Critical thinking: a right (and duty) of all Muslims

Posted in Irshaddering Thoughts, On The Road on Oct 11, 2007

Last night’s sold-out film screening at NYU drew a number of young Muslims who are genuinely struggling with Islam. One girl cried in my arms. Another wrote these words to me:

As a devout (but not extremist) Muslim myself, your documentary Faith Without Fear really touched me deeply. I think that it is important for Muslims who are frustrated/oppressed by extremist Islam to know that it is ok to follow the faith that is within their souls. Muslims need to know that instead of abandoning their faith or Allah, they can and should turn to ijtihad.

“Ijtihad” is Islam’s tradition of critical thinking, debate and dissent. To restore this progressive tradition to the practice of Islam, I and other reform-minded Muslims have launched Project Ijtihad.

Of course, our critics are loud and legion. They insist that ijtihad can only be exercised by “scholars.” In that case, they ought to read a scholarly paper written by Umar Faruq Abd-Allah, Ph.D.  To download the paper, click here, then go to the “Read and Learn” box at the right-hand side of the page.

Dr. Abd-Allah points out that ijtihad is a “duty of the first magnitude” for ordinary Muslims and not just for the elites. Throughout Islamic history, says Dr. Abd-Allah:

“… even the common people were required to perform their own type of ijtihad by striving to discern the competence of individual scholars and selecting the best to follow, a principle emphatically asserted by the majority of Sunni and Shi’i scholars and their schools.”

Today, he suggests, Muslims in North America are well-poised to revive ijtihad on behalf of Muslims everywhere:

“Like our counterparts in Canada, considerable sectors of the American Muslim community, in contrast to many of our co-religionists in the European Union, are highly educated and constitute, per capita, one of the most talented and prosperous Muslim communities in the world. Moreover, American Muslims, at least for the time being, enjoy a relatively favorable socio-political context with extensive freedoms and political enfranchisement. Few Muslims in the world today are in a more advantageous position to comprehend the essence of modernity and post-modernity and to formulate new directions for ijtihad in keeping with the best traditions of Islamic thought and the imperatives of an interconnected pluralistic world.”

I concluded last night’s event with a similar sentiment: We ijtihadists aren’t asking our fellow Muslims to import a foreign tradition or an alien virtue into the faith. We’re reminding Muslims that Islam itself once exhibited a tradition of indie thinking.

What in God’s name are we doing with that tradition now?

ISLAM DENOUNCES TERRORISM

Muslims & the Internet : For Muslims, social networks bring new challenges

 

 

 

Are Muslim social networking sites viable and competitive enough to attract Muslim users from MySpace and Facebook? A group of new websites feels it is up to the challenge.

 

 

By Zahed Amanullah, July 26, 2007

 

	Feeling popular yet?

 

In the oft-cited glory days of the Islamic world, Muslim explorers like Ibn Battuta created vast networks around the world to promote trade and to learn about other cultures. The Silk Road Ibn Battuta travelled linked nations together in a way they never had before, changing them irrevocably and creating an interdependence that became the forerunner of today’s globalised world.

It’s hard to imagine what Ibn Battuta would think of today’s overly networked societies. Advances in transport, communication, and technology over the past century have made leaps beyond cultures instantaneous and accessible to nearly everyone. Commercial access and the free flow of money have been amplified immeasurably by the Internet. And on a personal level, online social networks have become the new frontier.

Among young people, these sites have proven themselves to be more popular than any other form of media. The rapid growth of FriendsterMySpace (now 160 million users and growing), led to the latter’s groundbreaking $580 million aqcuisition by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation. Facebook, which started as a network among Harvard students, is now the fastest growing social network site, adding some 150,000 users each day. All of these users form a valuable demographic for advertisers, which accounts in part for MySpace’s wildly speculative valuation.

For the ever increasing Muslim diaspora, the appeal of social networks has also become widespread. They have taken to them in droves, with over 2.1 million of them self identified by religion on MySpace alone. Scores of others have done so on Friendster (45 million total users) and Facebook (30 million total users). But it is this popularity that has spurred the formation of social networks that cater specifically for Muslims, with entrepreneurs seeking both to capitalise on a growing economic market and also aiming to provide services and protections for Muslims who feel that the freewheeling worlds of existing social networking sites aren’t sensitive to their needs. Sites like Naseeb.com, MuslimSpace.com, Muslimica, and the soon to be launched Mecca.com have approached these challenges in a variety of different ways with differing degrees of success.

“There are over 105 million Muslims online globally, and Internet adoption rates in Muslim countries are among the highest in the world,” says Sami Al-Taher, Mecca.com’s CEO. “It’s hard to believe that the only mainstream online communities available to us are based in the USA, and don’t resonate with the Muslim population around the world.” Naseeb.com, the first and currently largest of the Muslim social networking sites, has the most number of users, with over 320,000 so far. But others are catching up. MuslimSpace.com, a part of a Muslim portal called Muxlim, has 25,000 users and growing.

But what does a Muslim social network have to offer? For most users, it’s a sense of safety in numbers, with protection from content they find uncomfortable and a way to link with Muslims directly. “The aim of Muslim social networks is not necessarily to pull all Muslims away from general sites, but to complement users’ online experience with Muslim-oriented services, guidelines and features that they would not find otherwise in general communities,” explains Mohamed El-Fatatry, Muxlim.com’s CEO. “Each social network tends to have its own flavour and its own audience.” Saleem Baig, of Muslimica.com adds that he wants to “ensure Muslims from all over the world find a safe secure place to express themselves and their views.”

However, if a “safe” space implies that a user’s sensibilities are not offended, it doesn’t necessarily mean that views won’t be challenged. Even with the few Muslim sites available, there are variations in the aspects of “moral policing” that takes place. Naseeb.com is arguably the more liberal, with areas of the site dedicated to music and debate and less emphasis on monitoring content. But Muxlim.com makes it a key distinction. “Moral policing is one of the important aspects of Muslim-oriented sites, which I believe provides an extra degree of comfort to Muslim users who wish to use technology without crossing into grey areas of their values and ethics,” says El-Fatatry.

“Users are absolutely free to judge each other,” concurs Al-Taher. “That is part of what makes social networking and other online communities so engaging. People want to be free to express their opinions and to be heard. We encourage our users to be honest and open about their opinions.” Although a degree of these types of exchanges already occur between Muslims and non-Muslims on conventional sites, moderating it somewhat to attract a significant number of Muslims remains a primary motivator. Of course, many Muslim countries will moderate the sites anyway, potentially blocking access internally, as Facebook experienced recently in the relatively liberal U.A.E.

But like the main social networking sites, Muslim social networks are businesses that require economic viablity. The revenue potential from conventional social networks, particularly from advertising, varies wildly. Facebook claims they are on track to earn $1 billion/year by 2015. Friendster could have claimed the same at one point, but the company is now seen as having missed the revenue boat. Many of these sites rely on either their young, Western demographic (Facebook) or sheer numbers (MySpace) to attract the attention of marketers, but many users are becoming immune to ads that target them.

These issues are compounded for Muslim sites, which have to deal with targeted products and services that may be fewer in number and less developed than their secular counterparts. “Muslim businesses are currently too small or are simply not aware of the huge audience they can reach through advertising on Muslim network sites to reach their niche audiences,” says Muslimica’s Baig. Al-Taher is more optimistic. “We believe there are many ‘mature’ businesses that serve the Muslim community with exceptional products and services. However, it is true that these companies that have been leveraging limiting and antiquated media to reach prospective customers.” But if Muslim social networks can’t find enough funding to pass the startup phase, these theories may just be academic. Muxlim.com, in particular, has struggled to find Muslim investors.

Economics aside, the value of a Muslim social network may still be a hard sell. Any social network has to succeed on its utility and entertainment value. The argument for a safe space is understandable when viewed against the chaos of MySpace (where most “friends” can be anonymous and uninvited) but not necessarily with Facebook where friends are defined from the start as people you know directly. Muslims also may simply want to go where the buzz is, just like young people anywhere. In this regard, it’s far easier for well populated and well-designed non-Muslim sites to pull Muslim users in than vice versa. Facebook’s recent decision to open up its architecture to third party developers means that Muslims can create applications to modify the site’s functionality.

Recently, the Malaysian government criticised Britain’s Top Gear automotive show for buying a Malaysian-made Perodua Kalisa – a Muslim car, in other words – and blowing it up because it had “no soul.” The Kalisa, a budget car that sells for about $8,000 USD, may well suit the developing world, including Malaysia. But given the means, aspirational and increasingly affluent Muslim masses in Malaysia and elsewhere would gladly choose a Japanese or German make on the basis of quality, innovation, and branding. The marketing of a Muslim product alternative to Muslims means little if it is perceived as a pale imitation of a superior original.

For the young Muslim social networks available, this factor is both a warning and a challenge. To succeed in an increasingly crowded marketplace, developing a “soul” may be all they need – the “soul” of Ibn Battuta or the “soul” of the next big thing.

Zahed Amanullah is associate editor of altmuslim.com. He is based in London, England.

Anwar Ibrahim is proof that Tariq Ramadan has a point

Hudud Punishments

 

Anwar Ibrahim is proof that Tariq Ramadan has a point

 

 

 

Sharia may be a divinely-inspired legal system. But in the hands of the wrong people, it’s criminal punishments can become part of the devil’s handiwork.

By Irfan Yusuf, April 1, 2005

 

Two prominent Muslims recently graced Australian shores.

Tariq Ramadan delivered lectures and moderated workshops in Sydney and Melbourne. He brought a message of Muslims needing to engage in and with the societies in which they live. He also gave us a taste of the inner aspects of faith, the tasawwuf (often misnamed as ’sufism’), that his grandfather (the late Imam Hasan al-Banna) so thoroughly reflected.

Einstein’s God

Einstein and the Mind of God: Einstein’s God

Niels Bohr and Albert Einstein (courtesy AIP Emilio Segre Visual Archives)

From Krista Tippett

Albert Einstein was raised in a Jewish home. He rejected traditional faith at a young age, though his Jewish identity was

important to him again later in life. He didn’t believe in a personal God who would interfere with the laws of physics. But he was fascinated with the ingenuity of those laws and expressed awe at the very fact of their existence. All of his life, he thrilled to all he could not yet understand. He was more than content with what he called a “cosmic religious sense”—animated by “inklings” and “wondering,” rather than answers and conclusions.

With physicists Paul Davies and Freeman Dyson we explore Albert Einstein’s way of thinking about God, mystery and eternity. With Paul Davies, I was able to pursue how Einstein changed our view of space and especially time, a subject that has always intrigued me. Before Einstein, as Davies describes it, human beings thought of space and time as fixed and immutable, the backdrop to the great show of life. But we now know they are elastic and intertwined, part of the show themselves. Though we are scarcely aware of this in daily life, time does not move at the same rate for everyone, everywhere. It is, in a word, relative. Furthermore, Einstein described our perception of time as an arrow—traversing linear and compartmentalized past, present, and future—as a “stubbornly persistent illusion.” Such language is evocative from a religious standpoint. Davies finds an affinity between Einstein’s view of time and the religious notion of a reality “beyond time,” and of “the eternal.”

All of his life, [Einstein] thrilled to all he could not yet understand.

I’d like to share one of the most heartening, wise pieces of writing by the spiritual Einstein I found in my research. Einstein was a passionate letter writer. One of his correspondents, for a time, was Queen Elisabeth of Belgium. He had struck up a warm friendship with her and her husband, King Albert, just before World War II. In one tragic season in the midst of already tumultuous political times, her husband died suddenly, as did her daughter-in-law. Einstein wrote to her:

. . . Mrs. Barjansky wrote to me how gravely living in itself causes you suffering and how numbed you are by the indescribably painful blows that have befallen you.

And yet we should not grieve for those who have gone from us in the primes of their lives after happy and fruitful years of activity, and who have been privileged to accomplish in full measure their task in life.

Something there is that can refresh and revivify older people: joy in the activities of the younger generation—a joy, to be sure, that is clouded by dark forebodings in these unsettled times. And yet, as always, the springtime sun brings forth new life, and we may rejoice because of this new life and contribute to its unfolding; and Mozart remains as beautiful and tender as he always was and always will be. There is, after all, something eternal that lies beyond the hand of fate and of all human delusions. And such eternals lie closer to an older person than to a younger one oscillating between fear and hope. For us, there remains the privilege of experiencing beauty and truth in their purest forms . . . .

I now have a new sense of Albert Einstein—as a wise man, not just a great mind. He was fully human and flawed, but he was undeniably an original, and not just as a scientist. If past, present and future are an illusion, as he said, none of us ever really disappears; we all leave our imprint on what is now. I have a profound sense of Einstein’s imprint, and it comforts me. I suspect that if he heard he was the subject of a program called Speaking of Faith in the early twenty-first century, he would make a funny, kindly, self-deprecating quip. But if he could listen with twenty-first-century ears, he might be intrigued by how his generous, questioning, “cosmic” religious sense is deeply kindred with the religious and spiritual yearnings of our age.

Einstein and the Mind of God: Einstein’s God

Discussion Questions

1. In describing his religious views, Einstein wrote, “I cannot conceive of a God who rewards and punishes his creatures, or has a will of the type of which we are conscious in ourselves. Enough for me, the mystery of the eternity of life and the inkling of the marvelous structure of reality, together with the single-hearted endeavor to comprehend a portion, be it ever so tiny, of the reason that manifests itself in nature.”

• Do you find it difficult to imagine a God who is capable of both creating the universe and taking an interest in the lives of individual human beings? Why or why not?

• What experiences have given you an “inkling of the marvelous structure of reality”? For example, birthing a child, witnessing an eclipse, harvesting a garden, etc. How did these experiences inform your understanding of God?

2. Einstein describes his childhood experience of seeing a compass for the first time: “This needle behaved in such a determined way and did not fit into the usual explanation of how the world works. That is that you must touch something to move it.” The experience made a deep and lasting impression that prompted him to conclude, “There must be something deeply hidden behind everything.” He spent his life seeking to comprehend that hidden order and to describe it mathematically. Einstein often spoke of this as his longing to understand what God was thinking.

• What is your earliest recollection of an experience that “did not fit into the usual explanation of how the world works”? Was it a positive experience that prompted wonder, or a negative experience that led to disillusionment?

• In your view, does the idea that mathematics reveals a hidden order behind everything support or detract from the notion of a divine Creator?

3. In an address at a conference on science, philosophy and religion in 1941, Albert Einstein declared that science can only be created by those who aspire toward truth and understanding. He famously concluded: “Science without religion is lame. Religion without science is blind.”

• What examples (recent or historical) can you think of that might illustrate Einstein’s statement, “Science without religion is lame. Religion without science is blind”?

• In contemporary culture, do you feel there is a good balance between science and religion, or is one considered more authoritative than the other?

I believe in Spinoza’s God, who reveals himself in the orderly harmony of what exists, not in a God who concerns himself with the fates and actions of human beings. Albert Einstein

4. Physicist Freeman Dyson states, “The world is full of mysteries . . . Every time we discover something, we find two more questions to ask, and so there is no end of mysteries in science. That’s what it’s all about. And the same is true of religion.

• Have you ever thought of science as something that is characterized by mystery? Why or why not?

• Are you more comfortable with the idea of mystery in science or in religion?

• In your experience, is religion more about a pursuit of questions or a pursuit of answers?

5. Einstein thought a great deal about measuring time. His theory of relativity identifies the so-called Big Bang as the origin of time—that there is no time before it. Physicist Paul Davies points out that Augustine, a fifth-century theologian, considered the same issue and arrived at a similar conclusion—that the world and time were created simultaneously. According to Davies, Augustine “placed God outside of time altogether, a timeless, eternal being.”

• Do you find it surprising that both a scientist and a theologian would arrive at similar conclusions about the concept of eternity? Why or why not?

• What is your view of the concept of eternity?

• What answer might you give to a child who asks, “What was God doing before he created the universe?”

6. Paul Davies draws a parallel between Einstein’s view of time and the Australian aboriginal concept of “Dreamtime.” Dreamtime acknowledges two times—the one by which we live our lives, and then an abstract notion that might be considered the opposite of time—perhaps eternity. This dualism acknowledges that there is time and there is eternity, and some things have an existence outside of time.

• Do you believe time and eternity are like parallel lines—coexistent but separate? Or do you believe time and eternity may be interactive—that it’s possible to have points of contact between the two?

• Have you ever had an experience in which time felt absent or altered? Describe what happened.

• Assuming the dualism of Dreamtime, what things (or beings) would you like to imagine having an existence outside of time?

 

[Einstein] took a very solemn view of science. And science was, to him, a religion. . . He said that anybody who does not approach science with religious awe is not a true scientist. Freeman Dyson

The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. He who knows it not and can no longer wonder, no longer feel amazement, is as good as dead. A snuffed-out candle.”  Albert Einstein, The World as I See It

Freeman Dyson is a theoretical physicist and professor emeritus at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. He has published many scientific papers and written many books, including, Disturbing the Universe.

7. In acknowledging how physics impacts one’s view of the universe and our place within it, Paul Davies first notes the perspective of physicist Steven Weinberg who has said, “The more the universe seems comprehensible, the more it also seems pointless.” Davies then articulates his own perspective: “Weinberg sees the same facts as I do but without coming himself to believe that there’s any point behind it all. And that’s where he and I will part company. We’d agree on all of the science, but to me it overwhelmingly suggests that the universe is about something, that there is a point to it, and that we’re part of whatever point that is.” So Davies, contrary to Weinberg, maintains that the more we understand about the universe, the more likely it is that we will share in its meaning.

• Whose perspective—Weinberg’s or Davies’—comes closest to your view?

• Assuming Davies’ perspective, what do you imagine might be the point or purpose of the universe? What role would humanity play in achieving that purpose?

My religiosity consists in a humble admiration of the infinitely superior spirit that reveals itself in the little that we, with our weak and transitory understanding, can comprehend of reality. Morality is of the highest importance, but for us, not for God.  Albert Einstein

I’m not an atheist and I don’t think I can call myself a pantheist. We are in the position of a little child entering a huge library filled with books in many different languages. The child knows someone must have written those books. It does not know how. The child dimly suspects a mysterious order in the arrangement of the books but doesn’t know what it is. That, it seems to me, is the attitude of even the most intelligent human being toward God. Albert Einstein

Paul Davies is a theoretical physicist and founder and director of Beyond: Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science at Arizona State University. He has written widely about Einstein’s understanding of time, including How to Build a Time Machine.

Resources

For additional resources about this topic, review Program Details at http://speakingoffaith.publicradio.org/programs/einstein/index.shtml

Copyright © American Public Media 2007. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission. Not for resale.

http://speakingoffaith.publicradio.org/programs/einsteinsgod/einsteinsgod-discussionguide.pdf

Men are Maintainers and Supporters of Women

In 4:34 [Alrrijalu qawwamoona AAala alnnisai], the word “qawwamoona” has been translated by some as “those who are in charge or in control” or as “those who rule” and so the “Alrrijalu qawwamoona AAala alnnisai” is translated by some as “Men are in charge of women”.

Girl’s Share in Inheritance

According to the Quran, the share of one boy is equal to that of two girls (4:11).

Restoring the Image of Islam

By: Luthfi Assyaukanie

19/9/2007

Last month, I have attended the lecture of Karen Armstrong, a British scholar who is very sympathetic to Islam. She delivered a lecture entitled The Role of Religion in the New Millennium. Almost all through her lecture, she talked about Islam and its various challenges. This forum, attended by more or less thousand participants in a ballroom of a Singapore’s hotel, was very fascinating particularly for Muslims who perceived that they were supported.

What happened to “good Islam”?

Confronting extremism

What happened to “good Islam”?

I reject this “Islam” of carnage, irrationality, social disorder and murder. I accept an Islam of problem solving, love and rational thought. That is an Islam that people can live with.

البخاريون والقرآنيون

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
د. أحمد صبحى منصور
البخاريون والقرآنيون :
هذان خصمان إختصموا فى ربهم
أولا:
البخاريون هم من يتبعون سنة البخارى وغيره من أئمة ما يعرف بالسنة والحديث ، والقرآنيون هم من يتبعون سنة الله عز وجل ورسوله الكريم المنصوص عليها فى القرآن الكريم . وقد أعلن البخاريون خصومتهم للقرآنيين حين بدأ القرآنيون رحلة الاصلاح للمسلمين بالاحتكام للقرآن الكريم فى كل ما جاء به البخارى وغيره من تشريعات ما أنزل الله تعالى بها من سلطان وأقاويل تسىء للرسول محمد عليه السلام. ولأن البخاريين هم الأكثر قوة ونفوذا فقد جعلوا من أنفسهم الخصم والحكم والقاض والمشرع والجلاد فى نفس الوقت. شحذوا كل قوتهم ضد مجموعة أفراد لا تملك سوى القلم والحجة القرآنية والمعرفة بالتراث . الغريب أنهم فى ظلمهم وافتراهم يعتمدون على أسم الله سبحانه وتعالى ويحتكرون لأنفسهم صفة المهتدين ويبررون بهذا ظلمهم .
ماذا يقول رب العزة جل وعلا عن هذه الخصومة بين فريقين كلا منهما يزعم أنه مؤمن بالله تعالى ؟
ماذا يقول رب العزة عن خصمين كلاهما يختصم الأخر ( فى الله ) ؟
يقول تعالى ” هَذَانِ خَصْمَانِ اخْتَصَمُوا فِي رَبِّهِمْ فَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا قُطِّعَتْ لَهُمْ ثِيَابٌ مِّن نَّارٍ يُصَبُّ مِن فَوْقِ رُؤُوسِهِمُ الْحَمِيمُ يُصْهَرُ بِهِ مَا فِي بُطُونِهِمْ وَالْجُلُودُ وَلَهُم مَّقَامِعُ مِنْ حَدِيدٍ كُلَّمَا أَرَادُوا أَن يَخْرُجُوا مِنْهَا مِنْ غَمٍّ أُعِيدُوا فِيهَا وَذُوقُوا عَذَابَ الْحَرِيقِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُدْخِلُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِي مِن تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ يُحَلَّوْنَ فِيهَا مِنْ أَسَاوِرَ مِن ذَهَبٍ وَلُؤْلُؤًا وَلِبَاسُهُمْ فِيهَا حَرِيرٌ وَهُدُوا إِلَى الطَّيِّبِ مِنَ الْقَوْلِ وَهُدُوا إِلَى صِرَاطِ الْحَمِيدِ ” ( الحج 19 :24)
وفى نظرة سريعة للآيات الكريمة يتضح أن الله تعالى قد قسم إختلافات البشر العقائدية وخصوماتهم الدينية إلى قسمين فقط ، لكل منهما عقيدة فى الله تعالى تختلف عن الأخر ، فقال ” هَذَانِ خَصْمَانِ اخْتَصَمُوا فِي رَبِّهِمْ ” ولأنهما خصمان فلا يصح أن يكون أحدهما قاضيا أو حكما على الأخر بل لا بد أن يكون القاضى هو صاحب الشأن وموضوع الخصومة ، أى هو الله تعالى الذى سيفصل بين الخصمين يوم القيامة ، حيث سيحكم جل وعلا من هو على حق فى عقيدته فى الله تعالى ، ومن هو على باطل.
والحق تم توضيحه مقدما فى القرآن الكريم ، وأمر الله تعالى المؤمنين بالاحتكام للقرآن الكريم فى كل ما يتوارثونه من ثوابت وكل ما وجدوا عليه آباءهم ليتم تنظيف قلوبهم وعقائدهم وتدينهم الواقعى من كل عوامل التعرية و ووساوس الشيطان وأكاذيب الأسلاف . إن لم يحدث الاحتكام وإن لم تتم المراجعة و التنقية فإنه بغض النظر عن الشعارات والزعم بالتمسك بالاسلام سيكون المسلمون يوم القيام ضمن بقية البشر منقسمين الى خصمين ، وسيكون أحد الخصمين خالدا فى الجنة والأخر خالدا فى النار . وهذا ما دخلت فيه الأية الكريمة مباشرة فتتصف معاناتهم القادمة من العذاب الأبدى ، ثم بعدها تتحدث عن الخصم الأخر وخلوده فى النعيم الأبدى.
ثانيا :
تقسيم البشر إلى فريقين يوم القيامة يسرى على البخاريين والقرآنيين .
فماذا يتصور كل منهم رب العزة ؟! وكيف اختصموا فى ربهم ؟! .
خصومة البخاريين والقرآنيين فى الله تعالى تمتد من العقيدة إلى العبادات والمعاملات .
وهذا موضوع شرحه يطول ، ونوجزه قدر الإمكان فى الآتى:-
الخصومة العقيدية :-
• ذات الله تعالى
• يؤمن القرآنيون بأن الله تعالى واحد لا شريك له ولم يلد ولم يولد ولم يكن له كفوا أحد ..
والبخاريون يؤمنون ظاهريا بهذا ولكن عقائدهم التراثية والواقعية تتناقض مع الأيمان بالله تعالى وحده لا شريك له . البخاريون يؤمنون بأن محمدا عليه السلام مخلوق من نور الله ويرون حديثا يقول : (أول من خلق الله نور نبيك يا جابر ) .ويؤمنون بأن النور المحمدى المقتبس من نور الله تعالى قد استوى فى نبوة محمد قبل خلق آدم . ويروون حديثا يقول: ( كنت نبيا وأدم بين الماء والطين وكنت نبيا وأدم لا ماء ولا طين ) هى نفس العقيدة القائلة بأن المسيح ابن الله ولكن مع تحوير لفظى ، جعلوا به محمدا نسخة من نور الله. وهذا ما ينكره القرآنيون الذين يؤمنون بأن الله تعالى لم يلد ولم يولد ولم يكن له كفوا أحد.
• وفى صفات الله تعالى
• يؤمن القرآنيون بأن الأسماء الحسنى لا تكون إلا لله تعالى وحده ولا يشاركه فيها ـ على الحقيقة ـ أحد من الخلق .ويكتفى القرآنيون بوصف محمد عليه السلام بأنه خاتم النبيين بينما يصفه البخاريون بأوصاف الهية وأسماء حسنى مثل ” نور عرش الله ” كما لو كان عرش الرحمن مظلما فأضاءه نور محمد ، ومثل سيد الكونين.. الخ …
• يؤمن القرآنيون بأنه لا يعلم الغيب إلا الله تعالى ” قُل لَّا يَعْلَمُ مَن فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ الْغَيْبَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ “: النمل 65 ” ولكن الله تعالى قد يعطى بعض الأنبياء العلم ببعض الغيب ليكون آية على نبوتهم كما حدث بالنسبة ليوسف عليه السلام ” قَالَ لاَ يَأْتِيكُمَا طَعَامٌ تُرْزَقَانِهِ إِلاَّ نَبَّأْتُكُمَا بِتَأْوِيلِهِ قَبْلَ أَن يَأْتِيكُمَا ذَلِكُمَا مِمَّا عَلَّمَنِي ربى: يوسف 37 ” وعيسى عليه السلام ” وَأُنَبِّئُكُم بِمَا تَأْكُلُونَ وَمَا تَدَّخِرُونَ فِي بُيُوتِكُمْ ” : آل عمران 49″. وبعض الأنبياء لم يعطه الله تعالى علم الغيب فأعلن ذلك مثل نوح عليه السلام ” وَلاَ أَقُولُ لَكُمْ عِندِي خَزَآئِنُ اللّهِ وَلاَ أَعْلَمُ الْغَيْبَ ” : هود 31″ ومثل خاتم النبيين محمد ،عليهم جميعا السلام ـ الذى أمره الله تعالى أن يعلن أكثر من مرة أنه لا يغلم الغيب ” قُل لاَّ أَقُولُ لَكُمْ عِندِي خَزَآئِنُ اللّهِ وَلا أَعْلَمُ الْغَيْبَ َّ : الأنعام 50 ” ، ” قُل لاَّ أَمْلِكُ لِنَفْسِي نَفْعًا وَلاَ ضَرًّا إِلاَّ مَا شَاء اللّهُ وَلَوْ كُنتُ أَعْلَمُ الْغَيْبَ لاَسْتَكْثَرْتُ مِنَ الْخَيْرِ وَمَا مَسَّنِيَ السُّوءُ “:َ الأعراف 188″ ، ” قُلْ مَا كُنتُ بِدْعًا مِّنْ الرُّسُلِ وَمَا أَدْرِي مَا يُفْعَلُ بِي وَلَا بِكُمْ إِنْ أَتَّبِعُ إِلَّا مَا يُوحَى إِلَيَّ”: الأحقاف 9 ” ، ” قُلْ إِنْ أَدْرِي أَقَرِيبٌ مَّا تُوعَدُونَ أَمْ يَجْعَلُ لَهُ رَبِّي أَمَدًا. عَالِمُ الْغَيْبِ فَلَا يُظْهِرُ عَلَى غَيْبِهِ أَحَدًا إِلَّا مَنِ ارْتَضَى مِن رَّسُولٍ”: الجن28ـ “.
• ولكن البخاريين فى تأليههم للنبى محمد أسندوا إليه علم الغيب وملأوا أسفارهم وتراثهم أحاديث له فى الغيبيات وما سيحدث فى الدنيا وما سيحدث فى الأخرة .
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• ومن تلك الأساطير الغيبية أسندوا له التحكم فى يوم الدين ، أى أن الله تعالى يأمر بإدخال أحد من البشر إلى النار فيتدخل محمد ويتشفع فيه ويستطيع بنفوذه أن يجعل الله تعالى يبدل القول ، أى يصبح محمد هو مالك يوم الدين الحقيقى وليس الله تعالى ، لأنهم جعلوا محمدا صاحب الكلمة الأخيرة التى لا معقب لها .
وينكر القرآنيون أسطورة شفاعة البشر التى تتناقض مع 150 أية قرآنية ، وتتنافى مع عدالة الله تعالى يوم القيامة. ويرى القرآنيون طبقا لما جاء فى القرآن أن الشفاعة المسموح بها هى شفاعة الملائكة الذين يحملون عمل الشخص المؤمن ويشهدون لصالحه بعد إذن الله تعالى ورضاه” يَعْلَمُ مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُمْ وَلَا يَشْفَعُونَ إِلَّا لِمَنِ ارْتَضَى وَهُم مِّنْ خَشْيَتِهِ مُشْفِقُونَ الأنبياء 28″ ” وَكَم مِّن مَّلَكٍ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ لَا تُغْنِي شَفَاعَتُهُمْ شَيْئًا إِلَّا مِن بَعْدِ أَن يَأْذَنَ اللَّهُ لِمَن يَشَاء وَيَرْضَى : النجم 26″ ،” وَلَا يَمْلِكُ الَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ مِن دُونِهِ الشَّفَاعَةَ إِلَّا مَن شَهِدَ بِالْحَقِّ وَهُمْ يَعْلَمُونَ : الزخرف 86 ” .
• ويؤمن القرآنيون بأن العصمة المطلقة من الوقوع فى الخطأ لا تكون إلا لله تعالى وحده، ولذا يقال عنه عز وجل ” سبحانه وتعالى “. ويؤمن القرآنيون بأن كل البشر يقعون فى الأخطاء ، ومع أن الأنبياء هم صفوة البشر إلا أنهم يقعون فى الأخطاء وتقتصر عصمتهم فقط فى تبليغ الرسالة – الوحى الألهى – الذى يتعهدهم بالنصح والتوجيه والتقويم ” مَّا أَصَابَكَ مِنْ حَسَنَةٍ فَمِنَ اللّهِ وَمَا أَصَابَكَ مِن سَيِّئَةٍ فَمِن نَّفْسِكَ وَأَرْسَلْنَاكَ لِلنَّاسِ رَسُولاً وَكَفَى بِاللّهِ شَهِيدًا : النساء 79″ ، ” قُلْ إِن ضَلَلْتُ فَإِنَّمَا أَضِلُّ عَلَى نَفْسِي وَإِنِ اهْتَدَيْتُ فَبِمَا يُوحِي إِلَيَّ رَبِّي إِنَّهُ سَمِيعٌ قَرِيبٌ سبأ 50 ” .
أما البخاريون فإن الغلاة منهم يتجاهلون 150 تتحدث عن أخطاء الأنبياء ويسندون لخاتم النبيين العصمة المطلقة لإستكمال ملامح تأليه مع الله تعالى .!!
• يؤمن القرآنيون بأن الله تعالى وحده هو الحى الذى لا يموت ” وَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى الْحَيِّ الَّذِي لَا يَمُوتُ : الفرقان 58″ وهو جل وعلا الحى الذى لا ينام ” اللّهُ لاَ إِلَـهَ إِلاَّ هُوَ الْحَيُّ الْقَيُّومُ لاَ تَأْخُذُهُ سِنَةٌ وَلاَ نَوْمٌ البقرة 255″ وأن ما عداه تعالى سيفنى ويهلك ” كُلُّ شَيْءٍ هَالِكٌ إِلَّا وَجْهَهُ لَهُ الْحُكْمُ وَإِلَيْهِ تُرْجَعُونَ : القصص 88″،” كُلُّ مَنْ عَلَيْهَا فَانٍ وَيَبْقَى وَجْهُ رَبِّكَ ذُو الْجَلَالِ وَالْإِكْرَامِ ” الرحمن27:26″. ويؤمن القرآنيون أن كل نفس ذائقة الموت وهذا يشمل الأنبياء جميعا ” وَمَا جَعَلْنَا لِبَشَرٍ مِّن قَبْلِكَ الْخُلْدَ أَفَإِن مِّتَّ فَهُمُ الْخَالِدُونَ كُلُّ نَفْسٍ ذَائِقَةُ الْمَوْتِ: الأنبياء 35:34 ” وحين كان خاتم النبيين حيا يعيش فى مكة قال له ربه جل وعلا : ” إِنَّكَ مَيِّتٌ وَإِنَّهُم مَّيِّتُونَ: الزمر 30″. .
ولكن البخاريين يؤمنون بأن محمدا حى فى قبره ، وتعرض عليه أعمال أمته ، ولذلك يزورون قبره يتوسلون به وهم واثقون أنه يسمعهم وأنه يراجع أعمالهم ليشفع لهم … أى يسندون له حياة أبدية لتكمل له ملامح الألوهية .
1. ويؤمن القرآنيون بكل الكتب السماوية التى أخبر عنها القرآن الكريم وبكل الأنبياء ورسل الله جل وعلا ، وإيمانهم ليس بشخص النبى وإنما بالكتاب الذى نزل عليه ، ويسرى هذا على القرآن الكريم ، إذ يؤمن القرآنيون بالوحى القرآنى الذى نزل على محمد وليس بشخص محمد البشرى تنفيذا لقوله تعالى ” وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ وَآمَنُوا بِمَا نُزِّلَ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَهُوَ الْحَقُّ مِن رَّبِّهِمْ ” محمد 2 ” وقوله تعالى (قُلْ إِنَّمَا أَنَا بَشَرٌ مِّثْلُكُمْ يُوحَى إِلَيَّ أَنَّمَا إِلَهُكُمْ إِلَهٌ وَاحِدٌ فَمَن كَانَ يَرْجُو لِقَاء رَبِّهِ فَلْيَعْمَلْ عَمَلًا صَالِحًا وَلَا يُشْرِكْ بِعِبَادَةِ رَبِّهِ أَحَدًا ) ( الكهف 110) ولكن البخارييين يؤمنون بشخص محمد ، فيتحول إيمانهم بالشخص مستقلا عن الوحى نوعا من التأليه لذلك الشخص. ولذلك تراهم يجعلون سيرته الشخصية دينا ، كما يتبركون بكل ما ينسبونه اليه من أحاديث .
• ولأن إيمانهم هو بالكتاب السماوى الذى نزل على محمد وكل الأنبياء ولأنهم لا يؤلهون النبى محمدا فإن القرآنيين لا يجرءون على تفضيل خاتم الأنبياء على من سبقة من الأنبياء، أى لا يفرقون بين الرسل تمسكا يقوله تعالى ” آمَنَ الرَّسُولُ بِمَا أُنزِلَ إِلَيْهِ مِن رَّبِّهِ وَالْمُؤْمِنُونَ كُلٌّ آمَنَ بِاللّهِ وَمَلآئِكَتِهِ وَكُتُبِهِ وَرُسُلِهِ لاَ نُفَرِّقُ بَيْنَ أَحَدٍ مِّن رُّسُلِهِ وَقَالُواْ سَمِعْنَا وَأَطَعْنَا ” : البقرة 285″ . القرآنيون يقولون ” سمعنا وأطعنا ” ولكن البخاريون يقولون ” سمعنا وعصينا” . البخاريون جعلوا النبى محمدا سيد الأنبياء وأشرف المرسلين وجعلوه فى أحاديثهم (خير ولد آدم ولا فخر) ، وجعلوه مفضلا على الأنبياء بسبع خصال منها الشفاعة، وهذا أيضا من ملامح تأليههم للنبى محمد وجعله إلها مع الله .
• إن النهى عن التفريق بين الأنبياء تكرر فى القرآن الكريم (البقرة 136 ) ( آل عمران 84) (النساء 150 : 152 )
الخصومة فى الشريعة الإلهية
فى العبادات
1. لأن البخارييين جعلوا النبى محمدا عليه السلام إلها مع الله فى عقيدتهم فقد جعلوه شريكا لله تعالى فى عبادتهم ، فإلى جانب الصلوات الخمس المفروضة التى يتوجه بها المؤمن لله تعالى نجد البخارييين يصلون صلوات السنن لمحمد ، بل إنهم غيروا التشهد فى الصلاة فبدلا من تلاوة لآية التشهد “شَهِدَ اللّهُ أَنَّهُ لاَ إِلَـهَ إِلاَّ هُوَ وَالْمَلاَئِكَةُ وَأُوْلُواْ الْعِلْمِ قَآئِمَاً بِالْقِسْطِ لاَ إِلَـهَ إِلاَّ هُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ آل عمران 18″ نجدهم قد اخترعوا التحيات ليجعلوا محمدا شريكا لله تعالى فى الصلاة، وبدلا من أن تكون الصلاة لذكر الله تعالى وحده (إِنَّنِي أَنَا اللَّهُ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنَا فَاعْبُدْنِي وَأَقِمِ الصَّلَاةَ لِذِكْرِي ) ( طه 14)أصبحت صلواتهم الخمس لذكر الله ولذكر محمد معه .
2. وجعلوا محمدا أيضا شريكا فى آذان الصلاة وشريكا فى شهادة الإسلام المكتوبة على كل مسجد ، متجاهلين قوله تعالى “وَأَنَّ الْمَسَاجِدَ لِلَّهِ فَلَا تَدْعُوا مَعَ اللَّهِ أَحَدًا الجن 18″.
3. وبدلا من أن يكون الحج لله تعالى فى بيته الحرام ، فقد أضافوا الحج لقبر الرسول فى مكة وجعلوا المدينة حرما ثانيا مع أنه لا يوجد فى الإسلام إلا حرم واحد فقط هو الكعبة ، يحجون الى القبر المنسوب للنبى فى المدينة بحيث انهم يعتقدون ان الحج للكعبة لا يتم و لا يقبل إلا بالحج للقبر المقدس عندهم ، وقد جعلوا له طقوسا وشعائر ما أنزل الله تعالى بها من سلطان ، ولم يعرفها عصر النبى محمد عليه السلام ، فلم يحدث أن حج لقبر النبى بعد موته أحد من الصحابة ، ولا يقول عاقل أن الحج فى حياة النبى محمد كان يشمل زيارة قبر النبى .أى أنه إختراع زوره البخاريون فى دينهم لتقديس النبى محمدا وتأليهه بعد موته .
4 ـ وطبقا لما جاء فى القرآن الكريم فإن الله تعالى يصلى على النبى هو وملائكته وقد أمر المؤمنين بالصلاة على النبى والتسليم بما جاء فى القرآن الكريم ” إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَمَلَائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا .” الأحزاب 56 “. وهو نفس الحل بالنسبة للمؤمنين ، فالله تعالى وملائكته يصلون على المؤمنين “إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَمَلَائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا : الأحزاب 43″ والله تعالى أمر النبى أن يصلى على المؤمنين “وَصَلِّ عَلَيْهِمْ إِنَّ صَلاَتَكَ سَكَنٌ لَّهُمْ وَاللّهُ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ:التوبة 103″ .أذن هو تساوى بين المؤمنين والنبى ، فالله تعالى وملائكته يصلون على النبى وعلى المؤمنين والله تعالى أمر النبى بالصلاة على المؤمنين وأمر المؤمنين بالصلاة على النبى .
والصلاة هنا تعنى الصلة ، وهى القرآن الكريم الذى يخرج به الناس من الظلمات إلى النور . وتلاوة القرآن هى تلك الصلة التى تربط بينك اليوم وبين النبى محمد عليه السلام لأنك تقرأ وتتلفظ ما كان يقرؤه ويتلفظ به محمد عليه السلام ، ولأنك تتمسك بما كان محمد يتمسك به فى حياته ” فَاسْتَمْسِكْ بِالَّذِي أُوحِيَ إِلَيْكَ إِنَّكَ عَلَى صِرَاطٍ مُّسْتَقِيمٍ وَإِنَّهُ لَذِكْرٌ لَّكَ وَلِقَوْمِكَ وَسَوْفَ تُسْأَلُونَ الزخرف 44:43″.
أما السلام على النبى محمد فذلك مأمور به ضمن السلام على كل الأنبياء والرسل “وَسَلَامٌ عَلَى الْمُرْسَلِينَ الصافات 181″ ، “قُلِ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ وَسَلَامٌ عَلَى عِبَادِهِ الَّذِينَ اصْطَفَى آللَّهُ خَيْرٌ أَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ : النمل 59″.
ولكن البخارييين حولوا الصلاة على النبى إلى عبادة وتقديس له متجاهلين الآيات الكريمة السابقة ، فمن الخطأ عندهم ذكر إسم محمد بدون المسارعة بالصلاة عليه ، بل إنهم فى تطرفهم فى تطبيق تلك العبادة تناسوا عبادة أخرى مماثلة وهى بالفعل مفروضه عليهم وهى تسبيح الله تعالى ، فالمفروض أنه عند ذكر لفظ الجلالة ” الله ” أن يرد المؤمن بتسبيح الله تعالى وحمده وإجلاله جل وعلا ، ولكن الذى يحدث هو العكس ؛ فعندما يخطب أحدهم- مثلا – فيذكر أسم الله تعالى فلا نجد أحد يستجيب بالتسبيح لله تعالى وحمده ، فإذا ذكر اسم النبى محمد سارع الجميع بالصلاة عليه والتسليم فى خشوع وخنوع . أى أنهم فى عبادتهم للنبى محمد يفضلونه على عبادتهم لله تعالى .
هذا مع أن فريضة التسبيح مأمور بها فى القرآن الكريم ولها أوقات محددة ” فَاصْبِرْ عَلَى مَا يَقُولُونَ وَسَبِّحْ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّكَ قَبْلَ طُلُوعِ الشَّمْسِ وَقَبْلَ غُرُوبِهَا وَمِنْ آنَاء اللَّيْلِ فَسَبِّحْ وَأَطْرَافَ النَّهَارِ لَعَلَّكَ تَرْضَى طه130 ” ، ” فَاصْبِرْ عَلَى مَا يَقُولُونَ وَسَبِّحْ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّكَ قَبْلَ طُلُوعِ الشَّمْسِ وَقَبْلَ الْغُرُوبِ وَمِنَ اللَّيْلِ فَسَبِّحْهُ وَأَدْبَارَ السُّجُودِ : ق 40:39″، ” وَاصْبِرْ لِحُكْمِ رَبِّكَ فَإِنَّكَ بِأَعْيُنِنَا وَسَبِّحْ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّكَ حِينَ تَقُومُ وَمِنَ اللَّيْلِ فَسَبِّحْهُ وَإِدْبَارَ النُّجُومِ :الطور 49:48″ . هذه الفريضة تناساها البخاريون لتطرفهم فى عبادة النبى محمد.
فى المعاملات :-
يؤمن القرآنيون أن الله تعالى أرسل محمدا بالقرآن ليكون رحمة للعالمين وليس لإرهاب العالمين ” وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلَّا رَحْمَةً لِّلْعَالَمِينَ : الأنبياء 107″ ومن خلال أكثر من ألف أيه قرآنية يؤمن القرآنيون ان الله تعالى قرر تمام الحرية للبشر فى العقيدة وأن مرجعهم إليه جل وعلا يوم القيامة ليحكم بينهم فيما هم فيه مختلفون . كما يؤمن القرآنيون بأن السلام هو الأصل فى الأسلام ، وأن الحرب فى الأسلام لمجرد الدفاع عن النفس وليس للهجوم ،وأن من يعتدى ويظلم يكون كافرا بسلوكه وفق تشريعات القرآن الكريم والقيم الأسلامية العليا من العدل والأحسان والرحمة والعفو والمغفرة والتيسير والصبر ..
ولكن البخارييين يجعلون الله تعالى خلاف ذلك ، فيزعمون أن الله تعالى أمر الرسول عليه السلام أن يقاتل الناس حتى يرغمهم أن يدخلوا فى الأسلام وأنه جل وعلا أباح للمسلمين استحلال دماء غير المسلمين وأموالهم وسبى نسائهم وأولادهم وفرض الجزية عليهم بعد إحتلال أوطانهم ..
وهذا فارق هائل بين رؤية القرآنيين لله تعالى وعقيدة البخاريين فى الله تعالى. وتلك العقيدة البخارية طبقها المسلمون قبل البخارى وبعده ، ولكن البخارى هو أشهر من قام بتشريعها حين زور آحاديث ونسبها للنبى محمد عليه السلام فأصبحت دينا يناقض دين الأسلام الحقيقى الذى نزل فى القرآن الكريم والذى طبقه خاتم المرسلين عليهم جميعا السلام .
وأخيرا
1 ـ تلك العقيدة البخارية لا تقتصر على تأليه النبى محمد ولكن تؤله أيضا العلماء والأئمة والأولياء.
2 ـ تلك العقيدة البخارية تنظر لله تعالى على أنه إله منزوع السلطات لا يملك التحكم فى الدنيا ولا فى الاخرة ، وعلى أنه إله دموى يأمر بالعدوان وقتل المسالمين ، وتجعل له شركاء فى الالوهية يقومون عنه بالسلطة و يحوزون دونه بالصلاة و العبادة و التقديس و التمجيد .
3 ـ ومن أجل تلك العقيدة البخارية يتعرض القرآنيون للأضطهاد والأذى والتعذيب لأن القرآنيين :
*يؤمنون بالله تعالى وحده وليا وشفيعا ” اللَّهُ الَّذِي خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا فِي سِتَّةِ أَيَّامٍ ثُمَّ اسْتَوَى عَلَى الْعَرْشِ مَا لَكُم مِّن دُونِهِ مِن وَلِيٍّ وَلَا شَفِيعٍ أَفَلَا تَتَذَكَّرُونَ : السجدة 4 “
*ولأنهم يؤمنون أن الله تعالى له تمام السيطرة على الخلق (مَّا مِن دَآبَّةٍ إِلاَّ هُوَ آخِذٌ بِنَاصِيَتِهَا ) ( هود 56) وأنه جل وعلا لا يشرك فى حكمه أحدا (مَا لَهُم مِّن دُونِهِ مِن وَلِيٍّ وَلَا يُشْرِكُ فِي حُكْمِهِ أَحَدًا) (الكهف 26) وأن له تعالى وحده الخلق والأمر (أَلاَ لَهُ الْخَلْقُ وَالأَمْرُ تَبَارَكَ اللّهُ رَبُّ الْعَالَمِينَ ) (الأعراف54 )
*ولأنهم يؤمنون أن الله تعالى أنزل القرآن تاما ” وَتَمَّتْ كَلِمَتُ رَبِّكَ صِدْقًا وَعَدْلاً لاَّ مُبَدِّلِ لِكَلِمَاتِهِ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ ” الأنعام 115″ ، كاملا مكتملا ” الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِي وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ الإِسْلاَمَ دِينًا المائدة 3″ مبينا واضحا ” الَرَ تِلْكَ آيَاتُ الْكِتَابِ وَقُرْآنٍ مُّبِينٍ: الحجر 1″ ولا يحتاج إلى تفسير خارجى ” وَلَا يَأْتُونَكَ بِمَثَلٍ إِلَّا جِئْنَاكَ بِالْحَقِّ وَأَحْسَنَ تَفْسِيرًا .”الفرقان 33 ” .
4ـ ومع ما يتعرض له القرآنيون من البخارييين إلا أن القرآنيين ـ طبقا لأوامر الله عز وجل ـ يعفون ويصفحون انتظارا ليوم الخصومة أمام الله تعالى ” وَإِنَّ السَّاعَةَ لآتِيَةٌ فَاصْفَحِ الصَّفْحَ الْجَمِيلَ .” الحجر 85 ” ،” وَقِيلِهِ يَارَبِّ إِنَّ هَؤُلَاء قَوْمٌ لَّا يُؤْمِنُونَ فَاصْفَحْ عَنْهُمْ وَقُلْ سَلَامٌ فَسَوْفَ يَعْلَمُونَ .” الزخرف 88 : 89 “
ويتنظر القرآنيون مجىء يوم الفصل ليحكم الله تعالى بينهم وبين البخارييين فيما هم فيه يختصمون ” وَقُل لِّلَّذِينَ لاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ اعْمَلُواْ عَلَى مَكَانَتِكُمْ إِنَّا عَامِلُونَ وَانتَظِرُوا إِنَّا مُنتَظِرُونَ : هود 122:121″
5 ـ ويتمنى القرآنيون أن يتوب البخاريون المعاصرون وألا يسيروا على نهج البخاريين السابقين ..
وأملا فى التوبة والاصلاح ندعوهم الى قراءة الآيات العشر الأخيرة من سورة يونس.

TO DINO MOHAMADINOOO

بقلم: سامر اسلامبولي

الســنة والحديـث

   يسرني أن ألتقي بكم في هذا المركز الإسلامي المبارك. إن شاء الله للتحاور وتداول وجهات النظر والاستماع إلى الآراء الأخرى لتزكية الأفكار ونقدها النقد البناء الإيجابي وتحديثها، لأن لكل زمن معطيات واستخدام للأفكار بصورة اجتماعية وسياسية. ومن هذا الوجه يجب الانتباه أثناء دراسة الأفكار واستحضار المعطيات التاريخية التي كانت الباعث على صياغة الأفكار بهذه الصورة التي تخدم مصالح الفئة المستبدة حينئذ. فمن المعلوم أن الصراع السياسي كان وراء صياغة معظم المفاهيم الإسلامية وولادة الفرق والطوائف، ولا ننسى أيضاً دخول الوافدين من الثقافات الأخرى إلى الإسلام لقد أدخلوا معهم ثقافتهم وتم مزجها بالثقافة الإسلامية. ناهيك عن كمون العقلية الجاهلية في المجتمع الإسلامي وظهورها في الثقافة الإسلامية كآلية عقلية تم استخدامها في فهم الإسلام وخاصة بعد وفاة النبي صلى الله عليه وآله إذ بدأت تظهر رويداً رويداً. إلى أن ظهرت تماماً بعد انتهاء العصر السياسي الراشد وولادة عصر القهر والغلبة وتم قيادة الناس من خلال الاستبداد السياسي والاستعباد الاجتماعي والاقتصادي وظهرت الأدبيات التي تكرس هذا المنحى أصولاً ولغة وفقها ، وشعراً وعقيدة وفكراً، فصارت الثقافة الإسلامية ثقافة استبدادية واستعبادية كامنة في نفوس المجتمع فإذا قام المجتمع بتغيير مستبد حاكم فيكون ذلك باستبداله بمستبد آخر لأننا لا نعرف إلا ثقافة الاستبداد، وكذلك فيما يتعلق بالإصلاح الاجتماعي، إذا قام الحاكم بإصلاح ظلم وفساد في جانب فيكون ذلك على حساب جانب آخر، أي ينتقل الظلم والفساد من جانب إلى آخر والنتيجة واحدة وربما أسوء، ومَرَدَّ ذلك إلى ثقافة الاستعباد المهيمنة على قلوب الشعوب، حتى صار عند الحاكم قناعة ومفهوم سياسي أن الشعوب لا تقاد إلا بالعصا والجوع والحرمان- جَوِّع كلبك يتبعك- وظهر مفهوم رعاية الناس قياساً على القطعان الحيوانية ورعايتها، وانتفى مفهوم العناية بالناس فالرعاية هي عمل المقصد به مصلحة الراعي وليس الرعية، فالإنسان يرعى البقر ليس حبّاً لها وإنما ليستفيد هو منها فهو يقوم بتسمين العجول ليأكلها. بينما العناية موجهة إلى الآخر لمنفعته ومصلحته وليس إلى الفاعل!. فالحاكم يجب أن يقوم بالعناية للمجتمع وليس برعايته، والسياسة تتحول من سياسة الرعاية إلى سياسة العناية، والناس من الرعايا إلى المواطنين. فالثقافة التي وصلت إلينا من خلال التراكم التراثي لثقافة المجتمعات السابقة هي في معظمها مفاهيم تكرس الاستبداد، ومعظم المحاولات التحررية التي قامت في التاريخ إنما قامت على أساس استبدال مستبد بمستبد آخر وهذا يقتضي تعبئة المفاهيم بما يخدم مصلحة المستبد الجديد ومن هذا الوجه تم وضع آلاف الأحاديث على لسان النبوة كذباً وافتراء يحاول كل حزب إضفاء الشرعية على حركته وأهدافه وكان ذلك يتم غالباً بعد عملية القهر والغلبة والاستيلاء على السلطة فلم يصل منهم إلى قيادة الأمة أحد بصورة شرعية ابتداء وهذا هو التاريخ شاهد على ما أقول فحكام اليوم ليسوا بأسوأ من حكام الأمس! حتى أن الإمام محمد عبده رحمهأن الإمام محمد عبده رحمه الله يقرر هذه الحقيقة والمأساة فيقول: لا خلاص للأمة إلا بوجود مستبد عادل!. هذا هو الوضع في الثقافة الإسلامية الحالية، ثقافة استبدادية وممارسة استعبادية ومع ذلك يطالب المثقفون بإزالة الاستبداد ليُحِلُّوا مكانه استبدادهم!! والنتيجة صراع بين المستبدين، والضحية هو المجتمع المستباح ماله والمسروق جهده والمنهوب ثروات وطنه. إذاً نحن الآن وجهاً إلى وجه أمام التراث الإسلامي الممزوج بسياسة الصراع على السلطة القائم على فكر الاستبداد والاستعباد. لذا يجب فرز الأفكار وفصلها عن الصراع السياسي التاريخي ودراستها بصورة موضوعية دون ربطها بالرجال والأحداث وتنقيتها من ثقافة الاستبداد والاستعباد. أيها الأخوة إن التاريخ هو أحداث قد مضت فلا يمكن لإنسان أن ينتمي الآن. إلى الأمويين أو ينتمي إلى المعارضين لهم- سنة وشيعة- والمعارك التاريخية أيضاً قد انتهت وبالتالي لا يمكن أن نصحح نتيجة معركة أو ننصر المظلوم منهم، ناهيك عن استحالة إعادة عظماء الأمة الشهداء إلى الحياة.

SOME IMPLICATIONS OF THE QURANIC MESSAGE FOR THE ECONOMIC SYSTEM

By: rab_abdur@yahoo.com

(O mankind!) Give full measure; and be not of those who give less. And weigh with right scales. And wrong not men of their things (or rights), and act not corruptly in the earth, making mischief. –Shu’ara (26): 181-183

Introduction

Some might question if economics or an economic system has anything to do with religion. Yet, it is instructive to see if religion has anything to offer in this regard. Religion provides normative guidance and inspiration to man to be true and honest in all respects, to be good to others and to do justice in all of his dealings, including economic dealings. We do need to translate the concept of justice as proclaimed by religion in the conduct of ourselves in all affairs, including economic activities and transactions. And, for maintaining equity and ensuring special humanitarian treatment of disadvantaged groups, religion offers not only inspiration but also specific guidelines. Overall, we get broad guidelines from religion for conducting our economic affairs. Everything cannot perhaps be specifically spelled out by religion. God repeatedly exhorts us in the Quran to reflect on His message, and apply our sense [Sad (38): 29; Yunus (10): 24; Muhammad (47): 24; Zumar (39): 27; Hashr (59): 21]. This highlights the need for efforts to interpret the Quranic message carefully and appropriately to work out its implications in various areas.

Pilgrimage – The Lost Legacy of abraham

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

“The first Sanctuary established for the people is the one in Bakk’a, blessed, and a guidance for the worlds. In it are clear signs: the situation of Abraham. And whoever enters it will be secure. And God is owed from mankind to make Pilgrimage to the sanctuary, whoever can make a path to it. And whoever rejects, then God has no need of the worlds.” (Quran 3:96-97)

Every year we see millions of Pilgrims heading towards Mecca for the annual “Pilgrimage/Hajj”. The Pilgrimage takes place in the Arabic month of “Zul Hujja” and lasts for a period of 3 days in which the Pilgrims perform a number of rites, of which is being dressed in a white cloth “Ihraam”, circling the Kaab’a several times, running between the two stones of the “Safa” & “Marwa”, and throwing the pebbles at the devil.

This article will examine the subject of Pilgrimage using the Quran to try and re-create its details in full.

Not a Single Verse of the Quran is Abrogated?

“None of AYAT do We abrogate or cause to be forgotten, but We substitute something better or similar: Knowest thou not that Allah Hath power over all things?” [2:106]

According to 2:106 quoted above, some people believe that some of the AYAT of Quran are abrogated. There is not a single AYAT of Quran that is abrogated. What is abrogated and is referred to in 2:106 are the past scriptures or revelations, revealed to the prophets who came before Muhammad [p.b.u.h]. Please consider the following points for proof:

Dogs! Are they dirty prohibited animals?

Editor’s Note:

It is traditional among Muslims all over the world to regard the dog as a dirty animal that when touched would void your wudu (ablution) and give you nagasah (dirty impurity!

Sadly, this concept comes from fabricated hadith which claims that the prophet ordered the killing of dogs and gave numerous hadith that prohibit the keeping of dogs except for hunting and guarding, due to their dirty status!

However, by studying the Quran we find no such claims.  Nowhere in the Quran are dogs prohibited.  Consequently, we must dismiss all these hadith that fabricate lies against the prophet. 

Stereotyping Of Muslims Demeans Our Democracy

By Benjamin J. Hubbard

Stereotyping is a deceptive and malicious way of asserting the superiority of one ethnic, national or religious group over another. Its fruits are bigotry, violence and war. It thrives on half-truths, generalizations and fear.

A recent example is an email floating like space garbage through the Internet that I have received from five different sources within the past year. It makes several assertions about Islam and Muslims that are either false or simplistic. The email begins with the question, “Can a Muslim become a good American citizen?” The anonymous email then provides a series of negative responses or stereotypes from “a friend who worked in Saudi Arabia for 20 years.” Here are five of the most misleading of the stereotypes followed by clarifications.

Reinterpreting Islam

A post-era feeling has gripped the world of Islam. It appears to many of us that we are living in an age of agonizing boredom when history is wrapping itself up and when momentous events are not taking place any more. Our allurement of the past – when our history was at its zenith and when we enjoyed the Golden Age wherein the pious elders perfected the process of thinking, leaves almost no role for us in any future scheme of things. In short, the future history, as we conceive it today, is no more than an empty shell of a used cartridge.

MARY IN QURAN

Surah 3. The Family Of ‘Imran, The House Of ‘Imran:

33. Allah did choose Adam and Noah, the family of Abraham, and the family of ‘Imran above allpeople,-

34. Offspring, one of the other: And Allah heareth and knoweth all things.

35. Behold! a woman of ‘Imran said: “O my Lord! I do dedicate unto Thee what is in my womb for Thy special service: So accept this of me: For Thou hearest and knowest all things.”

36. When she was delivered, she said: “O my Lord! Behold! I am delivered of a female child!”- and Allah knew best what she brought forth- “And no wise is the male Like the female. I have named her Mary, and I commend her and her offspring to Thy protection from the Evil One, the Rejected.”

The Quranists are finally released !

Finally the national security released the five arrested Quranists after 130 days of arbitrary detention. They are now recovering safely in their homes and ruining medical checks/operations to heal their physical problems caused by the torture received during the arrest.

The Quranists were released because of lack of evidences. On the other hand, no decision was made regarding the accusation of Contempt of Religion, whether to transfer to court or to preserve it.

http://www.ahl-alquran.com/English/show_news.php?main_id=633

The Islamic Human Rights Commission

http://www.ihrc.org/

“The Islamic Human Rights Commission was set up in 1997. We are an independent, not-for-profit, campaign, research and advocacy organization based in London, UK. We foster links and work in partnership with different organizations from Muslim and non-Muslim backgrounds, to campaign for justice for all peoples regardless of their racial, confessional or political background.

DEMOCRACY IN THE QUR’AN -III-

SHURA IN ISLAM

Some Muslims say that ISLAM requires absolutely all decisions made by and for the Muslim societies to be made by shura. To some, this means that Islam enjoins REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY. This belief is characteristic of LIBERAL MOVEMENTS WITHIN ISLAM.

Other Muslims say that Islam requires submission to existing rulers, however they are chosen, so long as they govern according to sharia or ISLAMIC LAW. This is a more traditional approach, characteristic of many centuries of Islamic history (see History of Islam).

The difference between the two appears more semantic than actual – the latter accept that the rulers must be accounted in all aspects of ruling, to ensure affairs are managed in the best possible way whether decisions were taken through consultation or not.

DEMOCRACY IN THE QUR’AN -II-

THE ROOTS OF DEMOCRACY IN ISLAM

Summary of Remarks by Dr. Ahmed Subhy Mansour

December 16, 2002

On December 16, 2002, Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellow Dr. Ahmed Subhy Mansour gave a public presentation at the National Endowment for Democracy on the “The Roots of Democracy in Islam.” Speaking before an American audience for the first time, Dr. Mansour traced the sources of democratic thought in Islamic theology and discussed his ideas of how Islam’s democratic potential may be realized in the modern Muslim world.

DEMOCRACY IN THE QUR’AN -I-

Quran & Democracy

Are they compatible?

Thursday September 22nd, 2005, by Muhammed Asadi

What has happened in modern bureaucratic societies, that parade as democracies (like the USA), is that the chance to reason and the ability to be free has been lost (see http://robots.asadi.org) that is the nature of a bureaucratic society: a society where standardization is the norm and the person is surrounded by rules that govern behavior from birth to death. Such “democracies” exists in form only and not in essence, here choices are not formulated by a “public” but rather insinuated upon a highly propagandized “mass society” that knows next to nothing regarding public issues. This is achieved by control of the “cultural apparatus” by a small aristocracy, the Power Elite. The “cultural apparatus”- language, education, status and technology- with the media and the formal educational institutions playing a dominant role, thus ensures that this elite achieves cultural hegemony. The person thinks he or she is free and living under a “democracy” but the reality of the situation is much different.

WHAT WENT WRONG?

Early American Support for the Taliban

First published in Spring 2002

Article by Olivier Roy

Back when Soviet troops occupied Afghanistan, it may have seemed like a good idea for the US to sow the wind of the Islamic Mujahidin opposition in the country. The result, however, was the whirlwind of the fundamentalist Taliban and terrorist network al Qaeda—especially after the US lost interest and left on-the-ground engagement to the Pakistani secret service.

Sunni Scholar

“One must research Religion, and not just study it”

Interview with Professor Amin Abdullah, UIN Sunan Kalijaga Jogjakarta.

 

Universitas Islam Sunan Kalijaga is one of the pioneers in the field of Islamic studies in Indonesia today, if not in the ASEAN region. Upgraded from a state Islamic Studies Academy (IAIN) to a fully-fledged Islamic university (UIN) a few years ago, it has produced a steady stream of graduates who have moved on to other fields ranging from academia to finance, the bureaucracy to politics, media to activism.

Massoud’s Letter To The People Of America

Date: 1998

A Message to the People of the United States of America

I send this message to you today on behalf of the freedom and peace-loving people of Afghanistan, the Mujahedeen freedom fighters who resisted and defeated Soviet communism, the men and women who are still resisting oppression and foreign hegemony and, in the name of more than one and a half million Afghan martyrs who sacrificed their lives to uphold some of the same values and ideals shared by most Americans and Afghans alike. This is a crucial and unique moment in the history of Afghanistan and the world, a time when Afghanistan has crossed yet another threshold and is entering a new stage of struggle and resistance for its survival as a free nation and independent state.

IN THE SHADE OF DEATH – A CRITICAL READING OF SAYYID QUTB’S

Sayyid Qutb (IPA pronunciation: ['saɪjɪd 'qʊtˁb]) (also Seyyid, Sayid, Sayed; also Koteb, Kutb) (Arabic: سيد قطب; October 9, 1906 – August 29, 1966) was an Egyptian author, Islamist, and the leading intellectual of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood in the 1950s and 60s. He is best known in the Muslim world for his work on the social and political role of Islamic fundamentalism, particularly in his books Social Justice and Ma’alim fi-l-Tariq (Milestones). His extensive Quranic commentary Fi zilal al-Qur’an (In the shades of the Qur’an) has contributed significantly to modern perceptions of Islamic concepts such as jihad, jahiliyyah, and ummah. He is best known in the West as “the man whose ideas would shape Al Qaeda.” Alternative spellings of his first and last names include Saïd, Syed, Koteb (rather common), Qutub, Kotb, etc.

Brief Explaination and Examples of ‘undesirable’ from Qur’an

He said: This is what we sought for; so they returned retracing their footsteps. (18:64)

Then they found one from among Our servants whom We had granted mercy from Us and whom We had taught knowledge from Ourselves. (18:65)

Musa said to him: Shall I follow you on condition that you should teach me right knowledge of what you have been taught? (18:66)

He said: Surely you cannot have patience with me (18:67)

And how can you have patience in that of which you have not got a comprehensive knowledge? (18:68)

He said: If Allah pleases, you will find me patient and I shall not disobey you in any matter. (18:69)

He said: If you would follow me, then do not question me about any thing until I myself speak to you about it (18:70)

So they went (their way) until when they embarked in the boat he made a hole in it. (Musa) said: Have you made a hole in it to drown its inmates? Certainly you have done a grievous thing. (18:71)

He said: Did I not say that you will not be able to have patience with me? (18:72)

He said: Blame me not for what I forgot, and do not constrain me to a difficult thing in my affair. (18:73)

So they went on until, when they met a boy, he slew him. (Musa) said: Have you slain an innocent person otherwise than for manslaughter? Certainly you have done an evil thing. (18:74) 

He said: Did I not say to you that you will not be able to have patience with me? (18:75)

He said: If I ask you about anything after this, keep me not in your company; indeed you shall have (then) found an excuse in my case. (18:76)

So they went on until when they came to the people of a town, they asked them for food, but they refused to entertain them as guests. Then they found in it a wall which was on the point of falling, so he put it into a right state. (Musa) said: If you had pleased, you might certainly have taken a recompense for it. (18:77)

He said: This shall be separation between me and you; now I will inform you of the significance of that with which you could not have patience. (18:78)

As for the boat, it belonged to (some) poor men who worked on the river and I wished that I should damage it, and there was behind them a king who seized every boat by force. (18:79)

And as for the boy, his parents were believers and we feared lest he should make disobedience and ingratitude to come upon them: (18:80)

So we desired that their Lord might give them in his place one better than him in purity and nearer to having compassion. (18:81)

And as for the wall, it belonged to two orphan boys in the city, and there was beneath it a treasure belonging to them, and their father was a righteous man; so your Lord desired that they should attain their maturity and take out their treasure, a mercy from your Lord, and I did not do it of my own accord. This is the significance of that with which you could not have patience. (18:82)

Islam Needs an Age of Reason

Love and religion do not always mix. No wonder the most common question sent to my website these days comes from young Muslims in America and Europe. They desperately want to know if they can marry non-Muslims.

Their parents and imams tell them that Islam forbids marriage outside the faith. But that is not necessarily true. Dr. Khaleel Mohammed, a progressive American imam educated at traditional universities in the Middle East, has written a clear defense of inter-faith marriage from an Islamic perspective. I have posted his “blessing” on my website.

No Justice, No Peace

Religion Within the Limits of Reason

On March 17, 2006, the weekly magazine of the Israeli daily Haaretz published an intellectual profile of Tunisian-born reformist thinker Lafif Lakhdar, which was titled “The Roots of Jihad.” In the interview section of the profile, Lakhdar, a veteran activist,(1) analyzes the roots and goals of Islamism and Islamist movements, and presents his vision of reform in the Arab and Muslim world.

The Multiple Understandings of the QUR’AN

Generally it is believed by many, if not all, Muslims that there is one authentic interpretation of the Qur’an. It is far from true. Even the closest companions of the Prophet differed from each other in understanding various verses. Also, in Islam, since there is no concept of official church, no one interpretation can command following of a majority of Muslims, let alone all Muslims. There is hardly any major issue on which Muslim ‘ulama (scholars) do not differ. These differences, more often than not, are due to different interpretations of the Qur’anic text.

Fundamentalism from a Fundamentalist’s Perspective

By Mu’adz D’Fahmi

29/10/2003

Title: The Battle for God

Author: Karen Armstrong

Publisher: Serambi and Mizan

Edition: I, August 2001

Content: xx + 641 page

Karen Armstrong is a British prominent researcher in religious studies. After seven years as a Roman Catholic nun who failed to find “God” in the Papal system, she left the church in 1969 and continued her study of religion at Oxford University. Some of her works have become best sellers listed in the New York Times, as for example, The Gospel According to Woman (1987), Holy War (1991), Muhammad; A Biography of the Prophet (1992), and A History of God (1993).

Islamic Studies Textbook and Violence

 

 

By Luthfi Assyaukanie

9/2/2007

Recently, U.S. Freedom House’s Centre for Religious Freedom released a report analyzing the syllabus and textbook of Islamic studies courses used in Saudi schools. One of the important findings is that ideology of hatred and enmity toward Christians, Jews and Muslims who do not subscribe to the Wahhabi doctrine remains in this area of the public school system.

Fighting Terrorism: Recommendations by Arab Reformists

The question of how to fight Islamic terrorism preoccupies many Arab reformists who are working to denounce Islamist thought, to encourage independent and critical thinking, and to establish values of democracy and human rights in the Muslim world. For example, in February 2005, a group of reformists submitted to the U.N. a request that it establish an international court to judge Muslim clerics who incite to violence and bloodshed. The request was examined by the U.N. legal counsel and distributed to the U.N. Security Council.(1)

Blind Faith

By Irshad Manji
The Wall Street Journal

Muslim reaction to the beheading of Nicholas Berg tells us a lot about what’s happening in the Islamic world. More than that, it reveals what’s not happening, yet needs to, if Muslims are going to transcend the intellectual and moral crisis in which we find ourselves today.

First, the good news. A few scholars at Cairo’s Al-Azhar University, the Harvard of Sunni Islam, are denouncing Mr. Berg’s decapitation. So are a handful of Muslim lobby groups in Europe and North America. Add some English-language newspapers based in the Middle East, and a picture of progress emerges.

Don’t Blame the “Jews”

Another disturbing trend that is heavily propagated by extremists and accepted by many naive Arabs and Muslims is the blaming of all Muslim problems on the Jews. There are numerous examples for this but most recently news broadcasts out of Iraq quoted Iraqi victims of violence who blamed the bombings on Jews or a Jewish conspiracy.Many Arabs and Muslims still blame the 9-11 attacks on a Jewish conspiracy that was allegedly perpetrated to demonize Arabs and Muslims in the eyes of the world.

Solving the Palestinian/Israeli Conflict

No issue has the same global impact as the Palestinian/Israeli conflict. During the cold war, the United States and the Soviet Union twice raised their security alerts and aggressively challenged each other over this conflict. The oil embargo of the 1970s was inspired by the Palestinian/Israeli conflict. Numerous militants, terrorist groups and governments around the world which seek legitimacy place the Palestinian/Israeli conflict at the forefront of their agenda. And while the Palestinian/Israeli conflict is not the cause of terrorism, solving this conflict may transform the political landscape of the entire Middle East and expose the various agendas of numerous violent groups who leach on this conflict to win the hearts and minds of emotional and unsuspecting people.

Our Positions

Terrorism

The Free Muslims Coalition believes that there can NEVER be a justification for terrorism. The Coalition believes that fundamentalist Islamic terror represents one of the most lethal threats to the stability of the civilized world. The existence of Islamic terrorists is the existence of threats to democracy. There is no room for terrorism in the modern world and the United States should take a no-tolerance stance on terrorism in order to avoid another tragedy, along the lines of 9-11. With the added threat of biochemical weapons, the call to defeat terrorism has never been so urgent.

Personalities Renowned By Mother Names

Originally Posted By: Ahmad Ammar
Date: Wednesday, 22 September 2004, at 3:08 a.m.

Personalities Renowned By Their Mother Names

There are many personalities in history that are famous by their
mother’s manes (as their mothers were renowned personalities) as
“Kuniat”. These names does not imply that they have no fathers nor
their names can be translated as “abc” son of “their mother’s
names”, because they have their fathers and they should be called
with their father names as is a general rule described in QURAN,
however their “Kuniat” may be of their mother names & this practice
does not violate the rule of QURAN.

Did Al-Hajjaj Change The Qur’an?

Written by M S M Saifullah, Muhammad Ghoniem & Abu Ammar Yasir Qadhi

Wednesday, 22 February 2006

1. IntroductionIt had been claimed by Orientalists and missionaries that al-Hajjaj was responsible for changing the some contents of the Qur’an. The scandal surrounding al-Hajjaj is apparently based on two different traditions, one Muslim and the other Christian. The Islamic source is Kitab al-Masahif of Ibn Abi Dawud where a report mentions that al-Hajjaj made eleven changes in `Uthman’s mushaf. As for the Christian source, the prominent one is of exchange of letters between Ummayad Caliph `Umar II and the Byzantine Emperor Leo III. A less prominent writing is that of an apology attributed to `Abd al-Masih al-Kindi.We would begin by examining the report in Kitab al-Masahif of Ibn Abi Dawud, the problems with the interpretation of Orientalists and missionaries, the authenticity of the report and the implication of the alleged changes made by al-Hajjaj. Followed by this would be the analysis of polemical sources and their authenticity. The document is divided into following sub-headings: The Report In Kitab al-Masahif Of Ibn Abi Dawud Hadith Criticism Of The Report: The Study of Isnad Hadith Criticism Of The Report: The Study of Matn The Christian Polemical Sources: Letter Of Leo III & `Abd al-Masih al-Kindi Conclusions