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Also, in this manuscript, Abraham's father is named Terah. In the Quran his name is Azar. Do you know which language the original document was translated from?

It seems that whoever wrote this knew a great deal about the stories of Abraham, because this manuscript has many legends of him woven together. I'm not sure how much is fact and how much is fiction.

It was certainly not written by Abraham, or by anyone who lived during his time, since it's dated to much later.

Interesting...does anyone know more about this?

Salam,

I've never heard of this before. So it was written, according to Wikipedia, sometime during the composition of the Old Testament. Its authorship is not certain.

It wasn't written by someone who knew Abraham--it was only composed much later. it has several elements of traditional Christianity in it, such as fallen angels.

The part of the narrative that you quoted is in perfect conjunction with the Quranic account. This document is quite impressive.

[in order to recognize the Quran's authenticity]

Salam

This may be long, but I think it will help you.

Zack, you cited verse 10:94. This verse, when read in context, isn't asking for people to look for sources outside the Quran and take them for religious authority. It's simply asking people to talk to the receivers of the previous scriptures in order to recognize the Quran's authenticity. And it's not saying that those people have religious authority; it's just instructing people to engage in discussion and find the truth of the Quran.

Many articles exist online dedicated to explaining the "violent" verses of the Quran. These usually cite hadiths to explain the verses in "context." However, there's a certain method to understanding the Quran, and it doesn't involve hadiths. The Quran itself provides the context for all its verses, if you look closely.

"Then, you are those [same ones who are] killing one another and evicting a party of your people from their homes, cooperating against them in sin and aggression. And if they come to you as captives, you ransom them, although their eviction was forbidden to you. So do you believe in part of the Scripture and disbelieve in part? Then what is the recompense for those who do that among you except disgrace in worldly life; and on the Day of Resurrection they will be sent back to the severest of punishment. And Allah is not unaware of what you do." -2:85

"He is the One who sent down to you the Book, from which there are lawgiving revelations; they are the essence of the Book; and others which are of a similitude. As for those who have a disease in their hearts, they will follow that which is of a similitude, seeking to confuse, and seeking to derive an interpretation. But none know its interpretation except God, and those who are well founded in knowledge; they say: "We believe in it, all is from our Lord." And none will remember except those who possess intelligence." -3:7

There are a few ways to accurately understand the Quran and the "killing verses" without historical context or hadiths. Please see Quran 2:189-193. These verses basically give the rules for warfare. All other Quranic verses regarding warfare should be understood in light of these verses. Quran 1:191-192 say that believers should fight against those who fight them and fight in the cause of the oppressed. Therefore, if another verse instructs believers to kill those who don't agree with them, it's only referring to the people who attacked the believers first.

To understand any topic mentioned in the Quran, put all verses on the topic together. Then figure out what the implicit verses mean in light of the explicit ones. Many verses may seem contradictory at first, but if you take them in light of the clear verses, they make more sense. This is how most Quran-centrists make sense of the text.

For understanding the Quran without external sources, please see:

http://www.free-minds.org/quran/PM/A01

For understanding the "violent" verses with the Quran itself, please see:

http://quransmessage.com/articles/a%20message%20of%20peace%20or%20to%20live%20by%20the%20sword%20FM3.htm

http://quransmessage.com/articles/surah%20tauba%20FM3.htm

Salam,

Before anyone can legitimately fight ISIS, they have to know what they're doing. You can't simply fly drones over Syria, drop bombs, and expect to kill only Islamic State soldiers. You're going to kill mainly civilians this way. As for ground troops, only people living in the area can fight ISIS that way.

The fact is, there is honestly nothing that can be done using physical fighting in this case. If you live in the United States or Canada, pushing for Syrian refugee rights would be much more productive than sending explosives over Iraq and Syria, because that's just not something that can be done right now.

Fighting can come in many forms, not just physical fighting, and you need to do it with the resources you have. By helping Syrian refugees or donating to the cause, you'd be helping oppressed people without bloodshed. And these things can be done from wherever you live.

Apparently, available men can actually fly from Miami to Iraq and fight against ISIS with troops backed by the United States, but at this point, that doesn't look like such a good idea. You should stop worrying too much about this right now and try to help with whatever you have. You can also fight them with ideas and help to counter pro-ISIS propaganda online and wherever else.

Salam,

I agree with your replies. Thank you for your clarification.

The attacks bother me too, and the seriousness of the issue has really gotten to me today, because today I was questioned by a child regarding religion. The boy was a nice kid and actually seemed to like making my acquaintance, despite the age difference. I'm not entirely sure how I got myself into such a discussion with a child, but somehow it happened.

"Are you Christian? I am," he said. I informed him that I was Muslim.

"Okay, but don't you think Islam is kind of a bad religion? Like, it has terrorists and all, and everyone hates women in your religion, and people kiss a black stone," the child said with perfect seriousness.

"That's more of a traditional thing," I answered, not sure how to explain it to him.

"Yeah, but what about the terrorists? And, like, Belgium and Paris? Why do people do that?" he asked. "Christians don't do that. Christianity is a religion for everyone."

I was impressed by his belief, but I couldn't find a way to explain anything that's been going on. How am I supposed to make excuses for almost the entirety of the world's second largest religion? Nobody can do that. Unless there is large-scale reform, it's pretty much impossible to convince the world that the blame is on people and not on Islam.

In the end, I basically admitted that many people who called themselves Muslims were doing very wrong things. From the kid's point of view, I was agreeing with him. I told him something like this: "I don't hate the religion itself, I hate what people are doing to it."

Needless to say, he didn't buy a word of it.

The fact that a sixth-grader can criticize an entire religion and be right about it is very sad. And it's also sad that I had no legitimate explanation to give him. We all know about hadiths and corruption, but that is not something one can explain to a kid. It's even harder to explain everything to adults, who aren't as gullible as kids. I am so tired of making excuses for the terrorism, cruelty, and tyranny practiced by a considerable percentage of my religion.

Salam,

Thank you for your reply

I agree with what you said. It seems like some people have picked up this verse as a "contradiction," and Answering Islam is parroting it. However, when you look closer, it becomes apparent that there is no contradiction. This verse is referring to a different scenario than the one that says "no soul will bear the burden of another."

Salam Adam,

I would say that the first verse you cited may be referring to the Day of Judgement. When we are in the presence of God on that particular day, to us it will seem like 1000 years, while God will still remain timeless.

Sorry if I just confused you more...I think these verses are metaphorical and we don't need to worry about them too much.

Salam all,

Verse 16:25 says those who disbelieve will carry the burdens of their sins as well as the sins of those they misled without knowledge. However, other verses say that no soul shall bear the burden of another.

Is this a contradiction? Thank you in advance

[with]

Salam,

Verse 22:47 can be explained if you look at the word-by-word translation. I used the Quranic Arabic Corpus morphology of the verse, and what it actually says is, "...and a day with your Lord is equal to a thousand years in the way you count." The actual Arabic clearly uses the preposition "with", which means that this verse refers to a human's understanding of time when they are in the presence of their Lord.

The second verse you cited is talking about the speed that angels travel at. It's not referencing how God Himself counts time; it actually seems to be talking about the way humans would measure angel-travel.

I may be incorrect, but this is the answer to my understanding

I agree with this completely! His website has solved many problems and enlightened me greatly.

You don't know who he actually is? I thought everyone on this forum knew anyway. Interesting.

Anyway, THANK YOU SO MUCH BROTHER JOSEPH.

Salam,

Question 1: Six days also means six periods. The universe is 13.5 billion years old and God divided that time into six periods.

2) You can if you want to, but it's not compulsory.

3) Prostration = not necessary.

4) I'm not entirely sure what you mean.

5) It's fine, just a normal ritual practice.

6) You're not accountable for something that was not your fault.

Please keep in mind that you don't need to do any religious rituals outside the Quran, you can pray normally within Quranic instruction, etc.

[don't repent.]

Salam ZKAB90,

The information you stated about jinn in people's souls is from a hadith. It's probably not true, so no need to worry

Just because you insulted Allah once, that doesn't mean you're beyond hope. You're obviously feeling sorry for what you did, so just make sincere repentance. Verse 7:180 is only talking about those who mock God and don't repent. As Seraphina stated earlier, God forgives all sins.

"Say, "O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah . Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful."(39:53)

If you're having trouble believing in angels and such things, keep in mind that God created the universe. The universe itself is quite fascinating and unbelievable. But God, clearly, managed to create it--and He can create whatever He wants to. If He wants to create angels and jinn, then He can make them.

You said you were raised an atheist. That's probably part of the issue. I'm just wondering, how did you find out about the Quran and all this?

I hope you figure this out soon

Salam ZKAB90, I'm sorry, I didn't entirely read through everything in your initial post. I saw the links and thought they must be confusing you, so I decided to go through them and refute everything. I think there's a bigger issue here and you need to understand that you're certainly not a hypocrite. I don't see how you fit that definition. From what I can tell, you're just not sure why you can't fully believe in anything God-related. This problem does not constitute hypocrisy. You actually seem to be genuinely searching for the truth and this is something to be admired. Just keep praying and God will help you.

[First of all:]

OH MY GOD.

This is making me very sad. Dear ZKAB90, I think you're just very confused. We can fix this. I reviewed the links you sent and although I don't have the time to refute every single thing in them, I think I can refute the most common arguments.

First of all: Why do you think you're a hypocrite? Hypocrites are those who lie against God, or say one thing and act on another. I don't see how you fit this definition. Secondly, even if you ARE a hypocrite, the fact that you want to stop being one shows that you have hope. You are greatly exaggerating your own evilness.

This post is going to be ridiculously long, but if you can be patient we can remedy your highly baffling situation. I will begin by citing some arguments in the links you sent and refuting them. Then I will explain how it is possible to follow the Quran without hadiths.


1) Let's figure out what Joseph and most other people on this forum believe in. We're not Quranists. "Quranist" denotes people who believe the Quran is absolutely the ONLY thing one can derive guidance from. However, we are Quran-centric, which means that we also follow our common sense (and look in classical dictionaries) to find the best meaning of Quranic verses.

2) Zawadi (the author of the links you posted) has been attempting to refute Quran-centrism and Quranism for ages. He hasn't done so well. Let's look at some of his arguments. This is what he says--

"Why don't we have any record of early Muslims completely rejecting hadith?"

Who says that we NEED to have a record of early Muslims rejecting hadiths? Records of early Muslims rejecting hadiths would only be found in hadiths. And we don't believe that hadiths hold any religious authority. So this argument is paradoxical in itself.

3) He also says:

"How do you know how to pray using the Quran alone?"

For God's sake, this argument is positively ancient. Here are some of Joseph's articles regarding prayer sans hadiths:

http://quransmessage.com/articles/pray%20as%20we%20have%20taught%20you%20how%20to%20pray%20-%20using%20a%20verse%20to%20support%20a%20fixed%20form%20of%20prayer%20FM3.htm

http://quransmessage.com/articles/the%20five%20prayers%20from%20the%20quran%20FM3.htm

http://quransmessage.com/articles/quran%20salaat%20FM3.htm

4) Monsieur Zawadi isn't giving up yet. He says:

"It says in the Quran to shorten the prayer when you travel. How long do you have to travel in order to be eligible to have this privilege? How short do you cut the prayer?"

Those who are familiar with the Quran know that it instructs us to use our reasoning skills. Thus, the amount that we shorten the prayer must be specific to the type of travel that we are undertaking. If a person is in grave danger, then their prayer should probably be shortened a lot. But if they're not in danger, then their prayer shouldn't be shortened too much. If God assigned a fixed amount of prayer-shortening, then people who are in great danger would be forced to pray a fixed number of rakahs, which would be counter productive. Prayer-shortening is designed for flexibility.

Also see:

http://quransmessage.com/articles/shortening%20of%20prayers%20FM3.htm

5) "The Quran says that men can beat their wives. But we know according to the hadith that this is meant to be a light beating that inflicts a spiritual punishment and not a harmful physical one. What is to stop a man from misinterpreting the Quran and beating his wife severely?"

Quran verse 4:34 has many possible meanings. They include hitting the wife, sending her out of the house, separating from her, indicating her behavior to the authorities, etc. Those who are familiar with the Quran know that it provides its own exegesis. The "correct" meaning of this verse can only be derived by someone who is sincere, well-versed in God's commandments, and just. Only an insincere, hypocritical man would insist that this verse allows him to inflict harm on his wife. (The Quran is specifically designed to expose such hypocritical people, by the way.) A good, sincere person would seek out alternative meanings for the verse and find the right meaning through research and reflection.

We can find the best meaning for verse 4:34 by analyzing other Quranic verses. We don't need hadiths for this.

Please see:

http://www.quran434.com/

http://www.quranverse434.com/

As you can see, most of Zawadi's arguments against following God's guidance are quite easily refutable. The Quran instructs mankind to judge by what God has revealed. God told us to obey His messenger, and the only duty of His messenger was to deliver His message. Please see:

http://quransmessage.com/articles/god%20has%20warned%20believers%20to%20only%20follow%20the%20quran%20FM3.htm

http://www.quran-islam.org/articles/a_dozen_reasons_(P1153).html

We are definitely supposed to follow God's messenger, but God's messenger only preached the Quran—and he wasn't allowed to preach anything else. If he had, God would have punished him severely:

69:43
(The Quran is) a revelation from the Lord of the worlds.
69:44
And had he (Muhammad) attributed anything falsely to Us,
69:45
We would have seized him by the right.
69:46
Then, We would have severed his life-line.
69:47
None of you would be able to prevent it.
69:48
And this is a reminder for the righteous.


So, how do we find the "best meaning" of Quranic verses by using the Quran's own exegesis and our own common sense?

Quran 3:7 tells us how to do this—

"It is He who has sent down to you, [O Muhammad], the Book; in it are verses [that are] precise - they are the foundation of the Book - and others ambiguous. As for those in whose hearts is deviation [from truth], they will follow that of it which is ambiguous, seeking discord and seeking an interpretation [suitable to them]. And no one knows its [true] interpretation except Allah. But those firm in knowledge say, "We believe in it. All [of it] is from our Lord." And no one will be reminded except those of understanding."

As you can see, this verse basically instructs "those with knowledge" to follow the Quran, the whole Quran. Verses that are ambiguous or implicit are explained by other, explicit verses. Take Quran 4:34, for example. It can be interpreted in many ways, but only one or two ways are acceptable when verse 4:19 is taken into account. 4:19 teaches believers to treat women with respect. This negates the idea that verse 4:34 instructs believers to use physical violence on women. Thus, another interpretation must be sought.

Hadiths complicate things. Some people *cough* Zawadi *cough* seem to believe that hadiths can abrogate the Quran. For example, the Quran clearly lays out the punishment for adultery: 100 lashes, publicly given. However, hadiths say that the punishment for adultery is stoning to death! This has led to some serious insanity in countries such as Iran (and, yes, this barbaric "punishment" has really been carried out there).

Do you get what I'm saying now?

The degree of corruption that has gripped the so-called Islamic world is genuinely alarming. The fact that so many people hold hadiths as religious authority is definitely part of the reason for this. "Honor killings" and extremism can all be traced to hadiths that portray Muhammad doing horrific things. How can such evil acts be attributed to a prophet? Clearly, something is wrong.

Please think about this and God bless.