Messages

16

General Discussions / Re: An alternative rendering of Surah Qadr

« on: June 28, 2018, 06:52:00 PM »

Salaams,

I believe you are referring to chapter 53 and not 54.

I am curious to know if the Arabic in 2:185 suggests in any way that the revelation of the Quran in Ramadan only refers to a beginning or start?

Despite tradition being what it is this translation of Surah Qadr would seem more meaningful to me. However if anyone here can provide additional verification that this alternate translation is justifiable then I would be much grateful.

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General Discussions / An alternative rendering of Surah Qadr

« on: June 26, 2018, 06:37:03 PM »

I have found this alternative rendering of Surah Qadr which I found extremely interesting.

https://lampofislam.wordpress.com/2018/06/10/lailatul-qadr-night-of-meditation/

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Discussions / A logical basis for why God exists

« on: June 12, 2018, 11:21:25 AM »

https://tomwoods.com/ep-272-am-i-a-dummy-for-believing-in-god/

The 30 minute podcast episode in the link above explains a logical basis for believing why God must exist. The logic is based on Aristotelian philosophy.

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Islamic Duties / Re: Is the order to refrain from trade at the time of Jummah similar to the Sabbath?

« on: April 06, 2018, 10:58:37 AM »

@niaz

You've made an important distinction. Thank you kindly for your perspective.

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Islamic Duties / Re: Is the order to refrain from trade at the time of Jummah similar to the Sabbath?

« on: April 01, 2018, 02:56:34 AM »

Thank you for your insightful opinion. Much appreciated!

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Women / Re: Women's issues.. Again

« on: March 28, 2018, 02:02:46 AM »

Having said the above we note that the Quran does provide some resistance to polygamy, and also showcases believers who were in a monogamous marriage. In addition polygamy has become a jarring concept in a modern discourse. For these reasons perhaps it should be discouraged. In any case with modern technology and conveniences the monogamous arrangement is more viable now than it has ever been in history.

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Islamic Duties / Is the order to refrain from trade at the time of Jummah similar to the Sabbath?

« on: March 27, 2018, 01:13:42 PM »

I was pondering over verse 7:163 about the people who broke the Sabbath to fish and who were subsequently punished for this transgression.

According to Google, the Sabbath is a day on which trade and work is to be abstained from. From my understanding this is to be strictly observed by believers. I do not know the Quranic definition so please correct me if I am wrong on this.

In 62:9 God calls believers to abstain from trade and assemble for prayer. The wording used for this verse is somewhat variable, for example:

Translation by Monotheist Group: "O you who believe, if the contact-method is called to on the day of assembly, then you shall hasten towards the remembrance of God, and cease all selling. This is better for you, if you only knew."

The use of the word 'shall' suggests a strong command to leave off trade and assemble for prayer.

, and yet the translation by...

Mohamed Sarwar: "Believers, on Friday when the call for prayer is made, try to attend prayer (remembering God) and leave off all business. This would be better for you if only you knew it."

...which sounds more like a recommendation.

Most translations do not use 'shall' or 'try', which implies to me that the order to assemble is a command, but the latter "This would be better for you if only you knew it" suggests that, like the giving of charity, it devolves to a status of being a strong recommendation.

So my question is this: Is this command to abstain from trade, though shorter in time period, similar to the command to observe the Sabbath?

In some places I have lived I have observed many Muslim traders continue business during Jummah prayers with reduced staff perhaps, and those who remain pray the noon (zuhar) prayers instead. Do these people wrong themselves through a misunderstanding of the Quranic command to assemble for prayer?

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Women / Re: Women's issues.. Again

« on: December 27, 2017, 06:05:16 PM »

There are advantages to polygamous marriages in terms of child upbringing and maintenance of household.

No family can survive without an income. The need for a breadwinner forces at least one family member (usually the man) to be away from the family for great parts of the day, sometimes weeks or months. A lone woman to take care of multiple children is a most difficult task. Polygamous marriages solve this problem.

For example there is more support taking care of children. If the mother of a child has trouble breast feeding another could possibly assist. The stress of upbringing, household work, cooking etc. is reduced.

It is common in modern families that the grandparents and family members assist with child upbringing. With polygamous marriages such intervention becomes less necessary.

I think that it is possible that polygamous marriages lead to family units that are more self reliant and stable. The singular marriage rather appears to be more of an artificial social construct and a relatively recent development in Western society.

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Discussions / Re: Thanks

« on: December 22, 2017, 11:03:51 AM »

I am happy to learn that the forum will likely still remain for the foreseeable future.

Thank you all for the replies and kind words!

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Discussions / Thanks

« on: December 21, 2017, 01:16:49 PM »

Assalamu alaikum,

This forum appears to be waning unfortunately, and I'm not sure what the future of it might be.

Let me then take this opportunity to thank Joseph Islam and all those who have directly and indirectly contributed to his works.

Before stumbling on quransmessage.com I was surely a lost soul, a Muslim by name and but not a Muslim of understanding.

From the principles expounded in this website I have learned much and now I think I understand better.

And what an exhilarating feeling it is to understand, and how sad and utterly beautiful is Islam the religion and God's creation.

As a result of this understanding I find myself in constant combat with the yearnings of my mind and body and the restraints issued to me by my soul. This combat has increasingly become visible to me in stark relief. Life is both easier and harder at the same time.

And this I think is how it should be, for that is how we grow. I do not think I would want it any other way. But I am sure that I will face the harshest of punishments should I waiver. Such is my fate and I hope I am successful. May God be merciful.

This is not a goodbye. Only thanks is  given. So once again I thank you all and wish you all my very best.

Wassalam.

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General Discussions / Re: Is Bitcoin Halal?

« on: December 18, 2017, 12:20:40 AM »

I would advise do not invest in Bitcoin. My reasons are as follows:

1. It is not backed by anything real - in history all currencies backed by nothing have become worthless

2. Though the supply of Bitcoin is limited, the supply of crypto currencies in general is unlimited. Therefore the limited supply reason is false.

Apologies if I have strayed off topic.

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General Discussions / Re: Is yoga halal

« on: October 16, 2017, 01:12:31 PM »

I think the same question could apply to various martial arts where bowing to the teacher and saying unknown words in Japanese is mandatory discipline.

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General Discussions / Re: Isnad of the Qur'an

« on: September 22, 2017, 04:19:18 PM »

You can also look at the problem this way:

Let us say you were given a book on another topic, say economics, how would you establish the truth of it? It would be by weighing the arguments in the book and the citations used within. This would be the method you would use with any book or source of information.

The same method can be used for the Quran. What is important is the arguments the Quran makes. For example it cannot be denied that, regardless of religion, we all have a sense of justice, fairness, right and wrong, shame, and innate belief in a God. Why this is so the Quran explains. The Quran points out the miracle of life and the world and the universe and asks us to reflect. The Quran points out that life is struggle and asks us to reflect. It is the result of this reflection and subsequent appreciation of the Quran's accurate portrayal of life that is evidence of its authenticity.

On this basis it is not necessary to our belief in God that the Quran have a traceable isnad. Even if such a thing were to be established it should not matter to us. However by the Quran's own words we would take the matter of its accurate reproduction as an article of faith. If it could be established through fact then that's fine as well.

Contrast this with the Hadith canon which try to obtain authenticity by relying on isnad and the Quran. IMO this is somewhat illogical and not how one would naturally approach the problem.

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Discussions / Where do rights come from? (Tom Woods' audio podcast)

« on: September 19, 2017, 11:55:29 AM »

I am sharing herein a podcast episode from the Tom Woods show which I found interesting:
http://tomwoods.com/ep-969-where-do-rights-come-from/

Tom Woods is an American historian and libertarian. In his podcasts he conducts interviews and discusses a variety of issues related to libertarian ideology, the Austrian school of economics, history, law, Christianity and many other general topics.

A link to his other podcasts (now more than a 1000 episodes) here:
http://tomwoods.com/podcasts/page/4/

Though he is not a Muslim, nor does he discuss Islam or the Quran, I personally have benefited greatly from his show as he has helped me to deconstruct and make simple seemingly complex topics like economics and politics. What I find fascinating is that this additional knowledge, simplified to its absolute fundamentals, is broadly consistent with a Quran-centric understanding of the world. I therefore recommend these podcasts to any Muslim because they have helped me to appreciate God's works better.

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General Discussions / Best wishes for Ramadhan

« on: May 26, 2017, 12:44:59 PM »

May your soul benefit from the month long fast