Messages

196

General Discussions / Food dedictated to other deities instead of Allah

« on: January 30, 2014, 06:40:52 AM »

Salam All,

I have been pondering about the verses telling us not to eat food dedicated to other than Allah, and I have come up with a few questions that I wish to ask you all.


The verse is as follows:
006.145
“Say: I do not find in what has been revealed to me anything forbidden to an eater to eat of except that it be what has died of itself, or blood poured forth, or flesh of swine - for indeed, that surely is impure - or that which is a transgression, is dedicated to other than God. But whoever is driven to necessity, not desiring nor transgressing the limit, then surely your Lord is Forgiving, Merciful.”

1. Are only animals dedicated to other deities haram for consumption? the context of the verse in question is livestock, so is this statement only about livestock?
2. During their respective religious celebrations, our friends from other religions (Hindu, etc) dedicate different food to their deities, can we consume these food? the food they dedicate is not necessarily an animal, most of my Hindu friends dedicate vegetarian food to their Gods, can I then eat those food when they offer them to me? or all kinds of food irrespective of vegetarian, non vegetarian is forbidden for consumption if dedicated to other than Allah?
3. Some people say that we can consume food dedicated to other than Allah if we say 'Bismillah' before consuming it. But logically I find it unacceptable because then why can't we also consume animals dedicated to no one before slaughtering and just say 'Bismillah' before eating it? If, intention is all that matters, then all haram food( vegetarian and non-vegtarian) can be turned to halal food simply by saying ' Bismillah' before consuming it.
4. Also in India, Hindu farmers offer a prayer to their respective deities before planting seeds and also dedicate the harvest to their Gods and Godesses. Can muslims in India consume these food?

I personally think the verse is talking specifically about animals only and is not applicable to non-vegetarian food.

P.S. I would like to mention one thing that I consider food prepared by Jews and Christians permissible as long as they make it following their specific religious guidelines. I do this because I believe the Quran considers food of the people of the book lawful as technically they worship the same God as muslims. Thus, their food becomes automatically dedicated to Allah. So, food of the Christians and Jews for me is not food dedicated to other than Allah.

197

General Discussions / Re: urgently seeking advice regarding neutering/spaying pets

« on: January 21, 2014, 01:59:19 AM »

Salam

and thank u all for ur valuable advices ..

198

General Discussions / Re: urgently seeking advice regarding neutering/spaying pets

« on: January 20, 2014, 07:20:24 AM »

salam

a female cat gives birth three times a year, even if i choose to take care of them initially, i will end up with too many cats ..what i wanted to know is, whether spaying would be a sin according to the Quran? i dont want to transgress, please explain your advice in detail with logic and proofs from the Quran..

thanks

199

General Discussions / urgently seeking advice regarding neutering/spaying pets

« on: January 20, 2014, 06:36:42 AM »

salam

please can anyone help me take a quran-centric decision regarding spaying/neutering pets? I have a pet cat and my vet is telling me to get her spayed. now, the problem is that I was convinced that spaying her would be the responsible thing to do because of the obvious pet over-population problem and the subsequent euthanization of millions of abandoned cats & dogs.

but the problem began when I started to think about Allah's plan. Now, in nature dogs and cats give birth to several babies at a time but most are hunted or killed. very few and the strongest new pups and kittens survive. but when humans domesticated them the mortality rate of these new- born animals have gone down but people cant really take care of so many of them so they abandon them.  now, if I allow my cat to breed she will give birth to kittens that I won't be able to care for and subsequently they are going to end up dead or abandoned.

but if I decide to spay her, will I not then take away from my cat her God-given right to reproduce? How do we know whether our pets want to have babies or not? isn't this violating our pet's trust? as far as the over-population problem is concerned, aren't we transgressing already when we euthanize innocent animals in millions?  millions of human babies are abandoned but we do not euthanize them, because we think human life is sacred but does Allah make a difference between human and animal life? aren't we not supposed to kill animals without a valid reason? how merciful is euthanisation? as far as millions of puppies and kittens being killed in nature by elders of their species is concerned, isn't it part of the law created for them by Allah? then who are we to judge what is merciful or not? are we claiming to be more merciful than Allah, who has designed it this way? when a male lion takes over a pride, he kills all the cubs that are not his? but, this is nature, who are we to dictate it? all the problems start when humans try to change nature or refuse to accept it. The people who claim that neutering/spaying is the merciful thing to do are the same people who are also euthanising these innocent animals. I don't believe Allah gives us the right to euthanise them. but trying to justify spaying/neutering by mentioning over-population and abandonment as a reason seems very wrong to me.
 

What should I do? Should I spay her? Please help.

Thanks....

200

Islamic Duties / clothes, proper coverage and prayer

« on: January 05, 2014, 07:21:15 PM »

Dear brother Joseph,

I have been thinking about this issue for sometime now but have not really formulated an answer. I would like to get your opinion on this. Is it acceptable for a believing  man/woman to pray without covering the hair? from secondary sources we learn that we should cover our hair but does the Quran require that the hair/head has to be covered? Also which body parts do you think can be left uncovered during prayers? would it be ok to offer prayers in a dress that does not cover the legs to the feet and the arms till the hands(some parts of the arm and legs exposed)? any insight from the Quran would be helpful.


Thank You
Nura

201

General Discussions / proving the divine origin of the Quran to non- beleivers

« on: October 06, 2013, 06:44:14 PM »

Salam

Can anyone tell me how to best provide a person with proofs that the Quran is the word of Allah? As in proving to someone who does not believe that the Quran is divine? Generally, during discussions I ask hadith believers to provide proof from the Quran for proving the authority of ahaith as a religious  source. I do this because I believe that its not right and not rational to use hadith to justify authority of Ahadith. So, can anyone help me prove the divinity of the Quran without using the Quran? And also prove divinity using the Quran as well? I still cant provide non belivers with convincing proofs of the divinity of the Quran

Thanks

202

General Discussions / Re: How best to respond to this objection?

« on: October 03, 2013, 01:46:37 AM »

Salam

Equating the Quran’s message with that of the Hadith books is not reasonable because the source of these are not the same. The Quran has a divine origin. The Quran itself constantly gives proofs of its divine origin. The decision to not belief in hadiths should not stem from only the fact that some of them are not reasonable. It should stem from the fact that the hadith books are not authorized by Allah. They are not of divine origin.The approach of the said Quranist towards hadiths was probably not based on the question of authorization. The Hadith books are not authorized by Allah, the question of their authenticity or believing in them as divine is obsolete. If, a person can prove to me using verses from the Quran only that, the hadiths were authorized by Allah, have a divine origin, that Allah revealed the hadiths alongside the Quran as a source of guidance, and explain why then does the Quran claim to be the final revelation from Allah and the sole source of religious guidance for believers and also why there is the need of sorting ahadiths if they are truly from Allah.I would have no objection in believing in seemingly absurd hadiths.

As far as understanding the miracles in the Quran are concerned, one thing that should be kept in mind is that we are subservient to the laws of nature created by Allah, but Allah is not. He does not require a pair of humans to create another, as in the case of Adam or He can create a human from just another human as in the case of Jesus.
Prophet Moses split the ocean and turned his stick to a snake, Prophet Solomon could talk to animals these are just some of the examples of God manifesting his might using them as a medium. Moreover, it is always mentioned in the Quran that these Prophets did these things with Allah’s help. The above mentioned prophets never claimed to have done these by themselves. They always said that these things were done by Allah, but manifested through them.

Allah also manifests his might through the actions of normal humans everyday. The birth of a child is Allah’s miracle manifested via the parents. Allah used the parents as a medium to create a new life. No one can say that the parents created the child. Atheists can claim that the child is a result of the laws of biology, but the laws of biology was created by Allah, so He created the child. So, it was not the Prophets who were doing these seemingly absurd things, it was Allah doing those things using the prophets as a medium. Allah is capable of all things, He is the creator, above all limitations unlike his creation bound by limitations.

203

General Discussions / Re: contraception allowed or not

« on: September 17, 2013, 10:28:53 AM »

Salam truthseeker,

If surgical forms of contraception is not allowed then do you think neutering pets is also not allowed?

and also regarding the issue of altering Allah's creation why do you say that it refers to superstitious practices? can you explain it with proof?

thank you

204

General Discussions / contraception allowed or not

« on: September 14, 2013, 12:59:48 AM »

salam all

is using contraception allowed in the Quran? some people say that it is not stating the verse where Allah tells us not to kill our children for fear of poverty. but before conception, there is no child to kill, so I think that it is allowed.

also some say that forms of contraception that require surgery is not allowed, stating the verse where satan says that he is going to order humans to alter Allah's creation, so vasectomy or tubal litigation is not allowed? if so, then can we neuter our pets? aren't that altering creation as well? but some say that we can neuter pets.

and also if we approach this verse with such a black or white perception, then aren't donating a kidney while still being alive also prohibited? why will not this fall under altering Allah's creation, if this is Quranically allowed?

Thanks

205

General Discussions / Re: About good and Evil

« on: August 24, 2013, 04:42:09 AM »

salam Ahmad,

as I have mentioned above, bad incidences is meant as trial sometimes, even if you did not do anything bad, Allah might test your patience by making you come face to face with a bad situation, to test whether you believe and call on to Allah even when a calamity strikes, as in how strong is your eman?

and sometimes evil results from your previous misdeeds, as in evil ( you might consider it evil, but to Allah it might be just punishment for your actions) happens as a punishment, like the stoning of the people of Lut (PBUH). so, bad things can happen with two possible end results in mind:

1) punishment for previous evil deeds. This time the bad thing or evil thing that happens to you comes from yourself, i.e. your past mistakes.

2) test of patience and eman, which has nothing to do with your previous sins. Allah has said that He is not going to leave us alone just because we say that we believe in Him, He is going to test us till it is clear whether we truly trust and believe in him or not, and to do  that He  said  He will test us with both good and bad times.

206

General Discussions / Re: About good and Evil

« on: August 23, 2013, 09:09:40 PM »

Salam Ahmed,

In the following,

But if good comes to them, they say, "This is from Allah "; and if evil befalls them, they say, "This is from you." Say, "All [things] are from Allah." So what is [the matter] with those people that they can hardly understand any statement?

I think, Here Allah is rebuking the fleeting attitude of some believers, they used to believe in Allah when good used to come to them, and blame the messenger for the evil that used to befall them. These people used to pray and believe as long as good things where happening to them, but the second a bad thing happened, they used to turn on the prophet and blame him saying that bad things were happening to them because they believed in him... that's why we see Allah clearing the blame by saying  ( Say, "All [things] are from Allah." So what is [the matter] with those people that they can hardly understand any statement?)

proving that all good and evil things with which He wants to test humans and jinns is from Him, as also mentioned in
[21:35]
Every soul will taste death. And We test you with evil and with good as trial; and to Us you will be returned.

In the following,

What comes to you of good is from Allah, but what comes to you of evil, [O man], is from yourself. And We have sent you, [O Muhammad], to the people as a messenger, and sufficient is Allah as Witness.

Here, I believe Allah is talking about the inherent natural inclinations of men, we all know that a soul is made balanced and we do have free will which gives us the option to do evil things, and our souls do understand what is good and what is bad for it, but our souls do have both good and evil inclinations. Here Allah is saying that whatever good inclinations and actions we do is from Allah, since he guided us to do the right thing, so whatever good comes our way as a result of choosing to follow Allah's law comes as a blessing from Allah. But if we use our free will and choose to fall pray to the evil inclinations of our souls and willingly not follow Allah's law, then we are going to do something evil by choice, ergo evil resulting from ourselves. Now, from this conscious  decision to do a evil action comes from ourselves and whatever evil results from it is also upon us. Hence, good comes from Allah ( as a result of following Allah's commands) and evil ( from within us, choosing to not follow Allah's commands).

Another point to be kept in mind is that since we are part of a society, so majority's decision to not remain honest also affects our fate. So, the concept that bad things only happen to bad people is not really right. If you are living in a place where admissions to good university depends on the amount of money you can give as bribe to the university authority, then no matter how good a student you are, you have to give bribe.But, Allah has said that He is not going to punish a person  for evil things that are out of that person's control, and also if he is forced to do evil.

As far as disabilities are concerned, animals are also born disabled sometimes, why do we think that being born with a disability is a curse or a test? Animals are born sinless and they won't be brought to justice on the day of judgment, so why are animals born disabled? Are they being punished? plus humans are all born sinless, it might be that Allah wants to test the parents and people around the child and also the child if he/she is not mentally challenged. Having a mental disability that robes a person of his/her sense of right and wrong can actually come as a blessing because that person then remains sinless throughout his/her whole life.

All creations with free will ( humans and jinns ) will be tested with trials, to see who does not waver from Allah's path. we forget that great wealth , intelligence, beauty or power can also be sources of trial, even though they are perceived to be positive things but so can poverty, low intelligence, lack of beauty and power be used, ( these things are generally thought to be the cause of most evil actions brought about by men) to test a person's true level of gratitude towards the creator. All things good or evil comes as a test, and as long as you follow Allah's command regarding the matter, you will pass the test. It doesn't matter if the evil comes to you as a result of your own previous evil deeds or not, if so , you can atone for them this time by remaining patient and following His commandments. e.g. if You are rich, you have to give zakat, etc and if you are born poor or became poor because of bad business decisions, you still have to remain honest and have patience. If in case A, you don't give zakat, you fail the test and in case B, if you don't remain honest and have patience and decide to rob a bank, you also will fail the test.

Hope this helps you.

207

General Discussions / seeking advice for better understanding of the Quran and Classical Arabic

« on: August 21, 2013, 12:29:25 AM »

Dear brother Joseph,

I have read your article titled 'Studying the Quran' and have been following your advice of reading and comparing various translations to overcome translator's bias and get a good understanding of the overarching message of the Quran. This advice has been very helpful indeed.

But alike many people born into muslim households, I was taught to read the Quran in its original Classical Arabic, but I do not understand the Classical Arabic language. It deeply saddens me that I can read it but can't understand it, so I decided to learn the language. There are many websites such as http://www.kalamullah.com/learning-arabic.html that contain many book series' and audio programs to choose from, can you please take a look at the resources listed in the webpage (link provided above) and recommend me the books that  can help me the most from that list. the list is very long and I think reading all the books will confuse me more and really not help me to learn the language faster. And also if you have additional books and advice that can help me learn the language easily, please share them.

Also in your above mentioned articles, you asked us to read tafsirs or commentaries that remain true to the Quran's own context and usage of words, can you name some of these tafsirs so that I can start reading them?

Eagerly Looking forward to your advice brother.

Thank you

208

General Discussions / Re: Marriage eligibility

« on: August 20, 2013, 01:00:21 AM »

salam All,

I would just like to add one thing, in the ayat that we are discussing,

Alzzanee la yankihu illa zaniyatan aw mushrikatan waalzzaniyatu la yankihuha illa zanin aw mushrikun wahurrima thalika AAala almu/mineena

if we read carefully we see that, Allah uses the words 'Alzzanee', 'zaniyatan' 'walzzaniyatu' and 'zanin' to refer to fornicators (male and female). What is interesting to note, is that Allah uses the words 'yankihu' and 'yankihuha' to refer to the kind of relationship between them ( fornicators and unbelievers/ fonicators with other fornicators), and the words 'yankihu' and 'yankihuha' and the word 'nikah' come from the same root word and both these words refer to marriage not zina ( difference between marriage and zina is clearly made).

There is no doubt that Allah is talking about marriage of fornicators here, not merely stating the fact that a fornicator fornicates with a fornicatress or an unbeliever (mushrik), that is just a given, one cannot fornicate alone, the other person with home he/she fornicates also becomes a fornicator, and unbelievers really do not care about all these.

Thank You..

209

General Discussions / Re: Marriage eligibility

« on: August 19, 2013, 09:10:00 PM »

Dear brother Joseph,

the verses around the verse that we are discussing state that we are to punish a fornicator with 100 lashes, if the fornicator repents before this punishment is carried out, should we still flog the fornicator/fornicatress? Allah asks us to show mercy but what If this softening of our hearts toward the fornicator results in more fornicating from him/her?

what are your views?

thanks...

210

General Discussions / Re: Marriage eligibility

« on: August 19, 2013, 09:05:43 PM »

Dear brother optimist,

a marriage of a fornicator with a fornicatress or a mushrik does not imply that the marriage is doomed, both the fornicators can repent and marry each other, don't you think that is fair? if we are to take the understanding that you are providing then how can you explain this statement found in other parts of the quran where Allaah has said  that chaste and pure women are for chaste and pure men.

a believer who has fornicated can marry another fornicator and both can repent and receive Allah's forgiveness. I agree with brother Joseph about pre-existing marriages not being anulled or divorced, because Allah exempted pre-existing marriages between a step-son and step-mother, from becoming void, after the verse prohibiting it was revealed.

Zina should not be taken lightly and Allah does not take it lightly.

Thank you..