worlds.
26:181
“Give just measure, and cause no loss (to others by fraud).
26:182
“And weigh with scales true and upright.
26:183
“And withhold not things justly due to men, nor do evil in the land, working mischief.
26:184
“And fear Him Who created you and (who created) the generations before (you)”
26:185
They said: “Thou art only one of those bewitched!
26:186
“Thou art no more than a mortal like us, and indeed we think thou art a liar!
26:187
“Now cause a piece of the sky to fall on us, if thou art truthful!”
26:188
He said: “My Lord knows best what ye do.”
26:189
But they rejected him. Then the punishment of a day of overshadowing gloom seized them, and that was the Penalty of a Great Day.
26:190
Verily in that is a Sign: but most of them do not believe.
26:191
And verily thy Lord is He, the Exalted in Might, Most Merciful.
26:192
Verily this is a Revelation from the Lord of the Worlds:
26:193
With it came down the spirit of Faith and Truth-
26:194
To thy heart and mind, that thou mayest admonish.
26:195
In the perspicuous Arabic tongue.
26:196
Without doubt it is (announced) in the mystic Books of former peoples.
26:197
Is it not a Sign to them that the Learned of the Children of Israel knew it (as true)?
26:198
Had We revealed it to any of the non-Arabs,
26:199
And had he recited it to them, they would not have believed in it.
26:200
Thus have We caused it to enter the hearts of the sinners.
26:201
They will not believe in it until they see the grievous Penalty;
26:202
But the (Penalty) will come to them of a sudden, while they perceive it not;
26:203
Then they will say: “Shall we be respited?”
26:204
Do they then ask for Our Penalty to be hastened on?
26:205
Seest thou? If We do let them enjoy (this life) for a few years,
26:206
Yet there comes to them at length the (Punishment) which they were promised!
26:207
It will profit them not that they enjoyed (this life)!
26:208
Never did We destroy a population, but had its warners -
26:209
By way of reminder; and We never are unjust.
26:210
No evil ones have brought down this (Revelation):
26:211
It would neither suit them nor would they be able (to produce it).
26:212
Indeed they have been removed far from even (a chance of) hearing it.
26:213
So call not on any other god with Allah, or thou wilt be among those under the Penalty.
26:214
And admonish thy nearest kinsmen,
26:215
And lower thy wing to the Believers who follow thee.
26:216
Then if they disobey thee, say: “I am free (of responsibility) for what ye do!”
26:217
And put thy trust on the Exalted in Might, the Merciful,-
26:218
Who seeth thee standing forth (in prayer),
26:219
And thy movements among those who prostrate themselves,
26:220
For it is He Who heareth and knoweth all things.
26:221
Shall I inform you, (O people!), on whom it is that the evil ones descend?
26:222
They descend on every lying, wicked person,
26:223
(Into whose ears) they pour hearsay vanities, and most of them are liars.
26:224
And the Poets,- It is those straying in Evil, who follow them:
26:225
Seest thou not that they wander distracted in every valley?-
26:226
And that they say what they practise not?-
26:227
Except those who believe, work righteousness, engage much in the remembrance of Allah, and defend themselves only after they are unjustly attacked. And soon will the unjust assailants know what vicissitudes their affairs will take!
In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful
26:1
Ta. Sin. Mim.
26:2
These are verses of the Book that makes (things) clear.
26:3
It may be thou frettest thy soul with grief, that they do not become Believers.
26:4
If (such) were Our Will, We could send down to them from the sky a Sign, to which they would bend their necks in humility.
26:5
But there comes not to them a newly-revealed Message from (Allah) Most Gracious, but they turn away therefrom.
26:6
They have indeed rejected (the Message): so they will know soon (enough) the truth of what they mocked at!
26:7
Do they not look at the earth,- how many noble things of all kinds We have produced therein?
26:8
Verily, in this is a Sign: but most of them do not believe.
26:9
And verily, thy Lord is He, the Exalted in Might, Most Merciful.
26:10
Behold, thy Lord called Moses: “Go to the people of iniquity,-
26:11
“The people of the Pharaoh: will they not fear Allah?”
26:12
He said: “O my Lord! I do fear that they will charge me with falsehood:
26:13
“My breast will be straitened. And my speech may not go (smoothly): so send unto Aaron.
26:14
“And (further), they have a charge of crime against me; and I fear they may slay me.”
26:15
Allah said: “By no means! proceed then, both of you, with Our Signs; We are with you, and will listen (to your call).
26:16
“So go forth, both of you, to Pharaoh, and say: ‘We have been sent by the Lord and Cherisher of the worlds;
26:17
“‘Send thou with us the Children of Israel.’”
26:18
(Pharaoh) said: “Did we not cherish thee as a child among us, and didst thou not stay in our midst many years of thy life?
26:19
“And thou didst a deed of thine which (thou knowest) thou didst, and thou art an ungrateful (wretch)!”
26:20
Moses said: “I did it then, when I was in error.
26:21
“So I fled from you (all) when I feared you; but my Lord has (since) invested me with judgment (and wisdom) and appointed me as one of the apostles.
26:22
“And this is the favour with which thou dost reproach me,- that thou hast enslaved the Children of Israel!”
26:23
Pharaoh said: “And what is the ‘Lord and Cherisher of the worlds’?”
26:24
(Moses) said: “The Lord and Cherisher of the heavens and the earth, and all between,- if ye want to be quite sure.”
26:25
(Pharaoh) said to those around: “Did ye not listen (to what he says)?”
26:26
(Moses) said: “Your Lord and the Lord of your fathers from the beginning!”
26:27
(Pharaoh) said: “Truly your apostle who has been sent to you is a veritable madman!”
26:28
(Moses) said: “Lord of the East and the West, and all between! if ye only had sense!”
26:29
(Pharaoh) said: “If thou dost put forward any god other than me, I will certainly put thee in prison!”
26:30
(Moses) said: “Even if I showed you something clear (and) convincing?”
26:31
(Pharaoh) said: “Show it then, if thou tellest the truth!”
26:32
So (Moses) threw his rod, and behold, it was a serpent, plain (for all to see)!
26:33
And he drew out his hand, and behold, it was white to all beholders!
26:34
(Pharaoh) said to the Chiefs around him: “This is indeed a sorcerer well-versed:
26:35
“His plan is to get you out of your land by his sorcery; then what is it ye counsel?”
26:36
They said: “Keep him and his brother in suspense (for a while), and dispatch to the Cities heralds to collect-
26:37
“And bring up to thee all (our) sorcerers well-versed.”
26:38
So the sorcerers were got together for the appointment of a day well-known,
26:39
And the people were told: “Are ye (now) assembled?-
26:40
“That we may follow the sorcerers (in religion) if they win?”
26:41
So when the sorcerers arrived, they said to Pharaoh: “Of course - shall we have a (suitable) reward if we win?
26:42
He said: “Yea, (and more),- for ye shall in that case be (raised to posts) nearest (to my person).”
26:43
Moses said to them: “Throw ye - that which ye are about to throw!”
26:44
So they threw their ropes and their rods, and said: “By the might of Pharaoh, it is we who will certainly win!”
26:45
Then Moses threw his rod, when, behold, it straightway swallows up all the falsehoods which they fake!
26:46
Then did the sorcerers fall down, prostrate in adoration,
26:47
Saying: “We believe in the Lord of the Worlds,
26:48
“The Lord of Moses and Aaron.”
26:49
Said (Pharaoh): “Believe ye in Him before I give you permission? surely he is your leader, who has taught you sorcery! but soon shall ye know!
26:50
“Be sure I will cut off your hands and your feet on opposite sides, and I will cause you all to die on the cross!”
26:51
They said: “No matter! for us, we shall but return to our Lord!
26:52
“Only, our desire is that our Lord will forgive us our faults, that we may become foremost among the believers!”
26:53
By inspiration we told Moses: “Travel by night with my servants; for surely ye shall be pursued.”
26:54
Then Pharaoh sent heralds to (all) the Cities,
26:55
(Saying): “These (Israelites) are but a small band,
26:56
“And they are raging furiously against us;
26:57
“But we are a multitude amply fore-warned.”
26:58
So We expelled them from gardens, springs,
26:59
Treasures, and every kind of honourable position;
26:60
Thus it was, but We made the Children of Israel inheritors of such things.
26:61
So they pursued them at sunrise.
26:62
And when the two bodies saw each other, the people of Moses said: “We are sure to be overtaken.”
26:63
(Moses) said: “By no means! my Lord is with me! Soon will He guide me!”
26:64
Then We told Moses by inspiration: “Strike the sea with thy rod.” So it divided, and each separate part became like the huge, firm mass of a mountain.
26:65
And We made the other party approach thither.
26:66
We delivered Moses and all who were with him;
26:67
But We drowned the others.
26:68
Verily in this is a Sign: but most of them do not believe.
26:69
And verily thy Lord is He, the Exalted in Might, Most Merciful.
26:70
And rehearse to them (something of) Abraham’s story.
26:71
Behold, he said to his father and his people: “What worship ye?”
26:72
They said: “We worship idols, and we remain constantly in attendance on them.”
26:73
He said: “Do they listen to you when ye call (on them), or do you good or harm?”
26:74
They said: “Nay, but we found our fathers doing thus (what we do).”
26:75
He said: “Do ye then see whom ye have been worshipping,-
26:76
“Ye and your fathers before you?-
26:77
“For they are enemies to me; not so the Lord and Cherisher of the Worlds;
26:78
“Who created me, and it is He Who guides me;
26:79
“Who gives me food and drink,
26:80
“And when I am ill, it is He Who cures me;
26:81
“Who will cause me to die, and then to life (again);
26:82
“And who, I hope, will forgive me my faults on the day of Judgment.
26:83
“O my Lord! bestow wisdom on me, and join me with the righteous;
26:84
“Grant me honourable mention on the tongue of truth among the latest (generations);
26:85
“Make me one of the inheritors of the Garden of Bliss;
26:86
“Forgive my father, for that he is among those astray;
26:87
“And let me not be in disgrace on the Day when (men) will be raised up;-
26:88
“The Day whereon neither wealth nor sons will avail,
26:89
“But only he (will prosper) that brings to Allah a sound heart;
26:90
“To the righteous, the Garden will be brought near,
26:91
“And to those straying in Evil, the Fire will be placed in full view;
26:92
“And it shall be said to them: ‘Where are the (gods) ye worshipped-
26:93
“‘Besides Allah? Can they help you or help themselves?’
26:94
“Then they will be thrown headlong into the (Fire),- they and those straying in Evil,
26:95
“And the whole hosts of Iblis together.
26:96
“They will say there in their mutual bickerings:
26:97
“‘By Allah, we were truly in an error manifest,
26:98
“‘When we held you as equals with the Lord of the Worlds;
26:99
“‘And our seducers were only those who were steeped in guilt.
26:100
“‘Now, then, we have none to intercede (for us),
26:101
“‘Nor a single friend to feel (for us).
26:102
“‘Now if we only had a chance of return we shall truly be of those who believe!’”
26:103
Verily in this is a Sign but most of them do not believe.
26:104
And verily thy Lord is He, the Exalted in Might, Most Merciful.
26:105
The people of Noah rejected the apostles.
26:106
Behold, their brother Noah said to them: “Will ye not fear (Allah)?
26:107
“I am to you an apostle worthy of all trust:
26:108
“So fear Allah, and obey me.
26:109
“No reward do I ask of you for it: my reward is only from the Lord of the Worlds:
26:110
“So fear Allah, and obey me.”
26:111
They said: “Shall we believe in thee when it is the meanest that follow thee?”
26:112
He said: “And what do I know as to what they do?
26:113
“Their account is only with my Lord, if ye could (but) understand.
26:114
“I am not one to drive away those who believe.
26:115
“I am sent only to warn plainly in public.”
26:116
They said: “If thou desist not, O Noah! thou shalt be stoned (to death).”
26:117
He said: “O my Lord! truly my people have rejected me.
26:118
“Judge Thou, then, between me and them openly, and deliver me and those of the Believers who are with me.”
26:119
So We delivered him and those with him, in the Ark filled (with all creatures).
26:120
Thereafter We drowned those who remained behind.
26:121
Verily in this is a Sign: but most of them do not believe.
26:122
And verily thy Lord is He, the Exalted in Might, Most Merciful.
26:123
The ‘Ad (people) rejected the apostles.
26:124
Behold, their brother Hud said to them: “Will ye not fear (Allah)?
26:125
“I am to you an apostle worthy of all trust:
26:126
“So fear Allah and obey me.
26:127
“No reward do I ask of you for it: my reward is only from the Lord of the Worlds.
26:128
“Do ye build a landmark on every high place to amuse yourselves?
26:129
“And do ye get for yourselves fine buildings in the hope of living therein (for ever)?
26:130
“And when ye exert your strong hand, do ye do it like men of absolute power?
26:131
“Now fear Allah, and obey me.
26:132
“Yea, fear Him Who has bestowed on you freely all that ye know.
26:133
“Freely has He bestowed on you cattle and sons,-
26:134
“And Gardens and Springs.
26:135
“Truly I fear for you the Penalty of a Great Day.”
26:136
They said: “It is the same to us whether thou admonish us or be not among (our) admonishers!
26:137
“This is no other than a customary device of the ancients,
26:138
“And we are not the ones to receive Pains and Penalties!”
26:139
So they rejected him, and We destroyed them. Verily in this is a Sign: but most of them do not believe.
26:140
And verily thy Lord is He, the Exalted in Might, Most Merciful.
26:141
The Thamud (people) rejected the apostles.
26:142
Behold, their brother Salih said to them: “Will you not fear (Allah)?
26:143
“I am to you an apostle worthy of all trust.
26:144
“So fear Allah, and obey me.
26:145
“No reward do I ask of you for it: my reward is only from the Lord of the Worlds.
26:146
“Will ye be left secure, in (the enjoyment of) all that ye have here?-
26:147
“Gardens and Springs,
26:148
“And corn-fields and date-palms with spathes near breaking (with the weight of fruit)?
26:149
“And ye carve houses out of (rocky) mountains with great skill.
26:150
“But fear Allah and obey me;
26:151
“And follow not the bidding of those who are extravagant,-
26:152
“Who make mischief in the land, and mend not (their ways).”
26:153
They said: “Thou art only one of those bewitched!
26:154
“Thou art no more than a mortal like us: then bring us a Sign, if thou tellest the truth!”
26:155
He said: “Here is a she-camel: she has a right of watering, and ye have a right of watering, (severally) on a day appointed.
26:156
“Touch her not with harm, lest the Penalty of a Great Day seize you.”
26:157
But they ham-strung her: then did they become full of regrets.
26:158
But the Penalty seized them. Verily in this is a Sign: but most of them do not believe.
26:159
And verily thy Lord is He, the Exalted in Might, Most Merciful.
26:160
The people of Lut rejected the apostles.
26:161
Behold, their brother Lut said to them: “Will ye not fear (Allah)?
26:162
“I am to you an apostle worthy of all trust.
26:163
“So fear Allah and obey me.
26:164
“No reward do I ask of you for it: my reward is only from the lord of the Worlds.
26:165
“Of all the creatures in the world, will ye approach males,
26:166
“And leave those whom Allah has created for you to be your mates? Nay, ye are a people transgressing (all limits)!”
26:167
They said: “If thou desist not, O Lut! thou wilt assuredly be cast out!”
26:168
He said: “I do detest your doings.”
26:169
“O my Lord! deliver me and my family from such things as they do!”
26:170
So We delivered him and his family,- all
26:171
Except an old woman who lingered behind.
26:172
But the rest We destroyed utterly.
26:173
We rained down on them a shower (of brimstone): and evil was the shower on those who were admonished (but heeded not)!
26:174
Verily in this is a Sign: but most of them do not believe.
26:175
And verily thy Lord is He, the Exalted in Might Most Merciful.
26:176
The Companions of the Wood rejected the apostles.
26:177
Behold, Shu’aib said to them: “Will ye not fear (Allah)?
26:178
“I am to you an apostle worthy of all trust.
26:179
“So fear Allah and obey me.
26:180
“No reward do I ask of you for it: my reward is only from the Lord of the Worlds.
26:181
“Give just measure, and cause no loss (to others by fraud).
26:182
“And weigh with scales true and upright.
26:183
“And withhold not things justly due to men, nor do evil in the land, working mischief.
26:184
“And fear Him Who created you and (who created) the generations before (you)”
26:185
They said: “Thou art only one of those bewitched!
26:186
“Thou art no more than a mortal like us, and indeed we think thou art a liar!
26:187
“Now cause a piece of the sky to fall on us, if thou art truthful!”
26:188
He said: “My Lord knows best what ye do.”
26:189
But they rejected him. Then the punishment of a day of overshadowing gloom seized them, and that was the Penalty of a Great Day.
26:190
Verily in that is a Sign: but most of them do not believe.
26:191
And verily thy Lord is He, the Exalted in Might, Most Merciful.
26:192
Verily this is a Revelation from the Lord of the Worlds:
26:193
With it came down the spirit of Faith and Truth-
26:194
To thy heart and mind, that thou mayest admonish.
26:195
In the perspicuous Arabic tongue.
26:196
Without doubt it is (announced) in the mystic Books of former peoples.
26:197
Is it not a Sign to them that the Learned of the Children of Israel knew it (as true)?
26:198
Had We revealed it to any of the non-Arabs,
26:199
And had he recited it to them, they would not have believed in it.
26:200
Thus have We caused it to enter the hearts of the sinners.
26:201
They will not believe in it until they see the grievous Penalty;
26:202
But the (Penalty) will come to them of a sudden, while they perceive it not;
26:203
Then they will say: “Shall we be respited?”
26:204
Do they then ask for Our Penalty to be hastened on?
26:205
Seest thou? If We do let them enjoy (this life) for a few years,
26:206
Yet there comes to them at length the (Punishment) which they were promised!
26:207
It will profit them not that they enjoyed (this life)!
26:208
Never did We destroy a population, but had its warners -
26:209
By way of reminder; and We never are unjust.
26:210
No evil ones have brought down this (Revelation):
26:211
It would neither suit them nor would they be able (to produce it).
26:212
Indeed they have been removed far from even (a chance of) hearing it.
26:213
So call not on any other god with Allah, or thou wilt be among those under the Penalty.
26:214
And admonish thy nearest kinsmen,
26:215
And lower thy wing to the Believers who follow thee.
26:216
Then if they disobey thee, say: “I am free (of responsibility) for what ye do!”
26:217
And put thy trust on the Exalted in Might, the Merciful,-
26:218
Who seeth thee standing forth (in prayer),
26:219
And thy movements among those who prostrate themselves,
26:220
For it is He Who heareth and knoweth all things.
26:221
Shall I inform you, (O people!), on whom it is that the evil ones descend?
26:222
They descend on every lying, wicked person,
26:223
(Into whose ears) they pour hearsay vanities, and most of them are liars.
26:224
And the Poets,- It is those straying in Evil, who follow them:
26:225
Seest thou not that they wander distracted in every valley?-
26:226
And that they say what they practise not?-
26:227
Except those who believe, work righteousness, engage much in the remembrance of Allah, and defend themselves only after they are unjustly attacked. And soon will the unjust assailants know what vicissitudes their affairs will take!
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
Jihad Renegotiated
From: http://www.irfi.org/
By Dr. Yusuf Al-Qaradawi
President — The International Union for Muslim Scholars
Jihad has created, and is still creating, a problem between Muslims and non-Muslims. Islam is a religion that calls for monotheism. Besides, Islam does not resort to compulsion in calling people to it; rather it resorts to convincing them. This becomes evident from the Glorious Qur’an and from the means the Prophet’s Companions followed in calling people to Islam. The Caliphs who came after the Companions applied the same method. Nevertheless, during the Islamic history, Jihad, in some occasions, was misunderstood and so wrongly applied.
Jihad does not only mean to fight against the enemy. According to the Qur’an, Jihad is to be implemented in many life aspects and on many levels. However, from among what Jihad urges to, fighting is the only action Muslims apply. Therefore, fighting has been correlated with Jihad, an issue that disturbed and alarmed non-Muslims, to the extent that they themselves made use of this misconception in the war they waged to distort the image of Islam. Moreover, they accused Islam of being a religion that incites people to kill. But the Qur’an and the Prophetic Tradition prove how unfair such false accusations are.
While discussing the term “Jihad” in our present time, many problems emerge, most important of them is the kind of relationship between Muslims and non-Muslims. In addition, the wrong understanding of Jihad by some Muslims caused them to wrongly apply it, the matter which further helps distort Islam. Hence, Islam which is subjected to several attacks is claimed to be the religion that represses people’s freedom and spreads corruption in earth. What led to this current problem is the wrong understanding of the Qur’anic verses. A good example related to this is the (mis-)use of verse about the sword which is taken away from the context is cited as evidence against Islam (also, without considering the reasons of revelation or the incident the verse was commenting on). Thus the meaning of that Qur’anic verse is generalized though it is revealed for certain cases (2:191).
Some of those who attack Islam took the Prophet’s expeditions as evidence to prove that Islam urges terrorizing civilians. Besides, they claimed that Allah’s Messenger (PBUH) resorted to violence with whoever opposed him, specially the Persians and Romans. But those who falsely accuse Islam disregard the fact that the Romans and the Persians came to the Arab peninsula aiming at occupying it and fighting Islam. So the battles the Prophet waged against them were merely to fight back the occupiers and to propagate the teachings of Islam, not to force people to embrace it.
His Eminence, Sheikh Yusuf Qaradawi, was one of the most prominent Muslim scholars and jurists who studied and renegotiated Jihad, its reality and implications and gave profound understanding of it, which makes him an authority concerning the matter at hand. The following are some of the points he triggered in addressing Islamic Jihad. Here are some excerpts (rather chapters) from his forthcoming book in Arabic Mafaheem Jihadia (Concepts of Jihad). We translated them for the benefit of our readers.
Source: http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1158658460384&pagename=Zone-English-Living_Shariah/LSELayout
By Dr. Yusuf Al-Qaradawi
President — The International Union for Muslim Scholars
Jihad has created, and is still creating, a problem between Muslims and non-Muslims. Islam is a religion that calls for monotheism. Besides, Islam does not resort to compulsion in calling people to it; rather it resorts to convincing them. This becomes evident from the Glorious Qur’an and from the means the Prophet’s Companions followed in calling people to Islam. The Caliphs who came after the Companions applied the same method. Nevertheless, during the Islamic history, Jihad, in some occasions, was misunderstood and so wrongly applied.
Jihad does not only mean to fight against the enemy. According to the Qur’an, Jihad is to be implemented in many life aspects and on many levels. However, from among what Jihad urges to, fighting is the only action Muslims apply. Therefore, fighting has been correlated with Jihad, an issue that disturbed and alarmed non-Muslims, to the extent that they themselves made use of this misconception in the war they waged to distort the image of Islam. Moreover, they accused Islam of being a religion that incites people to kill. But the Qur’an and the Prophetic Tradition prove how unfair such false accusations are.
While discussing the term “Jihad” in our present time, many problems emerge, most important of them is the kind of relationship between Muslims and non-Muslims. In addition, the wrong understanding of Jihad by some Muslims caused them to wrongly apply it, the matter which further helps distort Islam. Hence, Islam which is subjected to several attacks is claimed to be the religion that represses people’s freedom and spreads corruption in earth. What led to this current problem is the wrong understanding of the Qur’anic verses. A good example related to this is the (mis-)use of verse about the sword which is taken away from the context is cited as evidence against Islam (also, without considering the reasons of revelation or the incident the verse was commenting on). Thus the meaning of that Qur’anic verse is generalized though it is revealed for certain cases (2:191).
Some of those who attack Islam took the Prophet’s expeditions as evidence to prove that Islam urges terrorizing civilians. Besides, they claimed that Allah’s Messenger (PBUH) resorted to violence with whoever opposed him, specially the Persians and Romans. But those who falsely accuse Islam disregard the fact that the Romans and the Persians came to the Arab peninsula aiming at occupying it and fighting Islam. So the battles the Prophet waged against them were merely to fight back the occupiers and to propagate the teachings of Islam, not to force people to embrace it.
His Eminence, Sheikh Yusuf Qaradawi, was one of the most prominent Muslim scholars and jurists who studied and renegotiated Jihad, its reality and implications and gave profound understanding of it, which makes him an authority concerning the matter at hand. The following are some of the points he triggered in addressing Islamic Jihad. Here are some excerpts (rather chapters) from his forthcoming book in Arabic Mafaheem Jihadia (Concepts of Jihad). We translated them for the benefit of our readers.
Source: http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1158658460384&pagename=Zone-English-Living_Shariah/LSELayout
Maintaining unity and sincerity in faith
From: www.islamicity.com
By: Sayyid Qutb
Quran Commentary
In the name of God, the Lord of Grace, the Ever Merciful
This book is bestowed from on high by God, the Almighty, the Wise. It is We who have bestowed on you this revelation from on high, stating the truth. Therefore, worship God alone, sincere in your faith in Him. True devotion is due to God alone. Those who take others besides Him as their protectors say: 'We worship them for no reason other than that they would bring us nearer to God.' God will judge between them concerning all matters on which they differ. God will not grace with guidance anyone who is bent on lying [to himself and is] stubbornly ingrate!
(Quran 39: 1-3)
The surah begins with a clear, emphatic statement: "This book is bestowed from on high by God, the Almighty, the Wise." As He is Almighty, He is able to bestow it from on high, and as He is wise, He knows the purpose of bestowing it, ensuring that it is all done in accordance with wise and elaborate planning.
The surah, however, does not dwell on this fact. It is only a prelude to its main theme, which this book has been revealed to establish, namely, God's oneness, addressing all worship to Him alone, ensuring sincerity in faith, eliminating all traces of any alleged partnership with God and establishing direct contact with Him without any intermediary or need for intercession.
"It is We who have bestowed on you this revelation from on high, stating the truth." The essence of the truth with which the book has been revealed is the absolute oneness of God, which forms the foundation of all existence. In verse 5 the surah states: "He has created the heavens and the earth in accordance with the truth." It is all the same truth that makes up the foundation of the universe and provides the purpose for revealing the Qur'an. It is a single, consistent truth confirmed by the unity of the system that controls the heavens and the earth, and expressed in human language through this book. It is the truth that puts the seal on everything made by the only Creator.
"Therefore, worship God alone, sincere in your faith in Him." The address here is to the Prophet, the recipient of the book as it is bestowed from on high. It embodies the constitution which he advocates, calling on all mankind to adopt it: to worship God alone, sincere in our devotion, and to conduct human life, in all spheres, on this basis. These are not mere statements. It is a complete system, starting with a firm belief that is translated into an all-embracing way of life for both the individual and the community.
A believer in God's oneness submits only to God, bowing his head to none other, and asking nothing from others. For him only God is powerful and holds sway. Indeed, all other creatures are weak, unable to do him, or themselves, either harm or good. It is God alone who gives, bestows favors or withholds them. What is the use, then, of turning to anyone other than God for help when all are weak and God alone holds all power?
A true believer recognizes the unity of the system that conducts all affairs in the universe, realizes that the code of living God has chosen for mankind is part of that system, specially molded to achieve harmony between human life and the universe. Hence, a believer does not choose any system or legal code other than that which God has laid down. A believer in God's oneness also feels that there is a bond between him and all that God has created in this universe, and that all creatures are friendly toward him. He feels that all around him have been put in place by God's hand. Hence, he warms to everything that comes his way of God's creation. He does not hurt, destroy or waste anyone or anything, or use it in any way other than what God has sanctioned.
Similarly, the effects of believing in God's oneness are apparent in believers' concepts and feelings just as they are reflected in their actions and behavior. Thus, belief in God's oneness is not merely a verbal utterance. Hence why it is given such emphasis in God's book, and hence why it is repeated and explained in a great variety of ways. Each and everyone of us needs to study and reflect upon God's oneness so that this truth is perfectly ingrained in our own essence.
"True devotion is due to God alone." In Arabic this statement has added emphasis provided by certain characteristics of the sentence structure, which is peculiar to Arabic and difficult to capture in translation. It gives the statement the sense of a declaration producing a loud but clear echo. Thus sound, structure and meaning combine to strongly emphasize this basic truth upon which all life, throughout the universe, is based.
Then a refutation of the complex superstition the idolaters presented in opposition to belief in God's oneness follows: "Those who take others besides Him as their protectors say: 'We worship them for no reason other than that they would bring us nearer to God.' God will judge between them concerning all matters on which they differ. God will not grace with guidance anyone who is an ungrateful liar."
Although they declared that God created them and the heavens and earth, they would not carry this belief to its natural and logical consequence which required that they devote all their worship and submission to Him alone. Instead they invented the superstition that the angels were God's daughters and even carved statues representing angels so that they could worship these. They then claimed that their worship of these statues, such as Al-Lat, Al-Uzza and Manat, was not in essence devotion to them. It was merely a gesture to bring them closer to God, in the hope that these statues or what they represented would eventually intercede with God on their behalf.
Sayyid Qutb was an Egyptian intellectual author, associated with the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood. He is best known for his work on redefining the role of Islam in social and political change, particularly in his books Social Justice and Ma'alim fi-l-Tariq (Milestones). His extensive Quranic commentary Fi zilal al-Qur'an (In the shades of the Qur'an) has contributed significantly to modern perceptions of Islamic concepts.
By: Sayyid Qutb
Quran Commentary
In the name of God, the Lord of Grace, the Ever Merciful
This book is bestowed from on high by God, the Almighty, the Wise. It is We who have bestowed on you this revelation from on high, stating the truth. Therefore, worship God alone, sincere in your faith in Him. True devotion is due to God alone. Those who take others besides Him as their protectors say: 'We worship them for no reason other than that they would bring us nearer to God.' God will judge between them concerning all matters on which they differ. God will not grace with guidance anyone who is bent on lying [to himself and is] stubbornly ingrate!
(Quran 39: 1-3)
The surah begins with a clear, emphatic statement: "This book is bestowed from on high by God, the Almighty, the Wise." As He is Almighty, He is able to bestow it from on high, and as He is wise, He knows the purpose of bestowing it, ensuring that it is all done in accordance with wise and elaborate planning.
The surah, however, does not dwell on this fact. It is only a prelude to its main theme, which this book has been revealed to establish, namely, God's oneness, addressing all worship to Him alone, ensuring sincerity in faith, eliminating all traces of any alleged partnership with God and establishing direct contact with Him without any intermediary or need for intercession.
"It is We who have bestowed on you this revelation from on high, stating the truth." The essence of the truth with which the book has been revealed is the absolute oneness of God, which forms the foundation of all existence. In verse 5 the surah states: "He has created the heavens and the earth in accordance with the truth." It is all the same truth that makes up the foundation of the universe and provides the purpose for revealing the Qur'an. It is a single, consistent truth confirmed by the unity of the system that controls the heavens and the earth, and expressed in human language through this book. It is the truth that puts the seal on everything made by the only Creator.
"Therefore, worship God alone, sincere in your faith in Him." The address here is to the Prophet, the recipient of the book as it is bestowed from on high. It embodies the constitution which he advocates, calling on all mankind to adopt it: to worship God alone, sincere in our devotion, and to conduct human life, in all spheres, on this basis. These are not mere statements. It is a complete system, starting with a firm belief that is translated into an all-embracing way of life for both the individual and the community.
A believer in God's oneness submits only to God, bowing his head to none other, and asking nothing from others. For him only God is powerful and holds sway. Indeed, all other creatures are weak, unable to do him, or themselves, either harm or good. It is God alone who gives, bestows favors or withholds them. What is the use, then, of turning to anyone other than God for help when all are weak and God alone holds all power?
A true believer recognizes the unity of the system that conducts all affairs in the universe, realizes that the code of living God has chosen for mankind is part of that system, specially molded to achieve harmony between human life and the universe. Hence, a believer does not choose any system or legal code other than that which God has laid down. A believer in God's oneness also feels that there is a bond between him and all that God has created in this universe, and that all creatures are friendly toward him. He feels that all around him have been put in place by God's hand. Hence, he warms to everything that comes his way of God's creation. He does not hurt, destroy or waste anyone or anything, or use it in any way other than what God has sanctioned.
Similarly, the effects of believing in God's oneness are apparent in believers' concepts and feelings just as they are reflected in their actions and behavior. Thus, belief in God's oneness is not merely a verbal utterance. Hence why it is given such emphasis in God's book, and hence why it is repeated and explained in a great variety of ways. Each and everyone of us needs to study and reflect upon God's oneness so that this truth is perfectly ingrained in our own essence.
"True devotion is due to God alone." In Arabic this statement has added emphasis provided by certain characteristics of the sentence structure, which is peculiar to Arabic and difficult to capture in translation. It gives the statement the sense of a declaration producing a loud but clear echo. Thus sound, structure and meaning combine to strongly emphasize this basic truth upon which all life, throughout the universe, is based.
Then a refutation of the complex superstition the idolaters presented in opposition to belief in God's oneness follows: "Those who take others besides Him as their protectors say: 'We worship them for no reason other than that they would bring us nearer to God.' God will judge between them concerning all matters on which they differ. God will not grace with guidance anyone who is an ungrateful liar."
Although they declared that God created them and the heavens and earth, they would not carry this belief to its natural and logical consequence which required that they devote all their worship and submission to Him alone. Instead they invented the superstition that the angels were God's daughters and even carved statues representing angels so that they could worship these. They then claimed that their worship of these statues, such as Al-Lat, Al-Uzza and Manat, was not in essence devotion to them. It was merely a gesture to bring them closer to God, in the hope that these statues or what they represented would eventually intercede with God on their behalf.
Sayyid Qutb was an Egyptian intellectual author, associated with the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood. He is best known for his work on redefining the role of Islam in social and political change, particularly in his books Social Justice and Ma'alim fi-l-Tariq (Milestones). His extensive Quranic commentary Fi zilal al-Qur'an (In the shades of the Qur'an) has contributed significantly to modern perceptions of Islamic concepts.
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
An Unmet Challenge
From: http://www.islamreligion.com/
The Evidence
Initially, the Meccan unbelievers said Muhammad is the author of the Quran. God responded to them:
“Or do they say, ‘He himself has composed this [message]’? No, but they are not willing to believe! But then, [if they deem it the work of a mere mortal,] let them produce another discourse like it - if what they say be true! [Or do they deny the existence of God implicitly by denying the fact of His revelation?] Have they themselves been created without anything - or were they, perchance, their own creators?” (Quran 52:33-35)
First, God challenged them to produce ten chapters like the Quran:
“Or they may say, ‘He forged it,’ Say, ‘Bring ye then ten suras forged, like unto it, and call (to your aid) whomsoever you can, other than God! - If you speak the truth!’ If then they answer not your (call), know you that this revelation is sent down with the knowledge of God, and that there is no god but He! Will you then submit (to Islam)?” (Quran 11:13-14)
But, when they were unable to meet the challenge of ten chapters, God reduced it to a single chapter:
“And if you are in doubt about what We have sent down on Our slave, then produce a surah thereof and call upon your witnesses other than God, if you should be truthful. But if you do not – and you will never be able to – then fear the Fire whose fuel is men and stones, prepared for the unbelievers.” (Quran 2:23-24)
Finally, God foretold their eternal failure to meet the divine challenge:
“Say: ‘If all mankind and all jinn[1] would come together to produce the like of this Quran, they could not produce its like even though they were to exert all their strength in aiding one another!’” (Quran 17:88)
The Prophet of Islam said:
“Every Prophet was given ‘signs’ because of which people believed in him. Indeed, I have been given the Divine Revelation that God has inspired to me. So, I hope to have the most followers of all the prophets on the Day of Resurrection.” (Saheeh Al-Bukhari)
The physical miracles performed by the prophets were time-specific, valid only for those who witnessed them, whereas the like of the continuing miracle of our Prophet, the Noble Quran, was not granted to any other prophet. Its linguistic superiority, style, clarity of message, strength of argument, quality of rhetoric, and the human inability to match even its shortest chapter till the end of time grant it an exquisite uniqueness. Those who witnessed the revelation and those who came after, all can drink from its fountain of wisdom. That is why the Prophet of Mercy hoped he will have the most followers of all the prophets, and prophesized that he would at a time when Muslims were few, but then they began to embrace Islam in floods. Thus, this prophecy came true.
Explanation of Quran’s Inimitability
State of the Prophet Muhammad
He was an ordinary human being.
He was illiterate. He could neither read nor write.
He was more than forty years old when he received the first revelation. Until then he was not known to be an orator, poet, or a man of letters; he was just a merchant. He did not compose a single poem or deliver even one sermon before he was chosen to be a prophet.
He brought a book attributing it to God, and all Arabs of his time were in agreement it was inimitable.
The Challenge of the Quran
The Quran puts a challenge out to anyone who opposes the Prophet. The challenge is to produce a chapter (surah) similar to it, even if it were to be a cooperative effort. A person may summon all the help he can from the physical and spiritual realms.
Why this Challenge?
First, Arabs were poets. Poetry was their supreme ornament and their most representative form of discourse. Arabic poetry was rooted in the oral; it was a voice before it acquired an alphabet. Poets could compose intricate poems spontaneously and commit thousands of lines to memory. Arabs had a complex system of evaluating a poet and the poetry to meet rigid standards. Annual competition selected the ‘idols’ of poetry, and they were engraved in gold and hung inside the Kaaba, alongside their idols of worship. The most skilled served as judges. Poets could ignite wars and bring truce between warring tribes. They described women, wine, and war like no one else.
Second, the opponents of the Prophet Muhammad were strongly determined to quash his mission in any way possible. God gave them a non-violent approach to disprove Muhammad.
Inability to Meet the Challenge and its Consequences
History is a witness that the pre-Islamic Arabs could not produce a single chapter to meet the challenge of the Quran.[2] Instead of meeting the challenge, they chose violence and waged war against him. They, of all people, had the ability and the motive to meet the Quranic challenge, but could not do so. Had they done so, the Quran would have proven false, and the man who brought it would have been exposed as a false prophet. The fact that the ancient Arabs did not and could not meet this challenge is proof of Quran’s inimitability. Their example is of a thirsty man next to a well, the only reason he dies of thirst is if he was unable to reach the water!
Furthermore, the inability of previous Arabs to meet the challenge of the Quran implies later Arabs are less competent to meet the challenge, due to their lack the mastery of classical Arabic that the previous, ‘classical’ Arabs had. According to linguists of the Arabic language, the Arabs before and during the time of the Prophet, in exclusion to subsequent generations, had the most complete mastery of the Arabic language, its rules, meters, and rhymes. Later Arabs did not match the mastery of classical Arabs.[3]
Lastly, the challenge is for Arabs and non-Arabs alike. If the Arabs cannot meet the challenge, the non-speakers of Arabic cannot claim to meet the challenge either. Hence, the inimitability of the Quran is established for non-Arabs as well.
What if someone were to say: ‘perhaps the challenge of the Quran was met by someone in the time of the Prophet, but the pages of history did not preserve it.’?
Since the beginning, people have reported important events to their succeeding generations, especially in that which captures attention or what people are looking out for. The Quranic challenge was well spread and well known, and had someone met it, it would have been impossible for it not to have reached us. If it has been lost in the annals of history, then, for the sake of argument, it is also possible that there was more than one Moses, more than one Jesus, and more than one Muhammad; perhaps many scriptures were also revealed to these imaginary prophets, and it is possible the world knows nothing about it! Just like these suppositions are unfounded historically, it is also unreasonable to imagine that the Quranic challenge was met without it reaching us.[4]
Second, had they met the challenge, the Arabs would have discredited the Prophet. It would have been their biggest propaganda tool against him. Nothing like this happened, instead, they chose war.
The fact that no effort of the non-Muslim has succeeded in ‘producing a verse’ like a verse of the Quran means that either no-one has taken the Quran seriously enough to make the effort, or that they made the effort, but were not successful. This shows the inimitability of the Quran, a unique and everlasting message. The uniqueness of the Quran combined with the divine message it brings to mankind is a sure indication of the truth of Islam. In the face of this, every person is faced with one of the two choices. He either openly accepts the Quran is God’s Word . In doing so he must also accept that Muhammad was sent by God and was His Messenger. Or else he secretly knows the Quran is true, but he chooses in his heart to refuse it. If the seeker is honest in his seeking, he need but explore this question of its inimitability to nurture the inner certainty that he has really found the final truth in the religion it predicates.
Footnotes:
[1] Invisible beings with parallel existence to humans.
[2] The fact is attested to by non-Muslim Orientalists.
‘That the best of Arab writers has never succeeded in producing anything equal in merit to the Quran itself is not surprising…’ (E H Palmer (Tr.), The Quran, 1900, Part I, Oxford at Clarendon Press, p. lv).
‘…and no man in fifteen hundred years has ever played on that deep-toned instrument with such power, such boldness, and such range of emotional effect as Mohammad did…As a literary monument the Quran thus stands by itself, a production unique to the Arabic literature, having neither forerunners nor successors in its own idiom…’.’ (H A R Gibb, Islam - A Historical Survey, 1980, Oxford University Press, p. 28).
and Christian Arabs:
‘Many Christian Arabs speak of its style with warm admiration, and most Arabists acknowledge its excellence. When it is read aloud or recited it has an almost hypnotic effect that makes the listener indifferent to its sometimes strange syntax and its sometimes, to us, repellent content. It is this quality it possesses of silencing criticism by the sweet music of its language that has given birth to the dogma of its inimitability; indeed it may be affirmed that within the literature of the Arabs, wide and fecund as it is both in poetry and in elevated prose, there is nothing to compare with it.’ (Alfred Guillaume, Islam, 1990 (Reprinted), Penguin Books, pp. 73-74)
[3] Rummani (d. 386 AH), a classical scholar, writes: ‘So if someone were to say: “You rely in your argumentation on the failure of the Bedouin Arabs, without taking into account the post-classical Arabs; yet, according to you, the Quran is a miracle for all. One can find in the post-classical Arabs excellence in their speech”, the following can be said in reply, “The Bedouin had developed and had full command of the complete grammatical structure of Arabic but among the post-classical Arabs there are none who can use the full structure of the language. The Bedouin Arabs were more powerful in their use of the full language. Since they failed in the imitation of the Quran, so the post-classical Arabs must fail to an even greater extent.”‘ (Textual Sources for the Study of Islam, tr. and ed. by Andrew Rippin and Jan Knappart)
[4] The argument was made by al-Khattabi (d.388 AH).
The Evidence
Initially, the Meccan unbelievers said Muhammad is the author of the Quran. God responded to them:
“Or do they say, ‘He himself has composed this [message]’? No, but they are not willing to believe! But then, [if they deem it the work of a mere mortal,] let them produce another discourse like it - if what they say be true! [Or do they deny the existence of God implicitly by denying the fact of His revelation?] Have they themselves been created without anything - or were they, perchance, their own creators?” (Quran 52:33-35)
First, God challenged them to produce ten chapters like the Quran:
“Or they may say, ‘He forged it,’ Say, ‘Bring ye then ten suras forged, like unto it, and call (to your aid) whomsoever you can, other than God! - If you speak the truth!’ If then they answer not your (call), know you that this revelation is sent down with the knowledge of God, and that there is no god but He! Will you then submit (to Islam)?” (Quran 11:13-14)
But, when they were unable to meet the challenge of ten chapters, God reduced it to a single chapter:
“And if you are in doubt about what We have sent down on Our slave, then produce a surah thereof and call upon your witnesses other than God, if you should be truthful. But if you do not – and you will never be able to – then fear the Fire whose fuel is men and stones, prepared for the unbelievers.” (Quran 2:23-24)
Finally, God foretold their eternal failure to meet the divine challenge:
“Say: ‘If all mankind and all jinn[1] would come together to produce the like of this Quran, they could not produce its like even though they were to exert all their strength in aiding one another!’” (Quran 17:88)
The Prophet of Islam said:
“Every Prophet was given ‘signs’ because of which people believed in him. Indeed, I have been given the Divine Revelation that God has inspired to me. So, I hope to have the most followers of all the prophets on the Day of Resurrection.” (Saheeh Al-Bukhari)
The physical miracles performed by the prophets were time-specific, valid only for those who witnessed them, whereas the like of the continuing miracle of our Prophet, the Noble Quran, was not granted to any other prophet. Its linguistic superiority, style, clarity of message, strength of argument, quality of rhetoric, and the human inability to match even its shortest chapter till the end of time grant it an exquisite uniqueness. Those who witnessed the revelation and those who came after, all can drink from its fountain of wisdom. That is why the Prophet of Mercy hoped he will have the most followers of all the prophets, and prophesized that he would at a time when Muslims were few, but then they began to embrace Islam in floods. Thus, this prophecy came true.
Explanation of Quran’s Inimitability
State of the Prophet Muhammad
He was an ordinary human being.
He was illiterate. He could neither read nor write.
He was more than forty years old when he received the first revelation. Until then he was not known to be an orator, poet, or a man of letters; he was just a merchant. He did not compose a single poem or deliver even one sermon before he was chosen to be a prophet.
He brought a book attributing it to God, and all Arabs of his time were in agreement it was inimitable.
The Challenge of the Quran
The Quran puts a challenge out to anyone who opposes the Prophet. The challenge is to produce a chapter (surah) similar to it, even if it were to be a cooperative effort. A person may summon all the help he can from the physical and spiritual realms.
Why this Challenge?
First, Arabs were poets. Poetry was their supreme ornament and their most representative form of discourse. Arabic poetry was rooted in the oral; it was a voice before it acquired an alphabet. Poets could compose intricate poems spontaneously and commit thousands of lines to memory. Arabs had a complex system of evaluating a poet and the poetry to meet rigid standards. Annual competition selected the ‘idols’ of poetry, and they were engraved in gold and hung inside the Kaaba, alongside their idols of worship. The most skilled served as judges. Poets could ignite wars and bring truce between warring tribes. They described women, wine, and war like no one else.
Second, the opponents of the Prophet Muhammad were strongly determined to quash his mission in any way possible. God gave them a non-violent approach to disprove Muhammad.
Inability to Meet the Challenge and its Consequences
History is a witness that the pre-Islamic Arabs could not produce a single chapter to meet the challenge of the Quran.[2] Instead of meeting the challenge, they chose violence and waged war against him. They, of all people, had the ability and the motive to meet the Quranic challenge, but could not do so. Had they done so, the Quran would have proven false, and the man who brought it would have been exposed as a false prophet. The fact that the ancient Arabs did not and could not meet this challenge is proof of Quran’s inimitability. Their example is of a thirsty man next to a well, the only reason he dies of thirst is if he was unable to reach the water!
Furthermore, the inability of previous Arabs to meet the challenge of the Quran implies later Arabs are less competent to meet the challenge, due to their lack the mastery of classical Arabic that the previous, ‘classical’ Arabs had. According to linguists of the Arabic language, the Arabs before and during the time of the Prophet, in exclusion to subsequent generations, had the most complete mastery of the Arabic language, its rules, meters, and rhymes. Later Arabs did not match the mastery of classical Arabs.[3]
Lastly, the challenge is for Arabs and non-Arabs alike. If the Arabs cannot meet the challenge, the non-speakers of Arabic cannot claim to meet the challenge either. Hence, the inimitability of the Quran is established for non-Arabs as well.
What if someone were to say: ‘perhaps the challenge of the Quran was met by someone in the time of the Prophet, but the pages of history did not preserve it.’?
Since the beginning, people have reported important events to their succeeding generations, especially in that which captures attention or what people are looking out for. The Quranic challenge was well spread and well known, and had someone met it, it would have been impossible for it not to have reached us. If it has been lost in the annals of history, then, for the sake of argument, it is also possible that there was more than one Moses, more than one Jesus, and more than one Muhammad; perhaps many scriptures were also revealed to these imaginary prophets, and it is possible the world knows nothing about it! Just like these suppositions are unfounded historically, it is also unreasonable to imagine that the Quranic challenge was met without it reaching us.[4]
Second, had they met the challenge, the Arabs would have discredited the Prophet. It would have been their biggest propaganda tool against him. Nothing like this happened, instead, they chose war.
The fact that no effort of the non-Muslim has succeeded in ‘producing a verse’ like a verse of the Quran means that either no-one has taken the Quran seriously enough to make the effort, or that they made the effort, but were not successful. This shows the inimitability of the Quran, a unique and everlasting message. The uniqueness of the Quran combined with the divine message it brings to mankind is a sure indication of the truth of Islam. In the face of this, every person is faced with one of the two choices. He either openly accepts the Quran is God’s Word . In doing so he must also accept that Muhammad was sent by God and was His Messenger. Or else he secretly knows the Quran is true, but he chooses in his heart to refuse it. If the seeker is honest in his seeking, he need but explore this question of its inimitability to nurture the inner certainty that he has really found the final truth in the religion it predicates.
Footnotes:
[1] Invisible beings with parallel existence to humans.
[2] The fact is attested to by non-Muslim Orientalists.
‘That the best of Arab writers has never succeeded in producing anything equal in merit to the Quran itself is not surprising…’ (E H Palmer (Tr.), The Quran, 1900, Part I, Oxford at Clarendon Press, p. lv).
‘…and no man in fifteen hundred years has ever played on that deep-toned instrument with such power, such boldness, and such range of emotional effect as Mohammad did…As a literary monument the Quran thus stands by itself, a production unique to the Arabic literature, having neither forerunners nor successors in its own idiom…’.’ (H A R Gibb, Islam - A Historical Survey, 1980, Oxford University Press, p. 28).
and Christian Arabs:
‘Many Christian Arabs speak of its style with warm admiration, and most Arabists acknowledge its excellence. When it is read aloud or recited it has an almost hypnotic effect that makes the listener indifferent to its sometimes strange syntax and its sometimes, to us, repellent content. It is this quality it possesses of silencing criticism by the sweet music of its language that has given birth to the dogma of its inimitability; indeed it may be affirmed that within the literature of the Arabs, wide and fecund as it is both in poetry and in elevated prose, there is nothing to compare with it.’ (Alfred Guillaume, Islam, 1990 (Reprinted), Penguin Books, pp. 73-74)
[3] Rummani (d. 386 AH), a classical scholar, writes: ‘So if someone were to say: “You rely in your argumentation on the failure of the Bedouin Arabs, without taking into account the post-classical Arabs; yet, according to you, the Quran is a miracle for all. One can find in the post-classical Arabs excellence in their speech”, the following can be said in reply, “The Bedouin had developed and had full command of the complete grammatical structure of Arabic but among the post-classical Arabs there are none who can use the full structure of the language. The Bedouin Arabs were more powerful in their use of the full language. Since they failed in the imitation of the Quran, so the post-classical Arabs must fail to an even greater extent.”‘ (Textual Sources for the Study of Islam, tr. and ed. by Andrew Rippin and Jan Knappart)
[4] The argument was made by al-Khattabi (d.388 AH).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)