General Issues / Questions

Bigmo, can you kindly post the references on the verses you mention (regarding Mary). "And mention in the Book, Maryam when she withdrew from her family to a place facing east. She placed a screen from them; then We sent to her our angel and he appeared before her in the form of a man in full human form. She said 'I seek refuge with The Most Beneficent from you, if you do fear Him.' (The angel) said 'I am only a Messenger from your Lord, (to announce) to you the gift of a righteous son.' She said 'How can I have a son, when no man has touched me, nor am I unchaste?' He (the angel) said 'So (it will be), your Lord said 'That is easy for Me And to appoint him as a sign to mankind and a mercy from Us (from God)', and it is a matter (already) decreed (by God).' " (Quran 1916-21) Yet it also says 3.44. This is part of the tidings of the things unseen, which We reveal unto thee (O Messenger.) by inspiration Thou wast not with them when they cast lots with arrows, as to which of them should be charged with the care of Mary Nor wast thou with them when they disputed (the point). Behold! the angels said "O Mary! Allah giveth thee glad tidings of a Word from Him his name will be Christ Jesus, the son of Mary, held in honour in this world and the Hereafter and of (the company of) those nearest to Allah. "He shall speak to the people in childhood and in maturity. And he shall be (of the company) of the righteous." So numbers are not as significant as they appear. By looking at the verses in chapter !( we would assume that one angel visited Mary and talked to her and gave her the news of a son. However we see there were also other angels involved. The Quran never said only one angel visited. So we should not asume by saying two, three or four, its stating no more than four. The Quran says we should not have other gods and we should not lie or cheat or steal or kill or act trecherous or be dishonest and treat our wives discrimintory or commit adultery or slander others and backbite and be miserly. It however never said we should not marry more than four.

Verse 928 bans mushriks (that is those who set up partners besides God, which according to the Quran includes Sunnis and Shiites too) from coming near the Masjid al-Haram (Restricted Place of Prostration), which is commonly known as Kaba. I think this is justified since the Masjid was originally built to invoke God alone; it is not a museum or zoo. I do not know why people use this verse to justify their answer. According to my knowledge, if we read the verse in context then it clearly speaks only about those Mushriks who broke the treaty with Muslims. If we read carefully then it says only the sacred mosque. Not the entire city Makkah and Madina. What is surprising is that the various forms of answers to this question. Let me share a opinion of a Scholar (I did not vote him to be the scholar though) Islam Q and A Praise be to Allaah. Firstly It is not permissible allow the kuffaar to take up residence in the Arabian Peninsula. The scholars differed at to the definition of the boundaries of the Arabian Peninsula, but they did not differ as to the fact that Madeenah is part of it. Ibn Qudaamah said It is not permissible for any of them (the kuffaar) to live in the Hijaaz. This is the view of Maalik and al-Shaafa?i, but Maalik said I think that they should be expelled from all the Arab lands, because the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said ?Two religions cannot coexist in the Arabian Peninsula.? Abu Dawood narrated with his isnaad from ?Umar that he heard the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say ?I will certainly expel the Jews and the Christians from the Arabian Peninsula,, and I will not leave anyone there but Muslims.? Al-Tirmidhi said this is a saheeh hasan hadeeth. And it was narrated that Ibn ?Abbaas said The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) left behind three instructions. He said Expel the mushrikeen from the Arabian Peninsula, honour the delegations the way that I do, and he kept quiet about the third. Narrated by Abu Dawood. Al-Mughni, 9/285, 286. Secondly It is permissible for kuffaar to enter Madeenah for the purposes of trade, without staying there. They should be given enough time (to complete their business) then they should be told to leave. Ibn Qudaamah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said It is permissible for them to enter the Hijaaz for the purpose of trade, because the Christians used to trade with Madeenah at the time of ?Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him). An old Christian man came to him in Madeenah and said ?I am an old Christian man and your agent has taken the tithe from me twice.? ?Umar said ?I am an old monotheist (haneef) man,? and ?Umar wrote to the agent and said ?Only take the tithe once in a year, and do not allow them to stay for more than three days.? This is what was narrated from ?Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) and they should leave after that. Al-Qaadi said Four days is the limit after which a traveller must offer prayers in full. Al-Mughni, 9/286. Thirdly What we have mentioned about Madeenah and its sanctuary does not apply to the sanctuary of Makkah. The kuffaar are forbidden to enter it under any circumstances. It says in al-Mawsoo?ah al-Fiqhiyyah (3/130, 131) The majority of scholars ? including Muhammad ibn al-Hasan among the Hanafis ? are of the view that it is not permissible for kuffaar to enter the sanctuary of Makkah at all, The view of the Hanafis is that that is permissible if there is a treaty or they have permission. With regard to the sanctuary of Madeenah, it is not forbidden for them to enter to bring a message, for trade or to bring some goods. A kaafir may not enter other parts of the Arab lands without permission or a treaty. The fuqaha? have discussed this matter in detail.Ends. And Allaah knows best. http//www.islam-qa.com/en/ref/47736/non%20muslims%20not%20allowed%20makkah Another version "O you who believe(in All?h's Oneness and His Messenger Muhammad &#1605! Verily, the Mushrikun(polytheists, pagans, idolaters, disbelievers in the Oneness of All?h, and in the Message of Muhammad &#1605 are Najasun (impure). So let them not come near Al-Masjiadal-Har?m (at Makkah) after this year; and if you fear poverty, All?h will enrich you if He wills, out of His Bounty. Surely, All?h is All-Knowing, All-Wise." -- Qur?an, 928 http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mecca Oh God what is truth actually? I am just confused. However, this restriction that is related to a building has been extended to the whole city. Well, while they were at it they decided to fabricate another Restricted Place of Prostration in Yathrib (they changed even the name of the city to Medina) and then they added the entire city to the restriction. I did not know this. Can you elaborate, please? If you would like to study a Quran that does not consider hearsay collections and sectarian teachings as secondary sources besides the Quran, I recommend you the Quran a Reformist Translation. Its electronic version is available at www.quranix.com for free. Ok I will read. Thank you for sharing.

Specialises in Government and company law Oh.

LOL! That was rhetorical, as always! rotfl

Peace, Resepctfully. First things first 6114 ?Shall I seek other than God as a judge when He has sent down to you the Book fully detailed?? Those to whom We have given the Book know it is sent down from your Lord with the truth; so do not be of those who have doubt. Clearly, The Quran is fully detailed and i don't think anyone has been adding stuff 4142 No falsehood could enter it, presently or afterwards; a revelation from One Most Wise, Praiseworthy. Glory be to our God. Peace. I keep using 4142 to show people the truth, but many just skip over it! peace

Peace Morningdew, I have a question about the verse 425 in Quran. The message translated the verse to say "protected women". Other people who translated this line say "free believing women". Free meaning unmarried. Protected meaning married. However, it crosses my mind that protected believing women would have a different meaning than simply believing women. Could someone clarify? Please see http//www.free-minds.org/malak Peace, Ayman

What is your concept of hidden beauty? If it says to guard her private parts and also the bossom, those are the hidden beauty. There is no reason why running those would show, or dancing or exercising. Actually apart from the bossom it is very hard for women's private parts to be seen, specially if they are covered. If running could do such a things, why shouldn't the Qur'an have said so straight out? Normaly it doesn't lack words or is shy to pronounce them. Salaam

There are 100 billion stars in our galaxy and millions of millions of galaxies that we know of in the universe. Our galaxy hasn't yet entered to rapid star formation phase! I mean antromeda galaxy may have a trillion stars! wow

Arabic is not my native tongue, either. You could learn to read it, for starters. If that's still too daunting, then you can use transliteration as a source. Have you studied the bible? what sources/strategies did you use? I believe, like everything, it starts with the mind. You have to believe you can accomplish what you want to accomplish, and the rest will take care of itself. BTW, If I lived a little closer I'd visit your church. At least, we are in the same state...

The problem is consistency...why Zechariah is in hebrew while Jonah and Elijah are in Greek? Thats the question. Or is there something that we don't know? Ask the translators. In my research translations are never consistent...The translators were under judeo-christian influence, so yes they assigned greek/hebrew names to the arabic.

Peace, respectfully. Well, their "religion" is this" killing the different. I see sunnis as borg from Star TrekThe Next Generation. I also think - God knows best - that the writers of the series have created this borg character on basis of sunnism. Think about it borg are these people from all over the universe, they use to be seperate individuals but now under the command of The Queen Borg, they all form one entity/being. And of course their opening and closing sentence is we are borg, you will be assimilated, resistance is futile. I ams ure that the writers based it on the basis of sunnis, i'm sure of it. Peace. bravo maybe you are right!

You have to read the few posts before to get the joke LOL LOL!!! rotfl I get it!

Whats the most authentic bible? I'm not sure there is one. The Gnostic bible is interesting, it just includes everything and you pick what you want to believe. hmm

A bowl of poison was brought as a present to Umar. ?Of what use is this?? he asked. They said, ?When it is not publicly advisable to kill someone openly, you can give them a little of this. Then they will die secretly. If it is an enemy who cannot be slain with the sword, with a little of this they can be killed clandestinely.? ?You have brought me a very good thing,? he said. ?Give it to me to drink, for within me is a mighty enemy whom the sword cannot reach. I have no greater enemy in the world than he.? ?There is no need to drink it all up in one gulp,? they told him. ?Just one sip is enough. This bowl is sufficient for a hundred thousand people.? ?My enemy, too, is not one person,? said Umar. ?He is a thousand strong, and has overthrown a hundred thousand.? He then seized the cup and drank it all in one draught. At once the assembled multitude all became believers, crying, ?Your religion is true!? Proof that Umar was a Pentecostal snake-handler! starts speaking in tongues

Are you sure that verse 4320 says this?! I have verse 4320 says "And they say If the Beneficent One had (so) willed, we should not have worshipped them. They have no knowledge whatsoever of that. They do but guess". Peace, Respectfully. I took it from The Quran from free minds. I checked again and read it here it is 4320 ?What good is an offspring that is brought up to be beautiful, and cannot help in a fight?? Peace.

"Not all sunnis are bad" should actually be "not all people who claim to be sunni are true sunnis" Because true sunni's are bad. If they truly live by the hadith (which is impossible since it contradicts itself even in one slight aspect) then they would be doing MANY things which makes it impossible for them not to be bad, i.e. stoning people or killing them because they left their satanic cultish sect. Case in point, the sunnis that respect the above married spouses for who they are are not true sunni's. If they've heard that they "used to be sunni" and now are "God-alone, Quran alone" if they are true sunnis (shayateen) then they would kill them, like that. And wow, this thread got two pages filled in like a day. Nice... Sunnis generally believe that the authorities should decide that matter and not individuals and to be honest in the history of Sunni Islam persecuting people for apostasy was not very common. However we must also realize that there is a takfiri element among many Quranist and I have seen in this forum some of that. We must first define what is faith and what is disbelief from a Quranic standpoint and not based on personal conviction or reasoning. We must also identify what is shirk and who is a mushrik once again from the Quran. We must take our understanding from the Quran. We must be able to clear our own house from this poison called takfirism which divides people and instills on them hate and mistrust of each other. Nothing destroyed wahhabism than the culture of takfirism which led to various splits among them often leading to fighting and arguing with each other. This culture of takfirism is the most dangerous poison to any religious community. It destroys a religious community and causes disunity. It also has been talked about in the Quran. The Quran teaches unity among believers but how can there be unity among believers if each is accusing the other of disbelief? Is this disbelief based on a person's faith in God or is it based on something else? Is this disbelief based on a Quranic evidence or is it based on disagrreements with each other's views which often are speculations and personal reasonings very rarely attributed to any Quranic evidence? Once again the Quran should be the criteria. Another problem is the arguments about apostasy is usually shaped by Sunnis as being a question of treason and not personal religious conviction. They try to shape apostasy from Islam as an act of treason to the state and community. Then we must define what is a state and what is a community and what consistutes treason and what does not. This is a good counter since Sunnis generally shape their argumenst to a Western audience who usually are the ones critising them and Sunnis simply envoke the "what about you" arguments on the West. Many Western countries have harsh laws against state treason(Walker Lindh etc). So we must derive a definition about what is treason and what is not as a way to counter Sunni arguments. But my main fear is the culture of takfirism. Not long ago wahhabism was seen as a "progressive" movement especially in the 60s and 70s. Sufism was seen as regressive and filled with superstitions and not progressive. We all know what happened to that perception. But more than what they preach, takfirism has been the devil that surrounded the wahhabis from its earliest days and ended up destroying it in its later days. We must emphasize freedom as a way forward but more importantly we must root out the culture of takfirsm which will destroy the youth and spread discord and sectarianism among the activist and alienate the masses from the Quranist movement. Everything must be from the Quran and not based on personal conviction that is built on speculations. Its also odd that people speak out against wahhabism and yet many beliefs people have about what constitutes shirk and what is not is not based on any Quranic evidence or understanding of pagan religions but is based on arguments very similar to the wahhabis themselves! We have people who believe code 19 is shirk We have people who believe making tawwaf arround the ka'ba is shirk. Touching and kissing the black stone in the Ka'ba is shirk. Placing "Muhammad is the messenger" signs in mosques or homes is shirk. Believing that even the prophets can intercede for us is shirk. Believing in the power of healing of the Quran or visiting sufi sheikhs is shirk. People here complain about Zakir Naik being banned from making lectures when he said many Sunnis practice shirk, but ironically they also believe in the same stuff this wahhabi preaches and see nothing wrong with what he preaches when it comes to shirk! They agree with what he says but refuse to accept hadiths because they see that as problematic. This is the same reason why many Quranist attack the previous scriptures because they see in them the same things they see in Sunni hadiths. The Quran however sees the previous scriptures very differently from how they see it. This is why many Sunnis do not take many Quranist seriously is they see them as post modernist who only question hadiths to escape some of its legal traditions which they see as primitive or too harsh based on their personal convictions. They see the Quranist as a product of Western and secular pressures on Muslim societies and an attempt by some to try to "fit" the Western mindset and modern lifestyle and escape criticism. Thats a very dangerous perception and this perception is very common not only among Muslims but also Western elites. What Quranist should emphasize is the CONTRADICTIONS between the teachings of the Quran and Sunnism and how the Quran is self sufficient. But to do that we must adhere to the Quran in all matters and not just when it is convenient or when it agrees with our personal convictions. The Quran says many things we love can be harmful to us and many things we hate could be good for us. If the Quran is your source of guidance then rely on it for all your religious convictions and religious arguments and let the Quran worry about the consequences.

Mods, sorry if this is the wrong sub-forum to post this, I don't know where it would be relevant actually. What do you do to keep your faith? I think it's my age and general immaturity in that I am easily swayed by various viewpoints though I always reach some point where I turn back to Islam and frankly, I'm sick of it. These past few months, I've been dabbling more into the occult and settled specifically on Hermeticism but after a while, I realised it isn't something I am interested in. The problem is that I don't feel connected to Islam at all. I got into Hermeticism and, in a way, 'Qabalah' because of the claims that they are spiritual paths to God. I don't really feel like they are anymore honestly especially after reading some material on what they really are. I've even dabbled in magic and perhaps it's coincidence but everything I cast spells for turned out for the worst. I understand now why magic is deemed a sin. At one point, I tried to establish a daily practice of praying formally twice a day and reading a translation of the Qur'an at various points of the day when I'm free but due to laziness or lack of sustained interest, I just never managed to establish the habit. Sometimes, I convince myself it's fine if I just casually 'talk to God' throughout the day. What do you think of that practice? Currently, I have a problem with insomnia due largely to nightmares and irrational fears brought about by the dabbling. Do you have any suggestions of prayers or things to read? Thanks, didn't mean to treat this like a soapbox. I just don't know anywhere else to turn to. My Buddhist friend recommended going to a local Imam but they're all strictly Sunni here and I personally think it's a hit or miss thing. I might meet a true follower of God though he has Sunni beliefs or I might meet a fanatic who would denounce me for my tattoos and non-shrouded bald head. Salaam, Srotu, have patience with yourselve and trust yourself en put yourself in God's hands. He is the Wisest. That never fails. The twice a day prayers is not a bad idea. I think you should try to stick to that, and if you fail one day or one week or a month, no matter what, you keep on that track. Me that regular prayer brief, nd lengthen it puctually if you feel like it, but do not impose a lengthy thing. I do not think a loose commitment, whenever you remember, informally... That is formless and won't help you. Curiosity is not a bad trait. But faith is not for amusement. Faith is for peace. Peace within you and with destiny. But for faith there are not shortcuts. Remember Ayub. You may flirt with this and that, but acknowledge that it is flirting, not commitment. And try to find out, if you haven't, you good qualities. You suurely have many. Bearing those in mind it may be easier to keep excesses in check. Best of luck and blessings. Salaam

Jizya comes from jaza' meaning reward or compensate. The Quran also says As for such who do not fight you on account of faith, or drive you forth from your homelands, God does not forbid you to show them kindness and to deal with them with equity, for God loves those who act equitably. God only forbids you to turn in friendship towards such as fight against you because of faith and drive you forth from your homelands or aid in driving you forth. As for those from among you who turn towards them for alliance, it is they who are wrongdoers. 608-9 It also says Permission (to fight) is given to those against whom war is being wrongfully waged, and verily, God has indeed the power to aid them. Those who have been driven from their homelands in defiance of right for no other reason than their saying, ?Our Lord is God.? 2239-40 So the verse must be read in the Quranic context and it seems its talking about the crowds of Mecca. 2.193. And fight them on until there is no more Tumult or oppression, and there prevail justice and faith in God, but if they cease, Let there be no hostility except to those who practise oppression So it seems its talking about the persecutions in Mecca and upon the prophet's return to Mecca these verses came down. Its not a generic verse since the Quran seperates between the parties depending on their history with the prophet and his propagation and depending on their persecution of him and his followers. The verse about the people of the book also its talking about a certain crowd since the Quran itself says Not all of them are alike of the People of the book are a portion that stand (for the right); they rehearse the signs of Allah all night long and then prostrate themselves in adoration. They believe in Allah and the Last Day; they enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong; and they (hasten in emulation) in (all) good works; they are in the ranks of the righteous. Of the good that they do nothing will be rejected of them; for Allah knoweth well those that do right. 3.113 And there are certainly among the people of the Book those who believe in Allah in the revelation to you and in the revelation to them bowing in humility to Allah they will not sell the signs of Allah for a miserable gain! for them is a reward with their Lord and Allah is swift in account. 3.199 "Surely those who believe, and those who are Jews, and the Christians, and the Sabians -- whoever believes in God and the Last Day and does good, they shall have their reward from their Lord. And there will be no fear for them, nor shall they grieve" (262, 569, and many other verses). So I think this is talking about the crowd in Mecca who sent the prophet to exile and he and his followers lost their homes and property and this is a compensation(jizya) payment. Jizya has no relevance linguistically to tax. Tax in Arabic is dhareeba. Jizya is a reward. The sects say Monqiz As-Saqqar attributes the word jizya to the root word jaza meaning "compensate" and defines it as "a sum of money given in return for protection". Ibn Al-Mutaraz derives the word from 'idjz?, meaning "substitute" or "sufficiency" because "it suffices as a substitute for the dhimmi's embracement of Islam." Yusuf al-Qaradawi says the word jizya is derived from the jazaa', meaning "reward", "return", or "compensation", and defines it as "a payment by the non-Muslim according to an agreement signed with the Muslim state". Yet none of their definition justifies payment. Its clear from all their definition whether its subsutitute, reward or compensation that its talking about compensation or reward or substitution for something. It can not be for their rejection of faith since that is something not the prophet's business and not all of them were talked about in the Quran as I have shown. Its obvious this is about the crowds at Mecca after the prophet and his followers returned to after nearly 12 years in exile and the many battles fought. 1682 But if they turn away from you, your only duty is a clear delivery of the Message . 6107 Yet if God had so willed, they would not have ascribed Divinity to aught besides Him; hence, We have not made you their keeper, nor are you a guardian over them. 479-80 Say'Whatever good betides you is from God and whatever evil betides you is from your own self and that We have sent you to mankind only as a messenger and all sufficing is God as witness. Whoso obeys the Messenger, he indeed obeys God. And for those who turn away, We have not sent you as a keeper." 24.54. Say "Obey God, and obey the Messenger. but if ye turn away, he is only responsible for the duty placed on him and ye for that placed on you. If ye obey him, ye shall be on right guidance. The Messenger's duty is only to preach the clear (Message). 8821 22; And so, exhort them your task is only to exhort; you cannot compel them to believe. 3941 Assuredly, We have sent down the Book to you in right form for the good of man. Whoso guided himself by it does so to his own advantage, and whoso turns away from it does so at his own loss. You certainly are not their keeper 109.1-6 Say O ye that reject Faith,! I worship not that which ye worship, Nor will ye worship that which I worship, And I will not worship that which ye have been wont to worship, Nor will ye worship that which I worship, To you be your Way, and to me mine. What do people today or even those back then who were not persecuting the prophet and his propagation have to do with all this? The Quran makes it clear that no hostilities except with those who pratice oppression. I think this is a case when something specific has been made very general without looking at the Quranic context and the Quranic guidelines. Others have said Jizya could be ransom for the prisoners. Some of Jews we know who aided the pagans were captures. The verses in chapter 9 looks to be talking about the pilgrimage treaty between Muhammad and his followers and the crowds at Mecca. So this could be also a refernce to the Jews of Mecca paying the ransom(fidya) for their Jewish brethren held as prisoners with the prophet and his followers. 33,26. And those of the People of the Book who aided them - Allah did take them down from their strongholds and cast terror into their hearts. (So that) some ye slew, and some ye made prisoners. 33.27. And He made you heirs of their lands, their houses, and their goods, and of a land which ye had not frequented (before). And Allah has power over all things So Jizya could also be in reference to this event. In anyways its hard from a Quranic point of view to understand Jizya the way sects do which is taxes imposed on "non Muslims" simply for not being "Muslims" but getting protection anyways. Especially if these "non Muslims" never asked for their protection in the first place. Its a money grab if you ask me. Although at 5% its not much of a tax. Thats what I think the sects asked for anyways. Maybe there were other ways to make money out of the so called non Muslims. Sorry I did not quote the verse concerned 9.28. O ye who believe! Truly the Pagans are unclean; so let them not, after this year of theirs, approach the Sacred Mosque. And if ye fear poverty, soon will Allah enrich you, if He wills, out of His bounty, for Allah is All-knowing, All-wise. Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, (even if they are) of the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued Before it it says 9.7. How can there be a league, before Allah and His Messenger, with the Pagans, except those with whom ye made a treaty near the sacred Mosque? As long as these stand true to you, stand ye true to them for Allah doth love the righteous How (can there be such a league), seeing that if they get an advantage over you, they respect not in you the ties either of kinship or of covenant? With (fair words from) their mouths they entice you, but their hearts are averse from you; and most of them are rebellious and wicked Once again the Quran in chapter 9 seems to be talking about certain crowds of Mecca. It seperates between those fighting the prophet and those who did not. It says Will ye not fight people who violated their oaths, plotted to expel the Messenger, and took the aggressive by being the first (to assault) you? Do ye fear them? Nay, it is Allah Whom ye should more justly fear, if ye believe! This seems to be a continuation of Permission (to fight) is given to those against whom war is being wrongfully waged, and verily, God has indeed the power to aid them. Those who have been driven from their homelands in defiance of right for no other reason than their saying, ?Our Lord is God.? 2239-40 So Jizya could mean compensation for the losses and it was imposed after the defeat of the pagans of Mecca and their allies among the Jews. There is no reason that this verse was talking about any other crowd than the crowd that was at war with the pophet. Jizya seems to be a compensation for the loss of property, home and maybe the ransom for prisoners. We call this today war reperations. There is many reference to the Jews of medina in the Quran yet no term of Jizya was used on them. Chapter 9 starts this way A (declaration) of immunity from Allah and His Messenger, to those of the Pagans with whom ye have contracted mutual alliances- Go ye, then, for four months, backwards and forwards, (as ye will), throughout the land, but know ye that ye cannot frustrate Allah (by your falsehood) but that Allah will cover with shame those who reject Him. And an announcement from Allah and His Messenger, to the people (assembled) on the day of the Great Pilgrimage,- that Allah and His Messenger dissolve (treaty) obligations with the Pagans. If then, ye repent, it were best for you; but if ye turn away, know ye that ye cannot frustrate Allah. And proclaim a grievous penalty to those who reject Faith. (But the treaties are) not dissolved with those Pagans with whom ye have entered into alliance and who have not subsequently failed you in aught, nor aided any one against you. So fulfil your engagements with them to the end of their term for Allah loveth the righteous The context is an agreement with the pagans of Mecca with two crowds, one an alliance with the other a battle still pending. The other crowd was the Will ye not fight people who violated their oaths, plotted to expel the Messenger, and took the aggressive by being the first (to assault) you? Do ye fear them? Nay, it is Allah Whom ye should more justly fear, if ye believe!

A video series that may stimulate the human curiosity. Interesting topic. http//video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4773590301316220374 This could be a good scientific explanation of the Myths mentioned in the Quran. Enjoy.

Dude, Straight men find lesbians erotic and gays disgusting. Now that is pretty straight forward, if you do not mind the pun. laugh rotfl O0 bravo yay Yup, that is right.