Refuting the gross distortion and misrepresentation of the Quran, the Prophet Muhammad and Islam, made by the critics of Islam
Read: Background to the Project
List of all Issues … | Issue 87 | Issue 88 | Issue 89 | Summary 1 | Summary 2 — new, 21st April 2013
Submitted by Ikram
With the above in mind, in Quran we come across 9 commandments not 10 as commonly believed. The pertinent verses below are bracketed by other verses with reference to Jews and Moses. Therefore, can we say Moses was given 9 commandments, provided the verses below refer to him to begin with?
6:151. Say: Come! I will recite what your Lord has forbidden to you: [1] Set up no partner with Him, [2] and do good to parents, [3] nor kill your children for (fear of) poverty — We provide for you and for them, [4] nor go near to indecencies, open or secret, [5] nor kill the soul which Allah has made sacred except in the course of justice. This He enjoins upon you that you may understand.
6:152. [6] And do not approach the property of the orphan except in the best manner, until he attains his maturity. [7] And give full measure and weight with equity — We do not impose on any soul a duty beyond its ability. [8] And when you speak, be just, even (against) a relative. [9] And fulfill Allah’s covenant. This He enjoins on you that you may be mindful;
6:153. and (know) that this is My path, the right one, so follow it, and do not follow (other) ways, for they will lead you away from His way. This He enjoins on you that you may keep your duty.It seems that after the initial moral priming of the followers of Moses with the above 9 commandments, full Torah was subsequently given to Moses:
6:154. Again, We gave the Book to Moses to complete (Our blessings) on him who would do good, and making plain all things and a guidance and a mercy, so that they might believe in the meeting with their Lord.
The above is just an academic exercise, as the Message irrespective of being given to Prophet Moses or Prophet Muhammad, it is the same Islam.
The subject of the amazing capabilities of the honey bee has been discussed by Maulana Abdul Haq Vidyarthi in his writings and speeches while explaining verses 16:68-69 of the Holy Quran:
“And your Lord revealed to the bee: Make hives in the mountains and in the trees and in what they build, then eat of all the fruits and walk in the ways of your Lord submissively. From their bellies comes forth a beverage of many colours, in which there is healing for man. Surely in this there is a sign for a people who reflect.”
From time to time, news appears from the world of science and technology about these remarkable abilities. There is one such recent news item: “Bee brains help to make robots smarter”. Please see this link.
During this Ramadan, we will consider verses of the Quran which tell us about the mission and qualities of the Holy Prophet.
Fast 1 — an excellent exemplar with most sublime morals
Fast 2 — His mission
Fast 3 — brings people from darkness into light
Fast 4 — does not ask for any personal reward, return or gain
Fast 5 — is a mortal like other humans
Fast 6 — raised as a warner and giver of good news
Fast 7 — must deliver the message, and that is all he must do
Fast 8 — His great concern for humanity
Fast 9 — Steadfastness and patience in difficulties
Fast 10 — Seeking comfort in, and strength through, prayer
Fast 11 — Obedience to the Holy Prophet
Fast 12 — Holy Prophet attained the highest position of sinlessness and knowledge of God, and closeness to God and to humanity
Fast 13 — Orphan raised to greatness
Fast 14 — Breast expanded with Divine light and knowledge
Fast 15 — Prophet granted abundance of good of all kinds
Fast 16 — Prophet’s message is for all nations and entire humanity
Fast 17 — Prophet follows only his revelation and does so faithfully
Fast 18 — Holy Prophet’s extraordinary gentleness towards his followers-1
Fast 19 — Holy Prophet’s extraordinary gentleness towards his followers-2
Fast 20 — Simplicity of his personal and domestic life
Fast 21 — Holy Prophet’s concern for the most ordinary of people
Fast 22 — Courage in the face of the gravest danger – 1
Fast 23 — Courage in the face of the gravest danger – 2
Fast 24 — Holy Prophet’s generous treatment of the enemy
Brief comments about the moon’s phase as on 12 August with photo
Fast 25 — Holy Prophet does justice to his enemies
Fast 26 — Manners to be observed towards the Holy Prophet
Fast 27 — Final triumph of the Holy Prophet
Extra: An article about Lailat-ul-Qadr
Fast 28 — Mortality of the Holy Prophet
Fast 29 — Darood or Salat-un-Nabi
Fast 30 — The Last and Final Prophet
Sometimes one reads words uttered by someone, not in any Islamic context, which are reminiscent of a passage in the Holy Quran. A German soldier describes the ferocious battle of Stalingard between Germany and the Soviet Union in 1942 as follows:
“We have fought during fifteen days for a single house. The front is a corridor between burnt-out rooms; it is the thin ceiling between two floors … The street is no longer measured by meters but by corpses … Stalingrad is no longer a town. By day it is an enormous cloud of burning, blinding smoke; it is a vast furnace lit by the reflection of the flames. And when night arrives, one of those scorching howling bleeding nights, the dogs plunge into the Volga and swim desperately to gain the other bank. The nights of Stalingrad are a terror for them. Animals flee this hell; the hardest stones cannot bear it for long; only men endure.”
See: www.historyofwar.org/articles/battles_stalingrad.html and many other references.
Compare this with the following words in the Quran:
“…be on your guard against the fire whose fuel is men and stones; it is prepared for the disbelievers” (2:24).
Submitted by Dil Sooz.
This past week two important things happened in my life. Steve Jobs died and I listened to his famous Stanford speech on you tube. Here is the link http://youtu.be/UF8uR6Z6KLc .
Secondly, I came across these Quranic verses- explained below. Mr. Jobs in his speech emphasized his earnest desire to do extraordinary good in technology, he believed in his “inner truth”. He endured extreme opposition – even getting fired from company he created. Then almost getting bankrupt and finally did not compromise on quality of his product -even if it meant overtaking the norm with extra effort. He also said `death is best invention” for success of man. This means every day we live is on borrowed time. (Islam tells that every prayer we offer should be considered as last—to encourage more good/success in short time span)
(Disclaimer: Holy Quran is NOT a textbook of Business Administration or Sciences. However it inspires man to seek out excellence in all areas of human development)
In Holy Quran Chapter 79 (Al Naziat) “Those Who Yearn”, first five verses give a description of the spiritual characteristics of the faithful who are destined to bring about a transformation in the world: (Interpretation by Maulana Muhammad Ali)
1. By those yearning vehemently! (There was a vehement yearning in the hearts of believers for their Maker. Be it developing technology or commerce, Mullah generally does not emphasize these aspects of Quranic inspiration as they are under-educated and cannot go against dictates of their neo colonial puppet masters template of angry foaming mouth Muslims, which in turn are needed for war industry )
2. And those going forth cheerfully! (It was this ardent desire that made them go forth in the way of Allah cheerfully in spite of the severest opposition)
3. And those running swiftly! (Early Muslims ran swiftly so that they traversed eastern and western lands in an incredibly short time; they were thus ahead of all those who ever carried the message of Truth to their fellow-man-just imagine short span of time in which Islam spread)
4. And those that are foremost going ahead!
5. And those regulating the Affair! (They regulated the affair of the spread of Truth in the world, so that the farthest east (China) and farthest west (Morocco and Spain) were lit with the light of Islam within a hundred years.)
In summary: Taking the words in a general sense, they indicate the various stages through which an affair is brought to a successful issue. The first stage is that of an ardent desire or yearning for it; the second is that of going forth cheerfully to accomplish it; the third is that of running swiftly for its accomplishment; the fourth is that of going ahead of others; and the fifth that of regulating it in the best possible way.
If I can make essence of these verses understandable to my own self in a simple way then I would say: During my high schools days I liked to participate in 1500 meters race. It required an earnest desire to get up from the chair and run for long haul. In contrast to many others who would sit on side and cheer. Then there has to be `cheerfulness” about running otherwise it becomes torture.Then keep running fast. Soon one finds majority of runners form a pack along inner most circle-as it is easiest. But the winners breakaway from them and go ahead. And finally they regulate their affair of running (energy,time, style: sprint versus long steps) and finish the race appropriately.
Read: Our inspiration for Quran Study
(Note: Here is the original Urdu article by Maulana Muhammad Ali, from which the extract about Sura Fatiha is given in the above Study.)
Fast 2
Fast 3
Fast 4
Fast 5
Fast 6
Fast 7
Fast 8
Fast 9
Fast 10
Fast 11
Fast 12
Fast 13
Fast 14
Fast 15
Fast 16
Fast 17
Fast 18
Fast 19
Fast 20
Fast 21
Fast 22
Fast 23
Fast 24
Fast 25
Fast 26
Fast 27
Extra: An article about Lailat-ul-Qadr
Thank you for reading, and sending encouraging comments.
Eid-ul-Fitr Message from Dr A.K. Saeed, Head of Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement
“Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and those with him are firm of heart (ashidda’u) against the disbelievers, compassionate among themselves.” (48:29)
See here the Urdu text of a speech on this verse by Maulana Muhammad Ali in December 1924.
What Maulana Muhammad Ali has translated as “firm of heart” is variously translated as “hard”, “stern”, “harsh”. As the Maulana points out in his speech, classical commentaries of the Quran have given interpretations along the lines that this teaches that Muslims must degrade and crush non-Muslims, or that when they see a non-Muslim they should give him a very angry, frowned look “as a lion views its prey”. Some have gone as far as to say that a Muslim’s body must not touch that of a non-Muslim, nor his clothing touch the clothing worn by a non-Muslim.
I myself have read in a history book by a Pakistani scholar that the ulama of the Moghul emperors of India advised them that, according to Islam, when they see a non-Muslim they are required to turn their face away in displeasure.
The Maulana says that surely the true meaning of being ashidda’u against the disbelievers would have been illustrated in the practice of the Holy Prophet Muhammad towards the unbelievers. He then gives examples from his life of how he dealt with them, and says: Those meanings which are in the minds or are expressed by the commentators are totally wrong.
This speech seems very relevant to Muslims today, as in the modern world they have an increasing daily interacting with non-Muslims. I, for one, found this speech to be a remarkable illustration of how the Ahmadiyya Movement has corrected wrong and harmful conceptions of Islam held by Muslims themselves.
At this link you will find the text of a khutba I delivered in 2009 on the concept and mention of ‘truth’ in the Holy Quran, and its great importance.
Often a discussion relating to a worldly matter can shed light on the teachings of the Quran. The example I have in mind here is a discussion at a workplace about certain facilities that the employees are granted regarding their working conditions, such as flexible working hours. It was being discussed whether there should be rules clearly defining the extent of these facilities or if your boss could simply use his commonsense about how much to allow, when to allow it, etc.
People agreed that using commonsense and judgment was far preferable to laying down exact rules. You can’t cover every situation when drawing up rules, and it might lead to unfairness at times, because rules might not cover some circumstance whereas fairness would allow it.
This reminded me of the following verses of the Holy Quran:
“O you who believe, ask not about things which if made known to you would give you trouble; and if you ask about them when the Quran is being revealed, they will be made known to you. Allah pardons this; and Allah is Forgiving, Forbearing. A people before you indeed asked such questions, then became disbelievers therein. ” (5:101-102)
If you ask to be given too many rules in matters of details to cover all kinds of situations (as many Muslims do when they ask for fatwas about all sorts of things), you will only end up facing trouble when you try to abide by them. You will then try to wriggle out of them.
So, in matters of details it is best to use your judgment and commonsense and apply the basic principles which are the essentials.
An objection has been raised that whereas in one or two places the Holy Quran says:
“Surely those who believe, and those who are Jews, and the Christians, and the Sabians, whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day and does good, they have their reward with their Lord, and there is no fear for them, nor shall they grieve.” — 2:62
but in another verse it says:
“And whoever seeks a religion other than Islam, it will not be accepted from him, and in the Hereafter he will be one of the losers.” — 3:85.
The first verse says that people of other religions will get reward from their Lord, but the second one says that they will be losers in the hereafter.
What 3:85 means is clear from the verse preceding it. Let me first quote only a part of it:
“Say: We believe in Allah and that which is revealed to us, … and to Him we submit.” — 3:84
If this was all that 3:84 had said, i.e. that belief in Allah and belief in the revelation that came to Muslims is what constitutes Islam, then indeed one could justifiably claim that 3:85 means that whoever is simply a non-Muslim, and does not believe in “that which is revealed to us”, will be a loser in the hereafter.
But 3:84 does not only say “We believe in Allah and that which is revealed to us,”, even though these words are quite sufficient to describe and identify Islam. In full it says:
“Say: We believe in Allah and that which is revealed to us, and that which was revealed to Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the tribes, and that which was given to Moses and Jesus and to the prophets from their Lord; we make no distinction between any of them, and to Him we submit.”
The words which I omitted earlier, and which I have placed in italics above, point out a particular aspect of Islam. Islam, as such, is adequately covered by the words “We believe in Allah and that which is revealed to us”. Therefore what 3:85 means by “whoever seeks a religion other than Islam” are those who go against the particular teaching mentioned here, i.e. they do not accept the teaching that revelation also came to other prophets besides their own prophets, nor the teaching that no distinction should be made between prophets.
Examples of making a distinction are: (1) To believe that Jesus was partly Divine but other prophets were mortals; (2) To regard only Jesus as sinless and other prophets as having committed sins; (3) To believe in the truth of Moses etc. by applying some criteria but to reject the Prophet Muhammad even though he fulfills the same criteria.
The teaching of Islam that revelation from God came to all nations through their prophets establishes the equality of all nations, and belief in all such prophets is the basis of peace and mutual respect between followers of different religions. The notion that revelation from God came only to one’s own nation, because it is the favourite and chosen one of God, leads to concepts of national superiority over others, and hatred and prejudice against people of other religions and nations. Such are the doctrines or religions that will not be accepted by God and lead to their adherents being losers in the end. “Not accepted by God” means they do not lead to human development but debasement.
According to 2:62, by believing in God and the Hereafter and doing good, any person gains. According to 3:85, by being narrow-minded and looking down on other nations as deprived of Divine revelation, while believing one’s own nation to be the chosen one of God, a person loses.