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General Discussions / how to understand 20:124 & 17:72 along with 50:22 ?

« on: November 27, 2018, 08:12:19 PM »

Salamun alaykum all

I'm having a little bit confusion here. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

"And whoever turns away from My remembrance - indeed, he will have a depressed life, and We will gather him on the Day of Resurrection blind." (20:124)

And whoever is blind in this [life] will be blind in the Hereafter and more astray in way. (17:72)

And finally 50:22 of which i couldn't decide what to think:

[It will be said], "You were certainly in unmindfulness of this, and We have removed from you your cover, so your sight, this Day, is sharp." (50:22)

So, people who turns away from the Message and behave in a careless manner in this world, will be blind (this can also be understood metaphorically),

but in 50:22 it's said, Allah (swt) will remove their cover so that they will get to see the truth they were denying before ?

I would also like a comment from brother Joseph if he has enough time to reply.

Take care inshaAllah.

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General Discussions / confusion

« on: July 13, 2018, 12:20:55 AM »

Assalamu alaykum brothers and sisters

Recently, I'm having a hard time understanding a pattern used frequently in Quran. When Allah (swt) talks about some actions He forbids us to do, He usually sorts these actions using "wa la ...., wa la ...." between them.

But when it comes to 47:35;

"So do not falter and cry out for peace when ye (will be) the uppermost, and Allah is with you, and He will not grudge (the reward of) your actions."

In arabic: Falaa tahinoo wa tad'ooo ilas salmi wa antumul a'lawna wallaahu ma'akum wa lany yatirakum a'maalakum.

There is only one "la" in the beginning of this ayah and according to many translations it seems to be valid for both "tahinoo" and "tad'ooo".
But again as i said, Allah (swt) generally uses "wa la" each time when He forbids or commands multiple things in a row.

Some examples:

3:139 (the words used in this ayah is quite similar to 47:35)

So do not weaken and do not grieve, and you will be superior if you are [true] believers.

Wa laa tahinoo wa laa tahzanoo wa antumul a'lawna in kuntum mu'mineen


6:150

Say, "Bring forward your witnesses who bear witness that Allah has prohibited this." So, in case they bear witness, (then) do not bear witness with them, and do not ever follow the prejudices of the ones who have cried lies to Our signs, and the ones who do not believe in the Hereafter, and they (unjustly) set up equals to their Lord.

Qul halumma shuhadaaa'akumul lazeena yash hadoona annal laaha harrama haazaa fa in shahidoo falaa tashhad ma'ahum wa laa tattabi' ahwaaa'al lazeena kazzaboo bi Aayaatinaa wallazeena laa yu'minoona bil Aakhirati wa hum bi Rabbihim ya'diloon

10:62

There will certainly be no fear for the close servants of Allah, nor will they grieve.

Alaa innaa awliyaaa'al laahi laa khawfun 'alaihim wa laa hum yahzanoon.


9:55 (part)

So let not their riches nor their children make you admire them...

Falaa tu'jibka amwaaluhum wa laa awlaaduhum...


7:34

And to every nation (there is) a term; so when their term comes, they will not (be able to) postpone (it) by a (single) hour, nor will they put (it) forward.

Wa likulli ummatin ajalun fa izaa jaaa'a ajaluhum laa yastaakhiroona saa'atanw wa laa yastaqdimoon


12:60

But if you bring him not to me, there shall be no measure (of corn) for you with me, nor shall you come near me.

Fa il lam taatoonee bihee falaa kaila lakum 'indee wa laa taqraboon


3:88

Eternally (abiding) therein. The torment will not be lightened for them, and they will not be respited.

Khaalideena feehaa laa yukhaffafu 'anhumul 'azaabu wa laa hum yunzaroon.


20:112

But he who does of righteous deeds while he is a believer - he will neither fear injustice nor deprivation.

Wa mai ya'mal minas saalihaati wa huwa mu'minun falaa yakhaafu zulmanw wa laa hadmaa


22:67 (there is one "la" in bold and the meaning is positive here)

For every religion We have appointed rites which they perform. So, [O Muhammad], let the disbelievers not contend with you over the matter but invite them to your Lord. Indeed, you are upon straight guidance.

Likulli ummatin ja'alnaa mansakan hum naasikoohu falaa yunaazi 'unnaka fil amr; wad'u ilaa Rabbika innaka la 'alaa hudam mustaqeem.


75:31

He neither believed nor prayed.

Falaa saddaqa wa laa sallaa.


21:40

Rather, it will come to them unexpectedly and bewilder them, and they will not be able to repel it, nor will they be reprieved.

Bal taateehim baghtatan fatabhatuhum falaa yastatee'oona raddahaa wa laa hum yunzaroon


20:123

[ Allah ] said, "Descend from Paradise - all, [your descendants] being enemies to one another. And if there should come to you guidance from Me - then whoever follows My guidance will neither go astray [in the world] nor suffer [in the Hereafter].

Qaalah bita minhaa jamee'am ba'dukum liba'din 'aduww; fa immaa yaati yannakum minnee hudan famanit taba'a hudaaya falaa yadillu wa laa yashhqaa


2:123

And protect (yourselves) against a Day (when) no self will recompense for (another) self (in) anything. And no justice (i.e. just compensation) will be accepted from it nor will any intercession profit it; neither will they be vindicated.

Wattaqoo yawmal laa tajzee nafsun 'an nafsin shai 'anw wa laa yuqbalu minhaa 'adlunw wa laa tanfa'uhaa shafaa 'atunw wa laa hum yunsaroon

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Also there are exceptions to this usage: (with single "la").

2:42

"And do not mix the truth with falsehood or conceal the truth while you know".

Wa laa talbisul haqqa bilbaatili wa taktumul haqqa wa antum ta'lamoon.

11:47

Noah pleaded, “My Lord, I seek refuge in You from asking You about what I have no knowledge of, and unless You forgive me and have mercy on me, I will be one of the losers.”

Qaala rabbi inneee a'oozu bika an as'alaka maa laisa lee bihee 'ilmunw wa illaa taghfir lee wa tarhamneee akum minal khaasireen.

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In summary, what do you think is the correct translation of 47:35 when you look similar ayat in the Quran ? Does Allah(swt) want us to call for peace when we are superior, or doesn't he ?

Because in 22:67 (very similar structure to 47:35) translated as "don't do this.... but do this..."  whereas 47:35 is translated as "don't do this, don't do this"...

Sorry for this complicated and long post.

Take care inshaAllah

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General Discussions / translation of 17:16

« on: December 10, 2017, 06:32:44 AM »

Salamun alaykum brothers and sisters,

What do you think about the translation of 17:16 ?

Did Brother Joseph talk about this ayah before ?

I don't understand especially the part i wrote in bold (cause Allah (swt) doesn't command evil things!):

"And when We intend to destroy a city, We command its affluent but they defiantly disobey therein; so the word comes into effect upon it, and We destroy it with [complete] destruction."

Take care inshaAllah

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General Discussions / the word "hamr" in 47:15

« on: February 25, 2017, 08:21:09 PM »

Salamun alaykum

First, I must say I did search 47:15 in the forum but i couldn't find a solid explanation in terms of grammar and coherence with other ayat that contain the word "hamr". Why do you think Allah(swt) uses this word for a river of "nonintoxicating" drink (56:19) in Jannah in 47:15 ?

I'm a little bit confused about this because i knew that the word "hamr" comes from the root of "to cover, to conceal" ,so it describes any kind of fluid which makes you drunk.

(I would also like to know what brother Joseph thinks about this ayah)

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General Discussions / Bonus points (cashback bonus) from credit card ?

« on: January 24, 2017, 05:58:02 AM »

Salamun alaikum brothers and sisters,

Do you think cashback rewards (money or shopping bonus points etc.) in credit/debit cards are permissible in Islam ? Does it count as "haram" money or "riba" ? What if the bank gives you this reward from the money it took from people under the name of "interest" ?

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Discussions / What to do about our brothers and sisters in Aleppo ?

« on: December 16, 2016, 04:26:04 AM »

Assalamu alaikum

I couldn't find any questions or topics about Aleppo here. I don't know if it's forbidden or inappropriate to talk about this concerning the forum policy. I hope it's not. Because we cannot overlook one of the biggest massacres in the human history if we identify ourselves as Muslims.

But I really want to learn your opinions on this crisis especially from a Quranic point of view. Just one simple question:

If we keep silent on this, if we keep looking away, if we don't do anything to help our brothers and sisters who are in desperate need of any help, then how are we going to answer to Allah (swt) ?

What do you think ?

Two short videos about the situation of Aleppo and what can we do about it.

How are we going to answer to the question that is the title of the first video ?

 Warning: Graphic Images.

https://twitter.com/trtworld/status/809118223455109120

https://twitter.com/trtworld/status/809473126060867584

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General Discussions / all about Ezra/Uzair

« on: October 08, 2016, 02:08:40 AM »

Assalamu alaikum brothers and sisters,

This is actually a very controversial topic. We know 9:30-31:

"And the Jews say: Uzair is the son of Allah; and the Christians say: The Messiah is the son of Allah; these are the words of their mouths; they imitate the saying of those who disbelieved before; may Allah destroy them; how they are turned away! They have taken their rabbis and their monks-as well as the Christ, son of Mary-for their lords beside God, although they had been bidden to worship none but the One God, save whom there is no deity: the One who is utterly remote, in His limitless glory, from anything to which they may ascribe a share in His divinity!"

Now, i really don't know much about Ezra/Uzair historically but i would like to read about him very much. Perhaps Brother Joseph has done some research on this, i don't know. If we just talk about this here generally, under this topic, it would be really informative for those who seek some knowledge about the issue. Personally, i would love that.

Most of the Muslim scholars say that the ayah about Ezra was revealed about a certain group of Arab or Yemen Jews, who lived back in the time of the Prophet (pbuh).

Also there are those who say that the word "Uzair" is the Arabic equivalent of the Hebrew word "Azar" or "Ozer" which means "Helper". So they think that the "Uzair" was actually a "title" not a name of a person i.e. "the Helper of Allah". Hence this may be attributed to "Enoch" !

And so on ...

Let's gather all the information we know about Ezra/Uzair here in sha ALLAH.

May the mercy and blessings of RAHMAN be upon us all.

Peace.

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General Discussions / Confusion on the translation of 2:249

« on: September 25, 2016, 07:40:47 AM »

Assalamu alaikum brothers and sisters,

Here is 2:249 ;

And when Saul went forth with the soldiers, he said, "Indeed, Allah will be testing you with a river. So whoever drinks from it is not of me, and whoever does not taste it is indeed of me, excepting one who takes [from it] in the hollow of his hand." But they drank from it, except a [very] few of them. Then when he had crossed it along with those who believed with him, they said, "There is no power for us today against Goliath and his soldiers." But those who were certain that they would meet Allah said, "How many a small company has overcome a large company by permission of Allah . And Allah is with the patient."

Now I've read lots of translations which seem to differ in the translation of the part I highlighted in bold.

They said: " There is no power for us today against Goliath and his soldiers."

Now, who said this ? Those who drank from the river and left behind ? or Those who were with Saul who crossed the river. Many translations say in parentheses :

(those left behind) said:

But that doesn't sound quite right to me. Because ALLAH (swt) says, most of them drank from it and a few left who didn't. So Saul and his men who crossed the river must have been the minority.  They say "we have no power today" maybe they were feeling weak because they didn't drink from the river or because maybe they were small in number. Moreover;

But those who were certain that they would meet Allah said, "How many a small company has overcome a large company by permission of Allah . And Allah is with the patient.

This small company must be those who crossed the river not the ones who were left behind, in my opinion.

But translations sound like; after Saul and his men crossed the river, those who were left behind said "we have no power today" and some of them said: "How many a small company has overcome a large company by permission of Allah . And Allah is with the patient.". But this doesn't sound right. Because they were the ones who failed the test and they were not the minority but the majority.

What do you think about this ? Especially someone who knows arabic grammar well... Maybe I'm wrong in my assumptions. ALLAH(swt) knows best and may He guide us to the right path.

Salam.

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General Discussions / question about the word "than" or "zan"

« on: September 10, 2016, 01:32:07 AM »

salam folks,

What's the meaning of "than" or "zan" in the Quran ? I've seen different meanings in different ayat. Some of them meant "to believe" some of them "to assume"?

ALLAH (swt) tells us that some "zan" is "ism":

"O you who have believed, avoid much [negative] assumption. Indeed, some assumption is sin. And do not spy or backbite each other. Would one of you like to eat the flesh of his brother when dead? You would detest it. And fear Allah ; indeed, Allah is Accepting of repentance and Merciful." (49:12)

But in 2:46 this word is used instead of "ya'lemoon":

"Who are certain that they will meet their Lord and that they will return to Him."  (Allatheena yathunnoonaannahum mulaqoo rabbihim waannahum ilayhi rajiAAoon)

Why do you think this word (to assume) is used, instead of "to know" in 2:46 ? Why is it not "ya'lemoon" but "yathunnoon" ?

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General Discussions / Doubts about 80:1

« on: August 14, 2016, 07:47:10 AM »

Assalamu alaikum guys

First, i must say that i've read the answer Brother Joseph posted under another topic about the same ayah.

(Here it is: http://quransmessage.com/forum/index.php?topic=109.0 )

Although i find that answer to be rational enough, I don't feel quiet right about it. Because the other explanation, which claims that the man who frowned and turned away was not the Prophet (pbuh) but another man, has some arguments that i can't negate. (I'm not saying that the prophets were fault-free btw.) Here are my doubts about the subject:

 - We see expressions very similar to "abasa wa tawalla" (He frowned and turned away) also in the 74th surah:

18. Verily, he thought and plotted;

19. So let him be cursed! How he plotted!

20. And once more let him be cursed, how he plotted!

21. Then he thought;

22. Then he frowned and he looked in a bad tempered way;

23. Then he turned back and was proud;

24. Then he said: "This is nothing but magic from that of old;

25. "This is nothing but the word of a human being!"

26. I will cast him into Hell-fire


These expressions in bold are similar in meaning, and kinda shows anger and dissatisfaction. It sounds like an act of a sinner. There ARE warnings to the Prophet (pbuh) in the succeeding ayat in surah 80 (80:3,4,5 ...) but I think those warnings might not be due to the Prophet (pbuh) frowned and turned his back, but because he kept on talking to the man who frowned and turned away. Here is 80:5 - 6;

"...As for him who considers himself free from need,
To him do you address yourself."

Think about a person who has no knowledge of the narrations, ahadith about this event. That the Prophet (pbuh) was talking to some men from Quraish etc... How can this person understand 80:5 ?

One could ask "who is this man ? who is the one that thinks he is free from need ?"

Is it not possible that this man is described in 80:1-2 ? The one who considers himself free from need ? That's why he became unhappy when the blind man arrived ? Is it no possible that the Prophet (pbuh) kept on talking to this man so Allah (swt) warned him ? Warned him like "you should not turn to that man who frowned when the blind man came, you should fix your attention to the blind man instead ?

And think about the rest of the 80th surah ... what kind of people does Allah (swt) talk about ? Ayat like:

17. Be cursed (the disbelieving) man! How ungrateful he is!

18. From what thing did He create him?

19. From Nutfah (male and female semen drops) He created him, and then set him in due proportion ...

Who is this ungrateful man and most importantly Why does Allah (swt) talk about it just after He mentioned the incident that "abasa wa tawalla" occurred ?


Please write your precious comments brothers and sisters ...  sorry If I couldn't write this clear enough (because of English perhaps)


Salam...

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General Discussions / 66:12 male pronoun for Maryam (as) ?

« on: July 31, 2016, 09:01:26 AM »

salam

Why is male pronoun fi-hi is used for Maryam (as) ? Some say she had both male and female reproductive cells in her body as a miracle she gave a virgin birth to Isa (pbuh) ? What do you think about this ?

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General Discussions / skies... layers of atmosphere or the universe ?

« on: July 25, 2016, 02:51:26 AM »

assalamu alaikum guys,

Do you think "skies" mentioned in the Quran are always about atmosphere ? Can they be a reference to the universe ? For example 67:5 tells us about the universe:

"And We have certainly beautified the nearest heaven with stars and have made [from] them what is thrown at the devils and have prepared for them the punishment of the Blaze."

However 55:33 can also be understood as a reference to the atmosphere:

"O company of jinn and mankind, if you are able to pass beyond the regions of the heavens and the earth, then pass. You will not pass except by authority [from Allah ]."

What do you think ?

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General Discussions / two questions from Surah Muhammad ...

« on: July 13, 2016, 08:44:08 AM »

Assalamu alaikum brothers and sisters,

I have two questions from Surah Muhammad (47th surah) I need some clarifications.

1) 47:4-5

"Therefore, when you meet the unbelievers in the battlefield smite their necks and, when you have thoroughly subdued them, then take prisoners of war and bind them firmly. After the war lay down her burdens, then you have the choice whether you show them favor or accept ransom. Thus are you commanded. If Allah wanted, He Himself could have punished them; but He adopted this way so that He may test some of you by means of others. As for those who are slain in the cause of Allah, He will never let their deeds be lost.

"He will guide them and improve their state ... "

How to understand "guiding those who are slain" ? Can someone be guided after death ?


2) 47:18 talks about some "signs" of the Day of Resurrection ?

"Are they waiting for the Hour of Doom to overtake them all of a sudden? Do they not know that its signs have already come and when it will actually overtake them, what chance will they have to benefit then by this admonition?"

What are those signs ? How to understand "ashratu-ha" here ?


Salam...

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General Discussions / an interesting question about 4:24

« on: July 07, 2016, 09:03:47 AM »

salam brothers and sisters,

I've read brother Joseph's article about "slave girls" here: http://quransmessage.com/articles/sex%20with%20slave%20girls%20FM3.htm

So in 4:24 it is lawful to marry slave women who are already married. Some people say that those women are "automatically" become "divorced" when they are captured.

But then this question popped up in my mind: What if a wife gets captured together with her husband ? What if they are together slaves of a person and their owner wanted to marry the wife ?

Now, is it forbidden because they are married ? or is it lawful to marry her still ?

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General Discussions / how do you define "dating" and "flirting" ?

« on: July 06, 2016, 08:43:06 AM »

Assalamu alaikum guys,

I want to know your opinions on "getting to know each other" before the marriage.

How do you define "dating" or "flirting" ? Do these always include forbidden actions / intimacy ?

Is it haraam in Islam to meet someone to have some time and learn about each other's personalities ? What are the limits ?

Is "arranged marriage" the only halal/legal way ?


Eid Mubarak