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abrar

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Recent Best Controversial

  • Should we stone A. Wallace?
    A abrar

    Peace Jonny_k,

    JK- Oh really? Then please explain to me why the Quran ALWAYS uses these terms in the following manner "BASHARAN rassoolan", bashar being common, "SIDDIQAN nabiyyan", siddiq being common and "RASSOLAN nabbiyan", where according to the previous two RASOOL and not nabi must be common. You cannot deny this clear order arranaged by GOD plus all the other verses i used to prove that a messenger need not be a prophet. GOD Bless!

    Bashar can be any human. But in this case he is a CHOSEN HUMAN who is not like other humans as he has an established communication with God which a normal human cannot aspire to achieve. A normal human can pray but God does not communicate directly or indirectly with him but in the case of CHOSEN HUMAN God answers by various means.
    Similarly a messenger could be any message bearer but in this case a messenger is special as he delivers God's message which God has communicated to him. A prophet could be anyone foretelling future events but in this case he is the one who foretells God's plan for the future of mankind which God has told him by communication.

    General Issues / Questions

  • Should we stone A. Wallace?
    A abrar

    Peace Jonny_k,

    JK- I dont care what Lane mentions when the Quran's statements clearly prove otherwise as ive shown. This is a sectarian concept and lane although it contains many neutral meanings it does at times also mention the sectarian understandings.

    There is no any hadith that I have ever heard that indicates the difference between prophets and messengers. Please quote me one. All commentators have derived all their understanding from the Quran.

    General Issues / Questions

  • What's up with these Hadith/Prophecies about the End of Times?
    A abrar

    Peace all,

    Here are some end of times hadith

    These ahadith are cited in the Six Books of authentic traditions for the most part. They have been collated for the most part from the following two books written in refutation of the Wahhabi heresy a) al-Sayyid al-Alawi ibn Ahmad ibn Hasan ibn Abd Allah ibn Alawi al-Haddad Misbah al-anam wa jala' al-zalam fi radd shubah al-bidi al-Najdi al-lati adalla biha al- `awamm published 1325H.
    b) al-Sayyid Ahmad ibn Zayni al-Dahlan (d. 1304/1886). Mufti of Mecca and Shaykh al-Islam in the Hijaz region of the Ottoman state Khulasat al-kalam fi bayan umara' al-balad al-haram (A History of the Wahhabi Fitna in Najd and the Hijaz) p. 234-236.
    The Prophet said, Peace be upon him

    1. "They transferred the Qur'anic verses meant to refer to unbelievers and made them refer to believers."

    2. "What I most fear in my community is a man who interprets verses of the Qur'an out of context."

    3. "The confusion comes from there (and he pointed to the East = Najd in present-day Eastern Saudi Arabia)."

    4. "A people that recite Qur'an will come out of the East, but it will not go past their throats. They will pass through the religion (of Islam) like the arrow passes through its quarry. They will no more come back to the religion than the arrow will come back to its course. Their sign is that they shave (their heads)."

    5. "There will be in my Community a dissent and a faction, a people with excellent words and vile deeds. They will read Qur'an, but their faith does not go past their throats. They will pass through religion the way an arrow passes through its quarry. They will no more come back to the religion than the arrow will come back to its original course. They are the worst of human beings and the worst of all creation. The one who kills them or is killed by them is blessed. They summon to the book of Allah but they have nothing to do with it. Whoever kills them is closer to Allah than they. Their sign is that they shave (their heads)."

    6. "A people will come out at the end of times, immature, foolish and corrupt. They will hold the discourse of the best of creation and recite Qur'an, but it will not go past their throats. They will pass through religion the way an arrow passes through its quarry. If you find them, kill them, for verily whoever kills them will have his reward from Allah the Day of Judgment."

    7. "There will be people in my Community whose mark is that they shave (their heads). They will recite Qur'an, but it will not go past their throats. They will pass through religion the way an arrow passes through its target. They are the worst of human beings and the worst of all creation."

    8. "The apex of disbelief is towards the East . Pride and arrogance is found among the people of the horse and the camel ."

    9. "Harshness and dryness of heart are in the East , and true belief is among the people of Hijaz."

    10. "O Allah, bless our Syria and our Yemen!" They said "Ya Rasulallah, and our Najd!" He didn't reply. He blessed Syria and Yemen twice more. They asked him to bless Najd twice more but he didn't reply. The third time he said "There are the earthquakes and the dissensions, and through it will dawn the epoch of shaytan."

    11. A version has, "The two epochs of shaytan." Some scholars have said that the dual referred to Musaylima the Arch-liar and to Muhammad ibn `Abd al-Wahhab.

    12. Some versions continue with the words "And in it is the consuming disease," i.e. death.

    13. Some books of history mention the following version in the chapters devoted to the battles against the Banu Hanifa

    "At the end of times a man will come out of Musaylima's country and he will change the religion of Islam." Note Most of the Khawarij were from the Najd area, from the tribes of Banu Hanifa, Banu Tamim, and Wa'il. Musaylima was from the Banu Hanifa, and Ibn `Abd al-Wahhab is from Tamim.

    13a. Abu Bakr said concerning the Banu Hanifa (the tribe of Musaylima the Liar) "Their valley will not cease to be a valley of dissensions until the end of time, and the religion will never recover from their liars until Judgment Day," and in another version "Woe to al-Yamama without end."

    13b. When `Ali killed the Khawarij, someone said "Praise be to Allah Who has brought them down and relieved us from them." Ali replied "Verily, by the One in Whose hand is my soul, some of them are still in the loins of men and they have not been born yet, and the last of them will fight on the side of the Antichrist."

    1. "A people that recite the Qur'an will come out of the East, but it will not go past their throats. Every time a generation of them is cut down another one will come until the last one finds itself on the side of the Antichrist."

    2. "There will be a huge confusion within my Community. There will not remain one house of the Arabs except that confusion will enter it. Those who die because of it are in the fire. The harm of the tongue in it will be greater than that of the sword."

    3. "There will be a dissension (in which people will be) deaf, dumb and blind (this means they will be blind and not see the true issue nor listen to the voice of truth) whoever tries to control it, the dissension will control him."

    4. "A shaytan will appear in Najd by whose dissension the Arabian island will quake."

    5. On the authority of al-`Abbas "A man will come out of the Wadi Abu Hanifah (whose appearance is) like a bull that lunges against its yoke. There will be much slaughter and killing in his time. They will make the possessions of Muslims lawful for themselves and for trade among themselves. They will make the lives of Muslims lawful for themselves and for boasting among themselves. In that confusion the despised and the lowly will attain positions of power. Their idle desires will keep company with them the way a dog keeps company with its master."

    6. On the authority of Abu Said al-Khudri "Verily in the wake of this time of mine comes a people who will recite Qur'an but it will not go past their throats. They will pass through religion the way an arrow passes through its quarry. They will kill the Muslims and leave the idolaters alone. If I saw them, verily I would kill them the way the tribe of Aad was killed ."

    7. "There will be towards the end of time a people who will say to you what neither you nor your forebears ever heard before. Beware of them lest they misguide you and bring you confusion."

    8. "They will pass through Islam like an arrow passes through its quarry. Wherever you meet them, kill them!"

    9. "They are the dogs of the people of Hell."

    10. "They recite Qur'an and consider it in their favor but it is against them."

    11. "There will be thirty dajjals (antichrists) after me, all claiming prophethood."

    12. "Some people will be standing and calling at the gates of hell; whoever responds to their call, their will throw him into the Fire. They will be from our own people and will speak our language . Should you live to see them, stick to the main body (jama`a) of the Muslims and their leader. (If there is no main body and no leader,) isolate yourself from all these sects, even if you have to eat from the roots of trees until death overcomes you while you are in that state."

    13. "Just before the Hour there will be many liars." Jabir ibn Samurah said "Be on your guard against them."

    14. "The Hour will not come until thirty dajjals appear, all of them lying about Allah and His Messenger."

    15. "There will be Dajjals and liars among my Community. They will tell you something new, which neither you nor your forefathers have heard. Be on your guard against them and do not let them lead you astray."

    16. "The time of the Dajjal will be years of confusion. People will believe a liar, and disbelieve one who tells the truth. People will distrust one who is trustworthy, and trust one who is treacherous; and the ruwaybidha will have a say." Someone asked "Who are they?" He said "Those who rebel against Allah and will have a say in general affairs."

    17. "If the leadership is entrusted to those unfit for it, expect the Hour."

    18. "You will see the barefoot ones, the naked, the destitute, the shepherds and camelherds take pride in building tall structures in abundance."

    19. "One of the signs of the change of religion is the affectation of eloquence by the rabble and their betaking to palaces in big cities."

    General Issues / Questions

  • Should we stone A. Wallace?
    A abrar

    Peace jonny_k,

    You have not yet answered my reply where ive proven to you from Quran that "messenger" is the general term in the phrase "rassolan nabiyyan". ALSO further proof that messenger is the general term are these verses
    Messengers(RUSUL) we have told you about before you, and messengers we never told you about. And GOD spoke to Moses directly.
    We have sent messengers(rusul) before you - some of them we mentioned to you, and some we did not mention to you. No messenger can produce any miracle without GOD's authorization. Once GOD's judgment is issued, the truth dominates, and the falsifiers are exposed and humiliated.

    NEVER does GOD make the same claim about prophets(nabiyeen/anbiya) that some prophets have been mentioned whilst others havent been. Coincidence? GOD Bless!

    As I explained earlier that a messenger of God, if he is a human is also a prophet as well. The basic function of the prophet is to preach God's message as various prophets were sent to Jews between Moses and Jesus but some were killed as mentioned in Quran. The messenger not only preaches God's message but also delivers a scripture and a system of laws to the people.Moreover no messenger mentioned in Quran had ever been killed. The messengers of God carry a message universal to the whole world at their respective times. Prophets may preach only locally who are not messengers meaning that they do not carry a universal message for all people in the form of a scripture . When a messenger is also a prophet then you cannot claim that Quran nowhere says that some prophets are not mentioned.

    Lane clearly mentions that every messenger is also a prophet but not very prophet can be a messenger.

    http//www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume8/00000007.pdf

    This is where God mentions prophets who are in general terms we do not know who they were or their names.

    384 Say ?We believe in God and what was sent down to us and what was sent down to Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the Patriarchs, and what was given to Moses and Jesus and the prophets from their Lord. We do not make any distinction between them, and to Him we submit.?

    Below is how prophet hood and messengers are being mentioned.

    5725 We have sent Our messengers with clear proofs, and We sent down with them the Scripture and the balance, so that the people may uphold justice. And We sent down the iron, wherein there is great strength, and many benefits for the people. So that God would distinguish those who would support Him and His messengers on faith. God is Powerful, Noble.
    5726 And We had sent Noah and Abraham, and We placed in their progeny the prophethood and the Scripture. Some of them were guided, while many were wicked.
    5727 Then We sent in their tracks Our messengers. We sent Jesus the son of Mary, and We gave him the Injeel, and We ordained in the hearts of his followers kindness and mercy. But they invented Monasticism which We never decreed for them. They wanted to please God, but they did not observe it the way it should have been observed. Consequently, We gave those who believed among them their recompense, while many of them were wicked.

    Prophet hood and messengers are being distinguished.

    689 Those to whom We have given the Scripture, and the law, and the prophethood, if they reject it, then We will entrust it to a people who will not reject it.

    Giving of the scripture and the law signifies a messenger who is also a prophet. If there is no difference so why would God mention them in verses in such a way.

    General Issues / Questions

  • Should we stone A. Wallace?
    A abrar

    Peace all,

    A schizophrenic person may hear auditory voices or even the voices in his mind which he may claim are ordering him to do something and may claim that according to the voice it is from God. These kind of people were said to be insane and the word for insanity used in Quran is "Majnoon" which means literally as someone possessed by a Jinn or a spirit as called in english. They may in some cases get treated by exorcism made by reciting verses of the Quran or may need treatment of a medical psychiatrist.

    Here is an article which describes how such people were perceived throughout the history.

    "The platonic ideas of a connection between madness and prophecy recur in the ancient Israel. The highly esteemed religious prophets were often regarded as mad because of their odd utterances and deviant clothes and behavior. The same conceptions later appear in the Koran in the Islamic countries. The Koran uses the word majnoon to describe mad persons as well as prophets."

    http//www.hubin.org/facts/history/history_schizophrenia_en.html

    List of quranic verses that describe how prophet muhammad was perceived as a madman by the unbelievers.

    Chapter 15
    156 And they said ?O you upon whom the Reminder has been sent down, you are crazy.?
    Chapter 37
    3736 And they would say ?Shall we leave our gods because of a crazy poet??
    Chapter 44
    4414 But they turned away from him and said ?Clearly educated, but crazy!?
    Chapter 51
    5139 But he turned away, in arrogance, and he said ?A magician, or crazy.?
    5152 Likewise, when a messenger went to those before them, they said ?A magician, or crazy.?
    Chapter 54
    549 The people of Noah disbelieved before them. They disbelieved Our servant and said ?He is crazy!? and he was oppressed.
    Chapter 68
    6851 And those who have rejected almost attack you with their eyes when they hear the reminder, and they say ?He is crazy!?
    Chapter 81
    8122 And your friend is not crazy.

    To verify by reason alone whether a man claiming prophet hood is really telling the truth or not is a an issue as if he is disobeyed the nation is to be immidiately destroyed by God as in the past.

    214 Say ?My Lord knows what is said in the heavens and in the Earth, and He is the Hearer, the Knower.?
    215 They said ?No, these are just bad dreams; no, he made it up; no, he is a poet. So let him bring us a sign like those who were sent before.?
    216 None of the towns which We destroyed before them had believed. Will they believe?
    217 And We did not send before you except men whom We inspired to. So ask the people of the remembrance if you do not know.
    218 And We did not make for them bodies that do not need to eat, nor were they immortal.
    219 Then We fulfilled the promise to them, so We saved them and whom We pleased, and We destroyed those who transgressed.
    2110 We have sent down to you a Scripture in which is your remembrance. Do you not comprehend?
    2111 And how many a town have We destroyed because of its wrong doing, and We established after them a different people?
    2112 So it was that when they perceived Our power, they were running from it.
    2113 ?Do not run, and come back to that which you were living lavishly in and your homes; so that you will be questioned.?
    2114 They said ?Woe to us, we have been wicked!?
    2115 So that remained as their cry until We took them all, and they became still.

    Theological rationality is called Ilmul kalam in arabic and is a very complex issue to discuss so if you do not believe that Quran is a legitimate revelation given through messenger and prophet muhammad to mankind then you can engage in a rational theological debate.

    Please read this book "The proof prophethood" to broaden your knowledge about the issue. This books gives in depth perspectives of how to verify a prophet.

    http//www.hakikatkitabevi.com.tr/download/english/09-TheProofOfProphethood.pdf

    True that messenger can be any bearer of a message but in the case of prophet who is a messenger as well is to deliver the God's revelations to mankind. It is a fact in Quran that although prophets had been killed but no prophet who was a messenger as well had ever been killed.

    General Issues / Questions

  • Should we stone A. Wallace?
    A abrar

    Peace Jonny_k,

    I agree with the following explanation.

    Distinction between Prophets and Messengers

    According to Uri Rubin, the Qur'an, as in the New Testament, ranks apostles (rasl) higher than prophets (see 1 Cor 1228-31; cf. Eph 35; 411). For example, in the Qur'an whenever both titles appear together, messenger comes first. The Qur'anic commentators state that a messenger is a prophet who is additionally given a message, a book which must be delivered. According to the Muslim scholar al-Baydawi, a messenger establishes a new religious law (sharia) whereas a prophet continues an old one. Furthermore, a prophet experiences revelation only in dreams whereas a messenger receives it from an angel. These would imply that prophets were more numerous than messengers and occupied a lower rank. According to A.J. Wensinck, both prophets and messengers are sent by God as preachers and warners to their people. In the case of messengers however, there seems to be a close relation between them and their people (ummah) God sends only one messenger to each people. This messenger will be the witness that God will take from that community on the Day of Judgment (see Sura X, 48; XVI, 38; XXIII, 46; XL, 5; IV, 45; XXVIII, 75). According to the Qur'an, Muhammad is sent to a people to whom no messenger has been sent yet. Lastly, a distinction should be made between celestial and human messengers. In the Qur'anic world, God has made the angels messengers but not prophets. The human messengers however are also prophets though not every prophet is a messenger.

    Uri Rubin, Prophets and Prophethood, Encyclopedia of the Qur'an
    ^ a b A.J. Wensinck, Rasul, Encyclopedia of Islam

    http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prophets_of_Islam#cite_note-EoI-2

    Rashad Khalifa cannot be a human messenger of God as a messenger has to be a prophet as well.

    General Issues / Questions

  • Should we stone A. Wallace?
    A abrar

    Peace Anthonywallace,

    3340 Mohammed was not the father of any of your men, but he is the messenger of God and the seal of the prophets. And God is fully aware of all things.

    7226 The knower of the unseen, He does not reveal His knowledge(of the unseen) to anyone.

    7227 Except to whom He has accepted as a messenger, then He reveals from the past and the future.

    4251 And it is not for any human being that God would speak to him, except through inspiration, or from behind a barrier, or by sending a messenger to inspire whom He wills by His leave. He is Most High, Wise.

    Hearing voices as if God is talking to oneself can be an indication of a mental disorder such as schizophrenia. These voices are usually whispered by the Jinn devils or Satan to make a person feel very proud and special about himself making him the center of God's Universe and giving him the feeling that the fate of the world depends upon him and he has to bring about a revolutionary enlightenment.
    This kind of thinking can also be a delusion. You should seek forgiveness from God about what you thought and try to be humble and rational.
    The idea of reincarnation does not exist in Quran so it is false.

    General Issues / Questions

  • God's Created Speech; essay on Mu'tazilli AbdJabbar by prof. J. Peters
    A abrar

    Peace Arnold,

    Thanks for mentioning the book. I will buy it inshallah.

    General Issues / Questions

  • God's Created Speech; essay on Mu'tazilli AbdJabbar by prof. J. Peters
    A abrar

    Peace Arnold,

    Qadi Abdal Jabbar is the best muslim philosopher that I have ever read about. There is story of how archaeologists uncovered menuscripts of jabbar's works in a Yemen mosque and it may be one of the greatest archaeological discovery of the 20th century. Could you tell me about an english translated work of his most important work Sharh al-Usul al-Khamsa. Could you give me more links about his works.

    General Issues / Questions

  • Shabbir's findings on Ramadan
    A abrar

    Peace all,

    All history has been trashed since it is a traditional conspiracy. How do you drive the name of months, number of days in a week and a solar calender using Quran alone without referring to the classical arabic dictionaries written by the same corrupt sectarians and finding out a flavour of the root meaning you think is logical again by only subjective judgement. When you say that all history is unreliable so how do you know that the dictionaries you are using are reliable or only what you say is reliable without Quranic evidence. Dictionaries are not protected by God and has been written by the same historians so how can you vaguely connect some root word meaning with your own logics and say it is from God.

    Islamic Calendar & Ramadhan.

  • Why does God punish unbelievers?
    A abrar

    Peace dotty,

    If that's the case then people who commit crimes in this earthly life will be quicker to think their punishment will be over in prison after they have paid for their crime... so why not go ahead and rape, kill, torture, steal, whatever! Do you seriously think people have that attitude?

    On earth if people do not believe in God do their worldly life is their god so they would not want to reduce it by going to a Jail. The thing is that life in the hereafter will be eternal so if a punishment is temporary it is comaparable to nothing because if was say 50 years, the punishment in hell is 25 years and rest 25 years in paradise then it would make a difference. Even a million years in hell and then trillions of years in paradise eternally would make hell unimportant. It would be that those million years are ultimately going to end and life in paradise is going to start so people will have less fear from sins. Better seek forgiveness of God in this world rather than developing such concepts as som traditionalist literature tells us that whoever has said there is no god but God will ultimately go to paradise after completing punishment in hell if he were not a good muslim. But when you come to Quran alone you realise it is false.

    General Issues / Questions

  • Why does God punish unbelievers?
    A abrar

    Peace all,

    If a person thinks that ultimately his punishment will be over in hell after he has paid for his crime in equal terms then it would be easy for him to commit sins. For example a person commited one murder in his life time so if he would think that after going to hell and dieing once he would be forgiven. It would make it easier for him to commit sins.

    Quran states in verse 323-24 "Did you not see those who were given a portion of the Scripture being invited to God?s Scripture to judge between them, then a group of them turns away while they are adverse?"That is because they said ?The Fire will not touch us except a few number of days,? and they were arrogant by what they invented in their system.

    verse 279-81 "So woe to those who write the Scripture with their hands then say ?This is from God,? so that they can seek a cheap gain! Woe to them for what their hands have written and woe to them for what they gained.And they said ?The Fire will not touch us except for a few number of days.? Say ?Have you taken a pledge with God? If so, then God will not break His pledge. Or do you say about God what you do not know??Indeed, whoever gains a sin, and is surrounded by his mistakes; those are the people of the Fire, in it they abide eternally.

    The fear of eternal torture could make us conform to God's laws. Those people who did not get knowledge like red indian tribes that lived in north america would be judged according to their knowledge and not according to those living in well informed modern societies.

    Verse 2233 "... We do not burden a soul beyond its means..."

    verse 325 "How shall it be when We gather them on the Day in which there is no doubt; and every soul shall receive what it has earned, and they will not be wronged."

    General Issues / Questions

  • Quran's view on war
    A abrar

    Peace Wakas,

    You provided the link to an excellent article on the quran's view on war. It sets out a very just criteria for the conduct of war. Do you think that a global Islamic caliphate based on Quran as its constitution a good idea for the present problems of muslims. nationalism is against the spirit of Quran as it considers muslims as a single ummah. In nationalist states some countries are too rich and others are too poor so if there is a unified global state then there could be better coordination, development, unity and policies for the muslims. For example united states of America is spread across the continent of north America. It was rich in hydrocarbons, agriculture and other resources so this was a reason for it becoming superpower. Imagine if american states were all independent countries then it would have been a loser with no coordination in development policies.

    Islamic Constitution

  • What does communion (salat) over prophet mean ?
    A abrar

    peace aalmakto

    I visited your link and found how Quran defines salat but what i really wanted find out is what does the english word communion mean in reference to salat. Could you quote me an english dictionary defining communion.

    Questions/Comments on the Quran

  • another simple question to gauge traditional mindset...
    A abrar

    Peace,

    It is a matter of personal choice to have a beard or not.

    Read the history how shaving got introduced since men appeared on earth.

    http//people.howstuffworks.com/shaving.htm

    This website is one of the best sites that describe everyday life in the light of science by experts in their fields.

    Below is a passage from the article,

    I don't know about you, but every morning I shave. It's a ritual -- shower, comb hair, shave, brush teeth, dress.

    Showering is easy to understand. If you don't shower, you start to stink. Combing the hair is easy to understand too, because it would be a mess if you didn't comb it. If you don't brush your teeth, they rot and fall out. And dressing, obviously, is a necessity.

    But why is it that, for a majority of men, all facial hair must be removed? There certainly isn't any health reason to shave it off. Why would we spend the time and money to go through this ritual each and every day?

    And what about the technology of shaving? A number of companies in the United States and around the world make billions of dollars off of the simple act of shaving. These companies release new products constantly. Is all of this technology really necessary?

    In this article, we will look at the social phenomenon of shaving. Then we'll learn about the evolution of shaving technology, starting with the straight razor and advancing through today's multi-bladed technology and electric razors.

    Why Men Shave ?

    For most of human history, men have had beards. And it is easy to understand why. Cave men had beards because they had no choice -- they lacked any kind of blade to shave their beards off.

    Many religions also have prohibitions against shaving. For example, in Leviticus 1927, the Bible contains a specific prohibition against shaving your beard and the hair on the sides of your head. Some orthodox religions still practice this today.

    Once metallurgy has been refined in any civilization, however, the technology of knives and scissors follows soon after. These cutting tools become more and more refined, and these refinements lead to the development of the razor -- the sharpest knife possible. With a very sharp knife, it is possible to begin shaving.

    Even with these developments, however, men preferred beards. This may be because shaving with a straight razor is a somewhat dangerous activity better left to a professional. Unless you live in a city and are wealthy, being able to find and afford a shaving professional is difficult. And so, all the way up to the 20th century, beards were fashionable and most men wore them.

    But during World War I in the United States, that all changed. And there were two reasons for that change

    Gillette had released the "safety razor" in 1901, and it was steadily gaining popularity because of a massive ad campaign. The safety razor made it possible and inexpensive for men to shave daily.

    Soldiers in the United States army were required to shave.

    Certainly one reason for shaving during WWI is the fact that it was the first war to see chemical agents used on the battlefield. Soldiers had to use gas masks for the first time. In order for a gas mask to fit properly, you need to be clean-shaven. The army bought millions of Gillette razors and blades to make shaving possible.

    When all of the soldiers returned from WWI with their clean-shaven faces, they were heroes. They appeared in their home towns, and they also appeared in newsreels in the new movie theaters that had sprung up everywhere. Combined with ad campaigns from companies like Gillette, it became the fashion to be clean shaven. Between 1920 and 1960, beards were definitely unfashionable. That taboo has eased somewhat since the 60s, but it is still far more common for men to shave than not. And as you can see, it is strictly a fashion statement, and largely the result of advertising by companies like Schick, Norelco and Gillette.

    Or, to put it another way, No one makes any money if you have a beard...

    General Issues / Questions

  • Why do you believe in God?
    A abrar

    Peace,

    If there were no God then human suffering, sacrifices and morality would become pointless. The feeling of injustice would be so dominant among the poor, victims of crimes and diseased people that they would completely feel hopeless only because they were simply unlucky and would never get any compensation for their suffering. It would force such people to make suicide that only the healthy, rich and powerful have the right to pleasure and joy. Belief in God gives hope to those who have suffered and sacrificed all their life that their work would not go in vain. This makes my faith in God strong that ultimately all people that suuffered for no crime would be compensated by a Just God after death. Even if a person has lived a very successful life and knows in a few days he is going to die then he feels hopeless that he is leaving behind all joys of life forever and would never get compensated for the good work that he strived so hard all his life if he does not believe in God.
    Believing In God makes the purpose of my life meaningful and satisfying. It gives me hope, courage, happiness and tranquility and makes me not regret about anything that is not my fault.

    What is the nature of God?

  • the future
    A abrar

    Peace nerspi,

    Our souls are taken to a spiritual realm when we sleep or die and there we can see visions that can be interpreted for determing the future but it needs a high amount wisdom and sometimes it is apparent.

    God says,

    "God seizes the souls at the time of their death; and for those that have not died, during their sleep. He then keeps those that have been overtaken by death, and He sends the others back until a predetermined time. In that are signs for a people who will think." 3942 the message.

    When some future events happen in accordance with a dream that we have seen in the past is itself a miraculous phenomenon that the knowledge of future exists. Some psychic mystics use Jinns/spirits to determine some future events but by pure luck and a low degree of success only when those Jinns are able to hear some discussions going on in the farthest regions of the heavens beween angels as mentioned in Quran. But then they are are bombarded with flaming projectiles and they may transfer that information to another Jinn before their death so that the sorcerer or the psychic mystic who is having the vision would get informed. In Quran chapter 72 Jinns' abilities are mentioned. I also saw a program on discovery channel in which a witch sorcerer used some spirits/jinns to determine the location of the murderers who were on the run in another U.S state just by placing her hands on the map of that state, the police who never believed in spirits were taken by surprise to find the murderers at exactly the place where she guided them while the murderers were escaping. The woman claimed that the spirits told her about the future plans of the murderers where they planned to run.

    General Issues / Questions

  • the future
    A abrar

    Peace nerspi,

    Determinism versus human freewill has been a subject of great debate since past centuries. God is beyond space and time so time has no consequences or effects on God. Quran contains prophecies and sayings of what people would say on the day of judgement; this clearly shows that God has knowledge of the future. If God knew everything beforehand then it is nobody's fault if they are going to hell. This is how satan responded to God when satan was disgarced.

    "he said "For that which You have caused me to be misled, I will stalk for them on Your Straight Path." 716 the message

    In this verse satan is blaming God for causing him to be misguided. God is the creator of souls so through His knowledge He can determine the soul's choice beforehand according to the free will of the soul. Soul would only be accountable for the choices it made by free will. If God cloud's the Judgement or if the person goes insane then he wo'nt be held accountable for what he could not freely choose.
    A person blaming God for his failures shifts the blame of his personal weaknesses on God's ability to know the future is making a paradoxical situation. For example if a person decide's to make a suicide and says's that God knew this so I will die but on the other hand if he does not want to make a suicide so it is because God knew it. In both cases God knew beforehand what the person will do but to the person his freewill determines what would happen. So in a way our freewill decisions determine God's past beliefs about those decisions.

    In Quran at some places God says that guidance and misguidance are both from God but God does not guide cruel or transgressing people. So God helps a person to be guided only if the person has a desire for truth and if a person lived in a wild tribe of faraway jungle and never came across Quran so he will be accountable for only the level of guidance that he came to know of the good deeds practiced in his tribe such as honesty, truthfulness and kindness. On the other hand God lets the person who has access to all knowledge but has no desire for evaluating the truth to be misguided if he has no desire for justifying his knowledge. Again it can get complicated because a person who is born in a christian family views the life from different angles than a person who is born in a muslim family. So God says in Quran that ultimately God knows who is misguided or guided and a soul would only be held accountable on the basis of the burden it can bear or simply according to its ability to choose right and wrong.

    Following link provides a scholarly explanation of divine foreknowledge and human freewill by a philosopher.

    http//www.leaderu.com/offices/billcraig/docs/newcomb.html

    This link is a pdf version of a philosophy book that contains the centuries long debates between jewish, christian and muslim philosophers on the doctrine of predestination and free will on page 602.

    http//www.muslimphilosophy.com/books/kalam.pdf

    General Issues / Questions

  • Programming The Universe-Quranic Umm Al Kitab and the Universal Record
    A abrar

    Peace,

    You can download a pdf version of the book from the link below.

    http//rapidshare.com/files/42112450/Programming_the_universe.rar

    Science

  • divisons or unity?
    A abrar

    Peace and greetings Samia,

    What do you mean by a "valid authority given by God"? What was this valid authority given by God to this man

    3620-26 "...and from the farthest part of town came a man. He said "O my people! Obey the messengers. Obey those who ask no wages and who are rightly guided. And why should I not worship Who created me and to Whom you shall be returned? Shall I set up ,other than Him , gods whose intercession will be of no use for me whatsoever, nor can they save me if God intends me any harm? Then I should be in plain error. I have believed in your Lond, so listen to me". It was said to him "Enter Paradise". He said "I wish my people would know! That my Lord has forgiven me and made me of the honoured ones".

    The chapter does not even bother to tell who those messengers (with valid authority given to them by God) were, but cited the story of this unknown man.

    3613 And put forth for them the example of the people of the town, when the messengers came to it.
    3614 Where We sent two to them, but they disbelieved in them, so We supported them with a third one, thus they said "We are messengers to you."
    3615 They replied "You are but human beings like us, and the Almighty did not send down anything, you are only telling lies."
    3616 They said "Our Lord knows that we have been sent to you."
    3617 "And we are only required to give a clear delivery."
    3618 They replied "We have welcomed you better than you deserve. If you do not cease, we will stone you, and you will receive a painful retribution from us!"
    3619 They said "Keep your welcome with you, for you have been reminded. Indeed, you are transgressing people."
    3620 And a man came running from the farthest part of the city, saying "O my people, follow the messengers."
    3621 "Follow those who do not ask you for any wage, and are guided."
    3622 "And why should I not serve the One who initiated me, and to Him is your ultimate return?"
    3623 "Shall I take gods besides Him? If the Almighty intends any harm for me, their intercession cannot help me in the least, nor can they save me."
    3624 "Then I would be clearly astray."
    3625 "I have believed in your Lord, so listen to me!"

    You have taken the verses out of context. According to the full context of the surrounding verses that man believed in the message of the messengers who were being rejected by his people. He simply repeated and reinforced the message without raising speculations and debates with the people about the nature of the message. By reading the verses it seems to be a black and white diffrence between rejectors and believers and not a complicated true believer debate. That man had no God given authority so he claimed nothing radically new or unseen before. He simply repeated what messengers delivered in simple words. He does not seem to be a lonely man claiming that he only knows what the messengers are delivering. He lived in the time of those messengers as indicated in the verse.

    3621 "Follow those who do not ask you for any wage, and are guided."

    He is simply repeating as a supporter of those messengers during the lifetime of those messengers and not in a lonely, radical, unsupported and speculative manner challenging that the people should modify their beliefs about the true message as he wishes. He is simply supporting those messengers during their deliverance.

    Message you do not need an authorization from God to understand the message of the script and express your opinion. You need authoriztion from God to set up laws and rules and start judging people. No authorization is needed to change to the better peacefully. Every one has their own brains and is up to them to accept or reject the change

    At the time of Muhammad before the revelation of the Quran majority of the world did not understand the true comcept of monotheism so there was a need for Quran as a God given authority to muhammad to bring about a change without giving rise to slightest reason for doubt and speculation. At present the muslim world is radically different from the theories put forward by Quran only scholars. So practically we are at the same point as Prophet muhammad was before Quranic revelation in the light of speculative theories prsented by Quran only people. To genuinely convince that the world has lost the true message delivered by Muhammad there is a need for God given authority, sign or a mriaculous set of phenomena. How could one equalise a personal intellectual research to God given authority? To faithfully convince one's heart there should not be a slightest chance for human flaw. Quran only movement has no practical solutions required to bring about a mass change. If you have read philosophical theories then you would know how difficult it is just to form a belief based a chain of reasons without a link to practicality. Human nature is to doubt, so to convice for a radical change a radical approach to no less than God given authority is needed. If the truth of Muhammad's true message is lost it could only be regained with direct intervention from God and not through endless human research for reasoning since it would only create more confusion, misunderstandings, self guilt whether someone may have wronged one's soul by altering what God's truth may have been in reality and constant anxiety of being in a lost world.

    How do you think people of ignorance who died in a state of ignorance just before muhammad officially delivered his message would be Judged. Some of them might had theories like Muhammad had that something was wrong with the system but what could they have possibly done? Their personal theories of purifying bible concepts to bring a mass change would have been unconvincing like Quran only people's theories are without God given authority. You could only follow peacefully best within the system. To convince one's version of belief superior to others and as the only ultimate truth one needs solid miraculous phenomena such as a creature speaking or a prophecy being fulfilled or a similar God given authority.

    General Issues / Questions
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