Messages

Salaam.

Read (15:57-60). It is clearly mentioned that the punishment of Lot's people was preordained. I mean the messengers came with the express purpose of destroying them.

The uttermost heinous attitude of the people towards the messengers at that juncture, served to silence Lot against pleading for them, the way Abraham pleaded for them before.

There is no clear-cut evidence in Al Qur'an that we should not reasonably save anything for future use.

Only, it should not be at the cost of God's displeasure in any way whatsoever, like earning by wrong means, or not spending reasonably well in the way of God.

Regards,
A. Ismail Sait.

[Tyrants]

Salaam.

After a pause, let me now go back, and deal with some of the remaining backlog.

Meaning, for example, your oft-repeated remark, as to how else can we explain the choice of a camel, and its turn to drink water, other than, that, Tyrants were appropriating the scarce and most precious - gift of God to All Mankind - to themselves and their sycophants, thus preventing the masses from their equal share in God's freely given bounty.

After fully agreeing, that, in public water holes everyone has a right to water, I humbly beg to submit another explanation to God's choice of only a single camel and appointing its turn to drink water.

First of all, if it were primarily a question of forcibly preventing the common folk to water their camels, God's ultimatum could have been to stop such discrimination, lest a calamity befall them! This is simple and straight forward, and eliminates the ubiquitous Camel-Symbolism altogether.

Even today, wherever water is not over-abundant, people's life, especially in villages, and I am witness - for, I have been moving my residence too often, from city to village, and vice verse since more than three decades now - people's life, both physically, and emotionally, revolves round the village bore-well. Traditional private and public wells have all dried up.

Almost every day, there is some skirmish or the other at the bore-well, in my village.

Even as this thread was progressing, there have been at least three major showdowns.

Among them was the episode of one impatient boy in his late teens, caught, and beaten up by about ten women!!

Today, again, four sturdy men beat up another impatient, well-built man!

A somewhat similar-or-not-thing we have also noted in the episode of Moses and the young women at the water-hole.

But there is neither a Women's Lib, nor any Tyrant or American or Indian capitalist around here.

In short, a feasible argument can be this:

A water hole is a universal testing ground to gauge the patience and stability of folks.

This explains it's selection for the Divine Test.

Another point is regarding the condemnation of Capitalism, on the plea that it is based on surplus wealth.

How can any business, big or small, make any progress, without capital? A small farmer saves money in small amounts regularly in order to buy a pair of bullocks, or a pregnant cow. Similarly, a big businessman collects money to expand his business, and regularly saves large amounts in banks. Terms like Capitalism, Communism, etc have many definitions. Let us be wary of using them.

Amassing, and saving are two different things, just like eating, and devouring are.

Everybody condemns amassing of wealth, and devouring of food.

Not so, saving, and eating.

Regards,
A. Ismail Sait.

Salaam,

Is the Gospel of Mathew available online?

Regards,
A. Ismail Sait.

Salaam.

If some historian says that in such and such a society the people were not in the habit of bequeathing anything to their progeny, and if experts find the report History-worthy, that will be accepted as something worthy of consideration.

But, if, in a society consisting of millions upon millions, if somebody reports - be the report considered ever so authentic - about the action of one or two people, that they did not bequeath, it means nothing.

Regards,
A. Ismail Sait.

Salaam.

I do not know the specifics of the Malaysian controversy.

But then, what word do the Arab Christians use, to refer to God?

However, Verse (29:46) must be kept in mind while dealing with Ahlul Kithab.

Regards,
A. Ismail Sait.

Salaam.

2.5%, of course, is History.

But, which is the source of: "our prophet never left anything behind as inheritance"?

And, what is: "true divine system"?

Regards,
A. Ismail Sait.

Salaam.

No one has ever said that (9:34-35) are superfluous. Only, that we should not relegate to safe-keeping, the good things that we can conveniently part with in order to help others.

(9:111) does not abrogate the above meaning.

(89:19-20) are about devouring (appropriating) all inheritance, with greed, and, loving wealth with inordinate love.

Regards,
A. Ismail Sait.

Salaam.

Is it possible to propound the Common Message in a nutshell?

Regards,
A. Ismail Sait.

[Top 10 Reasons to Turn Off Your TV]

Salaam.

Time is life.

Only those who fear God know the value of time, and the vital importance of this life's fleeting moments, in shaping the Hereafter! Only they understand the seriousness of this life.

They are those who desist from indulging in unimportant, or frivolous things. Read and reflect on the first 11 Verses of Sura Al Mu'minoon, the 23rd Sura of Al Qur'an.

Regarding the practical side of Verse 23:3, the following article may be helpful:


Top 10 Reasons to Turn Off Your TV

Article From  www.jamiat.org.za



From Mark Stibich, Ph.D., Your Guide to Longevity.

Turning off your television will gain you, on average, about 4 hours per day. Imagine if you took that time to exercise, give your brain a workout and develop strong relationships. Not only would you be adding years to your life, you would become more interesting, energetic, and fun. So take the plunge and try not watching TV for a week. At first it will be strange and awkward, but stick with it and soon you will love all the extra time.

1. Television Eats Your Time
The average U.S. adult watches more than 4 hours of television a day. That's 25 percent of waking time spent every day. Imagine if you suddenly had 25 percent more time -- that's three extra months per year! You could get in all your exercise, cook your meals from scratch and still have time left over to write a novel.

Over a lifetime, an 80-year-old person would have watched 116,800 hours of television, compared to only 98,000 hours of work. As a nation, adults watch 880 million hours of television every day or 321 billion hours per year. Whew! Imagine what could get done if we all just stopped watching TV.

2. Television makes you stressed
With the average of four hours a day gone, it's no wonder everyone is feeling stressed out and overwhelmed. We put aside paying bills, finishing projects, making phone calls and cleaning our homes to watch TV. We feel overwhelmed because of all the things we should be doing (exercising, spending time with family, eating right) go undone.

And when we feel overwhelmed, tired, and exhausted we don't have energy to anything but -- you guessed it -- watch TV. It is a dreadful cycle. So take a break from TV for a week and see what happens to your life.

3. Television Makes You Overweight
Eating while distracted limits your ability to assess how much you have consumed. According to Eliot Blass at the University of Massachusetts, people eat between 31 and 74 percent more calories while watching TV.

This could add, on average, about 300 calories extra per TV meal. Now consider that at least 40 percent of families watch TV while eating dinner. It becomes clear that TV is a big part of the obesity epidemic in the U.S. and that TV, in fact, makes you gain weight.

4. Television Makes You Uninteresting
Many people have whole conversations that are recaps of TV programs, sporting events and sitcoms. When asked about their real lives, there is little or nothing to report and no stories to tell (except the TV shows they have watched).

Life is too interesting and wonderful to spend your time either watching TV or recapping television to your friends. Find something interesting to do: volunteer, read, paint -- anything but watch more TV.

5. Television Ruins Your Relationships
A television is turned on an average of 7 hours and 40 minutes per day in many U.S. households. With the TV on that much, there is little time for you and your significant other or children to spend time together, share experiences, and develop deeper relationships.

Sitting together and watching TV does not grow a relationship. Turn that TV off and find something to do together --cooking, exercising, taking a walk, anything.

6. Television is Not Relaxation
TV is the opposite of exercise. If you are watching TV you are usually sitting, reclining or lying down. You are burning as few calories as possible. All that extra food you eat while watching TV does not get burned off. Your brain goes into a lull.

But you are not relaxing -- your mind is still receiving stimuli from the TV, you are processing information and reacting emotionally. Have you ever found yourself thinking about TV characters? Do you ever dream about TV shows? These are signs that the brain is working hard to process all the TV you have been watching.

7. Television Loses Opportunities
If you are sitting and watching TV, nothing new or exciting is going to happen to you. New opportunities and ideas come from being out in the world, talking to people, and reading interesting things.

Watching TV isolates you. Nothing is going to change in your world if you are watching TV. Turn off the TV, go out into the world, talk to people, and see what happens.

8. Television is Addictive
Television can become addictive. Signs of TV addiction include:

    using the TV to calm down
    not being able to control your viewing
    feeling angry or disappointed in how much TV you watched
    feeling on edge if kept from watching
    feeling a loss of control while watching

If the idea of giving up TV for a week is horrifying, you may be addicted to television. Luckily, TV addiction is a habit and not a physical addiction like smoking. You should be able to control it once you are aware of the problem and make a decision to change.

9. Television Makes You Buy Things
By age 65, the average American has seen 2 million commercials. Your knowledge of products and brands comes from these TV commercials. Your perception of what you need also comes from these commercials.

If you didn't know that your iPod could talk to your running shoes, you wouldn't feel like your current shoes are too low-tech. If you didn't know about vacuums that never lose suction, your current vacuum would seem fine. Our perception of need is determined by what we see. Need less by watching less TV.

10. Television Costs Money
A basic cable package costs $43 per month and many packages cost much more than that. That comes to at least $500 a year spent on TV. For that much money you could: buy a membership to every museum or zoo in your town, get a gym membership, buy a nice bicycle, invest it every year for 10 years at 10 percent interest* and have more than $10,000.

Sources: TvTurnOff.org; US Census Bureau

Regards,
A. Ismail Sait.

Salaam.

The point is, that we must be so conversant with Al Qur'an, that we must be able to instantly judge the authenticity of a Hadis, or anything else, whatsoever, by it.

And that is the mark of the Qur'anists.

See (2:121). This Verse is a challenge for all of us.

Regards,
a. Ismail Sait.

Salaam.

Parvez is very selective when he quotes Classic lexicographers, especially, in areas of special interest.

Then he embarks on lengthy expositions of his own inferences.

I do possess Parvez's four volume Urdu Lugathul Qur'an, which, a friend of mine who happened to travel to Pakistan, got for me from Lahore, back in the early 1990s.

So, let me also select a few lines from Lane's Lexicon, Page 2094, under the sub heading 'Afvun (noun), that seem to favor the Verses that I had referred to, and, attested to, by the Classics, Sihah, Tajul 'Aroos, Al Qamoos, and Asas of Al Zamakhshari:

...take what is redundant from me, seeking the continuance of my affection...(from a poem), Expend thou what is redundant, and abundant;

(7:198) = Take thou, (O Prophet,) what is easily obtained from the dispositions of men. ....I gave him spontaneously without being constrained (by the taker)....that which comes to the taker easily....

Howsoever, A Qur'an is our ultimate guide. (2:219, 2:267, 7:198, 17:29, 25:67).

Regards,
A. Ismail Sait.

Salaam.

Perhaps, in the heat of this debate, an interesting episode may be of help:

I used to remark to my friends that courteous greetings should be seen in the light of the sincerity behind them, and, that we must take this sincerity for granted, normally, irrespective of the words used in the greeting.

Two of my Urdu-speaking friends - extraordinarily smart ones - diligently planned to corner me in an argument, or, to catch me off-guard.

So, one fine morning, when I happened to meet them, they asked me to tell the meaning of the English greeting, Good Morning.

They expected that I will translate the phrase into Urdu, word for word. Then they could easily and sarcastically dismiss it as by far quite inferior to Assalaamu 'Alaikum.

I said, Good Morning means Assalaamu 'Alaikum.

They were shocked and surprised, and expressed their agitation.

Then, I coolly explained to them that such differences are only a matter of culture. There may be a thousand and one such different words, phrases, and sentences used in the world to express courteous greetings. The spirit behind them is what we must appreciate, and respond to.

Regards,
A. Ismail Sait.

Salaam.

"We, Sufi/Sunni believe that the Prophet Muhammad [Peace Be Upon Him] had legislative and other powers granted by Allah"

Please explain what you meant by "legislative and other powers".

Regards,
A. Ismail Sait.

Salaam.

Please correct me if I am wrong:

"Salaamun 'Aalaikum" is, after all, an innocent, or pious act of dittoing from the Qur'an. There is nothing wrong with it linguistically too. (Let us respect individual leanings regarding pious preferences.)

"Assalaamu 'Alaikum", is true, as a matter of course.

In all humbleness, I appreciate with thanks, your pointing out Verse (19:33).

Looking forward to blessed and productive exchanges in future,

And, with great regards,
A. Ismail Sait.

Salaam.

Sorry.

The last Verse Number is not 15:67. It is 25:67.


Regrets, & Regards,

A. Ismail Sait.