islam

islam miracle

2008-05-11T14:55:00.000-07:00

islam miracle

The Amazing Quran part 9

2008-05-11T14:43:00.000-07:00

Returning one final time to the subject of good guesses for the purpose of the present example, the odds that someone guessed correctly about all three of the aforementioned subjects - the sex of bees, the movement of the sun and the existence of time zones - are one in eight!
Certainly, one could continue on and on with this example, drawing up longer and longer list of good guesses; and of course, the odds would become higher and higher with each increase of subjects about which one could guess. But what no one can deny is the following; the odds that Mohammed an illiterate, guessed correctly about thousands and thousands of subjects, never once making a mistake, are so high that any theory of his authorship of the Qur'an must be completely dismissed - even by the most hostile enemies of Islam!
Indeed, the Qur'an expects this kind of challenge. Undoubtedly, if one said to someone upon entering a foreign land, "I know your father. I have met him," probably the man from that land would doubt the newcomer's word, saying, "You have just come here. How could you know my father?" As a result, he would question him, "Tell me, is my father tall, short, dark, fair? What is he like?" Of course, if the visitor continued answering all of the questions correctly, the skeptic would have no choice but to say, "I guess you do know my father. I don't know how you know him, but I guess you do!" The situation is the same with the Qur'an. It states that it originates from the One who created everything. So everyone has the right to say, "Convince me! If the author of this book really originated life and everything in the heavens and on the earth, then He should know about this, about that, and so on." And inevitably, after researching the Qur'an, everyone will discover the same truths. Additionally, we all know something for sure: we do not all have to be experts to verify what the Qur'an affirms. One's iman (faith) grows as one continues to check and confirm the truths contained in the Qur'an. And one is supposed to do so all of his life.
May God (Allah) guide everyone close to the truth.
Supplement
An engineer at the University of Toronto who was interested in psychology and who had read something on it, conducted researched wrote a thesis on Efficiency of Group Discussions. The purpose of his research was to find out how much people accomplish when they get together to talk in groups of two, three, ten, etc. The graph of his findings: people accomplish most when they talk in groups of two. Of course, this discovery was entirely beyond his expectations, but it is very old advice given in the Qur'an:
Additionally, the 89th chapter of the Qur'an mentions a certain city by the name of 'Iram (a city of pillars), which was not known in ancient history and which was non-existent as far as historians were concerned. However, the December 1978 edition of National Geographic introduced interesting information which mentioned that in 1973, the city of Elba was excavated in Syria. The city was discovered to be 43 centuries old, but that is not the most amazing part. Researchers found in the library of Elba a record of all of the cities with which Elba had done business. Believe or not, there on the list was the name of the city of 'Iram. The people of Elba had done business with the people of 'Iram!
"Say, 'I exhort you to one thing - that you stand for Allah, [assessing the truth] by twos and singly, and then reflect.....' In conclusion I ask you to consider with care the following:
"And they say, 'Why are not signs sent down to him from his Lord?' Say, 'Indeed, the signs are with Allah, and I am but a clear warner.' But is sufficient for them that We have sent down to you the Book [i.e. Qur'an] which is rehearsed to them? Verily, in that is mercy and a reminder to people who believe." Gary Miller

The Amazing Quran part 8

2008-05-11T14:34:00.000-07:00

An interesting example of the latter type of falsification tests contained in the Qur'an is the verse which mentions the relationship between the Muslims and the Jews. The verse is careful not to narrow its scope to the relationship between individual members of each religion, but rather, it summarizes the relationship between the two groups of people as a whole. In essence, the Qur'an states that the Christians will always treat the Muslims better than the Jews will treat the Muslims. Indeed, the full impact of such a statement can only be felt a~er careful consideration of the real meaning of such a verse. It is true that many Christians and many Jews have become Muslims, but as a whole, the Jewish community is to be viewed as an avid enemy of Islam. Additionally, very few people realize what such an open declaration in the Qur'an invites. In essence, it is an easy chance for the Jews to prove that the Qur'an is false - that it is not a divine revelation. All they have to do is organize themselves, treat the Muslims nicely for a few years and then say, "Now what does your holy book say about who are your best friends in the world - the Jews or the Christians? Look what we Jews have done for you!" That is all they have to do to disprove the Qur'an's authenticity, yet they have not done it in 1400 years. But, as always, the offer still stands open!
All of the examples so far given concerning the various angles from which one can approach the Qur'an have undoubtedly been subjective in nature; however there does exist another angle, among others, which is objective and whose basis is mathematical. It is surprising how authentic the Qur'an becomes when one assembles what might be referred to as a list of good guesses. Mathematically, it can be explained using guessing and prediction examples. For instance, if a person has two choices (i.e., one is right, and one is wrong), and he closes his eyes and makes a choice, then half of the time (i.e., one time out of two) he will be right. Basically, he has a one in two chance, for he could pick the wrong choice, or he could pick the right choice. Now if the same person has two situations like that (i.e., he could be right or wrong about situation number one, and he could be right or wrong about situation number two), and he closes his eyes and guesses, then he will only be right one fourth of the time (i.e., one time out of four). He now has a one in four chance because now there are three ways for him to be wrong and only one way for him to be right. In simple terms, he could make the wrong choice in situation number one and then make the wrong choice in situation number two; OR he could make the wrong choice in situation number one and then make the right choice in situation number two; OR he could make the right choice in situation number one and then make the wrong choice in situation number two; OR he could make the right choice in situation number one and then make the right choice in situation number two. Of course, the (only instance in which he could be totally right is the last scenario where he could guess correctly in both situations. The odds of his guessing completely correctly have become greater because the number of situations for him to guess in have increased; and the mathematical equation representing such a scenario is 1/2 x 1/2 (i.e., one time out of two for the first situation multiplied by one time out of two for the second situation).
Continuing on with the example, if the same person now has three situations in which to make blind guesses, then he will only be right one eighth of the time (i.e., one time out of eight or 1/2 X 1/2 X 1/2). Again, the odds of choosing the correct choice in all three situations have decreased his chances of being completely correct to only one time in eight. It must be understood that as the number of situations increase, the chances of being right decrease, for the two phenomena are inversely proportional.
Now applying this example to the situations in the Qur'an, if one draws up a list of all of the subjects about which the Qur'an has made correct statements, it becomes very clear that it is highly unlikely that they were all just correct blind guesses. Indeed, the subjects discussed in the Qur'an are numerous, and thus the odds of someone just making lucky guesses about all of them become practically nil. If there are a million ways for the Qur'an to be wrong, yet each time it is right, then it is unlikely that someone was guessing. The following three examples of subjects about which the Qur'an has made correct statements collectively illustrate how the Qur'an continues to beat the odds.
In the 16th chapter the Qur'an mentions that the female bee leaves its home to gather food.l2 Now, a person might guess on that, saying, "The bee that you see flying around - it could be male, or it could be female. I think I will guess female." Certainly, he has a one in two chance of being right. So it happens that the Qur'an is right. But it also happens that that was not what most people believed at the time when the Qur'an was revealed. Can you tell the difference between a male and a female bee? Well, it takes a specialist to do that, but it has been discovered that the male bee never leaves his home to gather food. However, in Shakespeare's play, Henry the Fourth, some of the characters discuss bees and mention that the bees are soldiers and have a king. That is what people thought in Shakespeare's time - that the bees that one sees flying around are male bees and that they go home and answer to a king. However, that is not true at all. The fact is that they are females, and they answer to a queen. Yet it took modern scientific investigations in the last 300 years to discover that this is the case.
So, back to the list of good guesses, concerning the topic of bees, the Qur'an had a 50/50 chance of being right, and the odds were one in two.
In addition to the subject of bees, the Qur'an also discusses the sun and the manner in which it travels through space. Again, a person can guess on that subject. When the sun moves through space, there are two options: it can travel just as a stone would travel if one threw it, or it can move of its own accord. The Qur'an states the latter - that it moves as a result of its own motion.'3 To do such, the Qur'an uses a form of the word sabaha to describe the sun's movement through space. In order to properly provide the reader with a comprehensive understanding of the implications of this Arabic verb, the following example is given. If a man is in water and the verb sabaha is applied in reference to his movement, it can be understood that he is swimming, moving of his own accord and not as a result of a direct force applied to him. Thus when this verb is used in reference to the sun's movement through space, it in no way implies that the sun is flying uncontrollably through space as a result of being hurled or the like. It simply means that the sun is turning and rotating as it travels. Now, this is what the Qur'an affirms, but was it an easy thing to discover? Can any common man tell that the sun is turning? Only in modern times was the equipment made available to project the image of the sun onto a tabletop so that one could look at it without being blinded. And through this process it was discovered that not only are there three spots on the sun but that these spots move once every 25 days. This movement is referred to as the rotation of the sun around its axis and conclusively proves that, as the Qur'an stated 1400 years ago, the sun does, indeed turn as it travels through space.
And returning once again to the subject of good guess, the odds of guessing correctly about both subjects - the sex of bees and the movement of the sun - are one in four!
Seeing as back fourteen centuries ago people probably did not understand much about time zones, the Quran's statements about this subject are considerably surprising. The concept that one family is having breakfast as the sun comes up while another family is enjoying the brisk night air is truly something to be marveled at, even in modern time. Indeed, fourteen centuries ago, a man could not travel more than thirty miles in one day, and thus it took him literally months to travel from India to Morocco, for example. And probably , when he was having supper in Morocco, he thought to himself, "Back home in India they are having supper right now." This is because he did not realize that, in the process of traveling, he moved across a time zone. Yet, because it is the words of Allah, the All-Knowing, the Qur'an recognizes and acknowledges such a phenomenon. In an interesting verse it states that when history comes to an end and the Day of Judgment arrives, it will all occurring an instant; and this very instant will catch some people in the daytime and some people at night. This clearly illustrates Allah's divine wisdom and His previous knowledge of the existence of time zones, even though such a discovery was non-existent back fourteen centuries ago. Certainly, this phenomenon is not something which is obvious to one's eyes or a result of one's experience, and this fact, in itself, suffices as proof of the Qur'ans authenticity.

The Amazing Quran part 7

2008-05-11T14:28:00.000-07:00

In an article under the subject of the Qur'an, the Catholic Church states, "Over the centuries, many theories have been offered as to the origin of the Qur'an... Today no sensible man accepts any of these theories."!! Now here is the age-old Catholic Church, which has been around for so many centuries, denying these futile attempts to explain away the Qur'an. Indeed, the Qur'an is a problem for the Catholic Church. It states that it is revelation, so they study it. Certainly, they would love to find proof that it is not, but they cannot. They cannot find a viable explanation. But at least they are honest in their research and do not accept the first unsubstantiated interpretation which comes along. The Church states that in fourteen centuries it has not yet been presented a sensible explanation. At least it admits that the Qur'an is not an easy subject to dismiss. Certainly, other people are much less honest. They quickly say, "Oh, the Qur'an came from here. The Qur'an came from there." And they do not even examine the credibility of what they are stating most of the time. Of course, such a statement by the Catholic Church leaves the everyday Christian in some difficulty. It just may be that he has his own ideas as to the origin of the Qur'an, but as a single member of the Church, he cannot really act upon his own theory. Such an action would be contrary to the obedience, allegiance and loyalty which the Church demands. By virtue of his membership, he must accept what the Catholic Church declares without question and establish its teachings as part of his everyday routine. So, in essence, if the Catholic Church as a whole is saying, "Do not listen to these unconfirmed reports about the Qur'an," then what can be said about the Islamic point of view? Even non-Muslims are admitting that there is something to the Qur'an - something that has to be acknowledged - then why are people so stubborn and defensive and hostile when Muslims advance the very same theory? This is certainly something for those with mind a to contemplate - something to ponder for those of understanding!
Recently, the leading intellectual in the Catholic Church - a man by the name of Hans - studied the Qur'an and gave his opinion of what he had read. This man has been around for some time, and he is highly respected in the Catholic Church, and after careful scrutiny, he reported his findings, concluding, "God has spoken to man through the man, Muhammad." Again this is a conclusion arrived at by a non-Muslim source - the very leading intellectual of the Catholic Church himself! I do not think that the Pope agrees with him, but nonetheless, the opinion of such a noted, repute public figure must carry some weight in defense of the Muslim position. He must be applauded for facing the reality that the Qur'an is not something which can be easily pushed aside and that, in fact God is the source of these words. As is evident from the aforementioned information, all of the possibilities have been exhausted, so the chance of finding another possibility of dismissing the Qur'an is nonexistent. For if the book is not a revelation, then it is a deception; and if it is a deception, one must ask, "What is its origin" And where does it deceive us?" Indeed, the true answers to these questions shed light on the Qur'an's authenticity and silence the bitter unsubstantiated claims of the unbelievers. Certainly, if people are going to insist that the Qur'an is a deception, then they must bring forth evidence to support such a claim. The burden of proof is on them, not us! One is never supposed to advance a theory without sufficient corroborating facts; so I say to them, "Show me one deception! Show me where the Qur'an deceives me! Show me, otherwise, don't say that it is a deception!" An interesting characteristic of the Qur'an is how it deals with surprising phenomena which relate not only to the past but to modern times as well. In essence, the Qur'an is not and old problem. It is still a problem even today - a problem to the non-Muslims that is. For everyday, every week, every year brings more and more evidence that the Qur'an is a force to be contended with - that its authenticity is no longer to be challenged! For example, one verse in the Qur'an reads;
"Do not the unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were joined together, then We clove them asunder, and made from water every living thing? Will they not then believe?"
Ironically, this very information is exactly what they awarded the 1973 Noble Prize for - to a couple of unbelievers. The Qur'an reveals the origin of the universe - how it began from one piece - and mankind continues to verify this revelation, even up to now. Additionally, the fact that all life originated from water would not have been an easy thing to convince people of fourteen centuries ago. Indeed, if 1400 years ago you had stood in the desert and told someone, "All of this, you see (pointing to yourself), is made up of mostly water," no one would have believed you. Proof of that was not available until the invention of the microscope. They had to wait to find out that cytoplasm, the basic substance of the cell, is made-up of 80% water. Nonetheless, the evidence did come, and once again the Qur'an stood the test of time. In reference to the falsification tests mentioned earlier, it is interesting to note that they, too, relate to both the past and the present. Some of them were used as illustrations of Allah's omnipotence and knowledge, while others continue to stand as challenges to the present day. An example of the former is the statement made in the Qur'an about Abu Lahab. It clearly illustrates that Allah, the Knower of the Unseen, knew that Abu Lahab would never change his ways and accept Islam. Thus Allah dictated that he would be condemned to the Hellfire forever. Such a chapter was both an illustration of Allah's divine wisdom and a warning to those who were like Abu Lahab.

The Amazing Quran part 6

2008-05-11T14:19:00.000-07:00

About seven years ago, I had a minister over to my home. In the particular room which we were sitting there was a Qur'an on the table, face down, and so the minister was not aware of which book it was. In the midst of a discussion, I pointed to the Qur'an and said, "I have confidence in that book." Looking at the Qur'an but not knowing which book it was , he replied, "Well, I tell you, if that book is not the Bible, it was written by a man!" In response to his statement, I said, "Let me tell you something about what is in that book." And in just three to four minutes I related to him a few things contained in the Qur'an. After just those three or four minutes, he completely changed his position and declared, "You are right. A man did not write that book. The Devil wrote it!" Indeed, possessing such an attitude is very unfortunate - for many reasons. For one thing, it is a very quick and cheap excuse. It is an instant exit out of an uncomfortable situation. As a matter of fact, there is a famous story in the Bible that mentions how one day some of the Jews were witnesses when Jesus raised a man from the dead. The man had been dead for four days, and when Jesus arrived, he simply said, "Get up!" and the man arose and walked away. At such a sight, some of the Jews who were watching said disbelievingly, "This is the Devil. The Devil helped him!" Now this story is rehearsed often in churches all over the world, and people cry big tears over it, saying, "Oh, if I had been there, I would not have been as stupid as the Jews!" Yet ironically, these people do exactly what the Jews did when in just three minutes you show them only a small part of the Qur'an and all they can say is, "Oh, the Devil did it. The devil wrote that book!". Because they are truly backed into a corner and have no other viable answer, they resort to the quickest and cheapest excuse available. Another Example of people's use of this weak stance can be found in the Makkans' explanation of the source of Muhammad's message. They used to say, "The devils bring Muhammad that Qur'an!" But just as with every other suggestion made, the Qur'an gives the answer. One verse in particular states:
"And they say, 'Surely he is possessed [by jinn], 'but it [i.e., the Qur'an] is not except a reminder to the worlds."
Thus it gives an argument in reply to such a theory. In fact, there are many arguments in the Qur'an in reply to the suggestion that devils brought Muhammad (SAW) his message. For example, in the 26th chapter Allah clearly affirms:
"No evil ones have brought it [i.e., this revelation] down. It would neither be fitting for them, nor would they be able. Indeed they have been removed far from hearing."
And in another place in the Qur'an, Allah instructs us:
"So when you recite the Qur'an seek refuge in Allah from Shaytaan, the rejected."
Now is this how Satan writes a book? He tells one, "Before you read my book, ask God to save you from me."? This is very, very tricky. Indeed, a man could write something like this, but would Satan do this? Many people clearly illustrate that they cannot come to one conclusion on this subject. On one hand, they claim that Satan would not do such a thing and that even if he could, God would not allow him to; yet, on the other hand, they also believe that Satan is only that much less than God. In essence they allege that the Devil can probably do whatever God can do. And as a result, when they look at the Qur'an, even as surprised as they are as to how amazing it is, they still insist, "The Devil did this!" Thanks be to Allah, Muslims do not have that attitude. Although Satan may have some abilities, they are a long way separated from the abilities of Allah. And no Muslim is a Muslim unless he believes that. It is common knowledge even among non-Muslims that the Devil can easily make mistakes, and it would be expected that he would contradict himself if and when he wrote a book. For indeed, the Qur'an states:
"Do they not consider the Qur'an? Had it been from any other than Allah, they would surely have found therein much discrepancy."
In conjunction with the excuses that non-Muslims advance in futile attempts to justify unexplainable verses in the Qur'an, there is another attack often rendered which seems to be a combination of the theories that Muhammad (SAW) was crazy and a liar. Basically, these people propose that Muhammad was insane, and as a result of his delusion, he lied to and misled people. There is a name for this in psychology. It is referred to as mythomania. It means simply that one tells lies and then believes them. This is what the non-Muslims say Muhammad (SAW) suffered from. But the only problem with this proposal is that one suffering from mythomania absolutely cannot deal with facts, and yet the whole Qur'an is based entirely upon facts. Everything contained in it can be researched and established as true. Since facts are such a problem for a mythomaniac, when a psychologist tries to treat one suffering from that condition, he continually confronts him with facts. For example, if one is mentally ill and claims, "I am the king of England," a psychologist does not say to him "No you aren't. You are crazy!" He just does not do that. Rather, he confronts him with facts and says, "O.K., you say you are the king of England. So tell me where the queen is today. And where is your prime minister? And where are your guards?" Now, when the man has trouble trying to deal with these questions, he tries to make excuses, saying Uh... the queen... she has gone to her mother's. Uh... the prime minister... well he died." And eventually he is cured because he cannot deal with the facts. If the psychologist continues confronting him with enough facts, finally he faces the reality and says, "I guess I am not the king of England." The Qur'an approaches everyone who reads it in very much the same way a psychologist treats his mythomania patient. There is a verse in the Qur'an which states:
"Oh mankind, there has come to you an admonition [i.e., the Qur'an] from your Lord and a healing for what is in the hearts - and guidance and mercy for the believers."
At first glance, this statement appears vague, but the meaning of this verse is clear when one views it in light of the aforementioned example. Basically, one is healed of his delusions by reading the Qur'an. In essence, it is therapy. It literally cures deluded people by confronting them with facts. A prevalent attitude throughout the Qur'an is one which says, "Oh mankind, you say such and such about this; but what about such and such? How can you say this when you know that?" And so forth. It forces one to consider what is relevant and what matters while simultaneously healing one of the delusions that the facts presented to mankind by Allah can easily be explained away with flimsy theories and excuses. It is this very sort of thing - confronting people with facts - that had captured the attention of many non-Muslims. In fact, there exists a very interesting reference concerning this subject in the New Catholic Encyclopedia.

The Amazing Quran part 5

2008-05-11T14:12:00.000-07:00

The following scenario is a good example of the kind of circle that non-Muslims go around in constantly. If you ask one of them, "What is the origin of the Qur'an?" He tells you that it originated from the mind of a man who was crazy. Then you ask him, "If it came from his head, then where did he get the information contained in it? Certainly the Qur'an mentions many things with which the Arabs were not familiar." So in order to explain the fact which you bring him, he changes his position and says, "Well, maybe he was not crazy. Maybe some foreigner brought him the information. So he lied and told people that he was a prophet." At this point then you have to ask him, "If Muhammad was a liar, then where did he get his confidence? Why did he behave as though he really thought he was a prophet?" Finally backed into a corner, like a cat he quickly lashes out with the first response that comes to his mind. Forgetting that he has already exhausted that possibility, he claims, "Well, maybe he wasn't a liar. He was probably crazy and really thought that he was a prophet." And thus he begins the futile circle again.
As has already been mentioned, there is much information contained in the Qur'an whose source cannot be attributed to anyone other than Allah. For example, who told Muhammad about the wall of Dhul-Qarnayn - a place hundreds of miles to the north? Who told him about embryology? When people assemble facts such as these, if they are not willing to attribute their existence to a divine source, they automatically resort to the assumption someone brought Muhammad the information and that he used it to fool the people. However, this theory can easily be disproved with one simple question: "If Muhammad was a liar, where did he get his confidence? Why did he tell some people out right to their face what others could never say?" Such confidence depends completely upon being convinced that one has a true divine revelation. For example, the Prophet (SAW) had an uncle by the name of Abu Lahab. This man hated Islam to such an extent that he used to follow the Prophet around in order to discredit him. If Abu Lahab saw the Prophet (SAW) speaking to a stranger, he would wait until they parted and then would go to the stranger and ask him, "What did he tell you? Did he say, 'Black.'? Well, it's white. Did he say, 'Morning.'? Well, it's night." He faithfully said the exact opposite of whatever he heard Muhammad (SAW) and the Muslims say. However, about ten years before Abu Lahab died, a little chapter in the Qur'an was revealed to him. It distinctly stated that he would go to the Fire (i.e., Hell). In other words, it affirmed that he would never become a Muslim and would therefore be condemned forever. For ten years all Abu Lahab had to do was say, "I heard that it has been revealed to Muhammad that I will never change - that I will never become a Muslim and will enter the Hellfire. Well I want to become a Muslim now. How do you like that? What do you think of your divine revelation now?" But he never did that. And yet, that is exactly the kind of behavior one would have expected from him since he always sought to contradict Islam. In essence, Muhammad (SAW) said, "You hate me and you want to finish me? Here, say these words, and I am finished. Come on, say them!" But Abu Lahab never said them. Ten years! And in all that time he never accepted Islam or even became sympathetic to the Islamic cause. How could Muhammad possibly have known for sure that Abu Lahab would fulfill the Qur'anic revelation if he (i.e., Muhammad) was not truly the messenger of Allah? How could he possibly have been so confident as to give someone 10 years to discredit his claim of prophethood? The only answer is that he was Allah's messenger; for in order to put forth suck a risky challenge, one has to be entirely convinced that he has a divine revelation.
Another example of the confidence which Muhammad (SAW) had in his own prophethood and consequently in the divine protection of himself and his message is when he left Makkah and hid in a cave with Abu Bakr during their emigration to Madeenah. The two clearly saw people coming to kill them, and Abu Bakr was afraid. Certainly, if Muhammad (SAW) was a liar, a forger and one who was trying to fool the people into believing that he was a prophet, one would have expected him to say in such a circumstance to his friend, "Hey, Abu Bakr, see if you can find a back way out of this cave." Or "Squat down in that corner over there and keep quiet." Yet, in fact, what he said to Abu Bakr clearly illustrated his confidence. He told him, "Relax! Allah is with us, and Allah will save us!"
Now, if one knows that he is fooling the people, where does one get this kind of attitude? In fact, such a frame of mind is not characteristic of a liar or a forger at all. So, as has been previously mentioned, the non-Muslims go around and around in a circle, searching for a way out - some way to explain the findings in the Qur'an without attributing them to their proper source. On one hand, they tell you on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, "The man was a liar," and on the other hand, on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday they tell you, "He was crazy." What they refuse to accept is that one cannot have it both ways; yet they refuse to accept is that one cannot have it both ways; yet they need both excuses to explain the information in the Qur'an.

The Amazing Quran part 4

2008-05-11T14:00:00.000-07:00

The professor immediately pointed out to him that he [i.e., the reporter] had missed a very important point - all of the slides of the embryo that had been shown and had been projected in the film had come from pictures taken through a microscope. He said, "It does not matter if someone had tried to discover embryology fourteen centuries ago, they could not have seen it!". All of the descriptions in the Qur'an of the appearance of the embryo are of the item when it is still too small to see with the eye; therefore, one needs a microscope to see it. Since such a device had only been around for little more than two hundred years, Dr. Moore taunted, "Maybe fourteen centuries ago someone secretly had a microscope and did this research, making no mistakes anywhere. Then he somehow taught Muhammad and convinced him to put this information in his book. Then he destroyed his equipment and kept it a secret forever. Do you believe that? You really should not unless you bring some proof because it is such a ridiculous theory." In fact, when he was asked "How do you explain this information in the Qur'an?" Dr. Moore's reply was, "It could only have been divinely revealed."!
Although the aforementioned example of man researching information contained in the Qur'an deals with a non-Muslim, it is still valid because he is one of those who is knowledgeable in the subject being researched. Had some layman claimed that what the Qur'an says about embryology is true, then one would not necessarily have to accept his word. However, because of the high position, respect, and esteem man gives scholars, one naturally assumes that if they research a subject and arrive at a conclusion based on that research, then the conclusion is valid. One of Professor Moore's colleagues, Marshall Johnson, deals extensively with geology at the University of Toronto.
He became very interested in the fact that the Qur'an's statements about embryology are accurate, and so he asked Muslims to collect everything contained in the Qur'an which deals with his specialty. Again people were very surprised at the findings. Since there are a vast number subjects discussed in the Qur'an, it would certainly require a large amount of time to exhaust each subject. It suffices for the purpose of this discussion to state that the Qur'an makes very clear and concise statements about various subjects while simultaneously advising the reader to verify the authenticity of these statements with research by scholars in those subjects. And as illustrated by the Qur'an has clearly emerged authentic. Undoubtedly, there is an attitude in the Qur'an which is not found anywhere else. It is interesting how when the Qur'an provides information, it often tells the reader, "You did not know this before." Indeed, there is no scripture that exists which makes that claim. All of the other ancient writings and scriptures that people have, do give a lot of information, but they always state where the information came from.
For example, when the Bible discusses ancient history, it states that this king lived here, this one fought in a certain battle, another one had so may sons, etc. Yet it always stipulates that if you want more information, then you should read the book of so and so because that is where the information came from. In contrast to this concept, the Qur'an provides the reader with information and states that this information is something new. Of course, there always exists the advice to research the information provided and verify its authenticity. It is interesting that such a concept was never challenged by non-Muslims fourteen centuries ago. Indeed, the Makkans who hated the Muslims, and time and time again they heard such revelations claiming to bring new information; yet, they never spoke up and said, "This is not new. We know where Muhammad got this information. We learned this at school."
They could never challenge its authenticity because it really was new! In concurrence with the advice given in the Qur'an to research information (even if it is new), when 'Umar was caliph, he chose a group of men and sent them to find the wall of Dhul-Qarnayn. Before the Qur'anic revelation, the Arabs had never heard of such a wall, but because the Qur'an described it, they were able to discover it. As a matter of fact, it is now located in what is called Durbend in the Soviet Union. It must be stressed here that the Qur'an is accurate about many, many things, but accuracy does not necessarily mean that a book is a divine revelation. In fact, accuracy is only one of the criteria for divine revelations.
For instance, the telephone book is accurate, but that does not mean that it is divinely revealed. The real problem lies in that one must establish some proof of the source the Qur'an's information. The emphasis is on the reader. One cannot simply deny the Qur'an's authenticity without sufficient proof. If, indeed, one finds a mistake, then he has the right to disqualify it. This is exactly what the Qur'an encourages. Once a man came up to me after a lecture I delivered in South Africa. He was very angry about what I had said, and so he claimed, "I am going to go home tonight and find a mistake in the Qur'an." Of course, I said, "Congratulations. That is the most intelligent thing that you have said." Certainly, this is the approach Muslims need to take with those who doubt the Qur'an's authenticity, because the Qur'an itself offers the same challenge. An inevitably, after accepting it's challenge and discovering that it is true, these people will come to believe it because they could not disqualify it. In essence, the Qur'an earns their respect because they themselves have had to verify its authenticity. An essential fact that cannot be reiterated enough concerning the authenticity of the Qur'an is that one's inability to explain a phenomenon himself does not require his acceptance of the phenomenon's existence or another person's explanation of it.
Specifically, just because one cannot explain something does not mean that one has to accept someone else's explanation. However, the person's refusal of other explanations reverts the burden of proof back on himself to find a feasible answer. This general theory applies to numerous concepts in life, but fits most wonderfully with the Qur'anic challenge, for it creates a difficulty for one who says, "I do not believe it." At the onset of refusal one immediately has an obligation to find an explanation himself if he feels others' answers are inadequate. In fact, in one particular Qur'anic verse which I have always seen mistranslated into English, Allah mentions a man who heard the truth explained to him. It states that he was derelict in his duty because after he heard the information, he left without checking the verity of what he had heard. In other words, one is guilty if he hears something and does not research it and check to see whether it is true. One is supposed to process all information and decide what is garbage to be thrown out and what is worthwhile information to be kept and benefited from at a later date. One cannot just let it rattle around in his head. It must be put in the proper categories and approached from that point of view. For example, if the information is still speculatory, then one must discern whether it's closer to being true or false. But if all of the facts have been presented, then one must decide absolutely between these two options. And even if one is not positive about the authenticity of the information, he is still required to process all of the information and make the admission that he just does not know for sure. Although this last point appears to be futile, in actuality, it is beneficial to the arrival at a positive conclusion at a later time in that it forces the person to at least recognize, research and review the facts. This familiarity with the information will give the person "the edge" when future discoveries are made and additional information is presented. The important thing is that one deals with the facts and does not simply discard them out of empathy and disinterest.
The real certainty about the truthfulness of the Qur'an is evident in the confidence which is prevalent throughout it; and this confidence comes from a different approach - "Exhausting the Alternatives." In essence, the Qur'an states, "This book is a divine revelation; if you do not believe that, then what is it?" In other words, the reader is challenged to come up with some other explanation. Here is a book made of paper and ink. Where did it come from? It says it is a divine revelation; if it is not, then what is its source? The interesting fact is that no one has with an explanation that works. In fact, all alternatives have bee exhausted. As has been well established by non-Muslims, these alternatives basically are reduces to two mutually exclusive schools of thought, insisting on one or the other. On one hand, there exists a large group of people who have researched the Qur'an for hundreds of years and who claim, "One thing we know for sure - that man, Muhammad, thought he was a prophet. He was crazy!" They are convinced that Muhammad (SAW) was fooled somehow. Then on the other hand, there is another group which alleges, "Because of this evidence, one thing we know for sure is that that man, Muhammad, was a liar!" Ironically, these two groups never seem to get together without contradicting. In fact, many references on Islam usually claim both theories. They start out by saying that Muhammad (SAW) was crazy and then end by saying that he was a liar. They never seem to realize that he could not have been both!
For example, if one is deluded and really thinks that he is a prophet, then he does not sit up late at night planning, "How will I fool the people tomorrow so that they think I am a prophet?" He truly believes that he is a prophet, and he trusts that the answer will be given to him by revelation. As a matter of fact, a great deal of the Qur'an came in answer to questions. Someone would ask Muhammad (SAW) a question, and the revelation would come with the answer to it. Certainly, if one is crazy and believes that an angel put words in his ear, then when someone asks him a question, he thinks that the angel will give him the answer. Because he is crazy, he really thinks that. He does not tell someone to wait a short while and then run to his friends and ask them, "Does anyone know the answer?" This type of behavior is characteristic of one who does not believe that he is a prophet. What the non-Muslims refuse to accept is that you cannot have it both ways. One can be deluded, or he can be a liar. He can be either one or neither, but he certainly cannot be both! The emphasis is on the fact that they are unquestionably mutually exclusive personal traits.

The Amazing Quran part 3

2008-05-11T13:56:00.000-07:00

A truly scientific approach to the Qur'an is possible because the Qur'an offers something that is not offered by other religious scriptures, in particular, and other religions, in general. It is what scientists demand. Today there are many people who have ideas and theories about how the universe works. These people are all over the place, but the scientific community does not even bother to listen to them. This is because within the last century the scientific community has demanded a test of falsification. They say, "If you have theory, do not bother us with it unless you bring with that theory a way for us to prove whether you are wrong or not."
Such a test was exactly why the scientific community listened to Einstein towards the beginning of the century. He came with a new theory and said, "I believe the universe works like this; and here are three ways to prove whether I am wrong!". So the scientific community subjected his theory to the tests, and within six years it passed all three. Of course, this does not prove that he was great, but it proves that he deserved to be listened to because he said, "This is my idea; and if you want to try to prove me wrong, do this or try that." This is exactly what the Qur'an has - falsification tests. Some are old (in that they have already been proven true), and some still exist today. Basically it states, "If this book is not what it claims to be, then all you have to do is this or this or this to prove that it is false." Of course, in 1400 years no one has been able to do "This or this or this, " and thus it is still considered true and authentic. I suggest to you that the next time you get into dispute with someone about Islam and he claims that he has the truth and that you are in darkness, you leave all other arguments at first and make this suggestion. Ask him, "Is there any falsification test in your religion? Is there anything in your religion that would prove you are wrong if I could prove to you that it exists - anything?" Well, I can promise right now that people will not have anything - no test, no proof, nothing! This is because they do not carry around the idea that they should not only present what they believe but should also offer others a chance to prove they're wrong. However, Islam does that. A perfect example of how Islam provides man with a chance to verify it authenticity and "prove it wrong" occurs in the 4th chapter. And quiet honestly, I was surprised when I first discovered this challenge. It states:
"Do they not consider the Qur'an? Had it been from any other than Allah, they would surely have found therein much discrepancy."
This is a clear challenge to the non-Muslim. Basically, it invites him to find a mistake. As a matter of fact, the seriousness and difficulty of the challenge aside, the actual presentation of such a challenge in the first place is not even in human nature and is inconsistent with man's personality. One doesn't take an exam in school after finishing the exam, write a note to the instructor at the end saying, "This exam is perfect. There are no mistakes in it. Find one if you can!". One just doesn't do that. The teacher would not sleep until he found a mistake! And yet this is the way the Qur'an approaches people. Another interesting attitude that exists in the Qur'an repeatedly deals with its advice to the reader. The Qur'an informs that reader about different facts and then gives the advice: "If you want to know more about this or that, or if you doubt what is said, then you should ask those who have knowledge." This too is a surprising attitude. It is not usual to have a book that comes from someone without training in geography, botany, biology, etc., who discusses these subjects and then advises the reader to ask men of knowledge if he doubts anything.
Yet in every age there have been Muslims who have followed the advice of the Qur'an and made surprising discoveries. If one looks to the works of Muslim scientists if many centuries ago, one will find them full of quotations from the Qur'an. These works state that they did research in such a place, looking for something. And they affirm that the reason they looked in such and such a place was that the Qur'an pointed them in that direction. For example, the Qur'an mentions man's origin and then tells the reader, "Research it!" It gives the reader a hint where to look and then states that one should find out more about it. This is the kind of thing that Muslims today largely seem to overlook - but not always, as illustrated in the following example. A few years ago, a group of men in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia collected all if the verses in the Qur'an which discuss embryology - the growth of the human being in the womb. They said, "Here is what the Qur'an says. Is it the truth?" In essence, they took the advice of the Qur'an: "Ask the men who know." They chose, as it happened, a non-Muslim who is a professor of embryology at the University of Toronto. His name is Keith Moore, and he is the author of textbooks on embryology - a world expert on the subject. They invited him to Riyadh and said, "This is what the Qur'an says about your subject. Is it true? What can you tell us?" While he was in Riyadh, they gave him all of the help that he needed in translation and all of the cooperation for which he asked. And he was so surprised at what he found that he changed his textbooks. In fact, in the second edition of one of his books, called Before we are born... in the second edition about the history of embryology, he included some material that was not in the first edition because of what he found in the Qur'an. Truly this illustrates that the Qur'an was ahead of its time and that those who believe in the Qur'an know what other people do not know.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Keith Moore for a television presentation, and we talked a great deal about this - it was illustrated by slides and so on. He mentioned that some of the things that the Qur'an states about the growth of the human being were not known until thirty years ago. In fact, he said that one item in particular - the Qur'an's description of the human being as a "leech-like clot" ('alaqah) at one stage - was new to him; but when he checked on it, he found that it was true, and so he added it to his book. He said, "I never thought of that before," and he went to the zoology department and asked for a picture of a leech. When he found that it looked just like the human embryo, he decided to include both pictures in one of his textbooks. Dr. Moore also wrote a book on clinical embryology, and when he presented this information in Toronto, it caused quite a stir throughout Canada. It was on the front pages of some of the newspapers across Canada, and some of the headlines were quite funny. For instance, one headline read: "SURPRISING THING FOUND IN ANCIENT BOOK!"! It seems obvious from this example that people do not clearly understand what it is all about. As a matter of fact, one newspaper reporter asked Professor Moore, "Don't you think That maybe the Arabs might have known about these things - the description of the embryo, its appearance and how it changes and grows? Maybe there were not scientists, but maybe they did something crude dissections on their own - carved up people and examined these things."

The Amazing Quran part2

2008-05-11T13:53:00.000-07:00

Many centuries before the onset of Muhammed's prophethood, there was a well-known theory of atomism advanced by the Greek philosopher, Democritus. He and the people who came after him assumed that matter consists of tiny, indestructible, indivisible particles called atoms. The Arabs too, used to deal in the same concept; in fact, the Arabic word dharrah commonly referred to the smallest particle known to man. Now, modern science has discovered that this smallest unit of matter (i.e., the atom, which has all of the same properties as its element) can be split into its component parts. This is a new idea, a development of the last century; yet, interestingly enough, this information had already been documented in the Qur'an which states:
" He [i.e., Allah] is aware of an atom's weight in the heavens and on the earth and even anything smaller than that..."
Undoubtedly, fourteen centuries ago that statement would have looked unusual, even to an Arab. For him, the dharrah was the smallest thing there was. Indeed, this is proof, that the Qur'an is not outdated.
Another example of what one might expect to find in an "old book" that touches upon the subject of health or medicine is outdated remedies or cures. Various historical sources state that the Prophet gave some advice about health and hygiene, yet most of these pieces of advice are not contained in the Qur'an. At first glance, to the non-Muslims this appears to be a negligent omission. They cannot understand why Allah would not "include" such helpful information in the Qur'an. Some Muslims attempt to explain this absence with the following argument: "Although the Prophet's advice was sound and applicable to the time in which he lived, Allah, in His infinite wisdom, knew that there would come later medical and scientific advances which would make the Prophet's advice appear outdated. When later discoveries occurred, people might say that such information contradicted that which the Prophet had given. Thus, since Allah would never allow any opportunity for the non-Muslims to claim that the Qur'an contradicts itself or the teachings of the Prophet, He only included in the Qur'an information and examples which could stand the test of time."
However, when one examines the true realities of the Qur'an in terms of its existence as a divine revelation, the entire matter is quickly brought into its proper perspective, and the error in such argumentation becomes clear and understandable. It must be understood that the Qur'an is a divine revelation, and as such, all information in it is of divine origin. Allah revealed the Qur'an from Himself. It is the words of Allah, which existed before creation, and thus nothing can be added, subtracted or altered. In essence, the Qur'an existed and was complete before the creation of Prophet Muhammed, so it could not possibly contain any of the Prophet's own words or advice. An inclusion of such information would clearly contradict the purpose for which the Qur'an exists, compromise its authority and render it inauthentic as a divine revelation.
Consequently, there was no "home remedies" in the Qur'an which one could claim to be outdated; nor does it contain any man's view about what is beneficial to health, what food is best to eat, or what will cure this or that disease. In fact, the Qur'an only mentions one item dealing with medical treatment, and it is not in dispute by anyone. It states that in honey there is healing. And certainly, I do not think that there is anyone who will argue with that!
If one assumes that the Qur'an is the product of a man's mind, then one would expect it to reflect some of what was going on in the mind of the man who "composed" it. In fact, certain encyclopedias and various books clam that the Qur'an was the product of hallucinations that Muhammed underwent. If these claims are true - if it indeed originated from some psychological problems in Muhammed's mind - then evidence of this would be apparent in the Qur'an. Is there such evidence? In order to determine whether or not there is, one must first identify what things would have been going on in his mind at that time and then search for these thoughts and reflections in the Qur'an.
It is common knowledge that Muhammed had a very difficult life. All of his daughters died before him except one, and he had a wife of several years who was dear and important to him, who not only proceeded him in death at a very critical period of his life. As a matter of fact, she must have been quite a woman because when the first revelation came to him, he ran home to her afraid. Certainly, even today one would have a hard time trying to find an Arab who would tell you, "I was so afraid that I ran home to my wife." They just aren't that way. Yet Muhammed felt comfortable enough with his wife to be able to do that. That's how influential and strong woman she was. Although these examples are only a few of the subjects that would have been on Muhammed's mind, they are sufficient in intensity to prove my point. The Qur'an does not mention any of these things - not the death of his children, not the death of his beloved companion and wife, not his fear of the initial revelations, which he so beautifully shared with his wife - nothing; yet, these topics must have hurt him, bothered him, and caused him pain and grief during periods of his psychological reflections, then these subjects, as well as others, would be prevalent or at least mentioned throughout.

The Amazing Quran part1

2008-05-11T13:45:00.000-07:00

Calling the Qur'an amazing is not something done only by Muslims, who have an appreciation for the book and who are pleased with it; it has been labeled amazing by non-Muslims as well. In fact, even people who hate Islam very much have still called it amazing.

One thing which surprises non-Muslims who are examining the book very closely is that the Qur'an does not appear to them to be what they expected. What they assume is that they have an old book which came fourteen centuries ago from the Arabian desert; and they expect that the book should look something like that - an old book from the desert. And then they find out that it does not resemble what they expected at all. Additionally, one of the first things that some people assume is that because it is an old book which comes from the desert, it should talk about the desert. Well the Qur'an does talk about the desert - some of its imagery describes the desert; but it also talks about the sea - what it's like to be in a storm on the sea.
Some years ago, the story came to us in Toronto about a man who was in the merchant marine and made his living on the sea. A Muslim gave him a translation of the Qur'an to read. The merchant marine knew nothing about the history of Islam but was interested in reading the Qur'an. When he finished reading it, he brought it back to the Muslim and asked, "This Muhammed, was he a sailor?" He was impressed at how accurately the Qur'an describes a storm on a sea. When he was told, "No as a matter of fact, Muhammed lived in the desert," that was enough for him. He embraced Islam on the spot. He was so impressed with the Qur'an's description because he had been in a storm on the sea, and he knew that whoever had written that description had also been in a storm on the sea. The description of "a wave, over it a wave, over it clouds" was not what someone imagining a storm on a sea to be like would have written; rather, it was written by someone who knew what a storm on the sea was like. This is one example of how the Qur'an is not tied to a certain place and time. Certainly, the scientific ideas expressed in it also do not seem to originate from the desert fourteen centuries ago. Gary Miller

Introduction To Islam

2008-05-11T13:35:00.000-07:00

The word "Islam" is an Arabic word which means "submission to the will of God". This word comes from the same root as the Arabic word "salam", which means "peace". As such, the religion of Islam teaches that in order to achieve true peace of mind and surety of heart, one must submit to God and live according to His Divinely revealed Law. The most important truth that God revealed to mankind is that there is nothing divine or worthy of being worshipped except for Almighty God, thus all human beings should submit to Him.

The word "Muslim" means one who submits to the will of God, regardless of their race, nationality or ethnic background. Being a Muslim entails willful submission and active obedience to God, and living in accordance with His message. Some people mistakenly believe that Islam is just a religion for Arabs, but nothing could be further from the truth. Not only are there converts to Islam in every corner of the world, especially in England and America, but by taking a look at the Muslim World from Bosnia to Nigeria, and from Indonesia to Morocco, one can clearly see that Muslims come from many various races, ethnic groups and nationalities. It is also interesting to note that in actuality, more than 80% of all Muslims are not Arabs - there are more Muslims in Indonesia than in the whole Arab World! So though even though it is true that most Arabs are Muslims, the large majority of Muslims are not Arabs. However, anyone who submits completely to God and worships Him alone is a Muslim.

Continuity of the Message:
Islam is not a new religion because "submission to the will of God", i.e. Islam, has always been the only acceptable religion in the sight of God. For this reason, Islam is the true "natural religion", and it is the same eternal message revealed through the ages to all of God's prophets and messengers. Muslims believe that all of God's prophets, which include Abraham, Noah, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad, brought the same message of Pure Monotheism. For this reason, the Prophet Muhammad was not the founder of a new religion, as many people mistakenly think, but he was the Final Prophet of Islam. By revealing His final message to Muhammad, which is an eternal and universal message for all of mankind, God finally fulfilled the covenant that He made with Abraham, who was one of the earliest and greatest prophets. Suffice it to say that the way of Islam is the same as the way of the prophet Abraham, because both the Bible and the Qur'an portray Abraham as a towering example of someone who submitted himself completely to God and worshipped Him without intermediaries. Once this is realized, it should be clear that Islam has the most continuous and universal message of any religion, because all prophets and messengers were "Muslims", i.e. those who submitted to God's will, and they preached "Islam", i.e. submission to the will of Almighty God.

The Oneness of God:
The foundation of the Islamic faith is belief in the Oneness of Almighty God - the God of Abraham, Noah, Moses and Jesus. Islam teaches that a pure belief in One God is intuitive in human beings and thus fulfills the natural inclination of the soul. As such, Islam's concept of God is straightforward, unambiguous and easy to understand. Islam teaches that the hearts, minds and souls of human beings are fitting receptacles for clear divine revelation, and that God's revelations to man are not clouded by self-contradictory mysteries or irrational ideas. As such, Islam teaches that even though God cannot be fully comprehended and grasped by our finite human minds, He also does not expect us to accept absurd or demonstrably false beliefs about Him. According to the teachings of Islam, Almighty God is absolutely One and His Oneness should never be compromised by associating partners with Him - neither in worship nor in belief. Due to this, Muslims are required to maintain a direct relationship with God, and therefore all intermediaries are absolutely forbidden. From the Islamic standpoint, believing in the Oneness of God means to realize that all prayer and worship should be exclusively for God, and that He alone deserves such titles as "Lord" and "Savior". Some religions, even though they believe on "One God", do not make all of their worship and prayers for Him alone. Also, they also give the title of "Lord" to beings that are not All-Knowing, All-Powerful and Un-Changing - even according to their own scriptures. Suffice it to say that according to Islam, it is not enough that people believe that "God is One", but they must actualize this belief by proper conduct. In short, in the Islamic concept of God, which is completely based on Divine Revelation, there is no ambiguity in divinity - God is God and man is man. Since God is the only Creator and continual Sustainer of the Universe, He is transcendent above His creation - the Creator and the creature never mix. Islam teaches that God has a unique nature and that He is free from gender, human weaknesses and beyond anything which human beings can imagine. The Qur'an teaches that the signs and proofs of God's wisdom, power and existence are evident in the world around us. As such, God calls on man to ponder over the creation in order to build a better understanding of his Creator. Muslims believe that God is Loving, Compassionate and Merciful, and that He is concerned with the daily affairs of human beings. In this, Islam strikes a unique balance between false religious and philosophical extremes. Some religions and philosophies portray God as just an impersonal "Higher Power" who is uninterested, or unaware, of the life of each individual human. Other religions tend to give God human qualities and teach that He is present in His creation, by being incarnate in someone, something - or even everything. In Islam, however, Almighty God has clarified the truth by letting mankind know that He is "Compassionate", "Merciful", "Loving" and the "Answerer of Prayers". But He as also emphasized strongly that "there is nothing like unto Him", and that He is high above time, space and His creation. Finally, it should be mentioned that the God that Muslims worship is the same God that Jews and Christians worship - because there is only one God. It is unfortunate that some people mistakenly believe that Muslims worship a different God than Jews and Christians, and that "Allah" is just the "god of the Arabs". This myth, which has been propagated by the enemies of Islam, is completely false since the word "Allah" is simply the Arabic name for Almighty God. It is the same word for God which is used by Arabic-speaking Jews and Christians. However, it should be clarified that even though Muslims worship the same God as Jews and Christian, their concept of Him differs somewhat from the beliefs of other religions - mainly because it is based completely on Divine Revelation from God. For example, Muslims reject the Christian belief that God is a Trinity, not only becaue the Qur'an rejects it, but also because if this was God's true nature, He would have clearly revealed it to Abraham, Noah, Jesus and all of the other prophets.

The Qur'an:
The Arabic world "Al-Qur'an" literally means "the recitation". When used in regards to Islam, the word Qur'an means God's final message to mankind that was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad. The Qu'ran, sometimes spelled Koran, is the literal the word of God - as it clearly says time and time again. Unlike other sacred scriptures, the Qur'an has been perfectly preserved in both its words and meaning in a living language. The Qu'ran is a living miracle in the Arabic language; and is know to be inimitable in its style, form and spiritual impact. God's final revelation to mankind, the Qur'an, was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad over a period of 23 years. The Qur'an, in contrast to many other religious books, was always thought to be the Word of God by those who believed in it, i.e. it wasn't something decreed by a religious council many years after being written. Also, the Qu'ran was recited publicly in front of both the Muslim and non-Muslim communities during the life of the Prophet Muhammad. The entire Qur'an was also completely written down in lifetime of the Prophet, and numerous companions of the Prophet memorized the entire Qur'an word-for-word as it was revealed. So unlike other scriptures, the Qur'an was always in the hands of the common believers, it was always thought to be God's word and, due to wide-spread memorization, it was perfectly preserved. In regards to the teachings of the Qur'an - it is a universal scripture, and it is addressed to all of mankind, and not to a particular tribe or "chosen people". The message that it brings is nothing new, but the same message of all of the prophets - submit to Almighty God and worship Him alone. As such, God's revelation in the Qur'an focuses on teaching human beings the importance of believing in the Unity of God and framing their lives around the guidance which He has sent. Additionally, the Qur'an contains the stories of the previous prophets, such as Abraham, Noah, Moses and Jesus; as well as many commands and prohibitions from God. In modern times in which so many people are caught up in doubt, spiritual despair and "political correctness", the Qur'anic teachings offer solutions to the emptiness of our lives and the turmoil that is gripping the world today. In short, the Qur'an is the book of guidance par excellence.

The Prophet Muhammad :
Unlike the founders of many religious, the final prophet of Islam is a real documented and historical figure. He lived in the full light of history, and the most minute details of his life are known. Not only do Muslims have the complete text of God's words that were revealed to Muhammad, but they have also preserved his saying and teachings in what is called "hadith" literature. This having been said, it should be understood that Muslims believe that the Prophet Muhammad was only a man chosen by God, and that he is not divine in any way. In order to avoid the misguided wish to deify him, the Prophet Muhammad taught Muslims to refer to him as "God's Messenger and His Slave". The mission of the last and final prophet of God was to simply teach that "there is nothing divine or worthy of being worshipped except for Almighty God", as well as being a living example of God's revelation. In simple terms, God sent the revelation to Muhammad, who in turn taught it , preached it, lived it and put it into practice. In this way, Muhammad was more that just a "prophet" in the sense of many of the Biblical prophets, since he was also a statesman and ruler. He was a man who lived a humble life in the service of God, and established an all-encompassing religion and way of life by showing what it means to be an ideal friend, husband, teacher, ruler, warrior and judge. For this reason, Muslims follow him not for his own sake, but in obedience to God, because Muhammad not only showed us how to deal with our fellow human beings, but more importantly, he showed us how to relate to and worship God, worship Him in the only way pleasing to Him. Like other prophets, Muhammad faced a great deal of opposition and persecution during his mission. However, he was always patient and just, and he treated his enemies well. The results of his mission were very successful, and even though his mission started in one of the most backward and remotes places on earth, within a hundred years of the death of Muhammad, Islam had spread from Spain to China. The Prophet Muhammad was the greatest of all of God's prophets, not because he had new doctrines or greater miracles, but because the results of his mission have broght more human beings into the pure and proper belief in the One True God than any other prophet.

The Islamic Way of Life:
In the Holy Qur'an, God teaches human beings that they were created in order to worship Him, and that the basis of all true worship is God-consciousness. Since the teachings of Islamic encompass all aspects of life and ethics, God-consciousness is encouraged in all human affairs. Islam makes it clear that all human acts are acts of worship if they are done for God alone and in accordance to His Divine Law. As such, worship in Islam is not limited to religious rituals. The teachings of Islam act as a mercy and a healing for the human soul, and such qualities as humility, sincerity, patience and charity are strongly encouraged. Additionally, Islam condemns pride and self-righteousness, since Almighty God is the only judge of human righteousness. The Islamic view of the nature of man is also realistic and well-balanced. Human beings are not believed to be inherently sinful, but are seen as equally capable of both good and evil. Islam also teaches that faith and action go hand-in-hand. God has given people free-will, and the measure of one's faith is one's deeds and actions. However, human beings have also been created weak and regularly fall into sin. This is the nature of the human being as created by God in His Wisdom, and it is not inherently "corrupt" or in need of repair. This is because the avenue of repentance of always open to all human beings, and Almighty God loves the repentant sinner more than one who does not sin at all. The true balance of an Islamic life is established by having a healthy fear of God as well as a sincere belief in His infinite Mercy. A life without fear of God leads to sin and disobedience, while believing that we have sinned so much that God will not possibly forgive us only leads to despair. In light of this, Islam teaches that: only the misguided despair of the Mercy of their Lord. Additionally, the Holy Qur'an, which was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad, contains a great deal of teachings about the life hereafter and the Day of Judgment. Due to this, Muslims believe that all human beings will ultimately be judged by God for their beliefs and actions in their earthly lives. In judging human beings, Almighty God will be both Merciful and Just, and people will only be judged for what they were capable of. Suffice it to say that Islam teaches that life is a test, and that all human beings will be accountable before God. A sincere belief in the life hereafter is key to leading a well-balanced life and moral. Otherwise, life is viewed as an end in itself, which causes human beings to become more selfish, materialistic and immoral.

Islam for a Better Life:
Islam teaches that true happiness can only being obtained by living a life full of God-consciousness and being satisfied with what God has given us. Additionally, true "freedom" is freedom from being controlled by our base human desires and being ruled by man-made ideologies. This stands in stark contrast to the view of many people in the modern world, who consider "freedom" to be the ability to satisfy all of their desires without inhibition. The clear and comprehensive guidance of Islam gives human-beings a well-defined purpose and direction in life. In addition to being members of the human-brotherhood of Islam, its well-balanced and practical teachings are a source of spiritual comfort, guidance and morality. A direct and clear relationship with Almighty God, as well as the sense of purpose and belonging that ones feels as a Muslim, frees a person from the many worries of everyday life. In short, the Islamic way of life is pure and wholesome. It builds self-discipline and self-control thought regular prayer and fasting, and frees human-beings from superstition and all sorts of racial, ethnic and national prejudices. By accepting to live a God-conscious life, and realizing that the only thing that distinguishes people in the sight of God is their consciousness of Him, a person's true human dignity is realized.Daniel Masters, Isma'il Kaka and AbdurRahman R. Squires

The number of Hispanic Americans converting to Islam is growing rapidly

2008-04-24T15:05:00.000-07:00

The number of Hispanic Americans converting to Islam is growing rapidly — particularly in New York, California, Texas and Florida, which have the greatest concentration of Hispanic residents. Muslim leaders say interest in Islam has increased in the past few years, and they also note that Muslims and Hispanics, many of whom are immigrants, share a number of common concerns. Steve Mort reports from a mosque in Florida that has seen a steady increase in Latino worshippers.

Technorati Profile

Famous Converts To Islam

2008-04-24T14:58:00.000-07:00

Islam is currently the fastest growing religion in America and around the world, with an estimated 1।2 billion adherents from every race and ethnicity. In the United States, where Muslims number over six million, the Islamic faith is believed to be the second largest religion, after Christianity. Former Presient Clinton has said of Islam, "...there is much that the world can learn from Islam. It is now practiced by one of every four people on Earth." (White House Eid ul-Fitr presentation, Jan. 10, 2000.)

The conversion rate among Americans is estimated to be at 135,000 per year, with African-Americans making up the largest group of converts followed by American women, as well as a significant number from the Latino community.
Famous Converts to IslamKhadija - wife of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh); the first to convert to Islam. El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz - Better known as Malcolm X; black-rights activist and religious leader. In 1964, after a pilgrimage to Mecca, he announced his conversion to orthodox Islam and his belief in the possibility of brotherhood between blacks and whites.
Michael Wolfe - Author of The Hajj: An American's Pilgrimage to Mecca, and One Thousand Roads to Mecca: Ten Centuries of Travelers Writing About the Muslim Pilgrimage. Born of a Christian mother and Jewish father, he is most well known for his documentary "An American in Mecca", which aired on ABC’s "Nightline", April 18, 1997.
Muhammad Ali - Formerly Cassius Clay; three-time Heavy Weight Champion of the World. He converted to orthodox Islam in 1965.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - Formerly Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor. Before the 1971-72 season he converted from Catholicism and took the name Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He played 20 seasons in the league with the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers. By the time the 7 foot 2 basketball player retired in 1989, he was a six-time MVP and is now one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History.
Yusuf Islam - Formerly Cat Stevens, world famous British pop singer. He converted to Islam in 1973 and changed his name.
Haiqa Khan - Formerly Jemimah Goldsmith, Jewish daughter of billionaire Sir James. At the age of 21 she married famous Pakistani cricket player Imran Khan and converted to Islam.
Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall - Born William Pickthall in 1875 in London. He converted to Islam in 1917 and by 1930 Pickthall published The Meaning of the Glorious Koran; which was an English language translation of the Qur’an

Macon Mayor Jack Ellis has converted to Islam

2008-04-24T14:53:00.000-07:00

Macon Mayor Jack Ellis has converted to Islam and is now working to legally change his name to Hakim Mansour Ellis.
Ellis, who was raised Christian, said Thursday that he became a Sunni Muslim during a December ceremony in the west African nation of Senegal.
“You do it because it feels right,” said Ellis. “To me it’s no big deal. But people like to know what you believe in. And this is what I believe in.”
If anybody wants to know about Islam, I can hold an intelligent conversation,” Ellis said. “What I’ve found is how little we know about the religion.”

Islam is growing fast among African Americans

2008-04-24T14:47:00.000-07:00

ATLANTA (Reuters) - Islam is growing fast among African Americans, who are undeterred by increased scrutiny of Muslims in the United States since the September 11 attacks, according to imams and experts.
Converts within the black community say they are attracted to the disciplines of prayer, the emphasis within Islam on submission to God and the religion’s affinity with people who are oppressed

islam and Polygamy

2008-04-24T14:44:00.000-07:00

Quran :
[4.3] And if you fear that you cannot act equitably towards orphans, then marry such women as seem good to you, two and three and four; but if you fear that you will not do justice (between them), then (marry) only one or what your right hands possess; this is more proper, that you may not deviate from the right course.

woman in islam

2008-04-24T14:37:00.000-07:00

Because the woman is the weaker partner in the family relationship, Islam places strong emphasis on the importance of being fair to women, and not to abuse them in any way. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) describes those who are kind and good to their wives as the best of people. He (peace and blessings be upon him) is reported to have said: “The best among you are those who are best to your households; I am the best among you to my house-hold.”
On his deathbed, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) continued to remind the followers of three areas as needing continuous attention. The first concerns man’s relationship with Allah while the other two are concerned with human relations, concentrating on the need to protect the rights of two vulnerable groups in society, namely, women and slaves. He said repeatedly: “Attend to your prayers. Do not ask those whom your right hands possess to accomplish for you what they cannot do. Fear Allah in your treatment of women.”"

Strong rise in number of Germans converting to Islam: study

2008-04-24T14:32:00.000-07:00

There has been a surge in the number of Germans converting to Islam, the weekly Der Spiegel on Saturday cited an Interior Ministry-sponsored study.
Around 4,000 Germans converted to Islam between July 2004 and June 2005 which is four times as many as in the prior space of time, said the study which was conducted by the Islam-Archive Central Institute, based in the western town of Soest.
The head of the German Islam think-tank, Salim Abdullah pointed out that that most of those who converted to Islam, have been women and well-educated.

islam in Russian

2008-04-24T14:27:00.000-07:00

The country’s Muslim community is extremely diverse - from Volga Tatars and Bashkirs to the ethnic mishmash of the North Caucasus. But unlike Muslim minorities in Western Europe, most Russian Muslims represent native people of what is now Russia, who inhabited their land for over a millennium.

Men and Women in islam

2008-04-24T14:20:00.000-07:00

[9.71] And (as for) the believing men and the believing women, they are guardians of each other; they enjoin good and forbid evil and keep up prayer and pay the poor-rate, and obey Allah and His Apostle; (as for) these, Allah will show mercy to them; surely Allah is Mighty, Wise.

The tiling in medieval Islamic architecture

2008-04-24T14:15:00.000-07:00

The tiling in medieval Islamic architecture turns out to embody a mathematical insight that Westerners thought they had discovered only 30 years ago.
March 19, 2007 issue - Ancient, closely held religious secrets; messages encoded on the walls of Middle Eastern shrines; the divine golden ratio—readers of a recent issue of the journal Science must have wondered if they’d mistakenly picked up “The Da Vinci Code” instead. In stretches of intricate tiling on several 500-year-old Islamic buildings, Peter Lu and Paul Steinhardt wrote, they’d spotted a large fragment of a mathematical pattern that was unknown to Western science until the 1970s. Islam gave the world algebra, from the Arabic al-jabr, a term referring to a basic equation. But this pattern is far from basic; it comes from much higher math. “The ridiculous thing is, this pattern has been staring Westerners in the face all this time,” says Keith Critchlow, author of the book “Islamic Patterns.” “We simply haven’t been able to read it.” Now that we can, though, it is serving as a startling indication of how accomplished medieval-era Muslims may have been.

Women in Quran

2008-04-24T14:10:00.000-07:00

“O ye who believe! Ye are forbidden to inherit women against their will.
Nor should ye treat them with harshness, that ye may take away part of the dower [money given by the husband to the wife for the marriage contract] ye have given them, except where they have been guilty of open lewdness; on the contrary live with them on a footing of kindness and equity.
If ye take a dislike to them it may be that ye dislike a thing, and God brings about through it a great deal of good. (The Noble Quran, 4:19)”

Muhammad is No 2 in boy's names

2008-04-24T13:58:00.000-07:00

Muhammad is now second only to Jack as the most popular name for baby boys in Britain and is likely to rise to No 1 by next year, a study by The Times has found. The name, if all 14 different spellings are included, was shared by 5,991 newborn boys last year, beating Thomas into third place, followed by Joshua and Oliver.

How Islam elevated women’s status

2008-04-24T13:42:00.000-07:00

CONTRARY to what Western media and academics would have us believe, it was Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and Islamic teachings that transformed the status of women from being a non-entity and ‘property’ to someone who plays a central role in grooming and holding a family together.
The pre-Islamic Arab world saw girl child as a burden and a curse which was to be eliminated as early as possible. Islam and its Messenger (peace be upon him) changed all this by restoring her respect and her rights. Commenting on the pre-Islamic conditions of women in Arab society, Holy Quran says:
'And when the news of (the birth of) a female (child) is brought to any of them, his face becomes dark, and he is filled with inward grief! He hides himself from the people because of the evil of that whereof he has been informed. Shall he keep her with dishonour or bury her in the earth? Certainly, evil is their decision.' (Quran, 16:58-59)
History bears witness to the fact that baby girls have always been neglected by their respective societies. The ignorant people of the past and present, wherever and whenever found, have balked at having daughters. Poor girl children are made to feel ‘unwanted’ and ‘unwelcome’ as soon as they arrive in this world.
Commenting on the status of women in pre-Islamic era, Mary Wollstonecraft says in her book, Vindication of the Rights of Women,o that Islam 'challenged an age when women had no legal standing as daughters or wives, being under the legal identity of their fathers and husbands' (247). This meant that they could not own property, enter into contracts, or conduct business. They had no representation in the government, and they could not vote. Islam changed all this. And following the recognition of women’s rights by Islam, rights for women were adopted slowly in Britain, and even more slowly in France.
Prior to 1840’s, in the United States, women had practically no political or economic rights. The lawmakers of the time didn’t feel that women were important enough or intelligent enough to do anything by themselves. In light of this view, all laws concerning women were to the advantage of men. Women were minors if not married and seen as property if they were. Married women had no right to seek divorce; and, if divorced, had no rights to their children. Women also didn’t have any rights when it came to their occupations. The pagan, pre-Islamic Arabs regarded the birth of girl babies as a curse, and would bury alive girl children as they were seen as superfluous. The ancient Greeks did not fare any better and placed painstaking restrictions on their women.
Today, the so-called free societies continue to abuse and neglect woman, who is seen as little more than a play thing and merely as an object of desire. Many a horrendous crime takes place against women.
The Messenger of Islam, Muhammad (peace be upon him), elevated the status of women and saw the girl child as a gift given of Allah. The Prophet urged the faithful to warmly welcome their girl children and see them as their God’s blessings. Time and time again, he emphasised the importance of bringing up the girl children in an effort to elevate women’s status in Islamic society and removing all pre-Islamic, misguided notions about girls as being a curse of God.
He once said: 'Whoever takes care of two girls until they reach adulthood — he and I will come together on the Day of Resurrection like this' interlacing his fingers (meaning fathers of girl children will be with the Prophet in paradise).' (Reported by Muslim)
And in another hadith, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: 'They (girl children) will be a shield for him from the Fire.' (Reported by Ahmad and Ibn Maajah)
Apart from elevating the status of women and daughters by his teachings, the Prophet offered a living example in his own actions and behaviour — for example, 'One day he (peace be upon him) led his Companions in prayer whilst carrying Umaamah bint Zaynab (may Allah be pleased with her) when he made ‘rukoo’ he would put her down, then when he stood, he would pick her up.' (Reported by Al-Bukhari and Muslim)
Raising children these days is not an easy job. Each child needs the individual attention of both parents, and time, a most precious gift that parents are sometimes unable to find for their children.
Islam makes this job easier for parents in raising girls with high moral values and a strong character। Yet ironically women’s status in Islam is attacked today by Western media and academics. They close their eyes to historical facts failing to realise that the law of Islam is as just to women as it is to men. This is because their Creator is Allah (SWT), the Most Just. BY ABID ISHAQ

Do You Know about islam and Quran?

2008-04-24T13:35:00.000-07:00

Since then, more than fourteen hundred years have passed, and nobody has been able to meet the challenge, and nobody will, because the Qur’an is the only existing book containing the word of Allah which no man can match or imitate. The most eloquent people in the Arabic language spent years going over and searching the Qur’an, trying to find any weak or inadequate word or sentence, but they could not. They even went further, trying to find a way to substitute a word or a sentence in the Qur’an, hoping to convey a similar meaning as the original one, but they failed to do so.
As a result of this, many people, especially linguists, throughout the last fourteen hundred years believed in the Qur’an as a revelation beyond any human capacity.

What is Islam part2

2007-12-14T06:18:00.000-08:00

The Meaning Of Islam
Islam is an Arabic word and denotes acceptance of God as the Supreme and the Ultimate Reality. It means submission, surrender and obedience. As a religion, Islam stands for complete submission and obedience to God- that is why it is called Islam.
The other literal meaning of the word Islam is peace and this signifies that one can achieve real peace of body and of mind only through submission and obedience to God. Such a life of obedience brings peace of heart and establishes real peace in society at large. Unlike many other faiths, the name Islam is neither related with its founder (as in Buddhism or Christianity) nor tribe or race (like in Judaism) nor with land and soil (as in Hinduism).

Anyone who submits to God as the Creator of the universe and follows His Commandments is a Muslim. Islam is the name given to this faith by God, in His revealed scripture, the Qur'an. According to the Qur'an this message was preached by all the Prophets of God, who guided man to the right path. But man not only veered away from the right path again and again, but also lost or distorted the code of guidance which the Prophets had bequeathed.

That was why other Prophets were sent to restate the original message and guide man to the right path. The last of these Prophets was Muhammad (peace be upon him), who presented God's guidance in its final form and arranged to preserve it for all time. It is this guidance which is now known as Al-Islam and is enshrined in the Qur'an and the life- example of the Prophet-Sunnah.
The basic Islamic concept is that the entire universe was created by God, whom Islam calls Allah and who is the Lord and the Sovereign of the Universe. He is the Lord of the universe which He alone sustains. He created man and appointed for each human being a fixed period of life which he is to spend upon the earth. God has prescribed a certain code of life as the correct one for him, but has at the same time conferred on man freedom of choice as to whether or not he adopts this code as the actual basis of his life.
One who chooses to follow the code revealed by God becomes a Muslim (believer) and one who refuses to follow it becomes a Kafir (non-believer). A man joins the fold of Islam by honestly believing in and professing faith in the unity of God and the Prophethood of Muhammad (peace be upon him). Both these beliefs are epitomized in the Shahadah (declaration of faith): La ilaha illallahu Muhammad rasulullah. (‘There is no god except God; Muhammad is His Prophet’.) The first part of this Shahadah presents the concept of Tawhid (unity of God) and its second part affirms the Prophethood of Muhammad (peace be upon him).

What is Islam

2007-12-14T06:13:00.000-08:00

The word "Islam"
The name of this religion is Islam, which is the root of "Silm" and "Salam" which means peace.
Salam may also mean greeting one another with peace. One of the beautiful names of Allah is that He is the "Peace". It means more than that: submission to the One Allah, and to live in peace with the Creator, within one's self, with other people and with the environment. Thus, Islam is a total system of living.
A Muslim is supposed to live in peace and harmony with all these segments; hence, a Muslim is any person anywhere in the world whose obedience, allegiance, and loyalty are to Allah, the Lord of the Universe
TAWHID: The Bedrock of Islam
Tawhid is a revolutionary concept and constitutes the essence of the teachings of Islam. It means that there is only One Supreme Lord of the universe. He is all Powerful, all Knowing and the Sustainer of the world and of mankind.
How can one observe the inexhaustible creativity of nature, its purposefulness, its preservation of that which is morally useful and destruction of that which is socially injurious, and yet fail to draw the conclusion that behind nature there is an All-Pervading Mind of whose incessant creative activity the processes of nature are but an outward manifestation?
The stars scattered through the almost infinite space, the vast panorama of nature with its charm and beauty, the planned waxing and waning of the moon, the astonishing harmony of the seasons - all point towards one fact: there is God, the Creator, the Supreme Ruler. We witness a superb, flawless plan in the universe - can it be without a Planner? We see great enchanting beauty and harmony in its working can they be without a Creator? We observe wonderful design in nature can it be without a Designer? We feel a lofty purpose in physical and human existence - can it be without a Will working behind it? We find that the universe is like a superbly written fascinating novel - can it be without an Author? Truly, God said: O, Mankind: worship your Lord, Who created you and those before you, so that you may ward off evil. Who has appointed the earth a resting place for you, the sky a canopy; and who causes water to pour down from the heavens, thereby producing fruit as food for you. So, do not set up rivals to God, when you know better.' (The Holy Qur'an 2:21-22).

This is the basic tenet to which Muhammad (peace be upon him) asked humanity to adhere. It is an important metaphysical reality and answers the riddles of the universe. It points to the supremacy of the law in the cosmos, the all pervading unity behind the manifest diversity. It presents a unified view of the world and offers the vision of an integrated universe. It is a mighty contrast to the piecemeal views of scientists and the philosophers and unveils the truth before the human eye. After centuries of groping in the dark, man is now coming to realize the truth of this concept and modern scientific thought is moving in this direction. But it is not merely a metaphysical concept. It is a dynamic belief and a revolutionary doctrine. It means that all human beings are the creatures of One God - they are all equal.
Discrimination based on color, class, race or territory is unfounded and illusory; it is a remnant of the days of ignorance which chained men down to servitude. Humanity is one single family from Adam. Men are one - and not bourgeois or proletarian, white or black, Aryan or non-Aryan, Westerner or Easterner. Islam gives a revolutionary concept of the unity of mankind. The Prophet came to unite humanity on the world of God and to give it a new life. God says: ‘Hold tight to the rope of God, altogether and do not separate. Remember God's gifts and blessings unto you all, when you were enemies; remember how He forged your hearts together in love, and by His grace, you became brethren.’ (The Holy Qur'an 3:103).
This also defines the true position of man in the universe. It says that God is the Creator, the Sovereign; and that man is His vicegerent on the earth. It exalts man to the noble and dignified position of being God's deputy on earth and endows his life with a lofty purpose, to fulfil the Will of God on earth. This solves all the perplexing problems of human society and establishes a new order wherein equity and justice and peace and prosperity will reign supreme. The starting point of Islam is this belief in the Unity of God (Tawhid).
Islam : Basic Concepts
ISLAM is the religion of truth. It is the embodiment of the code of life which God, the Creator and the Lord of the universe, has revealed for the guidance of mankind. For the proper development of human life man needs two kinds of thing, viz.: (a) resources to maintain life and fulfil the material needs of the individual and society, and (b) knowledge of the principles of individual and social behavior to enable man to have self-fulfilment and to maintain justice and tranquility in human life. The Lord of the universe has provided for both of these in full measure.
To cater for the material needs of man He has provided nature with all kinds of resources, which lie at the disposal of man.
To provide for his spiritual, social and cultural needs He raised His Prophets from among men and revealed to them the code of life which can guide man's steps to the Right Path. This code of life is known as Islam, the religion preached by all the Prophets of God
NUBUWAH: THE PROPHETHOOD
The second part of the Shahadah, on the other hand, signifies that God has not left man without any guidance for the conduct of his life. He has revealed His Guidance through His Messengers, and Muhammad (peace be upon him) was the last Messenger. And to believe in a Messenger means to believe in his message, to accept the Law which he gave and to follow the Code of Conduct which he taught.
Thus the second basic postulate of Islam is to believe in the Prophethood of Muhammad (peace be upon him), to accept the teachings which he presented and to follow his commands. Every Prophet of God, according to the Qur'an, strove to build man's relationship with God on the principle of God's sovereignty and the acknowledgement of the authority of the Prophet as the source of divine guidance. Every one of them said: ‘I am to you God's Messenger, worthy of all trust. So be committed to God, fear Him, and obey me.’ The Guidance is revealed through the Prophets.
It is a part of their mission to translate that into practice, in their own lives and in the society they try to reform. All the Prophets are representatives of God, but they are human beings and their lives are models for mankind. Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the last Prophet and Messenger and as such the final model for mankind. To believe in him means to accept his authority as representative of the Supreme Ruler and to follow his example in thought and behavior.
The code of behavior, the law which is to decide what is permissible and what is forbidden (halal and haram), is given by God through the Prophet and is known as the Shari'ah. Belief in the Prophet involves acceptance of the Shari'ah. the Path, he has conveyed and to implement that in all walks of life. This is how the Will of God is fulfilled on the earth. The Qur'an says: ‘Every Messenger who was sent by us was sent for the purpose that he should be obeyed under the sanction of God.’ (The Holy Qur'an 4:64).

Statement of the Islamic Research Academy

2007-12-14T06:11:00.000-08:00

The late Pope of Vatican had visited Mashyakhat Al Azhar before, to renew the human meetings and express in respect for both sides, and agree that the difference of beliefs doesn't prevent from cooperation to spread the virtues which monotheist legislations and right human minds asked for.
The world media mentioned, a few days ago, a lecture delivered by the recent Pope of Vatican in German language, which included a dialogue between a Byzantine Caesar and a Persian Muslim in the year 1391, such dialogue contained insults against Islam away from reality, that Caesar claimed that Islam was spread by sward and that Jihad deals with aggression, and Muhammad didn't get any goodness but get evils as he ordered to spread Islam by sward and that Islam is against mentality.
These words are nude from reality since Islam was spread by wise convincing and guidance as legislation of Islam is against any saying or acting based on enforcement, and Jihad in Islam was ordered legally to defend the soul, belief and whatever to be defended. As the prophet, Peace Be Upon Him, had brought all goodness for mankind, and he is the final of the prophets and messengers, had brought an inclusive legislation containing all good virtues and morals. It's sufficient that Allah the Almighty praised Him in the Holy Quran saying "You are bearing great moralities", as He praised his message saying: "We have not sent you but only as a mercy for mankind" and all the documents of Islam from the Holy Quarn and Sunna prove all that. It was a duty for the Pope of Vatican not to mention such story without any comment on, because it is for unwise Caesar in the fourteenth century and without studying the Holy Quran and the Tradition of the Prophet, Peace Be Upon Him, and what the majority of Muslim Scholars agreed upon where he could see nothing at all concerning such false claims.
Al Azhar al Sharif calls upon all human kind to study Islam carefully from its true sources to preserve mutual respect and good cooperation for the sake of humanity through the dialogue among religions.
God says the Truth and guides to the straight path.
Al Azhar Al Sharif Office of the Grand Imam Sheikh Al Azhar Al Azhar Al Sharif expresses his all displeasure for what was said by the Pope of Vatican insulting Islam and the Holy Prophet, Peace and Prayers of Allah Be Upon Him. Such words affected the feelings of anger to more than one billion and three hundred millions Muslims all over the world.
Mashyakhat Al Azhar confirms that such declaration proves ignorance of Islam and attributes to it what it doesn't have, and it will not contribute, at any way, to strengthen the dialogue among the religions and cultures of the world

The Qur'an tells us true believers

2007-12-14T06:08:00.000-08:00

The Islamic Creed
"La ilaha illa Allah, Muhammadu Rasool Allah"-"There is no deity except God, Muhammad is the Messenger of God."
This simple statement of a Muslim's basic beliefs is the starting point for all that follows. From this expression of belief in the Oneness and Uniqueness of God and the messengership of Muhammad stem all of Islam's concepts, attitudes, moral values and guidelines for human behavior and relationships. How can all this follow from this one simple and seemingly quite obvious statement?
Thus: The first part of this declaration, "La ilaha illa Allah," attests not only to the Oneness and Uniqueness of God, the Deity. It signifies, at the same time, the oneness of the lordship, the sovereignty and the authority in the universe and this world. For when we affirm that there is no deity except the One God, we are actually stating that, as there is no other Creator and Sustainer of the universe, this world and all that is in them, there can likewise be no other Ruler, Law- Giver and Supreme Authority for mankind. God, the Lord of all creation, creates what He pleases. giving each of His creations the nature, function and role which He desires for it in this He is accountable to no one and all things are under His absolute control. The purpose for which He created human beings is to acknowledge, worship and obey Him alone, and at the same time to manage the affairs of this world and administer it with justice and righteousness according to His all-wise laws.
How do we know all this? How can a mere human being, a very limited and finite creature, know about God- that is, about Infinity-and His purposes for mankind, the answers to the multitude of basic questions which encompass God's nature and attributes,man's relationship to Him, and why he has been put into this world? We are living in an era in which we have increasingly lost the conviction of the meaning and purpose of existence; indeed, the entire complex of modern civilization seems to proclaim the utter purposelessness and meaninglessness of life.
Then how can we know? Indeed, these are the most vital and basic questions for any human being. Without satisfactory answers to them, life makes no sense; it' has neither purpose nor meaning, and one is simply going through the motions of living without any reason other than the fact that he happens to be alive. Hence the essential task facing each individual is to search for the answers to these questions until he finds them and, when he has found them, to acknowledge their truth and to live by them as faithfully as he can. But the question remains: Where are the answers to them to be found?
Assuredly, if (as many people believe) religion were simply a device invented by man to explain the world of nature or for ordering human affairs, human beings would have been able to arrive at satisfactory answers to these questions through their own reasoning and observation and to guide their lives by them in a suitable manner; the worship of the forces of nature, spirits and demons, sticks and stones and gods made by human hands and mythological figures connected to the world of men by their semi-human nature represents various efforts on their part to do so throughout the course of history. But to arrive at the objective truth: at a correct knowledge of the meaning and purpose of existence, the nature and attributes of the Creator of all things, and of man's role and ultimate destiny, by man's unaided efforts is an obvious impossibility since it concerns what is totally out-side the realm of human observation or deductive faculties; even if some individuals should, by their own efforts, succeed at grasping some part of these truths, they would have no certain or positive means of verifying them.
For the only possible means by which human beings can have access to an unquestionably correct understanding of such matters is if the Source of everything, the willing, acting, sustaining Power Whom we call God, Himself imparts this knowledge to us by whatever means He may deem fit. And this is precisely the significance of the second part of Islam's Declaration of Faith, " . . . Muhammadu Rasool Allah"- Muhammad is the Messenger of God.
Since the dawn of true human consciousness, Islam asserts, the Creator not only implanted in human beings the awareness of His existence, the innate knowledge that there is a non-corporeal, transcendent Being Who created them and the world around them; 1 He also provided them with the answers to these vital questions which have occupied their minds since their emergence as thinking, questioning, problem-solving beings on this planet, conveying His guidance to humankind through various individuals whom he chose as His message-bearers to different groups of people: to be the connecting link between Himself and man, so to speak. Through the passing of time and changes occasioned by human error, much of the Message which they brought was lost. However, enough remains of the earlier scriptures or the teachings of earlier messengers-of the revelations entrusted by God to such prophets as Ibrahim, Moses, Jesus and many others - to make it very clear that this Message has been basically one and the same throughout history: that there is a single, unique Being Who is the Lord and Master of all creation; that this Being has made laws to govern the conduct of human beings; and that each individual is accountable to this Being for how he lives his life.
Thus Islam does not claim to be a new religion. Rather it is the original religion, that primordial faith which has had its roots deep in man's consciousness since the first true human being walked upon earth because the Creator Himself implanted it there, the faith revealed to and preached by all the prophets: the religion of submission and accountability to the One God. Islam teaches the Divine origin of this message, pointing to the similarity and continuity of the teachings brought by the various messengers of God throughout history, but it makes it clear that in the course of time they were changed and grave distortions appeared among them. Hence the Divine origin of these messages is to be believed in but not necessarily their present form or content, since their present condition makes it impossible to determine what part of them has been changed, either accidentally or deliberately, by the hands of men.
Each one of the prophets was a man like other men, with the same human needs and feelings; Islam most emphatically denies any suggestion of the divinity or super-human nature of God's messengers. At the same time, they were men of special qualities whom God singled out from the rest of humanity for the task of conveying His guidance. The prophets are characterized by their total submission to God and their nearness to Him, their pure and upright natures, the extraordinary righteousness of their conduct, and their unswerving commitment to the mission with which they were entrusted.
The guidance revealed suited the mentality and needs of the particular peoples to whom it was addressed. Consequently, many earlier prophets were sent with miracles and signs since the people of their eras, whose belief in God was very weak or altogether lacking, were willing to acknowledge Him only when His existence and power were demonstrated by such proofs. At length, when the mind of man had developed to its full potential, God raised His last prophet, Muhammad, an Arab descended from Ibrahim, with the final and complete statement of His guidance for all time to come. And it is because Muslims follow the guidance which was conveyed through Muhammad , the guidance which carries the complete and final proclamation of God's laws and commands for humankind, that "Muhammadu Rasool Allah"-Muhammad is the Messenger of God-is so significant and vital as to form the second part of the Muslim's statement of faith.
Far from being a state of degradation and servility. The human individual's exclusive submission to the Creator alone invests him with greatness and sublimity, for by means of it he is freed from obeying and serving anything less than God, the only Being Who can ever be worthy of his devotion and obedience. "La ilaha illa Allah, Muhammadu Rasool Allah" is therefore that powerful statement of faith which represents the liberation of the one who professes it from servitude and submission to anything or anyone other than God Most High. It is the denial of all other claimants to divinity and supreme authority, the affirmation of God's Oneness and Sovereignty, and the statement of belief in and acceptance of His guidance as revealed to Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him), the last of God's messengers

Islam Beliefs

2007-12-14T06:02:00.000-08:00

Man and woman in the Qur’an (part 2)

2007-12-14T06:00:00.000-08:00

God Almighty forwarded word “will” or “legacies” to “debt” in the clause “after payment of legacies and debts” despite the fact that paying off debts actually precedes fulfilling the will in order to stress on its significance and fulfillment.
Wills could most probably be neglected or hidden because they are uncompensated money and people find it hard to give it away. Hence came these orders eloquently to urge people to respect wills and fulfill them by forwarding the word “will” to “debt” in the four clauses to shed light on its moral importance and significance.
Imam Al Zamakhshary explained this meaning in Al-kashaf saying: “If I was asked why the word “will” is forwarded to “debt” in the verse despite the fact that shari’ah stipulates paying debts off first, I would say that giving.
“Will” is usually just like giving a share of the legacy for free. Hence come the hardship of fulfilling it on part of the inheritors. Unlike a debt which they most readily pay because it is money that have been taken before. God forwarded the word “will” to “debt” to remind of its importance and urge people to fulfill it as they pay off debt.
The clause “so that no loss is caused (to any one)” is a prohibition for a person to do harm to his/her inheritors through the will or leaving them in heavy debt. Doing harm to the inheritors through the will of the deceased happens when his/her disposes of more or less than one third of his/her fortune away with the intention of decreasing the share of the inheritors of the legacy or depriving them totally of inheritance. Al-Nissa’i related that Ibn Abbas narrated: “The Prophet (pbuh) says: “Doing harm through a will is one of the deadly sins.” Qitabah said:
“God hates doing harm in life and after death. He Almighty forbade it.” Doing ham to the inheritors through debt occurs when a person falsely states that s/he is indebted to another in order to deprive the inheritors from legacy. Or else s/he might falsely state that s/he has their loaned money/item paid back so that the inheritors would not be able to retrieve them.
God Almighty mention the clause “so that no loss is caused (to any one)” after specifying the portion given of brothers and sisters of the deceased in the inheritance in order to stress on giving them their rights. For some people almost neglect the share of the brothers and sisters to the share of the mother of the deceased till the present day.
The clause “Thus it is ordained by God” asserts the imperativeness of dividing the inheritance the same way God ordained and revealed in the Glorious Qur’an. The clause denotes that this divine will is obligatory, whoever violates it deserves God’s punishment.
The clause “God is All-Knowing, Most Forbearing” is a conclusion that aims to raise heart on piety to God Who is Well-Aware of its hidden secrets and Who is Lenient and never hastening to punish the sinners.
The clause "God is All-Knowing, Most Forbearing" is a conclusion that aims to raise hearts on piety to God Who is Well-Aware of its hid¬den' secrets and Who is Lenient and never hastening to punish the sin¬ners; tarrying but never unfair.
Scholars extracted from these two verses a group of legislations which when applied - will lead to welfare, justice, security and good life of the na¬tion and all its members- males and females. These legislations include: The most sound arrangement of the inheritors is given in the two verses. The fist verse lists the inheritors start¬ing" from parental and. fraternal lineage which em¬bodies, the closest kind of relationships among human beings.
The second verse specified spou¬sal inheritance which comes second to parental and fraternal inheritance because the first two reinitiated through a blood relationship where¬as the latter is caused by a marriage agreement that could be annulled any moment. Then this verse moved on to speak about inheritance through /kalalah/ which is a weaker form of kinship than the above two forms. In /kalalah/ in¬heritance is begotten through indirect kinship.
Second, accordingly, it is evident that inheritors are divinely arranged in these two verses. This, arrangement is one which the Creator has made rather than any, human, being. It aims to render good the life of human beings. On 'earth because God is Well-Aware and Knowledgeable of their interests and He is the Wise in all His deeds and ac¬tions.
God reinforced the necessity of conforming to His legislations with regards to dividing inheritance by starting the two verses with the clause "God (thus) directs you". The word "ordained" as indicated above- denotes giving directions to others as regards the things they should.
This is to be done in wise and convincing advice. God warned people against hes¬itating about the application of these legislations. He Almighty said : "Ye know not whether your parents or your children are nearest to you in benefit. These are settled portions ordained by God; and God is All-knowing, All ¬Wise;"
Third, those above two verses clearly declared that the portion given to males in the inheritance is dou¬ble that of females in most cases. The word 'most' is used because there are some examples when both the male and the female have equal portions of the inheritance. For example when the inheritors are the two parents and a son, or two parents and two daughters or more, the mother's portion in this case would be equal to that of the father. For both of them would have one sixth of the inheritance as stipulated in the verse: "For parent, a sixth share of the inheritance to each, If the de-ceased left children".
The same case applies when there are brothers and sisters to the moth¬er of the deceased. All of them would equally share one third of the inheritance. This one third is to be divided justly a male's portion is as much as that of a female, unless more lineal kinship that precedes them in the inheritance hier¬archy. This rule has been indicated in the second verse: "If the man or a woman whose inheritance is in ques¬tion, has left neither ascendants nor descendants, but has left a brother or a sister, each one of the two gets a sixth; but if more than two, they share in a third". This rule has been duly referred to before in the ex¬planation of the two noble verses.
Fourth, the Islamic legislation which is stipulated in the clause "God (thus) directs you as regards your children’s (inheritance) to the male, a portion of two females" represents sheer justices and wisdom. This legislation has been based on consideration the social, financial and economic responsibilities Islam has made incumbent on a man in comparison to those of a woman. Within Islamic legislation, the man is the bread winner. He is ordered to support and sustain all the members of the family including the wife. Whereas the Woman is exempted from many Of the financial re¬sponsibilities that a man shoulders. A man is the one who pays the dowry in marriage and shoulders the financial responsibilities of the family. It is only within Islamic legislation that the wife as the right to keep intact all her money and possessions. Islamic legislation does not ordain a wife to spend any of her private mon¬ey or on the family, unless she -willingly- volunteers to help her husband with his responsibilities.
Thus we do see that Islamic legisla¬tion is primarily based on justice in stipulating a double portion of the in¬heritance to the male, giving the woman half his portion because supporting the family and the burden of breadwinning in Islam lies on the man rather than the women.

Man and Woman in the Qur'an

2007-12-14T05:55:00.000-08:00

The second kind of treatment for a haughty and disobedient wife is referred to in the clause" refuse to share their beds".
The word / madhagi'e / is the plural of / madhga'a / which is the place where .people sleep. The clause informs men that if advice and exhortation .was of no avail to their wives, they should move on a step forward by¬ abstaining from sleeping on the same bed and leaving them to sleep alone. Husbands at these times are not to say any term of abuse to their wives, for they ordered only to end their company to their wives in bed without any form of enmity or hatred.
Denying women company in theft beds is a kind of psycho¬logical discipline for some women. The third kind of treatment for the disobedience of wives is indicated in the clause "(and last) ;peat them (lightly)" which informs men that if none of the two above mentioned workout in treating the disobedience of their wives, then they should gently beat their wives in such a manner as not to hurt- the face provided that they should not also call their wives bad names so they would not hurt their feelings.
There are many prophetic hadiths that elaborate on this third kind of treatment and specifying two cases when a husband is allowed to hit his wife. For example, there is a hadith related by AI- Tirmidhi where Amr bin Al Ahwas narrated that he heard the Prophet (pbuh) in Hijjat Al Wadaa' (Farewell Pilgrimage) by praising God out loud and urging people saying: "0 you are recommended to do well to women except when they do a vile sin. If so, then you abstain from sleeping in the same bed and bit them gently". "O you have a right upon your wives and they have a right upon you. Your right is they must never allow someone you hate into your houses. Their right is to be welt treated in food and clothing. "
Abu Dawood related a hadith where Iyas Thn Abd AIlah ( may Allah be pleased with him) narrated: "The Prophet (pbuh) said :"Do not hit women, as they are your sisters" Iyas (may, Allahbe pleased with him) narrated: 'The prophet (pbuh) narrated that Omar bin Khattab said to the Prophet (pbuh): "Women have become too bold with their husbands", so the Prophet. (pbuh) permitted husbands to' hit their wives. Then, many women came to the Prophet (pbuh) and his wives to complain of the ill-treatment of their husbands. The Prophet said: "Many women came to my family complaining from their husbands. O those husbands are not your most . honored." (meaning, those husbands who hit their wives are not the best of you).
Mu'aweyah bin Hidah (may God bless him) narrated that he asked the Prophet (pbuh) "What is the right of the wife to her husband?" He (pbuh) said: "Whenever he eats, he should feed her. Whenever new clothes, he should get her new clothes. He must not be rude to her, and should always talk to her."
As indicated in the Prophetic hadiths, the Prophet (Pbuh) allowed the husband to hit his : wife gently, but only after ap¬proaching her in all other ways possible. A husband should start by giving her advice and " then by refraining from her company in bed. Hitting the wife should be the last resort. The Prophet (pbuh) stip¬ulated that hitting the wife should be gently, away from the face and should" not say vile words or use terms of abuse. Hitting a wife should never occur except in cases where she trans gresses against a legislative ruling or divine order as regards the relationship with her husband in matters of honor, good manners and in accordance with the Prophet's '(pbuh) saying: ' unless they commit a vile sin' Then God Almighty indicated the reaction of husbands towards their wives if they became lenient and stopped being disobedient and arrogant. He says: "but if they turn to obedience, seek not against them means (of annoyance ) for Allah is Most High , Great (above you all)" . The clause orders men that whenever they are reconciled with their wives, they' treat them well and not hurt. God says: "On the contrary live them on a footing of kindness and equity if ye take a dislike to them it maybe that" ye dislike a thing, and Al-lah brings about through it a great deal of good." (Surat AnNisaa: 19)
The Prophet (pbuh) says: "No believing male should loathe his spouse. If he hated one of her traits, he should love another trait" .
Men should know that God AI-mighty is powerful and capable so that they might fear and be pious to him. Imam Fakhr Ar-Razi who said in explanation of this clause, using the two adjectives Most High"," Great (above you" all)" in this context . is most eloquent for many reasons:
First: to instill awe and fear from God into the hearts of men and to warn them against op¬pressing women or else God AI-mighty, Who has power over them will punish them. Second: Men, due to their upper hand over women. should not hurt and transgress against women if they relented and obeyed them. They should remember that God Almighty has the upper hand over them.
Third: Despite the fact that God is "Most High" ," Great (above you all)", He never ordained something you cannot bear or afford. Hence you should not oblige your wives to love if they do not. Fourth: God Almighty Who is "Most High"," Great (above you all)", yet He Almighty does not rep¬rimand a sinner when they repent. On the contrary, He Almighty pardons and forgives. So husbands should stop scolding their wives for being previously disobedient and ar¬rogant once they relent and refrain from their misbehavior.
Fifth: God Almighty "Most High", Great (above you all)" asks His", worshippers to account for their ap¬parent sayings and deeds not their inner thoughts and feelings. Thus hus¬bands should parody this example. Whoever reflects on this noble verse would find that it asserted that the uprightness of men to women is , a divine stipulation that is not to be opposed. This uprightness is stipulat¬ed due to the responsibilities and ordinances God commanded men, not women, to do. It is also and uprightness of protection and care rath¬er than oppression and coercion. Fairness and good manners of hus¬bands, towards their wives has a legislative basis in Islam. God Almighty is Ever-Truthful in saying "but if they return to obedience, seek not against them means (of annoyance): for Allah is Most High, Great (above you all)" .