General Issues / Questions

Salam Dear All. Parwez has written in detail about the concept of "Will" THE LAW OF DIVINE WILL The Arabic root ? - - ? is the source of words like ? - - - ? etc. Traditionally, it is translated into Urdu as ?to wish?. This inaccurate translation (and its interpretation) is the cause of so much confusion regarding the question of destiny. Let us first look carefully at it. The Arabic work ? ? means to have an intention (to do something). Though some linguists take? ? and ? ? to be synonymous in meaning, Intention & Will there is a semantic difference. ? ? is to intend to do and ?? is the realization of intention. Hence, ?? (thing) is the resulting product of intention. Therefore, the two terms ( & ) must be viewed with that difference regarding Allah, even though they are commonly taken to mean to want / to wish / to intend. For example, ?(Allah?s) His amr is that when He intends to do something He says to it, ?Be?, and it is.? (36/82). Chapter (2) of this book dealt in detail with the creation plan of Allah. It consists of two stages ? ?amr? and ?khalq?. About ?amr?, I quote from my work Lughaat-al-Quran ?The process of CAUSE & EFFECT is a matter of common observation. But, the chain of events, if rolled back, has to stop somewhere (the initial starting point). There, the EFFECT had to be without a CAUSE. That is the moment of creation of the Universe by Allah ? by His will and intention. Why did He do what He did? The question is unanswerable as it refers to a period not falling within our concepts of rules and laws. (Root " " , p. 789) So, that is Allah?s amr, where creation is done according to His own scheme and universal laws are established. Why does water have the characteristic of keeping its level? Why is fire hot? Why does poison kill? Simply because Allah wanted it so. We observe Allah?s will (&#1577 in the physical universe around us. Similarly, He has established laws (His ) for the social universe. These laws were given to Man through His messengers. Therefore, the Quranic use of ? - etc.? should be translated as ?whatever is His law or Will? (&#1577 and not as ?whatever He wants?. It should be ?Whatever He has already wanted?. This slight change in translation alleviates so much confusion and apparent contradiction. The preset chapter is an attempt to do just that. I - - If Allah Willed This expression often appears in the Quran and is usually translated as ?If Allah wanted??? It should be translated as ?If Allah had formulated the Law like???. For instance, salt has a salty taste because Allah wanted it so and made it so. If He had formulated salt to be with a sweet taste, it would have been sweet. Can Allah change the taste of salt from salty to sweet? The answer to that is Yes, He can but He won?t, because He has pledged NOT to make changes in laws He has established according to His will (&#1577. Thus, in the expression concerned, the word "" (if) means ?That will never happen?. Sayyuty writes in his ?Itteqan? ?Ibn Abi Hatim, in the way of Dhahaak, reports from Ibn Abbas, who said ?wherever appears in the Quran, it means that it will never occur?. (Itteqan, Part I, 40th kind) In al-Melal wan-Nahal, Imam Ibn Hazan supports this meaning, explaining it Examples from the Quran elaborately. Here are some examples from the Quran i) Allah?s will ( ) about the entire universe ? inanimate matter, plants, animals etc. --- , with the exception of Man, is that it functions slavishly according to the laws inherent in its makeup. This is known as ?instinct?, referred to as ?revelation? ( ) by the Quran. It is also referred to as ?nature of things? e.g., liquids keep their level, certain animals are herbivores while others are carnivores, and so on. All similar things behave in a similar fashion, everywhere and at all times. Man, on the other hand, is different. There is no ?human nature? nor is he gifted with???.. guidance for behavior. Social laws are given to Man externally through revelation with complete freedom of choice. That is why mankind is not naturally welded into ?one nation?. People behave differently under the same circumstances. A superficial look at the disharmony of the human race may give rise Why were all people not created good? to the question ?Why did Allah not create all men good and peace-loving? Those wishing to explore it further may visit http//www.tolueislam.org/Parwez/kt/kt_10.htm

Wow, I haven't read a more retarded and insane posting in such a long time. And people wonder why Islam is seen as a horrible religion... Though it's nice to know Muslims can be wankers too.

Do you really believe what you are saying ? Peace Well, yes. I think everybody has a free choice as long as they prosper life. peace

I havn't come across any data that explains this ayaat directly from the Prophet. You're making me repeat myself, read me. Thanks for your honesty but I'm afraid then you have failed. If the Prophet left no data regarding the muqata'at, then he did not explain the Quran fully. If i was a sahaba and he recited 'alif laam meem, dhalikal kitab la raiba fih' (2/2), I would ask him what it meant. Well, perhaps it was pretty clear for them. or perhaps the information just didn't survive and we lost some preciouss gems. In all cases, each one of us will have his say regarding the meaning of these ''mysteriouss letters''. Some say it's a code, the code 19 as they call it. As for I, I tend to believe that Allah by beginning these Suraats with letters such as alif, meem, kaaf, nuun ... It is as if He's telling to the people ''Can you produce something like it, there it is, you have been given the means to prove My Claim wrong if you wish to, arabic alphabet letters are yours too''. Seems you still don't get my point. May I ask you to reformulate my point just to be sure if you're following me and if you've grasped anything of what I'm saying ? I get what you're saying - we each have our say but this is a cop out. Reason being, you claimed Rasulullah is the mubayyin of the Quran. If he was, then he failed us. I got no problem with notion that I need to figure out the muqata'at (and indeed the whole Quran) on my own. Many of the ''scientific'' components of the Qur'an, only began to be understood in our contemporary era, it could be that it wasn't meant for them but for the futur generation. Or it could be He explained it to His messenger but the info just didn't survive. My position is a more nuanced one then what you try to make it sound like. I ain't saying ''only Allah knows its meaning'', rather I've said ''and Allah knows best''. Aha, interesting you say 'the info didnt SURVIVE'. So who failed us in this case? I wouldn't pray behind a shiaa imam not because the way they perform prayer is wrong, but because of the 'Aqeeda the Imam has is wrong. Ok but they say your aqeeda is wrong for rejected the imams of ahl al bayt. How do we know whose aqeeda is correct? Say for example, do you believe Allah has two hands? Those well grounded in Knowledge, past and present day . The same folks who didn't preserve information about the scientific verses? The same folks who don't have a definition for 'ijma' or even 'sahaba'? Hardly grounded in knowledge.... You know, even thought there's an incredible hate between shia and sunni, when it comes to Salaat and the way to perform it, there's no much wrong with the way the shia do it. After all, they believe in 5 daily obligatory prayers which they perform, made up of the exact same amount of ruku' and sujuud, the wajiibat part for a Salat to be valid is done by them, as for other details, then at best it could be argued that it is mustaHab or Makrooh. You're right, there's not MUCH difference in how Sunnis and Shia do it. The thing is, did Allah give an imprecise instruction to the Prophet when he ascended to the heavens to get the 50 prayers a day? I would think not. If there is a single method of salah, it would be proliferant. It wouldn't need a latter day sect coming along and claiming to have the authentic method.

in 55.56 55.72-74 It is not speaking about no males having touched anybody, it speaks about human beings, it is not man as opposed to woman, but human being. It is addressing the inhabitants of paradise, female and male alike also in 56-36. Abkar does not need to be virgin, the meaning of the root and of the word itself is wider than that. Virgin is just a choice of meaning, not the obligated option. The understanding of these ayas and the subsequent translations are very much culturally shaped. Salaam

Salaam, Thanks for the overwhelmingly kind words, they had me start to think a lot and I will still continue to think during my nightly meditation. God bless you

Salam Man of Faith, That is because your quotes remind me of scripture. Thanks hawkninetynine, That is also because my knowledge is from the Message, God's Message, but my memory with numbers or where I got things from is often having me saved by God, in this case through you my fellow brother hawkninetynine. We should stay united group My knowledge is so diverse it is impossible without God's help to keep in one piece, without the intention to brag. All those with knowledge among us are supported by God. God bless you with prosperity, both now and in the future.

This site has all answers you need according to reincarnation. http//www.quran-islam.org/articles/reincarnation_theory_%28P1170%29.html Salaam

Hi Everyone, I do feel that praying with people in a group seems to have more power if it is a spiritual group versus a ritual group. I often can feel the energy of the group praying. However it is just go through the motions, then the group can be quite distracting. Just my crazy thoughts... JewishDude peace Salam, Shalom, Peace peace

Hi Everyone, We should only respond with kind truths. Do not argue and if they can not be civil to us, then we choose to be silent. However we should meet people and show them the model Muslim. One who cares for others and tries to demonstrate what submission to Allah means in practice. We should say that those who commit such atrocities are not Muslims, they take the good name away from Muslims. They are better more than those Christians who blew up Abortion clinics or killed Abortion Doctors in the USA in the name of Christianity. Our outward approach to life will let them see that submission to Allah is a good thing. Sharia law does not mean what the propaganda says it does. And not all Muslims what Sharia law just as not all Jews agree with how Israel treats Palestinians. Just my crazy thoughts, JewishDude peace Salam, Shalom, Peace peace

Hi Everyone, I agree with Renegade. bravo Unity is important. group Just my crazy thoughts... JewishDude peace Salam, Shalom, Peace peace

Peace New Revert I would advise you to read as much of Aidid's book as you can, if only to challenge some of your long held beliefs. It's a very interesting read. Dawn.

Regarding following the Messenger in the Quran. Although this point has been dealt with by many people lot more knowledgeable than myself on this forum, a couple of issues emerge If we keep in our mind the fact that these verses were revealed 1400 years ago to a group of people who had their doubts about Islam or were not sure how to respond to blessed Messenger's role and call. They were being told in clear terms what the role of the Messenger was and as Allah's sole representative and that he had to be obeyed as head of the community. They were asked to listen to him as someone who was conveying Allah's Message to them and not to turn away. He may also be giving them other instructions, about their everyday lives in view of Allah's Word, specific to those times. So where ever we read verses about obeying the Messenger as a representative of Allah means it was a question of authority and discipline. We find in history that there were certain opinions the Messenger gave on matters based on his personal opinion that were not related to Allah's Word and people had a right to accept or excuse themselves . As far as we are concerned, we must follow what Allah through His Messenger left behind and promised to guard it The Qur'an alone. If the blessed Messenger's sayings and deeds were of the utmost importance (as claimed by Hadith followers) then the question would arise that why were no instructions came down to compile and collect them in a separate Book for all times to come? It was well known what happened to stories based on hearsay over time They get corrupted and mixed up with falsehood. The Messenger himself knew well what happened to the Christians who ended up turning man to God and God to man, based on hearsay stories which got written down much later after Jesus (AS)! He could have given instructions to compile a book, verified it and approved it for Muslims of future generations. The first four Caliphs would have done it. Why did they not? What we have here are collections by Sunnis and Shias often at odds with each other and containing material that clashes with the Qur'an. How can then, deen be based on conjecture and controversial material collected 220 years after the Messenger passed on, based on hearsay? Although we can never say for sure if a report of saying/deed is 100% truth, we can allow the possibility of such material being true if only matches the Qur'an. Also we may read it as students of history to get an idea of the times of those who were gathering this material and a glimpse of early Islamic history. Knowingly and unknowingly we have adopted many practices handed down to us over generations and no harm in following them if they don't clash with the Qur'an. Now, I have heard from many hadith believers that if the Qur'an was passed on to us with the same accuracy by people over generations, why can't it apply to ahadith? Well, the answer to that is that the Qur'an has an assurance of preservation from Allah. How He does it is His business. No such promise was given to ahadith and the Messengers sunnah. Here cornered, the hadith believers don't give up. They counter Hadith is part of Zikr and part of Hikmah so it is preserved as well by Allah!! Some of them even suggest that this being the case, Hadith abrogates the Qur'an! Try all you can. You can't win can you? But, as the Qur'an says we must state the truth and guidance is up to Him Alone. I just want to caution that as a student I could be wrong and welcome any other opinion. Some say that when Allah says in the Qur'an Allah and Rasool together, it means an Islamic Government (to which 1400 years ago disputes were to be referred). So, what happens when the Rasool passes on, you may ask. The Quran deals with this by asking if the Rasool were to pass on, would you turn on your heels? When the Rasool passed on the Islamic government was run by a successor of the Rasool (Khalifa) to which matters were to be referred to. Now, what to do when there is no unified Islamic government ruling entire Ummah?? All I can say is to explore this question further and sit down with consultation and come up with some solutions!! In the meantime, The Book (Qur'an) is there for us to run our affairs with mutual consultations. No harm in following traditions handed down from centuries as long as they don't clash with the Qur'an

Huruf I would say useful is a gross understatement! Visiting a website and reading things to reaffirm my belief is one thing but to actually connect with others who share my beliefs and understand when i say i have experienced so much anguish, confusion and sometimes doubt in my journey is just amazing. I know others on this forum May have faced much worse, perhaps being shunned by their communities, hatred from within their families, physical attack and all in the name of a so-called religion, and it truly breaks my heart when we're all just striving for the truth and trying to bring our beliefs to our loved ones in order for them to see, hear and feel the true message of God. So, useful?? No...you're all lifelines to everyone who is trying to do such a simple yet relatively near impossible thing. Again, i thank you with all my heart.

I'm already read it multiple time, but once again, it's in the name of translation Partly to do with translation, yes. Here is a logical conundrum, nothing to do with translation Also, when lashes are given as punishment for proven adultery, The Quran states not to let pity/compassion prevent you from carrying out such a punishment , but it says no such thing for the alleged hand cutting-off verse, when many consider this punishment to be worse. Please enlighten us why this is. Background http//free-minds.org/forum/index.php?topic=9598206.msg198781#msg198781

(1587) We have revealed to you the seven recited in sets of two and the sublime Quran. Salam, I believe Allama Parwez has given the best explanation for this verse. "We have given to you directives in the magnificent Quran, and annals of history which repeats itself, in support thereof" (1587); also 39/23. Here is some extracts from his explanation of the word "Sab-un" Sab-un means figure seven, some think that in reality this word was sab-uh which means a lioness, because she attacks even faster than the lion. The Arabs thought the number seven to be a perfect number. As-sabuh means a wild animal (53), some think that this is so because the Arabs thought seven animals to be in the catergory of beasts. Raghib says that wild animals are called "sabah" because their strength is complete and the figure seven was also thought to be complete.................... Lane with reference to Baizawi has written that the Arabs do not only mean seven by saying sahah but is it is also used to mean "several" or "many" Quran says in 980, ?even if you ask forgiveness for them seventy times?, here it does not mean that if you ask for their pardon seventy times it will not be forgiven, but if you ask for pardon more than seventy times it will be forgiven. Likewise, sab?as samawaat (229) is implied to mean ?several?. We also say ?across seven seas? while we mean several seas. Also verse 2261 which states ?The parable of those who spend their substance in the way of Allah is that of a grain of corn it groweth seven ears, and each ear Hath a hundred grains?. Obviously here sab-a sanabil means several. It is in this context the phrase ?seven? of the missani has come (refer to verse 3923 also) http//www.tolueislam.org/Parwez/expo/exposition.htm

Salamun Alayka, You are doing fine with your emoticons, but you have to work on your emotions. "Bendeeeeerrrrrr you stole my chance" is a cry of someone who can't control his anger management and besides this it's also a big lie. I wonder what the penalty is for accusing someone for stealing something which in not even his hmm A -- chopping of the fingers who typed it B -- chopping of the tongue who spoke it out C -- chopping of the brains who thought it Salaam, Bender ps. there is also an option D D -- send a big amount of $$$ to my account to compensate me for the big emotional damage and some extra $$$ for harming my good name on this forum. Salamun Alayk, Woah woah woah, ..... I should have better known that free-minds has sharp and intelligent minds too ;D However, though your analysis is quite accurate, there are three points I would like to raise The sentence at hand was initially supposed to come in a "jokingly" or "teasingly" manner, not "angrily". Where I come from, extending someone's name like that is to depict light desperation or frustration for doing something slightly disliked by the person saying it, yet in a very light mood and tone, certainly not with a "mad" or "angry" one. So perhaps it's due to the cultural difference that you misunderstood me, for talking like this to someone does not give the impression of actual anger or mismanagement of anger in my society. Extending someone?s name like that in a sentence does not mean that one is screaming, or having a harsh tone, but simply showing slight disheartenment. Such expressions are followed by ?But it?s cool/okay? and a smile. Conclusively, my intention was not to show that I am angry or have an anger mismanagement problem, but was simply, slightly disheartened. My apologies for using the word "Steal", I realized how absurd it sounds, I should have you used the word "Took", or should have said "Bendeeeeeeerr,r I missed my chance because of you", or "Bendeeeeerrr, you made me miss my chance". Though, then again, ever heard the phrase "Steal someone's thunder"? Well as per the dictionary I possess, it means "Win praise for oneself by preempting someone else's attempt to impress", where one of the meanings of "Preempting" is "Acquire or appropriate (Something) in advance". Hence, my usage of "Steal" does not necessarily mean the traditional "Taking something from someone without permission or right", but can very well mean taking something that I could've done. Though now I have realized that it?s not your posting before me that is the cause me not being able to share the verse, but it?s my lack of being attentive that is the cause, hence I acknowledge my bad usage of words, but even then, I didn't have the intention of accusing you directly or indirectly at all, but simply joke around. I used the phrase "Just kidding" later, which more or less negates what I said before it. At Urbandictionary.com, a person wrote that the following are the usages of this expression (and got a positive feedback too) You were just joking around with somebody You were actually serious but decided what you said was actually very mean You were actually serious but since that person took what you said offensively you cover it up by saying" just kidding" When you try to confess to something and that person is either laughing at you in disbelief or just very angry you cover it up by saying just kidding 3 and 4 cannot be the case for I wrote the expression before any reaction by you, hence, 1 and 2 are left. Since I'm the guy who said it, I would obviously know better what my intention was, and it was certainly 1, not 2. I never thought that it is "actually very mean" to begin with, and was in reality "joking around" with you, that's all. As far as "joking" is concerned, well as per thefreedictionary.com, here are the meanings of this term joke (jk) n. Something said or done to evoke laughter or amusement, especially an amusing story with a punch line. A mischievous trick; a prank. An amusing or ludicrous incident or situation. Informal a. Something not to be taken seriously; a triviality The accident was no joke. b. An object of amusement or laughter; a laughingstock His loud tie was the joke of the office. v. joked, jok?ing, jokes v.intr. To tell or play jokes; jest. To speak in fun; be facetious. v.tr. To make fun of; tease. See the "Something not to be taken seriously", and "Tease"? Well that is exactly what I had in mind, to simply say something not to be taken seriously, and was simply "Teasing" you. Hence, dear brother Bender, my apologies for any misunderstandings, I take back what you said if you got offended by my comment -[, and I let all people who read this know that I had no intention of harming Bender's good name at the forum at all ) Peace

"Quote from sameeahm on Yesterday at 091842 PM she may wan2 she vil neva wrk cuz shez an aimless gal in lfe u knw wht brothrmat of d muslimz who follow hadith are aimless cuz dy sae if u do dis its haram dat shwz dy dsnt wanna do nythn nwadayz mst of d muslimz drnk smoke dope n afta dat dy sae astagfirullah lik its realli illogical dy knw its wrng buh still den fy do it criously d ppl who follow hadiths are hypocrates and Allah hate hypocrates Quote from Rising Star on Yesterday at 093128 PM my dear please make our life easier by typing words in complete and correct spellings, thankyou..... rotfl rotfl rotfl................." Now here is a right-on-the-line use for the above icon. Party-pooper disclaim the "f" in it should be thrown out imo. (Sorry i can't seem to get the "quotes" in a qoute format today ) @supportpeacenotwar I love your sign-off Quote. Mashallah! sun

Salam Rami, There are two different Mariums being referenced. There is Moses and Aaron's sister, Marium, who was a Prophetess. And there is Jesus' Mother who is named Marium as well. Agree.. Maryam / Miriam is a common Jewish / Israelites name even up until today. There isn't any dilemma here.. There are many 'characters' in the Quran which is not being explicitly mentioned by name. As it's the lesson that's important and not the name of the character itself. It can be Park-Jung-Hwa or Karina Kapoor for all I care, as it doesn't really matter.. Salam / Peace

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