Br. Joseph, please answer this...

[IjazAhmad]

As-salaamu 'alaikum

One brother who is not a Muslim says (I will paste every comment from facebook):

(1) Sura 23, MOMINS are ones who guard their SALAT (regular , disciplined)!! but there is 1 verse (not being able to remember , post it) where allah says: SALAT prohibts Fahishat (immoralities) and MUNKAR (bad deeds) ! so the question is: when momins are REGULAR in salat, and salat prohibts bad deeds then HOW the heck can any one (termed Momin) commit even single bad deed ?

(2) sura 23:2 , MOMINS = humble , submissive in salat!! It means; they perform evey salat carefully , seriously !! sura 23 verse 9 , MOMINS = they gaurd their salat !! it means : they perform each and every salat ( 3 or 5 ) !! sura 29 vere 45 ; SALAT prohibits fahishat and munkar !! so the Q is : how the heck can momin commit even a single bad , immoral deed ?

(3) MUMIN is better rank than MUSLIM ! it means: probabilty of MUSLIM commitng evil is HIGHER than that of momin.

(4) Sura 23:2 and 9 + sura 29:45, proves that MOMIN cannot commit even a single evil deed, hence Momin can not be Repentent!!

(5) read sura 29:45 ! then read sura 49:14-15 !! MUSLIM can commit evil deed because he is only SUBMITTER ., faith has not enterd his heart but MOMIN (rank of momin) cannot commit even a single evil deed !!

(6)  muslim also do salat but MOMIN is the one who perform each and every salat with dedication ( going by sura 23 verses 2 and 9 ) !! so the Q is : if momin is 100 % into salat with 100 % devotion to each salat then HOW can he commit even a single evil deed ?? because allah claims in 29-45 : SALAT prohibits fahishat and munkar !!


Br. Joseph, I will appreciate your answers, can you please answer? Thank you!

Wasalaam!
Ijaz. A.

[Donald Hysa]

Greetings bro  I can't answer your question but you can always argue those verses are not interpreted correctly   I  think that  is the most likely type of answer you  are going to get.Or just accept the fact that nobody really knows and its not something that Allah has shared with us

[Truth Seeker]

Salaam Ijaaz,

The posts you copied from Facebook do worry me in that they are very forceful, repetitive and factually incorrect.

Firstly, a Mumin is a Muslim (submits his will to God) but also believes in the Quran and prophet Muhammed. That does not mean that Mumins who pray regularly and diligently will not commit sins. They are still human.

Yes, the Quran does say that reading salaat helps keep one away from fashaa and munkar which makes sense. Surely if you have one person who with commitment and conviction,reads daily prayers, he/she will have increased God consciousness and that would in turn lead them to stay away from grave sins. You won't see them finishing their salaat and going off to a nightclub half dressed and getting drunk!

However, that does not mean that they are immune from repenting. To be human is to err so we should always be asking for forgiveness. The prophets have made mistakes and God has forgiven them so how are we to be excused?

Also may I remind everyone that if possible, before directing questions to Joseph, if they could please visit quransmessage. Alhamdulillah, after so many years, there is an abundance of information there with so many topics and issues written about including Q&As.
I am sure you can appreciate that Joseph is inundated, so it would be very helpful if members could check if their question or query has already been written about or discussed.

Thank you

[Seraphina]

May the Almighty reward you Truthseeker, it was exactly what I needed to hear. You've been of a great help and comfort I hope brother Munir Rana reads this too. Salam.

[Wakas]

salaam/peace Ijaz,

It is possible you bring up an underlying valid point.

The key word in 29:45 is "tanha" which primarily means forbids in its other occurrences, see here:
http://corpus.quran.com/qurandictionary.jsp?q=nhy#(29:45:11)

According to PRL (based on classical Arabic dictionaries) some of its other meanings include: "to prevent, chide away, prohibit, make one to stop from, restrain, interdict, hinder, desist, refrain.

If we assume salat means prayer:

29:45 states:  "indeed/surely* the prayer forbids/prevents/prohibits/restrains/hinders from the immorality and evil deeds..."
*Arabic: inna, implies strong/certain emphasis

Now clearly if one inserts "forbids" into the verse it seems awkward as that would imply the prayer involves information relay, e.g. tells you to do ABC and not do XYZ. This is not really what Traditional ritual prayer does.

Please note this aspect of salat is not an isolated incident, e.g. see 11:87 (Shuaib, does your salat command you that we leave what our forefathers worship/serve...". Again, this is not what Traditional ritual prayer does.

However, if you opt for "tanha" meaning "restrains/hinders" in 29:45 then you could interpret it as Truth Seeker mentioned.


Thus, the answer to your question will depend on how you interpret "tanha" and "salat". I personally do not understand "salat" to mean the Traditional ritual prayer.

[Truth Seeker]

Thanks Seraphina for your kind words.