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Can someone please explain this?

Sorry about this, but seriously, such acts should not be encouraged under the general Quranic theme of chastity and purity. Plus, I don't get why anyone would *need* to do this...you could just turn on the TV and watch five minutes of some absurd children's show. I think that would kill the temptation.

Also, this is the Free-Minds translation. It's very different. I'm confused. What do the Arabic words in the verse actually mean?

8:67   And it was not for any prophet to take prisoners until he is bound by a campaign. You desire the materials of this world, while God wants the Hereafter for you. God is Noble, Wise.

Salam all,

This is verse 8:67...

Sahih International: It is not for a prophet to have captives [of war] until he inflicts a massacre in the land. Some Muslims desire the commodities of this world, but Allah desires [for you] the Hereafter. And Allah is Exalted in Might and Wise.

What do you think the first sentence means? I'd assume the massacre is being inflicted upon those who attacked Muhammad (pbuh) and his troops. However, the context for this isn't given in the verse, and it sounds really harsh. Can anyone explain this?

Thank you for clarifiication

Maybe he'll reply soon

Salam everyone

Apparently there was a type of lottery used to determine who got to see Pope Francis a while ago. It didn't cost anything and I wouldn't call it gambling, but do you think such a lottery is Quranically allowed?

Also, what about kids' arcade money and stuff like that? It's not really legitimate gambling, but it is related to games of chance. Do you thnk the Quran allows things like that? I don't think there's any harm in kids going to arcades, but I'm just wondering if there's anything against it in the Quran.

Thnx in advance

Continued from the last post:

The second issue you raised concerns following the opinions of the majority.

Consider this analogy. 84% of Americans are Christians who believe Jesus is the begotten son of God who died on the cross for the sins of mankind. I am American. Should I also adhere to this belief?

According to the Quran, the majority of mankind would lead you into idolatry. I can't find the specific verse right now, but I'll try to cite it later.

I hope you think about this.

[You can ignore all the above articles if you like, but it's not going to help you understand anything.]

Salam,

ZKAB90: My username has nothing to do with Satan.

First of all, brother Hassan, is there a way to modify your username? This is going to sound really naive, but I honestly didn't know that the number 666 was Satan-related until one of my instructors mentioned it and all the other students, who are supposed to be sensible and intelligent, suddenly started acting really immature, shouting about the Salem Witch Trials. I just liked the number 6, that's all. Maybe I should get rid of it.

ZKAB90: I don't mind being a "heretic" if I'm right. I think you should have a look at Joseph Islam/Yusuf Islam's website. It's really quite moderate compared to what some members of the Submitters sect have created. Joseph Islam's opinions are based on academic evaluation and intellectual honesty. I haven't found a single website on this topic better than his (and trust me, there are THOUSANDS of Islam-related sites).

Secondly, yes, my understanding does go against the general Muslim understanding of this surah. However, I don't see why that's a bad thing. As far as I can tell, this chapter mentions nothing about the Prophet Muhammad getting on a magical pegasus named Burak and riding into the sky. It does mention his journey to a separate place of prostration, but not much more. I don't doubt that Allah can make Muhammad visit the heavens if He wants to, but I don't see any Quranic evidence to support the idea that it actually happened.

Also, you say that you follow the Quran and you want to learn more about it, but instead of remaining open-minded, you're insisting that Salafi scholars must always be correct. That is quite illogical. I'm sorry to say this, but I find Salafi scholars utterly terrifying. Instead of discussing them, I will reply to the other issues you raised.

1: Ritual Salah. The way that most people pray today is consistent with the Quran. The Quran specifies a procedure of standing and prostration for prayer but nothing more. When you're in a mosque, you're supposed to pray the same way that everyone else does to avoid causing disorder. However, when you're alone, there's no reason that you can't pray in your own language, or have a different number of rakahs.

Prayer should not be derived from hadiths. Please think about what you're saying. Allah would not order people to derive their religious rulings from the work of a man named Bukhari. His work is composed of narrations stemming back two centuries. Most of it is pure hearsay. Hadiths are not satanic inventions, but they don't hold religious authority either.

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

http://quransmessage.com/articles/prayer%20without%20hadith%20FM3.htm

http://quransmessage.com/articles/do%20we%20have%20to%20pray%20in%20arabic%20FM3.htm

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

http://quransmessage.com/articles/invented%20prayer%20FM3.htm

You can even pray without reciting the Quran:

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

You can ignore all the above articles if you like, but it's not going to help you understand anything.

Salam,

You were asking about backbiting. It's bad to backbite about someone in an overly critical and unconstructive way. However, when you've been wronged or the person in question has done something wrong, you have the right to discuss it.

This is the Free-Minds translation:

4:148 God does not love that any negative sayings be publicized, except if one is wronged. God is Hearer, Knowledgeable.

As for the person who asked you about terrorism, he was probably talking about verse 9:5. This verse is talking about a way that is already ongoing. As explained in verse 9:13, the war was waged against people who had plotted against the Muslims and broken the treaties. As explained in verse 9:4, those who had kept their treaties were exempt from the war.

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

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

When you want to know about a topic in the Quran, search up every single verse you can find on that topic. Put them together and you will get a coherent picture of the Quranic standpoint. Verses in the Quran hardly ever stand alone. The book has to be taken as a whole. Please see verse 3:7 for clarification. This verse specifically reprimands those who follow ambiguous verses of the Quran without referencing the entire book.

I'm not saying that you're making the mistake of isolating verses, of course. The only person making that mistake is the one you argued with.

The Quran isn't necessarily order-wise. It's arranged in a way that has some significance, but all the verses are equally important.

Hope this helps

I had to answer this.

First of all, I don't want to mess up any faith you might currently have, but hell is not eternal. Please see:

http://quransmessage.com/articles/is%20the%20punishment%20of%20hell%20eternal%20FM3.htm

Second of all, you don't need to believe in Muhammad's alleged ascent to heaven or any of that fluff. These things are not in the Quran and are based on the corpus of hadiths/sunnah. Muhammad did not split the moon. The Quran is the only legitimate religious authority:

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

The Quran's ideology is simple. God is one. You have to believe in Him to attain peace and happiness. Ritual salah can be performed in any way that works for you. It does not need to be an act. You don't need to have a set number of rakahs for every prayer. You can improvise. Please see:

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

Prayer can take many forms.

Also, your heart is obviously not sealed, because you are pretty close to recognizing the truth of the Quran, and you seem to want to believe in God.

The Quran is a miracle in itself because it completes the chain of divine books and prophethood. It has a lot of other interesting attributes if you want to look deeper. No one has ever produced a chapter like one of the Quran's. If you want proof of this, I can provide it in due course, God willing.

I've felt the way you described before, but if you pray and ask God for guidance, He always gives it to you. I know from experience. I am happy to say that I recognize the truth of the Quran now. (It took ages, though.)

God must exist for the universe to exist. The universe had a beginning. It's only 13.5 billion years old. Something existed before the advent of the universe. That was God. God exists outside of space and time and He is the originator of everything. No other theory makes sense. If God didn't exist, then you wouldn't either.

God had no beginning, since He exists outside of time. This might seem unbelievable, but it's true. You know how time bends and slows down around black holes? This phenomenon is not something we can comprehend, but it happens, and physics has proven it. God's attributes are a bit like that.

Heaven does sound a bit too good to be true, but trust me, it isn't. God can create whatever He wants, including Heaven. It might seem far-fetched, but think about the world. It has been designed with a purpose. Moral laws have been designed for a purpose. We are all being held to account for our sins. Otherwise life would be purposeless and God would have created the world for no reason--but God has a reason for everything!

If you have philosophical objections to the concept of God, I can probably answer them, no matter how strange they are. Trust me, I've been there.

If you pray and fast without true belief, you can probably still go to Heaven in my opinion, but that's no fun. You're eventually going to need something more. Don't submit to a life of mechanical prayer. It's incredibly boring. Please do investigate and learn more.

http://www.thewaytotruth.org/theholyquran/wordofgod.html

http://www.reasonablefaith.org/does-god-exist-1

Good luck

As far as I can tell, neither the roots slh nor sbh were present in the verse. It's just stating that the mountains were subjected to His will, whether in praise or in prostration.

I might be wrong; I'm kind of bad at Arabic. But I didn't find either word in the sentence.

  You're welcome

Salam Sardar, you're right...

Salam,

What did your dad say?
Good luck <3