What is The Divine Wisdom in The Qur'an's being revealed in stages over a period of 23 years?

From: http://www.islamanswers.net/Quran/stages.htm

What is The Divine Wisdom in The Qur'an's being revealed in stages over a period of 23 years?
The Qur’an was revealed in stages over a period of 23 years, and not as a complete book in one single act of revelation. There is wisdom and a number of reasons for this, which we shall try to explain, inshaAllah. However, before doing so, let us note that had the Qur’an not been revealed in this way but, instead, all at once, then those who ask this question would certainly have asked, ‘Why was it sent down as a complete book in one single act of revelation but not in stages over time?’ What is essential in all matters of religion is a sufficient humility and obedience in our attitudes, precisely so that we may understand and come to benefit from Divine decrees and commandments. Otherwise, questions of a similar kind can be asked endlessly and, of course, fruitlessly: for example, why is the midday prayer in so many units while the congregational prayer on Friday is a different number? Why is the rate of zakat 2.5 per cent and not 2? The weight and the duration of particular prayers, the rate of the zakat and other matters of this kind are decreed by God, the All-Wise and All-Knowing. When we determine any matter, it is always from a limited viewpoint: by our very nature as created beings our reasoning is partial, inadequate: we barely understand what is in front of our noses and when we make choices we do so with our own immediate condition in mind─our present capabilities, our daily routines, our style and standard of living, and so on. By contrast, the Divine Decree takes everything into account─our moral and spiritual well-being as well as our worldly happiness, our future as well as our present─and weaves the whole into a single pattern, coherent with Grace and Wisdom. Because of this, the benefit that man derives from the Divine commandments is immeasurable, the blessings that flow from obedience to them is beyond our imagination.
That principle applies to the revelation of the Qur’an in stages over years. The essence of servanthood to God is to submit to and implement the Divine commandments in one’s life; if we discuss this matter it is only with the clear aim of seeking to understand the wisdom in its being so and not otherwise. By no means is it our purpose to somehow question the Divine Reasoning.
The time at which the Qur’an began to be revealed was the time for humanity to come to maturity. That is why, Muhammad, upon him be peace, the perfect model for humanity, the best example to be studied and followed, for whose sake indeed the universe was created, was given his mission at that time. His mission and the mission for the umma (the society of Muslims) that gathered around him was to become the most complete, progressive and dynamic exemplars for mankind: to attain to the top rung of human advancement and be the masters and guides for all civilized people thereafter. But these reformers to be had first to be themselves reformed. Their qualities and characters were deeply conditioned by the ways in which they had long been accustomed to living. Islam was to turn their good qualities into qualities of unsurpassed excellence, but Islam had also to get rid of their bad qualities and bad habits. To eradicate their vices, to replace them with virtues and the highest moral aspiration, in a way such that the change would be secure for all time─this was one of the purposes of the Revelation. If the Qur’an had been given in one single act of revelation, if it had stood on their way with all its prohibitions and commandments, they could never have understood, let alone accepted and applied, them in the ideal manner. In fact, such a way would be contrary to the course that mankind were to adopt so as to gradually implement the laws of God and thus evolve: ever since then, in every part of the world where Islam has been taken, it has spread gradually but steadily and rooted deeply.
We can see nowadays people all around unable to free themselves from their bad habits and addictions, such as idling in front of shop windows (mistakenly considered to be harmless), smoking, drinking and taking other addictive drugs. If you confined such people, even if you convinced them completely of the negative consequences of their habits, and the benefit of giving them up, they would not be happy with you, rather the contrary: they would feel angry, bored, irritated and begin to complain; they would seek escape from your program of reform and revert to their habits as soon as they were free to do so. All the arguments, all the evidence of specialists and experts of all kinds, medical or sociological, proving beyond doubt the physical, mental and social harm caused by such addictions, would fail to persuade them to change their lifestyle. Even people cured of the chemical effects of such addictions still lapse back into them, even though what they revert to is not one of the essentials of life. Indeed, there are cases of people who have campaigned against harmful habits like smoking and drinking but cannot themselves quit their own indulgence in those habits. If we bear this in mind, and remember too that we are not speaking of the reform of one or two individual bad habits but of the reform of a whole lifestyle, of ways of living and dying, of marrying, of buying and selling, of settling disputes, above all, a way of thinking about man’s relation with his Creator─then we begin to grasp why the Qur’an was revealed in stages.
The revelation of the Qur’an hoed out the weeds in people’s hearts, rid them of pests and other nuisances, and so made them a good soil for the cultivation of the virtues, excellent manners, and lofty aspirations. That so much was achieved in only 23 years appears to us what it was: a miracle. Bediuzzaman said, ‘I wonder if the scholars of today went to the Arabian Peninsula, would they in a hundred years manage to implement even one percent of what the Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace, did in a year?’ Today we see that even when many prestigious scholars and institutions and the whole network of the mass media campaign to eliminate so peripheral a vice as smoking, they fail to do so: indeed, if after such a campaign against, say drinking, there are twenty fewer deaths on the roads in a year, they consider it a great success! No alas! The miracle of the Qur’an was unique. Another such is impossible. Mankind has not made so much progress over fifteen hundred years as it did over the period 23 years of the prophethood of Muhammad, peace be upon him and the blessings of God.
That period of 23 years was necessary for those who lived at that time to understand, interiorize and apply the Revelation easily. The Qur’an instituted a great deal of change, through prohibitions and commands and through new reforms of the deepest consequence. However, it established all of them in stages over time, as the need for guidance arose, without discouraging, or grinding down morale: warning and condemnation preceded prohibition; appeal and exhortation preceded command. For instance, intoxicating drinks were prohibited in three or four stages; burying girls alive in two stages; uniting warring tribes, and building up a close-knit society based on brotherhood and thus raising the collective consciousness in a couple of stages. These difficult reforms were not gestured at or expressed in slogans─they were achieved. The believers needed this period to reform and so become reformers.
Today, we design our projects according to past experience and future possibilities. Taking possible social and economic fluctuations into account, we make our plans flexible, and try to leave room for probably necessary modifications of detail. Just like a young tree, the Muslims in the early days of Islam grew slowly, adapting to new conditions gradually and thus developing naturally. Every day new people were coming into Islam, and the new Muslims were every day learning quite new and different things, gaining in Islamic consciousness, training themselves to act upon Islam and thus become members of a society rather than being separate individuals and clans in a state of war. Their individual characters and personalities, their whole lives, were re-shaped and re-ordered totally in accordance with the precepts of Islam and the Qur’anic guidance. Such was the magnitude of their spiritual, moral, intellectual and even physical regeneration. It was achieved through a balanced synthesis between worldly life and spiritual advancement, and it happened slowly, continuously and harmoniously, in stages over time.
If the Qur’an had been sent down in a single act of revelation, those Bedouins and unsophisticated people could not have borne it. If a person used to living under one atmosphere pressure is suddenly taken to very high altitudes, he dies as a result of the sudden change. Aeroplanes rise gradually to such altitudes, and people use oxygen masks in them. In a similar way, the changes intended by the Qur’an came to a people among whom the Qur’anic values of individual, family and social life, of iman (conviction) and din (religion) meant little. Now, if the Qur’an had stood on their way with all its reforms, and asked the people to implement them fully, no one would have understood, let alone accepted, it. That would be like taking them to high altitudes in a few seconds and causing their death. That is why, the ordinances of the Qur’an were sent to and inculcated in people in stages, out of consideration for what best fits human nature.
Since man is a part of the universe, we cannot consider him out of the context of the laws governing the universe. Just as everything in the universe develops and progresses in stages, so too man’s progress and development is most fittingly and enduringly secured in stages. The Qur’an is the basis and foundation of that progress and development, and had therefore to be revealed, in accordance with the Divine Wisdom which comprehends all things, in stages over 23 years. And yet, that it was 23 and nor 22 or 24, we do not presume to question: rather, whatever it had been, we would accept humbly and in full submission. Praise be to God, the Lord of the worlds, and peace and the blessings of God on Muhammad, His Prophet and Messenger.

God's Communication with Humans.

By: Maged Taman

The reason made me write this small article is a comment from a visitor to my blog identified himself as Ruth.

1-Mr. Ruth said in his comment:

The prophets in the OT (Old Testament) all proclaimed that Yahweh told them to speak. Isaiah always claimed that his words were God’s words, “Listen, for Yahweh is speaking”, “The Lord Yahweh Sabaoth says this”. Jeremiah insisted that, “the word of Yahweh cane to me, saying” and “Yahweh says this..”. Ezekiel was shown visions and he says, “The hand of Yahweh came on me, and he (God) said…”. God spoke to Hosea. Hosea said, “Yahweh said to me.” Amos claims, “Yahweh says this..”. Obadiah says, “I have received a message from Yahweh” The word of Yahweh came to Micah. Micah says, “Now listen to what Yahweh says:” And the list of prophets goes on all claiming that God told them to speak. Jesus claimed to be speaking what God told him to say.John 12:48-5049 For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it. 50 I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say." John 7:16-18"My teaching is not my own. It comes from him who sent me. 17 If anyone chooses to do God's will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. So we should only listen to prophets that relay God's words. And if they heard from God they will say so. God makes his messages clear and claims his own messages.

2-My answer: God's communication with humans.

Man has many reasons in the world to make him think that God existence is a reality. One of the most important of these reasons is the internal feeling of God existence or what we call it the grace of God or Fatra (inborn instinct). You do not need to be a complicated physicist to examine the universe and come up with the phrase (All the equations of the universe point to a very calculating God behind them). Most people who do not read or write just know there is God there they feel it and believe it, period.

For God to communicate with humans through few of them what we call prophets is an accepted and expected notion. At very personal level a lot of us communicate with God. The common two ways are through visions and inner feeling. Visions can be things that will happen in the future that come to us during sleep with fine details or with codes a snake in a vision is an enemy for example. The inner feeling is something inside you tell you that this person is truthful or a liar. Sometimes we feel something bad will happen and it does and so forth. However the visions and inner feeling or intuition are less accurate as compared to those of prophets.

Prophets are humans like us with more powerful connection with God. Their visions are in most part are true. God specifically talk to them in visions and give them his words. Most of these prophets are already known by their people to be trustworthy and their prophecies came true.

The second way God communicates with prophets is through his angels particularly Gabriel.
When Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) told his wife about his first encounter with the angel of God she believed him and as the Quran came down gradually from God a lot of people believed him 1.4 billion of them are alive today.

The third way is God talk to his prophets in real life and not in visions like with prophet Moses (PBUH). Even though Moses (PBUH) had showed the Israeli his miracles and made Pharaoh drown in front of their eyes they asked to see God in person. Which God has made it clear that we will see him through his creation, scripture and miracles of the prophets including the Quran.

The fourth way is through inspiration. Humans' minds unlike all laws of universe that are finely regulated and not in random (even the winds follow very strict laws of physics) has freedom from the laws. It is like you are thinking 1 +1 = 2 and while you are doing this simple equation or any reasonable sequence of thoughts you find a floating thought come to your brain any time even without a logical sequence. For this reason people believe that it is at least possible that God inspire them with thoughts as well does Satan. Many people believe some ideas come to them are inspiration from God. I believe Taman Health Plan is inspiration from God. But I never heared God voice. Some people have visions that may make me think that God is thinking about me.

I personally believe many of our discoveries are the black swan meaning that this occurred at random and not the white swan that you would always expect. The great discovery of ED (erectile dysfunction) drug Viagra was a failed experimental drug for the heart and was found by chance by the patients who were trying the drug to help erection. Issac Newton had God drop an apple to him to think and be inspired by the laws of gravity that he uncovered. In fact many events and big changes in the world history came suddenly with no prediction.

The fifth way of communication between God and humans is through a prophecy. God would describe to humans a certain prophecy and they learn to see the prophecy unfold in front of their eyes in a collective way and large scale that make people believe the person that they see or do not see is the one described in the prophecy. They will even work it among themselves to make the prophecy come true.

If you read the prophecy of Isaiah 52 and 53 The Servant In Isaiah 52 and Isaiah 53:
God talk about a servant who will change the world and God will make his servant do that while people think he is in delusion, sleepy state or they seeing a movie that is unreal. That is why people will be startled and kings will be speechless, because it appears unreal while it is real. Why God would do that: when God would send to people a clear and real prophet with clear signs people would kill him or oppress him. In this time while he is oppressed by the wicked people (Satan agents in earth, not the good Jews) God will continue to change the world through him and with new supporters while the kingdom of Satan would fall down thus our Messiah Jesus Christ will inherit the earth.

Ruth is right when he said "God makes his messages clear and claims his own messages". God has different ways to make his messages clear. We have the Quran very clear message from God it is the true word of God let us sincerely study it and know the reality of Islam and the good it has to humanity. I would also add here that according to Ruth:
Jesus claimed to be speaking what God told him to say.John 12:48-5049 For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it. 50 I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say." John 7:16-18"My teaching is not my own. It comes from him who sent me. 17 If anyone chooses to do God's will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own.
So if Jesus was God he would talk his won words but he mention he speak what God relayed to him. That is why he was mentioned in the Bible and Quran that he is the word of God. He would do the miracles as be it will be as God ordained to him.

Quran: Chapter The Human

From:

Surat Al-'Insān (The Man) - سورة الانسان
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

76:1
Sahih International: Has there [not] come upon man a period of time when he was not a thing [even] mentioned?
76:2
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Sahih International: Indeed, We created man from a sperm-drop mixture that We may try him; and We made him hearing and seeing.
76:3
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Sahih International: Indeed, We guided him to the way, be he grateful or be he ungrateful.
76:4
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Sahih International: Indeed, We have prepared for the disbelievers chains and shackles and a blaze.
76:5
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Sahih International: Indeed, the righteous will drink from a cup [of wine] whose mixture is of Kafur,
76:6
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Sahih International: A spring of which the [righteous] servants of Allah will drink; they will make it gush forth in force [and abundance].
76:7
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Sahih International: They [are those who] fulfill [their] vows and fear a Day whose evil will be widespread.
76:8
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Sahih International: And they give food in spite of love for it to the needy, the orphan, and the captive,
76:9
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Sahih International: [Saying], "We feed you only for the countenance of Allah . We wish not from you reward or gratitude.
76:10
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Sahih International: Indeed, We fear from our Lord a Day austere and distressful."
76:11
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Sahih International: So Allah will protect them from the evil of that Day and give them radiance and happiness
76:12
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Sahih International: And will reward them for what they patiently endured [with] a garden [in Paradise] and silk [garments].
76:13
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Sahih International: [They will be] reclining therein on adorned couches. They will not see therein any [burning] sun or [freezing] cold.
76:14
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Sahih International: And near above them are its shades, and its [fruit] to be picked will be lowered in compliance.
76:15
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Sahih International: And there will be circulated among them vessels of silver and cups having been [created] clear [as glass],
76:16
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Sahih International: Clear glasses [made] from silver of which they have determined the measure.
76:17
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Sahih International: And they will be given to drink a cup [of wine] whose mixture is of ginger
76:18
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Sahih International: [From] a fountain within Paradise named Salsabeel.
76:19
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Sahih International:There will circulate among them young boys made eternal. When you see them, you would think them [as beautiful as] scattered pearls.
76:20
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Sahih International: And when you look there [in Paradise], you will see pleasure and great dominion.
76:21
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Sahih International: Upon the inhabitants will be green garments of fine silk and brocade. And they will be adorned with bracelets of silver, and their Lord will give them a purifying drink.
76:22
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Sahih International: [And it will be said], "Indeed, this is for you a reward, and your effort has been appreciated."
76:23
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Sahih International: Indeed, it is We who have sent down to you, [O Muhammad], the Qur'an progressively.
76:24
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Sahih International: So be patient for the decision of your Lord and do not obey from among them a sinner or ungrateful [disbeliever].
76:25
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Sahih International: And mention the name of your Lord [in prayer] morning and evening
76:26
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Sahih International: And during the night prostrate to Him and exalt Him a long [part of the] night.
76:27
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Sahih International: Indeed, these [disbelievers] love the immediate and leave behind them a grave Day.
76:28
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Sahih International: We have created them and strengthened their forms, and when We will, We can change their likenesses with [complete] alteration.
76:29
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Sahih International: Indeed, this is a reminder, so he who wills may take to his Lord a way.
76:30
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Sahih International: And you do not will except that Allah wills. Indeed, Allah is ever Knowing and Wise.

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Al Azhar

أكد الدكتور أحمد الطيب شيخ الأزهر، أن هناك مخططات تهدف لضرب الأزهر وتدميره وإنهاء دوره في العالم الإسلامي، مشيرًا إلى أن هناك أجندات معلومة وأموال طائلة من جهات معروفة تنفق من أجل تخريب الأزهر، نظرًا لكونه الوحيد الذي يمثل وسطية الإسلام، وتحطم على صخرته كل سيوف أعدائه.

واعترف في مقابلة مع برنامج "الإمام" على التلفزيون المصري، بضعف الأزهر وفقدانه كثيرًا من مظاهر القوة التي تجعله المرجعية الرئيسية للمسلمين في العالم، وأكد في الوقت ذاته أنه لا يزعم أنه البطل المنتظر، لكنه قال إنه يحاول إنقاذ ما يمكن إنقاذه، خاصة وأن هناك من يريد للأزهر أن يتحول إلى مركز عبادة فقط، وأن ينتهي دوره كونه المرجعية الرئيسية للمسلمين.

وأشار الطيب إلى أن الأزهر انتزعت منه أمورًا كثيرة حدت من تأثيره على العالم الإسلامي، مدللا على ذلك بصرخات شيوخ الأزهر السابقين ضد هذه المخططات، مثل الشيخ شلتوت (1958 – 1963) وجاد الحق على جاد الحق (1982– 1996)، اللذين تعرضا لضغوط كثيرة للحد من دور الأزهر، وهو ما جعل شيوخ أزهر سابقين تضطر للاستقالة والجلوس في البيت، أفضل من أن تقف موقف المشاهد تجاه هذه الأمور التي أضعفت المؤسسة العريقة، نافيا ما كان يتهم به سلفه شيخ الأزهر السابق الدكتور محمد سيد طنطاوي.

وحدد الطيب الأسباب التي أدت إلى فقدان الأزهر لتأثيره على العالم الإسلامي، وأهمها تبعيته للحكومة، لكنه أكد أن هذا السبب يمكن معالجته، بالإضافة إلى سبب آخر وهو وجود مؤسسات أخرى تنافس الأزهر وتروج لانتهاء دوره، كما يروجون بأنه طالما أن شيخ الأزهر يعين من الحكومة "فلا أمل منه"، وتنصب هذه المؤسسات من نفسها بديلا عن الأزهر للإسلام، رغم أن هذه المؤسسات لا يتعدى عمرها يومين بالقياس على الأزهر الذي يزيد عمره عن 1050 عامًا.

وأكد أن الأزهر هو المؤسسة الوحيدة التي تعمل بحرية وأنها ليس مطلوبا منه أن تعمل ضد الحكومة أو ضد الدولة، وقال "الدليل لما طلبت من رئيس الجمهورية إعفائي من منصبي في الحزب الوطني وافق على الفور وكان بإمكانه أن يأتي بأحد غيري من الحزب يعمل تحت عباءته كما يروج البعض"، منبها على أن شيوخ الأزهر السابقين كانوا رجال دولة في مواقف ورجال أزهر في مواقف أخرى.

واعتبر الطيب أن سر عظمة الأزهر أنه هو الكيان الوحيد الذي حافظ على وحدة المسلمين من خلال عدم الكف عن تدريس علوم الإسلام باختلاف مذاهبها ومناهجها، والتصدي لفرقة المسلمين، نافيا أن يكون المسلمون تعرضوا فيما بينهم لمثل هذه الحروب الطاحنة التي شهدها العالم الغربي لدرجة وصلت إلى الإبادة والفناء، فلم نرى حربا بين السنة والشيعة مثل التي حدثت بين دول أوروبا.

وأوضح أنه لا ينكر الخلافات الموجودة بين المذاهب الإسلامية، إلا انه أشاد بموقف الأزهر من خلال حرصه الدائم على التقريب بينها، ومن خلال الحرص على وسطية الإسلام وتدريس المذاهب المختلفة، خاصة وأن فقه الأزهر قائم على التعددية ويحترم اختلاف المذاهب الفقهية، والدليل على ذلك عدم تعصب الأزهريين لمذهب ما، فمنهم الحنبلي والحنفي والمالكي والشافعي.

وانتقد شيخ الأزهر بعض الفئات التي تكفر الناس بغير علم انتصارا لمذهب معين عبر الفضائيات الدينية، حتى أصبح المسلمين شيعا وأحزابا، مؤكدا أن مصر هي البلد الوحيد المنفتح ثقافيا بسبب احترامه للتعددية الإسلامية واحترام الاجتهاد، مدللا بأن صعيد مصر يسير على المذهب المالكي في حين تسير القاهرة على المذهب الشافعي والحنفي، كما يدرس في الأزهر المذهب الجعفري، عكس البلاد الأخرى المتمذهبة والتي تسيطر عليها الطائفية.

وختم شيخ الأزهر بانتقاد الحداثة التي يزعمها البعض في مصر والدول الغربية، واصفا إياها بأنها دعوة ظلامية، لأن التنوير يعني احترام ثقافة الآخر والالتزام بالتراث والدين والعقيدة وان تقف على ارض صلبة، متسائلا كيف يعيش الإنسان إذا اقتلع من جذوره؟، ودعا المسلمين إلى التمسك بعالمية الإسلام ومبادئه، مؤكدا أننا لسنا بحاجة لتنويرهم هذا، خاصة وأن هذا التنوير الذي يزعمونه مبني على الشذوذ.

Blogger Comment:
Al Azhar is a great Muslims institution. It did help to spread the science of the Islamic religion. The men who stood for the liberation of Egypt and the struggle of Muslims over decades where in significant part Al Azhar graduates. Mubarak wanted always to consolidate power and made Al Azhar weak. As Mubarak is getting ill and weak now it is time for Al Azhar to rise up and remake itself to stand strong. Do not be afraid the more fear we have the weak we are and the more fear falls in us. The prophet and his companions feared only God and in few years they were governing the world with justice and equality. Do not ever think the take over of Muslims at that time was occupation, aggression or oppression. It was called openings meaning opening to the people against their tyrant regimes the right to be free and dealt with justice. That is why the countries would fall one after the other. Simply because the people in these countries did not stand for their corrupt and immoral leaders. Muslims kept the people under their governing happy by applying full justice to them. They gave them all freedom of worship, governing themselves, choosing their leaders..... They did not oppress or persecute them. Omar the second Calif who would sleep under the tree having only one or two ropes to dress would say to the people I am afraid if a sheep will trip and fall and God will ask me in the day of judgement why I did not pave the roads to her?
Al Azhar has to wake up and stand to Islam I am doing in this humble website more than they do to teach non-Muslims about Islam. Time for Al Azhar to stand up and make Muslims united around it. Time to Al Azhar to make non-Muslims know Islam and debate it, to read the Quran and find if it is Almighty book or not. Unlike, the previous Imam of Al Azhar who would open his hands and heart to Non-Muslims but without getting any of our rights back or make them debate the Quran as God book. He was playing to the Arab tyrants the game. Support the tyrants and we will end Jihad. We are ought to make peace but a dignified one.

Mubarak Sold his Religion and his Country

فى المعادي: نشطاء يطالبون بسقوط حكم مبارك ويحاربون مخطط التوريث

امتدت الحملة المناهضة لسيناريو التوريث المزعوم في مصر إلى شوارع ضاحية المعادي المعروفة بهدوئها، من خلال قيام ناشطين من حركة 6 أبريل عرفوا أنفسهم بـ "كوماندوز المعادي" بكتابة جداريات، تحمل شعارات: "يسقط مبارك - لا للتوريث" في شوارع المنطقة.

وكتب الناشطون عبارات مناهضة للنظام ولتوريث السلطة، مثل: "يسقط مبارك"، "لا للتوريث"، لا لغلاء الأسعار"، وذلك على جدران أحد النوادي الشهيرة في منطقة المعادي لمواجهة ما أسموه بالتوريث في المعادي.

يأتي ذلك بعد قيام مجموعة من النشطاء في دمياط بجمع توقيعات من المواطنين علي بيان التغيير عبر انتشارهم في شارع النقراشي. وجمعوا أكثر من 20 توقيع خلال فترة زمنية لم تتجاوز الساعة، في نفس الوقت الذي قاموا فيه بتوزيع عدد من منشورات التوعية السياسية والدستورية على الأهالي.

كما قاموا بإزالة لافتات تأييد جمال مبارك مرشحًا لانتخابات الرئاسة المقبلة التي يقوم "ائتلاف جمال مبارك" بتعليقها في شوارع وميادين محافظة دمياط، بدعوي عدم سماحهم بتدنيس المحافظة بلافتات التوريث، وذلك بمساعدة من أهالي محافظة دمياط في عملية إزالة هذه اللافتات، ما اعتبروه دليل على يقظة المواطنين بخطورة سيناريو التوريث ورفضهم مبدأ توريث الحكم.
أخبر صديق طباعة أضف تعليق التعليقات عدد القراءت: 93 قراءة

Blogger Comment:
Mubarak looks like a dying man. He did not die on honour but in deceit and tyranny. He knew from the American politicians likely since 2004 that I could be Al Mahdi Al Muntazer and other sources. He never talked to me or let me talk to Al Azhar and other Muslim scholars. Agreeing with the Americans elites he agreed and welcomed to make me oppressed and do not communicate with others. Some of the Jews actually put this plan while other Jews wanted to have me public and use me for peace negotiation as a fresh air in the corrupt Arab world. The tyrant George Bush as you know elected to make me isolated oppressed and intimidated. While in same time make you think he is fighting for my plan of democracy and prosperity. He was using me to advance his agenda which for those who are tyrants and obey the empire they are great and for those who stand against the empire will be bombed. You wander what is Jesus of George Bush looks like. Going back to Mubarak he tried to do everything that his masters asking including standing not for Al Mahdi but against. He was selling everything to get to stay in power or his son. However your time is over and you will regret a lot that you did not talk to me in the right time. People will know me and you will be gone and new era will start without missing a tyrant like you.

The American Empire Spreads

From: http://www.the-tribulation-network.com/denemcgriff/in_search_of_babylon_ch4.htm

The American Empire Spreads
Confessions of a COG

Chapter 4
As we search for prophetic Babylon, we look for a country that has certain characteristics. Revelation 17, 18 and 19 deal with the characteristics of this nation, as does Daniel, Isaiah and other chapters. There are many hints here and there throughout scripture so we will look at some of the major themes. Revelation 17 describes “religious” Babylon as a harlot where the apostate Christian church aligns itself with a beast with ten horns which reigns over the kings of the earth. This harlot sits on seven mountains (not hills) standing for the seven continents. Revelation 18 deals with the judgment of a nation that has a vast commercial empire and all the nations trade with her by sea and the merchants become wealthy because she buys everything they produce (a great consumer nation). Chapter 19 describes a military power whose forces are amassed for the battle of Armageddon. References abound throughout the Bible and we will site them as we go.
But for now, let’s think about the identity of Babylon. Well, the first nation that comes to mind has got to be Iraq and that is kind of ruled out for now. Conventional wisdom would say Europe, but they aren’t really a unified nation but a collage of countries forming a loose trading union. They could hardly be described as a great consumer nation. They hardly have a worldwide presence, an offensive military and besides, they are so post-Christian, their churches are all but empty. That leaves Russia – hardly that powerful or Christian, and China and India are just beginning to emerge and are not Christian either.
So who could it be? The following chapters were written in no particular order during January and February of 2005 and somehow fit together. It is interesting that about the same time Israel was being gathered together again following WWII, a nation was emerging as the sole superpower, the sole currency for the world economy (the dollar), the major trader and consumer. This first article shows how that role developed historically and interestingly enough, I participated actively in that spread.
I must confess to being a “cog” as in the “cog” in a machine. Did I know I was? Nope, but I have gradually come to see that I was a “cog” in the building of the American Global Empire. Please don’t get mad at me for my confessions, for I certainly didn’t realize it at the time. In fact, most of us are oblivious to what is really going on around us. I certainly was, but the more I look into my past, the more I realize my role – as apparently innocent as it appeared to be. I spent most of my life in international work but little did I know what I was really involved in. I was a little cog in a great big machine that was creating the greatest global empire in the history of the world. We didn’t carry guns, just a briefcase and a laptop! We were the new empire builders! Please let me explain.
Background
America has been building a vast global empire for the past century. By the end of WWII, it was the undisputed leader with only Russia and its satellites standing in the way of global hegemony! A couple of quick little wars in Korea and Vietnam showed the futility of winning by conventional means. But a much more serious war was on whose goal was to turn the entire world into client states of America – tied to us by our apparent generosity and good will. How did this process work?
The end of World War II left Europe and Japan in shambles (the developed world). How were they to be rebuilt? What was the strategy? Very simple, we opened our markets to them. We invested in their business and infrastructure. But what of the rest of the undeveloped world? How were we going to bring them into the Twentieth Century? In true American form and efficiency, we launched a multi-pronged attack.
The Peace Corp sent out young people throughout the world to identify and develop projects. These were the best and the brightest. They were bilingual, sensitive cross-culturally and became the source for great expansion of international business, international aid and development and the CIA. The Peace Corp spawned the birth of companies known as “the beltway bandits” – consulting companies eager to help the government spend USAID, World Bank, IMF and other monies. I worked on and off for these consulting companies over a period of 25 years. Christian relief and development agencies also got involved in the act (World Relief, Catholic Relief Services, World Vision, Food for the Hungry, etc.) as well. I worked with two of them as well.
These minions of “do gooders” (myself included) fanned out across the globe developing relationships, identifying needs, writing grants and business plans to bring economic development to the “undeveloped” world. I personally worked all over Central and South America, the Far East (Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines), Africa and the Middle East. All this time, I had no idea I was a part of the machine
Phase I
The back drop of all this is that the developed world – Europe, Japan, America and Canada represented about 20 percent of the world population. Latin America, Africa and the rest of Asia, India, Pakistan and Southeast Asia represented the other 80 percent. They needed infrastructure – water, power, transportation, industry, bridges, dams, technology. How were we to get that to them and where would this all lead? The seductive part is that out goal was so good. Most people were dying from diseases caused by drinking bad water. Cholera, typhoid, malaria – so many diseases could be taken care of just by improving sanitation. Agriculture could be improved, natural resources exploited, industry developed, housing improved, etc.
So the army of volunteers, consultants and corporate executives spread throughout the world looking for opportunity. But who would pay for it? These countries certainly didn’t have excess money to pay for costly infrastructure! The same foundation that was laid to rebuild Europe and Japan was used – the IMF and World Bank, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Inter American Development Bank, the Asia Development Bank, etc. USAID is a part of the State Department and works closely with, if not for the CIA (as I found out the hard way). The “political” and “economic” officers and attaches of our embassies were almost always CIA (Central Intelligence Agency). Reports produced – whether on health care, agricultural development, education, population control (known as “woman and child health”) – all ended up in CIA reports. There was a tremendous amount of overlap between the different agencies and the companies working with them. As development occurred, USAID tended to phase out and World Bank took over and “bilateral relationships” were established with developing country governments.
Here is how it worked. Acquaintances were made, and friendships established especially through the Peace Corps and Christian missionaries who were there as “scouts” for the empire. They were followed by consultants who would be hired by USAID to identify needs, and develop specifications for a project. This would result in an RFP (Request for Proposal) which would go out in formal government digests. Consulting companies or businesses would then develop proposals in response to the RFP. There would usually be a committee consisting of USAID employees and counterparts in the host government that would go through a selection process. Eventually, it would be awarded to a US firm. I personally worked on hundreds of proposals and numerous projects.
Here is an example of how it works. In 1985, I was selected as team leader to evaluate a $27 million health infrastructure project that had been awarded to Westinghouse Health Systems. This was the mid term evaluation of a multi-year project. It was an exciting time – machine gun fire and mortars going off constantly up in the mountains above the Holiday Inn where we stayed. I spent the better part of the summer there. The Salvadoran people were gracious and hard working. The folks staying in the hotel either worked for a consulting company, the CIA, paramilitary or adoption agencies. There were even a couple of Russians. It was quite an eclectic mix.
There were four other people on my team looking at different aspects of the project. Westinghouse was providing training, buying medical supplies, ambulances, etc. Two really important things came out of the study. The first and most important is that only about $2 million was a grant. The rest, about $25 million, was a loan that had to be paid back. I found that this was quite common. Most of our “aid” was really in the form of loans – hundreds of millions in all that had to be paid back!
The other is that the health budget for the country didn’t increase by $27 million. In fact it didn’t increase at all. I asked the Minister of Health why not? They spent it on other things – mainly guns. This aspect of the report became very controversial as the report hit Congress. They tracked me down in Kingston, Jamaica to ask me about it. It turns out that the USAID health and population officer in charge of the project told Congress it was additional money to the budget. He was furious with me and later got caught doing deals under the table and ended up going to jail for a few years.
I was the country director for Food for the Hungry in Bolivia (1981) in charge of resettling Southeast Asian refugees into the jungles. Bolivia didn’t even have diplomatic recognition from America at the time because the government was so involved in the drug business. The President was a thug, a heavy jowled man with a perpetual frown on his face that said, “I just as soon shoot you as talk to you.” I remember arguing with him for hours on end. In exchange for the project, he wanted a road built. He didn’t care what it cost. We were Americans. We could pay for it. World Bank loan, whatever, he would have signed anything since he wouldn’t be around for long (as he padded his secret Swiss bank account). Any third world government would. They didn’t care about their people – just getting the money (and their “cut”). Pay it back? Who cares?
Over the years I worked on projects in Kuwait, Nigeria, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and every country in Latin America except two. I was developing projects, working on them or evaluating them. Most were in health and family planning. Some were strictly private sector - business, as I worked for several huge American multinational corporations.
When you look at the billions of dollars spent in these different countries, you quickly see that 90 or more percent were in the form of loans – loans that had to be paid back! The best thing to happen was a natural disaster, an earthquake, typhoon or flood which led to cooperation and later projects to rebuild. This isn’t to be cynical about the recent tsunami but that is how it worked.
I will come back to the details in later articles but the debt became an unbearable load to these developing countries. The infrastructure projects were sold based on optimistic estimates of GDP growth that never quite happened. A few of the elites in the government and business got wealthy, but there was marginal benefit for the people. A history of default and restructuring of loans followed, but were never paid. Just like our credit card debt, they were lucky to keep up with the interest but never quite got to the principle. They could work off some of the debt by giving concessions to American business, voting with the U.S. in the United Nations or providing other benefits to America. In some cases, the situation was so critical debts were just written off. But generally, this is not the case.
The American global empire spread by enticing the developing world into projects that were extremely high cost. I used to feel guilty knowing that I was making as much in one day as the local professionals working with me made in a month. At one time, my billing rate was over $400 an hour! We knew they would default on the loans. We would just restructure them and time them tighter into our little empire.
Christians played an unknowing role in this first phase of development. The role of Summer Institute of Linguistics or Wycliffe Bible Translators is well known and documented that they were used by the CIA and promoted American business interests. But let’s just talk about my experience. (Please see “Thy Will be Done” by Charlotte Dennett) In 1979, I went to work for World Relief of the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE). I wrote the first grant funded by USAID to start our development activities (in contrast to relief). I worked for Cleo Shook who had just left the Carter administration as an Under Secretary of State. Cleo, like many missionaries, in the 1950s had gone to Afghanistan but couldn’t stay as a “Christian Missionary.” He became the CIA eyes and ears in Afghanistan and later Iran, started the Peace Corps with Sergeant Shriver, and though a wonderful Christian, was an emissary for the empire. In Bolivia, I was debriefed by the CIA – an assistant “political officer” named Greg. When I found out that our conversation had been telexed to every embassy in the world, I was furious. These are just two of many experiences I had as a missionary with the intelligence community as I traveled around Latin America putting on conferences for missionaries on how to develop and get funding for projects, mainly from USAID.
Phase II
The first phase was to do basic community and infrastructure development. The next phase was the expansion of the global empire by exporting jobs to cheap labor markets. I have been in sweatshops in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Nigeria (back in the mid ‘80s) We were trying to convince the plant managers that they would get better work productivity if they provided health and family planning services to the workers. TIPPS, Enterprise and a whole host of other USAID projects were aimed at helping the private sector.
Another aspect of this was privatization. The concept was that the private sector could do a better job (with the profit motive) than the public sector. Whole sectors were being privatized – transportation, health, utilities, etc. Instead of being “privatized” by local business, multinationals would come in and take over resulting in much higher costs than before. But this was the democratic, capitalistic thing to do. I worked on projects like this in Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Jamaica and other countries. I helped the Colombian government develop a “managed competition” system in the mid to late ‘90s with the idea of privatization and cost control. The result was a disaster for the bankrupt public system – the “safety net” for the poor.
Today we see jobs going overseas by the millions. Our development efforts have been in part successful in that there is a relatively healthy, well fed, educated work force willing to do our jobs for one tenth the wage. Do our elites really care that they are displacing American workers? Not really. Do they care that eventually they may lose their domestic market? Not really. It’s pretty small compared to the rest of the world (we are only 5 percent of the population).
America may have its budget and trade deficits. The average American family may be falling deeper in debt, but so what? Isn’t that the overall strategy of the elites? To bankrupt countries and individuals and make them totally dependent and obedient to the elites. If you have been reading my material for some time, you know that I’m not much of a conspiracy theorist but this seems pretty well organized.
I agree with John Perkins (p. 180), who has a similar background to mine, when he says:
“A whole new class of soldier was emerging on the world scene and these people were becoming desensitized to their own actions…
Today, men and women are going into Thailand, the Philippines, Botswana, Bolivia, and every other country where they hole to find people desperate for work. They go to these places with the express purpose of exploiting wretched people – people whose children are severely malnourished, even starving, people who live in shanty-towns and have lost all hope of a better life, people who have ceased to even dream of another day. These men and women leave their plush offices in Manhattan or San Francisco or Chicago, streak across continents and oceans in luxurious jetliners, check into first-class hotels, and dine at the finest restaurants the country has to offer. Then they go searching for desperate people.
Today, we still have slave traders. They no longer find it necessary to march into the forests of Africa looking for prime specimens who will bring top dollar on the auction blocks in Charleston, Cartagena and Havana. They simply recruit desperate people and build a factor to produce the jackets, blue jeans, tennis shoes, automobile parts, computer components, and thousands of other items they can sell in the markets of their choosing. Or they may elect not even to own the factory themselves; instead, they hire a local businessman to do all their dirty work for them.
These men and women think of themselves as upright. They return to their homes with photographs of quaint sites and ancient ruins, to show to their children. They attend seminars where they pat each other on the back and exchange tidbits of advice about dealing with the eccentricities of customs in far-off lands…
The old-fashioned slave trader told himself that he was dealing with a species that was not entirely human and that he was offering them the opportunity to become Christianized. …The modern slave trader assures himself (or herself) that the desperate people are better off earning one dollar a day than no dollars at all and that they are receiving the opportunity to become integrated into the larger world community…desperate people are fundamental to the survival of her company…”
I was a Vice President of three Fortune 100 companies and lived the life described above. None of us thought about it at the time, but now it makes sense. Our consciences were seared and we rationalized what we did. I was always fascinated with international – a Latin American History major, with a Masters in Geography and PhD candidate specializing in problems of developing countries. I attended the Army Language School and became fluent in Spanish and later got a Masters of International Management from Thunderbird (AGSIM) in Arizona – the finest school of international business in the world. Oh, for all you conspiracy buffs. I was also a Captain in U.S. Army Intelligence!
I’m going to be writing more on this subject. It is no secret that the “last days” Babylon of Revelation 18 is a great commercial empire and all the nations of the earth get wealthy trading with her. If that doesn’t describe America, I don’t know what does. A nation of this power and might, with tentacles reaching into every nook and cranny in the world can’t develop this kind of empire over night. The problem is that we have been blinded to what we have done. No matter where you go today, you will find Coke, MacDonald’s, toothpaste, soap, videos and every other item! Like it or not, we have Americanized the world. They all know about our culture. Some hate it. Some covet it.
The difficult part with deception is that it is sooo… good. It can really fool you. We act on the information we have. Sure, a lot of well-meaning people have been involved in spreading the empire without even realizing it. What we have done has apparently been done with the best intentions, but the most terrible result. The government, the media and the powerful corporate interests are ready with their own explanation. I doubt that very few connect the dots and see the connections.
One has to ask themselves, why does the world so hate us? People are not as dumb as we may think. I have run into taxi drivers in Buenos Aires who are clearer on the role of America in the world than the average American. Get your passport updated and travel somewhere. Talk to the people and you will see. It got so embarrassing being an American; I would either speak Spanish or say I was Canadian.
We “cogs” were led to believe that we were bringing progress to the underdeveloped world, not economic tyranny or modern slavery! We thought we were helping while all the time we were looking after our interests. I know many missionaries and relief and development workers and they are a committed group of people – often laboring much harder for a fraction of what they could be earning in the “private sector.” I don’t think that there are many that could conceive of the fact that their reports became a part of intelligence estimates or some multi-national’s business plan. They never thought of the implications of these “loans” when you are in the thick of it. But anyone who was in the field for any time and looked at the results can only conclude that all of our efforts didn’t result in any real benefit for the masses.
Some Call it Conspiracy
There is a worldwide network of elites. Is there a conspiracy or is it all just coincidental? I would again like to quote John Perkins (from his Preface xii):
“Some would blame our current problems on an organized conspiracy. I wish it were so simple. Members of a conspiracy can be rooted out and brought to justice. This system, however, is fueled by something far more dangerous than conspiracy. It is driven not by a small band of men but by a concept that has become accepted as gospel: the idea that all economic growth benefits humankind and that the greater the growth, the more widespread the benefits. This belief also has a corollary: that those people who excel at stoking the fires of economic growth should be exalted and rewarded, while those born at the fringes are available for exploitation. (emphasis mine)
“The concept is, of course, erroneous. We know that in many countries economic growth benefits only a small portion of the population and may in fact result in increasingly desperate circumstances for the majority. This effect is reinforced by the corollary belief that the captains of industry who drive this system should enjoy a special status, a belief that is the root of many of our current problems and is perhaps also the reason why conspiracy theories abound. When men and women are rewarded for greed, greed becomes a corrupting motivator. When we equate the gluttonous consumption of the earth’s resources with a status approaching sainthood, when we teach our children to emulate people who live unbalanced lives, and when we define huge sections of the population as subservient to an elite minority, we ask for trouble. And we get it. (emphasis mine).
“In their drive to advance the global empire, corporations, banks and governments (collectively the corporatocracy) use their financial and political muscle to ensure that our schools, businesses, and media support both the fallacious concept and its corollary. They have brought us to a point where our global culture is a monstrous machine that consumes…
“The corporatocracy is not a conspiracy, but its members do endorse common values and goals…The lives of those who ‘make it,’ and their accoutrements – their mansions, yachts, and private jets – are presented as models to inspire us all to consume, consume, consume…”
No country in the world has developed a truly global economic and military empire as we have. Is this that great “last days” nation that will dominate the earth? One should not be so quick to predict her demise. It took more than a hundred years to get here and we will not be that easily deposed. The American elites are truly global. Just as they have provided credit to the nations to enslave them, they have supplied ample credit to the American households to consume beyond their means – resulting in our ultimate slavery to the system. It matters not that the billions the GEs, Becthels and Halliburtons make in Iraq – it goes into the elite coffers – not yours and mine. The fact that we are being impoverished by credit debt and continually refinanced mortgages; the fact that our currency is losing value, prices are rising, wages are flat, the economy is stagnating – the elites are doing the same thing to us as they did to the rest of the world. The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. Just look around at your friends, their parents and their children and you will see what the statistics tell us. We are becoming a third world, debtor society with a few at the top who have “made it.”
Should we be surprised? Not if we read our Bibles. There is a system in place to get us to believe that black is white and white is black, that we are the good guys helping the world, that we have the best system and only mean the best for everyone. If we believe the lies told us on a daily basis, we will surely be deceived. In my “Confessions of a Cog,” I didn’t even recognize my role and what we were really doing until many years after the fact. I wouldn’t worry so much about conspiracy, but I would worry about deception. There is the most devious, subtle and professional program of deception the world has ever seen and you are bombarded every day with messages that reinforce the message the evil world system wants you to hear, designed to reassure you, build your prejudices, break down your ability to think objectively. The only way to avoid this deception is to learn how to live in the spirit and not in the flesh. I would encourage you to read “Recognizing Apostasy and Deception.”

Blogger Comment:
These are not the words of Muslims but Chrsitians. Though I do not agree on every thing I can agree on a lot. The American emipre is always motivated by greed and control. Even 9/11 which is an internal job they exploited for more imperialistic war. Muslims have to form 9/11 Muslims families which are the Muslims and Arabs families who had their members of family die due to direct wars of America or coverd wars. To the coward Muslims in America who care more about their saftey than their relgion or their people be brave form the 9/11 families of The Arab and Muslims to protest against the wars of America and its allies on Muslims. Do not be afraid and know the tactic they use to scare people of Islam and prevent its widespread. The one talking to you is very moderate guy but quite unbiased that he can see bias and prejuidce when they are hidden and covered byt the wicked.

The Light Of The Prophet Sallal-lahu 'Alayhi Wa Sallam

From: http://www.israinternational.com/the-light-of-the-prophet-pbuh.html

By: Dr. Mostafa Al-Badawi

"Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth . . . "[1. Qur'an (24:35).] The Light is one of the ninety-nine Beautiful Names of Allah. Light is that by which things become known. Things may exist in the dark, but they cannot be seen. Light may be physical, such as the light of the sun or the moon, or intelligible, like the light of the intellect. The latter is that which illuminates the darkness of ignorance with the light of knowledge. Total darkness is non-existence, thus light is that which brings created beings out of non-existence into existence. It is the creative act of Allah and this is one of the meanings of "Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth . . . " The other meaning is that every light in the universe is but a reflection of His mercy, every knowledge a reflection of His knowledge and so on. "Allah created His creation in darkness," said the Prophet, may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him, "then He sprayed them with His light. Those whom this light reached became rightly guided, while those it did not went astray."[2. Tirmidhi.] And he also said, as recorded by Muslim, "Allah, August and Majestic is He, wrote the destinies of creation fifty thousand years before He created the Heavens and the earth. His throne was on the water. Among what He wrote in the Remembrance, which is the Mother of the Book, was: Muhammad is the Seal of the Prophets." The Mother of the Book is the source of all knowledge, including the Divine Scriptures. It is the essential knowledge of Allah before He created creation. This is why it is said to have been written fifty thousand years before the creation of the cosmos, a symbolic number, since without stars and planets there cannot be days and years as we understand them. Allah conceived His creation in the darkness of non-existence, then with the light of His creative act brought them out into existence. Thus the First Light was created, a being appearing against the dark background of non-existence. "The first thing that Allah created was the Intellect,"[3. Tirmidhi.] said the Prophet, may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him. He also said, "The first thing that Allah created was the Pen," which amounts to the same thing, since the first intellect is the primordial light in its passive aspect as recipient of the knowledge of what is to be, while the Pen is the primordial light in its active aspect of writing this knowledge on the Guarded Tablet at Allah’s command. "The first thing that Allah created was the Pen and He said to it: Write! So it wrote what is to be forever."[4. Tabarani and Abu Nu'aym.] From this First light all of creation, with all its varied forms and meanings till the end of time unfolds.
This primordial light is what is called the Light of the Prophet, may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him, since he is the created being who received the major share of it. This light was also the origin of the lights of all other Divine Messengers, of the angels, then of all other beings. This is how the Prophet, may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him, could say, "I was a Prophet when Adam was still between spirit and body."[5. Tirmidhi, Ahmad, Hakim and Bukhari in Tarikh.] The power of this light made the Prophet’s radiation so powerful, once he appeared on earth, that Allah calls him in the Qur’ān "an illuminating lamp." Allah describes the sun and the moon in the Qur’ān in like manner explaining what He means when He says that He made the Prophet "an illuminating lamp". He says, Exalted is He: "Have you not seen how Allah created seven heavens, one upon another, and set the moon therein for a light and the sun for a lamp?"[6. Qur'an (71:16)] Here he calls the sun a lamp, since its light is self generating, but He calls the moon a light, since it but reflects the light of the sun. He also says: " . . . and We appointed a blazing lamp . . . " [7. Qur'an (78:13)] The sun’s light being extremely hot, and, "Blessed is He who has set in the sky constellations and has set among them a lamp and an illuminating moon," [8. Qur'an (25:61)] emphasizing that the moon’s light is light with little heat. When He says to His Prophet: " O Prophet! We have sent you as a witness, a bearer of good tidings and of warning, as a caller to Allah by His leave and as an illuminating lamp," [9. Qur'an (33:45 - 46)] we are to understand that He made the Prophet’s light powerful like the sun’s, yet cool and gentle like the moon’s.
Some of the Prophet’s Companions were given to see this light as even brighter than both the sun and moon, for when they walked with him they noticed that he cast no shadow on the ground.[10. al-Hakim al-Tirmidhi] Those who saw him in the full moon noticed that his blessed face was brighter than the moon,[11. Tirmidhi] and one of his Companions, the Lady Rubayyi‘, when asked to describe him, said, "My son, had you seen him, you would have seen the sun shining."[12. Tirmidhi] The light of the Prophet shone at all levels, it filled the material, intermediary, and spiritual worlds, dispelled the darkness of ignorance and disbelief, and is destined to shine across the ages till the end of time.
That this light was physical as well as spiritual was borne witness to most amply by those who saw him. The Lady ‘A‘isha related how she saw the whole room fill with light one night, then it disappeared, while the Prophet continued to call upon his Lord. Then the room was filled with a more powerful light which disappeared after a while. She asked, "What is this light I saw?" he said, "Did you see it. O ‘A‘isha?" "Yes!" she replied. He said, "I asked my Lord to grant me my nation, so He gave me one third of them, so I praised and thanked Him. Then I asked him for the rest, so He gave me the second third, so I praised and thanked Him. Then I asked Him for the third third, so He gave it to me, so I praised and thanked Him." She said that had she wished to pick up mustard seeds from the floor by this light she could have.[13. Abu Nu'aym in Hilia.] In the famous description of Hind ibn Abi Hala, the Prophet’s stepson from the Lady Khadija, "He was dignified and awe inspiring, radiant like the radiance of the moon on the night it is full…"[14. Tirmidhi in Shama'il, Bayhaqi, Tabarani, and ibn Sa'd.] Ibn ‘Abbas described how he saw light shining from between his front teeth.[15. Tirmidhi in Shama'il, Darimi, Bayhaqi, Tabarani, and ibn Asakir.] Abu Qursafa, as a boy, went to swear allegiance to the Prophet, together with his mother and her sister. When they returned home they told him, " My son, we have never seen the like of this man, nor anyone better looking, cleaner dressed, or gentler in his speech; and we saw as if light came out of his mouth." [16. Tabarani.]
The Companion, Anas ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, described how, when the Prophet, may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him, first entered Madina, everything in Madina became illuminated, then how, when he died and was buried in ‘A’isha’s house, the light disappeared. The phenomenon was so sudden that the Companions were taken aback and began to doubt whether they had really seen it at all.[17. Ahmad and ibn Majah.] This was only the light that radiated from his blessed body, for Madina itself remained the city of Light. Abū Hurayra related how they were once praying the night prayer of ‘isha’ with the Prophet, may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him, and how the Prophet’s two grandsons, Hasan and Husayn climbed onto his back when he went into prostration. When he was done, he placed one of them on his right and the other on his left. Abu Hurayra asked him, "Shall I take them to their mother?" he replied, "No". Then a flashing light appeared from the sky, at which he said, "go to your mother." The light remained until they reached their house.[18. Ahmad, Hakim, and Bazar.] On another occasion, Anas said that, he accompanied the Prophet, may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him, into the mosque where they saw a group of people with their hands raised, calling upon Allah. "Do you see in their hands what I see?" the Prophet asked. "What is in their hands?" Anas replied. "There is light in their hands," replied the Prophet. "Ask Allah the Exalted to show it to me," said Anas. At the Prophet’s request, Allah showed it to him.[19. Bukhari in Tarikh, Bayhaqi and Abu Nu'aym.] Another Companion, ‘Amr al-Aslami, said that once they were with the Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him, on a very dark night and lost sight of each other. Suddenly ‘Amr’s fingers shone forth with light so that they were able to round up their mounts and gather again. The light did not subside until they had finished gathering.[20. Bukhari in Tarikh, Bayhaqi and Tabarani.] As for Abu ‘Abs, he used to pray all the ritual prayers with the Prophet, then walk back to his dwelling, at Bani Haritha, a few miles from the mosque. One dark rainy night, as he left the mosque, his staff was made to shine forth with light, so that he was able to walk safely back home.[21. Bayhaqi.] On another occasion, two of the Prophet’s well known Companions, Usayd ibn Hudayr and ‘Abbad ibn Bishr, left the Prophet’s house late on a dark night. The tip of the staff of one of them lit up like a lamp and they were able to walk. When they came to the place where they usually separated, the tip of the other staff lit up as well.[22. Bukhari] Another Companion, al-Tufayl ibn ‘Amr al-Dawsi, related how, after his first visit to the Prophet, when he accepted Islam and was about to return to his tribe, he asked the Prophet for a sign to show to his tribesmen, at which a light shone forth from his forehead. He exclaimed, "Not here, O Messenger of Allah, they will think it a curse!" So the Prophet moved the light to the tip of al- Tufayl’s whip. He returned to his tribe with this sign and most of them accepted Islam.[23. Ibn Hisham.]
Ka‘b ibn Zuhayr was a man from Muzayna, a highly talented poet who used his talent against the Prophet and his companions. Once Macca had been conquered, Ka`b became a fugitive, aware that the Prophet had ordered him executed. His brother, Bujayr, was a Muslim. He sent Ka`b a message that he could only save his life if he came to the Prophet repentant. Eventually Ka‘b agreed to this and came to Madina. The Prophet forgave him, accepted his allegiance, and gave him permission to recite the poem Ka`b had composed in his praise. When he came to the passage,
The Messenger is a light that illuminatesAn Indian blade, a sword of Allah, drawn
the Prophet took his mantle, his burda, off his shoulders and put it on Ka‘b’s, signalling his approval. The best swords of the time were Indian and the connection between the sword and light is that the Arabs signalled the way by standing on a rise and brandishing their swords in the sun so that they flashed like mirrors.[24. Ibn Ishaq.] The light of the Prophet, may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him, manifested itself in his parents before and during his birth. His biographers have recorded that his father’s forehead shone with a light that a certain women from Quraysh noticed. She knew that the appearance of the Prophet of the End of Time was imminent and felt that ‘Abdallah’s forehead signalled his being the father. She offered herself to him, but he refused. Soon `Abdallah married Amina and, once she became pregnant with the Prophet, the light vanished from his forehead. He met the same woman again and, noticing she no longer wanted him, asked her why. She replied that he no longer carried that light on his forehead.[25. Ibn Hisham.] As for the Lady Amina, when she became pregnant, she saw in a dream-vision that a light came out of her that lit the land as far north as Syria.[26. Hakim, Ahmad, Bazzar, Tabarani, Bayhaqi and Abu Nu'aym.] She was also told in her dream that she was pregnant with the master of this nation and the sign of that would be that when she gave birth to him she would see a light coming out with him that would shine over Bosra in Syria. "When this happens", she was told, "call him Muhammad!"[27. Ibn Ishaq.] "I conceived him, " she said, "and suffered no pain until delivery. When he came out of me, a light came out with him that illuminated everything from East to West…"[28. Ibn Sa'd, Tabarani, Bayhaqi, Abu Nu'aym, Abu Ya'la, Ibn Ishaq.] She also said, "I saw the night I gave birth to him a light that illuminated the palaces of Syria so that I saw them."[29. Abu Nu'aym.] The Prophet later confirmed this, saying, "My mother saw, when she gave birth to me, a light that illuminated the palaces of Bosra."[30. Ibn Sa'd, Ahmad, Bazzar, Tabarani, Abu Nu'aym, and ibn Asakir.] This event is also a very clear indication of the spiritual rank of the Lady Amina, for to see the palaces of Bosra in Syria from Macca demands the spiritual vision of sanctity. [31. Hakim and Tabarani.] Later, the Prophet’s uncle, ‘Abbas, praised him with a poem, on his return from the Tabuk expedition, saying:
You, when you were born, the earth was lit And with your light so was the sky
When his wet-nurse, Halima al-Sa‘dia, first saw him, she laid her hand on him and he smiled. "When he smiled," she said, "a light appeared from his mouth that rose to the sky."[32. Bayhaqi, Abu Nu'aym, ibn Ishaq and Abu Ya'la.]
Some of the hadiths we have quoted here have strong chains of transmission, others have weaker ones. However, we must remember that even the chain considered weakest by Muslim traditionists, is quite acceptable as historical proof to any professional historian on this planet, being far stronger and better authenticated than other ancient sources he works with. It is also well known that weak traditions strengthen each other so as to become acceptable. This is why those we have quoted here have been accepted by leading scholars such as Ibn Kathir, Suyutiī, Qadi ‘Iyad, Bayhaqi, and others.
Commenting on the verse of Qur’an,"There has come to you a light from Allah and a clear Book,"[33. Qur'an (5:15)] the well-known scholar al-Alusi says that the light in question is no other than the Prophet, may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him. He quotes the Follower, Qatada, as an authoritative source for this opinion, as well as other well known scholars, pointing out that this is the most logical interpretation of the construction of the verse, Then he also quotes those whose opinion differs from his in that they believe that both the light and the Book refer to the Qur’an. This he does because real Muslim scholars, as opposed to pretenders and impostors, always quote, along with their own opinions, the contrary opinions of other reputable scholars, so weighing both in the most objective manner. Qadi ‘Iyad, the famous author of al-Shifa’, is of the same opinion as al-Alusi, an opinion, an opinion shared by other famous commentators such as Tabari and Qurtubi.
Although the Prophet’s light is the most powerful in the universe, since he is the nearest created being to Allah, it is not the only one. Angels are made of light, the Qur’an is light, the spirits of human beings are light, faith is light, knowledge is light, the sun, the moon, and the stars are also lights. The light of each human being depends upon his faith, knowledge, and virtue. Thus the most powerful lights are those of Divine Messengers, then those of Prophets, saints, virtuous believers, and finally those of sinful believers. This is the hierarchy of human beings. Both the first and the last are human, all have lights, and all are slaves of Allah, but the distance between the top of the pyramid and its bottom is so great that those at the bottom, in Paradise, will see those at the top as distant as, in this world, we see the stars at night.[34. Tirmidhi.]
Copyright ISRA 2009 Courtesy : http://www.witness-pioneer.org/

The Cunning of Satan is Weak

From: http://www.yahya-harun.name/some_secrets_of_the_quran_18.php

Man's greatest enemy, since the Prophet Adam, peace be upon him, has always been Satan. Satan pledged himself to lead people astray when the Prophet Adam was created, and has committed himself to this cause by devising schemes that make the world appear charming and alluring to mankind. The Qur'an also informs us that his scheming is feeble and that he can exercise no authority over people:

Those who believe fight in the Way of God. Those who disbelieve fight in the way of false gods. So fight the friends of Satan! Satan's scheming is always feeble. (Surat an-Nisa': 76)
Diabolis (Iblis) was correct in his assessment of them and they followed him, except for a group of believers. He had no authority over them except that We might test those who believe in the hereafter from those who are in doubt about it. Your Lord is The Preserver of all things. (Surah Saba': 20-21)

In fact, that Satan's scheming is feeble and that he has no power over people is God's making things easy for mankind. Satan is the only negative power against religion and His weakness implies that believers will not experience any difficulty in living by the values of the Qur'an. However, for this to happen, sincere faith is essential. In the Qur'an, God informs us that those with sincere faith will not be affected by the tricks of Satan:

He (Satan) said, 'My Lord, because You misled me, I will make things on the earth seem good to them (mankind) and I will mislead them all, every one of them, except Your servants among them who are sincere.' (Surat al-Hijr: 39-40)

In other verses, God has revealed that Satan will have no power over those who believe and put their trust in their Lord:

He has no authority over those who believe and put their trust in their Lord. He only has authority over those who take him as a friend and associate others with God. (Surat an-Nahl: 99-100)

THE SECRET OF HOW TO ESCAPE FALSE HOPES AND THE WHISPERINGS OF THE SATAN
Despite Satan's inefficacy on the believers, he may sometimes attempt to bother them with his whisperings because of a deed they have committed.
Another important secret God reveals in the Qur'an is how to escape the whisperings of Satan. This is a very important subject for believers who fear God and hope to attain paradise, because the whispers of Satan are misleading words that divert man from God's way and keep him occupied with vain and trivial issues. Satan tries to inject feelings of sorrow, fear and distress to people, to sow discord amongst them, to cause them to feel doubts about God, the Qur'an or the religion (deen). He fills them with false hopes. Some of the verses that describe Satan's whisperings to man are as follows:
"I will lead them astray and fill them with false hopes. I will command them and they will cut off cattle's ears. I will command them and they will change God's creation." Anyone who takes Satan as his protector in place of God has clearly lost everything. He (Satan) makes promises to them and fills them with false hopes. But what Satan promises them is nothing but delusion. (Surat an-Nisa': 119-120)
(The insidious whisperer) who whispers in people's breasts (hearts) (Surat an-Nas: 5)

No matter what Satan whispers to believers, he will not be able to distract them from God's guidance as long as they follow the path that God shows. God reminds believers of the following against Satan:
If an evil impulse from Satan provokes you, seek refuge in God. He is All-Hearing, All-Seeing. As for those who have fear of God, when they are bothered by visitors from Satan, they remember and immediately see clearly. (Surat al-A'raf: 200-201)

As can be understood from the verse, believers remain alert to the whisperings of Satan. They lose no time on thinking about his whisperings, and, aware that it would not please God, they never allow themselves to be carried away by pessimism, fear or sorrow, which are all negative feelings shunned by believers. When believers are troubled with something not in compliance with Qur'anic morality, they immediately recognise it to be a noxious whisper from Satan that would not please God. They dismiss the whisperings of the Satan through the remembrance of God and the verses of the Qur'an.

Blogger Comment:
Satan is no doubt very strong enemy to man and devout enemy to God and to his messages to guide people. However his wickedness and plans are allowed by God and part of his plan. He let Satan declare war on Jesus and whisper to the hearts and minds of some of the Jews to oppose him and try to murder him. God raised to himself Jesus one of the best of God prophets and in fact the Quran contained significant amount of verses to him and Moses for their greatness to Christianity and Judaism respectively. The war of Satan is declared since Adam creation and to extend to the day of judgment. The kingdom of God will come and Satan will be furious to find about that he will try hardly to stop it. The truth is he is part of God plan our winning over Satan is conditioned by us following God path. If not he will let the tribulation to rock our hearts and fill our hearts with fear since we refused the serenity that follow the obedience to God.

The Qur'an and me

From: http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/quran/2008/01/01_introduction.html

The Qur'an has been part of my life since childhood. Now I want to explore what it means to me today, and its relevance to the world we live in

I grew up reading the Qur'an on my mother's lap. It's an experience shared by most Muslim children. It's usual, once children are about four or five, for mothers to start reading the Qur'an and getting the child to repeat the words, again and again, till they become familiar and can be easily recited from memory.
Actually, I started a little late - when I was pushing six. In those days, we lived in a small town on the Pakistani side of the Punjab. After dinner every Thursday evening, my mother would shout: "Sipara time!" I would stop playing, run to her, jump on her lap, and put my left arm around her neck. She would open a slim, rather torn booklet, and start reading: Bismi llahi l-rahmainl-irahim. In the name of God, the beneficent, the merciful. I remember how she would pronounce each word distinctly and separately. I would repeat each word after her and then she'd have me repeat them again to make sure I pronounced each word correctly.
A sipara contains a section of the Qur'an. The word "Qur'an" means reading; and the holy book is often described as "the noble reading". To make it easier to read, it is divided into 30 sections known in Arabic as juz-un. Sipara is the Urdu equivalent, sometimes shortened simply to para. Reading one para a day, you can complete the whole Qur'an in a month. This comes in handy during the fasting month of Ramadan when the whole Qur'an is read, one section on each of the 30 days, to vast gatherings at special congregational evening prayer sessions. The special emphasis on reading the Qur'an during Ramadan is because it was during this month that the first words of the Qur'an were revealed to the Prophet Muhammad.
Children begin their reading at the end of the book. So I started with the 30th sipara. It contains short chapters, or suras, some just a few verses long, all rather easy to commit to memory. When I had memorised most of the chapters in this sipara, and it was time to tackle the longer suras, my mother decided to send me to a madrassa in the local mosque. It is vaguely equivalent to going to Sunday school, but with rather more emphasis on the school, since the curriculum is set and the same everywhere: learning to read the Qur'an.
Most mosques have a madrassa, or a religious school, attached to them. And I suppose my madrassa was like that found in any mosque, anywhere in the world. It was a small, darkly-lit room. Children would arrive at an appointed time, in my case after midday Friday prayers. On arriving we'd all perform the obligatory ritual of ablution. Then we'd all take our places on small stools behind a long, narrow table. The imam sat on a chair in front of us, waving a long stick. By the age of seven or eight, children are expected to know the words and be able to read the Qur'an themselves. We would be instructed to open our sipara on a specific page - and start reading aloud. The imam would listen, paying specific attention to each child. If someone got the pronunciation of a word wrong, or made some other mistake, down would come the stick. I don't remember anyone actually being hit; the punishment seemed to land on the table. But I do remember the rapid-fire swish and thwack frightened all of us.
I wasn't enthusiastic about my madrassa lessons, which lasted about an hour. They lacked the loving touch of my mother. But I loved what happened frequently after lessons. The classes were not graded, everyone from the locality came, all ages and stages mixed in the harmonics - to an untrained ear, cacophony - of reading aloud their personal assignment of different parts of the Qur'an. So someone in the class would always be about to reach the completion of the whole Qur'an. When they did, their family would celebrate with a general and generous distribution of sweetmeats. You know: things like gulab jaman, ras malai, and my all-time favourite, barfi. I'd gorge myself and always got to take a plateful home.
A select number of students would manage to memorise the whole Qur'an. They would be honoured with the title hafiz. And then their family's joy would know no bounds. There would be barfi by the truckload!
Of course, the classes I attended were for boys. But exactly the same classes and system were held for girls; how else would there be mothers ready to teach their children? But, after the madrassa, the awful difference in attitudes to and provision of education for women in many Muslim countries never ceases to outrage me.
My madrassa lessons did not last long. When I was nine, my family moved to Clapton Pond in Hackney. In the early 60s, there were few mosques in London. There was no chance of me going to a madrassa. So back I went to my mother - but her lap was now occupied by my younger sister. Besides, she expected me to read the Qur'an by myself. This wasn't really surprising, since I had reached the end of the 29th para. My mother was insistent that I start from the beginning again, with the 30th para. But this time I had to read the words with meaning.
For Muslims, the Qur'an is the word of God. In fact, that's how we define a Muslim - someone who accepts the divine origins of the noble reading. To read the Qur'an is to see and hear the very words of God. This is why we read it in its original form - in Arabic, just as it was revealed to and then recited by Prophet Muhammad. Translations may convey meaning, but all translations are at best approximation, and in this instance definitely not the actual words of God. As such, they do not amount to prayer or worship, which in Islam amounts to little more than reading the Qur'an. When my mother was taking me through my first siapara, it was nothing like her reading me a bedtime story, which she sometimes did - mostly short, Urdu versions of Arabian Nights. When my mother taught me to read the Qur'an it was an act of worship and prayer. She was, in fact, teaching me how to pray - or rather, exactly what to recite as the basis of the five daily prayers.
Even before I started to read the Qur'an with meaning, I had developed emotional connections to the sacred book. I felt a deep love for the text; it grew naturally just from the experience of learning with my mother and how she taught me to read. The glorious Qur'an, as far as she was concerned, was all about love. Love of God. Love of his words. It was a deep, all-pervasive, unconditional love - like that of a mother for her son.
I also felt reverence for the Qur'an. This came from watching how my mother herself approached it: with total respect and humility. And I felt fear. Somehow, reading the Qur'an always invoked the memory of the madrassa and the Imam Sahib with his long, bamboo stick. Swish! Later, I rationalised this fear as the apprehension of actually encountering the majesty of God. Once you know the significance of the Qur'an then you know each time you open the book or hear its words, right then and there, in the here and now, you are receiving the direct word of God without intermediary. So trepidation, more than a hint of caution is no bad thing, and a large dose of humility is certainly needed. Or just plain fear: fear of misunderstanding or misinterpreting his word.
My emotional connection became more complex when I started to read the Qur'an with meaning. Now, I had to engage my mind; and an inquiring, restless mind being shaped by different educational experiences and systems found reason makes its own demands. In London, the ritual of reading the Qur'an in our household changed. Both my parents worked from Monday to Friday. So Qur'an reading took place on Saturday mornings. Sundays, my mother devoted to more profane ritual: she went, without fail, to the local fleapit to watch the latest offering from Bollywood.
I would sit in front of my mother and read out some selected verses. She would then explain their meaning in Urdu with the aid of a translation. I would then read out the English translation of the same verses. Then, we would chat; and totally disagree.
My first problem was with the Urdu translation. Urdu is an exquisite, beautiful and poetic language. It is suffused with Arabic words. That's why those, like me, who read Urdu find it easy to read Arabic. (We simply read Arabic as though it was written in Urdu!). But I found Urdu translations of the Qur'an to be rather ugly. Worse: the Urdu translation was often at odds with the English translation. The same verse sometimes conveyed quite different meanings when read in Urdu and English translations. Reading the Qur'an, I quickly realised, is one thing, understanding it is quite another.
Most of my life since adolescence has been a struggle with the meanings of the verses of the Qur'an. During my university years, when I was active in various student Islamic bodies, I joined a study group - or usra. Each member took turns to host our sessions. We studied the Qur'an systematically with the aid of a number of classical and contemporary commentaries, under the guidance of a well-known scholar. As my career developed, I attended innumerable conferences of Muslim scholars, visited many Muslim countries, and met many people who argued about the meanings of the sacred text. The more I learned about the Qur'an, the more I engaged with the sacred text, the more intense my struggle became. The more I learnt of Muslims' intellectual history and thought about the differences and distinctions, as well as similarities, between classical and modern scholars, the more I had to struggle with what Muslims throughout their history have made of Islam. Different people, it seemed to me, were finding different meanings in the Qur'an, and interpreting it in different ways - some I could hardly agree with.
Every Muslim will tell you the Qur'an is eternal. It is timeless, its words unchanged, it is ever present. The Qur'an addresses us directly, as it always has. But religious texts, by their very nature, are complex. And one of the most insistent commands in the Qur'an is: Think! Reflect! So the struggle to understand and interpret is also our eternal challenge; there is no getting away from it. The Qur'an does not change but the circumstances of human life, the potential of our thought and action, the social, economic, technological, environmental and political conditions of our times are ever changing. As well as requiring us to think, the words of the Qur'an also imply movement: the religious life, it tells us, is not about standing still but always striving to make our life, our society, the entire world around us a better place for everyone, all of God's creation without exception. And that means we have to keep on asking what the sacred text can, should or ought to mean and how it should apply in the circumstances of today.
The holy book has no significance for us outside our own time. The significance and meaning of the verses of the Qur'an have to be rediscovered by each generation in the context of its own time. Things change, contexts change, and old meanings, the customs born of old interpretations, far from liberating you can actually suffocate you. Or worse, can be turned into means to oppress or oppose other people whether fellow Muslims or not.
These blogs are a continuation of my struggle with the meaning of the Qur'an. They explore what the Qur'an means to me - here and now. I want to share what I understand and think of the Qur'an as a dynamic text, of whose relevance and implications for our time we have hardly scratched the surface. And, of course, that means reflecting on the thinking and ideas of other Muslims, and non-Muslims as well.
However, what Muslims make of the Qur'an, the meaning and significance they derive from it, is important not just for Muslims but for everyone. Look around you. Notice just how many conflicts, how much strife, is generated around the world based on what Muslims think they are reading in the Qur'an. Everyone is affected, directly or indirectly, by how the Qur'an is read and understood.
I have no qualms in admitting that, in many ways, I am not the most qualified person to talk about the Qur'an, let alone venture into the thorny territory of interpretation (pdf). I am not a hafiz, or an imam, or an alim - a religious scholar trained for years in a religious seminary - although on certain bad days, I do imagine myself as a Muslim thinker of some repute. Worse: I don't even speak Arabic.
But the vast majority of Muslims are in exactly the same position as me. Indeed, of the 1.2 billion Muslims who populate the planet, only around 300 million are Arabic speaking. But native Arabic speakers are not in a privileged position. Today's vernacular Arabic comprises a great variety of dialects and is and has always been quite distinct from the Arabic of the Qur'an. Native Arabic speakers may have an advantage in pronouncing its words correctly, but they are in the same boat as everyone else when it comes to struggling to discover the meaning and contemporary relevance of the words and verses of the Qur'an.
The point is we all, whatever our state of knowledge and station in life, have to struggle with the sacred book. I write as every Muslim; as an individual trying to understand what Islam means to me in the 21st century. After all, one can only have an interpretative relationship with a text, particularly when the text in question is regarded as eternal. And this relationship is as much individual as communal: everyone who claims to be a Muslim must struggle with the meaning of the Qur'an. There is no get-out clause, no escape. This responsibility is not fulfilled by merely reciting its words. And it is certainly not accomplished by just waving the Qur'an and shouting slogans. It requires sitting down to some serious reading and sweaty thinking.
Before we get down to serious reading, I am going to devote the next two blogs to exploring the special nature of the Qur'an and discussing the basic rules for reading and interpreting the sacred text. Meanwhile, perhaps you can let me know about your own encounters with the Qur'an.

Blogger Comment:
It is amazing how Muslim women are in most part the first to inject of inoculate their children by the love of the Quran. He was like describing my mother above. The faith it is that the Quran is the word of God is not only evident in the way that they memorize it, keep it close to their beds and cars, or touch it and read it with utmost reverence. It is more even evident in their strict reciting every word right and not to make any mistake in one of its even single letter. That is how God promised to preserve it and he was right, one of the best prophecies in Islam.
I enjoyed much being around my mother when she was reading the Quran, almost all day when she was not doing any thing in the house.

I was raised to live by the Quran since I was almost raised between Al Iraqi a family that live by the Quran and its principals and my mother who read the Quran a lot and my father who was a lawyer and was teaching the Quran in the Fridays in Mosque. I enjoyed all the experience.

Despite all of that I was sneaky in my early tweenty talking to myself OK may be Muhammad (PBUH) was a great man and created a great scripture to get people moralistic and live successful lives and created a great civilization. Then I red the Quran again pretending that Muhammad wrote the Quran. I found out that Muhammad himself at one point of his message questioned is this is a real communication from God or something else. Thus he was not Muhammad who wrote it. Then went through other possiblities Satan, his subconcious mind.... but the Quran had answered all these questions to the people who were questioning Muhammad when he came up with the Quran. So I talked to myself it is better to read it as the speaker is God and continued to make very strong logic that God is the speaker in the Quran. You read the Quran more and you discover more about the greatness of the words of speaker. Even me who have no scholarship in the Quran I can discover many of the treasures of this book, read under my own articles.
The existance of people who red the Quran and did not beleive is not a proof that the Quran is not from God but is proof that they were not sincere to examine that and God turned them away:

سَأَصْرِفُ عَنْ آيَاتِيَ الَّذِينَ يَتَكَبَّرُونَ فِي الأَرْضِ بِغَيْرِ الْحَقِّ وَإِن يَرَوْاْ كُلَّ آيَةٍ لاَّ يُؤْمِنُواْ بِهَا وَإِن يَرَوْاْ سَبِيلَ الرُّشْدِ لاَ يَتَّخِذُوهُ سَبِيلاً وَإِن يَرَوْاْ سَبِيلَ الْغَيِّ يَتَّخِذُوهُ سَبِيلاً ذَلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ كَذَّبُواْ بِآيَاتِنَا وَكَانُواْ عَنْهَا غَافِلِينَ (7:146)
7:146 (Y. Ali) Those who behave arrogantly on the earth in defiance of right - them will I turn away from My signs: Even if they see all the signs, they will not believe in them; and if they see the way of right conduct, they will not adopt it as the way; but if they see the way of error, that is the way they will adopt. For they have rejected our signs, and failed to take warning from them.

وَكَأَيِّن مِّن آيَةٍ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ يَمُرُّونَ عَلَيْهَا وَهُمْ عَنْهَا مُعْرِضُونَ (12:105)
12:105 (Y. Ali) And how many signs in the heavens and the earth do they pass by? Yet they turn (their faces) away from them!

وَمَنْ أَظْلَمُ مِمَّن ذُكِّرَ بِآيَاتِ رَبِّهِ فَأَعْرَضَ عَنْهَا وَنَسِيَ مَا قَدَّمَتْ يَدَاهُ إِنَّا جَعَلْنَا عَلَى قُلُوبِهِمْ أَكِنَّةً أَن يَفْقَهُوهُ وَفِي آذَانِهِمْ وَقْرًا وَإِن تَدْعُهُمْ إِلَى الْهُدَى فَلَن يَهْتَدُوا إِذًا أَبَدًا (18:57)
18:57 (Y. Ali) And who doth more wrong than one who is reminded of the signs of his Lord, but turns away from them, forgetting the (deeds) which his hands have sent forth? Verily We have set veils over their hearts lest they should understand this, and over their ears, deafness, if thou callest them to guidance, even then will they never accept guidance.

وَإِذَا تُتْلَى عَلَيْهِ آيَاتُنَا وَلَّى مُسْتَكْبِرًا كَأَن لَّمْ يَسْمَعْهَا كَأَنَّ فِي أُذُنَيْهِ وَقْرًا فَبَشِّرْهُ بِعَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍ (31:7)
31:7 (Y. Ali) When Our signs are rehearsed to such a one, he turns away in arrogance, as if he heard them not, as if there were deafness in both his ears: announce to him a grievous Penalty.