From: kaukab siddique <butshikan@msn.com>
Date: Mon, Aug 16, 2010 at 3:39 AM
Subject: [bangla-vision] Wrong again. RE: The Sunnah is not based on Aḥādīth says Amin Islahi
You have misunderstood Islahi.
He wrote:" It is as though a ḥadīth may have many possibilities on the plane of reliability. It can be ṣaḥīḥ,1 ḥasan,2 da'īf,3 mawḍū'4 and maqlūb5"
The translator has messed up by translating narration as a hadith in general.
This checking of hadith [Sahih, Hasan etc] was done by the compilers. It's not that Islahi suddenly looked at the narrations and found that some of them are weak etc. He is referring to work which was done more than a thousand years back.
Savvy?
You folks either don't know the ABC of Hadith or you think you can fool people who have never studied Hadith.
Date: Sun, 15 Aug 2010 03:23:27 -0700
From: minayet@yahoo.com
Subject: The Sunnah is not based on Aḥādīth says Amin Islahi
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Difference between Hadith and Sunnah
Hadith & Sunnah
Amin Ahsan Islahi
(Tr. by:Tariq Haashmi)
Generally people take ḥadīth and sunnah as synonymous terms. This is not a correct impression for there is a great difference between these two terms. Ḥadīth and sunnah occupy a distinct status and a different station in the religious knowledge. Taking them as synonyms complicates our perception of the religious knowledge. With a view to understanding aḥādīth, this difference between the two terms is extremely important to understand.
Ḥadīth
The term ḥadīth is used to denote a saying, act or tacit approval, validly or invalidly, ascribed to the Prophet (sws).
The muḥaddithūn (experts in the science of ḥadīth criticism) also use the term taqrīr for tacit approval. It means that, in the presence of the Prophet (sws), a believer did something, which the Prophet (sws) noticed but did not disapprove or condemn. Thus, the act done by a believer acquired tacit approval from the Prophet (sws).
The muḥaddithūn use another term khabar for ḥadīth. It is commonly acknowledged that khabar can be true or false. The scholars of the science of ḥadīth criticism hold that a khabar and, therefore, a ḥadīth can be a true report or a concoction. It is on the basis of this premise that Muslim scholars hold that a ḥadīth offers a ẓannī (inconclusive/probable) evidence. It is as though a ḥadīth may have many possibilities on the plane of reliability. It can be ṣaḥīḥ,1 ḥasan,2 da'īf,3 mawḍū'4 and maqlūb5. For obvious reasons, each of these kinds will be treated differently. They will be given different weight as the source text.
Types of Khabar
The muḥaddithūn divide the ḥadīth/khabar in two kinds, khabar-i mutawātir and khabar-i wāḥid.
Khabar-i Mutawātir
The author of al-Kifāyah fī 'ilm al-Riwāyah, Khaṭīb Baghdādī, has defined the Mutawātir report as follows:
A mutawātir ḥadīth is reported by such a large number of narrators that cannot be perceived to have jointly forged and narrated a tradition about an issue without a compelling force.6
Although the term khabar-i mutawātir is in vogue; what it denotes does not exist. Sometimes a ḥadīth is believed to be khabar-i mash-hūr. But a little research reveals that it has been transmitted by a single narrator in each of the first three layers in the isnād. Such narratives are reported by a large number of reporters in the third or fourth layer. Similarly, in my opinion, all such narratives which are usually termed as khabar-i mutawātir should be thoroughly investigated. If a thorough and exhaustive survey proves them to be mutawātir, they should be taken as such; but if they fail the test, they must not be fictitiously termed as mutawātir any more. I must also emphasize the point that, in my opinion, the sunnah is mutawātir. However, it is mutawātir in that it has been perpetually adhered to by each generation of Muslims. This tawātur is not oral. This issue will fully be explained later.
Khabar-i Wāḥid
Khabar-i wāḥid signifies a historical narrative that falls short of yielding certain knowledge. Even if more than one person reports the narrative, that does not make it a certain and conclusive truth except when the number of narrators reporting it grows to the level that the possibility of their consensus on forging a lie is perfectly removed. Most of the ḥadīth literature consists of individual isolated narratives.
Categories of Aḥādīth according to Authenticity
Khaṭīb Baghdādī divides the individual narratives in the following categories according to their epistemic value:
• aḥādīth which are clearly genuine and acceptable.
• aḥādīth which are clear fabrications.
• aḥādīth whose status is not clear.
An explanation of all three follows:
Genuine and Acceptable Aḥādīth
According to Khaṭīb Baghdādī, the narratives of the following qualities belong to the first category:
• The narratives that contain reports testified by the "human intellect" (mimmā tadullu al-'uqūl 'alā mūjabihī) and that which are aligned with common sense.
• The narratives that are a corollary of the Qur'ānic text and the sunnah.
• The narratives that have been received as acceptable by the ummah as a whole.
It should be appreciated that "the acceptance of the ummah" means only the acceptance by the part of the ummah that has remained pure from the contaminations of religious innovations and blind following. Thawbān (rta) narrates that the Prophet (sws) said:
A group from among my ummah will always hold fast to the truth. They shall not be harmed despite being abandoned by some people. They will remain in this state (of steadfastness) till God's decree arrives. (Muslim, No: 1920)
Fabricated and Unacceptable Aḥādīth
According to Khaṭīb, the second category of the narratives ascribed to the Prophet (sws) consists of aḥādīth of the following characteristics:
• The narratives that offend reason.
• The narratives that contradict the Qur'ān and the Sunnah.
• The narratives that discuss issues of prime importance in religion which require absolute certainty. In such issues the Almighty cuts all possibilities of excuse for the recipients. They are left with no reasonable grounds to reject the teachings reported to them on the ground of historical authenticity. However, the individual narratives fail to provide required certitude of the reported knowledge and are not accepted.
• The individual narratives regarding issues which, by their very nature, demand that they should have been reported by a large number of people are also not acceptable.
According to the Ḥanafī jurists, in the issues of 'umūm-i balwā (issues that are so open by nature that they cannot escape notice of a very large number of people), the individual narratives carry no weight. In such issues, they prefer qiyās and ijtihād over this type of individual narratives.
Indeterminable Aḥādīth
Narratives that give contradicting directives on a single issue and make it difficult for us to determine the final command in that regard form the third category.
While deciding on the applicability of the directives contained in this type of aḥādīth, only such narratives should be accepted as valid which correspond to and accord with the wording of the collated narratives, textual evidence from the Qur'ān and the sunnah and other relevant aspects.
The Sunnah
Literally the word sunnah means clear, well trodden, busy and plain surfaced road. The Qur'ān has used this word to connote the way God has always dealt with the nations. It says:
This is the way God has dealt with the people who passed before you. God's decision is always predestined. (33:38)
Do they look for anything other than God's way of dealing with the people of old? But you will never find any change in the way of God; nor will you find that God's way will turn off. (35:43)
The word sunnah in this context denotes the practice of the Prophet (sws) that he taught and practically instituted as a teacher of the sharī'ah and the best exemplar. This practice is to be adhered to in fulfilling the divine injunctions, carrying out religious rites and moulding life in accord with the will of God. This duty, as the Qur'ān states, was a part of the responsibility of the Prophet (sws) as a Messenger of God:
Verily God has shown grace to the believers by sending to them a messenger of their own who recites to them His verses, and purifies them, and teaches them the law and the wisdom; although before his advent they were in manifest error. (3:164)
You have indeed in the life of the Messenger of God the best example; for those who expect meeting God and the Last Day and remember Him much. (33:21)
The Prophet (sws) set the best example for us in every aspect of life. He not only taught us all religious injunctions and etiquette – that we need to learn and adopt – but also showed us the practice of how to follow and carry them out.
The rejecters of the religious status and authority of the sunnah hold that the Prophet (sws) was not more than a mere postman appointed to deliver the divine message. Their view is most absurd and baseless. The Prophet (sws) was appointed not only to communicate to the world the Book of God but also to purify the souls and to teach them how to practice the sharī'ah. His life is the perfect model for the believers to emulate. It is only by following his example that we can mould our life in accordance with the religion of Islam and the dictates of the faith.
Importance of the Sunnah
The religion contained in the Qur'ān consists of core guidance. Details and application of all the injunctions have not been provided in the Qur'ān. These things have been left for the Prophet (sws) to explain. The entire edifice of Islam is built on the building blocks of the sunnah of the Prophet (sws). The Qur'ān, for example, only gives basic directives regarding the ritual prayer, fast, ḥajj, zakāh and other rites and rituals. However, none of these directives have been explained in any detail in the Book. So much so, we do not find even necessary details regarding, for example, timings and units of the ritual prayer – the most important religious injunction. The case of other worship rituals and directives is no different. For example, the directive to cut the hands of a convicted thief is found in the Qur'ān. Yet we do not know what value of the stolen item renders the theft punishable. Where do we cut the hand from? Questions like these have been explained through the tongue of the Prophet (sws) and his practice. If we set aside the sunnah we will only be left with principal guidance of the Qur'ān and will remain ignorant as to how they are to be practiced, as it happened with the followers of the religion of Abraham, the so-called ḥanīfs. It is reported that they would sit against the walls of the Ka'bah and address God saying: "O Lord, we do not know how to worship You. We would have worshipped You the prescribed way had we known it."7
This shows that the Qur'ān can only be clarified and explained with the help of the sunnah. This is precisely for the same reason the Prophet (sws) said:
Beware, I have been granted the Qur'ān and with it something similar to it. (Abū Dā'ūd, No: 4604)
This proves that following the sunnah is as necessary as the Qur'ān. God Almighty sent the Prophet (sws) to make the Qur'ān clear. He is the best exemplar who sets paradigmatic example of the Qur'ānic teachings. He has beautifully fulfilled this function.
So this explains that the sunnah is to the Qur'ān as body is to soul. Teachings of the Qur'ān are a soul whose observable form is the sunnah. Both constitute the religion of Islam. Absence of either disfigures the religion and fells the edifice of Islam.
Mutual Harmony of the Qur'ān and the Sunnah
The sunnah and the Holy Qur'ān are not bound in an accidental interrelation. Their interconnection, on the contrary, is natural and logical. Human life involves innumerable issues in its diverse spheres which cannot be exhaustively recorded in a single book. It requires a whole library of books to record even a part of these issues.
Many things, for example, cannot be explained verbally. They require practical example. Without practical form and example, they do not provide concrete and observable guidance. Such issues, as call for a practical manifestation, cannot even be communicated verbally. Therefore, the Holy Prophet (sws) set practical examples in order to clarify them. After the demise of the Prophet (sws), this responsibility was transferred to his Companions (rta). Later, the righteous and pious people of the ummah, the witnesses to God on earth, fulfilled this duty. It is incumbent upon the piety and all those who rise to work for the religion of God to carefully observe the sunnah themselves including things that are not seemingly very important and to teach the generality to adhere to them.
Nature and Scope of the Sunnah
The sunnah relates only to the practical aspects of human life. It deals only with the religious practices. Muslim beliefs, history and occasion of revelation of the Qur'ānic verses do not form the sunnah.
The Sunnah is not based on Aḥādīth
The sunnah is not based on aḥādīth which can either be true or false. The sunnah, on the contrary, is based on the perpetual practice of the ummah. All Muslim generations, from the Prophet (sws) to us, have followed it without a break.
Historicity of the Qur'ān is established by its generality-to-generality transmission as the word of mouth. The Book has been first transferred from the Prophet (sws) to the generation of his Companions (rta) who passed it on to the next generation with consensus. This process of continuous transmission of the Qur'ān has continued in each generation of the Muslim ummah till it has reached us. The sunnah too has been transmitted through generality-to-generality by practical adherence of the entire generation in each successive layer. We have, for example, not adopted prayer and ḥajj because we have learnt from some individual narrators (āḥād) that the Prophet (sws) practiced and taught these worship rituals. We have, on the contrary, followed these practices because the Prophet (sws) performed and instituted them in the generation of the Companions (rta). The successors to the Companions (rta) learnt these from the Companions (rta) and the coming generation learnt from the successors, so on and so forth, till these reached us. The corroboratory evidence for these practices, found in the major ḥadīth works, is an additional support for them. If a ḥadīth narrative concerning a practice, current among Muslims, accords with the practice of the ummah, that is acceptable. If, however, it contradicts any established practice then the mutawātir practice of the ummah shall prevail. However, we will try to reinterpret the ḥadīth contradicting the sunnah so as it is made in accord with the practice of the ummah. If we fail to reconcile between the sunnah and a particular ḥadīth, in any way, we have to abandon the individual narrative for the agreed upon concurrent practice. We prefer the sunnah over aḥādīth because the isolated ḥadīth reports are only probably true. The sunnah, on the contrary, is absolutely true and a certain source of religious knowledge.
This fact about the historicity of the hadīth was clear on the Mālikī (Imām Mālik and his followers) scholars. They preferred the practice of the people of Madīnah ('amal ahl al-Madīnah) over individual aḥādīth. They believed that the practice of the community of the people of Madīnah is absolutely certain. They usually introduce such a practice as follows: al-sunnatu 'indanā hākadhā (the established practice with us is this). The followers of Imām Abū Ḥanīfah do not attach much importance to the individual narratives on this very basis either.
The perpetual practical adherence of the ummah in this context is based on the practice of the Prophet (sws), the Rightly Guided Caliphs (khulafā' al-rāshidūn), and the Companions (rta) as a community. The Prophet (sws) said:
It is upon you to follow my practice and that of the Rightly Guided Caliphs. (Ibn Mājah, No: 42)
The Companions (rta) of the Prophet (sws) were the first recipient of the religion and the first who practiced the religious teachings. They received the religion from the Prophet (sws) and communicated it to the world. That is why their practice is accepted and acknowledged as based on the Prophet (sws). Hunderds of people that join together to innovate practices and observe them as religious rites, in the present times, are innovators. The Prophet (sws) condemned falsehood, fabrication and bid'ah (innovation) introduced into religion as waywardness leading to Hell.
A Question to the Munkirīn-i Sunnah8
Recently a group of people have emerged who admit authority of the Qur'ān and reject the authority of the sunnah. Their view as well as the logic behind it is incomprehensible. What has made the Qur'ān absolutely authentic is that it has reached us through generality-to-generality as the word of mouth (tawātur-i qawlī). Historical authenticity of the sunnah is established by a similar process, the practical adherence and perpetual practice of the entire generations from the Prophet (sws) to us (tawātur-i 'amalī). The intermediary generations of the believers worked as vehicle for the transmission of both of these sources. Having rejected the authenticity of the sunnah, the rejecters of the sunnah, cannot validly claim that the Qur'ān is the Book of God received from the Prophet Muḥammad (sws), for there is no difference between the Qur'ān and the sunnah as far as historical authenticity and the vehicle of transmission from the Prophet (sws) to us is concerned.
It is, therefore, extremely important to grasp the difference between the term ḥadīth and sunnah. Disregard for this difference between the two sources has led many people to take the entire corpus of the sunnah as spurious. They rent asunder the whole edifice of religion when they noticed that a few individual narratives failed to sustain historical investigation. Initially the rejecters found faults with and cast doubts on the ḥadīth literature. These doubts were then extended to the sunnah itself. This is in spite of the fact that the Qur'ān and the sunnah are equally authentic and the rejection of either entails negation of the other.
Those alive to the history of the movement of rejection of the sunnah know that it originated in some questions over a few unexplainable narratives. Later on, the scholars entered polemical debates on the issue and, in the frenzy of hot debate for their position, lost track of the difference between the hadīth and sunnah. Neither the attackers realized what they were really felling nor did the defenders were aware of what they were defending. They were spending their energies in fighting undefined borders. The debate became an end in itself. This unawareness of the truth caused great harms to both the parties. Subsequently, the claim of the rejecters bordered on the rejection of Islam itself. The defenders of the authority and authenticity of the hadīth, too, by forgetting the difference between the two sources, exposed the sunnah to serious questions. They rendered the firm bases of the sunnah vulnerable to the attack of the rejecters.
Different Paradigmatic forms of a Single Practice
Many people are, likewise, not appreciative of the fact that there could be more than one valid way of performing a single religious practice. Different sunan (plural of sunnah) can be instituted for a single religious issue. Owing to the failure to appreciate this fact the followers of the sunnah were divided into different factions, all of which declared each other as rejecters of the sunnah. Had they viewed the matter justly, they would have easily learnt that the Holy Prophet (sws) could have introduced different sunan regarding a single issue.
Many aḥādīth show that at the occasion of the sermon of the final ḥajj, the Holy Prophet (sws) took a seat and received the delegations from different tribes. People came to him and sought his guidance regarding their performances of the ḥajj rituals. A believer would explain that he had performed a certain ḥajj ritual in a particular way. The Prophet (sws) would tell him that there was nothing wrong (lā ḥaraj). Still another person would inquire about the status of his method of performing the same ritual which would be different. The Prophet (sws) would tell him that his method of performance was also correct and valid. He did not incur any sin. People continued swarming to him and seeking his decision on the ways they performed certain rituals. The Prophet (sws) invariably approved the practice of all and did not, as far as I know, reject the action reported by any pilgrim.
This shows that all of these pilgrims practiced the ḥajj rituals differently. Yet the Prophet (sws) approved of their way of performance. Their acts fell within the acceptable sunnah. This means that it is acceptable to perform a religious obligation differently while observing the spirit and essence of the ritual or practice. It cannot be termed deviance.
We know that aḥādīth give different information regarding the tashahhud (reciting certain supplications while sitting in the last part of the prayer). All aḥādīth on this issue have been ascribed to such great Companions (rta) as had extraordinary insight in the legal matters. Most of these aḥādīth prescribe different supplications for the occasion of tashahhud. Yet, however, the essence and spirit of all is the same. Let us suppose that someone adopts the wording for the supplication reported by 'Umar (rta) or Ibn-i 'Umar (rta) and does not recite what has been ascribed to 'Ā'ishah (rta). Would it be appropriate to declare that he deviated from the sunnah? Certainly not! One can no doubt argue on the authenticity of any of these aḥādīth and one can validly declare that this narrative is more authentic than that. One cannot, however, declare any of these supplications a deviation from the sunnah.
I believe the same is the case of loudly uttering the formula 'āmīn after reciting Sūrah al-Fātiḥah or on hearing the imām complete the sūrah in the prayer. Similar is the status of folding one's hands on the chest or letting them fall free in the prayer. There are ample indicators, rather evidences, proving each an authentic sunnah. Owing to external factors, which cannot be taken up here for want of brevity, some of these practices got currency in certain cities while others were adopted in some other cities and regions. We cannot exclude any of these from the list of the acceptable normative sunan. One can, at best, declare some of these are more stressed (mu'akkad) methods of carrying out the relevant ritual. There is no point in rejecting any of these methods for they cannot be validly declared a deviation from normative sunnah.
(Translated from Mabādī Tadabbur-i H*adīth by Tariq Mahmood Hashmi)
__________________________
1. A ṣaḥīḥ ḥadīth is transmitted through an unbroken chain of narrators all of whom are of sound character and memory. Such a ḥadīth should not clash with a more reliable report and must not suffer from any other hidden defect. (Maḥmūd Ṭaḥḥān, Taysīr Muṣṭaliḥ al-Ḥadīth, (Lahore: Islamic Publishing House, n.d.), 33.
2. A ḥasan ḥadīth is transmitted through an unbroken chain of narrators all of whom are of sound character but weak memory. This ḥadīth should not clash with a more reliable report and must not suffer from any other hidden defect. (Ibid., 45)
3. A ḍa'īf ḥadīth is that which cannot gain the status of ḥasan because it lacks one or more elements of a ḥasan ḥadīth. (For example, if the narrator is not of sound memory and sound character, or if there is a hidden fault in the narrative or if the chain of narrators is broken). (Ibid., 62)
4. A mawdū' ḥadīth is one that is fabricated and wrongly ascribed to the Holy Prophet (sws). (Ibid., 88)
5. It is that ḥadīth in two different narrations of which the names of narrators have been changed.
6. I have referred to this work by Khaṭīb considering that it is a major work in the field. For my personal study, I have read through all the relevant sources but after having gone through all of them, I can say that this is the most important work in this discipline. As far as I could gather, other scholars also hold a similar opinion about it. (Author)
7. I have not been able to find the source of this saying attributed to the ḥanīfs. (Translator)
8. These are a group of scholars who do not believe in the authenticity of the sunnah and hold that the Prophet (sws) could not give any religious rulings besides the Qur'ān. In the Indian subcontinent, the most prominent upholders of this view are Ghulām Aḥmad Pervēz, Sayyid Aḥmad Khān, Aslam Jērājpurī etc.
From: SHABBIR AHMED <drshabbir@bellsouth.net>
Subject: THE GOD-DAMNED SHARI'AH
| Koki, Jamila, SHARI'AH LAWS ARE PLAGIARIZED FROM THE BIBLE! Sheikh Sultan M. As-Salameh, Al-Azhar, Cairo [This essay from the Sheikh is acknowledged with thanks for my book under study. His use of the "Tolerance in Islam" seems to be a gentle sarcasm for the unaware Muslims and Christians] The "Muslim Ummah" is practicing much of the Judeo-Christian beliefs largely from the Old Testament. The 'religion' considered and practiced as Islam today has degenerated from the time of Prophet Muhammad (S). In the beginning there was a very simple Deen, Al-Islam revealed to the Prophet (S), which was fully encapsulated in just one Book, Al-Qur'an. For example, the covering of the head for women which has become a point of much discussion in the West, is actually not found in the Qur'an. Therefore, it is not a part of the original teachings of the Prophet. It has been taken from the Christian Bible and incorporated into Islam. Similarly many of the beliefs that are considered Islamic are actually derived from the Jewish and Christian scriptures. The early converts from Judaism and Christianity gradually incorporated their old beliefs into Islam to such an extent that the 'Islam' of today is often a verbatim manifestation of the Bible. None of these Biblical teachings were known to the Prophet and they cannot be found in the Qur'an at all. But the 'scholars' of Islam are unanimous in accepting these beliefs as part of Islam today. Other than the head covering for women, our other practices like: Ø The circumcision of males Ø The stoning to death for adultery Ø The stoning to death for apostasy Ø The wearing of beards for men Ø The dietary prohibition of many types of food Ø The displaying of holy writings on the wall Ø The belief that woman is created from man Ø The collection of religious tithes or Zakaat Ø The injunction against graven images like statues, sculptures and other representations of human and animal life forms Ø The religious injunction that menstruating women are spiritually unclean Ø The ritualized blessing of "Amen" Ø The animal sacrifice (Aqeeqah) at the birth of children All these things are derived from the Christian and Jewish Scriptures. This list is by no means exhaustive. These beliefs are NOT found anywhere in the Qur'an which is in fact the earliest and the only authentic teaching of Prophet Muhammad (S). Yet, these teachings can be found in very exact detail in the Christian Bible and the Jewish Scriptures. The Christian West should, therefore, credit it to the great tolerance and absorption of the early scholars and generations of the Muslim Ummah that they were able to bring with them a vast spectrum of Christian and Jewish beliefs which were accepted in that early era and are practiced by Muslims as part of Islam today. Therefore, there is no need for the Judeo-Christian world to be apprehensive about Islam. Our common heritage should bind us together instead of dividing us. I would like to begin with the issue of the wearing of the head covering for women. In light of the post September 11, 2001 events, this issue has been frequently highlighted in the Western media. Muslim schoolgirls are prohibited from wearing the head-covering in France and elsewhere. 01. HEAD COVER FOR WOMEN ORIGINATES FROM THE BIBLE: As I mentioned before the wearing of the head covering for women is not part of the Prophet's teachings and is not found in the Qur'an. It is a belief and a practice that was taken by the early Muslim scholars from the Christian Bible. (1 Cor 11:5-13) So the commandment for a woman to cover her head is in the Bible. This belief has seeped into the Muslim belief and has now become part and parcel of today's Islam. The West has no problem with Catholicism putting its nuns in head cover. In Europe Catholic schools still encourage young girls to take up the wearing of the Catholic head-cover. Unfortunately under the guise of modernity, a vast majority of Christians themselves are not following the teachings of the Bible - the large majority of Christian women do not cover the head. Hence, it is the Muslim Ummah who are very good Christians because they still uphold these Bible teachings. 02. CIRCUMCISION IS DERIVED FROM THE BIBLE: The Sunni and Shi'a 'Muslims' believe male circumcision to be mandatory and they practice it universally. The truth is that God and the Prophet never asked the Muslims to circumcise anyone. But where does the Muslim belief in circumcision come from? Once again the answer lies in the Bible. The Covenant of Circumcision is mandated in the Bible. Genesis 17:14 And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant. Later Muslims have found this belief acceptable and have incorporated it into their Muslim practices. Note by Dr. Shabbir: Circumcision is a part of the Abrahamic tradition. The Qur'an neither ordains it nor forbids it. Allama Aslam Jairajpuri (d.1955) in his Tareekh-ul-Ummat states that Muhammad (S) was circumcised on the seventh day of his birth, according to the Arab tradition (Pg 48). Some historians have written that he was born circumcised. Medically speaking, one out of 1,000 males is born without a foreskin. In my humble opinion, Muslims should continue it for the benefits. For example, cancer is seldom encountered in a circumcised penis and the hygiene factor is obvious. 03. THE ISLAMIC STATE: The Christian West raises alarm about the so-called 'Islamic State'. They should not really be afraid. Very often all the precepts and beliefs for the Islamic State, particularly the Shari'ah Law, are based almost entirely on Biblical teachings. They are not found in the Qur'an at all and therefore do not form part of the Prophet's teachings. An Islamic State under Shari'ah Law is nothing but Biblical Theocracy. This reflects the tolerance of the Muslim faith in accepting and incorporating Biblical teachings into Islam. The Prophet brought the Qur'an to the entire humanity. But it is a credit to the great tolerance that the Muslim Ummah has picked up the Biblical teachings. The fervor to set up an Islamic State is nothing more than establishing the Biblical Theocracy. Let the Lord's Kingdom come! 04. PUNISHMENT FOR ADULTERY: The recent cases of stoning women to death for adultery in Afghanistan , Pakistan and Nigeria are laws that are not from the Qur'an. God and the Prophet never taught Muslims to stone anyone to death for any crime. The words Shariah Law are not even mentioned in the Qur'an. The law of stoning to death for adultery is taken from the Bible. See Deut 22:20-21. Hence the law of stoning people to death is Biblical. It has been accepted by the Muslims who came after the Prophet and this is another evidence of a great tolerance in Islam for upholding Biblical teachings. Why should the Christian West hold the Muslim Ummah in disgust for upholding Biblical laws? If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor both the adulterer and the adulteress shall be put to death (Lev 20:10). The Qur'an also prescribes a punishment for adultery, but it is a scourge of 100 lashes (24:2). 05. THE PUNISHMENT OF APOSTASY: The United Nations Charter on Human Rights guarantees freedom of religion. This right was first guaranteed in the Qur'an. 2:256 There is absolutely no compulsion or coercion in Religion. God and the Prophet guarantee all humans that they have the right to believe or disbelieve as they choose. 2:193 So, fight them (the aggressors) only until there is no more harassment and Religion may be adopted for the sake of God alone. No one has the right to deny the right to freedom of religion. People will be held accountable for their choices in the life to come. God will decide what to do with people and their choice of belief. There is no earthly punishment prescribed in the Qur'an for those who believe or disbelieve. (4:137) The Biblical teachings, however, say that anyone who blasphemes or becomes an apostate from his faith must be punished with death by stoning (Lev 24:16). Included among those who must be put to death by stoning are the deviants. (Deut 13:5-10) Again it is the great tolerance and flexible nature of Islam today that these Biblical teachings have been absorbed and are practiced as part of the Islamic Shari'ah Law. The teachings from the Christian Bible show the Muslim proximity to the Christian faith. Hence, there should be no conflict between Islam and the Christian West about these laws. We have so much in common with each other. The list is very long. Just a few of the many other beliefs are now given that the Muslims practice today. They are not found in the Qur'an but are taken from the Christian Bible. Unfortunately, because of the ignorance of the Muslim and Christian masses, these beliefs are manipulated by some clever people as excuses to create a rift between the West and Islam. 06. THE TALIBAN'S DESTRUCTION OF STATUES IN BAMIYAN: We recall with dismay the huge hue and cry when Taliban destroyed the priceless ancient treasures in Bamiyan. Under the guise of religion, the Taliban insisted that the statues of the Buddha were idols and had to be destroyed. The Taliban based their actions on Islamic beliefs that have actually been absorbed from the Christian Bible. It is a Biblical teaching that graven images must not be made, and if made, they must be destroyed. (Deut 27:15, 4:16). The Muslims have absorbed these Biblical teachings, and again this reflects the immense capacity of 'Muslims' to learn from the Christian Bible. The Qur'an does not say anywhere that statues or graven images are forbidden or that they must be destroyed. The Christian West has to take account of these truths and give due credit to Islam for giving fresh life to the Biblical teachings. Islam's proximity to the Bible is much deeper than what the Christian West would like to acknowledge. The Qur'an Does Not Forbid Pictures, Paintings And Sculptures For Décor: 34:13 They worked for him (Solomon) as he desired, making forts, statues, sculptures, paintings and images, pools, and boilers well-dug into the ground…." [Please note a Prophet of God decorating his kingdom with statues, sculptures, paintings and images. Muslim orthodoxy, unfortunately, declares all fine arts as Forbidden.]
07. THE WEARING OF BEARDS: The Christian West has also been disturbed by the Islamic practice of men wearing beards. After the September 11 event, many Muslim men with beards have been the subject of suspicion and summary searches by police and other law enforcement agencies throughout the West. Keeping beard is again not the teachings of the Prophet or the Qur'an. Instead, the wearing of beards by men is taken from the Christian Bible. The Christian Bible makes it clear. Leviticus 19:27 Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard. 21:5 Priests must not shave their heads or shave off the edges of their beards or cut their bodies. 2 Samuel 10:5 When David was told about this, he sent messengers to meet the men, for they were greatly humiliated. The king said, "Stay at Jericho till your beards have grown, and then come back." Hence, the Taliban were following the Bible when they insisted that men should wear beards. No doubt the Prophet and the Qur'an never commanded men to sport beards. It is Islam's greatness as an evolving religion that it has absorbed much from the Judeo-Christian Scriptures. The Muslims are told in the Qur'an that they should not follow the path of the Christians and the Jews. Despite such warning, the Muslim scholars, in the interests of preserving harmony and peace with their Christian brothers and sisters, decided that the Biblical teachings should be closely upheld by good Muslims. Therefore, the fear by the Christian West is misplaced and unfounded. In conclusion, I would like to state that both Muslims and the Christian West should study and take cognizance of the vast area of similarity between the Muslim beliefs and Christian Biblical teachings. In this age of high tensions, paranoia and fear of everything that is deemed Islamic, the Christian West should appreciate the fact that for one thousand years, the Muslim scholars have already shown a great tolerance towards Christianity by learning and absorbing many parts of the Christian Bible into their Islamic faith. NOTE: The above list has been taken from the Christian Bible. Nothing of it can be found in the Qur'an. In the light of the evident flexibility in Islam today, I hope that the Muslims all over the world will make the effort to show their Christian brothers and sisters that a great amount of our Islamic Shari'ah is drawn from the Christian Bible. At the same time I urge the Christians and Jews to give Muslims the due credit for being loyal to the Christian Bible and Jewish Scriptures. We have more in common between us than what divides us. Shabbir Ahmed, M.D. www.ourbeacon.com Please visit our user-friendly forum: http://www.ourbeacon.com/cgi-bin/bbs60x/webbbs_config.pl http://www.youtube.com/drshabbir2 6440 NW 53 ST Lauderhill, FL 33319 954-746-2115 --- On Sat, 8/14/10, kaukab siddique <butshikan@msn.com> wrote:
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