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Messages - Mubashir

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166
General Discussions / Re: 2:73 How was the murderer caught?
« on: December 12, 2011, 12:41:01 AM »
Thanks Truth Seeker for your comments. As this is not a standard method of exposing a disputed murder one wonders what was the reason for Allah to mention this incident?

Since the story does not start with people disputing Allah's power of resurrection but rather a dispute about a murder (who did it? blame going around, whether it was justified or not? Some people perhaps saying "Don't look at me, I did'nt do it" etc. etc.), we can safely assume the miracle here was to expose the murderer and not to demonstrate Allah's powers of resurrection.

Interestingly I ran into a unique interpretation by Dr. Kamal Omar which seems to suggest that a resucitation took place and in this way Allah pointed out a way to revive a seemingly dead person. Just sharing:

2:74 So We said: 'œStrike him (on his chest) by means of a part (i.e., the upper limb) of this (his own deadbody). In this way Allah revives the (apparently) lifeless and He (thus) explains to you His (natural scientific) laws so that you may use your intellect.

167
General Discussions / 2:73 How was the murderer caught?
« on: December 11, 2011, 12:28:09 AM »
Dear All upon reading 2:73 the following questions arose. Not sure if we are to take the literal translations which implies a miracle that happened or another version that shows that it was a matter of applying the law (life for life) that deters murder and saves life:

How was the murderer found out? We read several translations that seem to apply that the murdered corpse was to be hit with the flesh of the slaughtered cow and the dead man came to life and identified the murderer:

2:73

Abdel Haleem:
 
We said, 'Strike the [body] with a part of [the cow]': thus God brings the dead to life and shows His signs so that you may understand.


Then again we read the following interpretations which show a different meaning:

Asad:

We said: "Apply this [principle] to some of those [cases of unresolved murder]: in this way God saves lives from death and shows you His will, so that you might [learn to] use your reason."


Laila Bakhtiar

So We said: Turn him away with some of it! Thus, God gives life to the dead, and He causes you to see His signs, so that perhaps you will be reasonable.

Amatul:

So We said, `Judge it in the context of its other circumstances.' That is how Allah brings the dead (for Jesus being dead to all appearances) to life, and He shows you His signs so that you may refrain (from evil).

Shabbir:

And We said, "Apply this *Law to relevant cases of unsolved murder. This is how Allah gives life to the dead. (The Law that saves lives indeed gives you life (2:179). And He expounds His Messages for you to use your sense. (13:11).

Parwez:

The psychological condition of superstitious people is such that anything out of the ordinary causes them to be fearful (22/31). Knowing this, Allah said: Ask all those whom you suspect of the murder to touch some part of the corpse.” (When the culprit came close to the corpse his fearful demeanour gave him away.) Thus Allah unveiled the murderer who was punished for his crime. Retributive justice which punishes criminals safeguards a nation's life (2/179). You should therefore, use your intellect and insight to solve such problems (13/11).

Muhammad Ahmed - Smira:

We had pronounced already: "Slay (the murderer) for (taking a life)." Thus God preserves life from death and shows you His signs that you may understand.

168
Women / Re: Karzai pardons woman who agrees to marry her rapist ???
« on: December 04, 2011, 09:33:44 PM »
Wonder if this is the kind of Sharia the emerging Middle East Isalmists in are contemplating to impose in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia Morroco after gaining power through the Arab Spring?

Hope they look at the Turkish Model which is more moderate !!

169
Women / Karzai pardons woman who agrees to marry her rapist ???
« on: December 03, 2011, 02:30:44 AM »
What kind of cruel and unjust law is this? Is it based on the so-called Taliban style Sharia?

Mubashir

----------------------------------

Toronto Star

KABUL Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Thursday pardoned an Afghan woman serving a 12-year prison sentence for having sex out of wedlock after she was raped by a relative.
 
Karzai's office said in a statement that the woman and her attacker have agreed to marry. That would reverse an earlier decision by the 19-year-old woman, who had previously refused a judge's offer of freedom if she agreed to marry the rapist.
 
Her plight was highlighted in a documentary that the European Union blocked because it feared the women featured in the film would be in danger if it were shown.
 
More than 5,000 people recently signed a petition urging Karzai to release the woman. She had the man's child while in prison and raised her daughter behind bars, which is common among women imprisoned in Afghanistan.
 
A statement released by Karzai's office says that after hearing from judicial officials, the decision was made to forgive the rest of the sentence she received for having sex out of wedlock, a crime in Afghanistan. The presidential statement did not say when the woman was to be released or how much prison time had been pardoned.
 
The woman told The Associated Press in an interview last month that she had hoped that attention generated by the EU film might help her get released. With the film blocked, she said that she was losing hope and considering marrying her rapist as a way out. She said her attacker was pressuring her to stop giving interviews.
 
About half of the 300 to 400 women jailed in Afghanistan are imprisoned for so-called 'moral crimes' such as sex outside marriage, or running away from their husbands, according to reports by the United Nations and research organizations. Fleeing husbands isn't considered a crime in Afghanistan.
 
The EU welcomed the woman's release.
 
Her case has served to highlight the plight of Afghan women, who 10 years after the overthrow of the Taliban regime often continue to suffer in unimaginable conditions, deprived of even the most basic human rights, the European Union's Ambassador and Special Representative to Afghanistan, Vygaudas Usackas, said.
 
He said the EU hoped the same mercy would be extended to other women serving similar terms. Usackas said he planned to raise the issue of Afghan women's rights at an international conference on Afghanistan Dec. 5 in Bonn, Germany.
 
Some of the most severe restrictions women faced under the Taliban, like a ban on attending schools and having to have a male escort to venture outside the home, were done away with when the radical Islamic movement was driven from power in 2001. But Afghanistan remains a deeply conservative and male-dominated society, meaning women are still sold to husbands and rights enshrined in law are often ignored in practice.

170
General Discussions / Evolutionary process in the Qur'an?
« on: December 02, 2011, 09:32:52 PM »
In chapter 2:20 we read:

[Asad] When your Lord said to the angels, I am putting a successor on earth, they said, Will You place someone there who will cause corruption on it and shed blood, while we glorify You with Your praise and extol Your holiness? [God] answered, Surely, I know that which you do not know.

The word Khalif  has been translated by different translators as:

Successor, viceroy, vicegerent, overlord, supreme religious head, inheritor, deputy, representative, ruler, generations after generations, etc.

If the meaning of Khalif falls more near to successor, then the question arises who the successor succeeds? Is it possible that there existed a generation of humans through an evolutionary process who this 'new' generation would succeed? A new generation with better intelligence and abilities? We also need to keep in mind the concerns raised by the angels here who must have seen the way mankind behaved!

Any comments?

171
Discussions / Re: "Ahadees e Qudsi" a Revelation or Secondary Source?
« on: November 17, 2011, 12:27:22 PM »
AHadiths are not divine source. The only Divine Word we have is Holy Qur'an. Hadith Qudsi may ssem beautiful, but I feel if they were Divine in origin, they would be in the Noble Qur'an. Hadith writers invented Hadith Qudsi to force the masses to not object to any of the hadiths!

Simple question we need to ask ourselves. What Book did Allah made sure that The Messenger left behind and to which an assurance of preservation given?

That is the Primary Source. Allah does not forget!! Rest are seconday sources.

172
General Discussions / Re: Jin
« on: November 17, 2011, 03:25:08 AM »
Here is another take on Jinns (Qur'an translation by Amatul Rehman Omar). Further food for thought??

72:1 Say, `It has been revealed to me that a party of the jinn (- the non-Arab Jews of Nasibin, called Jinn because of their being strong, sharp and effective in affairs) listened (to the Qur'an), so they said (to their people on their return), "Surely, we have heard a wonderful Qur'an,

72:2 "It guides towards righteousness, so we declare our faith in it. We shall no longer worship any god besides our Lord.

72:3 "And the truth is that the Majesty of our Lord is exalted. He has taken to Himself no consort nor (has He begotten) a son,

72:4 "And (we admit) that the foolish among us used to say many exaggerated and blasphemous things against Allah.

72:5 "And (we acknowledge) that (we believed in them because) we never thought that men and jinn could ever possibly utter a lie about Allah.

72:6 "The fact is that some humble and lowly men from among the common folk used to seek refuge with some (big and influential) men from among the jinns and (thus) they increased these (jinns) in arrogance (and conceit).

72:7 "These men (from the jinn) believed even as you believe that Allah would raise no one (as Messenger).

72:8 "And we (- the non-Arab Jews, the jinn who had listened to the Qur'an, as diviners and astrologers) had primarily sought to probe the secrets of space above but we found it teeming with strong guards and shooting stars (a phenomenon which generally occurs before the advent of a divine Reformer).

72:9 "And that we used to sit in some of the observatories to listen to something. But he that tries to listen (in order to forecast some event) now (with the advent of Islam) finds a shooting star in ambush for him.

72:10 "(We confess that) we do not know whether evil is (hereby) augured for those who are on the earth or whether their Lord (thereby) intends to bestow right guidance for them.

72:11 "And some of us are righteous and some of us are otherwise. We follow different ways.

72:12 "And we have come to know for certain that we can never frustrate the purpose of Allah in the earth, nor can we escape Him by flight (in any direction).

173
General Discussions / Re: Jin
« on: November 17, 2011, 03:13:25 AM »
If Jinns were literally made out of fire, and if they read the same Qur'an as us for guidance, then how are they to perform Wudu (Ablutions)? Do fiery creatures eat and fast? I think Parwez is on to something that needs further exploration.

174
General Discussions / Re: Jin
« on: November 16, 2011, 12:27:31 AM »
Dear All, just to share another point of view and add to the discussion,  according to Parwez, following is an explanation of Jinn:

Jinn – (Jeem-noon-noon).

Janna means hidden. According to Raghib, it means, not only hidden from the eyes but also from senses – In verse 6/77 the Qur’an says “When the night spread darkness over him, he saw a star. Jananun, means grave, as it hides the dead body. Iblees is also a Jinn as this force remains hidden from the eyes (18/30)

Janeen, is an infant in mother’s womb – Junnantun – is the shield or any weapon with which a person protects himself (58/16). – Jinnatun – means madness (23/25). The Arabs thought that majnoon was a person who was afflicted by a Jinn. According to Raghib ‘al-Jinno’ is being used in two ways. Firstly all the hidden forces (spiritual, positive) and in this context it also includes “angels”, and those hidden forces which are evil are called ‘Shiateen” (Taj, Raghib). The Qur’an also mentions about the Arabs doing worship of Jinn and there it means “angels” (37/158) (Taj, Raghib).

The earth was in the beginning, in the form of a molten fire and it took billions of years to cool down to a tolerable temperature when it was suitable for the habitation of mankind. Before this there existed some creation, of which man was the successor (Khalifa). That specie was created out of fire (15/27). That specie is extinct now – and is referred to as ‘al-jaann’.

The Qur’an has referred to and addresses ‘Jinn and Ins’ in many verses together. Ins, (as explained under the heading ‘Ins) means tribes settled at a place, and Jinn means those Bedouins, nomadic tribes or gypsies who kept on wandering from place to place and remained in deserts of forests away from cities. In Arabia such people were great in number. Since the message of the Qur’an was for both the types, it has pointedly addressed both of them. For instance:

In verse 6/131 “Oh Ye, assembly of Jinn and Ins don’t you know that a Rasool came to you from amongst you”. (In the Qur’an no reference is there to show that at any time a Jinn was also a Rasool). It is further clarified in verse 7:35 that the Rusul (plural) were from Bani-Adam and sent towards them. In Surahs Jinn and Ahq’af, a reference occurs where it is mentioned that a group of Jinns came to the Rasool to listen to the Qur’an (72/1, 46/29). This also shows that the group who came to Rasool-Allah (PBUH) were actually human beings,  but from uncivilized tribes.

175
General Discussions / Al-Fajr explained by Parwez - A poetic license ??
« on: November 11, 2011, 09:58:46 PM »
Dear Friends, Salaam

While reading Al-Fajr, chapter 89 I found the following exposition (unlike a translation) by Parwez. Contrast this with other translators who cannot seem to decide whether the 10 nights mentioned here are those of Ramadan or Hajj ! [please visit www.islamawakened.com to read multiple translations]. Notice also how Parwez connects the beginning of the verses with the subject that follows, making a lot of sense [ Exposition of Parwez can be read at http://www.tolueislam.com/Parwez/expo/exposition.htm ]. 

1-4.      (The great congregation of Hajj was proposed to discuss and sort out complicated issues affecting mankind. But just see what these pagan Arabs have turned this event into.) They have earmarked the first ten nights of this congregation for merrymaking, indulging in every kind of lewdness. Gambling, played by throwing dice odd and even, takes place on all around.  During the last night the merrymaking reaches its climax, and when they wake up in the morning to celebrate the function of Hajj, that too is a passing manifestation of their lewdness.  Wealthy traders of Quraish and the custodians of Ka'aba do all this, intoxicated by wealth and power. (They wastefully throw away the wealth, while the poor around them do not even have crumbs to eat.)

5.         Anyone using intellect and reason, even casually, will easily conclude that the ultimate end of these people would be the same as that of earlier nations.

6/7.       (For instance) Consider the end of the people of Aad, who were from the progeny of Erm and who had abundant and reliable means of sustenance (26:132-134).  They constructed huge buildings and great memorials for themselves (26:128).

8.         They occupied a unique position amongst their contemporary nations.

9.         And consider the end of the people of Thamud, who carved out strong forts on the mountain sides (7:74; 15:82);

10.        And the end of the Pharaoh, master of the most powerful forces, who was firmly established in the land.

11-12.   These rebellious people had transgressed all bounds, creating chaos and disorder.

13.        So what was their end result? The Law of Mukafat of your Rabb let loose on them the scourge of diverse chastisement (and all of them perished).

14.        The Law of Mukafat of your Rabb is ever alert and He watches everyone from His ambuscade.  Nothing is hidden from His sight. (Thus whatever happened to those tribes and people, will also happen to these Arab chiefs who have transgressed all bounds of wickedness.)

15.        (The fact is that when human beings turn away from the guidance of Wahi and stop using their minds the concept of 'law' disappears from their sight. They forget that any good or bad that happens is the result of individual or collective deeds of someone. The one who does not recognize this reality belives that all these things occur by chance. For instance), owing to this erroneous thinking whenever life takes a pleasant and favourable turn, a person does not try to find out which actions of his have brought about such blessings in his life. Instead he says, "This is Allah's blessing which He bestows on any one He likes (meaning that there are no set laws or regulations in this regard).

176
General Discussions / No More Miracles!
« on: November 11, 2011, 09:15:50 PM »
Dear All,

We read:

88:17 Do the disbelievers not see how rain clouds are formed,
88:18 how the heavens are lifted,
88:19 how the mountains are raised high,
88:20 how the earth is spread out?
88:21 So [Prophet] warn them: your only task is to give warning,
88:22 you are not there to control them.
88:23 As for those who turn away and disbelieve,
88:24 God will inflict the greatest torment upon them.
88:25 It is to Us they will return,
88:26 and then it is for Us to call them to account.

What is striking about these verses is that Allah SWT is asking the people to use their faculties of observation and perception and study the phenomenon of nature and then decide whether there is a Creator and if there is one what are His plans for us?

For generations before the advent of Muhammad (PBUH) we learn, from the study of their scriptures, a lot of miracles took place. In The New Testament we read about amazing Miracles. The Qur'an also mentions some of them.

We note, however, for those addressed 1400 years ago and onwards, there were no miracles!! Mankind was asked to study and observe. In other words, a new dawn of rational thought, science and technology was was to start and for such a people, there had to be a new way of recognising a Creator and that He had a plan for mankind which was based on consequences according to actions in this world and the next.

Mujiza, I have read, is something that is mind boggling and defeats the intellect - what the brain fails to comprehend (it becomes Aajiz); Belief based on rational conviction is totally different as it is arrived after using our faculties of observation and perception. Something that appeals to our intellect and is not designed to defeat it.

Another theme we find mentioned in the above verses is that man will not be forced to believe. The Messenger's (and those who follow him) job is to present the truth and invite to the truth but it is not his job is to make people believe.


177
Discussions / Watch documentary on Muhammad Asad
« on: November 11, 2011, 08:39:50 PM »
"Islam should be presented without any fanaticism. Without any stress on our having the only possible way and the others are lost. Moderation in all forms is a basic demand of Islam."

"Every age requires a new approach to the Quran for the simple reason that the Quran is made for all ages. It is our duty to look for deeper meanings in the Quran in order to increase our knowledge and experience. The Quran wants your intellect to be always active and trying to approach the message of God. God himself dedicated this book to people who think."

Muhammad Asad (converted from Judaism to Islam, lived in the Middle Eeat, and wrote many books including his famous "The Message of the Qur'an" translation.

Watch a documentary on Muhammad Asad on

http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/aljazeeraworld/2011/10/2011102095616528352.html

178
Dear Br Joe

It is a common Muslim practice to ask for peace and blessings for the Messenger. Therefore, I wanted to explore this concept keeping in mind that there can be no other person who is blessed than a Messenger.

Now that The blessed Messenger is no longer with us, In short,  I tend to agree with:

"...SALAWAAT is not reading something for a certain number of times but practically doing something i.e. commending and supporting the mission of the Messenger [a.s.]  by whatever means we can..."


179
Dear Truth Seeker, Peace

You said:

"...Yet in the case of the prophets and messengers God is confirming that they are 'blessed' and all that he is asking is that we in a way testify to this fact......."

In that case, would you not agree that for Messengers/Apostles we should say "Blessed are they (or he/she)?" Rather than expressing a hope by asking Allah to bless them. Allah testifies that they are blessed.

As for other people who died and we express a hope for Allah to bless them I think we do that because we really don't know their final destination. Messengers/Apostles are different. From the Qur'an we do know what their status is/will be.


180
Discussions / Re: Previous Scriptures and the Qur'an
« on: November 08, 2011, 08:48:42 PM »
Peace Br Joe

You said:

Ezekiel 44:12 (KJB)

"Because they ministered unto them before their idols, and caused the house of Israel to fall into iniquity; therefore have I lifted up mine hand against them, saith the Lord GOD, and they shall bear their iniquity"

Can this not refer to punishment in this world (as per His Law of consequences for all nations)? It does not seem to speak of a concept of after life, or the life to come, or a Day of Results/Judgement Day. In the Qur'an the description of life to come, judgement, hell and heaven have been repeatedly given in vivid detail.

I was wondering if, during your studies of the Bible, you found similar material. Do the Jews believe in reserruction and Day of Judgement?

Seems as if what revelation was given to Jesus was named as Injeel. Most or some Muslims think that it was given in a similar form as the Qur'an and they have completely lost it. That does not seem to be the case or the disciples would have mentioned it.

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