فيسك: لا أحد يأبه لأوباما
العالم العربي يدير ظهره لخطاب أوباما (رويترز)استهل روبرت فيسك تعليقه بصحيفة ذي إندبندنت بأن لا أحد في الشرق الأوسط يهتم بما يقوله الرئيس الأميركي باراك أوباما، وأن ضعفه ظهر في تعاملاته مع المنطقة، وأن العالم العربي بدأ يدير ظهره له بازدراء، وأن مستقبل المنطقة سيتشكل بدون النفوذ الأميركي.
وقال فيسك إنه في الوقت الذي تلهى فيه باراك أوباما وبنيامين نتنياهو بمهزلتهما في واشنطن، وكان أوباما منبطحا كالعادة، استأنف العرب العمل الجاد لتغيير عالمهم بالتظاهر والقتال والموت من أجل الحريات التي لم يمتلكوها أبدا.
وتحدث أوباما بكلام غامض ومطول عن التغيير في الشرق الأوسط وعن دور أميركا الجديد في المنطقة، وكان كلامه مثيرا للشفقة لأن لا أحد في العالم العربي -ومصر تحديدا- يهتم بما يقوله.
وأشار إلى أن فشل أوباما في دعم الثورات العربية أفقد أميركا مصداقيتها في المنطقة، فقد كان أوباما صامتا وقت الإطاحة بزين العابدين بن علي في تونس ولم ينضم إلى جوقة الازدراء لمبارك في مصر إلا قبل يومين من إسقاطه.
كما أنه أدان النظام السوري الذي قتل من شعبه أكثر من أي أسرة حاكمة أخرى في هذا الربيع العربي باستثناء القذافي البغيض، لكنه أوضح أنه سيكون سعيدا بأن يرى الأسد حيا.
ويلوح أوباما -والكلام لفيسك- بقبضته الضعيفة لقسوة النظام البحريني، وما زال صامتا بما يثير الدهشة حيال ما يجري في السعودية، ثم يركع على ركبتيه أمام إسرائيل.
فلا عجب حين يدير العرب ظهورهم لأميركا، ليس بدافع الحنق أو الغضب ولا بسبب التهديدات أو العنف، ولكن بدافع الازدراء. فالعرب وإخوانهم المسلمون في الشرق الأوسط هم الذين يصنعون قراراتهم الآن.
"لا عجب أن يدير العرب ظهورهم لأميركا، ليس بدافع الحنق أو الغضب ولا بسبب التهديدات أو العنف، ولكن بدافع الازدراء. فالعرب وإخوانهم المسلمون في الشرق الأوسط هم الذين يصنعون قراراتهم الآن"واستهجن فيسك رد فعل الكونغرس الأميركي على خطاب نتنياهو عندما حياه بتصفيق حاد 53 مرة بحماس أكثر من أي برلمان عربي مدجن كالبرلمان السوري واليمني وبقية البرلمانات الأخرى.
واستغرب من مقولة أوباما بأن "كل بلد له الحق في تقرير مصيره"، ومع ذلك ستكون فلسطين "منزوعة السلاح"، وقال إن ما عناه أوباما هو أن إسرائيل يمكن أن تواصل هجومها على الفلسطينيين (كما حدث عام 2009 على سبيل المثال، عندما كان أوباما صامتا بطريقة تفوح منها رائحة الخيانة)، بينما يتعين على الفلسطينيين أن يتحملوا ما يصيبهم إذا لم ينصاعوا للقوانين لأنهم لن يكون لديهم أسلحة ليدافعوا بها عن أنفسهم.
أما فيما يتعلق بنتنياهو فإن على الفلسطينيين أن يختاروا بين الوحدة مع حماس أو السلام مع إسرائيل، وهذا ما يثير غرابة شديدة، فعندما لم تكن هناك وحدة قال لنا نتنياهو إنه لم يجد محاورا فلسطينيا لأن الفلسطينيين متفرقون، ولكن عندما يتوحدون تتم تنحيتهم من مباحثات السلام.
وتساءل فيسك: لماذا يحذر أوباما الفلسطينيين من السعي للمطالبة بدولة لهم في الأمم المتحدة في سبتمبر/أيلول المقبل؟ فإذا كان باستطاعة شعب مصر وتونس واليمن وليبيا وسوريا القتال من أجل الحرية والكرامة، فلماذا لا ينبغي للفلسطينيين ذلك؟
وخلص إلى أن الفلسطينيين لن يظلوا صامتين إذا استمر الضغط عليهم، فإذا كانت هناك انتفاضة في سوريا فلماذا لا تكون هناك انتفاضة ثالثة في فلسطين؟ ليست قتال مفجرين "انتحاريين"، بل احتجاجات جماهيرية مليونية قوية.
وإذا اضطر الإسرائيليون لإطلاق النار على عدة مئات من المتظاهرين الذين حاولوا، وفي بعض الأحيان نجحوا في عبور الحدود الإسرائيلية قبل نحو أسبوعين، فماذا سيفعلون إذا ووجهوا بآلاف أو بمليون شخص؟ فالربيع العربي سرعان ما يصير صيفا حارا وسيكون هناك خريف عربي أيضا، وحينها قد يتغير الشرق الأوسط إلى الأبد.. وما تقوله أميركا لن تكون له أهمية.
يعني ماذا تتوقعون من شخص العدو!!! هذا هو عدو العرب و الاسلام بغض النظر عن العلاقات الشخصيه المتعلقه بالمصالح المشتركه سواء للعرب او لامريكا الا انه رئيس اكبر دوله معاديه للاسلام و مدافعه عن اليهود و لعم مصالح بالمضي قدما نحو كركبة اوضاع العرب و التطلع لرضى اليهود و الكل يعلم ان هناك اشياء لا يعلمها الا قليلون (اشياء ذات علاقه تاريخيه دينيه اقتصاديه)
Blogger comment:
Obama plan is the same old, same old the Oil and Israel and jump to hijack our democracy after a tyrant fall. He was made by the Jews and he is offered as Al Mahdi Al Muntazer so Muslims to shut up. He continued to make me irrelevant like Bush did by controlling my web site and not let me in the public media even in Arab ones like Al Jazzera. They still do not like to have the chosen tyrants to fall but the chosen one to be blocked by Babylon the whore who corrupted the world.
Monday, May 30, 2011
The Merciless killing of Muslims by Basher Al Asad Tyrant
قتلى باقتحام الجيش لتلبيسة والرستن
قتل 11 مدنيا بينهم طفلة خلال اقتحام قوات ودبابات الجيش السوري عدة قرى ومدن وسط البلاد في محاولة لإخماد الاحتجاجات ضد نظام الرئيس بشار الأسد، في حين قالت دمشق إن أربعة جنود قتلوا على أيدي "عصابات إرهابية مسلحة".
وأكدت المحامية في مجال حقوق الإنسان رزان زيتوني لوكالة رويترز من دمشق أن عمليات القتل تلك وقعت في بلدتي تلبيسة والرستن في ريف حمص وحولهما.
وفي وقت سابق قال المرصد السوري لحقوق الإنسان الذي يتخذ من بريطانيا مقرا له إنه يملك أسماء ثمانية قتلى من المدنيين.
وأفاد أحد سكان تلبيسة التي يقطنها ستون ألف نسمة لرويترز بأن الجنود المدعومين من الدبابات والموجودين في كل مكان بالبلدة يقتحمون المنازل ويعتقلون الناس.
وفي الرستن، قال محام -امتنع عن ذكر اسمه- للوكالة نفسها إن المركز الطبي الرئيسي في البلدة مكتظ بالجرحى وما من سبيل لنقلهم إلى مستشفى بسبب إطلاق الدبابات النار بكثافة، واصفا ما يجري بأنه "انتقام محض".
وأضاف أن الإنترنت وإمدادات المياه والكهرباء وخطوط الهواتف الأرضية وأغلب خدمات الهاتف المحمول قطعت، في خطوة يستخدمها الجيش في العادة قبل اقتحام المدن.
من جهتهم أكد ناشطون سوريون على شبكة الإنترنت مقتل طفلة تدعى هاجر الخطيب وإصابة خمسة آخرين لدى إطلاق رجال الأمن النار على حافلة كانت تقل 12 طفلا قرب الرستن.
كما قال ناشط حقوقي رفض الكشف عن هويته لوكالة الأنباء الفرنسية إنه تم نقل أكثر من مائة جريح إلى المستشفى الوطني والمستشفى العسكري في حمص ثالث كبرى المدن السورية.
وكان ناشط آخر ذكر أن عشرات الدبابات طوقت الأحد مدينتي الرستن وتلبيسة وقرية دير معلا الواقعة بين حمص وحماة، موضحا أن هذه الدبابات تقطع الطريق السريعة التي تربط بين مدينتي حمص وحماة.
في المقابل ذكرت وكالة الأنباء الرسمية أن أربعة من أفراد قوات الأمن قتلوا في تلبيسة أثناء مطاردة "جماعات إرهابية مسلحة لاعتقالها وتقديمها إلى العدالة".
مظاهرات ليلية في دمشق احتجاجآ على تعذيب حمزة الخطيبنصرة الشهيدوسبق اقتحام الجيش اندلاع مظاهرات السبت بعدة مدن في إطار ما سمي "سبت نصرة الشهيد حمزة الخطيب" وهو الطفل الذي قتل تحت التعذيب الأربعاء الماضي.
فقد تظاهر العشرات بمنطقتي الحجر الأسود والقابون القريبتين من العاصمة دمشق، كما خرج الآلاف للتظاهر ليلا بمدينة حماة للتنديد بالتعذيب الذي تعرض له الخطيب، منددين بما سموه الجرائم التي ترتكبها قوات الأمن ضد المتظاهرين.
وفي بلدة دير الزور قتل شخص على الأقل عندما فتحت قوات الأمن النار لتفريق مظاهرة ليلية. كما انتظمت مظاهرة في بلدة بنش بمحافظة إدلب شمال غرب البلاد احتجاجا على اعتقالات جرت الجمعة.
في سياق متصل قال رئيس المرصد السوري لحقوق الإنسان رامي عبد الرحمن إن القضاء السوري اتهم الأحد الطبيب محمد عوض العمار "بالمساس بهيبة الدولة ونشر أنباء كاذبة".
والتقى أخيرا هذا الطبيب الذي يعمل في مستشفى الجاسم في درعا مع شخصية عسكرية رفيعة وعرض عليه وساطة لتسوية ديمقراطية في سوريا، لكنه اعتقل بعيد ذلك في التاسع والعشرين من أبريل/ نيسان.
وتلقي السلطات باللوم على "عصابات مسلحة وإسلاميين ومندسين أجانب" في العنف، وتقول إن المئات من أفرد الجيش والشرطة قتلوا منذ اندلاع الاحتجاجات في مارس/ آذار الماضي بينما يقول نشطاء إن الشرطة السرية قتلت العشرات من الجنود لرفضهم إطلاق النار على المدنيين.
وكان النظام السوري الذي يواجه حركة احتجاج غير مسبوقة أرسل الأسابيع الأخيرة الجيش إلى عدة مدن وخصوصا تلكلخ ( شمال غرب دمشق) وحمص (وسط) وبانياس (شمال غرب) ودرعا (جنوب) التي شكلت مهد التظاهرات.
وتقول منظمات غير حكومية إن أكثر من ألف شخص قتلوا واعتقل نحو عشرة آلاف آخرين منذ بدء المظاهرات المناهضة لنظام الأسد منتصف مارس/ آذار.
من جهتها، نقلت صحيفة واشنطن بوست عن مسؤولين أميركيين لم تحدد هوياتهم أن إيران ترسل مدربين ومستشارين إلى سوريا لمساعدة النظام في "قمع" المظاهرات التي تهدد من سمته حليف طهران الرئيسي بالمنطقة.
Blogger comment:
I am offering to go to Syria and help the Syrians liberate them from the tyrant killer regime. As you guessed some of the evil Jews and corrupt leaders do not want to have me there. For the silent majority of the Israel people whom Sadat made peace with them I will be good for them. My plan is to get the Tyrannically regimes out and have long lasting peace for the willing Israeli. Another thing do my a favor tell the evil Jews in America to stay away from me. If they would declare war on me I will declare war on them and God rewards evil by evil, read the old testament. Going back to Syria I would like to have access to go overseas. Ask Obama to give me my passport who they stole from my apartment. Not doing so, can have American diplomats treated the same. God rewards evil by evil. The plan of Obama is to stand with the Gulf tyrant regime and let the Muslims kill one another, and kill the leaders whom stand against American interest. My plan is to unite Muslims and have civilized new states that is not enemies to anyone unless they chose so. As you see the Muslims are in very need of a leader, not king and not president but a leader who would serve them. That is why the west blocking me from going to my people they do not want them to have this leader but puppets.
قتل 11 مدنيا بينهم طفلة خلال اقتحام قوات ودبابات الجيش السوري عدة قرى ومدن وسط البلاد في محاولة لإخماد الاحتجاجات ضد نظام الرئيس بشار الأسد، في حين قالت دمشق إن أربعة جنود قتلوا على أيدي "عصابات إرهابية مسلحة".
وأكدت المحامية في مجال حقوق الإنسان رزان زيتوني لوكالة رويترز من دمشق أن عمليات القتل تلك وقعت في بلدتي تلبيسة والرستن في ريف حمص وحولهما.
وفي وقت سابق قال المرصد السوري لحقوق الإنسان الذي يتخذ من بريطانيا مقرا له إنه يملك أسماء ثمانية قتلى من المدنيين.
وأفاد أحد سكان تلبيسة التي يقطنها ستون ألف نسمة لرويترز بأن الجنود المدعومين من الدبابات والموجودين في كل مكان بالبلدة يقتحمون المنازل ويعتقلون الناس.
وفي الرستن، قال محام -امتنع عن ذكر اسمه- للوكالة نفسها إن المركز الطبي الرئيسي في البلدة مكتظ بالجرحى وما من سبيل لنقلهم إلى مستشفى بسبب إطلاق الدبابات النار بكثافة، واصفا ما يجري بأنه "انتقام محض".
وأضاف أن الإنترنت وإمدادات المياه والكهرباء وخطوط الهواتف الأرضية وأغلب خدمات الهاتف المحمول قطعت، في خطوة يستخدمها الجيش في العادة قبل اقتحام المدن.
من جهتهم أكد ناشطون سوريون على شبكة الإنترنت مقتل طفلة تدعى هاجر الخطيب وإصابة خمسة آخرين لدى إطلاق رجال الأمن النار على حافلة كانت تقل 12 طفلا قرب الرستن.
كما قال ناشط حقوقي رفض الكشف عن هويته لوكالة الأنباء الفرنسية إنه تم نقل أكثر من مائة جريح إلى المستشفى الوطني والمستشفى العسكري في حمص ثالث كبرى المدن السورية.
وكان ناشط آخر ذكر أن عشرات الدبابات طوقت الأحد مدينتي الرستن وتلبيسة وقرية دير معلا الواقعة بين حمص وحماة، موضحا أن هذه الدبابات تقطع الطريق السريعة التي تربط بين مدينتي حمص وحماة.
في المقابل ذكرت وكالة الأنباء الرسمية أن أربعة من أفراد قوات الأمن قتلوا في تلبيسة أثناء مطاردة "جماعات إرهابية مسلحة لاعتقالها وتقديمها إلى العدالة".
مظاهرات ليلية في دمشق احتجاجآ على تعذيب حمزة الخطيبنصرة الشهيدوسبق اقتحام الجيش اندلاع مظاهرات السبت بعدة مدن في إطار ما سمي "سبت نصرة الشهيد حمزة الخطيب" وهو الطفل الذي قتل تحت التعذيب الأربعاء الماضي.
فقد تظاهر العشرات بمنطقتي الحجر الأسود والقابون القريبتين من العاصمة دمشق، كما خرج الآلاف للتظاهر ليلا بمدينة حماة للتنديد بالتعذيب الذي تعرض له الخطيب، منددين بما سموه الجرائم التي ترتكبها قوات الأمن ضد المتظاهرين.
وفي بلدة دير الزور قتل شخص على الأقل عندما فتحت قوات الأمن النار لتفريق مظاهرة ليلية. كما انتظمت مظاهرة في بلدة بنش بمحافظة إدلب شمال غرب البلاد احتجاجا على اعتقالات جرت الجمعة.
في سياق متصل قال رئيس المرصد السوري لحقوق الإنسان رامي عبد الرحمن إن القضاء السوري اتهم الأحد الطبيب محمد عوض العمار "بالمساس بهيبة الدولة ونشر أنباء كاذبة".
والتقى أخيرا هذا الطبيب الذي يعمل في مستشفى الجاسم في درعا مع شخصية عسكرية رفيعة وعرض عليه وساطة لتسوية ديمقراطية في سوريا، لكنه اعتقل بعيد ذلك في التاسع والعشرين من أبريل/ نيسان.
وتلقي السلطات باللوم على "عصابات مسلحة وإسلاميين ومندسين أجانب" في العنف، وتقول إن المئات من أفرد الجيش والشرطة قتلوا منذ اندلاع الاحتجاجات في مارس/ آذار الماضي بينما يقول نشطاء إن الشرطة السرية قتلت العشرات من الجنود لرفضهم إطلاق النار على المدنيين.
وكان النظام السوري الذي يواجه حركة احتجاج غير مسبوقة أرسل الأسابيع الأخيرة الجيش إلى عدة مدن وخصوصا تلكلخ ( شمال غرب دمشق) وحمص (وسط) وبانياس (شمال غرب) ودرعا (جنوب) التي شكلت مهد التظاهرات.
وتقول منظمات غير حكومية إن أكثر من ألف شخص قتلوا واعتقل نحو عشرة آلاف آخرين منذ بدء المظاهرات المناهضة لنظام الأسد منتصف مارس/ آذار.
من جهتها، نقلت صحيفة واشنطن بوست عن مسؤولين أميركيين لم تحدد هوياتهم أن إيران ترسل مدربين ومستشارين إلى سوريا لمساعدة النظام في "قمع" المظاهرات التي تهدد من سمته حليف طهران الرئيسي بالمنطقة.
Blogger comment:
I am offering to go to Syria and help the Syrians liberate them from the tyrant killer regime. As you guessed some of the evil Jews and corrupt leaders do not want to have me there. For the silent majority of the Israel people whom Sadat made peace with them I will be good for them. My plan is to get the Tyrannically regimes out and have long lasting peace for the willing Israeli. Another thing do my a favor tell the evil Jews in America to stay away from me. If they would declare war on me I will declare war on them and God rewards evil by evil, read the old testament. Going back to Syria I would like to have access to go overseas. Ask Obama to give me my passport who they stole from my apartment. Not doing so, can have American diplomats treated the same. God rewards evil by evil. The plan of Obama is to stand with the Gulf tyrant regime and let the Muslims kill one another, and kill the leaders whom stand against American interest. My plan is to unite Muslims and have civilized new states that is not enemies to anyone unless they chose so. As you see the Muslims are in very need of a leader, not king and not president but a leader who would serve them. That is why the west blocking me from going to my people they do not want them to have this leader but puppets.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
The counter-revolution club
From: http://www.atimes.com/
By Pepe Escobar
To follow Pepe's articles on the Great Arab Revolt, please click here. They are a shish kebab of hereditary monarchies, emirates and outright theocracies. Most sit on oceans of oil (45% of the world's reserves). They are addicted to the West's glitter and glamour - from London to Monte Carlo, from the delicacies of Paris to the weaponized delicacies of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO. They abhor democracy like they abhor poverty. Some would be glad to topple their own people - as indeed they do. And they view Shi'ite Iran as worse than the anti-Christ. Welcome to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), formed in 1981 by top dog Saudi Arabia plus the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman. A more appropriate
denomination would be Gulf Counter-Revolutionary Council - or club; a Gulf club to end all golf clubs. As far as the GCC is concerned, the great 2011 Arab revolt will triumph over their (wealthy) dead bodies. How can they be so sure? Republican dynasties as in Tunisia or Egypt may be toppled; Libya may be bombed to the Stone Age; Syria may be threatened. But nothing will happen to the GCC because the enlightened West - not Allah - is their supreme guardian. New members welcome It's instructive to note that those 3,000-plus bombing raids on Libya since NATO took over the war on March 31 were conducted mostly by monarchies (Britain, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Qatar and the UAE), apart from republican France, and before that, via Africom, the United States. Only a few hours before United States President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron were enjoying a special relationship barbecue this week, NATO was turning 19 Libyan civilians into, well, barbecue, and slightly roasting at least 130 others. The GCC merrily applauded. The European Union (EU) and the GCC have issued a joint declaration forcing Colonel Muammar Gaddafi to go, not before handing over power to the Libyan Transitional National Council - which happens to be financed and armed exactly by NATO and the GCC. Now the GCC has declared it would love the idea of Jordan joining the club - and the same applies to Morocco. As for Yemen - which has yearned to be a member since 1999 - forget it; it's not a monarchy, and "unstable" to boot, with al those unruly people protesting. The best the GCC can do is to allegedly "mediate" into what is in effect regime change - fully supported by the US and the EU. Apart from tiny Oman, whose Sultan Qabus follows the Ibadi school, all GCC members are hardcore Sunnis. There are plenty of Jordanian "advisers" among the Bahraini/Saudi repression machine. Jordan and Morocco may get to become GCC members not only because they're monarchies - but most of all because they hate Iran like the plague (even though they are not exactly located in the Persian Gulf.) Jordan's King Playstation, sorry, Abdullah II, invented the murky concept of the "Shi'ite crescent" way back in 2004, a conspiracy according to which Shi'ites from Iran and Iraq to Lebanon and Syria would violently take over the Middle East. Morocco's King Muhammad VI for his part cut off diplomatic relations with Tehran in 2009. The GCC's top moment of counter-revolutionary glory, so far, happened less than two days after US Defense Secretary Robert Gates left Bahrain - when Saudi Arabia, with a minor contribution from the UAE, invaded Bahrain in support of their cousins, the Sunni al-Khalifa dynasty, and against the overwhelming majority of the peaceful, protesting Bahraini population. The GCC's secretary general, Abdullatif al-Zayani, happens to be an al-Khalifa-aligned Bahraini. There were no US, United Nations or EU sanctions, much less a NATO bombing spree to "celebrate" this invasion. Instead, earlier this week, EU foreign ministers slapped even more sanctions against Belarus, Iran, Libya and Syria. Not by accident all of them have been Washington targets for regime change, since the time of the neo-conservatives. Let us play in your courtyard Neo-colonial NATO and monarchic/theocratic GCC is a match made in weapons contractor heaven. The GCC will be incorporated into the global US missile shield system. Soon, there'll be that juicy $60 billion weapons deal with Saudi Arabia - the largest in American history. Western idolatry practitioners that they are, GCC members also wanna have fun and be part of the real post-modern action - neo-colonial war. After all, NATO itself can be interpreted as a professional mercenary neo-colonial army, ready to intervene anywhere from Central Asia to Northern Africa. Take Qatar. Qatar was the first country to recognize that dodgy bunch, the Libyan "rebels"; the first GCC member to supply NATO with French Mirage fighter jets and American C-17 Globemasters; it set up satellite Ahrar TV for the Transitional Council; showered them with MILAN missile launchers; and most of all immediately started to "supervise" oil exports from Cyrenaica. The reward was inevitable; on April 14, Obama hosted the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, at the White House, and lavishly praised him for his "leadership" in promoting "democracy in the Middle East" - a reference to Qatar's role in Libya. As for Salman al-Khalifa, the Crown Prince of Bahrain, on May 19 he glowingly posed for a photo-op on the steps of 10 Downing Street in London with Prime Minister Cameron, proving that slaughtering civilian, unarmed protesters and giving a green light for the House of Saud to invade his country was definitely good for business. But no one beats the UAE in the deadly toy realm. President Nicolas Sarkozy opened France's first military base in the Middle East in Abu Dhabi. The UAE has sent fighter jets to NATO in Libya. They are a "troop-contributing nation" for NATO in Afghanistan. And they will be the first GCC and Arab nation to send an ambassador to NATO headquarters in Brussels. Along with Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain, the UAE is a member of one of NATO's myriad "partnerships" - the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative military partnership. Translation: NATO encroaching on the Persian Gulf, positioning itself to raise any amount of hell against Iran. And then there's Zayed Military City; a secluded training camp in the desert for a secret army of mercenaries, to be deployed not only in the UAE but throughout the Middle East and Northern Africa. Off with their heads! Milking the GCC's burning desire to outsource mercenaries; that's the latest high-value-added scam of former Navy SEALS and former Blackwater supremo Erik Prince (in 2009 Blackwater was rebranded Xe Services.) It was in Abu Dhabi that Prince - through a joint venture called Reflex Responses - signed a first contract of $529 million on July 13, 2010, to deliver his services to "progressive" Sheik Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan. The idea was Zayed's. The New York Times may have had its kicks depicting, in a May 14 story, Colombians entering the UAE posing as construction workers, with special visas stamped by the UAE's military intelligence branch, so they could clear customs and immigration with no questions asked; yes, Prince wants battalions of Colombian and Central American mercenaries; he won't recruit Muslims to kill their own cousins and be faced with malfunctioning units. At least the paper pointed that Prince "is hoping to build an empire in the desert, far from the trial lawyers, congressional investigators and Justice Department officials" - without asking any hard questions about it. The mercenary army's agenda contains everything one needs to know; they will be involved in special ops inside and outside the UAE; "urban combat"; the "securing of nuclear and radioactive materials"; "humanitarian missions" (?); the defense of oil pipelines and sleek glass towers from "terrorist attacks"; and most significant of all, "crowd-control operations", where the crowd "is not armed with firearms but does pose a risk using improvised weapons [clubs and stones]". There it is, spelled out; internal repression all across the Persian Gulf, as against the sprawling labor camps housing tens of thousands of South Asian workers; or in case citizens of the UAE get the Bahrain pro-democracy fever. The excuse for all these ops could not be less original: the Iranian bogeyman, or "aggression". Prince had always wanted Blackwater to be a mercenary army deployable anywhere in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. He even wanted the US Central Intelligence Agency to use it for global special ops - before the CIA decided to laser on drones as a more cost-effective method. Now Prince has a wealthy Sheikh - a Pentagon fan who's in favor of bombing Iran - to bankroll his ''vision''. The first battalion boasts 580 mercenaries. Zayed's men have promised that if they prove themselves in a "real-world mission", the Emirate will pay Prince for a whole brigade of several thousand men, to the tune of billions of dollars. Prince could then move to his dream of a desert mercenary training complex modeled after Blackwater's compound in Moyock, North Carolina. So expect another "House of Saud does Bahrain" scenario. Like the mercenary army beating to death Pakistanis, Nepalis, Bangladeshis and Filipinos who want better working conditions in the UAE. Or expect covert special ops in Egypt and Tunisia to ensure their next governments align themselves with the US and the EU. Or expect boots on the ground in Libya to "provide humanitarian aid to civilians" (oops, that was two months ago; even Obama now says it's all about regime change). Still, all those Libyan "oil facilities" must be in the safe hands of US and EU multinationals (and not Russian, Indian and Chinese). Still, Gaddafi's inner circle must be "neutralized". And still Libya must be kept subdued, according to the age-old imperial tenets of divide and rule. So when the goin' gets tough, who you're gonna call? Definitely Xe Services' "innovative solutions", brought to you by Sheikh Zayed. No wonder the GCC club is the talk of the (counter-revolutionary) town. Pepe Escobar is the author of Globalistan: How the Globalized World is Dissolving into Liquid War (Nimble Books, 2007) and Red Zone Blues: a snapshot of Baghdad during the surge. His new book, just out, is Obama does Globalistan (Nimble Books, 2009). He may be reached at pepeasia@yahoo.com. (Copyright 2011 Asia Times Online (Holdings) Ltd. All rights reserved. Please contact us about sales, syndication and republishing.)
Blogger comment:
Obama as you see he continued in Bush policies with some wickedness, is to try to keep the same tyrants and after a tyrant close to fall he tries to get in the game to be sure who comes next is under the control of the empire. The guy really did not have a grand plan for change except for his own political career. See they are encourage the tyrants of the Arab gulf to stay in power and supporting them. The thing is a lot of priests in America are discovering more that America is the the mystery Babylon who corrupted the world. It is not only my take read and listen to a lot of them google America mystery Babylon and listen to the prophecies. Unlike Obama who is looking for this kingdom they are like me looking for the kingdom of Heaven. Know your are right when you are talking right and people oppressing you, like the west and America the Babylon oppressing me. They if believe in freedom they should have the right numbers of hits on my web kept exactly the same. For the idea that the Gulf tyrants are hard core Sunni, I disagree they are just hard core corrupt people. If they were even Muslims they would try to speak to me and even try to find out at personal level if I am Al Mahdi Al Muntazer or not.
By Pepe Escobar
To follow Pepe's articles on the Great Arab Revolt, please click here. They are a shish kebab of hereditary monarchies, emirates and outright theocracies. Most sit on oceans of oil (45% of the world's reserves). They are addicted to the West's glitter and glamour - from London to Monte Carlo, from the delicacies of Paris to the weaponized delicacies of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO. They abhor democracy like they abhor poverty. Some would be glad to topple their own people - as indeed they do. And they view Shi'ite Iran as worse than the anti-Christ. Welcome to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), formed in 1981 by top dog Saudi Arabia plus the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman. A more appropriate
denomination would be Gulf Counter-Revolutionary Council - or club; a Gulf club to end all golf clubs. As far as the GCC is concerned, the great 2011 Arab revolt will triumph over their (wealthy) dead bodies. How can they be so sure? Republican dynasties as in Tunisia or Egypt may be toppled; Libya may be bombed to the Stone Age; Syria may be threatened. But nothing will happen to the GCC because the enlightened West - not Allah - is their supreme guardian. New members welcome It's instructive to note that those 3,000-plus bombing raids on Libya since NATO took over the war on March 31 were conducted mostly by monarchies (Britain, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Qatar and the UAE), apart from republican France, and before that, via Africom, the United States. Only a few hours before United States President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron were enjoying a special relationship barbecue this week, NATO was turning 19 Libyan civilians into, well, barbecue, and slightly roasting at least 130 others. The GCC merrily applauded. The European Union (EU) and the GCC have issued a joint declaration forcing Colonel Muammar Gaddafi to go, not before handing over power to the Libyan Transitional National Council - which happens to be financed and armed exactly by NATO and the GCC. Now the GCC has declared it would love the idea of Jordan joining the club - and the same applies to Morocco. As for Yemen - which has yearned to be a member since 1999 - forget it; it's not a monarchy, and "unstable" to boot, with al those unruly people protesting. The best the GCC can do is to allegedly "mediate" into what is in effect regime change - fully supported by the US and the EU. Apart from tiny Oman, whose Sultan Qabus follows the Ibadi school, all GCC members are hardcore Sunnis. There are plenty of Jordanian "advisers" among the Bahraini/Saudi repression machine. Jordan and Morocco may get to become GCC members not only because they're monarchies - but most of all because they hate Iran like the plague (even though they are not exactly located in the Persian Gulf.) Jordan's King Playstation, sorry, Abdullah II, invented the murky concept of the "Shi'ite crescent" way back in 2004, a conspiracy according to which Shi'ites from Iran and Iraq to Lebanon and Syria would violently take over the Middle East. Morocco's King Muhammad VI for his part cut off diplomatic relations with Tehran in 2009. The GCC's top moment of counter-revolutionary glory, so far, happened less than two days after US Defense Secretary Robert Gates left Bahrain - when Saudi Arabia, with a minor contribution from the UAE, invaded Bahrain in support of their cousins, the Sunni al-Khalifa dynasty, and against the overwhelming majority of the peaceful, protesting Bahraini population. The GCC's secretary general, Abdullatif al-Zayani, happens to be an al-Khalifa-aligned Bahraini. There were no US, United Nations or EU sanctions, much less a NATO bombing spree to "celebrate" this invasion. Instead, earlier this week, EU foreign ministers slapped even more sanctions against Belarus, Iran, Libya and Syria. Not by accident all of them have been Washington targets for regime change, since the time of the neo-conservatives. Let us play in your courtyard Neo-colonial NATO and monarchic/theocratic GCC is a match made in weapons contractor heaven. The GCC will be incorporated into the global US missile shield system. Soon, there'll be that juicy $60 billion weapons deal with Saudi Arabia - the largest in American history. Western idolatry practitioners that they are, GCC members also wanna have fun and be part of the real post-modern action - neo-colonial war. After all, NATO itself can be interpreted as a professional mercenary neo-colonial army, ready to intervene anywhere from Central Asia to Northern Africa. Take Qatar. Qatar was the first country to recognize that dodgy bunch, the Libyan "rebels"; the first GCC member to supply NATO with French Mirage fighter jets and American C-17 Globemasters; it set up satellite Ahrar TV for the Transitional Council; showered them with MILAN missile launchers; and most of all immediately started to "supervise" oil exports from Cyrenaica. The reward was inevitable; on April 14, Obama hosted the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, at the White House, and lavishly praised him for his "leadership" in promoting "democracy in the Middle East" - a reference to Qatar's role in Libya. As for Salman al-Khalifa, the Crown Prince of Bahrain, on May 19 he glowingly posed for a photo-op on the steps of 10 Downing Street in London with Prime Minister Cameron, proving that slaughtering civilian, unarmed protesters and giving a green light for the House of Saud to invade his country was definitely good for business. But no one beats the UAE in the deadly toy realm. President Nicolas Sarkozy opened France's first military base in the Middle East in Abu Dhabi. The UAE has sent fighter jets to NATO in Libya. They are a "troop-contributing nation" for NATO in Afghanistan. And they will be the first GCC and Arab nation to send an ambassador to NATO headquarters in Brussels. Along with Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain, the UAE is a member of one of NATO's myriad "partnerships" - the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative military partnership. Translation: NATO encroaching on the Persian Gulf, positioning itself to raise any amount of hell against Iran. And then there's Zayed Military City; a secluded training camp in the desert for a secret army of mercenaries, to be deployed not only in the UAE but throughout the Middle East and Northern Africa. Off with their heads! Milking the GCC's burning desire to outsource mercenaries; that's the latest high-value-added scam of former Navy SEALS and former Blackwater supremo Erik Prince (in 2009 Blackwater was rebranded Xe Services.) It was in Abu Dhabi that Prince - through a joint venture called Reflex Responses - signed a first contract of $529 million on July 13, 2010, to deliver his services to "progressive" Sheik Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan. The idea was Zayed's. The New York Times may have had its kicks depicting, in a May 14 story, Colombians entering the UAE posing as construction workers, with special visas stamped by the UAE's military intelligence branch, so they could clear customs and immigration with no questions asked; yes, Prince wants battalions of Colombian and Central American mercenaries; he won't recruit Muslims to kill their own cousins and be faced with malfunctioning units. At least the paper pointed that Prince "is hoping to build an empire in the desert, far from the trial lawyers, congressional investigators and Justice Department officials" - without asking any hard questions about it. The mercenary army's agenda contains everything one needs to know; they will be involved in special ops inside and outside the UAE; "urban combat"; the "securing of nuclear and radioactive materials"; "humanitarian missions" (?); the defense of oil pipelines and sleek glass towers from "terrorist attacks"; and most significant of all, "crowd-control operations", where the crowd "is not armed with firearms but does pose a risk using improvised weapons [clubs and stones]". There it is, spelled out; internal repression all across the Persian Gulf, as against the sprawling labor camps housing tens of thousands of South Asian workers; or in case citizens of the UAE get the Bahrain pro-democracy fever. The excuse for all these ops could not be less original: the Iranian bogeyman, or "aggression". Prince had always wanted Blackwater to be a mercenary army deployable anywhere in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. He even wanted the US Central Intelligence Agency to use it for global special ops - before the CIA decided to laser on drones as a more cost-effective method. Now Prince has a wealthy Sheikh - a Pentagon fan who's in favor of bombing Iran - to bankroll his ''vision''. The first battalion boasts 580 mercenaries. Zayed's men have promised that if they prove themselves in a "real-world mission", the Emirate will pay Prince for a whole brigade of several thousand men, to the tune of billions of dollars. Prince could then move to his dream of a desert mercenary training complex modeled after Blackwater's compound in Moyock, North Carolina. So expect another "House of Saud does Bahrain" scenario. Like the mercenary army beating to death Pakistanis, Nepalis, Bangladeshis and Filipinos who want better working conditions in the UAE. Or expect covert special ops in Egypt and Tunisia to ensure their next governments align themselves with the US and the EU. Or expect boots on the ground in Libya to "provide humanitarian aid to civilians" (oops, that was two months ago; even Obama now says it's all about regime change). Still, all those Libyan "oil facilities" must be in the safe hands of US and EU multinationals (and not Russian, Indian and Chinese). Still, Gaddafi's inner circle must be "neutralized". And still Libya must be kept subdued, according to the age-old imperial tenets of divide and rule. So when the goin' gets tough, who you're gonna call? Definitely Xe Services' "innovative solutions", brought to you by Sheikh Zayed. No wonder the GCC club is the talk of the (counter-revolutionary) town. Pepe Escobar is the author of Globalistan: How the Globalized World is Dissolving into Liquid War (Nimble Books, 2007) and Red Zone Blues: a snapshot of Baghdad during the surge. His new book, just out, is Obama does Globalistan (Nimble Books, 2009). He may be reached at pepeasia@yahoo.com. (Copyright 2011 Asia Times Online (Holdings) Ltd. All rights reserved. Please contact us about sales, syndication and republishing.)
Blogger comment:
Obama as you see he continued in Bush policies with some wickedness, is to try to keep the same tyrants and after a tyrant close to fall he tries to get in the game to be sure who comes next is under the control of the empire. The guy really did not have a grand plan for change except for his own political career. See they are encourage the tyrants of the Arab gulf to stay in power and supporting them. The thing is a lot of priests in America are discovering more that America is the the mystery Babylon who corrupted the world. It is not only my take read and listen to a lot of them google America mystery Babylon and listen to the prophecies. Unlike Obama who is looking for this kingdom they are like me looking for the kingdom of Heaven. Know your are right when you are talking right and people oppressing you, like the west and America the Babylon oppressing me. They if believe in freedom they should have the right numbers of hits on my web kept exactly the same. For the idea that the Gulf tyrants are hard core Sunni, I disagree they are just hard core corrupt people. If they were even Muslims they would try to speak to me and even try to find out at personal level if I am Al Mahdi Al Muntazer or not.
To Al Jazzera Where is Democracy in the Gulf
By: Maged Taman
Al Jazzera is still under the influence of Qartar who play politics very well with the west and against the tyrants of the going to fall and standing for the tyrants who is in power. You do not see Al Jazzera talking about democracy in Saudi and Gulf area. There is not mention in Al Jazzera that I am AL Mahdi Al Muntazer or I am a impostor. They still take their orders from the west. The revolutions in Yemen, Libya and Syria are suffering since If I would go publicly I will be able to unite Muslims and get rapid conquer of the revolutionaries against the tyrants. Thus Al Jazzera is not in the front of the revolution but they jump in the right time to keep the west and Qatar in agreement. The west is fearful if Saudi to fall the oil will be 250 dollars a barrel. Though If we to liberate it will sell the oil for cheaper Price. Did you see the corrupt princess who is calling for lower oil. This prince is the the front face of the Saudi corrupt family. Let him to be brace and denounce me publicly and do not do like the evil Jews (not the good ones) arrange to intimidate me in America. Did anyone say the Antichrist (Al Messiagh Al Dijal) is coming soon.
Al Mahdi Al Muntazer
Al Jazzera is still under the influence of Qartar who play politics very well with the west and against the tyrants of the going to fall and standing for the tyrants who is in power. You do not see Al Jazzera talking about democracy in Saudi and Gulf area. There is not mention in Al Jazzera that I am AL Mahdi Al Muntazer or I am a impostor. They still take their orders from the west. The revolutions in Yemen, Libya and Syria are suffering since If I would go publicly I will be able to unite Muslims and get rapid conquer of the revolutionaries against the tyrants. Thus Al Jazzera is not in the front of the revolution but they jump in the right time to keep the west and Qatar in agreement. The west is fearful if Saudi to fall the oil will be 250 dollars a barrel. Though If we to liberate it will sell the oil for cheaper Price. Did you see the corrupt princess who is calling for lower oil. This prince is the the front face of the Saudi corrupt family. Let him to be brace and denounce me publicly and do not do like the evil Jews (not the good ones) arrange to intimidate me in America. Did anyone say the Antichrist (Al Messiagh Al Dijal) is coming soon.
Al Mahdi Al Muntazer
The Tyrans try to unite again
الأردن يبدأ مفاوضات الانضمام للخليجي
العاهل الأردني خلال استقباله وزير الخارجية السعودية قبل اسبوعين (رويترز)
محمد النجار-عمان
يبدأ الأردن خلال الشهر المقبل مفاوضات انضمامه لمجلس التعاون الخليجي، وفيما بدت توقعات الأردنيين عالية من هذا الانضمام يرى سياسيون أن هذه التوقعات تبدو غير واقعية وأن الانضمام يحتاج لفترة غير قصيرة.
وكشفت مصادر أردنية للجزيرة نت أن وزير الخارجية ناصر جودة سيحضر اجتماعا مرتقبا لوزراء خارجية مجلس التعاون الخليجي سيستكمل خلاله البحث في إجراءات انضمام الأردن للتعرف على المتطلبات اللازمة للانضمام، وأنه سيتم تكثيف المحادثات بين عمان وأمانة المجلس المرحلة المقبلة لتسريع "تأهيل" الأردن للانضمام للمجلس.
وكان الوزير جودة قد كشف بتصريحات للتفلزيون الأردني أن نظيره السعودي وجه إليه دعوة لحضور اجتماع لوزراء خارجية دول مجلس التعاون لبحث آليات انضمام الأردن للمجلس.
وتحدث جودة عن "مؤشرات إيجابية وقناعة لدى الطرفين" لإتمام إجراءات الانضمام.
وقال إن هناك "قيمة مضافة متبادلة بين الأردن ودول الخليج على المستويات الاقتصادية والأمنية وهناك تكامل ثقافي وجغرافي وطبيعي"، مشيرا لوجود أكثر من نصف مليون أردني يعملون بدول الخليج.
جودة تحدث عن رؤية سياسية مشتركة بين قادة الخليج والأردن بشأن الأحداث بالمنطقة (الفرنسية)ولم يخف "وجود رؤية مشتركة بين القيادات السياسية لتحديات الإقليم، بين العاهل الأردني وقادة دول مجلس التعاون كان لها دور كبير لتحقيق هذا التوجه".
ورفض جودة ربط الانضمام بإطار زمني، مشيرا لوجود آلية ومتطلبات لتحقيق الانضمام.
سقف التوقعاتومنذ إعلان مجلس التعاون الخليجي ترحيبه بطلب الأردن الانضمام لعضويته ارتفع سقف التوقعات لدى المواطنين الأردنيين بشكل كبير لا سيما في الجوانب الاقتصادية حيث تعاني المملكة من أزمة اقتصادية مزمنة.
وظهر سقف التوقعات المرتفع بتأثر قطاعات اقتصادية بشكل وصفه محللون اقتصاديون بأنه غير واقعي، حيث تأثرت حركة تجارة السيارات والعقارات، كما شهدت البورصة ارتفاعا بتداولاتها على مدى أيام بعد قرار التعاون الخليجي.
وبرأي رئيس لجنة الشؤون الخارجية بالبرلمانين العربي والأردني سابقا الدكتور محمد أبو هديب فإن التوقيت المفاجئ لقرار التعاون الخليجي رفع سقف التوقعات لدى المواطنين وفاجأ حتى السياسيين الأردنيين والخليجيين.
وقال للجزيرة نت إن دخول الأردن لمجلس التعاون الخليجي يعني دخوله بمنظومة المجلس من حيث السياسات بينما تحتاج تفاصيل الدخول ومفاوضاتها لوقت طويل.
واعتبر أنه من السابق لأوانه الحديث عن ملامح عضوية الأردن والمكانة التي سيحصل عليها في منظومة دول مجلس التعاون.
وبرأي أبو هديب فإنه لا يمكن فصل قرار التعاون الخليجي الترحيب بالأردن ودعوة المغرب للانضمام، عن الدلالات السياسية من حيث تشابه أنظمة الحكم بهذه الدول وبحث دول الخليج عن التحالف مع أنظمة معتدلة.
محمد أبو هديب (الجزيرة نت)وتابع "اللحظة السياسية بالمنطقة تبدو فارقة بالنسبة لدول المجلس التي ترى بالأردن عمقا إستراتيجيا كبيرا سياسيا وأمنيا خاصة في ظل الوضع المصري الذي يحتاج لفترة ليست بالقليلة لاستعادة مصر دورها".
وتحدث السياسي الأردني عن تفكير دول الخليج بالخطر القادم من الشرق وهو إيران والتي بدت دول الخليج أكثر قلقا منها بعد أحداث البحرين، كما باتت هذه الدول على قناعة بخطأ الاعتماد على الحليف الأميركي فقط وضرورة البحث عن تحالفات عربية جديدة.
كما نبه لاستفادة التعاون الخليجي والأردن من مجالات التعاون من خلال التنوع السكاني وتمازج الخبرات وحاجة دول الخليج لعمق أمني إضافة للسياسي بتقوية منظومتها.
وقال إن الأحداث باليمن ربما ساهمت بتقوية الدور الأردني حيث ثبت أن اليمن بات عبئا على دول الخليج العربي أكثر من كونه حليفا لها بعد سنوات من محاولات تأهيليه دون جدوى.
وإضافة لليمن فإن العراق يحتاج للاستقرار السياسي والأمني قبل أن تفكر دول الخليج بالبحث بالتكامل والتعاون معه خاصة وأن إيران باتت تؤثر بالمشهد العراقي مما يقلق دول الخليج بشكل أكبر، كما قال.
Blogger comment:
The king of Jordon and the tyrants of Saudi would never mention my name publicly since my revolution against them will spark. What they can do is to unite together and not for the benefits of their people but for staying in power and their corrupt families. They do not still believe in prophecy or try to ignore it. I did not hear the corrupted Muslim scholars of the king of Saudi denounce me publicly as Al Mahdi.
Al Mahdi Al Muntazer.
العاهل الأردني خلال استقباله وزير الخارجية السعودية قبل اسبوعين (رويترز)
محمد النجار-عمان
يبدأ الأردن خلال الشهر المقبل مفاوضات انضمامه لمجلس التعاون الخليجي، وفيما بدت توقعات الأردنيين عالية من هذا الانضمام يرى سياسيون أن هذه التوقعات تبدو غير واقعية وأن الانضمام يحتاج لفترة غير قصيرة.
وكشفت مصادر أردنية للجزيرة نت أن وزير الخارجية ناصر جودة سيحضر اجتماعا مرتقبا لوزراء خارجية مجلس التعاون الخليجي سيستكمل خلاله البحث في إجراءات انضمام الأردن للتعرف على المتطلبات اللازمة للانضمام، وأنه سيتم تكثيف المحادثات بين عمان وأمانة المجلس المرحلة المقبلة لتسريع "تأهيل" الأردن للانضمام للمجلس.
وكان الوزير جودة قد كشف بتصريحات للتفلزيون الأردني أن نظيره السعودي وجه إليه دعوة لحضور اجتماع لوزراء خارجية دول مجلس التعاون لبحث آليات انضمام الأردن للمجلس.
وتحدث جودة عن "مؤشرات إيجابية وقناعة لدى الطرفين" لإتمام إجراءات الانضمام.
وقال إن هناك "قيمة مضافة متبادلة بين الأردن ودول الخليج على المستويات الاقتصادية والأمنية وهناك تكامل ثقافي وجغرافي وطبيعي"، مشيرا لوجود أكثر من نصف مليون أردني يعملون بدول الخليج.
جودة تحدث عن رؤية سياسية مشتركة بين قادة الخليج والأردن بشأن الأحداث بالمنطقة (الفرنسية)ولم يخف "وجود رؤية مشتركة بين القيادات السياسية لتحديات الإقليم، بين العاهل الأردني وقادة دول مجلس التعاون كان لها دور كبير لتحقيق هذا التوجه".
ورفض جودة ربط الانضمام بإطار زمني، مشيرا لوجود آلية ومتطلبات لتحقيق الانضمام.
سقف التوقعاتومنذ إعلان مجلس التعاون الخليجي ترحيبه بطلب الأردن الانضمام لعضويته ارتفع سقف التوقعات لدى المواطنين الأردنيين بشكل كبير لا سيما في الجوانب الاقتصادية حيث تعاني المملكة من أزمة اقتصادية مزمنة.
وظهر سقف التوقعات المرتفع بتأثر قطاعات اقتصادية بشكل وصفه محللون اقتصاديون بأنه غير واقعي، حيث تأثرت حركة تجارة السيارات والعقارات، كما شهدت البورصة ارتفاعا بتداولاتها على مدى أيام بعد قرار التعاون الخليجي.
وبرأي رئيس لجنة الشؤون الخارجية بالبرلمانين العربي والأردني سابقا الدكتور محمد أبو هديب فإن التوقيت المفاجئ لقرار التعاون الخليجي رفع سقف التوقعات لدى المواطنين وفاجأ حتى السياسيين الأردنيين والخليجيين.
وقال للجزيرة نت إن دخول الأردن لمجلس التعاون الخليجي يعني دخوله بمنظومة المجلس من حيث السياسات بينما تحتاج تفاصيل الدخول ومفاوضاتها لوقت طويل.
واعتبر أنه من السابق لأوانه الحديث عن ملامح عضوية الأردن والمكانة التي سيحصل عليها في منظومة دول مجلس التعاون.
وبرأي أبو هديب فإنه لا يمكن فصل قرار التعاون الخليجي الترحيب بالأردن ودعوة المغرب للانضمام، عن الدلالات السياسية من حيث تشابه أنظمة الحكم بهذه الدول وبحث دول الخليج عن التحالف مع أنظمة معتدلة.
محمد أبو هديب (الجزيرة نت)وتابع "اللحظة السياسية بالمنطقة تبدو فارقة بالنسبة لدول المجلس التي ترى بالأردن عمقا إستراتيجيا كبيرا سياسيا وأمنيا خاصة في ظل الوضع المصري الذي يحتاج لفترة ليست بالقليلة لاستعادة مصر دورها".
وتحدث السياسي الأردني عن تفكير دول الخليج بالخطر القادم من الشرق وهو إيران والتي بدت دول الخليج أكثر قلقا منها بعد أحداث البحرين، كما باتت هذه الدول على قناعة بخطأ الاعتماد على الحليف الأميركي فقط وضرورة البحث عن تحالفات عربية جديدة.
كما نبه لاستفادة التعاون الخليجي والأردن من مجالات التعاون من خلال التنوع السكاني وتمازج الخبرات وحاجة دول الخليج لعمق أمني إضافة للسياسي بتقوية منظومتها.
وقال إن الأحداث باليمن ربما ساهمت بتقوية الدور الأردني حيث ثبت أن اليمن بات عبئا على دول الخليج العربي أكثر من كونه حليفا لها بعد سنوات من محاولات تأهيليه دون جدوى.
وإضافة لليمن فإن العراق يحتاج للاستقرار السياسي والأمني قبل أن تفكر دول الخليج بالبحث بالتكامل والتعاون معه خاصة وأن إيران باتت تؤثر بالمشهد العراقي مما يقلق دول الخليج بشكل أكبر، كما قال.
Blogger comment:
The king of Jordon and the tyrants of Saudi would never mention my name publicly since my revolution against them will spark. What they can do is to unite together and not for the benefits of their people but for staying in power and their corrupt families. They do not still believe in prophecy or try to ignore it. I did not hear the corrupted Muslim scholars of the king of Saudi denounce me publicly as Al Mahdi.
Al Mahdi Al Muntazer.
Totally white revolution was possible in Egypt
مفاجآت فى تحقيقات اتهام مبارك بقتل المتظاهرين واستغلال النفوذ وإهدار المال العام
سليمان: العادلى أرسل تقارير لمبارك بكل رصاصة أطلقت وكل شهيد وكل طفل سقط ولم يعترض
محافظ جنوب سيناء الأسبق: مبارك أمرني بمنح حسين سالم ملايين الأمتار مقابل قصر و4 فيللات
الداخلية تبلغ وزارة العدل أن محاكمة المخلوع فى القاهرة ستؤدى لانفلات تصعب السيطرة عليه
قضاة يحددون 3 سيناريوهات لمحاكمته.. وصحيفة: النائب العام يحسم اليوم أمر نقله إلى طرة
ومحاكمة نجليه لحصولهما علي منافع ورشاوي من حسين سالم مقابل استغلاله لنفوذ والدهما
كشفت تقارير إخبارية أن النيابة استندت إلى شهادة عمر سليمان نائب الرئيس المخلوع في إدانة الأخير بجريمة قتل المحتجين أثناء ثورة 25 يناير, فيما إستندت لشهادة ممدوح الزهيري محافظ جنوب سيناء لإدانة الرئيس المخلوع بالرشوة. وأكد سليمان، الذي عمل كرئيس لجهاز المخابرات لصحيفة "الأخبار" اليومية، أن مبارك كلف القوات المسلحة والمخابرات العامة بمتابعة المظاهرات وموقف المتظاهرين, وأنه كان يتلقي التقارير كل ساعة من حبيب العادلي وزير الداخلية الأسبق، وينقلها، عمر سليمان، فورا الي الرئيس المخلوع.
وأوضح أن التقارير تضمنت كل عمليات اطلاق الرصاص الحي والمطاطي علي المتظاهرين في محاولة لافشال الثورة والتمكين لاستمرار مبارك في الحكم, مركداً أن مبارك لم يعترض مطلقا علي اطلاق الرصاص الحي.
وقال سليمان إن مبارك كان لديه علم كامل بكل رصاصة أطلقت علي المتظاهرين وبأعداد كل من سقط سواء شهيدا أو جريحا، وحتي الشهداء الاطفال وبكل التحركات العنيفة للداخلية في التصدي للمتظاهرين ودهسهم بالسيارات ومحاولات تفريقهم بالقوة.. وأضاف أن مبارك لم يأمر علي الاطلاق برفض هذه الممارسات العنيفة أو اطلاق الرصاص الحي، بما يؤكد موافقته الكاملة علي هذه الاجراءات واشتراكه فيها.
كما تضمنت أدلة إدانة مبارك, شهادة اللواء ممدوح الزهيري، محافظ جنوب سيناء الاسبق عام 1997، والتي كشفت العلاقة المشبوهة بين مبارك وصديقه اللص الهارب حسين سالم.. وقال المحافظ الاسبق ان حسين سالم "منح" مبارك قطعة أرض بشرم الشيخ مقابل سعر صوري علي عقد صوري (500 ألف جنيه)، وبني له عليها قصر و٤ فيللات تتجاوز اسعارها 50 مليون جنيه.
وأضاف الزهيري أنه أثناء عمله كمحافظ كان دائم الاختلاف مع حسين سالم، وفي كل مرة كان يختلف فيها كان يفاجأ بمبارك يتصل به ويأمره بالاستجابة لكل طلبات حسين سالم في الحصول علي ملايين الأمتار بشرم الشيخ في أكثر المواقع تميزا وبأسعار بخسة، بما يؤكد ان مبارك حصل علي الأرض والقصر والفيللات الاربع في مقابل منح الأراضي لحسين سالم.
من جهة أخرى, نقلت صحيفة "المصري اليوم" عن مصادر قضائية تأكيدها أن محكمة استئناف القاهرة هى التى ستحدد الدائرة التى سيمثل أمامها مبارك ونجلاه علاء وجمال وحسين سالم، من دوائر محكمة جنايات القاهرة, طبقا لثلاثة بنود: أولها مكان الجريمة، وثانيها محل الاقامة، وثالثها مكان الضبط.
وأوضحت الصحف أن مبارك متهم بالاشتراك في قتل الثوار والرشوة والاضرار العمدي بالمال العام، وحسين سالم متهم بتقديم الرشاوي والتربح بينما علاء وجمال متهمين فقط بالحصول علي منافع ورشاوي من حسين سالم مقابل استغلاله لنفوذ والدهم.
وأضافت المصادر أن جريمة قتل المتظاهرين، المتهم بها مبارك ونجلاه، حدثت فى محافظات القاهرة والجيزة والإسكندرية والدقهلية والغربية والسويس وبنى سويف، أما بالنسبة لاتهامات استغلال النفوذ والحصول على مكاسب غير مشروعة، فجرت فى أماكن متفرقة بالبلاد.
وأشارت إلى أنه وفقا لقرار إحالة المتهمين، الصادر من مكتب النائب العام، فإن محكمة الاستئناف ستتسلم التحقيقات فى ملف واحد، أى أنها ستكون قضية واحدة، وستنظر أمام دائرة واحدة، وتتصدى هذه الدائرة برئيسها وعضويها لجميع الاتهامات الموجهة إلى الرئيس المخلوع وباقى المتهمين.
من جهتها, كشفت صحيفة "الأخبار" عن الأدلة التي إستندت إليها النيابة لادانة مبارك ونجليه علاء وجمال وصديقه حسين سالم.
وكشف مصدر قضائي لـ"الأخبار" انه بشأن ما يتردد من تساؤلات عن اسباب عدم صدور قرار بإحالة مبارك للمحاكمة بتهمة قتل الثوار في نفس القضية المتهم فيها حبيب العادلي وزير الداخلية السابق ومساعديه الستة.. كشف ان النيابة "اسندت الي الرئيس السابق عدة اتهامات بارتكاب ٥ جرائم مختلفة من بينها الاشتراك في قتل المتظاهرين وجرائم اهدار المال العام واستغلال النفوذ لدي السلطات العامة والاضرار العمدي بالمال العام والتربح في موضوعات تصدير الغاز لاسرائيل ومنح الاراضي لحسين سالم"، وبالتالي فقد وجدت النيابة العامة ان احالة مبارك الي محكمة واحدة لنظر كل الاتهامات المسندة اليه يتفق مع صحيح وحكم القانون.
Blogger comment:
Our prayers to the souls of the great Muslims and Christians who died in the Egyptian revolution. A totally white revolution was very possible if not for the determination of Mubarak to kill people to scare them of so they do not succeed. Their death was worst for him if to stay himself or his corrupt family in power. The same thing happens with the tyrants of Libya, Syria and Yemen. For the people who would stand with them do not sell your eternity for a cheap price. It is very clear we are in the end of time and Muslims will win over and will remove their tyrants so stand with God, Muslims and the prophecy.
سليمان: العادلى أرسل تقارير لمبارك بكل رصاصة أطلقت وكل شهيد وكل طفل سقط ولم يعترض
محافظ جنوب سيناء الأسبق: مبارك أمرني بمنح حسين سالم ملايين الأمتار مقابل قصر و4 فيللات
الداخلية تبلغ وزارة العدل أن محاكمة المخلوع فى القاهرة ستؤدى لانفلات تصعب السيطرة عليه
قضاة يحددون 3 سيناريوهات لمحاكمته.. وصحيفة: النائب العام يحسم اليوم أمر نقله إلى طرة
ومحاكمة نجليه لحصولهما علي منافع ورشاوي من حسين سالم مقابل استغلاله لنفوذ والدهما
كشفت تقارير إخبارية أن النيابة استندت إلى شهادة عمر سليمان نائب الرئيس المخلوع في إدانة الأخير بجريمة قتل المحتجين أثناء ثورة 25 يناير, فيما إستندت لشهادة ممدوح الزهيري محافظ جنوب سيناء لإدانة الرئيس المخلوع بالرشوة. وأكد سليمان، الذي عمل كرئيس لجهاز المخابرات لصحيفة "الأخبار" اليومية، أن مبارك كلف القوات المسلحة والمخابرات العامة بمتابعة المظاهرات وموقف المتظاهرين, وأنه كان يتلقي التقارير كل ساعة من حبيب العادلي وزير الداخلية الأسبق، وينقلها، عمر سليمان، فورا الي الرئيس المخلوع.
وأوضح أن التقارير تضمنت كل عمليات اطلاق الرصاص الحي والمطاطي علي المتظاهرين في محاولة لافشال الثورة والتمكين لاستمرار مبارك في الحكم, مركداً أن مبارك لم يعترض مطلقا علي اطلاق الرصاص الحي.
وقال سليمان إن مبارك كان لديه علم كامل بكل رصاصة أطلقت علي المتظاهرين وبأعداد كل من سقط سواء شهيدا أو جريحا، وحتي الشهداء الاطفال وبكل التحركات العنيفة للداخلية في التصدي للمتظاهرين ودهسهم بالسيارات ومحاولات تفريقهم بالقوة.. وأضاف أن مبارك لم يأمر علي الاطلاق برفض هذه الممارسات العنيفة أو اطلاق الرصاص الحي، بما يؤكد موافقته الكاملة علي هذه الاجراءات واشتراكه فيها.
كما تضمنت أدلة إدانة مبارك, شهادة اللواء ممدوح الزهيري، محافظ جنوب سيناء الاسبق عام 1997، والتي كشفت العلاقة المشبوهة بين مبارك وصديقه اللص الهارب حسين سالم.. وقال المحافظ الاسبق ان حسين سالم "منح" مبارك قطعة أرض بشرم الشيخ مقابل سعر صوري علي عقد صوري (500 ألف جنيه)، وبني له عليها قصر و٤ فيللات تتجاوز اسعارها 50 مليون جنيه.
وأضاف الزهيري أنه أثناء عمله كمحافظ كان دائم الاختلاف مع حسين سالم، وفي كل مرة كان يختلف فيها كان يفاجأ بمبارك يتصل به ويأمره بالاستجابة لكل طلبات حسين سالم في الحصول علي ملايين الأمتار بشرم الشيخ في أكثر المواقع تميزا وبأسعار بخسة، بما يؤكد ان مبارك حصل علي الأرض والقصر والفيللات الاربع في مقابل منح الأراضي لحسين سالم.
من جهة أخرى, نقلت صحيفة "المصري اليوم" عن مصادر قضائية تأكيدها أن محكمة استئناف القاهرة هى التى ستحدد الدائرة التى سيمثل أمامها مبارك ونجلاه علاء وجمال وحسين سالم، من دوائر محكمة جنايات القاهرة, طبقا لثلاثة بنود: أولها مكان الجريمة، وثانيها محل الاقامة، وثالثها مكان الضبط.
وأوضحت الصحف أن مبارك متهم بالاشتراك في قتل الثوار والرشوة والاضرار العمدي بالمال العام، وحسين سالم متهم بتقديم الرشاوي والتربح بينما علاء وجمال متهمين فقط بالحصول علي منافع ورشاوي من حسين سالم مقابل استغلاله لنفوذ والدهم.
وأضافت المصادر أن جريمة قتل المتظاهرين، المتهم بها مبارك ونجلاه، حدثت فى محافظات القاهرة والجيزة والإسكندرية والدقهلية والغربية والسويس وبنى سويف، أما بالنسبة لاتهامات استغلال النفوذ والحصول على مكاسب غير مشروعة، فجرت فى أماكن متفرقة بالبلاد.
وأشارت إلى أنه وفقا لقرار إحالة المتهمين، الصادر من مكتب النائب العام، فإن محكمة الاستئناف ستتسلم التحقيقات فى ملف واحد، أى أنها ستكون قضية واحدة، وستنظر أمام دائرة واحدة، وتتصدى هذه الدائرة برئيسها وعضويها لجميع الاتهامات الموجهة إلى الرئيس المخلوع وباقى المتهمين.
من جهتها, كشفت صحيفة "الأخبار" عن الأدلة التي إستندت إليها النيابة لادانة مبارك ونجليه علاء وجمال وصديقه حسين سالم.
وكشف مصدر قضائي لـ"الأخبار" انه بشأن ما يتردد من تساؤلات عن اسباب عدم صدور قرار بإحالة مبارك للمحاكمة بتهمة قتل الثوار في نفس القضية المتهم فيها حبيب العادلي وزير الداخلية السابق ومساعديه الستة.. كشف ان النيابة "اسندت الي الرئيس السابق عدة اتهامات بارتكاب ٥ جرائم مختلفة من بينها الاشتراك في قتل المتظاهرين وجرائم اهدار المال العام واستغلال النفوذ لدي السلطات العامة والاضرار العمدي بالمال العام والتربح في موضوعات تصدير الغاز لاسرائيل ومنح الاراضي لحسين سالم"، وبالتالي فقد وجدت النيابة العامة ان احالة مبارك الي محكمة واحدة لنظر كل الاتهامات المسندة اليه يتفق مع صحيح وحكم القانون.
Blogger comment:
Our prayers to the souls of the great Muslims and Christians who died in the Egyptian revolution. A totally white revolution was very possible if not for the determination of Mubarak to kill people to scare them of so they do not succeed. Their death was worst for him if to stay himself or his corrupt family in power. The same thing happens with the tyrants of Libya, Syria and Yemen. For the people who would stand with them do not sell your eternity for a cheap price. It is very clear we are in the end of time and Muslims will win over and will remove their tyrants so stand with God, Muslims and the prophecy.
The Tyrant Regimes in Arab/Muslim world are unsustainable
الشرطة تفرق محتجين بالرباط
محاولات التظاهر في المغرب قوبلت في الأسابيع الماضية بتدخل أمني (رويترز)فرقت الشرطة المغربية عشرات الشبان في الرباط لمنعهم من تنظيم احتجاج دعت إليه حركة 20 فبراير في عدد من المدن للمطالبة بالديمقراطية.
وقال نجيب شوقي وهو أحد أعضاء الحركة في الرباط لوكالة الصحافة الفرنسية إن قوات أمنية كبيرة تحركت ضد المتظاهرين واستخدمت الهريّ لمنع التجمع أمام البرلمان.
وكان وزير الاتصال المغربي خالد الناصري قد قال يوم الاثنين الماضي بعد تفريق تجمعات مماثلة إن "إسلاميين ويساريين متطرفين يسعون لنشر الاضطرابات في المغرب تحت غطاء الاحتجاجات".
وقد أصيب عشرات النشطاء لدى تدخل الشرطة لتفريق المتظاهرين يوم الأحد الماضي, في تحد لقرار بحظر التظاهر في الرباط ومدن أخرى من بينها الدار البيضاء.
وتطالب حركة 20 فبراير -وهي شبكة متنوعة يقودها كما تقول رويترز شبان من تيارات عقدية مختلفة- الملك محمد السادس بإقرار ملكية دستورية وتطبيق مبدأ المحاسبة ومنح القضاء استقلالا كاملا.
وقد أعلن الملك في مارس/آذار الماضي أنه سيعدل الدستور للسماح بمزيد من الديمقراطية واستقلال القضاء, ومن المقرر أن يعلن تشكيل لجنة مشروع دستور الشهر المقبل.
تعليقات القراء
التعليقات المنشورة لا تعبر عن رأي الجزيرة وإنما تعبر عن رأي أصحابها
1
يحي
اكثر من عشرة سنة والنظام المصري كان يفرق المظاهرات بالضرب والتنكيل وتسيل الدماء ومع ذلك الشعب اسقط النظام وستسقط انظمة كثيرة فاسدة ترفض الاصلاح واطلاق الحرية وحق التعبير والعيش الكريم
Blogger comment:
The Arab tyrant regimes do not have anything to offer but corruption, tyranny and oppression. They have no idea or plans to their people and do not even let other try. They have made very good money to their family and the connected and for the rest they using merciless oppressive police to control the masses. Besides, it is a prophecy all of these regimes will fall, it is even not sustainable to have people live with no hope or a grim of hope. At this juncture death became more worse than life, but not suicide or homicide but intelligent uprise to bring the regimes down. See how this happened in Egypt, it was almost a white revolution. For the west I hold them accountable in the day of judgement when we will be under the real trial of God. I will tell God you described me to them in their holy book to liberate people and prepare for the second coming and they will not let me public to strengthen my people and get quick victory. Thus I hold you responsible and your Obama in the day of judgement not to let me talk in public to have quick liberty to Muslims. You know that I am Al Mahdi Al Muntazer and I know that you are Babylon the whore who corrupted the world.
محاولات التظاهر في المغرب قوبلت في الأسابيع الماضية بتدخل أمني (رويترز)فرقت الشرطة المغربية عشرات الشبان في الرباط لمنعهم من تنظيم احتجاج دعت إليه حركة 20 فبراير في عدد من المدن للمطالبة بالديمقراطية.
وقال نجيب شوقي وهو أحد أعضاء الحركة في الرباط لوكالة الصحافة الفرنسية إن قوات أمنية كبيرة تحركت ضد المتظاهرين واستخدمت الهريّ لمنع التجمع أمام البرلمان.
وكان وزير الاتصال المغربي خالد الناصري قد قال يوم الاثنين الماضي بعد تفريق تجمعات مماثلة إن "إسلاميين ويساريين متطرفين يسعون لنشر الاضطرابات في المغرب تحت غطاء الاحتجاجات".
وقد أصيب عشرات النشطاء لدى تدخل الشرطة لتفريق المتظاهرين يوم الأحد الماضي, في تحد لقرار بحظر التظاهر في الرباط ومدن أخرى من بينها الدار البيضاء.
وتطالب حركة 20 فبراير -وهي شبكة متنوعة يقودها كما تقول رويترز شبان من تيارات عقدية مختلفة- الملك محمد السادس بإقرار ملكية دستورية وتطبيق مبدأ المحاسبة ومنح القضاء استقلالا كاملا.
وقد أعلن الملك في مارس/آذار الماضي أنه سيعدل الدستور للسماح بمزيد من الديمقراطية واستقلال القضاء, ومن المقرر أن يعلن تشكيل لجنة مشروع دستور الشهر المقبل.
تعليقات القراء
التعليقات المنشورة لا تعبر عن رأي الجزيرة وإنما تعبر عن رأي أصحابها
1
يحي
اكثر من عشرة سنة والنظام المصري كان يفرق المظاهرات بالضرب والتنكيل وتسيل الدماء ومع ذلك الشعب اسقط النظام وستسقط انظمة كثيرة فاسدة ترفض الاصلاح واطلاق الحرية وحق التعبير والعيش الكريم
Blogger comment:
The Arab tyrant regimes do not have anything to offer but corruption, tyranny and oppression. They have no idea or plans to their people and do not even let other try. They have made very good money to their family and the connected and for the rest they using merciless oppressive police to control the masses. Besides, it is a prophecy all of these regimes will fall, it is even not sustainable to have people live with no hope or a grim of hope. At this juncture death became more worse than life, but not suicide or homicide but intelligent uprise to bring the regimes down. See how this happened in Egypt, it was almost a white revolution. For the west I hold them accountable in the day of judgement when we will be under the real trial of God. I will tell God you described me to them in their holy book to liberate people and prepare for the second coming and they will not let me public to strengthen my people and get quick victory. Thus I hold you responsible and your Obama in the day of judgement not to let me talk in public to have quick liberty to Muslims. You know that I am Al Mahdi Al Muntazer and I know that you are Babylon the whore who corrupted the world.
My Journey To Islam
From: http://www.usislam.org/latinos/converts/ericka.htm
My Journey To Islam
Sister Ericka
http://www.muhajabah.com/my_journey_to_islam/sister_eri.php
Translate this page
Introduction
Salam alaikum
My name is Ericka, I live in the United States, I am a housewife and I am 27 years old.
I am of Mexican origin and born and raised in a "Catholic" atmosphere, my family so far is somewhat "devout" in the traditions surrounding this "religion".
About three years ago by invitation of a girlfriend, I visited a "Christian" church, they were Evangelists, they seemed very similar to me in that time and assisted me many times and I understood many things among them the discipline to read the Bible and although I did not always understand it at least I took the ideas to study for the following class on Sunday.
On one occasion the Reverend made an affirmation that Muslims "hated" Jesus and that they worshipped another God who was called Allah. I decided to investigate ISLAM to confirm what he said. To my suprise I met Muslims who loved Jesus as much as Christians (we who wait for his coming), and that Allah means God in the Arabic language and it is another way for us to speak of Him as if the Americans worship another God that is called God, or the Italians do when they say "Dio", etc. I investigated and I realized that in effect Jesus is not God as people now affirm the Christian belief in it, because the same person Jesus prayed to the same God, just like us.
I investigated the origin of the Bible and its authors and discovered that it has many contradictions and unknown authors and some are Jews and other single famous ones and some of the authors didn't even know Jesus but nonetheless wrote what he said.
I resisted it in the beginning but I began to see the truth with my own eyes because it was sad to think that my so sacred and well-regarded book, which to me was the word of God, was distorted.
I prayed to the All-powerful God that guided me and let me see the truth, that He guided me to worship Him without worrying about the consequences.
One of my major doubts was what if the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was not prophesied in the Bible, because if the Bible said that, it was truth.
I encountered many proofs of it and my heart already felt the correct guidance, so I commenced to read on about Islam.
I discovered that the Koran is the pure word of God and this one is not corrupt, I discovered that it is a right and logical religion with all the answers for this life and the other, it is a religion of peace and of delivering yourself wholly to God, with blessings for the believers.
After much time thinking, I wanted to be Muslim and one day I went to my husband, who is also a Muslim and he helped me to say my testimony and when I did I felt a great weight lifted from my shoulders, I felt free, clean, and with much faith, since then I wear my veil and obey the living God peacefully, armored with the faith of which each day Allah gives us because everything in the earth He has already given it, because Islam is not a single religion but a way of life.
I have not had any major changes, my family has accepted it, and I am very happy.
Note: You can read sister Ericka's introduction in Spanish
What was your first religion?
Christianity
Were you observant in it?
Yes
Did you belong to a particular sect or denomination?
Protestant, Evangelist
When and why did you start thinking to change your religion?
When I started reading the Bible and couldn't understand it. When the Rev. at church said that Muslims "hated" Jesus and worshiped another god named Allah. I though that if a person like him "teaching" us was ignorant enough not to know the very basic about other religions, he must not be qualified to "guide" anyone, mis-informing people about others, what guarantees me that won't mis-inform me about his own? So I started reading about Muslims and Islam, my husband is a born Muslim, so I went to him and asked him everything I was concerned about, I also attended the Mosque sometimes for non-Muslims classes, I also asked some knowledgable Christians about ISLAM, they knew nothing, when I asked about Christianity they knew very little.
What concerns did you have with your previous religion?
The main concern to me was to know, the origin of today's Bible. I found many contradictions whithin itself that it cannot be the word of God. The founder of Christianity, Paul, gets more credit that Jesus himself and he doesn't even keep his stories straight about his so claimed conversion. The fact that he was not a follower of Jesus in the first place is enough for me to not trust his writings. The fact that he was a Jew and of the "chosen people", and "converted" to being not chosen. The fact that Protestants are always critizicing Catholics, but yet do the same in a very "holy" way, listen to music, even sing at church, they celebrate the sweet 15 just like Catholics do, drink alcohol in very small quantities at church just like them. So I thought, what is the difference here if they are doing the same. They even do concerts and other celebrations that within Christianity and Biblical rules are not suppose to be done!
What other religions did you study?
I knew a little about, Judaism, Buddhism, but I did more searching about Islam.
What pros and cons did you see in the religions you studied?
Judaism worships just one God, the other one is a peaceful religion, without the same God. The covering of my hair was at the beginning the excuse of not accepting Islam, but it was weak. The other was the language, other than that everything was great to me..
What were your criteria in making a decision about which religion to follow?
Everything, is a religion of Justice, love, peace, fairness and closeness to the Only God. The blessing of worshiping God directly and feel closer to Him. To know that my sins as a non-Muslim would be forgiven and that, that was my new start, my chance to live my live with sense and purpose. It offered me a new life and a great understanding of everything around it. Islam offered me a new way of life.
Were there any external factors which influenced your decision?
Yes, the lack of respect for women today in almost everywhere in the world, as wives, as daughters, as mothers and most of all as women. They are used as sex objects, sales products, and motives of sin basicaly. Husbands cheating on their wives, mothers abandoning their babies, teenagers having no respect for their bodies by fornicating with so many parters, wives don't respect their husbands, divorces, suicides, child abuse, domestic violence I could go on, and on, but all of this because they don't have fear for their Creator, they have no love for themselves, they don't believe about the rewards in paradise or the punishment in hell, therefore they don't care where they will go. They don't have faith, because they have no God.
What religion did you choose?
ISLAM, MASHALLAH... Because it gives me a complete way of life, a chance to get closer to God. A chance to recieve His blessings, and a chance of live in the hereafter. It gives me peace and light to see the path I need to follow. It gives me faith and trust in my Creator, and most of all it gives me the guide to be happy here in this life. It lets me see the reason of creation, the logic behind it and the purspose of it.
Did you have any problems after your conversion?
MashAllah, I haven't had any, whatever I get, won't be seen as such, but as a chance to get stronger in what I believe.
How would you advise others who are studying Islam?
To study with and open mind and heart, seek the guide of God to see the truth regardless of the consequences. To take the time to find out what they are followed and by who. To take the time to balance the positive and the negative with proofs and logic. I would advice to ask instead of making assumptions If so, make sure they are asking the right person, (for Islam ask a muslim.. etc...)
Are there any other points you would like to make?
Dear reader, don't be afraid to know about Islam, at least to understand it and not criticize it, only if you know you will understand and if you understad you will respect. Don't give up in your search, and ask Allah (God) for guidance.
[Latino converts] [Home][ Site Map ]
My Journey To Islam
Sister Ericka
http://www.muhajabah.com/my_journey_to_islam/sister_eri.php
Translate this page
Introduction
Salam alaikum
My name is Ericka, I live in the United States, I am a housewife and I am 27 years old.
I am of Mexican origin and born and raised in a "Catholic" atmosphere, my family so far is somewhat "devout" in the traditions surrounding this "religion".
About three years ago by invitation of a girlfriend, I visited a "Christian" church, they were Evangelists, they seemed very similar to me in that time and assisted me many times and I understood many things among them the discipline to read the Bible and although I did not always understand it at least I took the ideas to study for the following class on Sunday.
On one occasion the Reverend made an affirmation that Muslims "hated" Jesus and that they worshipped another God who was called Allah. I decided to investigate ISLAM to confirm what he said. To my suprise I met Muslims who loved Jesus as much as Christians (we who wait for his coming), and that Allah means God in the Arabic language and it is another way for us to speak of Him as if the Americans worship another God that is called God, or the Italians do when they say "Dio", etc. I investigated and I realized that in effect Jesus is not God as people now affirm the Christian belief in it, because the same person Jesus prayed to the same God, just like us.
I investigated the origin of the Bible and its authors and discovered that it has many contradictions and unknown authors and some are Jews and other single famous ones and some of the authors didn't even know Jesus but nonetheless wrote what he said.
I resisted it in the beginning but I began to see the truth with my own eyes because it was sad to think that my so sacred and well-regarded book, which to me was the word of God, was distorted.
I prayed to the All-powerful God that guided me and let me see the truth, that He guided me to worship Him without worrying about the consequences.
One of my major doubts was what if the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was not prophesied in the Bible, because if the Bible said that, it was truth.
I encountered many proofs of it and my heart already felt the correct guidance, so I commenced to read on about Islam.
I discovered that the Koran is the pure word of God and this one is not corrupt, I discovered that it is a right and logical religion with all the answers for this life and the other, it is a religion of peace and of delivering yourself wholly to God, with blessings for the believers.
After much time thinking, I wanted to be Muslim and one day I went to my husband, who is also a Muslim and he helped me to say my testimony and when I did I felt a great weight lifted from my shoulders, I felt free, clean, and with much faith, since then I wear my veil and obey the living God peacefully, armored with the faith of which each day Allah gives us because everything in the earth He has already given it, because Islam is not a single religion but a way of life.
I have not had any major changes, my family has accepted it, and I am very happy.
Note: You can read sister Ericka's introduction in Spanish
What was your first religion?
Christianity
Were you observant in it?
Yes
Did you belong to a particular sect or denomination?
Protestant, Evangelist
When and why did you start thinking to change your religion?
When I started reading the Bible and couldn't understand it. When the Rev. at church said that Muslims "hated" Jesus and worshiped another god named Allah. I though that if a person like him "teaching" us was ignorant enough not to know the very basic about other religions, he must not be qualified to "guide" anyone, mis-informing people about others, what guarantees me that won't mis-inform me about his own? So I started reading about Muslims and Islam, my husband is a born Muslim, so I went to him and asked him everything I was concerned about, I also attended the Mosque sometimes for non-Muslims classes, I also asked some knowledgable Christians about ISLAM, they knew nothing, when I asked about Christianity they knew very little.
What concerns did you have with your previous religion?
The main concern to me was to know, the origin of today's Bible. I found many contradictions whithin itself that it cannot be the word of God. The founder of Christianity, Paul, gets more credit that Jesus himself and he doesn't even keep his stories straight about his so claimed conversion. The fact that he was not a follower of Jesus in the first place is enough for me to not trust his writings. The fact that he was a Jew and of the "chosen people", and "converted" to being not chosen. The fact that Protestants are always critizicing Catholics, but yet do the same in a very "holy" way, listen to music, even sing at church, they celebrate the sweet 15 just like Catholics do, drink alcohol in very small quantities at church just like them. So I thought, what is the difference here if they are doing the same. They even do concerts and other celebrations that within Christianity and Biblical rules are not suppose to be done!
What other religions did you study?
I knew a little about, Judaism, Buddhism, but I did more searching about Islam.
What pros and cons did you see in the religions you studied?
Judaism worships just one God, the other one is a peaceful religion, without the same God. The covering of my hair was at the beginning the excuse of not accepting Islam, but it was weak. The other was the language, other than that everything was great to me..
What were your criteria in making a decision about which religion to follow?
Everything, is a religion of Justice, love, peace, fairness and closeness to the Only God. The blessing of worshiping God directly and feel closer to Him. To know that my sins as a non-Muslim would be forgiven and that, that was my new start, my chance to live my live with sense and purpose. It offered me a new life and a great understanding of everything around it. Islam offered me a new way of life.
Were there any external factors which influenced your decision?
Yes, the lack of respect for women today in almost everywhere in the world, as wives, as daughters, as mothers and most of all as women. They are used as sex objects, sales products, and motives of sin basicaly. Husbands cheating on their wives, mothers abandoning their babies, teenagers having no respect for their bodies by fornicating with so many parters, wives don't respect their husbands, divorces, suicides, child abuse, domestic violence I could go on, and on, but all of this because they don't have fear for their Creator, they have no love for themselves, they don't believe about the rewards in paradise or the punishment in hell, therefore they don't care where they will go. They don't have faith, because they have no God.
What religion did you choose?
ISLAM, MASHALLAH... Because it gives me a complete way of life, a chance to get closer to God. A chance to recieve His blessings, and a chance of live in the hereafter. It gives me peace and light to see the path I need to follow. It gives me faith and trust in my Creator, and most of all it gives me the guide to be happy here in this life. It lets me see the reason of creation, the logic behind it and the purspose of it.
Did you have any problems after your conversion?
MashAllah, I haven't had any, whatever I get, won't be seen as such, but as a chance to get stronger in what I believe.
How would you advise others who are studying Islam?
To study with and open mind and heart, seek the guide of God to see the truth regardless of the consequences. To take the time to find out what they are followed and by who. To take the time to balance the positive and the negative with proofs and logic. I would advice to ask instead of making assumptions If so, make sure they are asking the right person, (for Islam ask a muslim.. etc...)
Are there any other points you would like to make?
Dear reader, don't be afraid to know about Islam, at least to understand it and not criticize it, only if you know you will understand and if you understad you will respect. Don't give up in your search, and ask Allah (God) for guidance.
[Latino converts] [Home][ Site Map ]
Understanding Conversion: Bridging the Two Selves
From: http://www.usislam.org/conversion/understanding.htm
By Abdul-Lateef Abdullah
Sometimes I think about how much my life has changed over the past three years. When I try to reflect back on my days before Islam, I often find it difficult to recapture what life was like. Sure I can remember events, people, places, different experiences, but to go back and really feel what it was like, I have to reflect deeply. When I am able to re-connect with my "former self" I find it a remarkable experience. Although I am still very much the same person as I was three years ago, how I experience the world and how I view it and life has completely changed. Life is the same, yet different. We all view the world through a lens, whether we realize it or not. Our basic beliefs and values, whether derived from religion or some other source - known or unknown - allows us to judge the world, other people and ourselves. It is how we understand right from wrong and impacts the intricate nuances of our daily lives. As our world continues to move in strange and unpredictable ways, Muslims everywhere, particularly those living in the West, are finding themselves compelled to discuss Islam with non-Muslims of all backgrounds and beliefs. Many have existing biases against Islam while others come with an open mind. Either way, we Muslims must be capable and confident in not only being able to discuss basic Islamic beliefs, but in conveying our own experiences and feelings about the religion. Particularly for those of us who have converted (or 'reverted') to the faith, such occasions to discuss Islam with non-Muslims can be great opportunities to converse in a way that is personal and unique. To be able to do this, however, requires knowledge of one's self, and the knowledge of what one has undergone to arrive at their place within the religion of Islam. The power of personal stories and experiences is great, particularly those in which an audience can relate to and actually see themselves taking part. You can draw them in and help them to question their own beliefs - an important step in opening up people's hearts and minds. Personal stories also help people empathize with what you have undergone, and such a level of understanding can be a powerful agent of change.Understanding ourselves can be a great source of wisdom. Knowing who we are, our weaknesses, our faults, our strengths and our "danger zones," is essential if we are to progress in our quest and ongoing effort of self-perfection in the mold of the Prophet of Islam (SAW). My process of reverting from Christianity to Islam took intensive one-on-one study with a knowledgeable teacher and an additional wealth of independent study. The entire "process" occurred over one and a half years, which, compared to other converts may be long, yet to others maybe not so long. Nevertheless, throughout this period, every day, every moment in fact I was consumed with self-reflection. "Who was I" and "who did I want to be" were two of the most nagging questions I had to answer; while probably the most prominent was, "what did I believe?"
Ultimately, the process of conversion for me began with this question of "what did I believe." I was Christian, yet I did not really know what I believed about my own religion, the religion I was born into and practiced - in varying degrees - for 27 years. What I learned about myself through reflection, however, was that I did know what I believed, which was that I really didn't believe! Further questions I had were "What did I believe about God?", "What did I believe about life?", "How about death?", "What did I believe about my society and culture?" All these questions seemed SO big and so difficult to answer. But eventually I did answer them for myself, and - Alhamdulillah (all praise be to God) - the answers all pointed in the direction of Islam.Although conversion is a phenomenon that is completely unique to everyone, nevertheless, those who are serious about it will all undoubtedly undergo self-examination of some kind in order to embrace a new way of life and belief system. In fact, we MUST do this. Whether we realize it or not, "conversion" occurs on many levels within us; and especially with those from the West, many, many engrained cultural values have to be challenged and overcome in order for "self-Islamization" to occur. In my time talking with born Muslim brothers, I have found it amazing that many dedicated Muslims have undergone their own rediscovery of the religion, almost in the same way as a non-Muslim who comes into Islam for the first time.Many born Muslims I meet tell me that they have a certain level of envy for converts because they recognize a high level of dedication and appreciation for Islam within them, that they too desire, but have been unable to achieve. In fact, in speaking with one brother from my local surau, he even had the courage to ask me what I thought was the cause of this. Of course I told him that I could only speak from my own experience, but that in my example much of it had to do with getting to know myself and facing up to my true beliefs about not only religion, but life itself. I empathize with Muslims who are born into Islam and cannot appreciate it as much as they would like.
Perhaps they feel as I did about Christianity for many years. In discussing this matter with the brother from my surau, I challenged him to "put Islam to the test." I told him that maybe he had to undergo the same process that we converts undergo when we convert, namely, the process of questioning basic beliefs and challenging ourselves to find truth. For people born into Islam, this means going beyond basic levels and striving to go deeper than they ever have before to understand Islam. This, from what I observe, is how many Muslims have rediscovered Islam.
They have more or less willed it. They have traveled, they have studied, they have sought out knowledgeable teachers, they became more involved in their communities - whatever it takes. They have gone past the understanding of religion as it was passed down to them from their parents, and found Islam for themselves. For many it happens when confronted with different life circumstances, for example, perhaps when they go abroad to study and are suddenly no longer in an Islamic environment, or when they or a family member becomes inflicted with an illness or they experience a tragedy, or for some perhaps when a particularly stubborn Christian missionary puts them to the test and they find that they do not have the level of faith they thought they did. Whatever the scenario, experiences such as this force us to draw definitive conclusions about why we live this life of Islam. As Muslims, we know that submission means, "we hear and we obey (24:51)," as we are (ideally) slaves of our Creator. For many, myself included, accepting Islam includes a greater yearning for truth and knowledge of God as well. This can only occur, however, when we push on with that search for truth, even once we have accepted Islam. If we read the biographies of some of Islam's great personalities, we come across lives such as those like Imam Abu Hamid Al-Ghazali who, while already having achieved great worldly status as a scholar, yearned for a more direct experience and deeper level of truth. In order to do so, however, he underwent a major questioning of his beliefs and an abandoning of all his worldly status before he could arrive at it. The results of his life journey speak for themselves; Imam Nawawi, speaking about Imam Al-Ghazali's Ihya' Ulum al-Din (Revival of the Religious Sciences), wrote "were all the books of Islam to be lost save the Revival alone, it would suffice for them." He also earned the title of "Hujjat ul-Islam," or "the proof of Islam" for his great works and teachings. Imam Al-Ghazali looked deep within himself to arrive at the conclusion that his worldly successes - even as an Islamic scholar - would not be enough to save him on the Day of Judgment. He feared for his fate, and thus had to address the inkling in his heart that told him to go further. Uncovering our self can be a difficult experience. It often entails dissecting the darkest layers within us. It requires self-effacement, and the courage to be vulnerable and admit that we may not have the answers we thought we did in life. It is, without a doubt, a test of the highest and greatest magnitude. Allah draws our attention throughout the Qur'an on the importance of reflection, "Those who remember Allah standing and sitting and lying on their sides and reflect on the creation of the heavens and the earth: Our Lord! Thou hast not created this in vain! Glory be to Thee; save us then from the chastisement of the fire (3:91)."
We know that reflection is not an easy thing, particularly when it is on ourselves. In another ayat, "Do they not reflect in their own minds? Not but for just ends and for a term appointed, did Allah create the heavens and the earth, and all between them: yet there are truly many among men who deny the meeting with their Lord (at the Resurrection) (30:08)!"When I look at myself today as opposed to three years ago, I see two different people. Nay, rather, I see two people with many of the same attributes, but in completely different places. A very well known contemporary sheikh talks about religion as a shelter. He says if your shelter is strong, if it protects you from all the shaytans (devils) in the world, it has no holes in the walls, and it keeps out the rain, than it is a good shelter. However, if your shelter is porous, if it doesn't protect you from the shaytans, than you need a new shelter. The "me" 3 years ago was in a badly damaged shelter that was not protecting me from the elements. "Me" today, however, with Islam, inshaAllah (by the will of God), is in a much better shelter, one that protects me as long as I stay in it and don't leave it. Conversion within us must do this. It must literally move us from one place in life to another. Therefore, every piece of "us" must change, must undergo examination and renewal to arrive at truth, not just back into it accidentally or unwillingly. Many of us today do not understand how dramatic the process of conversion - whether we are non-Muslims coming into Islam or Muslims who feel the need to "re-find" Islam - is. If we read the stories of the companions of the Prophet Mohammad (SAW) and look at how dramatically their lives changed upon coming into Islam, only then do we fully understand how encompassing Islam is and how radically it can effect every aspect of one's self. It can turn animals into saints, heathens into angels. It is nothing less than the total renewal of the person, from top to bottom. If we all delve a little deeper and get to know ourselves a little more, both the good and the bad, we can all undergo some sort of re-awakening for the sake of Allah. All it takes is will, effort, and reliance on and help from Allah.
[ Converts to Islam ] [ Home ] [ Site Map ]
By Abdul-Lateef Abdullah
Sometimes I think about how much my life has changed over the past three years. When I try to reflect back on my days before Islam, I often find it difficult to recapture what life was like. Sure I can remember events, people, places, different experiences, but to go back and really feel what it was like, I have to reflect deeply. When I am able to re-connect with my "former self" I find it a remarkable experience. Although I am still very much the same person as I was three years ago, how I experience the world and how I view it and life has completely changed. Life is the same, yet different. We all view the world through a lens, whether we realize it or not. Our basic beliefs and values, whether derived from religion or some other source - known or unknown - allows us to judge the world, other people and ourselves. It is how we understand right from wrong and impacts the intricate nuances of our daily lives. As our world continues to move in strange and unpredictable ways, Muslims everywhere, particularly those living in the West, are finding themselves compelled to discuss Islam with non-Muslims of all backgrounds and beliefs. Many have existing biases against Islam while others come with an open mind. Either way, we Muslims must be capable and confident in not only being able to discuss basic Islamic beliefs, but in conveying our own experiences and feelings about the religion. Particularly for those of us who have converted (or 'reverted') to the faith, such occasions to discuss Islam with non-Muslims can be great opportunities to converse in a way that is personal and unique. To be able to do this, however, requires knowledge of one's self, and the knowledge of what one has undergone to arrive at their place within the religion of Islam. The power of personal stories and experiences is great, particularly those in which an audience can relate to and actually see themselves taking part. You can draw them in and help them to question their own beliefs - an important step in opening up people's hearts and minds. Personal stories also help people empathize with what you have undergone, and such a level of understanding can be a powerful agent of change.Understanding ourselves can be a great source of wisdom. Knowing who we are, our weaknesses, our faults, our strengths and our "danger zones," is essential if we are to progress in our quest and ongoing effort of self-perfection in the mold of the Prophet of Islam (SAW). My process of reverting from Christianity to Islam took intensive one-on-one study with a knowledgeable teacher and an additional wealth of independent study. The entire "process" occurred over one and a half years, which, compared to other converts may be long, yet to others maybe not so long. Nevertheless, throughout this period, every day, every moment in fact I was consumed with self-reflection. "Who was I" and "who did I want to be" were two of the most nagging questions I had to answer; while probably the most prominent was, "what did I believe?"
Ultimately, the process of conversion for me began with this question of "what did I believe." I was Christian, yet I did not really know what I believed about my own religion, the religion I was born into and practiced - in varying degrees - for 27 years. What I learned about myself through reflection, however, was that I did know what I believed, which was that I really didn't believe! Further questions I had were "What did I believe about God?", "What did I believe about life?", "How about death?", "What did I believe about my society and culture?" All these questions seemed SO big and so difficult to answer. But eventually I did answer them for myself, and - Alhamdulillah (all praise be to God) - the answers all pointed in the direction of Islam.Although conversion is a phenomenon that is completely unique to everyone, nevertheless, those who are serious about it will all undoubtedly undergo self-examination of some kind in order to embrace a new way of life and belief system. In fact, we MUST do this. Whether we realize it or not, "conversion" occurs on many levels within us; and especially with those from the West, many, many engrained cultural values have to be challenged and overcome in order for "self-Islamization" to occur. In my time talking with born Muslim brothers, I have found it amazing that many dedicated Muslims have undergone their own rediscovery of the religion, almost in the same way as a non-Muslim who comes into Islam for the first time.Many born Muslims I meet tell me that they have a certain level of envy for converts because they recognize a high level of dedication and appreciation for Islam within them, that they too desire, but have been unable to achieve. In fact, in speaking with one brother from my local surau, he even had the courage to ask me what I thought was the cause of this. Of course I told him that I could only speak from my own experience, but that in my example much of it had to do with getting to know myself and facing up to my true beliefs about not only religion, but life itself. I empathize with Muslims who are born into Islam and cannot appreciate it as much as they would like.
Perhaps they feel as I did about Christianity for many years. In discussing this matter with the brother from my surau, I challenged him to "put Islam to the test." I told him that maybe he had to undergo the same process that we converts undergo when we convert, namely, the process of questioning basic beliefs and challenging ourselves to find truth. For people born into Islam, this means going beyond basic levels and striving to go deeper than they ever have before to understand Islam. This, from what I observe, is how many Muslims have rediscovered Islam.
They have more or less willed it. They have traveled, they have studied, they have sought out knowledgeable teachers, they became more involved in their communities - whatever it takes. They have gone past the understanding of religion as it was passed down to them from their parents, and found Islam for themselves. For many it happens when confronted with different life circumstances, for example, perhaps when they go abroad to study and are suddenly no longer in an Islamic environment, or when they or a family member becomes inflicted with an illness or they experience a tragedy, or for some perhaps when a particularly stubborn Christian missionary puts them to the test and they find that they do not have the level of faith they thought they did. Whatever the scenario, experiences such as this force us to draw definitive conclusions about why we live this life of Islam. As Muslims, we know that submission means, "we hear and we obey (24:51)," as we are (ideally) slaves of our Creator. For many, myself included, accepting Islam includes a greater yearning for truth and knowledge of God as well. This can only occur, however, when we push on with that search for truth, even once we have accepted Islam. If we read the biographies of some of Islam's great personalities, we come across lives such as those like Imam Abu Hamid Al-Ghazali who, while already having achieved great worldly status as a scholar, yearned for a more direct experience and deeper level of truth. In order to do so, however, he underwent a major questioning of his beliefs and an abandoning of all his worldly status before he could arrive at it. The results of his life journey speak for themselves; Imam Nawawi, speaking about Imam Al-Ghazali's Ihya' Ulum al-Din (Revival of the Religious Sciences), wrote "were all the books of Islam to be lost save the Revival alone, it would suffice for them." He also earned the title of "Hujjat ul-Islam," or "the proof of Islam" for his great works and teachings. Imam Al-Ghazali looked deep within himself to arrive at the conclusion that his worldly successes - even as an Islamic scholar - would not be enough to save him on the Day of Judgment. He feared for his fate, and thus had to address the inkling in his heart that told him to go further. Uncovering our self can be a difficult experience. It often entails dissecting the darkest layers within us. It requires self-effacement, and the courage to be vulnerable and admit that we may not have the answers we thought we did in life. It is, without a doubt, a test of the highest and greatest magnitude. Allah draws our attention throughout the Qur'an on the importance of reflection, "Those who remember Allah standing and sitting and lying on their sides and reflect on the creation of the heavens and the earth: Our Lord! Thou hast not created this in vain! Glory be to Thee; save us then from the chastisement of the fire (3:91)."
We know that reflection is not an easy thing, particularly when it is on ourselves. In another ayat, "Do they not reflect in their own minds? Not but for just ends and for a term appointed, did Allah create the heavens and the earth, and all between them: yet there are truly many among men who deny the meeting with their Lord (at the Resurrection) (30:08)!"When I look at myself today as opposed to three years ago, I see two different people. Nay, rather, I see two people with many of the same attributes, but in completely different places. A very well known contemporary sheikh talks about religion as a shelter. He says if your shelter is strong, if it protects you from all the shaytans (devils) in the world, it has no holes in the walls, and it keeps out the rain, than it is a good shelter. However, if your shelter is porous, if it doesn't protect you from the shaytans, than you need a new shelter. The "me" 3 years ago was in a badly damaged shelter that was not protecting me from the elements. "Me" today, however, with Islam, inshaAllah (by the will of God), is in a much better shelter, one that protects me as long as I stay in it and don't leave it. Conversion within us must do this. It must literally move us from one place in life to another. Therefore, every piece of "us" must change, must undergo examination and renewal to arrive at truth, not just back into it accidentally or unwillingly. Many of us today do not understand how dramatic the process of conversion - whether we are non-Muslims coming into Islam or Muslims who feel the need to "re-find" Islam - is. If we read the stories of the companions of the Prophet Mohammad (SAW) and look at how dramatically their lives changed upon coming into Islam, only then do we fully understand how encompassing Islam is and how radically it can effect every aspect of one's self. It can turn animals into saints, heathens into angels. It is nothing less than the total renewal of the person, from top to bottom. If we all delve a little deeper and get to know ourselves a little more, both the good and the bad, we can all undergo some sort of re-awakening for the sake of Allah. All it takes is will, effort, and reliance on and help from Allah.
[ Converts to Islam ] [ Home ] [ Site Map ]
Saturday, May 28, 2011
The Prophet Would Never Deceive Himself
From: http://www.rasoulallah.net/v2/document.aspx?lang=en&doc=7628
A Message to who does not believe in Prophet Muhammad
In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful
Had the Holy Quran not been revealed by Allah (the Almighty) and had it been authored by Allah’s Messenger (PBUH), would he (PBUH) deceive himself? Would he jeopardize his life?
I will narrate this incident and you judge yourself.
Allah (the Almighty) said in the Holy Quran “O you Messenger, proclaim whatever has been sent down to you from your Lord; and in case you do not perform (that), then in no way have you proclaimed His Message; and Allah safeguards you from mankind. Surely Allah does not guide the disbelieving people.” This is one of the verses of the Holy Quran that was sent down to Allah’s Messenger (PBUH).
Narrating the circumstances in which such verse was revealed, our Mother Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said:
The Prophet was vigilant one night and when he reached Medina , he said, "Would that a pious man from my companions guard me tonight!" Suddenly we heard the clatter of arms. He said, "Who is that?" They (The new comers) replied, "We are Sad and Hothaifa and we have come to guard you." So, the Prophet slept (that night). Then this verse came down, so Allah’s Messenger (PBUH) looked out of the house and said: “O people, leave now for Allah (the Almighty) had prevented me”. Narrated by Al Qurtubi.
A Belgium scholar had been studying the biography of Allah’s Messenger (PBUH) until she reached this point, where she stopped and said: “If that man was deceiving all the people he wouldn’t deceive himself and had he not been sure that Allah (the Almighty) is protecting him he wouldn’t have done so (dismissing the guards) such experiment which proves his trust in his Creator. Hence I say with utmost belief: There’s no God But Allah and Muhammad is his Messenger.
The biography of Allah’s Messenger (PBUH) has lots of evidences and miracles that prove that what he came with is sent down from Allah (the Almighty).
What should you do now?
Reading the biography of Allah’s Messenger (PBUH) (that was written 1400 years ago), hearing his hadiths and following his deeds.
Comparing the ideas that he calls for with the logic that the sound mind accepts.
Having accepted his logic, observe his deeds and note if there is any discrepancy between both his words and deeds.
If there was no discrepancy, then all you have to do is to believe him.
A Message to who does not believe in Prophet Muhammad
In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful
Had the Holy Quran not been revealed by Allah (the Almighty) and had it been authored by Allah’s Messenger (PBUH), would he (PBUH) deceive himself? Would he jeopardize his life?
I will narrate this incident and you judge yourself.
Allah (the Almighty) said in the Holy Quran “O you Messenger, proclaim whatever has been sent down to you from your Lord; and in case you do not perform (that), then in no way have you proclaimed His Message; and Allah safeguards you from mankind. Surely Allah does not guide the disbelieving people.” This is one of the verses of the Holy Quran that was sent down to Allah’s Messenger (PBUH).
Narrating the circumstances in which such verse was revealed, our Mother Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said:
The Prophet was vigilant one night and when he reached Medina , he said, "Would that a pious man from my companions guard me tonight!" Suddenly we heard the clatter of arms. He said, "Who is that?" They (The new comers) replied, "We are Sad and Hothaifa and we have come to guard you." So, the Prophet slept (that night). Then this verse came down, so Allah’s Messenger (PBUH) looked out of the house and said: “O people, leave now for Allah (the Almighty) had prevented me”. Narrated by Al Qurtubi.
A Belgium scholar had been studying the biography of Allah’s Messenger (PBUH) until she reached this point, where she stopped and said: “If that man was deceiving all the people he wouldn’t deceive himself and had he not been sure that Allah (the Almighty) is protecting him he wouldn’t have done so (dismissing the guards) such experiment which proves his trust in his Creator. Hence I say with utmost belief: There’s no God But Allah and Muhammad is his Messenger.
The biography of Allah’s Messenger (PBUH) has lots of evidences and miracles that prove that what he came with is sent down from Allah (the Almighty).
What should you do now?
Reading the biography of Allah’s Messenger (PBUH) (that was written 1400 years ago), hearing his hadiths and following his deeds.
Comparing the ideas that he calls for with the logic that the sound mind accepts.
Having accepted his logic, observe his deeds and note if there is any discrepancy between both his words and deeds.
If there was no discrepancy, then all you have to do is to believe him.
Benefits and Fruits of Faith
From: http://knowingallah.com/V2/Document.aspx?id=317&lang=en
Out of His wisdom, Allah The Almighty has decreed that the hearts of the believers sense and taste the fruits of Faith (Iman) so that they might race towards attaining Allah’s pleasure and ultimately put their trust in Him. Indeed, if the tree of faith is strong, deeply rooted, extensively branched and sprouts of its greenery, it reaps complete benefit for its beholder as well as others, in both of this world and the Hereafter.
There are numerous great benefits and fruits of Iman that Allah Almighty illustrated in His Nobel Book as follows:
•Enjoying Allah’s protection. It is indeed the greatest prize towards which believers may compete. Allah The Almighty says:“Unquestionably, [for] the allies of Allah there will be no fear concerning them, nor will they grieve”[Yunus: 62].
Allah The Almighty then describes His Awliya [pious obedient servants] in His words
“Those who believed and would fear Allah”[Yunus: 63].
Verily, Allah is the Protector of every pious believer as in conformity with His words:
“Allah is the ally of those who believe. He brings them out from darknesses into the light”[Al-Baqarah: 257].
This verse means that Allah The Almighty delivers His Awliya from the darkness of disbelief to the light of faith; from the darkness of ignorance to the light of knowledge; from the darkness of sins to the light of obedience and from the darkness of negligence to the light of knowing and remembering Him. Ultimately, Allah The Almighty delivers His believing servants from the darkness of various forms of evil to the light of goodness in this world and the Hereafter.
The believers only attain these tremendous rewards due to their sound faith. Such sound faith can never be attained except through piety.
•Gaining Allah’s pleasure and favor. Allah The Almighty says:
“The believing men and believing women are allies of one another. They enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and establish prayer and give Zakah and obey Allah and His Messenger. Those - Allah will have mercy upon them. Indeed, Allah is Exalted in Might and Wise. Allah has promised the believing men and believing women gardens beneath which rivers flow, wherein they abide eternally, and pleasant dwellings in gardens of perpetual residence; but approval from Allah is greater. It is that which is the great attainment” (At-Tawbah: 71-72).
The believers attained Allah’s pleasure, mercy and beautiful dwelling places through the faith with which they developed their own selves and by adhering to the commands of Allah The Almighty and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). They also attained these rewards through enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil. In this manner they undertook the noblest means and the richest of objectives. This is Allah’s great favor.
•Attaining Allah’s help and salvation from all evils and calamities as in conformity with His words: “Indeed, Allah defends those who have believed”[Al Hajj : 38].
This verse means that Allah The Almighty protects the believers from all evils and from the Satans of Jinn and mankind. Allah protects them against the plots of their enemies and relieves the hardships before they befall them, and either ease them once they did.
This is clear in the words of Prophet Yunus:
“He called out within the darkness (saying), "There is no deity except You; exalted are You. Indeed, I have been of the wrongdoers." (Al-Anbiya’: 87).
Allah immediately responded to His supplication by His words
“So We responded to him and saved him from the distress. And thus do We save the believers”(Al-Anbiya’: 88).
This verse means that Allah saves His believing servants from distress the same way He did with His Prophet Yunus. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Verily, no distressed person implores Allah The Almighty with the very words of my brother (Prophet) Yunus except Allah will relieve His distress: “There is no deity worthy of worship but You, exalted be You, I was indeed of the evildoers”.
Allah The Almighty also says,
“And whoever fears Allah - He will make for him of his matter ease” [At-Talaq: 4].
Hence, the pious believer has his affairs made easy by Allah The Almighty and is guided to the path of ease and righteousness. He is away from the path of hardship and sin. Allah The Almighty also delivers believers from all suffering and grants them an escape from all difficult affairs; just as He provides them with provision from whence they had not anticipated. There are multiple evidences from the Qur’an and Sunnah attest to this[1].
•Faith and righteousness which is a branch of it lead to a life of contentment and happiness in both this life and the Hereafter, Allah The Almighty says: “Whoever works righteousness, man or woman, and has Faith, verily, to him will We give a new Life, a life that is good and pure and We will bestow on such their reward according to the best of their actions”[An-Nahl 16: 97].
Faith produces tranquility, contentment and assurance of the heart. It also prevents dependence on anyone other than Allah The Almighty, and that is the cause of happiness in this life.
For happiness is based on: the comfort of the heart, its tranquility, and the absence of disarray and disturbances experienced by those lacking in faith.
•Soundness of the heart produces sound faith. All words and actions are only sound and good in accordance with the soundness of faith and sincerity in the heart of the individual speaking or practicing such deeds. This is why Allah The Almighty mentions this important condition and prerequisite for all actions as in conformity with His words:“So whoever does righteous deeds while he is a believer - no denial will there be for his effort”(Al-Anbiya’ 21: 94).
In other words, a believer’s efforts will not be denied and his actions will not be lost. Rather, his reward will be multiplied in accordance with the strength of faith in his heart. Allah The Almighty says,
“But whoever desires the Hereafter and exerts the effort due to it while he is a believer - it is those whose effort is ever appreciated [by Allah].”[Al-Isra’: 19].
To strive for the Hereafter (i.e. (Paradise) is to undertake all the different deeds that lead to it and bring one closer to it as taught to us by Prophet Mohammed (peace and blessings be upon him). If these deeds are founded and built on faith, then they are rewarded, accepted and multiplied in reward by Allah The Almighty, and none of them are lost or go without recompense.
If, however, such deeds are not founded on faith, it doesn’t matter how much effort the doer makes. Such actions will not be accepted by Allah The Almighty. Allah The Almighty says,
“And We will regard what they have done of deeds and make them as dust dispersed”(Al-Furqaan : 23).
That is because they were based on other than faith in Allah The Almighty and belief in His Prophet (pbuh) or other than sincerity towards Allah The Almighty and adherence to the traditions of His Prophet (pbuh). Allah The Almighty says,
"Shall we inform you [believers] of the greatest losers as to [their] deeds? [They are] those whose effort is lost in worldly life, while they think that they are doing well in work. Those are the ones who disbelieve in the verses of their Lord and in [their] meeting Him, so their deeds have become worthless; and We will not assign to them on the Day of Resurrection any importance.” (Al-Kahf: 103-105).
They squandered their faith and replaced it with unbelief in Allah The Almighty and His signs, their deeds were lost. Allah The Almighty says,
“If you should associate [anything] with Allah, your work would surely become worthless”(Az-Zumur 39: 65).
“But if they had associated others with Allah, then worthless for them would be whatever they were doing”(Al-An’am: 88).
For this reason, apostasy renders one’s righteous deeds void, just as the embracement of Islam abolishes all previous sins, no matter how great they were. Also, repentance from all sins that counter faith or weaken it also wipes out these sins[2].
•Contentment with the decree of Allah. Among the benefits of Faith is that it leads the faithful to the Straight Path of guidance. It also leads to the attainment of beneficial knowledge and the practice of it, just as it leads to gratefulness for being granted with what one loves or seeks, acceptance and patience when one is afflicted with calamity and hardship. Allah The Almighty says, “Indeed, those who have believed and done righteous deeds - their Lord will guide them because of their faith”(Yunus : 9).
“No disaster strikes except by permission of Allah. And whoever believes in Allaah - He will guide his heart”[At-Taghabun 64:11].
In explaining this verse, Sheikh Shawkani states, “It refers to those who when afflicted with calamity know that it is from Allah The Almighty and therefore accept it and submit to the will of Allah[3]”.
Perhaps one of the greatest benefits of faith is that it grants comfort in the frequent instances in which one is met with hardships and difficulties. Keeping faith and maintaining certainty (in Allah’s mercy and reward) is a tremendous comfort in all such instances and makes such situations easier to deal with. This is because the strength of one’s faith in Allah The Almighty, one’s reliance on Allah The Almighty, and one’s hope of Allah’s reward and His bounty reduce the pain and bitterness of maintaining patience throughout any hardship. Allah The Almighty says,
“And do not weaken in pursuit of the enemy. If you should be suffering - so are they suffering as you are suffering, but you expect from Allah that which they expect not”[An-Nisaa’ 4: 104].
•From among the benefits anf fruits of faith are that which Allah mentions in His words:“Indeed, those who have believed and done righteous deeds - the Most Merciful will appoint for them affection”(Maryam : 96).
In other words, because of their faith and the deeds they do, Allah The Almighty bestows His love upon the believers and causes other believing servants to love them as well. Clearly, those who are loved by Allah The Almighty and by the believers attain happiness, success and wonderful benefits. For a believer who is loved by others is also prayed for by them, both during his lifetime and after his death[4].
Allah The Almighty also makes imams of such believers, and this alone is a tremendous blessing. Indeed, those who attain the rank of ‘guiding imams’ by Allah The Almighty, so that their faith makes more complete their knowledge and their deeds and so that Allah The Almighty allows others to pray for them and to continue to mention them with honor and respect, are those who have truly attained one of the most glorious of Allah’s rewards.
For this reason, Allaah The Almighty says,
“And We made from among them leaders guiding by Our command when they were patient and [when] they were certain of Our signs.”(As-Sajdah : 24).
by having patience and certainty – two qualities at the helm of faith and signs of completeness of faith – these believers attained, by the grace of Allah The Almighty, the rank of the imamate[5].
•This benefit is derived from the saying of Allah,“Allah will raise those who have believed among you and those who were given knowledge, by degrees”(Al-Mujaadilah: 11).
The believers [who possess knowledge] are at the highest of Allah’s ranks in both this life and the hereafter. This is a rank that they attained through their soundness of faith, their knowledge and their certainty. Indeed, knowledge and certainty are the foundations of faith.
•The glad tidings of Allah’s grace and complete security in all regards. Allah The Almighty says, “And give good tidings to the believers”[Al-Baqarah : 223].
Allah The Almighty makes a general statement so that it might encompass all forms of good, whether in the present or in the future. In other instances, Allah The Almighty specifies what the glad tidings are of. For instance,
“And give good tidings to those who believe and do righteous deeds that they will have gardens [in Paradise] beneath which rivers flow”[Al-Baqarah 2: 25].
And so Believers are brought the glad tidings of all good things in general, and also some of Allaah’s more specific rewards and blessings.
Such Believers are also granted absolute security. Allah The Almighty says,
“They who believe and do not mix their belief with injustice - those will have security, and they are [rightly] guided”[Al-An’am : 82].
They are also granted security in a more specific sense; as Allah The Almighty says,
“So whoever believes and reforms - there will be no fear concerning them, nor will they grieve.”(Al-An’am: 48)
And so by sparing them the fear of what they anticipate and the sorrow of what they experience or have experienced, Allah The Almighty grants them full security from different kinds of hardship. Believers, therefore, are granted Allah’s protection in this life and the Hereafter. This includes security against Allah’s wrath and punishment, just as it includes security against different hardships and evils.
They also have the glad tidings of all forms of good, for Allah The Almighty says,
“For them are good tidings in the worldly life and in the Hereafter”[Yunus 10: 64].
Allah The Almighty clarifies further this glad tidings in the verse,
“Indeed, those who have said, "Our Lord is Allaah " and then remained on a right course - the angels will descend upon them, [saying], "Do not fear and do not grieve but receive good tidings of Paradise, which you were promised. We [angels] were your allies in worldly life and [are so] in the Hereafter. And you will have therein whatever your souls desire, and you will have therein whatever you request [or wish]. As accommodation from a [Lord who is] Forgiving and Merciful" [Fussilat : 30-32].
“O you who have believed, fear Allaah and believe in His Messenger; He will [then] give you a double portion of His mercy and make for you a light by which you will walk and forgive you; and Allaah is Forgiving and Merciful”[Al-Hadid: 28].
Allah The Almighty makes faith a prerequisite for exponential reward and for the completeness of the light with which these believers walk in, both in this life and the hereafter.
“On the Day you see the believing men and believing women, their light proceeding before them and on their right, [it will be said], "Your good tidings today are [of] gardens beneath which rivers flow, wherein you will abide eternally." That is what is the great attainment” (Al-Hadid: 12).
A Believer is he who, in this life, walks in the light of his knowledge and faith. And if all other lights are extinguished on Judgment Day, the believers will walk upon the Siraat (the Path that all people must walk) in the light that Allah The Almighty has granted them until they are admitted into Paradise.
Allah The Almighty has also decreed that forgiveness be a result of faith. Clearly, he who is forgiven his evil deeds has escaped Allah’s punishment and attained His reward[6].
•A faithful servant attains complete prosperity. Prosperity or success in this sense is to meet one’s ultimate objectives, while escaping all one fears. This ultimately is guidance, and it is the most honorable of means towards the attainment of all that is good. This is what Allah The Almighty has mentioned after mentioning those who believe in what He has revealed upon His Prophet (pbuh) and those who believe in what He had revealed before Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and those who believed in the unseen, established Prayer and zakat, all of which are some of the greatest benefits of faith. And so after mentioning these traits, Allah The Almighty says,
“Those are upon [right] guidance from their Lord, and it is those who are the successful” (Al-Baqarah : 5)
This is the perfect guidance and perfect success.
Therefore, no one can attain guidance nor success, which only can bring success and happiness, except one shall have perfect belief in every book that Allah The Almighty has revealed, and in every Messenger Allah The Almighty has sent. In fact, guidance is the greatest means and success is the most perfect aim. [7]
•Those who have faith are those who truly benefit from Allah’s warnings, signs and reminders. Allah The Almighty says, “And remind, for indeed, the reminder benefits the believers”(Adh-Dhaariyaat : 55).
“Indeed in that is a sign for the believers”(Al-Hijr: 77).
This is because faith helps the believer to adhere to the truth and to follow it, both in terms of what they know and what they do. Faith is indeed the greatest tool with which one might learn and understand the truth, and understand all the signs that lead to it. With faith, there stands nothing to prevent a learner from learning the truth and from acting upon it.
Faith also makes more pure one’s nature and one’s intentions. Those who hold such purity are bound to benefit from Allah’s signs. Those who do not hold these qualities, however, should not be surprised at their inability to accept the truth or to follow it. For this reason, Allah The Almighty makes known that the unbelievers are unable to follow the Prophet (pbuh) on account of the unbelief in their hearts, and their rejection of faith. Indeed, the truth is plain and clear and so too are the signs that lead to it. Unbelief is the greatest obstacle to accepting truth and to following it. Unbelievers must therefore not be bewildered by their inability to see and understand Allah’s sign, for the crime of unbelief is what has prevented them from appreciating the truth when it was evident to the Believers[8].
•Faith prevents doubts that might be experienced and that have negative consequences on one’s religious conviction. Allah The Almighty says,“The believers are only the ones who have believed in Allaah and His Messenger and then doubt not”(Al-Hujuraat: 15).
This means that their sound faith repels whatever they experience in the way of doubts, and fends off the suspicions planted by the devils among the Jinn and humans, and those planted by the evil that lies within the selves. All these dangers cannot be cured except through soundness of faith.
This fact is corroborated by the authentic Prophetic report that is narrated by Abu Hurayrah where the Prophet (pbuh) said, “People will continue to ask themselves questions until they say, ‘Allah has created creation. So who created, Allah?’ And so if you should ask yourselves such a question, say, ‘I believe in Allaah[9].’” In another narration, the Prophet says, “…then one should seek refuge in Allah, and stop asking himself such questions[10].”
the Prophet (pbuh) shows us how to deal with such situations in three points:
•To stop thinking about such matters and thereby prevent the whispers of Satan.
•To seek refuge in Allah The Almighty from the evil of those who plant such questions and use them sow doubt with the intention of leading people astray.
•To hold fast to sound faith, for whoever should hold fast to sound faith is sure to find security against such doubts.The falsity of falsehood is made evident through a number of means. The greatest of which is that it goes against what is known to be true or what constitutes truth. For whatever goes against the truth can only be false or wrongful. Allah The Almighty says,
“And what can be beyond truth except falsehood?” (Yunus 10: 32).
Faith is a refuge for the believers against all that might afflict them. Indeed, it is a refuge in times of sadness and happiness, fear and security, obedience and sin and all other instances that are bound to affect each and every one of us.
Hence, in times of fear, a believer seeks refuge in his faith so that he finds security and becomes more firmly grounded in his faith upon doing so. He also finds more courage to face calamities, and all that once caused him fear becomes more manageable and less significant. In reference to the best of his servants, Allah The Almighty says,
“Those to whom hypocrites said, "Indeed, the people have gathered against you, so fear them." But it [merely] increased them in faith, and they said, "Sufficient for us is Allaah, and [He is] the best Disposer of affairs. So they returned with favor from Allaah and bounty, no harm having touched them.”(Al-Imraan : 173-174).
Whatever fear these believers had, ultimately became menial and insignificant in their hearts and was instead replaced with a strong sense of faith and the comfort that comes with it. Their hearts were also filled with dependence on Allah The Almighty and firm belief in what all that He has promised.
In times of obedience and the practice of righteous deeds, such believers also take refuge in their faith by acknowledging that it was Allah The Almighty who guided them to such deeds and that this guidance itself is a greater blessing than the blessings of good health and wealth. In acknowledging that such deeds are granted to them by Allah The Almighty, these believers do what they can to perfect their deeds so that they become more complete and acceptable to Allah The Almighty and so that they are not rejected by Him.
Believers who hold this degree of faith are those who ask Allah The Almighty to accept their deeds after He has blessed them by guiding them to it, and to forgive whatever shortcomings they may have been guilty of by making their deeds more complete and acceptable. Allah The Almighty says,
“It is those who hasten to good deeds, and they outstrip [others] therein.”(Al-Mu’minun : 61).
These servants also seek refuge in faith by repenting as soon as they fall into sin, and by doing whatever they can of good deeds to wipe out whatever evil deeds they have committed. Allah The Almighty says,
“Indeed, those who fear Allah - when an impulse touches them from Satan, they remember [Him] and at once they have insight”(Al-A’raaf: 201)
No matter what their circumstances or what their situation, believers always take refuge in their faith and do what they can to actualize such faith and rid themselves of whatever goes against it. This, of course, is all a result of Allah’s grace and mercy upon them[11].
In an effort to keep this article short, the above tremendous benefits - made clear to us by Allah The Almighty - will suffice. With this, one can see that Allah The Almighty has indeed made all things clear, and has presented all that relates to faith, its different dimensions and benefits, and the means by which one might attain it equally clear. Allah The Almighty incites us to acquire faith by mentioning its benefits and fruits in a way that demonstrates His unique wisdom and that is only befitting of the Most Wise, the Most knowledgeable, exalted Lord of all the worlds.
Allah The Almighty has explained in His Book that Faith constitutes belief with one’s heart, the corroboration of that belief with one’s tongue, and the practice of it with one’s actions.
We ask Allaah The Almighty to show us the Straight Path of guidance and to purify our hearts from the evils of denying any of His attributes or likening them to that of His creation. Just as we ask Him to protect us against negligence and extremism and from following the paths taken by people of innovation who distort realities and who have strayed from the path of uprightness and virtue. For indeed they have strayed from Allah’s Book and the teachings of His Prophet (pbuh) just as they have strayed from the understanding of the Prophet’s companions, those who followed in their footsteps in earnest, the jurists and the scholars of hadith.
Excerpted from Islam today.
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[1]At-Tawdheeh wal Bayaanp. 67
[2]Imam Muhammed ibn ‘Ali Ash-Shawkaani then became As-Saghaani Al-Qaadi. He is a scholar of hadith, jurist, legal theorist and Mufasir. His tafsir named Fat-h Al-Qadir, died in 1250 AH. You may refer to Manaahij Al-Mufasrin [p. 50].
[3][Ash-Shawkaani, Fat-h Al-Qadeer (5/231)].
[4]At-Tawdheeh wal Bayaan p.76.
[5]At-Tawdheeh wal Bayaan.
[6][At-Tawdheeh wal Bayaan p.79]
[7][At-Tawdheeh wal Bayaan p.80]
[8][At-Tawdheeh wal Bayaan p.81]
[9]Reported by Muslim, Kitaab Al-Imaan, chapter of Bayaan Al-Waswasah fi Eddeen 1/119]
[10][Reported by Muslim, Kitaab Al-Imaan, chapter of Bayaan Al-Waswasah fi Eddeen 1/119]
[11][At-Tawdheeh wal Bayaan p.85]
Out of His wisdom, Allah The Almighty has decreed that the hearts of the believers sense and taste the fruits of Faith (Iman) so that they might race towards attaining Allah’s pleasure and ultimately put their trust in Him. Indeed, if the tree of faith is strong, deeply rooted, extensively branched and sprouts of its greenery, it reaps complete benefit for its beholder as well as others, in both of this world and the Hereafter.
There are numerous great benefits and fruits of Iman that Allah Almighty illustrated in His Nobel Book as follows:
•Enjoying Allah’s protection. It is indeed the greatest prize towards which believers may compete. Allah The Almighty says:“Unquestionably, [for] the allies of Allah there will be no fear concerning them, nor will they grieve”[Yunus: 62].
Allah The Almighty then describes His Awliya [pious obedient servants] in His words
“Those who believed and would fear Allah”[Yunus: 63].
Verily, Allah is the Protector of every pious believer as in conformity with His words:
“Allah is the ally of those who believe. He brings them out from darknesses into the light”[Al-Baqarah: 257].
This verse means that Allah The Almighty delivers His Awliya from the darkness of disbelief to the light of faith; from the darkness of ignorance to the light of knowledge; from the darkness of sins to the light of obedience and from the darkness of negligence to the light of knowing and remembering Him. Ultimately, Allah The Almighty delivers His believing servants from the darkness of various forms of evil to the light of goodness in this world and the Hereafter.
The believers only attain these tremendous rewards due to their sound faith. Such sound faith can never be attained except through piety.
•Gaining Allah’s pleasure and favor. Allah The Almighty says:
“The believing men and believing women are allies of one another. They enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and establish prayer and give Zakah and obey Allah and His Messenger. Those - Allah will have mercy upon them. Indeed, Allah is Exalted in Might and Wise. Allah has promised the believing men and believing women gardens beneath which rivers flow, wherein they abide eternally, and pleasant dwellings in gardens of perpetual residence; but approval from Allah is greater. It is that which is the great attainment” (At-Tawbah: 71-72).
The believers attained Allah’s pleasure, mercy and beautiful dwelling places through the faith with which they developed their own selves and by adhering to the commands of Allah The Almighty and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). They also attained these rewards through enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil. In this manner they undertook the noblest means and the richest of objectives. This is Allah’s great favor.
•Attaining Allah’s help and salvation from all evils and calamities as in conformity with His words: “Indeed, Allah defends those who have believed”[Al Hajj : 38].
This verse means that Allah The Almighty protects the believers from all evils and from the Satans of Jinn and mankind. Allah protects them against the plots of their enemies and relieves the hardships before they befall them, and either ease them once they did.
This is clear in the words of Prophet Yunus:
“He called out within the darkness (saying), "There is no deity except You; exalted are You. Indeed, I have been of the wrongdoers." (Al-Anbiya’: 87).
Allah immediately responded to His supplication by His words
“So We responded to him and saved him from the distress. And thus do We save the believers”(Al-Anbiya’: 88).
This verse means that Allah saves His believing servants from distress the same way He did with His Prophet Yunus. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Verily, no distressed person implores Allah The Almighty with the very words of my brother (Prophet) Yunus except Allah will relieve His distress: “There is no deity worthy of worship but You, exalted be You, I was indeed of the evildoers”.
Allah The Almighty also says,
“And whoever fears Allah - He will make for him of his matter ease” [At-Talaq: 4].
Hence, the pious believer has his affairs made easy by Allah The Almighty and is guided to the path of ease and righteousness. He is away from the path of hardship and sin. Allah The Almighty also delivers believers from all suffering and grants them an escape from all difficult affairs; just as He provides them with provision from whence they had not anticipated. There are multiple evidences from the Qur’an and Sunnah attest to this[1].
•Faith and righteousness which is a branch of it lead to a life of contentment and happiness in both this life and the Hereafter, Allah The Almighty says: “Whoever works righteousness, man or woman, and has Faith, verily, to him will We give a new Life, a life that is good and pure and We will bestow on such their reward according to the best of their actions”[An-Nahl 16: 97].
Faith produces tranquility, contentment and assurance of the heart. It also prevents dependence on anyone other than Allah The Almighty, and that is the cause of happiness in this life.
For happiness is based on: the comfort of the heart, its tranquility, and the absence of disarray and disturbances experienced by those lacking in faith.
•Soundness of the heart produces sound faith. All words and actions are only sound and good in accordance with the soundness of faith and sincerity in the heart of the individual speaking or practicing such deeds. This is why Allah The Almighty mentions this important condition and prerequisite for all actions as in conformity with His words:“So whoever does righteous deeds while he is a believer - no denial will there be for his effort”(Al-Anbiya’ 21: 94).
In other words, a believer’s efforts will not be denied and his actions will not be lost. Rather, his reward will be multiplied in accordance with the strength of faith in his heart. Allah The Almighty says,
“But whoever desires the Hereafter and exerts the effort due to it while he is a believer - it is those whose effort is ever appreciated [by Allah].”[Al-Isra’: 19].
To strive for the Hereafter (i.e. (Paradise) is to undertake all the different deeds that lead to it and bring one closer to it as taught to us by Prophet Mohammed (peace and blessings be upon him). If these deeds are founded and built on faith, then they are rewarded, accepted and multiplied in reward by Allah The Almighty, and none of them are lost or go without recompense.
If, however, such deeds are not founded on faith, it doesn’t matter how much effort the doer makes. Such actions will not be accepted by Allah The Almighty. Allah The Almighty says,
“And We will regard what they have done of deeds and make them as dust dispersed”(Al-Furqaan : 23).
That is because they were based on other than faith in Allah The Almighty and belief in His Prophet (pbuh) or other than sincerity towards Allah The Almighty and adherence to the traditions of His Prophet (pbuh). Allah The Almighty says,
"Shall we inform you [believers] of the greatest losers as to [their] deeds? [They are] those whose effort is lost in worldly life, while they think that they are doing well in work. Those are the ones who disbelieve in the verses of their Lord and in [their] meeting Him, so their deeds have become worthless; and We will not assign to them on the Day of Resurrection any importance.” (Al-Kahf: 103-105).
They squandered their faith and replaced it with unbelief in Allah The Almighty and His signs, their deeds were lost. Allah The Almighty says,
“If you should associate [anything] with Allah, your work would surely become worthless”(Az-Zumur 39: 65).
“But if they had associated others with Allah, then worthless for them would be whatever they were doing”(Al-An’am: 88).
For this reason, apostasy renders one’s righteous deeds void, just as the embracement of Islam abolishes all previous sins, no matter how great they were. Also, repentance from all sins that counter faith or weaken it also wipes out these sins[2].
•Contentment with the decree of Allah. Among the benefits of Faith is that it leads the faithful to the Straight Path of guidance. It also leads to the attainment of beneficial knowledge and the practice of it, just as it leads to gratefulness for being granted with what one loves or seeks, acceptance and patience when one is afflicted with calamity and hardship. Allah The Almighty says, “Indeed, those who have believed and done righteous deeds - their Lord will guide them because of their faith”(Yunus : 9).
“No disaster strikes except by permission of Allah. And whoever believes in Allaah - He will guide his heart”[At-Taghabun 64:11].
In explaining this verse, Sheikh Shawkani states, “It refers to those who when afflicted with calamity know that it is from Allah The Almighty and therefore accept it and submit to the will of Allah[3]”.
Perhaps one of the greatest benefits of faith is that it grants comfort in the frequent instances in which one is met with hardships and difficulties. Keeping faith and maintaining certainty (in Allah’s mercy and reward) is a tremendous comfort in all such instances and makes such situations easier to deal with. This is because the strength of one’s faith in Allah The Almighty, one’s reliance on Allah The Almighty, and one’s hope of Allah’s reward and His bounty reduce the pain and bitterness of maintaining patience throughout any hardship. Allah The Almighty says,
“And do not weaken in pursuit of the enemy. If you should be suffering - so are they suffering as you are suffering, but you expect from Allah that which they expect not”[An-Nisaa’ 4: 104].
•From among the benefits anf fruits of faith are that which Allah mentions in His words:“Indeed, those who have believed and done righteous deeds - the Most Merciful will appoint for them affection”(Maryam : 96).
In other words, because of their faith and the deeds they do, Allah The Almighty bestows His love upon the believers and causes other believing servants to love them as well. Clearly, those who are loved by Allah The Almighty and by the believers attain happiness, success and wonderful benefits. For a believer who is loved by others is also prayed for by them, both during his lifetime and after his death[4].
Allah The Almighty also makes imams of such believers, and this alone is a tremendous blessing. Indeed, those who attain the rank of ‘guiding imams’ by Allah The Almighty, so that their faith makes more complete their knowledge and their deeds and so that Allah The Almighty allows others to pray for them and to continue to mention them with honor and respect, are those who have truly attained one of the most glorious of Allah’s rewards.
For this reason, Allaah The Almighty says,
“And We made from among them leaders guiding by Our command when they were patient and [when] they were certain of Our signs.”(As-Sajdah : 24).
by having patience and certainty – two qualities at the helm of faith and signs of completeness of faith – these believers attained, by the grace of Allah The Almighty, the rank of the imamate[5].
•This benefit is derived from the saying of Allah,“Allah will raise those who have believed among you and those who were given knowledge, by degrees”(Al-Mujaadilah: 11).
The believers [who possess knowledge] are at the highest of Allah’s ranks in both this life and the hereafter. This is a rank that they attained through their soundness of faith, their knowledge and their certainty. Indeed, knowledge and certainty are the foundations of faith.
•The glad tidings of Allah’s grace and complete security in all regards. Allah The Almighty says, “And give good tidings to the believers”[Al-Baqarah : 223].
Allah The Almighty makes a general statement so that it might encompass all forms of good, whether in the present or in the future. In other instances, Allah The Almighty specifies what the glad tidings are of. For instance,
“And give good tidings to those who believe and do righteous deeds that they will have gardens [in Paradise] beneath which rivers flow”[Al-Baqarah 2: 25].
And so Believers are brought the glad tidings of all good things in general, and also some of Allaah’s more specific rewards and blessings.
Such Believers are also granted absolute security. Allah The Almighty says,
“They who believe and do not mix their belief with injustice - those will have security, and they are [rightly] guided”[Al-An’am : 82].
They are also granted security in a more specific sense; as Allah The Almighty says,
“So whoever believes and reforms - there will be no fear concerning them, nor will they grieve.”(Al-An’am: 48)
And so by sparing them the fear of what they anticipate and the sorrow of what they experience or have experienced, Allah The Almighty grants them full security from different kinds of hardship. Believers, therefore, are granted Allah’s protection in this life and the Hereafter. This includes security against Allah’s wrath and punishment, just as it includes security against different hardships and evils.
They also have the glad tidings of all forms of good, for Allah The Almighty says,
“For them are good tidings in the worldly life and in the Hereafter”[Yunus 10: 64].
Allah The Almighty clarifies further this glad tidings in the verse,
“Indeed, those who have said, "Our Lord is Allaah " and then remained on a right course - the angels will descend upon them, [saying], "Do not fear and do not grieve but receive good tidings of Paradise, which you were promised. We [angels] were your allies in worldly life and [are so] in the Hereafter. And you will have therein whatever your souls desire, and you will have therein whatever you request [or wish]. As accommodation from a [Lord who is] Forgiving and Merciful" [Fussilat : 30-32].
“O you who have believed, fear Allaah and believe in His Messenger; He will [then] give you a double portion of His mercy and make for you a light by which you will walk and forgive you; and Allaah is Forgiving and Merciful”[Al-Hadid: 28].
Allah The Almighty makes faith a prerequisite for exponential reward and for the completeness of the light with which these believers walk in, both in this life and the hereafter.
“On the Day you see the believing men and believing women, their light proceeding before them and on their right, [it will be said], "Your good tidings today are [of] gardens beneath which rivers flow, wherein you will abide eternally." That is what is the great attainment” (Al-Hadid: 12).
A Believer is he who, in this life, walks in the light of his knowledge and faith. And if all other lights are extinguished on Judgment Day, the believers will walk upon the Siraat (the Path that all people must walk) in the light that Allah The Almighty has granted them until they are admitted into Paradise.
Allah The Almighty has also decreed that forgiveness be a result of faith. Clearly, he who is forgiven his evil deeds has escaped Allah’s punishment and attained His reward[6].
•A faithful servant attains complete prosperity. Prosperity or success in this sense is to meet one’s ultimate objectives, while escaping all one fears. This ultimately is guidance, and it is the most honorable of means towards the attainment of all that is good. This is what Allah The Almighty has mentioned after mentioning those who believe in what He has revealed upon His Prophet (pbuh) and those who believe in what He had revealed before Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and those who believed in the unseen, established Prayer and zakat, all of which are some of the greatest benefits of faith. And so after mentioning these traits, Allah The Almighty says,
“Those are upon [right] guidance from their Lord, and it is those who are the successful” (Al-Baqarah : 5)
This is the perfect guidance and perfect success.
Therefore, no one can attain guidance nor success, which only can bring success and happiness, except one shall have perfect belief in every book that Allah The Almighty has revealed, and in every Messenger Allah The Almighty has sent. In fact, guidance is the greatest means and success is the most perfect aim. [7]
•Those who have faith are those who truly benefit from Allah’s warnings, signs and reminders. Allah The Almighty says, “And remind, for indeed, the reminder benefits the believers”(Adh-Dhaariyaat : 55).
“Indeed in that is a sign for the believers”(Al-Hijr: 77).
This is because faith helps the believer to adhere to the truth and to follow it, both in terms of what they know and what they do. Faith is indeed the greatest tool with which one might learn and understand the truth, and understand all the signs that lead to it. With faith, there stands nothing to prevent a learner from learning the truth and from acting upon it.
Faith also makes more pure one’s nature and one’s intentions. Those who hold such purity are bound to benefit from Allah’s signs. Those who do not hold these qualities, however, should not be surprised at their inability to accept the truth or to follow it. For this reason, Allah The Almighty makes known that the unbelievers are unable to follow the Prophet (pbuh) on account of the unbelief in their hearts, and their rejection of faith. Indeed, the truth is plain and clear and so too are the signs that lead to it. Unbelief is the greatest obstacle to accepting truth and to following it. Unbelievers must therefore not be bewildered by their inability to see and understand Allah’s sign, for the crime of unbelief is what has prevented them from appreciating the truth when it was evident to the Believers[8].
•Faith prevents doubts that might be experienced and that have negative consequences on one’s religious conviction. Allah The Almighty says,“The believers are only the ones who have believed in Allaah and His Messenger and then doubt not”(Al-Hujuraat: 15).
This means that their sound faith repels whatever they experience in the way of doubts, and fends off the suspicions planted by the devils among the Jinn and humans, and those planted by the evil that lies within the selves. All these dangers cannot be cured except through soundness of faith.
This fact is corroborated by the authentic Prophetic report that is narrated by Abu Hurayrah where the Prophet (pbuh) said, “People will continue to ask themselves questions until they say, ‘Allah has created creation. So who created, Allah?’ And so if you should ask yourselves such a question, say, ‘I believe in Allaah[9].’” In another narration, the Prophet says, “…then one should seek refuge in Allah, and stop asking himself such questions[10].”
the Prophet (pbuh) shows us how to deal with such situations in three points:
•To stop thinking about such matters and thereby prevent the whispers of Satan.
•To seek refuge in Allah The Almighty from the evil of those who plant such questions and use them sow doubt with the intention of leading people astray.
•To hold fast to sound faith, for whoever should hold fast to sound faith is sure to find security against such doubts.The falsity of falsehood is made evident through a number of means. The greatest of which is that it goes against what is known to be true or what constitutes truth. For whatever goes against the truth can only be false or wrongful. Allah The Almighty says,
“And what can be beyond truth except falsehood?” (Yunus 10: 32).
Faith is a refuge for the believers against all that might afflict them. Indeed, it is a refuge in times of sadness and happiness, fear and security, obedience and sin and all other instances that are bound to affect each and every one of us.
Hence, in times of fear, a believer seeks refuge in his faith so that he finds security and becomes more firmly grounded in his faith upon doing so. He also finds more courage to face calamities, and all that once caused him fear becomes more manageable and less significant. In reference to the best of his servants, Allah The Almighty says,
“Those to whom hypocrites said, "Indeed, the people have gathered against you, so fear them." But it [merely] increased them in faith, and they said, "Sufficient for us is Allaah, and [He is] the best Disposer of affairs. So they returned with favor from Allaah and bounty, no harm having touched them.”(Al-Imraan : 173-174).
Whatever fear these believers had, ultimately became menial and insignificant in their hearts and was instead replaced with a strong sense of faith and the comfort that comes with it. Their hearts were also filled with dependence on Allah The Almighty and firm belief in what all that He has promised.
In times of obedience and the practice of righteous deeds, such believers also take refuge in their faith by acknowledging that it was Allah The Almighty who guided them to such deeds and that this guidance itself is a greater blessing than the blessings of good health and wealth. In acknowledging that such deeds are granted to them by Allah The Almighty, these believers do what they can to perfect their deeds so that they become more complete and acceptable to Allah The Almighty and so that they are not rejected by Him.
Believers who hold this degree of faith are those who ask Allah The Almighty to accept their deeds after He has blessed them by guiding them to it, and to forgive whatever shortcomings they may have been guilty of by making their deeds more complete and acceptable. Allah The Almighty says,
“It is those who hasten to good deeds, and they outstrip [others] therein.”(Al-Mu’minun : 61).
These servants also seek refuge in faith by repenting as soon as they fall into sin, and by doing whatever they can of good deeds to wipe out whatever evil deeds they have committed. Allah The Almighty says,
“Indeed, those who fear Allah - when an impulse touches them from Satan, they remember [Him] and at once they have insight”(Al-A’raaf: 201)
No matter what their circumstances or what their situation, believers always take refuge in their faith and do what they can to actualize such faith and rid themselves of whatever goes against it. This, of course, is all a result of Allah’s grace and mercy upon them[11].
In an effort to keep this article short, the above tremendous benefits - made clear to us by Allah The Almighty - will suffice. With this, one can see that Allah The Almighty has indeed made all things clear, and has presented all that relates to faith, its different dimensions and benefits, and the means by which one might attain it equally clear. Allah The Almighty incites us to acquire faith by mentioning its benefits and fruits in a way that demonstrates His unique wisdom and that is only befitting of the Most Wise, the Most knowledgeable, exalted Lord of all the worlds.
Allah The Almighty has explained in His Book that Faith constitutes belief with one’s heart, the corroboration of that belief with one’s tongue, and the practice of it with one’s actions.
We ask Allaah The Almighty to show us the Straight Path of guidance and to purify our hearts from the evils of denying any of His attributes or likening them to that of His creation. Just as we ask Him to protect us against negligence and extremism and from following the paths taken by people of innovation who distort realities and who have strayed from the path of uprightness and virtue. For indeed they have strayed from Allah’s Book and the teachings of His Prophet (pbuh) just as they have strayed from the understanding of the Prophet’s companions, those who followed in their footsteps in earnest, the jurists and the scholars of hadith.
Excerpted from Islam today.
-----------------------------------------
[1]At-Tawdheeh wal Bayaanp. 67
[2]Imam Muhammed ibn ‘Ali Ash-Shawkaani then became As-Saghaani Al-Qaadi. He is a scholar of hadith, jurist, legal theorist and Mufasir. His tafsir named Fat-h Al-Qadir, died in 1250 AH. You may refer to Manaahij Al-Mufasrin [p. 50].
[3][Ash-Shawkaani, Fat-h Al-Qadeer (5/231)].
[4]At-Tawdheeh wal Bayaan p.76.
[5]At-Tawdheeh wal Bayaan.
[6][At-Tawdheeh wal Bayaan p.79]
[7][At-Tawdheeh wal Bayaan p.80]
[8][At-Tawdheeh wal Bayaan p.81]
[9]Reported by Muslim, Kitaab Al-Imaan, chapter of Bayaan Al-Waswasah fi Eddeen 1/119]
[10][Reported by Muslim, Kitaab Al-Imaan, chapter of Bayaan Al-Waswasah fi Eddeen 1/119]
[11][At-Tawdheeh wal Bayaan p.85]
The Ability to See the Signs of God
From: http://knowingallah.com/V2/Document.aspx?id=1385&lang=en
“Say: ‘Praise be to God. He will show you His Signs and you will recognize them. Your Lord is not heedless of anything you do.’” (Quran 27:93)
“This is a communication to be transmitted to mankind so that they can be warned by it and so that they will know that He is One God and so that people of intelligence will pay heed.” (Quran 14:52)
In many other verses, God emphasizes that one of the most crucial purposes of the Quran’s revelation is to invite people to ponder.
In the Quran, God invites people to reject blindly accepting the beliefs and values society imposes on them and to ponder by pushing aside all the prejudices, taboos and constraints on their minds.
Man must think on how he came into being, what the purpose of his life is, why he will die and what awaits him after death. He must question how he, himself, and the whole universe came into existence and how they continue to exist. While doing this, he must relieve himself of all constraints and prejudices.
By thinking while isolating his conscience from all social, ideological and psychological obligations, the person should eventually perceive that the entire universe, including himself, is created by a superior power. Even when he examines his own body or any other thing in nature, he will see an impressive harmony, plan and wisdom at work within its design.
Concerning this point again, the Quran guides man. In the Quran, God guides us as to what we should reflect on and investigate. With the methods of reflection given in the Quran, he who has faith in God will better perceive God’s perfection, eternal wisdom, knowledge and power in His creation. When a believing person starts to think in the way shown in the Quran, he soon realizes that the whole universe is a sign of God’s power and art, and that, “nature is a work of art, not the artist itself”. Every work of art exhibits the exceptional skills of the one who has made it and conveys his messages.
In the Quran, people are summoned to contemplate numerous events and objects that clearly testify to the existence and uniqueness of God and His attributes. In the Quran, all these beings that bear witness are designated as “signs”, meaning “tested evidence, absolute knowledge and expression of truth”. Therefore, the signs of God comprise all the beings in the universe in that they disclose and communicate the being and attributes of God. Those who can observe and remember will see that the entire universe is entirely composed of the signs of God.
This, indeed, is the responsibility of mankind: to be able to see the signs of God. Thus, such a person will come to know the Creator who created him and all other things, draw closer to Him, discover the meaning of his existence and his life and so prosper.
Each thing, the breath a human takes; political and social developments; the cosmic harmony in the universe; the atom, which is one of the smallest pieces of matter, is each a sign of God, and they all operate under His control and knowledge, abiding by His laws. Recognizing and knowing the signs of God calls for personal effort. One will recognize and know the signs of God in accordance with his own wisdom and conscience.
Undoubtedly, some guidelines may also help. As the first step, one can investigate certain points stressed in the Quran in order to acquire the mentality that perceives the whole universe as an articulation of the things created by God.
God’s signs in nature are emphasized in a chapter call “The Bee”:
“It is He who sends down water from the sky. From it you drink and from it come the shrubs among which you graze your herds. And by it He makes crops grow for you and olives and dates and grapes and fruit of every kind. Therein is certainly a sign in that for people who reflect. He has made the night and the day subservient to you, and the sun, the moon and the stars, all subject to His command. Therein are certainly signs in that for people who use their intellect. And also, the things of varying colors He has created for you in the earth. There is certainly a sign in that for people who pay heed. It is He who made the sea subservient to you so that you can eat fresh flesh from it and bring out from it ornaments to wear. And you see the ships cleaving through it so that you can seek His bounty, and so that perhaps you may show thanks. He cast firmly embedded mountains on the earth so it would not move under you, and rivers, pathways, and landmarks so that perhaps you might be guided. And they are guided by the stars. Is He Who creates like him who does not create? O will you not pay heed?”(Quran 16:10-17)
In the Quran, God invites men of understanding to think about the issues which other people overlook or just dismiss using such barren terms as “evolution”, “coincidence”, or “a miracle of nature”.
In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the alternation of night and day, there are Signs for people of intelligence: those who remember God standing, sitting and lying on their sides, and reflect on the creation of the heavens and the earth:
“Our Lord, You did not create this for nothing. Glory be to You! So guard us from the punishment of the Fire.” (Quran 3:191)
As we see in these verses, people of understanding see the signs of God and try to comprehend His eternal knowledge, power and art by remembering and reflecting on them, for God’s knowledge is limitless, and His act of creating flawless.
For men of understanding, everything around them is a sign of this creation.
“Say: ‘Praise be to God. He will show you His Signs and you will recognize them. Your Lord is not heedless of anything you do.’” (Quran 27:93)
“This is a communication to be transmitted to mankind so that they can be warned by it and so that they will know that He is One God and so that people of intelligence will pay heed.” (Quran 14:52)
In many other verses, God emphasizes that one of the most crucial purposes of the Quran’s revelation is to invite people to ponder.
In the Quran, God invites people to reject blindly accepting the beliefs and values society imposes on them and to ponder by pushing aside all the prejudices, taboos and constraints on their minds.
Man must think on how he came into being, what the purpose of his life is, why he will die and what awaits him after death. He must question how he, himself, and the whole universe came into existence and how they continue to exist. While doing this, he must relieve himself of all constraints and prejudices.
By thinking while isolating his conscience from all social, ideological and psychological obligations, the person should eventually perceive that the entire universe, including himself, is created by a superior power. Even when he examines his own body or any other thing in nature, he will see an impressive harmony, plan and wisdom at work within its design.
Concerning this point again, the Quran guides man. In the Quran, God guides us as to what we should reflect on and investigate. With the methods of reflection given in the Quran, he who has faith in God will better perceive God’s perfection, eternal wisdom, knowledge and power in His creation. When a believing person starts to think in the way shown in the Quran, he soon realizes that the whole universe is a sign of God’s power and art, and that, “nature is a work of art, not the artist itself”. Every work of art exhibits the exceptional skills of the one who has made it and conveys his messages.
In the Quran, people are summoned to contemplate numerous events and objects that clearly testify to the existence and uniqueness of God and His attributes. In the Quran, all these beings that bear witness are designated as “signs”, meaning “tested evidence, absolute knowledge and expression of truth”. Therefore, the signs of God comprise all the beings in the universe in that they disclose and communicate the being and attributes of God. Those who can observe and remember will see that the entire universe is entirely composed of the signs of God.
This, indeed, is the responsibility of mankind: to be able to see the signs of God. Thus, such a person will come to know the Creator who created him and all other things, draw closer to Him, discover the meaning of his existence and his life and so prosper.
Each thing, the breath a human takes; political and social developments; the cosmic harmony in the universe; the atom, which is one of the smallest pieces of matter, is each a sign of God, and they all operate under His control and knowledge, abiding by His laws. Recognizing and knowing the signs of God calls for personal effort. One will recognize and know the signs of God in accordance with his own wisdom and conscience.
Undoubtedly, some guidelines may also help. As the first step, one can investigate certain points stressed in the Quran in order to acquire the mentality that perceives the whole universe as an articulation of the things created by God.
God’s signs in nature are emphasized in a chapter call “The Bee”:
“It is He who sends down water from the sky. From it you drink and from it come the shrubs among which you graze your herds. And by it He makes crops grow for you and olives and dates and grapes and fruit of every kind. Therein is certainly a sign in that for people who reflect. He has made the night and the day subservient to you, and the sun, the moon and the stars, all subject to His command. Therein are certainly signs in that for people who use their intellect. And also, the things of varying colors He has created for you in the earth. There is certainly a sign in that for people who pay heed. It is He who made the sea subservient to you so that you can eat fresh flesh from it and bring out from it ornaments to wear. And you see the ships cleaving through it so that you can seek His bounty, and so that perhaps you may show thanks. He cast firmly embedded mountains on the earth so it would not move under you, and rivers, pathways, and landmarks so that perhaps you might be guided. And they are guided by the stars. Is He Who creates like him who does not create? O will you not pay heed?”(Quran 16:10-17)
In the Quran, God invites men of understanding to think about the issues which other people overlook or just dismiss using such barren terms as “evolution”, “coincidence”, or “a miracle of nature”.
In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the alternation of night and day, there are Signs for people of intelligence: those who remember God standing, sitting and lying on their sides, and reflect on the creation of the heavens and the earth:
“Our Lord, You did not create this for nothing. Glory be to You! So guard us from the punishment of the Fire.” (Quran 3:191)
As we see in these verses, people of understanding see the signs of God and try to comprehend His eternal knowledge, power and art by remembering and reflecting on them, for God’s knowledge is limitless, and His act of creating flawless.
For men of understanding, everything around them is a sign of this creation.
The creatures prove the existence of the Creator
From: http://knowingallah.com/V2/Document.aspx?id=7&lang=en
The creatures prove the existence of the Creator
The Qur'an challenges those who deny the existence of the Creator under the pretext that it must be admitted by human intellect. This fact can never be rejected by any sound human intellect. Allah Almighty says,
Or were they created by nothing, or were they the creators [of themselves]? Or did they create the heavens and the earth? Rather, they are not certain. [Al-Tur: 35-36].
Allah Almighty tells them that there is no doubt about your own existence and that of heavens and earth.
It is established in the human mind that everything that exists in the universe is evidence on the presence of its Creator. For example, the sky containing great stars and the different paths on earth prove the existence of Allah, the Ever-Knowing, The Acquainted. The great biologists and researchers realize his fact.
· The law of cause and effect:
This law states that nothing among that which exists came into existence by its own self nor had the ability to affect other things around. This may be represented in the following example:
- Years ago, the sand dunes in the Empty Quarter desert [al-Rubi' al-khali desert] were removed by wind and it revealed the traces of a city that was buried under the sand. Geologists, at that time, tried their best in searching for its components and knowing the age in which it was built. It didn't cross the mind of any of those geologists or others that this city was found thanks to the elements of nature such as wind, rain, heat, cold and it was not a manmade work. On the contrary, if anyone claimed that this city was emerged due the elements of nature, people will make fun of him and feel pity for him. So, what would be the case if someone says that this city was found naturally in the air and then it settled on earth after the passage of time? This statement is rather stranger that its previous. This is because it is something innate that nothing could come to existence by its own self. Therefore, the city must have been built by wise clever builders.
- Another example, the human mind can accept that a person may ascend the stairs of a building, because mankind has the ability to move and do that. However, we assert that a stone could not move by its own self to ascend the stairs of a building.
One of the amazing things that people assert is that a city can never be found without a founder and it is impossible for a stone to move from down to up stairs; however, they agree that the entire universe is found without a maker. Nevertheless, founding and creating this universe is greater and more complex than anything else upon earth. Allah Almighty says:
The creation of the heavens and earth is greater than the creation of mankind, but most of the people do not know. [Ghafir: 57].
However, when arguing with those who deny these facts on logical scientific basis, they have no choice except admitting or continuing in stubbornness.
Scholars of Islam were and still face the polytheists through this perspective of logic and intellect. A Muslim scholar once said to a group of disbelievers: do you accept the argument of someone who says that a ship loaded with goods run through the waves of the sea in a windy day without a navigator or a crew? They replied: this cannot be accepted by the human mind. Thereupon, the scholar wondered: Oh Allah Most Exalted! If it is not perceived by the human mind that the ship can never run through the waves of the sea without a navigator, so, how could this entire world with all its different conditions and spaces can be found without a maker or protector?! They said: we believe in what you said and they repented.
This is the law that the human mind accepts and submits itself to it as it is asserted in the noble verse that reads: Or were they created by nothing, or were they the creators [of themselves]? [Al-Tur: 35]. This evidence obliges all people of intellect to admit that there is a Creator who deserves to be worshipped. This fact is depicted in a perfect effective manner that penetrates and shakes one's soul.
Jubayr Ibn Mut'im said: "I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) reciting Surat al-Tur while he was leading the Maghreb prayer and when he reached those verses: Or were they created by nothing, or were they the creators [of themselves]? Or did they create the heavens and the earth? Rather, they are not certain. Or have they the depositories [containing the provision] of your Lord? Or are they the controllers [of them]? [Al-Tur: 35-37] "my heart was almost rent asunder." [Reported by Al-Bukhari in his Sahih].
- Abu Sulaiman al-Khatabi commentary on the above mentioned verses of Surat al-Tur:
Al-Bayhaqi said: Abu Sulaiman al-Khatabi said:"The reason why Jubayer trembled upon hearing these verses is because he realized its real meaning and comprehended the great evidence it implies on the existence of the Creator."
Al-Khatabi commented on the verse no.35 of surat al-Tur by saying: "Or were they created by nothing, or were they the creators [of themselves]? It is never perceivable that all these creatures came to existence without a creator since it is necessary for everything that exists to have a creator or maker. So, did those who deny the existence of Allah the Creator create themselves? This is the utmost degrees of corruption and falsehood because they can never do it nor have the ability to. Therefore, their claim is refuted and all the creations that exist stand as a proof against it and they have to know that there is a creator in whom they should believe. Then he said: (Or did they create the heavens and the earth? Rather, they are not certain.) [Al-Tur-36] this verse asserts that the claims of those polytheists are certainly in vain since they cannot create the heavens and earth. So, all proofs are against them."
- The Qur'an teaches us the art of dialogue with disbelievers to prove the existence of Allah:
Have you not considered the one who argued with Abraham about his Lord [merely] because Allah had given him kingship? When Abraham said, "My Lord is the one who gives life and causes death," he said, "I give life and cause death." Abraham said, "Indeed, Allah brings up the sun from the east, so bring it up from the west." So the disbeliever was overwhelmed [by astonishment], and Allah does not guide the wrongdoing people. [Al-Baqarah: 258].
Therefore, when a disbeliever claims that he created himself, let him prove that he created the heavens and earth.
Based on this, if he could neither create himself nor the heavens nor the earth who can never in turn create themselves; hence, all of these creations should have a maker. This maker and creator is Allah the Almighty.
- How the experimental sciences evaluate this law:
The nature and abilities of mankind cannot follow and encompass all the stages of causes and effects in order to reach the beginning of creation. Therefore, experimental sciences failed to know the origin of things and it drew itself back declaring the victory of the unseen that both ignorant and people of knowledge ignore.
- The human mind must confess the existence of Allah, the Creator of all that Which exists:
Admitting the human failure to reach the beginning of creation is confronted with a certainty that every human mind admit either willingly or unwillingly; namely, whatever reasons are, there must be something eternal which is considered the first and last and brought everything to existence.
The creatures prove the existence of the Creator
The Qur'an challenges those who deny the existence of the Creator under the pretext that it must be admitted by human intellect. This fact can never be rejected by any sound human intellect. Allah Almighty says,
Or were they created by nothing, or were they the creators [of themselves]? Or did they create the heavens and the earth? Rather, they are not certain. [Al-Tur: 35-36].
Allah Almighty tells them that there is no doubt about your own existence and that of heavens and earth.
It is established in the human mind that everything that exists in the universe is evidence on the presence of its Creator. For example, the sky containing great stars and the different paths on earth prove the existence of Allah, the Ever-Knowing, The Acquainted. The great biologists and researchers realize his fact.
· The law of cause and effect:
This law states that nothing among that which exists came into existence by its own self nor had the ability to affect other things around. This may be represented in the following example:
- Years ago, the sand dunes in the Empty Quarter desert [al-Rubi' al-khali desert] were removed by wind and it revealed the traces of a city that was buried under the sand. Geologists, at that time, tried their best in searching for its components and knowing the age in which it was built. It didn't cross the mind of any of those geologists or others that this city was found thanks to the elements of nature such as wind, rain, heat, cold and it was not a manmade work. On the contrary, if anyone claimed that this city was emerged due the elements of nature, people will make fun of him and feel pity for him. So, what would be the case if someone says that this city was found naturally in the air and then it settled on earth after the passage of time? This statement is rather stranger that its previous. This is because it is something innate that nothing could come to existence by its own self. Therefore, the city must have been built by wise clever builders.
- Another example, the human mind can accept that a person may ascend the stairs of a building, because mankind has the ability to move and do that. However, we assert that a stone could not move by its own self to ascend the stairs of a building.
One of the amazing things that people assert is that a city can never be found without a founder and it is impossible for a stone to move from down to up stairs; however, they agree that the entire universe is found without a maker. Nevertheless, founding and creating this universe is greater and more complex than anything else upon earth. Allah Almighty says:
The creation of the heavens and earth is greater than the creation of mankind, but most of the people do not know. [Ghafir: 57].
However, when arguing with those who deny these facts on logical scientific basis, they have no choice except admitting or continuing in stubbornness.
Scholars of Islam were and still face the polytheists through this perspective of logic and intellect. A Muslim scholar once said to a group of disbelievers: do you accept the argument of someone who says that a ship loaded with goods run through the waves of the sea in a windy day without a navigator or a crew? They replied: this cannot be accepted by the human mind. Thereupon, the scholar wondered: Oh Allah Most Exalted! If it is not perceived by the human mind that the ship can never run through the waves of the sea without a navigator, so, how could this entire world with all its different conditions and spaces can be found without a maker or protector?! They said: we believe in what you said and they repented.
This is the law that the human mind accepts and submits itself to it as it is asserted in the noble verse that reads: Or were they created by nothing, or were they the creators [of themselves]? [Al-Tur: 35]. This evidence obliges all people of intellect to admit that there is a Creator who deserves to be worshipped. This fact is depicted in a perfect effective manner that penetrates and shakes one's soul.
Jubayr Ibn Mut'im said: "I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) reciting Surat al-Tur while he was leading the Maghreb prayer and when he reached those verses: Or were they created by nothing, or were they the creators [of themselves]? Or did they create the heavens and the earth? Rather, they are not certain. Or have they the depositories [containing the provision] of your Lord? Or are they the controllers [of them]? [Al-Tur: 35-37] "my heart was almost rent asunder." [Reported by Al-Bukhari in his Sahih].
- Abu Sulaiman al-Khatabi commentary on the above mentioned verses of Surat al-Tur:
Al-Bayhaqi said: Abu Sulaiman al-Khatabi said:"The reason why Jubayer trembled upon hearing these verses is because he realized its real meaning and comprehended the great evidence it implies on the existence of the Creator."
Al-Khatabi commented on the verse no.35 of surat al-Tur by saying: "Or were they created by nothing, or were they the creators [of themselves]? It is never perceivable that all these creatures came to existence without a creator since it is necessary for everything that exists to have a creator or maker. So, did those who deny the existence of Allah the Creator create themselves? This is the utmost degrees of corruption and falsehood because they can never do it nor have the ability to. Therefore, their claim is refuted and all the creations that exist stand as a proof against it and they have to know that there is a creator in whom they should believe. Then he said: (Or did they create the heavens and the earth? Rather, they are not certain.) [Al-Tur-36] this verse asserts that the claims of those polytheists are certainly in vain since they cannot create the heavens and earth. So, all proofs are against them."
- The Qur'an teaches us the art of dialogue with disbelievers to prove the existence of Allah:
Have you not considered the one who argued with Abraham about his Lord [merely] because Allah had given him kingship? When Abraham said, "My Lord is the one who gives life and causes death," he said, "I give life and cause death." Abraham said, "Indeed, Allah brings up the sun from the east, so bring it up from the west." So the disbeliever was overwhelmed [by astonishment], and Allah does not guide the wrongdoing people. [Al-Baqarah: 258].
Therefore, when a disbeliever claims that he created himself, let him prove that he created the heavens and earth.
Based on this, if he could neither create himself nor the heavens nor the earth who can never in turn create themselves; hence, all of these creations should have a maker. This maker and creator is Allah the Almighty.
- How the experimental sciences evaluate this law:
The nature and abilities of mankind cannot follow and encompass all the stages of causes and effects in order to reach the beginning of creation. Therefore, experimental sciences failed to know the origin of things and it drew itself back declaring the victory of the unseen that both ignorant and people of knowledge ignore.
- The human mind must confess the existence of Allah, the Creator of all that Which exists:
Admitting the human failure to reach the beginning of creation is confronted with a certainty that every human mind admit either willingly or unwillingly; namely, whatever reasons are, there must be something eternal which is considered the first and last and brought everything to existence.
Is Jesus God _ Part 2
From: http://knowingallah.com/V2/Document.aspx?id=1961&lang=en
7. The Bible says that the disciples did not believe Jesus was God.
The Acts of the Apostles in the Bible details the activity of the disciples over a period of thirty years after Jesus, may God praise him, was raised to heaven. Throughout this period, they never referred to Jesus as God. For instance Peter stood up with the eleven disciples and addressed a crowd saying:
Acts 2:22 “Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know.”
For Peter, Jesus was a servant of God (confirmed in Matthew 12:18):
Acts 3:13 “The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus.”
Acts 3:26 “God raised up his servant...”
When faced by opposition from the authorities, Peter said:
Acts 5:29-30 “We must obey God rather than men! The God of our fathers raised Jesus...”
The disciples prayed to God just as they were commanded by Jesus in Luke 11:2, and considered Jesus to be God’s servant,
Acts 4:24 “...they raised their voices together in prayer to God. ‘Sovereign Lord,’ they said, ‘you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them.’”
Acts 4:27 “...your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed.”
Acts 4:30 “…of Your holy servant Jesus.”
This is exactly what the Quran states of Jesus:
Quran 19: 30 “…I am indeed a servant of God.”
8. The Bible says that Jesus was God’s servant, chosen one, and beloved.
Matt. 12:18 “Behold, My servant, whom I have chosen, in whom My soul is well pleased.”
Since Jesus is God’s servant, Jesus can not be God.
9. The Bible says that Jesus could not Do Anything by Himself.
John 5:19 “The son can do nothing by himself; he can only do what he sees his Father doing.”
John 5:30 “I can of mine own self do nothing.”
Jesus did not consider himself equal with God; rather he denied doing anything by himself.
10. The Bible says that God performed miracles through Jesus & Jesus was limited in what he could do.
Matt. 9:8 “But when the crowds saw this, they were awestruck, and glorified God, who had given such authority to men.”
Acts 2:22 “a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst.”
Acts 10:38 “…he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.”
If Christ was God, the Bible would simply say that Jesus did the miracles himself without making reference to God. The fact that it was God supplying the power for the miracles shows that God is greater than Jesus.
Also, Jesus was limited in performing miracles. One time when Jesus tried to heal a blind man, the man was not healed after the first attempt, and Jesus had to try a second time (Mark 8:22-26). Once a woman was healed of her incurable bleeding. The woman came up behind him and touched his cloak, and she was immediately healed. But Jesus had no idea who touched him:
Mark 5:30 “At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, ‘Who touched my clothes?’”
Mark 6:5 “He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them.”
Quite obviously, someone with such limitations can not be God. The power of miracles was not within Jesus.
11. The Bible says that at times of weakness angels strengthened Jesus; God, however, does not need to be strengthened.
Luke 22:43 “An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him [in the garden of Gethsemane].”
Mk. 1:13 “Then the devil left him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him.”
Mark 1:13 “And he was in the wilderness forty days being tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts, and the angels were ministering to him.”
Men need to be strengthened; God does not because God is All-Powerful. If Jesus had to be strengthened, he must not be God.
12. The Bible says that Jesus wanted God’s will to be done, not his own.
Luke 22:42: “not my will but Yours be done.”
John 5:30 “I do not seek my own will, but the will of Him who sent me.”
John 6:38 “For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of Him that sent me.”
Are some members of the coequal Trinity subservient, and less than equal, to other members? Even though they have different wills (“I do not seek my own will”), do they obey without question the others’ commands (“the will of Him who sent me”)? Jesus admits to subordinating his own distinct will, yet according to the Trinitarian doctrine they should all have the same will. Should one of the triune partners have to forgo his own will in favor of the will of another member of the Trinity? Should not they all have the exact same will?
13. The Bible says Jesus regarded God’s testimony as separate from his own.
Jesus regarded himself and God as two, not “one.”
John 8:17 and 18: “I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father.”
John 14:1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.”
If Jesus was God, He would have not have regarded God’s testimony as separate from his own.
Is Jesus God ?
7. The Bible says that the disciples did not believe Jesus was God.
The Acts of the Apostles in the Bible details the activity of the disciples over a period of thirty years after Jesus, may God praise him, was raised to heaven. Throughout this period, they never referred to Jesus as God. For instance Peter stood up with the eleven disciples and addressed a crowd saying:
Acts 2:22 “Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know.”
For Peter, Jesus was a servant of God (confirmed in Matthew 12:18):
Acts 3:13 “The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus.”
Acts 3:26 “God raised up his servant...”
When faced by opposition from the authorities, Peter said:
Acts 5:29-30 “We must obey God rather than men! The God of our fathers raised Jesus...”
The disciples prayed to God just as they were commanded by Jesus in Luke 11:2, and considered Jesus to be God’s servant,
Acts 4:24 “...they raised their voices together in prayer to God. ‘Sovereign Lord,’ they said, ‘you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them.’”
Acts 4:27 “...your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed.”
Acts 4:30 “…of Your holy servant Jesus.”
This is exactly what the Quran states of Jesus:
Quran 19: 30 “…I am indeed a servant of God.”
8. The Bible says that Jesus was God’s servant, chosen one, and beloved.
Matt. 12:18 “Behold, My servant, whom I have chosen, in whom My soul is well pleased.”
Since Jesus is God’s servant, Jesus can not be God.
9. The Bible says that Jesus could not Do Anything by Himself.
John 5:19 “The son can do nothing by himself; he can only do what he sees his Father doing.”
John 5:30 “I can of mine own self do nothing.”
Jesus did not consider himself equal with God; rather he denied doing anything by himself.
10. The Bible says that God performed miracles through Jesus & Jesus was limited in what he could do.
Matt. 9:8 “But when the crowds saw this, they were awestruck, and glorified God, who had given such authority to men.”
Acts 2:22 “a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst.”
Acts 10:38 “…he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.”
If Christ was God, the Bible would simply say that Jesus did the miracles himself without making reference to God. The fact that it was God supplying the power for the miracles shows that God is greater than Jesus.
Also, Jesus was limited in performing miracles. One time when Jesus tried to heal a blind man, the man was not healed after the first attempt, and Jesus had to try a second time (Mark 8:22-26). Once a woman was healed of her incurable bleeding. The woman came up behind him and touched his cloak, and she was immediately healed. But Jesus had no idea who touched him:
Mark 5:30 “At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, ‘Who touched my clothes?’”
Mark 6:5 “He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them.”
Quite obviously, someone with such limitations can not be God. The power of miracles was not within Jesus.
11. The Bible says that at times of weakness angels strengthened Jesus; God, however, does not need to be strengthened.
Luke 22:43 “An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him [in the garden of Gethsemane].”
Mk. 1:13 “Then the devil left him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him.”
Mark 1:13 “And he was in the wilderness forty days being tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts, and the angels were ministering to him.”
Men need to be strengthened; God does not because God is All-Powerful. If Jesus had to be strengthened, he must not be God.
12. The Bible says that Jesus wanted God’s will to be done, not his own.
Luke 22:42: “not my will but Yours be done.”
John 5:30 “I do not seek my own will, but the will of Him who sent me.”
John 6:38 “For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of Him that sent me.”
Are some members of the coequal Trinity subservient, and less than equal, to other members? Even though they have different wills (“I do not seek my own will”), do they obey without question the others’ commands (“the will of Him who sent me”)? Jesus admits to subordinating his own distinct will, yet according to the Trinitarian doctrine they should all have the same will. Should one of the triune partners have to forgo his own will in favor of the will of another member of the Trinity? Should not they all have the exact same will?
13. The Bible says Jesus regarded God’s testimony as separate from his own.
Jesus regarded himself and God as two, not “one.”
John 8:17 and 18: “I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father.”
John 14:1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.”
If Jesus was God, He would have not have regarded God’s testimony as separate from his own.
Is Jesus God ?
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