The Ulema (Scholars) —Who Are They?

Glossary of Terms:

                The Quran was revealed in the Arabic language, the expression of which is neither poetry nor prose, but has its own unique style and rhythm.  It has rare beauty and grandeur; it is sublime.  To translate such a language into another and retain its spirit, beauty, force, and depth is just not possible.  An attempt can be made to translate a piece of literature, but when it comes to the Quran, which is a charter of human rights—a constitution—one has to be absolutely certain that the actual meaning is not lost during the course of translation.   In addition, each language has its own phrases, idioms, and expressions that are specific for its culture and values.  It is not possible to translate a concept that exists in one culture into a single word of another language that does not even recognize that concept.  This can be illustrated by Persian and Urdu translations—they retain Arabic words like kafir, momin, mushrik, rahman, raheem, sabr, sawab, salat, zakat, etc.  These words were in use before the advent of Islam and so the Arabs knew what they meant.  It is of paramount importance for the reader to know the meanings of these words because they convey specific Quranic concepts and a simple English translation would either be in Biblical terms, or out rightly contradictory to the spirit of the message.  Finally, because these words are used repeatedly in the Quran, we have provided a glossary to more efficiently explain the concepts in their original form.

POLITICAL SYSTEM: Man-Made Systems

Primitive Age

ANTHROPOLOGY does not support the view that man ever lived a solitary life like the tiger or the lion. He was weak and defenceless against the powerful beasts that roamed about him. He could survive only through some form of group life. A band of men could survive under conditions in which a single individual had no chance, so early men naturally lived in groups. Some form of social Organisation is necessary for group life. Men can co-operate with each other only at the cost of their egoistic impulses. The dictates of group life invade individual liberty. The first social ties came from blood relationship. The groups were almost overgrown families. The authority exercised by the father passed into the hands of the patriarch, the head of the tribe. Custom regulated the conduct of the members, of this group. Primitive man believed that the customs of his tribe were unchangeable and inviolable. Patriarchal authority and rigid customs protected the social order and were an effective check to all kinds of anti-social activities in which individuals might be tempted to engage. However, a new authority enlarged in the group—this was the priest. His supremacy was founded on his expert knowledge of the religious ritual, and of correct behaviour in the temple and on solemn occasions. Ritual had gradually become very complex, and the patriarch had to place it in the charge of a professional man. Superstitious, a factor to be reckoned with in primitive life, lent powerful support to the authority of the priest. In a changing world no form of social organisation can be permanent. The tribal organisation dissolved giving place to a purely political organisation. The Raja or King supplanted the patriarch. He was usually a man who had organised a military force which had enabled him to extend his dominion over several tribes. The political system that arose was composed of different tribes. A consequence of this change was that the hold of tribal customs on man was considerably weakened. People saw their fellow-citizens observing different customs, and hence any particular custom could no longer be regarded as sacred and inviolable. The social order had now to be maintained by physical force. If the king was powerful, he usually succeeded in this task and held the straggling group together He usually relied on officials whom he had personally appointed. The new social order, however, could not be as stable as the tribal order which was based on blood-ties and time-honoured customs. Men could not be held in check for long by mere brute force. Risings and rebellions often shook the king’s authority. In this predicament he sought for an ally and such an ally was close at hand. The priest also had vested interests which he was not willing to relinquish. Any social or political upheaval would endanger the vested interests of both the king and the priest. The result was that the king and the priest made common cause, and each gave the other mutual support. The king bolstered the power of the priests in the religious domain and took steps to protect the interests of the sacerdotal order. The grateful priest cloaked the king with sanctity and awe. The obedience of the people was now enforced both by force and superstition.

Preface

Posted By mike On May 28, 2007 @ 1:42 am In QXP iv May, 2007, The Qur’an as it explains itself

The author of the Qur’an is none but Almighty God. Before the reader is an English rendition of the Glorious Book by Shabbir Ahmed (1947 to ?) an ordinary servant of God.

The work although close to translation, is more of an understanding from within the Qur’an itself. This Divine Writ calls itself An-Noor (the Light) and light needs no extrinsic sources to show itself. Therefore, I have based my presentation on two principles:

1. Focusing on the language in which the Qur’an was revealed.
2. Making use of Tasreef, that is, how the Qur’an repeats its messages from very diverse vantage points.

A diligent study of the Book using Tasreef helps us look at the Qur’an in its Big Picture, and this method gives us a phenomenal advantage toward its understanding.

I have rendered the terms and linguistics of the Qur’an using the Quraish (Quresh) dialect of Makkah since it is the Arabic dialect in which the Qur’an was revealed to the exalted Muhammad bin Abdullah, the Final Prophet, Messenger and Apostle of God. [570-632 CE]

Ban Islam?

by Daniel Pipes
New York Sun
August 29, 2007

[NY Sun title: "Keep the Koran Legal"]

Non-Muslims occasionally raise the idea of banning the Koran, Islam, and Muslims. Examples this month include calls by a political leader in the Netherlands, Geert Wilders, to ban the Koran — which he compares to Hitler’s Mein Kampf — and two Australian politicians, Pauline Hanson and Paul Green, demanding a moratorium on Muslim immigration.

Combating the Ideology of Radical Islam

by Daniel Pipes and Graham Fuller
Washington Institute for Near East Policy
April 10, 2003

Special Policy Forum Report
Analysis of Near East Policy from the Scholars and Associates of the Washington Institute

On April 3, 2003, Daniel Pipes and Graham Fuller addressed The Washington Institute’s Special Policy Forum. Mr. Pipes is director of the Middle East Forum and an adjunct scholar of the Institute. His most recent book is Militant Islam Reaches America (W.W. Norton, 2002). Mr. Fuller is former vice-chair of the National Intelligence Council at the Central Intelligence Agency and senior political scientist at RAND. His latest book is The Future of Political Islam (Palgrave, 2003). The following is a rapporteur’s summary of their remarks.

Muslims Silence Critics

By Robert Spencer
FrontPageMagazine.com | 8/6/2007

After a police raid Friday at Your Black Muslim Bakery in Oakland, bakery employee Devaughndre Broussard admitted to murdering Chauncey Bailey, the editor of the Oakland Post. Bailey was writing a series of investigative articles about the Bakery – and that’s why, according to police, Broussard killed him.

Hitler’s Racial Ideology: Content and Occult Sources

by, Jackson Spielvogel and David Redles

In a 1931 interview with a Leipzig newspaper editor, Adolf Hitler made a passionate declaration of the true significance of his National Socialist movement:

The Frenchman Gobineau and the Englishman Chamberlain were inspired by our concept of a new order-a new order, I tell you, or if you prefer, an ideological glimpse into history in accordance with the basic principle of the blood. We do not judge by merely artistic or military standards or even by purely scientific ones. We judge by the spiritual energy which a people is capable of putting forth, which will enable it in ten years to recapture what it has lost in a thousand years of warfare. I intend to set up a thousand year Reich and anyone who supports me in battle is a fellow-fighter for a unique spiritual-I would almost say divine-creation. At the decisive moment the decisive factor is not the ratio of strength but the spiritual force employed. Betrayal of the nation is possible even when no crime has been committed, in other words when a historical mission has not been fulfilled.1

Fanatics and terrorists misguided

“America’s fight against terrorism is justified by the Quran”, says Imam Tammam Adi Ph.D, Director of the Islamic Cultural Center of Eugene, Oregon.

I will try to show that America’s fight against terrorism is justified by the Quran, and that fanatics and terrorists misinterpret the Quran to justify their views.

Islam’s prophet, Muhammad, is a descendant of Abraham. His message, the Quran, confirms the Gospel and the Torah. Its essence is that we should love God above everything and not play God on this earth (Allahu akbar), and also that we should treat all humanity as brothers and sisters.

The Philosopher of Islamic Terror

By PAUL BERMAN

I. In the days after Sept. 11, 2001, many people anticipated a quick and satisfying American victory over Al Qaeda. The terrorist army was thought to be no bigger than a pirate ship, and the newly vigilant police forces of the entire world were going to sink the ship with swift arrests and dark maneuvers. Al Qaeda was driven from its bases in Afghanistan. Arrests and maneuvers duly occurred and are still occurring. Just this month, one of Osama bin Laden’s top lieutenants was nabbed in Pakistan. Police agents, as I write, seem to be hot on the trail of bin Laden himself, or so reports suggest.

Islamophobia

It is seen as a monolithic bloc, static and unresponsive to change.

It is seen as separate and “other.” It does not have values in common with other cultures, is not affected by them and does not influence them.

It is seen as inferior to the West. It is seen as barbaric, irrational, primitive, and sexist.

It is seen as violent, aggressive, threatening, supportive of terrorism, and engaged in a clash of civilizations.

It is seen as a political ideology, used for political or military advantage.

Criticisms made of “the West” by Muslims are rejected out of hand.

Hostility towards Islam is used to justify discriminatory practices towards Muslims and exclusion of Muslims from mainstream society.

Anti-Muslim hostility is seen as natural and normal.

A Statement From

By: - Ahmed Mansour

In the name of Allah, the Almighty, the most Merciful

A condemnation statement against the kidnapping of the Korean hostages by “Taliban”

The international Quranic Center (IQC) strongly denounces the “Taliban” movement for kidnapping innocent people and taking them hostages for political gains.

While IQC condemns this cowardly act by Taliban against peaceful innocent foreigners who are guests in Afghanistan, it is worth mentioning that:

Factionalism, Social Movement Structure & Social Change

Wednesday June 13th, 2007, by Muhammed Asadi

An urban area has certain characteristic features that shape the structure and determine the success or failure of a social movement. Whereas a city provides a “critical mass” for mobilization of people and resources, the heterogeneity of a city fractures collective identity so consensus on broad issues is difficult to achieve and maintain, success is therefore limited (even though greater resources are available).

Weeping Mary Statutes and Icons

Weeping Statues and Icons – Blood, Water, Oil

Photos did not show up, please visit this web site for the photos:  http://www.crystalinks.com/weepingstatues.html

November 21, 2005 – CBS

The Catholic faithful are calling it a miracle. So they’re bringing their cameras, their rosaries, their children and grandchildren to an otherwise quiet church on the outskirts of town. “To me, personally, it is a miracle. You believe it or don’t believe it, that’s okay. But I strongly believe it”, says Sacramento resident Andre Nguyen. At the Vietnamese Catholic Martyrs Church, an outdoor statue of the Virgin Mary appears to be shedding tears of blood. Tears that stream down her face onto her robe, testing the faith of all who come.”I think that at this time in history, in terms of what’s happening in the United States, what’s happening in the church, that this is possibly a sign”, says Sacramento Resident Brenda Harris. But fearing they were put there by pranksters, a priest here wiped the statue clean, only to have those tears return over the weekend. The church has now contacted the Catholic Diocese in hopes an investigation will be launched. Many are so convinced it’s real, they weep.

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Tears Of Blood Appear On Virgin Mary Statue March 12, 2004 – APIn the Russian Orthodox Church of Our Lady the Joy of All Who Sorrow, located in Philadelphia, PA an icon of St. Righteous Anna was found to have been weeping myrrh since November, 2004. Since the discovery of myrrh coming from the icon, many miracles occurred in the lives of the faithful who venerated the icon and was anointed by its myrrh. The Russian Orthodox Church of Our Lady the Joy of All Who Sorrow states the following: His Eminence visited our Church’s Miraculous icon and it declared authentic.His Eminence Metropolitan Laurus, First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia graciously visited our parish to celebrate our feast day with us as we inaugurate our 55th year as a parish family and the 30th year of ordination for our Rector. Not only was the icon of the parish’s feast day honored but the miraculous medieval Kursk Root icon of the Mother of God was in the church for the veneration of the faithful.

The phenomenon of the oil drops on the icon of St. Righteous Anna has been approved for veneration. Holy Cross Antiochian Orthodox Church in Linthicum Heights, MD website mentions that their own Fr. Joachim suffered terrible pain from two ruptured disks in his spine. Even after several different medical interventions, the pain intensified to the point where Fr. Joachim became totally incapacitated. However, earlier this month, he traveled to venerate this icon. After praying before the icon and being anointed with its myrrh, Fr. Joachim was able to walk again and even served Divine Liturgy the very next day.

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February 20, 2005 – APPeople praying in a grotto walked back through the shrine and noticed perfumed oil on the floor in the shrine and drops leading to the front door of the house. They went back to the shrine and I noticed that the little statue of Jesus in The Garden of Gethsemane was oozing the perfumed oil. At the same time the large Cross started to flow with the oil from the head and the wounds on the side. This phenomena has occurred on several other occasions. To this day the little statue is still moist. These events happened when the statue of The Weeping Madonna was in seclusion away from the shrine.A gentleman named Kieran, came to visit the Shrine a couple of weeks ago and asked if there is anything he could do to help. It turned out he owned a printing business, Impressions West in Northam. I asked whether he could print the message booklet. He arrived on Friday 4th March at 9pm with just over 1000 booklets in four boxes. We were just going to pray our night prayers in the grotto and asked him to join us. I asked that the boxes be carried out and placed near the icon. Three boxes were sealed and the fourth was open. We knelt and prayed the Chaplet of The Compassionate Tears of Christ and The Peace Rosary. During the prayers Our Lady appeared. Our Lady asked for the gentleman’s beads and She kissed the cross on each pair of beads and thanked him. When we finished the prayers we turned on the light and each box had two or three drops of the perfumed oil on it. The box that was open had perfumed oil on the two top message booklets. Our Lady has asked that these messages go to the world and we need to get the messages to as many people as possible.

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  February 28, 2004Photo taken in Cuenca, Ecuador by Fr. James Manjackal rHere Fr. James Manjackal meet a Missionary Carmen Patricia and saw the crucifix and the statue of the Mother of God in her room weeping, which also today still cries tears. In the photos you can see the tears flowing of both eyes. Patricia lived in the world with completely lay life change. She worked as a Model for folklore dresses. That was 16 years ago on August 29, 1988 then the Mother of God appeared to her. Fr. James Manjackal meet a Missionary Carmen Patricia and saw the crucifix and the statue of the Mother of God in her room weeping, which also today still cries tears. In the photos you can see the tears flowing of both eyes. Patricia lived in the world with completely lay life change. She worked as a Model for folklore dresses. That was 16 years ago on August 29, 1988 then the Mother of God appeared to her.

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Bangladeshis flock to ‘weeping Virgin’ February 2003 – BBCThousands of people in the Bangladeshi port city of Chittagong are flocking to a Roman Catholic church where tears are reported to been seen on a statue of the Virgin Mary. Many of those visiting the church are Muslims, eager to see what some locals believe is a sign of the Virgin’s dismay over the recent outbreak of violence in the country and elsewhere in the world. Roman Catholic believers say it is the first time in Bangladesh that tears have been seen on a statue of the Virgin Mary.

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Thousands flock to church after Virgin Mary painting cries January 2003 – Associated PressA delegation from the Romanian Orthodox Church arrived at a church in the village of Musetesti, west Romania, to investigate the claims made by the two workers who claimed to have seen the Virgin Mary crying on January 2. Local parish priest Aurel Chiana said the tears had been seen for four consecutive days after that. He told local media: “It is a sign from God, but I cannot say if it’s a good or bad sign.” The delegation is continuing investigations into the claims and taking statements from other people who say they saw the Virgin Mary crying. The claims come just weeks after reports of tears coming from a statue of the Virgin Mary in a church in Giurgiu, southern Romania.

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Lewis, Kansas 1996
An egg-shaped plaster image of the Madonna, six inches high, had hung for a year in the trailer home of Thomas and Margarita Holguin in Lewis, Kansas, without incident. But in the pre-dawn hours of 12 December 1996, Margarita Holguin turned on the lights and saw what looked like tears in the eyes of the statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The phenomenon lasted throughout the following day, and then the tears turned blood red, the couple said. December 12, the day Mrs. Holguin first noticed the tears, is the day on which the appearance of the Guadalupe Virgin in Mexico in 1531 is commemorated.

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Las Vegas 1998
In the backyard shrine of Pablo Covarrubias stands a statue of the Virgin of Guadalupe brought from the Basilica in Mexico City. The Virgin regularly weeps real tears that are then harvested in little cotton balls and distributed to the faithful. According to Pablo, many supernatural healings have been documented, and on one very windy day, an apparition of Mary appeared in the sky above the shrine. – Source: Los Angeles Weekly, USA

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Lake Ridge, Virginia: 1992
A Catholic parish priest in Virginia has attracted national media attention, as well as thousands of visitors to the local Catholic church, because eyewitness accounts that he causes statues of the Virgin Mary to weep tears or blood, and that he has stigmata on his wrists and feet mirroring the wounds of Christ. The Rev. James Bruse, an unassuming associate pastor at St Elizabeth Ann Seton Church in Lake Ridge, Virginia, began experiencing these phenomena in December. Father Daniel Hamilton, reportedly saw the wounds on Bruse’s wrists and a statue in Bruse’s room producing blood. Since then he has seen the crying and bleeding statues, as well as Bruse’s stigmata, numerous times. According to parish officials and church parishioners, many times during, before, or after a church service, hundreds in attendance have seen the church’s statue of the Virgin Mary cry. Other statues on the parish grounds have been seen to weep as well. After Bruse celebrated Mass at a nearby church, water reportedly began dripping from the church’s wooden statue of the Virgin Mary. The phenomena occur irregularly, and Bruse sometimes has only to be in the statue’s vicinity for the crying to begin. Source – Washington Post

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San Thomas, Mexico 1992
Thousands of people flocked to a remote Mexican village to receive healings from a weeping statue of the Madonna. The healing powers of the three-foot Madonna statue in San Tomas were discovered this summer by a 12-year-old girl praying for her mother who was dying of cancer. The girl discovered tears flowing down the statue’s cheeks. “I thought it was the morning dew, so I touched the droplet. It tasted salty, like a real tear.”When Ana returned home, she found her mother in the kitchen preparing dinner and singing. The woman had not been able to get out of bed for three months. Word quickly spread throughout the town, and other healings were reported. The story of the Miraculous Madonna was published in the Mexico City daily newspapers, and elsewhere throughout the world. “People have come from South and North America, from Europe and from Asia,” says Father Amoros, the local priest. “And all have been healed.” He says, “People arrive on stretchers and crutches, then walk away under their own power after praying to the Madonna and touching her tears. No one can explain the tears or the miracles. They’ve sent scientists from Mexico City and from the US. All say the tears are real, but no one knows where they come from or how they heal. – Source: El Pais, Spain, Associated Press

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Santiago, Chili: November 14, 1992
A six-inch-high porcelain statue of the Virgin Mary wept tears of blood. The liquid staining the image has been verified as human blood, Type 0 Positive. The statue wept many times, particularly when children were around. The small blue and white porcelain statue belongs to Olga Rodriguez, a housewife from the working class La Cisterna district in the south of Santiago.

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Bolivia – July 28, 1999
FOX TV special – “Signs From Gods -Science Tests Faith” – Katya Revas is a Bolivian woman who was videoed over a period of months as many miraculous things occurred in her everyday life – connected to Jesus – who she claims comes to talk to her on a regular basis. Within her home – one can witness statues and portraits crying blood or tears of oil. The blood tested as feminine. Katya takes no money – is not on an ‘ego trip’. She is a woman of humble means with a spiritual heart and soul. It took her many years of spiritual work to get to the level of credibility she has attained.Scientific equipment was brought in to either verify or discredit her claims of ‘talk’ with Jesus. Katya allowed herself to be tested with all sorts of scientific equipment – all of which proved that she was having an unexplained experience. An EEG was strapped to her head to monitor her brain-wave patterns while she was talking to Jesus. The equipment showed her brain to be in a Delta state – sleep state – coma state – but she was awake and speaking to Jesus and those in the room with her.Katya suddenly started a conversation with a man in another room – whom she was unaware was monitoring her – or that the other room even existed as it was sound-proofed. His name is Dr. Victor Pella. He was watching her through a two-way mirror and speculating that perhaps her brain was going through a seizure of some kind – like epilepsy. Suddenly Katya started talking to him saying that she was not sick and did not have epilepsy.Everyone looked on in shock! Katya said she got the messages from Jesus who was by her side. She continued her conversation with the man – though she could not see or hear him! Katya said she was looking at Jesus. The cameras picked up a bright light reflecting off her eyes.

Katya’s Message, “Bring peace and love to humanity or it will be destroyed”.

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Trinidad 1996
A statue of Our Lady of Lourdes in a Carmelite Sisters’ convent in Diego Martin, west Trinidad, is weeping tears of blood. According to the local press, the tears first appeared on 15 February, 1996. Professor Courtenay Bartholomew, a local medical consultant who has written a book on Marian apparitions, is said to have tested the blood and found it to be human. People from all parts of the country have been going to the convent to see the statue, although the Sisters only allow a few to enter at a time. The Archbishop of Port of Spain, Anthony Partin is to carry out an investigation of the phenomenon. Source: The Tablet, UK, 1997

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Rincon, Puerto Rico: 1994
On a Sunday in June 1994, churchgoers at the Santa Rosa de Lima church in Rincon, Puerto Rico, saw tears falling from the cheek of the Virgin Mary statue. Since then, according to the priest Edgardo Acosta, tears regularly emerge from the statue’s left eye and roll down her cheek to her neck. The event has created a large group of believers, and Acosta has had to rope off the area to keep people away. Church attendance has increased noticeably.Those who believe in the Madonna miracle say the tears bring a message. One churchgoer, Maria Hernandez, said: “I believe this is a message from God.” Some say they have been cured of physical or psychological illness — others say they have changed their way of life. But in the town of Rincon, you will still find skeptics who believe that this is a sign of the dark forces. I think heaven is giving us a very clear message:Change your life. Go back to God. Find yourself. Go back to the foundation of peace and happiness which is God. This is the foundation and wellspring of love.Source: Primer Impacto Television, USA

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Benin, Africa – April 1, 1997
a statue in the community of the Franciscan Sisters in Gebegamey began weeping tears of blood. Vincent Metonnou, a journalist for the weekly Le Forum wonders why there are now so many similar “signs of sorrow” appearing all over the world: “Has the world lost the way?” He concluded that the Son of Man is probably saddened by mankind’s villainy. – Source: Le Forum, Benin

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Grangecon, Ireland 1994
In just three weeks, 3,000 visitors from all over the world traveled to the County Wicklow village of Grangecon, Ireland, to witness a statue of the Madonna which weeps blood. In early May, Mrs. Murray, a retired postmistress, and her daughter noticed that their statue’s eyes had filled with tears, and drops of blood had trickled from the left eye, leaving a brown stain. Many visitors claim to have seen the eyes water. Most say a sense of peace radiates from the statue. Source: Daily Mail, UK1995 pdate – In a back room of the Post Office in the tiny Southern Ireland village of Grangecon, County Wicklow, Post Mistress Mary Murray keeps her statue of the Virgin Mary. The painted statue stands about 12 inches high and is housed in a sealed glass case. BBC2’s 40-minute TV programme Everyman of 18 December 1994 told how the statue had been found to be “crying blood”. The statue, with its blood-stained cheeks, was clearly shown to BBC2 viewers.When the phenomenon was first discovered, Mary Murray was persuaded to call the local radio station and tell listeners that “a miracle was happening in Grangecon”. At 3pm every day, the glass case with its holy contents is taken in procession, to the accompaniment of Hail Mary’s, to be placed beside the outdoor shrine of the Madonna nearby. Pilgrims from all over the world have been to see the weeping statue, and pray. Many believe that the Madonna is using the phenomenon of tears to stimulate prayer and devotion, and small groups of believers meet regularly in Mary Murray’s back room in the presence of the statue to say the Rosary and give each other spiritual support.The manufacturers of the statue say that the adhesive used to fix its eyes can become moist in certain temperatures and this could explain the happening. The Vicar of the local Catholic church is non-committal – he says he looks for God, not in statues, but in people – but he does not condemn. Mary herself has not yet agreed to have the tears chemically tested, being unwilling to open the case and disturb the statue; she would not wish it to be tampered with, as, she asserts, happened with the Turin Shroud.

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Spain 1998
The quiet life of the small and secluded village of Mura, 50km north of Barcelona, was shaken when, on 16 March 1998, the local priest Lluís Costa discovered that a 70cm-tall white marble Madonna statue looked as if she had been crying tears of blood. The statue had been brought from Medjugorje and exhibited on a square outside the village church on a pedestal 2.5 meters high. From one corner of each eye drops of blood had poured down her face until it coagulated, and the blood wasn¹t completely dry. Source — Interview with Father Lluis Costa by Carmen Font

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Sydney, Australia 1994
Every day, dozens of people visit a small home in Australia to witness tears flow from the eyes of a statue of Our Lady of Fatima. Sixteen year-old Sam Scevola from Rooty Hill, a town near Sydney, bought the statue in an antique shop. Shortly after bringing it home, he and his mother discovered drops of liquid rolling down the statue’s face. “It took us a while to realize it was the statue that was sobbing,” says Sam. “My mother and I both collapsed when the truth sank in.” The statue’s crying has since been so constant it has forced the Scevolas to place cotton balls between the lady’s praying hands and her body to collect the moisture. Church officials are aware of the crying statue, but have no comment until an investigation can be completed. Source: The Sun, USA

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Italy

Naples, Italy 1994
Italian Catholics regard it as a ‘miracle’: from a statue of Christ found by a policeman on the refuse belt of Sant’Antonio Abate near Naples, a red fluid streams. It first appeared in the eyes and then from head, hands, breast and feet. After a report about the statue by the Italian TV station RAI-2, thousands of people curious to see it went to Sant’Antonio Abate, creating a traffic jam. All for nothing, as the Bishop of Castelimare di Stabia had taken the statue away. Source: Salzburger Nachrichten, Austria

Rome, Italy 1995
The latest in a long line of growing miracles connected with the Virgin Mary is a statue which weeps tears of blood in Civitavecchia, not far from Rome, Italy. The statue was brought back to Italy from Medjugorje for a family whose son suffered from poor health. A shrine was built for it in the family garden and the young daughter brought an offering of flowers and prayers to the Madonna daily.

The child was the first to notice the Virgin’s tears. The village priest was soon informed and the statue was taken away to be tested. The church is traditionally very skeptical and cautious about such miraculous events and as yet no pronouncement has been made. But the tears of blood have been analyzed by Vatican scientific experts. Their findings: the blood has been found to be human blood, from a male. DNA testing confirmed this.

Other similar incidents have taken place and been reported on and investigated. The church remains silent while ordinary people continue to flock to the scenes of the miracles (although in some instances the statue or icon has been removed by church authorities for verification) to pray and offer thanks.

Miraculous signs, such as weeping or bleeding statues of the Virgin Mary, have appeared in the following places in Italy in recent years. The Vatican has yet to announce authentication:

- Potenza (May 1991);
- Nocere Inferiore (June 1992);
- Subiaco (January 1994); San
- Chirico, Raparo (May 1994);
- Miracles attributed to Padre Pio (August 1994)

Further sightings have taken place in Bergamo and Laziso in the north of Italy. A bas-relief of the Holy Virgin in Tivoli, east of Rome, has begun weeping. In Taranta Peligna in the Abruzzi mountains, a statue bought by a pilgrim in Lourdes has developed bloodstains on its face, throat, breasts, and hands. Since this report was compiled, a new weeping statue of the Virgin Mary has been discovered at Castrovillari, Calabria. Tears of blood from this statue were also analyzed and found to be human, belonging to the O-positive blood group.

- 1997 Civitavecchia Updates

In Italy, this invitation from the Pope to pray for a miracle brings back into the public arena the claimed miracle of the Madonna in Civitavecchia, a village near Rome, where a small icon brought from Medjugorje weeps tears of blood.

A theological commission appointed by the Vatican has now accepted this as a miracle, according to an unconfirmed report. The statue was first seen weeping tears of blood, which was found to be human, in early 1995. The second anniversary of this miracle was attended by about 10,000 pilgrims. The local bishop surprised those present by blessing the occasion. He said that at least two people had been miraculously cured of cancer, one in Turin and the other in Toronto. In addition, political extremists, previously dedicated to violence, had been converted to peace and Christianity. Civitavecchia is now attracting thousands of pilgrims.

Observers have recalled the tears of blood of another statue of the Virgin Mary in Montreal, Canada, in 1985. They say this was followed by a near-epidemic of such phenomena in the case of other statues, as well as icons and crucifixes, in the city. Laboratory tests, commissioned by the Canadian Bishops Conference, found the tears to be blood mixed with fat, which melted when slightly warmed.

Bishop Girolano Grillo of Civitavecchia, 45 miles north of Rome, has appealed for priests from outside his diocese to join those already on duty at the makeshift shrine of the “Madonniana”, a statuette of the Virgin Mary which is believed to have wept tears of blood.

He said that during recent weeks, the number of pilgrims had doubled, to more than 20,000 on some days, and was continuing to increase rapidly. He welcomed this, because he believed beyond doubt the phenomenon to be supernatural. The Virgin’s blood-tears were shed for the ills and faithlessness of contemporary society, he said. The existing team of 10 priests was overwhelmed, not only by the need to distribute 2,000 hosts each at Mass, but by almost as strong a demand for confession beforehand. “They are hearing confessions in the open air, under the trees, wherever a space can be found.” Most of the pilgrims are arriving in fleets of coaches from the south of the country, but growing numbers are coming from abroad.

- Source: The Tablet, UK

Rome, Italy 1997
Bishop Girolano Grillo of Civitavecchia, 45 miles north of Rome, has appealed for priests from outside his diocese to join those already on duty at the makeshift shrine of the “Madonniana”, a statuette of the Virgin Mary which is believed to have wept tears of blood. He said that during recent weeks, the number of pilgrims had doubled, to more than 20,000 on some days, and was continuing to increase rapidly. He welcomed this, because he believed beyond doubt the phenomenon to be supernatural. The Virgin’s blood-tears were shed for the ills and faithlessness of contemporary society, he said. The existing team of 10 priests was overwhelmed, not only by the need to distribute 2,000 hosts each at Mass, but by almost as strong a demand for confession beforehand. Many of the pilgrims are arriving in fleets of coaches from the south of the country, but growing numbers are coming from abroad.

The Suicide Bomber

By: - Ahmed Mansour

FrontPageMagazine.com | 8/3/2005

As we face our Islamist terrorist enemy in this post-Cold War era, it becomes clear that we are engaged in yet another world war. This present war on terror is, without a doubt, a new kind of war. We can summarize its new aspects with one concrete example: the suicide bomber. He is eager to blow himself up in order to kill as many innocent people as possible from among Christians, Jews and, yes, other Muslims. Young men are usually inspired by dreams of the future and of enjoying their lives, but the suicide bomber is motivated only by the thought of being a martyr and he is convinced that virgins are waiting for him in paradise and will reward him for blowing himself up amongst “infidels.”

What is the Definition of Terrorism?

What is the Definition of Terrorism?

“Terrorism is simply a word, a subjective epithet, not an objective reality and certainly not an excuse to suspend all the rules of international law.”

- John V. Whitbeck, The Daily Star

Fasting

Fasting
Maulana Wahiduddin Khan

The Arabic term for fasting is ‘sawm’. In essence, it is the same as “tabattul Ilal-Allah” that is detaching oneself from the world and devoting one’s life entirely to God (Quran,73:8). Fasting, along with most of the other rites of worship, was prescribed on a regular basis after the Prophet’s emigration to Medina (2 A.H) but it had been practiced even before Islam it in one form or the other. According to Aishah, The Prophet’s wife, the Quraysh used to fast on the day of Ashura, in their days of Ignorance (before Islam) and the Prophet would also fast on that day (Sahih Muslim). So one night say that fasting marks the entrance to an Islamic life, if the Prophet’s stay in the cave of Hira before his receiving Prophethood is taken into account.When God decided to give His scriptures to Moses. He asked him to go the Mount Toor where, remaining apart from his people, he was to speed forty days in fasting and abstinence. Moses did so far forty days continuously. Only them did God speak to him. This is mentioned in verse 143 of chapter 7 of the Qur’an. Before commencing his prophetic mission, the prophet Jesus had fasted for forty days in the desert. Only then was the word of god revealed to him. This is recovered in the Bible as the Sermon on the Mount. Likewise, the Final Prophet used to go to the cave of Hira before receiving his Prophethood. There he would fast in seclusion, engrossed in a world of worship and contemplation. Only after a long life of this inner purification, did the time come for him to be visited by an angel, so that he might receive the word of God.

Fasting is known as “Sawm” in The Islamic Shariah. The word `Sawm’ means to abstain. Literally; it means to abstain from walking around, speaking, eating and drinking. Al Khails as Saim, is a horse that has been detained at a stable and denied fodder. That is why the Prophet called the month of Ramadhan a month of patience. Harith ibn Malik describing one of his fasts to the Prophet said. “I withdrew from the world and was thirsty all day”. The outer sign of fasting is abstention from food from morning till evening. But, in its real essence, it is to withdraw from all worldly attachments, and reduce all mundane necessities to a minimum. While fasting, one devotes much less time to conversation, social activity and sexual intercourse.

This reaches a climax during Itikaf, a total retreat conducted during the last ten days of Ramadhan. In Itikaf one is totally cut off from these pursuits. One retires from the human world and enters the world of God. The contact which the believer thus establishes with God should remain with him throughout his life. This is what the Prophet termed “Zuhd” (disattachment with detachment from the world) and has been made obligatory in the form of fasting during the month of Ramdhan. This renunciation or Itikaf, during the last days of the month of fasting is has been considered an extremely desirable form of worship. In Itikaf, one distances completely from the world and turns to God. Itikaf is the most complete fulfillment of Islamic requirements during the whole of Ramadhan, has been exhonerabled as concession for albeit less strictly practiced during the first part of the month (a concession made to devotees.)

The Benefits of Fasting:
What are the benefits sought in fasting? Its aim is to weaken the material aspect of man and strengthen the spirituality in him so that he may enter the higher realms of faith.

Two things make up a man: jos npdu and as indispendable for the performance of mundane tasks, it is his soul which will take him to the higher realities. The mind – as psychologists prefer to call it – must, therefore, be preserved in a state of purity. That means that just as the body requires physical nourishment, the soul must be nourished spiritually.

When one lifts oneself up from the material world and becomes attached to the spiritual world, one is astonished to apprehend a new door of truth opening before one. All those realities that were formerly invisible beneath a veil of matter now become plain for in to see. One reaches the lofhies station- The final stage in the ascent of man.

This is explained in the tradition:When a person has elevated himself the world, God endures him with wisdom, which emanated from his lips. He is shown the ills of the world, and their remedies. He is brought safely to the abode of peace.(Mishkat)

There comes a point on this path when one passes so far beyond the veil matter that one can see realities exactly as they are. Then one “worships God, as if one were seeing Him.” (Bukhari)

Prophethood is the final stage of this path. But a common man can also elevate his soul to this degree. The difference is that a Prophet is one chosen by God. There is no obscurity in his vision of the divine world; it appears before him in absolute, certain form; it actually became a part of his consciousness. The Prophet thus is in a position to say: “I know that I know”, while a common man can never reach this stage because he is not `chosen’. Unlike the Prophets, his contact with the divine world is neither absolute nor conscious.

Of the verses of the Quran prescribing the fast of Ramadhan, there is one which does not apparently seem to deal with fasting, but it is in this verse that the significance of fasting has been explained. And when My servants question you concerning Me, tell them that I am near. I answer the prayer of the suppliant when he calls upon Me. (Qura’an 2:186)

The Prophets, because of their being chosen, are in direct contact with God through angels. For others, the Qur’an takes the place of the angel Gabriel. By fasting and abstinence, the Prophets cleansed and purified their souls or minds of all material stain, thus detaching themselves inwardly from the world. It was then that God’s angel descended to them and directly communicated to them the word of God. Others like to attain through the Qur’an must asks enable in fasting and abstinence in order to appreciate what they read. Although the Quran is with us today, preserved in written form as it was revealed, it enters one’s heart only when one is spiritually prepared to receive it by living a life of fasting and devotion.

The fact that Ramadhan fasting was prescribed in the month when starting of the Quranic revelations began is an indication that the purpose of fasting is to prepare the individual mentally and physically for whatever the Qur’an enjoins.

Just as the Prophet had to fast in the solitude of the cave of Hira in order to receive the Qur’an, so shall other believers have to do the same. Otherwise they will be , in the words of the Quran, like donkeys, laden with books”. (62:15). The book of God will not have entered their hearts.

The Qur’an is the law of the universe, it is the voice of nature. One who is submerged in the depth of its meanings begins to hear its message in every heart beets. Every particle in the universe starts conveying its message to him. He eventually comes to see the Qur’an and nature as reflections of one another: “Now here are Signs self-evident in the hearts of those endured with knowledge and none but the unjust neglect Our Signs”.

Fasting – the Path of Spiritual well-being
While decreeing the fast of Ramadhan, the Quran says:
God desires your well-being, not your discomfort (Quran 2:185).Man’s prior and most important need is food and drink. Abstinence from these things cannot but inconvenience him. Fasting, by its very nature, is sure to result in physical discomfort. The fact that God has said in the Quran that He desires you well-being, not your discomfort, shows indirectly that there is bound to be some physical inconvenience involved in fasting. Why, then, has it been called a path to comfort and well-being?

“Yusr”, the word used in this verse, is the Arabic for ease, or well-being. It is used when an individual becomes so well prepared for a task that he finds it easy. The meaning of this verse is that fasting might appear to cause discomfort, but God has nothing to gain from causing human beings unnecessary trouble. Man may have been created such a way God that he must necessarily satisfy his material needs, but if he is discover the Quran on a truly intellectual level, it is also essential, at least for a few fixed days to retire from the material world in order to develop the spiritual part in himself, so that he may see far and beyond all material veils; only then he will be able to receive the word of God. This is the relevance of fasting to the Quran, because of which the month in which the Quran was revealed has been decreed a month of fasting.

The Reality of Fasting:
Some think that the most important thing about fasting is the breaking of it, so the whole day is spent in arranging for a variety of dishes and drinks. Others consider it to mean staying hungry all day, and reciting the whole of the Quran each day without stopping to ponder over its meanings. But such acts only serve to turn a purely Islamic worship into a form of Christian monasticism. As for what is mistakenly called “dhikr bil Jahr” (Loud remembrance of God)- repetitive recitation and shaking of the body – this contradicts the very purpose of fasting, which is spiritual seclusion. The true aim of fasting is withdrawal from everything except essential subsistence and vital responsibilities. During this period, one should reduce conversation, social life, movement, merrymaking and all kinds of worldly activity to a minimum. For a certain time, one should lead a life of quiet devotion, reading the Qur’an and pondering over its meaning. Abstinence from food symbolizes not only the eschewing of those forbidden things, which a believes should give up for his entire life, but also the renunciation even of lawful things for the devotion to the fast. In seeking meanness to God, the believes must cut himself off from all worldliness.

Although fasting, in its specific and definite form, is prescribed just once a year, the fasting engaged in for this one month should be a continuous, permanent state, if is to be done in the correct spirit. Fasting is cutting oneself off from the world and turning to God; not in a physical sense, but in one’s heart and mind to be continually directed towards God, whatever one’s bodily activity. Spiritually, one’s whole life should be a form of retreat at all time though not understanding this reality, people have fled to mountains and jungles in order to perfect their faith. But the perfection of faith is for one to fulfill one’s obligations in the turmoil of the world, while remaining in a state of inward “retreat” and remembrance of God. Abdullah Ibn Masud, one of the Prophet’s closest companions, addressed his contemporaries – those who grew up after the Prophet’s death – in these word:

You fast more than the Companions of the Prophet; you pray more than them, and strive more than them; but still they were better than you. People asked him why. “They were not so interested in this world as they were in the next”, was Ibn Masud’s reply (Milyatul Awliya, V.I, P.136).

www.alrisala.org

Internet: The Modern Battlefield of Jihad

Internet: The Modern Battlefield
of Jihad
Maulana Wahiduddin Khan

Once the Prophet of Islam (SAW) was asked, “Which jihad is the greatest jihad?” The Prophet (SAW) replied, “That jihad which is done to make the Word of God supreme.”

Any battle that is to be won can be won only in its true battlefield, not in some isolated place. The modern world is a world of science and learning. All activities of success and failure are going on here in this field. Thus one who wants to make the word of God supreme in these modern times must exert his utmost to do so in this battlefield of intellectual activity, not physical confrontation.

If we take a closer look at this battlefield, we see that it is actually the completely universal Internet that is the true battlefield of today. In ancient times, muscle power was the decisive factor in war so all battles were fought on the physical battlefield. However, the battlefield has now shifted to an intellectual realm. In this sense, the Internet and not the conventional battlefield is the true battlefield of modern times. Thus one who wants to be credited with doing great jihad as directed by the Prophet (SAW) must strive to do so on the modern battlefield, which is the Internet.

It is a well-known fact that all modern intellectual activities proceed on the Internet. Everything, from political diplomacy to industrial success, is achieved mainly by exploiting the Internet. Here is the real fight and here lies true victory and true defeat. The need of ours is to make use of this modern opportunity for Islamic Da’wah. This is the real task that lies ahead of us.

What is this Islamic Jihad that is to be performed on the Internet? It is a strictly non-political campaign, completely positive, without any negative leanings in any sense of the word. It is not a protest against all the so-called conspiracies against Islam. It is not to organize confrontational activities against the supposed enemies of Islam. It is not to counter the disinformation in the modern media.  

Contrary to all these negative activities, Islamic Jihad through the Internet is actually to extend the blessing of God Almighty to all mankind. It is the same task that is mentioned in the Quran as “…and God calls to the home of peace.” It is to fill up the ideological vacuum and spiritual gap that humanity is presently facing despite all its material splendors and technological advancements.

So one who wants to obtain God’s blessing and enter Paradise must avail this modern opportunity of the Internet so that the well-known prediction of the Prophet of Islam comes true, that a day will come when the message of God will enter every home, big or small. This will be that day when the blessings of God envelop all humanity and reach every human being, whether in the East or the West, the North or the South.

Abrogation, The Biggest Lie Against Quran

Researched by: A. Muhammad [taken from the book by the author titled ‘THE LIE OF ABROGATION’ ]

INTRODUCTION

The abrogation of Quranic verses, arguably the greatest lie against the Quran, was originally invented during the fourth century A.H. (late 10th century A.D.) by some Muslim scholars notably Ahmed Bin Ishaq Al-Dinary (died 318 A.H.), Mohamad Bin Bahr Al-Asbahany (died 322 A.H.), Hebat Allah Bin Salamah (died 410 A.H.) and Mohamad Bin Mousa Al-Hazmy (died 548 A.H.), whose book about Al-Nasekh and Al-Mansoukh is regarded as one of the leading references in the subject.

Submitters (Muslims) Vs. Believers (Mumins)

Are you a Muslim (Submitter) or a Mu’min (Believer)?

The above question may seen ‘irrelevant’ for most people who follow the Quran, but by the end of this article (GOD Willing) you will realize just how important it is to know what is required of you by the Almighty.

The terms ‘Muslim’ & ‘Mumin’ are used interchangeably by Islamic societies and almost everyone who is a ‘Muslim’ is also regarded as a ‘Mumin’ by their standards.

The following are the ‘traditional’ definitions which regulate a ‘Muslim’ and ‘Mumin’:

What is Heaven?

Translated from the book “Political Islam’ by Dr. Mustafa Mahmoud.

There is nothing more beautiful than Heaven or talking about it…We depart with it from the hell of this world which we live in.

Most translators understand the verses which talk about the pleasures, luxury and joy of heaven in an ‘Earthly’ meaning. It is palm trees, and grapes and fruits and pomegranate and cold springs bursting with pearly waters, and rivers from milk, and rivers from honey, and rivers from wine and virgin women of heaven…

What is Religion?

This word that most people are willing to die for, that wars have been fought over, that people have been persecuted and isolated for…Is something most people don’t really know much about!.

As amazing as that sounds, it is absolutely true. Different people have different understanding of the word ‘religion’. Some think it is a ‘club’ which only the ‘chosen ones belong’;

WAR IN THE QURAN

Written for Free-Minds.Org (e-mail: free@free-minds.org)

“And kill them wherever you find them…” (Quran 2:191)

The above part of a verse has been duplicated in countless sites and many publications to be used as a testimony for the ‘violence’ and cruelty that is encouraged by the words of the Quran…

In this article, we will dispel the myths surrounding warfare in the Quran and show exactly ‘what’ the GOD of Submission (Islam) teaches.

What Is Islam ?

The system of God “Islam/Submission” has been taught to us through God and His messenger and is fully outlined in the final Book of God (The Qur’an) which was revealed centuries ago…

The Qur’an claims legitimacy for itself and within itself, allowing NO room for self-made priests, or religious leaders, who have distorted and misquoted the Book of God to give themselves authority and partnership with the Almighty…

Archive for the ‘Global Warming’

 

The Big Picture

Posted by Stefan on 16th May 2007

 

Architecture & Design Backgrounder

Source: GreenBiz.com

Buildings produce roughly a third of carbon dioxide emissions and other emissions that harm air quality. Additionally, buildings generate waste during construction and operation; can have poor indoor air quality, affecting worker health; and often don’t consider the impact made on the community through increased transportation, sprawl, and cultural and historical impact. By integrating natural resource, human health, and community concerns into building design and construction, architects and designers can create buildings that are cleaner, healthier for occupants and the environment, and which deplete fewer resources.

Salat Timings of Quran, part-II

Salat Timings of Quran are mentioned in the following verses:

In Quran 11:114, three Salat Times are described at both ends of the day, and at night.

And establish regular prayers at the two ends of the day and at the approaches of the night. (Sura Hud (11), 114. Translation by Yusuf Ali).

The Holographic Principle Theory of Mind

DynaPsych Table of Contents

The Holographic Principle Theory of Min

Mark Germine

Email: mgermine@hotmail.com

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Man only progresses by slowly elaborating from age to age the essence and the totalityof a universe deposited within him.Pierre Teihard de Chardin

(1955/1961, p. 180)

The Holographic Principle holds the information in any region of space and time exists on the surface of that region. Layers of the holographic, universal “now” go from the inception of the universe to the present. Universal Consciousness is the timeless source of actuality and mentality. Information is experience, and the expansion of the “now” leads to higher and higher orders of experience in the Universe, with various levels of consciousness emerging from experience. The brain consists of a nested hierarchy of surfaces which range from the most elementary field through the neuron, neural group, and the whole brain. Evidence from the evolution and structure of the brain shows that optimal surface areas in a variety of structures are conserved with respect to underlying surfaces. Microgenesis, the becoming of the mental state through a process of recapitulation of development and evolution, is in full accord with the Holographic Principle. Evidence from a wide variety of contexts indicates the capacity of the mind for total recall of past life events and for access to universal information, indicating connection with the holographic surfaces of prior “nows” and with the Universal holographic boundary. In summation, the Holographic Principle can help us explain the unity and mechanisms of perception, experience, memory, and consciousness.

FREE-MINDS.ORG

 

 

 

 

 

 

“…O people of the Scripture, let us come to a common agreement between us and between you; that 1) we do not serve except God, and 2) do not set up anything at all with Him, and 3) that none of us takes each other as patrons besides God….” (The Message 3:64)

Can Islam Change?

By Ziauddin Sardar

First published on 13 September 2004

Beslan and 9/11 are leading millions of Muslims to search their souls. Even clerics now question the harshest traditional laws and look for a more humane interpretation of their faith.

The Muslim world is changing. Three years after the atrocity of 9/11, it may be in the early stages of a reformation, albeit with a small “r”. From Morocco to Indonesia, people are trying to develop a more contemporary and humane interpretation of Islam, and some countries are undergoing major transformations.

JEWISH SCRIPTURES AND THE BIBLE

18.1 Jewish Scriptures (Hebraic Bible)

The Old Testament – or the Hebrew Bible – is a collection of works of differing lengths, written over a period of more than nine-hundred years. They were written in several languages and, like the Hadith literature, were based on materials collected from oral traditions. The contents of the Hebrew Bible is the same as Protestant Old Testament, but in a different order. The Catholic Old Testament includes extra books ejected from what became the Protestant version.

Seeking Moderation : Giving the Wahhabis too much credit.

In his rush to exculpate the Islamic extremists who would impose sharia as the exclusive form of law in every Muslim society, David F. Forte writes in his NRO piece, “Religion Is Not the Enemy,” that “as offensive to human rights and dignity as the stoning of a woman for an act of sexual immorality is, it is not the same as flying a plane into a building to kill thousands of innocent civilians.”

OBEDIENCE TO THE PROPHET (PBUH) III

Obedience to the Prophet (s) and Universal Freedom (III)

by Dr. Mansoor Alam 

 In this part of our article on the Prophet’s Sunnah we will concentrate on how the Prophet (P) liberated human beings from all kinds of oppressions and opened the door of true freedom for humanity. But first, let us briefly summarize the main points of the first two parts of this article.

In the first part, we discussed some of the basic issues relating to our Prophet’s Sunnah. Contrary to popular belief, we saw that our scholars are divided on the Sunnah. As a consequence, Sunni and Shi’ia scholars (and even Sunni scholars among themselves) disagree on the definition or interpretation of our Prophet’s Sunnah. It is a myth to say that all Muslim scholars agree on a common definition or interpretation of Sunnah. Concrete examples were given to illustrate this point.

OBEDIENCE TO THE PROPHET (PBUH) II

By: Dr. Mansoor Alam

In order to provide a measure of continuity, first we provide a brief summary of the important points from the previous article.

• The Quran is the final word of God.
• It has been preserved exactly as it was revealed to the Prophet (PBUH).
• The Prophet (PBUH) left only the Quran in written form since he forbade writing of hadith during his life time (Sahih Al-Muslim).
• The Quran was written by very honorable scribes (80:16).
• There were many companions who had memorized the entire Quran word by word.
• Unlike the authenticity of hadith, there is no dispute among scholars (Sunni or Shi’ia) about the authenticity of the Quranic verses.
• There are six Sunni books of hadith which are normally referred to as “sa’hha sitta” (six true books). Shi’ias have their own four important books of hadith. These were compiled and written based on (a chain of) oral narration mostly in the third century Hijrah or later.
• Scholars agree that the chain of narrators transmitted the meaning of hadith and not the exact words of the Prophet (PBUH).
• It is generally agreed that the chain of narrators, no matter how reliable, were humans and subject to human errors. Consequently, their narrations are subject to errors. The Quran is the only Book beyond error.
• As a consequence, ahadith are classified into several categories starting from “correct” on one side to “coined” on the other. (Verses of the Quran do not have such classification.)
• Shi’ia scholars do not accept Sunni books of hadith. Even among the Sunnis, there are some ahadith which are accepted as ‘correct’ by one group of scholars (Ahlul-Hadith, for example) but not by other groups (like Ahlul Fiqh and others).
• The authenticity of hadith is not equal to the authenticity of the verses of the Quran.
• “The sayings of the Prophet (PBUH) and the sayings we find in the books of ahadith are not necessarily one and the same.” (Maulana Maududi, Rasayel-o-Massayel, Volume I, 1951 edition, page 270).

Brothers and Sisters! Let me repeat once again, before we move on, that every Muslim is required to believe in the sunnah of the Prophet (PBUH). But what is the sunnah? What is obedience to the sunnah? And what is the goal of obeying the sunnah? This article addresses these questions.

OBEDIENCE TO THE PROPHET (PBUH) I

By: Dr. Mansoor Alam

“O Prophet – behold, We have sent thee as a witness [to the truth], and as a herald of glad tidings and a warner, and as one who summons [all human beings] to God by His leave, and as a light-giving beacon.” (33: 45-46)

“Now [as for thee, O Muhammad,] We have not sent thee otherwise than to humankind at large, to be a herald of glad tidings and a warner; but most people do not understand [this].” (34:28)

“Say: [O Muhammad]: “O humankind! Verily, I am a Messenger of God to all of you, [sent by Him] unto whom the dominion over the heavens and the earth belongs.” (7:158)

“And [thus O Prophet,] We sent thee as [an evidence of Our] grace towards all the worlds.” (21: 107)

The above Quranic verses clearly establish that Islam does not discriminate against human beings on the basis of color, race, blood relationships, language, or nationalities. Islam is for everyone. This means that Allah wants us to build a society based on the Quranic principle of universal brotherhood. While no one can question the value of this high goal, the problem is working to achieve it.

Lailat’ul-Qadar: The Night of Manifestation of a New World

by Dr. Manzoor-ul-Haque

The Traditional View of “Shab Qadr”

According to this view, “Lailat-ul-Qadar” or “Shab Qadr” belongs to the transcendental world. It is the most virtuous and the most reverend night of the year. Its complete detail has not even occurred in Hadith. However, according to this view, it is the Hadith through which it has been identified that it falls in the odd nights of the last ten days of Ramadan: 21, 23, 25, 27, 29, the five nights. The mind of great many religious scholars goes to the 27th night. It unfolds the open expediency of Sharia, that all the five nights and when it becomes a habit: all the ten nights be lived busy in striving for the Divine prayer, the invocation and the revamping of one’s self. Surely there would have been shower of special lightning and sparkling and a few of the pious men (Ahl-i-Dil) would have had the visibility of something through their material eyes. The real, the genuine, phenomenon is that maximum preparations be made for the awakening of the soul and the purification of the self – and no opportunity for supplication and benediction be lost. This is the traditional view of “Lailat-ul-Qadar” or “Shab Qadr.”The Quran’s Point of View

The Quran has simply said that “Lailat-ul-Qadr” is that night in which the revelation of the Quran was initiated. And the Quran’s revelation was started in the month of Ramadan. Since through the Quran’s revelation the world got new values, so the night in which its revelation burgeoned was surely the Laila-tul-Qadr, the night of VALUES, THE NIGHT OF MANIFESTATION OF A NEW WORLD. The Quran does say nothing more than that and does never support the Traditional View.

Dr. Manzoor-ul-Haque

PAKISTAN

Zikr

by Dr. Manzoor-ul-Haque

If we look into the Quran we will find that the word “Zikr” occurs 268 times in the Quran and has 63 derivatives used in the Book, the Quran. This word “Zikr” has many connotations in Islam. Its almost opposite is “Nissiyane” (forgetting). This verb occurs 45 times in the Quran; and 28 of its derivatives have also been mentioned in the sacred Book.

The root of Zikr is Za-Kaf-Ra. Some of its meanings are:

Az-Zikro Wattazk’aro: It means

· To preserve something, to keep alive in mind; this word is used opposite to NASYUN, which means to forget (6:68)

At tazkerato: It means

• To remind something which is needed (76:29)
• The Quran has also been called As-Zikro (16:14) because it contains the history and Causes or Laws for the rise and fall of nations
• Zikrun also means to remain steadfast in the battlefield and thus ensures the supremacy of Divine Laws (51:45). The Divine Laws are also called Zikrullah (39:23). It has also been used in the context of dignity, honour, respect, fame and saying something good (43:44)
• Verses (2:152) says Faz Kurunee Azkur Kum -‘You keep in view My Laws and I shall protect your rights and grace you with dignity and honour’
• In short Zikr means

1. To remain steadfast in the battle field
2. Ponder over the secrets of nature
3. Take lesson from the previous history of nations
4. Keep in view the Divine Laws and take decisions accordingly
5. Propagate or give publicity to the Divine Laws
6. These are the steps which install peace of mind (13:28) and not the rotation of beads or retreating to the caves or hujras

Keep these meanings in view, study the Quran and grasp the places where this word has been used. You will understand the real perspective and get the action verbs commanding you to do the things practically.

Dr. Manzoor-ul-Haque

PAKISTAN

Jesus, peace be upon him, was a Muslim

We hear a great deal today about a “war,” “conflict,” or “clash” between Islam and Christianity. The topic is so prominent in the media that many people assume that there is something irreconcilable between these two approaches to God. It is not surprising, then, that so many Christians of good will have concluded that Islam and Christianity are fundamentally incompatible. Yet, if, by “Christianity,” we mean “that which Jesus Christ (pbuh) meant to convey to his hearers,” I believe that these people of good will are mistaken when they tell us that Islam is incompatible with Christianity.

Polygamy

One of the most wide spread myths that has been associated with God’s religion over the centuries is the issue of “Polygamy”. It is customary for people when they think of Islam, or even when they embrace Islam, that they automatically have a license to marry more than one wife (upto a maximum of 4).

DIVORCE

By Layth (e-mail: laytth@hotmail.com)

You are Divorced! Divorced! Divorced!

These have become the most dreaded three words that any Muslim woman can hear in her lifetime, for they signify not only the end of her marriage, but a hard and difficult road ahead where she has to re-build her entire life when the only foundation she has spent years building has just fallen away.

Can it really be so simple!

Can years of building, sharing and loving be shattered beyond repair by the mere utterance of words?.

“GOD Alone” (Islam based on the laws of the Holy Book)

(This article was sent on August 21st, 2002 to be published in the magazine www.Renaissance.com.pk )

In the age of the internet, we hear time and time again the phrase ‘GOD Alone’ being used is some chat rooms and appearing on some websites…

What does this phrase mean and what are its origins?.

GOD Alone in its most basic form means: following the laws of GOD and NO ONE ELSE.

GOD, being represented by His words, is the ultimate authority with which all matters are to be returned and all matters to be judged:

“Shall I seek other than GOD as a JUDGE, when He has revealed to you this book fully detailed? Those who received the scripture recognize that it has been revealed from your Lord, truthfully. You shall not harbor any doubt. (Quran 6:114)

The Book of GOD has been revealed to take mankind out of the darkness and into the light…It has come after an age where the message of previous prophets was lost and/or distorted…It has come at a time of our great need.

What strikes traditionalists when reading the above statements is the question: ‘What about the prophet!’.

Inheritance and Testament

By Khurram Chaudhry (e-mail: khurram302@yahoo.com)

 

Testament

1. It is enjoined upon every Muslim to make a testament as regards his bequest before he dies. The last will ought to cover the entire property and all persons to whom he wants to give something without any distinction of heir or non-heir:

(2:180) “It has been enjoined upon you that when you approach death and you are leaving behind your personal property, make a testament according to law for your parents and others close to you. This has been enjoined upon Muttaqeen as a duty from Allah. (The distribution of left-over property shall take place after the provisions of the ‘will’ have been fulfilled (4:11).”

Islamic Etiquette

By Layth (e-mail: laytth@hotmail.com)

Besides the laws revealed by GOD that were designed to govern our lives, the Quran has also indicated a list of ‘Etiquette’ which we are advised to maintain in our dealings with each other on this planet.

“This Reading (Quran) guides to the best path, and brings good news to the believers who lead a righteous life, that they have deserved a great recompense.” (17:9)

9/11 was an inside job

Saturday, Sep. 22, 2001

By Sally Donnelly

US officials are compiling what one called “growing” evidence that other hijackings may have been planned for September 11. Officials from both the government and the airline industry tell TIME Magazine that a knife-like weapon was found on each of two separate Delta Airlines aircraft later that day, although neither plane took off due to the nationwide grounding after the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks on hijacked United and American airlines planes.

On the Search for Divine Revelation Outside of It

 
By Rashid Shaz

Divine revelation is a definite and self-contained entity. Even after its revelation if supplementary materials for human guidance are needed then it would be considered a lack or an inadequacy of the divine revelation. At all places in the Qur’an where divine guidance has been alluded to, it has been clarified beyond doubt that whenever such guidance was sent, it was sent in the most comprehensive form, including all details related to it. Verses like ثم آتينا موسى الكتاب تماماً (Al- Ina’m: 154) and وكتبنا له في الألواح من كل شئي موعظة و تفصيلا لكل شئي (Al- A’raf: 145), in fact, point to the fact that after the revelation of Torah, the Israelites did not need any other supplementary sources for their guidance. The attitude of the Qur’an towards its addressee, as evidenced in verses like –  افغير الله ابتغى حكما وهو الذي أنزل إليكم الكتاب مفصلاَ(Al- Ina’m: 115) is a pointer to its nature of being complete, comprehensive and definitive. Be they the Divine scrolls revealed to earlier prophets or the Qur’an revealed to Prophet Muhammad, if they do not have the status of being the primary and seminal sources of guidance, then they raise questions about the very nature of the divine revelation. As the Qur’an is the final document in the chain of divine revelations, it has the status of the guide to humanity after the Prophet. This is the reason why it includes the wisdom revealed to the past prophets. The style of the Qur’an at numerous places aims at teaching lessons to the present community through the narration of the stories of the earlier communities. These parables provide them the guidance to lead life righteously. وما كان هذا القرآن أن يفترى من دون الله ولكن تصديق الذي بين يديه وتفصيل الكتب لا ريب فيه من رب العالمين (Yunus: 37).

The Nature Of The Environmental Crisis

 
By Mary Evelyn Tucker and John Grim

Ours is a period when the human community is in search of new and sustaining relationships to the earth amidst an environmental crisis that threatens the very existence of all life-forms on the planet. While the particular causes and solutions of this crisis are being debated by scientists, economists, and policymakers, the facts of widespread destruction are causing alarm in many quarters. Indeed, from some perspectives the future of human life itself appears threatened. As Daniel Maguire has succinctly observed, “If current trends continue, we will not.”[1] Thomas Berry, the former director of the Riverdale Center for Religious Research, has also raised the stark question, “Is the human a viable species on an endangered planet?”

ISLAM AND THE WEST: CLASH OF CIVILISATIONS?

Francis Robinson

In 1993 the journal Foreign Affairs published an article entitled ‘Clash of Civilizations’ by Samuel Huntington, Harvard Professor, former Director of Security Planning for the National Security Council, and President of the American Political Science Association. By 1996 Huntington had developed his article into a book, and it was published under the title The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order. ¹

Is Religion all about Rituals and a Fancy Dress Code?

The Muslim community is going through a deep crisis. The intensity of this crisis can be gauged from the fact that everyone, be he a leader or commoner, is asking the question as to why, despite the presence of the Qur’an amongst us, we cannot see any light at the end of the tunnel. Why the community that was entrusted with the task of leading the world, despite the presence of the Qur’an and the teachings of the scholars and commentators, is going through a deepening ideological crisis? After the trauma of Auschwitz this question had raised its head among the Jews too as to how could God abandon His chosen community to fend for itself? The Jewish scholars and intellectuals asked themselves the question that if the community of Jews was wiped out from the face of earth, then what possible meaning can the history have for them? The Israelites who, for a long time, have been accustomed to live in history are yet to fully recognise the fact that they have been ejected from the seat of authority and guidance. The basic difference between the Israelites and the Muslims is that while the deposition of the former is a divine decision, the deposition of the latter is an historical aberration that can be corrected through recourse to the Last Revelation. However, the irony of the situation is that instead of critically assessing their situation and attempting to light up their path with the help of the Divine Revelation, the Muslim have become prisoners of history. This has made it difficult for them to come to grip with this historical aberration and understand the full extent of their decline.

Digression from Iqra

The much publicised notion that the Prophet Mohammed was an unlettered person had a far-reaching impact on the Muslim mind. It not only discouraged attitude of scientific enquiry among muslims, in some Sufi circles, it even led to eulogising ignorance. In later centuries of Islam, the very concept of knowledge witnessed radical transformation. The Ilm Sharei, knowledge of religious sciences, that emerged mostly during the Abbasid Baghdad, attained prominence and a cloak of holiness surrounded those who mastered this knowledge. Since then, the Muslim world was never able to attain a unified vision of knowledge. The Qur,anic definition of an scholar took a back seat as the new rahban of Islam placed themselves on the high pedestal of Ahl-e-dhikr, ever willing to provide an answer to any question under the sky. At the root of the crises lay the common misconception that the prophet whom we as Muslims were supposed to emulate had nothing to do with the tradition of reading and writing, the basic tool of rational enquiry. This misconception about a prophet of pen- &-paper-age was mainly responsible in keeping the Muslim world at bay from its own divinely ordained Iqra tradition.

Islamophobia after September 11

By S. Nadeem Kazmi

Islamophobia is a new and vile form of racism. You are hated because of the way you dress. You are hated because of the views you might hold. You are hated because of the religion you follow. You are hated not just for what you are but for what you, in the eyes of others, might become.

Sharia Laws–Heavy Deception With Abusive Divinity

Published in Daily News Monitoring Service on February11, 2004

The dogmas of Fatwa and Sharia Laws still dominate million of Muslim lives

No doubt, early Islam possessed many fine and noble attributes. But Islam couldn’t have swept Arabia and its adjacent lands so fabulously if Sharia Laws and Fatwa had been the models of Islamic edicts at that time.

It is an irony to iron-out the deep wrinkles of Islam, we know today. Corrupted beliefs are too profoundly ingrained in Islam. The dogmas of Fatwa and Sharia Laws still dominate million of Muslim lives and the vulnerable ones get succumb to Fatwa’s claws.

Sunnah – The Misconceived Dogma That poisoned Islam

Published in Daily News Monitoring Service on December 12, 2004

Too frequently, the Muslim scholars quote Sir George Bernard Shaw and refer his book -’The Genuine Islam”. The paragraph that most often appears in their works reads: “I have always held the religion of Muhammad in high estimation because of its wonderful vitality. It is the only religion which appears to me to possess that assimilating capacity to the changing phase of existence which can make itself appeal to every age. I have studied him – the wonderful man and in my opinion far from being an anti-Christ, he must be called the Savor of Humanity.” [Vol. 1, No. 8, 1936.]

ISLAM HIJACKED

by Aidid Safar (pseudonym), April 10, 2005

PREFACE

According to the Quran, Chapter 3 Verse 20 it says:- “The Way of life (deen) according to God is Islam.”

Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad were God’s prophets. The three of them brought the same deen or Islam to mankind.

The Children of Israel first conspired against Islam when they abandoned the Torah and called themselves Jews. Later they rejected Jesus the son of Mary who came to reconfirm the scripture. They remained Jews.

NOTHINGNESS

by Alan Watts

When I consider the weirdest of all things I can think of, do you know what it is? Nothing. The whole idea of nothing is something that has bugged people for centuries, especially in the Western world. We have a saying in Latin, Ex nihilo nihil fit, which means, “Out of nothing comes nothing.” In other words, you can’t get something out of nothing. It’s occurred to me that this is a fallacy of tremendous proportions. It lies at the root of all our common sense, not only in the West, but in many parts of the East as well. It manifests as a kind of terror of nothing, a putdown on nothing, a putdown on everything associated with nothing such as sleep, passivity, rest, and even the feminine principle which is often equated with the negative principle (although women’s lib people don’t like that kind of thing, when they understand what I’m saying I don’t think they’ll object). To me, nothing—the negative, the empty—is exceedingly powerful. I would say, not Ex nihilo nihil fit, but, “You can’t have something without nothing.”

Psychedelics and Religious Experience

by

Alan Watts

(Originally appeared in the California Law Review,
Vol. 56, No. 1, January 1968, pp. 74-85.)
Copyright Alan Watts & California Law Review.

The experiences resulting from the use of psychedelic drugs are often described in religious terms. They are therefore of interest to those like myself who, in the tradition of William James, (1) are concerned with the psychology of religion. For more than thirty years I have been studying the causes, the consequences, and the conditions of those peculiar states of consciousness in which the individual discovers himself to be one continuous process with God, with the Universe, with the Ground of Being, or whatever name he may use by cultural conditioning or personal preference for the ultimate and eternal reality. We have no satisfactory and definitive name for experiences of this kind. The terms “religious experience,” “mystical experience,” and “cosmic consciousness” are all too vague and comprehensive to denote that specific mode of consciousness which, to those who have known it, is as real and overwhelming as falling in love. This article describes such states of consciousness induced by psychedelic drugs, although they are virtually indistinguishable from genuine mystical experience. The article then discusses objections to the use of psychedelic drugs that arise mainly from the opposition between mystical values and the traditional religious and secular values of Western society.

QURAN: A Reformist Translation

Dear brothers and sisters:

The long-awaited book, after being abandoned by Palgrave/Macmillan from fear of controversy and perhaps political considerations (see below), is finally out. Its first print is now offered at:

www.brainbowpress.com

Let the world hear about the book, so that we can break the blockage of the corrupt establishment and reactionary forces.

QURAN

A Reformist Translation

 

Translated and Annotated by

Edip Yuksel

Layth Saleh al-Shaiban

Martha Schulte-Nafeh

• The Reformist Translation of the Quran offers a non-sexist understanding of the divine text; it is the result of collaboration between three translators, two men and a woman.
• It explicitly rejects the right of the clergy to determine the likely meaning of disputed passages.
• It uses logic and the language of the Quran itself as the ultimate authority in determining likely meanings, rather than ancient scholarly interpretations rooted in patriarchal hierarchies.
• It offers extensive cross-referencing to the Bible and provides arguments on numerous philosophical and scientific issues.
• It is God’s message for those who prefer reason over blind faith, for those who seek peace and ultimate freedom by submitting themselves to the Truth alone.

“A bold and beautiful translation that serves as a timely reminder to all believers that the Qur’an is not a static scripture, but a living, breathing, ever-evolving text whose sacred words are as applicable today as when they were first uttered by the Prophet Muhammad fourteen centuries ago.” – Reza Aslan, CBS News Consultant; Author, No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam.

“A testament to the fact that faith need not suffocate reason. This is bound to be among the smartest of ’smart bombs’ in the battle of ideas within Islam.”  - Irshad Manji, Fellow, Yale University and author, The Trouble with Islam Today: A Muslim’s Call for Reform in Her Faith.

“Every conversation begins with a single voice. This Reformist Translation of the Quran and its ancillary materials should begin many conversations, between and among Muslims and non-Muslims alike. In many parts of the Muslim world this is a dangerous discussion, and sometimes that danger can reach well into the West, as evidenced by the 1990 fatwa-inspired murder of Rashad Khalifa in Tucson, Arizona . It is an important discussion, however, and the editors of this book have assumed this risk to argue for a perspective that sets violence aside both in discourse and living. One can imagine that a broader adoption of their perspective across the Muslim world would reduce strife and invite greater examination of Islam by non-Muslims as something other than a threat. It would expand the conversation.” - Mark V Sykes Ph.D. J.D. Director, Planetary Science Institute.

“Very Interesting and Timely” - Riffat Hassan, Ph.D. Professor of Religious Studies and Humanities at the University of Louisville, Kentucky. A pioneer of feminist theology in the context of the Islamic tradition.

“I completely agree with you in your rejection of the right of any group to arrogate to themselves the sole interpretation of the Quran. The Quran, being a book containing divine knowledge and wisdom, can only be understood progressively. It has to be interpreted anew by every generation and through a scientific methodology…. Your effort is praiseworthy. Well done. Keep it up.” - Kassim Ahmad, former president of Malaysian Socialist Party and head of Malaysian Quranic Society who was declared “apostate” by religious authorities for his controversial work on the Prophetic Traditions.

“This translation is the best tool for those who want to understand the uncorrupted Message of Islam – justice and peace. This translation shows that the Quran is but the confirmation and continuation of God’s system memorialized through Abraham, demonstrated in Torah through numerous prophets, and in the Hebrew Gospel through Yeshu’a/Jesus, the righteous of God. This translation is a message of peace, justice and judgment. I pray that the Reformist translation of the Quran will replace all others not only because it is the best but also because it is the closest to the original Arabic text.” - Gershom Kibrisli, theologian and communal leader, The Karaim of the Early Hebrew Scriptures, Holy Land & Benelux.

“Quran: A Reformist Translation is distinct from other translations of the Qur’an in several important ways. First, to the best of my knowledge, it is only the second English translation of the Qur’an produced by Qur’anists–advocates of the concept of the Qur’an as the sole legitimate scriptural source of religious law and guidance in Islam. As Qur’anists, Yuksel and his colleagues reject the Hadith as sources of religious law and guidance and do not rely on them in this translation and commentary. The first Qur’anist English translation was done by the late Rashad Khalifa, a seminal figure in the late twentieth-century Qur’anist movement who directly influenced both Yuksel and Shulte-Nafeh. Quran: A Reformist Translation is also unique because it is the product of collaboration between two key figures in the present-day Qur’anist movement: Edip Yuksel and Layth Saleh al-Shaiban. The Qur’anist approach offers religious rather than secularist challenges to traditional understandings of Islam, whether Sunni, Shia, or academic, on a number of critical issues; so this translation and commentary have the potential to spark extreme controversy among Muslims and non-Muslims.” - Aisha Y. Musa, PhD, Assistant Professor of Islamic Studies, Florida International University; author of An Examination of Early and Contemporary Muslim Attitudes toward Hadith as Scripture (Doctoral Dissertation, Harvard University, 2004).

“With its lucid language, brilliant theological and philosophic arguments, Edip Yüksel removes the smoke of distortions and ignorance generated by clergymen that have concealed the light of the Quran from masses. Pulling our attention to numerous scientific evidences supporting the authenticity of the divine nature of the Quran, the Reformist Translation is destined to create a Copernican Revolution in the realm of religions. I highly recommend it to Agnostics, Skeptics, Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, or anyone who seeks truth about God without suppressing or compromising their brains.” – Caner Taslaman, PhDs in Theology and Political Science; Post doc fellow at Harvard University; author, The Quran: Unchallengeable Miracle; The Big Bang and God; The Theory of Evolution and God; and The Invented Religion ; www.mucizeler.com.

“Allah has gifted humanity with many signs for guidance. The Qur’an not only directs us towards these signs all over creation, but also in itself is a most miraculous sign. We can never know the full meaning of the Qur’an even as we exercise our minds and peacefully surrender our hearts to Allah so that we become able to read the signs and grow to know more. A Reformist Translation directs us to this miracle by offering an intense and challenging addition to the practice of sincere reading for knowing. I cannot accept its Qur’an only perspective, even as I support the efforts of these translators to engage, as they have, in reading and growing with knowledge while relaying to others some new possibilities of meaning for the sake of reflection and peacefully surrender. I hope many will examine their efforts to gain benefit and challenge.” - Dr. Amina Wadud, Author: Inside the Gender Jihad: Reform in Islam.

“A timely and stimulating contribution to scholarship on Islam that offers cogent testimony to the diversity of views within the Islamic community.  This new translation challenges those in East and West alike who see Islam as irreconcilably opposed to the scientific and democratic impulses of modernity.” – Germaine A. Hoston, Ph.D, Professor, University of California. San Diego, former Director of the Center for Democratization and Economic Development, and author of The State, Identity, and the National Question and Faith, Will, and Revolutionary Change (forthcoming), a comparative study of theologies of liberation.

“I have to say that this translation –following in the same spirit of Dr. Khalifa’s Quran: The Final Testament — not only is daring, brave and non-traditional in its approach, it will open a lot of eyes that the Quran is dynamic in nature and relevant for all times. The spirit of using the Quran to explain the Quran, namely trying to understand a certain word by searching for the meaning of the same word in many different contexts within the Quran, is very evident in this translation. This is a book that encourages the reader to use his/her intelligence faculty in order to understand the message, true to the key message of the Quran itself .“ - Gatut Adisoma, PhD, Indonesia .

“From the perspective of the academic study of the Qur’an, this book has very little to contribute. … To proclaim that the Qur’an contains 20th-century scientific discoveries renders meaningless the religious faith of Muslims of the past who could not possibly have been aware of such a concept. … Controversy may assist book sales, as happened in the case of The Satanic Verses, but it would be a cynical and questionable strategy to publish a book simply because it arouses the wrath of many people. Simply to publish this work as it is basically gives this religious group a platform to express their distinctive theology, which is highly polemical and dismissive of other perspectives…” – A anonymous Sunni Scholar who was described by the editor of Palgrave-Macmillan as “a very well-established professor.”

EDIP YUKSEL is an American-Turkish-Kurdish author and activist who spent four years in Turkish prisons in the 1980’s for his political writings and activities promoting an Islamic revolution in Turkey. He experienced a paradigm change in 1986 transforming him from a Sunni Muslim leader to a reformed muslim or rational monotheist. Edip Yuksel has written more than twenty books and hundreds of articles on religion, politics, philosophy and law in Turkish, and numerous articles and booklets in English. Edip is the founder of 19.org, and the Islamic Reform organization. His personal site is yuksel.org. After receiving his bachelor degrees from the University of Arizona in Philosophy and Near Eastern Studies, Edip received his law degree from the same university. Edip is an Adjunct Philosophy professor at Pima Community College , and teaches various classes at his children’s school. He is fluent in Turkish, English and Classic Arabic; proficient in Persian, and barely conversant in Kurdish, his mother tongue.

LAYTH SALEH AL-SHAIBAN is an author of various books and articles on Islam, founder of Progressive Muslims, and co-founder of Islamic Reform. Layth works in a financial institution as a financial adviser, and lives in Saudi Arabia.

MARTHA SCHULTE-NAFEH is Assistant Professor of Practice at the University of Arizona and Language Coordinator of Middle Eastern Languages at the Department of Near Eastern Studies. Martha received her B.S. from Wharton School , University of Pennsylvania in Economics, received her M.A., in Linguistics from the University of Arizona in 1990, and her Ph.D. from the same university in Near Eastern Studies – Arabic Language and Linguistics 2004. In 1982, she taught English as a Foreign Language at American University in Cairo, Egypt .

Following a Fatwa-Review of Establishment,
Palgrave/Macmillan Abandoned the Publication of this Book

In 2004, my colleagues and I signed a contract with Palgrave/Macmillan publishing house for the publication of Quran: a Reformist Translation. The editor and other staff of the publishing house were very encouraging and enthusiastic, and during the summer of 2006, I was personally introduced to the director of the publishing company at its New York headquarters. Palgrave even published an announcement about the upcoming Reformist Translation in their 2006 Fall/Winter Catalogue, which was later postponed to the summer of 2007. The publishing house posted information about the Reformist Translation for pre-orders at Amazon.com and other online bookstores. However , in December 2006, the editor informed me that the board had determined that my manuscript was not acceptable for publication.

Apparently, they were convinced or intimidated by a review (more accurately, a fatwa) of “a very well-established professor,” who misleadingly likened our annotated translation of the Quran to Salman Rushdie’s Satanic Verses. This was akin to a medieval publishing house turning down Martin Luther’s 95 Theses after consulting “a very well-established” Catholic Bishop! It is telling that Palgrave’s “very well-established scholar” in his several-page review, had only one substantive criticism, which consisted of our usage of a word, yes a single word in the translation: progressive.

I believe that without hearing my defense against this Sunni version of excommunication in the guise of a “scholarly review,” the publishing house committed an injustice against my person and our work. I called the publishing house and asked them to give me the chance to respond to the reviewer and defend myself and work against his disparagement and distortions; I was told he remain anonymous.

We were not surprised to hear negative remarks, insults, or false associations from a reviewer who considers a rejection of backward and bankrupt sectarian dogmas “heresy.” However, we were surprised to learn that the board of the publishing house cancelled the publication of a potentially controversial yet crucial book that would introduce the message of the Quran ¾the message of peace, justice, reason, and progress ¾without the distortion of sectarian teachings. Any scholar who can see beyond his or her office can see the growing reform movement, open or clandestine, particularly in Turkey, Malaysia , Iran, Egypt and Kazakhstan where people take great risks to question the popular sectarian dogmas.

You may visit the following websites for the full text of the letter of the Sunni scholar whose advice was taken at face value by Palgrave/Macmillan, and for our response to the letter. You may also find in the following websites, recent updates, reactions, and feedback from reviewers, our responses, related news in the media, and the activities of the global reformist movement:

www.19.org

www.islamicreform.org

www.progressivemuslims.org

www.free-minds.org

Let the world hear the message. Let the West hear the voice of monotheism, the voice of reason, peace, justice and progress. Let the East and the Middle East hear the clear message of the book that they have abandoned for centuries, despite efforts by their leaders to repress it.

9:32      They want to extinguish God’s light with their mouths, but God refuses such and lets His light continue, even if the ingrates hate it.

9:33      He is the One who sent His messenger with guidance and the system of truth, to make it manifest above all other systems, even if those who set up partners hate it.

 

How Did We Become So Hateful?

4/24/2005 – Social Interfaith – Article Ref: IV0309-2080
By: James Brooks
 

 

America’s long festering animus toward Arabs and Islam has finally arrived. From black tie affairs to your local barbecue, you can see it in the U.S.A. You can hear it, too, whispering in the White House and booming from Capitol Hill. Language that would get people fired if applied to blacks or Jews now passes without comment when used against Arabs and Muslims. It can be found somewhere, every day, in almost every newspaper and TV news show in the land. We tend to view this disturbing trend as the result of two, or twenty, or fifty years of politics and events. But we are children of a history we do not know. The roots of our “new” bigotry stretch through our racist American past to a thousand-year old blind spot, one big enough to drive half the world through. It’s time to learn where we came from.

It’s true that our reaction to September 11, twisted and amplified through the gov-media input stream, opened a dark door in the American heart. Softened up by decades of neoconservative, fundamentalist, pro-Israeli and Hollywood propaganda, we were easy marks for politicians brewing a spirit of national retribution.

Qur’an and Hadith: The Final Debate

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful

INTRODUCTION

This booklet exposes the conflict existing in Muslim society today, between belief and unbelief of the Holy Qur’an, between what is “Qur’anic” and what is claimed to be “Islamic”, and above all, between Truth and Falsehood. The debate presented in this booklet is not an intellectual game but has a serious purpose.

This booklet is divided into three parts. In Part One, the report, “Pro-Quran group at centre of controversy” which was published in a local newspaper is reproduced as an introduction to the debate found in Parts Two and Three of this publication. The centre of controversy, as may be found later, is not the group but the Holy Qur’an itself.

HOMOSEXUALITY:THE COST TO SOCIETY

MUHAMMED A. ASADI

 

Of all topics most popular in today’s media, issues concerning homosexuals and homosexuality in general top the list. Homosexuality is generally defined as a sexual relationship between partners of the same sex. Debate concerning its causes and consequences has been going on for many centuries and almost in every period in human history. However, never before in human history has it been granted such wide scale acceptance in western society as it has now. The question that I seek to answer in this paper is whether such wide scale acceptance should in fact be granted to homosexual behavior? Is such behavior rational, scientifically functional or is it actually detrimental to the high level of civilization that we’ve achieved?

Hadith plagiarized from the Bible

jonny_k
Hannover/Germany

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

I hope you will all read this book with an objective and intelligent mind (which is not an easy thing to do for the Ahlul Sunnah or the Shiah) and I hope that this book will help you in your journey towards the beautiful and powerful Islam that was revealed to the Prophet of Islam.

The first inkling I got about the influence of Christianity on the Ahlus Sunnah and Shiah are the too many similarities in the beliefs between Christianity and the Ahlus Sunnah and Shiah which are taught to us since we are children. But we have been taught by the priests of Ahlus Sunnah and Shiah that its alright to have so many similarities with the Christians as well as the Jews because all the the Jewish scriptures and the Christian Bible all bore the same teachings. This is not true at all. Only the Quran carries the Truth that withstands scrutiny, criticism and investigation. The Jewish scriptures and the Bible carry too many falsehoods.

But (quite unfortunately and sadly too ) I will prove in this book that what is written in the scriptures of the Christians and Jews that is accepted by the priests of Ahlus Sunnah and Shiah is actually not part of the Prophet’s teachings.

Islamic Teachings From The Bible

- Anon

---

In the recent turn of events happening on the world stage the ummah has again come under the criticism and the scrutiny of the world in general and the West in particular.

After the tragic attacks of the September 11, 2001 the President of the United States Mr George Bush gave a televised speech where he chose to address the Muslim world directly. There was no accusation made against the Muslims of the world but it was clear that Mr Bush did not address any other faith or religion in his address. Then the call to be “either with us or you are against us” was made which sounded more of a threat and again aimed at the ummah.

SOME PROMINENT HADITH FABRICATORS

If the hadiths were to be a source of Islam like the Quran, the Prophet would have asked his companions to copy and learn them by heart. Yet, he prohibited their copying, let alone ordering them to be copied as we have seen in the previous chapters. Had the Prophet desired them to be learned by heart, the companions nearest to him like Abu Bakr, Omar, Usman, Ali, Sugry, Zed b. Sabit and Selma al Farsi, would have transmitted thousands of hadiths. Instead, the words that have been transmitted from the abovementioned companions are very few. For instance, not even one third or one fourth of the hadiths alleged to have been transmitted by Abu Hurayra, one of the fabricators, can be ascribed to all the words spoken by other prominent companions. We shall be dealing in this chapter with some fabricators, including Abu Hurayra, instrumental in interpolating into the established creed Jewish and Christian legends and parables. We shall see the reason why the infinite number of hadiths these people invented cannot be relied upon. We shall also observe the lack of fastidiousness and meticulousness, which they claimed to have had in collecting and sorting out the hadiths.

LIST OF INTERPOLATIONS

---

Below is a list (200 examples) of typical interpolations made to the Quran. These additions have been presented as part of the body of religious percepts. Some among them may have been useful and wholesome considerations although without any religious foundation. For instance, cleaning of teeth with miswak may be useful. But this must not be taken as if ordained by God. We may, of course, enumerate many principles related to the individual’s health, etc.; however, they should not be made into religious principles. Thus, persons may, at their discretion, put on long robes and avoid eating shrimp, but this has nothing to do with religion. All interpretations not based on the Quranic text and are qualified as sins, charitable acts, makruh, haram, sunna are additions. You may have a better idea of the extent of interpolations once you go over the following 200 examples.

mostmerciful.com

Free Books authored by the Webmaster:

In the cause of spreading the Truth, reading and downloading of the following books is FREE. You may quote the unedited passages from the books to spread the Truth. Copyright restrictions have now been waived as long as the author’s name and source is published. You may translate and circulate the texts in other languages. Click the links below to open the books in PDF format.

Read: Understanding the Bible Through Koranic Messages Read: A History of the Agakhani Ismailis Read: Understanding Ismailism – A Unique Tariqah of Islam Learn the first hand, inner rituals and beliefs.

Read: Myths and Realities of Hadith Secondary Document prevails Primary Read .pdf: Rediscovering the Realities of Jesus  Deut. 18:15 & 18; Isaiah 53:10; Luke 22:37; John 5: 46-47; Qur’an 13:38; 21: 7-8 & 34 all support Jesus was married, lived longer.   ’THE LAST SUPPER’  by  Leonardo Da Vinci     Image appears on page 166 of a printed copy & on page 69 of .pdf version linked above for this book.

زَوَاجُ اَلْمُتْعَة

 

لشهيد الكلمة الدكتور

 

فرج فودة

 

ـــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــ

 

المحتويات

 

مقدمة الناشر

 

الإرهاب الفكرى وفقه القتل:

 

 

 

مقدمة د. أحمد صبحى منصور

 

نص فتوى الشيخ شلتوت

 

مقدمة الكاتب

 

الباب الأول: زواج المتعة بين السنة والشيعة

 

الفصل الأول: زواج المتعة ونصوص السنة

 

مقدمة الفصل

 

سؤال وجواب

 

ويبدأ الحوار السنى الشيعى [1] , [2], [3], [4], [5], [6] , [7] , [8] ,

 

[9] كان يأتيها وهى حائض

 

ملك الموت

 

ثلاث ليال

 

باب رضاع الكبير

 

[10] , [11] , [12] , [13].

 

الفصل الثانى: مداخلة توثيقية

 

الفصل الثالث: زواج المتعة والنص القرآنى

 

 

 

الباب الثانى: حوار حول المتعة

 

مقدمة

 

تنويعات هادئة فى حوار شائك

 

Apostasy, Freedom and Da’wah

Written by Mohammad Omar Farooq

Aug 31, 2007 at 06:16 AM

While Islam may have been a vanguard of freedom and progress evidenced by magnificent civilizations that it helped spawn all the way to the rise of Western civilization, some traditional or orthodox position in Islamic law, apostasy for example, remain seriously at odds with the notion of freedom. Muslim orthodoxy continues to invoke a legal position to issue fatwa against heresy, apostasy, blasphemy and so on. In the last few decades there has been cases, some widely publicized, in Muslim-majority countries where fatwas were issues against apostates.1 Because the law of apostasy is ingrained in orthodox Islamic law, one can’t approach this issue without taking a closer look at some of the fundamental precepts or even usul (source methodology) of Islamic law.

The History of Abraham

Copyright 2006 by Zeeshan Hasan. First published in Bangladesh on January 10, 2006 in The Daily Star.

The figure of Abraham is equally revered in Judeo-Christian and Muslim traditions as the common ancestor of the major monotheist faiths. However, modern Biblical scholarship has raised questions about the sources of the sacrifice of Abraham’s son. In particular, some modern scholars believe that in one of the original versions of the Biblical story, Abraham may really have sacrificed his son. This is in agreement with other texts asserting the practice of child sacrifice in early Israel. However, later Israelite religion seemingly abandoned the practice of child sacrifice, and this change resulted in the sacrifice story that we are now familiar with. Thus the Qur’anic sacrifice story is the product of a mythological evolution which occurred during the compilation of the Biblical book of Genesis, which contains the sources of the oldest Abraham tales. Furthermore, two other important Qur’anic stories of Abraham, namely that of his arrival at monotheism through star-gazing and that of his divine rescue from being burned alive, may be seen to be the results of a similar mythological evolution which occured in later Biblical times (in particular in the Book of Jubilees’ retelling of the Abraham story). The history of the Abraham stories will be seen to have important implications for Qur’anic narrative and view of history.

Islam is wonderful, but I can’t stand the Muslims

“Why should I try to convert my non-Muslim friends when I often prefer them to the Muslims that I know? How will being Muslim change their lives for the better if they already display more of the Islamic virtues than most of the Muslims they are likely to meet?”
By British convert to Islam, Michael A. Malik.

There was a white face in the mosque. You don’t see very many, so I went over and asked if he was a Muslim, “I used to be, but not any more.” he said, “I thought Islam was wonderful, but I couldn’t stand the Muslims”. What could I say except “I know how you feel”;. Most converts do.

Miraj – The True Story

The Miraj is considered to be of great importance in Hadith literature. For this is when God is supposed to have commanded the five daily prayers.

Whenever it is pointed out that the Quran is fully detailed people ask: ‘If the Quran is fully detailed then where is the salat prayer’. By asking this question in the first place, they have doubted God’s word.

Popular belief among all the ‘muslim’ who claim to be Islamic is that although the Quran instructs us to observe salat, it is the prophet’s hadith which shows us how to perform the salat prayers. This not only shows their ignorance but also exposes their disbelief in the Quran as a detailed book.

BUKHARI EXPLAINS QURAN

The advocates of hadith are fond of saying that the hadith explains the Quran without which, they say, the Quran cannot be understood. In other words without the hadith they will have to reject the Quran or at the very least they will ignore the Quran.

The scholars also say that the hadith they call ‘Sahih Bukhari’ (Authentic Bukhari) is the best hadith. In other words without the “Sahih” of Bukhari these people will be at a total loss. They will have to reject the Quran.

THE BEST HADITH

The Almighty God Who created all things has given us the Quran for our guidance. Nothing else. The word “hadith” is mentioned by God Almighty twenty eight times in His Quran. “Hadith” simply means a tiding, discourse or story.

However it is a necessary condition for the other “hadith” writers like Bukhari and Abu Muslim (for the Sunnis) and Jaafar Al Tusi (for the Shias) and also others, to insist that the alleged sayings of the Prophet or the alleged “hadith” or “khabar” of the Prophet are a second source of guidance other than the Quran.

Sheikhs of Alazhar: Quranists are Apostates; and the Evidence from the Holy Book Proves Their Guilt

 

Alshark Alawsat in 07-08-30

 

Lately, the Quranists’ case occupied the Egyptian public and the religious circles. The Department of Islamic Research at Al-Azhar is currently studying the Fatwa prepared by the Sunna Committee at the department to consider the Quranists to be apostates if they insist to continue refusing the Sunna as a second source of Sharia . On the other hand, The Misdemeanor Court in Cairo decided to arrest what is known as “the Quranists Group” for more fifteen days for investigating the charges of Contempt of Religion, advocating non-stream ideas that cause disturbances in the society.
ALsharq Alawsat asked many Sheikhs of AL-Azhar whether there are proofs from the holy Quran that Sunna is a revelation from God (and since it should be considered as obligatory as the holy Quran)? Alsharq Alawsat asked as well whether these Quranists are really Muslims or not, and whether there are justifications for their call to rely on the holy Quran alone and ignore the Sunna?