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Salaam Br. Joseph--

Does verse 47:4 mandate that prisoners of war be either released or ransomed? I've seen many differing positions on this, so it would be great if I could get your perspective on this, since I haven't seen you speak about this explicitly before. Your thoughts would be very much appreciated.

Regards
wanderer

Enjoy, like & share:
https://divergingthoughtsblog.wordpress.com/2017/02/22/pacifism-is-an-endorsement-of-violence/
Regards
wanderer

Well, this took forever:
https://divergingthoughtsblog.wordpress.com/2017/01/30/new-atheist-fantasyland/
Enjoy, like, and follow
wanderer

Hi Amira.
A commenter on my blog just shared this website with me:
https://ifoceanswereink.wordpress.com
My question is, is this you? The articles reference this site, that fatal feminist blog, and uses practically the same arguments you used with me just a few days ago, right down to the wording. Anyhow, the site is well made, and the articles fluent, so if it is you, please post your articles here so we can read them?
P.S. Was the commenter you?
Regards
wanderer

https://divergingthoughtsblog.wordpress.com/2017/01/06/the-criminalization-of-islam/
Enjoy, like, and follow
wanderer

Salaam. Sorry again for the long wait in between posts. As I said before, I just finished finals today, plus this is the longest article I've written so far, tackling a very complex subject:
https://divergingthoughtsblog.wordpress.com/2016/12/16/absolute-freedom-of-speech-is-absurd/
Enjoy, like, and follow,
wanderer

Firstly, so sorry for the long wait in between posts. I have finals in a couple days, so my writing time has been stretched thin. However, I am proud of this new article. It summarizes a lot of my personal political thoughts that I have alluded to in previous posts.
https://divergingthoughtsblog.wordpress.com/2016/12/07/make-islam-great-again/
Enjoy, like and follow.
Regards
wanderer

First time I've ever tried to mount a theological defense before. Like and follow:
https://divergingthoughtsblog.wordpress.com/2016/12/03/justifying-faith-through-a-secular-framework/
Regards
wanderer

Enjoy:
https://divergingthoughtsblog.wordpress.com/2016/12/01/atheists-dont-have-a-monopoly-on-skepticism/
Regards
wanderer

The most commonly cited proof for Muhammad  (pbuh) being the final prophet is probably verse 33:40. However, there are some minority sects (namely Bahais and Ahmadis) that do not believe it says this and argue that there are indeed prophets to come after him. I was wondering if someone could present a grammatical analysis of the term 'Khatam al-Nabiyyan' to help disprove some of their claims.
Regards
wanderer

Salaam everyone. So I've seen, all around this website, rebuttles from Joseph Islam of various Quranist groups who allegedly reject prayers, fasting, etc. My question is, who are these people??? Do they even really exist?? Personally, I have a hard time believing it.
Regards
wanderer

How do we reconcile 9:113 with 45:14 without resorting to the blasphemy of abrogation??
Regards
wanderer

[please]

There seems to be a lot of controversy as to the real meaning of this word, particularly in verses 8:39 and 2:191 and 2:193. Extremists and critics say it means disbelief, while many others say it means oppression (in these verses). This was really worrying me, so I checked the Quranic Arabic Corpus (my go-to guide) and they classified it as 'oppression' which relieved me. However, I note that is a very rare definition of the word. Brother Joseph, I trust your expertise on Classical Arabic, so can you please explain this to me??
Regards
wanderer

Hi guys, so I was just reading a couple verse from Surah al-Baqarah and I noticed something odd: So after Moses left for 40 nights, the Children of Israel began worshipping a calf. So then, when he returned, an angered Moses told them to slay themselves for their sins. But then, in nthe very next verse, it is mentioned that God forgave them. Am I missing something? Please someone explain this to me.
Regards
wanderer

Hello Joseph. I really appreciated our conversation a month back where we discussed the topic of hurs in the Quran. Now I have a question about the "kawaiba" mentioned in verse 78:33 which you note are female. My translation renders then as "youthful maidens with swelling breasts", something that really disturbs me. Is this accurate? If not, who are these entities? I cant find them in any other verse. What is there purpose in the afterlife? And likewise, who are the young men of verse 76:19.
Please answer as soon as possible
Regards
wanderer

Hey guys, this is a question that has been bothering me for a while now- Does the Quran value sons over daughters? I'm asking this based on the sections of the Quran that refute the claims of female deities. The tone of these verses seems to indicate that daughters are somehow less than sons, particularly the line "or has he chosen, of what he has created, daughters over sons" and verse 43:18. I know there is a reasonable answer to this, so can anyone, (especially Joseph), help me??
Regards
wanderer

Hello everyone. As I shared in my last post, my knowledge of Arabic is limited, and while I am working on learning it, in the meantime, I must rely on translations. Right now, I am using the Sahih International one, which is OK, but I want a better one, so it would be great if you guys could share your thoughts on a variety of English translations, telling me which ones you think are the best, and which ones I should steer clear of. Thanks!

Hi guys. I have a problem. I always knew that the Quran has been preserved by God throughout the centuries. However, now I hear that the Quran has a couple other slightly different versions cycling around in some parts of the world. I get that none of these differences impact the meaning of the Quran, but still how could God let there be be the slightest grammatical error in his Holy text?? This is really troubling me, please respond as soon as possible. Thank you

Hello. So I've been studying verse 4:34 lately, and while I totally agree with you on the meaning of "daraba" in this context, i don't get what the phrase "some of them over others" means. It seems very vague and odd, and there seems to be no definite answer as to its meaning, so if somebody could help me out, that would be great.
Regards,
wanderer

Hi Joseph. I really appreciated your article on the "hurin" mentioned in the Holy Quran, but I'm still not convinced as to your view of the matter, particularly on the Surah Waqia verses. Is their any definite Quranic proof AGAINST the traditional interpretation of these beings?