Islamic Methodologies Made Easy by Ehab Shawky - HTML preview

Fornication could only be proven through one of the following means: 1. The person who has committed such a crime confesses four times in front of the judge and mentions clearly the glans’s total entrance into the female. The confession of the male or the female does not condemn the other party involved, it’s only against him or herself. Naming the other party involved should not even be requested.

2. Four known, sane, just, free men, testify to have witnessed with their own eyes clearly without any doubt the total intromission of a male’s penis into the female’s vagina.

Each one of them must give his testimony in front of the same judging council, on the same hearing, aside the others. Every witness must describe the incident with its details; e.g. the date of the incident, the exact time, the exact place where it occurred and its description, the full description of the two partners, the assumed position, etc.

If only three testified and the fourth didn’t, or the details mentioned by anyone of them was different from the others, then their testimonies are refused altogether and they are accused of defamation and perjury. Each one of them is sentenced to receive 80 stripes and his testimony is never accepted in court again.

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This was the 4th crime in our list. It should be clarified here that spying on others is forbidden in Islam. Allah says in the Qur’an, “O believers, avoid suspicion, some suspicions are sinful, and do not spy on one another or backbite. Would any of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? No, you would hate it. So be mindful of Allah. Verily, Allah is ever relenting, most merciful.” [The Qur’an (49:12)].

About this Prophet Muhammad said, “Beware of suspicion for it is the most false of all tales. Don’t ever spy or hunt for other people’s secrets, don’t hate one another, and be like brothers.” [Recorded by Bukhari and Muslim].

One wonders, what are the odds of proving the crime under discussion without spying?

Actually, this was never recorded to have happened anytime in the Islamic history. It’s almost impossible to occur unless the fornicators were making a porn movie, or practicing illicit sex in a public place. Muslim scholars commented on this saying that the tougher the punishment, the more complicated is the evidence required for proving the crime.

Hence, from the hard means placed for proving this crime, one should understand how painful it is for a person living in a pure chaste community to be scandalized with such a crime. But if the crime was proven against any person without any doubts, then the punishment must be applied without any delay to protect the community from the consequences of having this abominable deed spreading among its citizens.

Fornication results in so many crimes, like marital betrayal, honor killings, distorted family lineages, false ancestry cases, incest and unlawful marriages, etc. By all means, this is the worst crime among all those mentioned before.

All Muslim scholars agree that if a person fornicates, and no one knew of his or her crime, this person should repent silently and keep the crime a secret. He should not confess of what he has done unless a bigger crime was about to result from this sin. For example: If a married man committed adultery with a married woman, thereafter she became pregnant from him and gave birth to a girl. If it happens in the future that this girl falls in love with that man’s son and they were about to get married, the man and the woman must confess to their crime; or else, the boy will marry his sister.

When a companion named Ma‘ez went to confess that he committed adultery, Abu Bakr and ‘Omar advised him to keep silent and repent secretly, may Allah forgive him. Another companion told him that he should go and confess to the prophet. When he went to Prophet Muhammad and confessed, the prophet said to his companion, “If you kept it a secret and advised him to repent silently it would have been better for you.” From this, Muslim scholars agreed that if Allah kept your crime hidden from people’s eyes, you should repent secretly and ask Allah for His forgiveness.

Bukhari and Muslim recorded that a man once came to the prophet in the mosque and said, “O messenger, I have committed a crime that deserves punishment.” The prophet didn’t ask him about his crime and got up to lead the prayers. When the prayer was over, the man approached the prophet and repeated what he said earlier. The prophet said,

“Didn’t you just pray with us?” The man said, “Yes.” So the prophet said, “Then Allah has forgiven your sin.” The prophet also said, “He who repents from his sins is like one who never sinned before.” [Recorded by Ibn Mājah].

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And when he was told that Ma‘ez tried to escape when they started stoning him, the prophet said: “You should have let him go, may Allah accept his repentance.”

[Recorded by Abu Dāwood and others].

Based on the previous, Muslim scholars deduced that the person who commits a crime, and Allah protects him against getting caught, then he must repent secretly and should not speak of that crime unless this was the only way to prevent a bigger crime from happening as explained earlier.

As recorded in the Sunnah books, the punishment of unmarried fornicators is 100 stripes of medium strength that are neither damaging nor painless; they must be distributed on all of the body except: the head, the face, the belly, the chest and the groin areas, these must be avoided. The man is flogged in a standing position, wearing only short trousers to hide his private parts and the woman is flogged while sitting and wearing all of her clothes and veil, but without the inside stuffing that may cause the punishment to be ineffective. The punishment is not applied on weak or ill convicts until they heal completely and regain their strength, nor on a pregnant woman until she delivers her baby and regains her strength. The tool used in flogging is either a whip of intermediate length and power, or a palm branch stripped of its leaves and thorns, it’s like a cane. The person applying the punishment should also be of intermediate strength. He must not raise his flogging hand above his shoulder and must not to let his armpit be seen. ‘Ali Ibn Abi-Taleb said, “Stripes of intermediate strength and a whip of intermediate effect.”

There is consensus among Muslim scholars on the previous punishment for fornicators if they were unmarried. But when it comes to married persons who commit adultery, scholars were split into 2 teams: the first stated that the punishment in such case is stoning to death, and the second denied stoning and said that flogging is the punishment for all cases. Let’s indulge into their debate so that we may understand this controversial issue.

Please note that a married person is defined as, “An adult male or female who is free, sane, and has had complete sexual intercourse with a lawfully wedded partner of the same mentioned qualities. This marriage is proven either by confession, or by the testimony of 2 witnesses, or through evidence: like the existence of a known born child for the couple.”

The first team said: Allah gradated the application of the punishment against fornication because in the pre-Islamic era, most Arabs were used to taking many wives and having illicit sexual intercourse with any dancer or slave girl they liked without deeming it something immoral. Islam placed rules restricting polygyny, and followed a gradated method in abolishing fornication. The first stage on the path of abolishing it was the verses that say, “If any of your women commit fornication, call in four male witnesses from among yourselves against them, if they testify to their guilt, confine them to their houses until death comes to them, or until Allah prescribes a way out for them. And those two of you who commit it, punish them both. If they repent and mend their ways, leave them

alone. Allah is the Most-Relenting, Most-Merciful.” [The Qur’an (4:15-16)].

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In the above verses, Allah orders Muslims to confine the adulteress inside her house after punishing her and her partner. The verses also make it clear that the crime cannot be proven except through 4 witnesses who would testify in the manner described earlier.

As for the punishment, it was called Ta‘zir: it’s a punishment left for the discretion of the judge according to the case at hand; it varies from verbal tough reprehension to flogging with maximum 39 stripes. So the judge may choose the proper punishment according to the ugliness of the crime (i.e. whether the fornicator was married or not, having children or not, having one wife or more, etc.)

Later on the verses of chapter 24 were revealed specifying a punishment of 100 stripes against anyone who commits fornication as explained earlier. Consequently, the confinement within the house was lifted from upon women. Later on, when piety and chastity were deeply rooted in the community, the final stage was promulgated by Prophet Muhammad when he said, “Receive this injunction from me, receive from me, Allah has prescribed a way out for women: a 100 strips punishment for the unmarried man and woman, and an exile for one year, but as for those who are married, a 100 stripes and stoning.” [Recorded by Muslim].

It was recorded that Prophet Muhammad stoned a companion named Ma‘ez when he confessed that he had committed adultery, and he also stoned the Ghamedeyyah woman when she gave the same confession. ‘Omar Ibn Al-Khattab was recorded to say,

“Allah has sent Muhammad with the truth and revealed to him the Qur’an. Among what was revealed is the verse of stoning those who commit adultery, we read it and understood it perfectly well. The prophet applied stoning and we applied it after him, I’m afraid that a time may come when people will say ‘We can’t find stoning mentioned anywhere in the Qur’an’, so they will forsake it and go astray by forsaking a punishment prescribed by Allah. Stoning is the punishment for the adulterer and adulteress if the prescribed evidence was established, or if pregnancy occurred, or with confession.” [Recorded by Bukhari, Muslim and others].

Lady ‘Āʾishah, Obai Ibn Ka‘b, Zayd Ibn Thabet and ‘Ali Ibn Abi-Taleb were also recorded to state that stoning was prescribed by the prophet. Based on the previous, stoning was considered the rightful punishment for adultery by the majority of the scholars.

They stated some logical reasons for prescribing stoning as a punishment for adultery and not flogging, they said:

1. A married person has a spouse with whom he or she can satisfy their sexual lusts, unlike the single person who can fall more easily into this sin.

2. The married person does not only commit the crime of fornication, but he or she also betrays his or her unaware trusting spouse.

3. Allah has granted a way out for men to quench their sexual lusts without ever needing to commit this abominable deed. Men can marry up to 4 wives.

4. Allah granted every woman a way out if she didn’t love her husband, she can ask for divorce or Khol‘ and marry another person whom she loves.

5. Marriage is a solemn covenant, betraying it is like betraying Allah’s solemn trust.

6. The possibility of having a distorted family lineage and false ancestry is much higher with adultery than with fornicating unmarried persons.

7. Adultery is a crime that rocks the community and spreads lack of trust among all spouses. This could bring down calm secured houses.

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The method prescribed by jurists for stoning stipulate that: While applying the punishment, if the convict ran away out of fear, and he or she was receiving the punishment after confessing, then he or she should not be followed and is left to get away.

But if this person runs away from stoning after being found guilty by the testimony of witnesses, then he or she is followed and stoned to death. If the adulteress was pregnant, she is released until she delivers her baby and suckles him or her for 2 years. If the baby had no one to look after him or her, the woman is left until the baby grows up, needs her no more and can manage to take care of him or herself, then the punishment is applied without further delay.

The second team said: It’s true that Prophet Muhammad applied stoning 2 times following the laws of the Torah (Leviticus {20:10}), but this was before he received the verses of chapter 24 in the Qur’an, which abrogated the old laws. Prophet Muhammad always applied the laws of Moses until he received new laws abrogating them. There is no stoning in Islam. All of the traditions upon which the first team built its opinion were either weak or narrations of individuals that could not stand as evidence above the Qur’an, or a proof for such punishment. The following are a few logical points they mentioned: 1. The tradition recorded by Muslim relating Prophet Muhammad’s words promulgating stoning has “Hushaim Ibn Bashir” in its CON, and Hushaim was accused of forging traditions; therefore, this is a weak deceitful tradition.

2. The wording of the tradition in Muslim implies that the prophet was speaking to a lot of companions, then how come the number of those who were recorded to confirm stoning from among the companions did not exceed 8 companions and all of the traditions ascribed to them were weak and unreliable?!

3. The wording of the tradition contradicts the prophet’s application. Prophet Muhammad never flogged before stoning and he never banished any fornicator.

4. How could ‘stoning’ be ‘a way out’ for women when they commit adultery?!

The wording doesn’t make any sense, which degrades the classification of this tradition from ‘Authentic’ to ‘Fabricated.’

5. As for the very long tradition attributed to ‘Omar Ibn Al-Khattab, and recorded by Bukhari, this tradition is a dilemma itself. If ‘Omar was speaking to the companions who lived with the prophet and knew very well his teachings, then how come the wording implies that ‘Omar was speaking to a bunch of people who were unaware of stoning or were denying it?!

6. If there is a verse that prescribes stoning, then how come that it was not written down inside the Qur’an?! Those who say that it was abrogated in wording but its ruling remained applicable are worsening the situation; there is absolutely no meaning nor logic in cancelling a verse prescribing a divine law while its ruling is still applicable, it’s as if Allah wants us to go astray.

7. Allah promised to keep His final testament intact, complete and safe, so how come that any verse from amidst its context is lost and there isn’t even one recurrent tradition mentioning it?!

8. The tradition recorded by Ibn Mājah— in which Lady ‘Āʾishah states the wording of the clamed stoning verse—is classified as weak. Even if it was raised to the state of ‘Good by others,’ it will remain to be a speculative narration of individual.

9. The tradition recorded by Ahmad on the authority of ‘Ali Ibn Abi-Taleb is classified

‘very weak,’ which is worse than the previous tradition of Ibn Mājah.

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10. The few narrations recorded on the authority of the companions regarding stoning were speculative weak traditions except ‘Omar’s tradition, which is a narration of individual. There aren’t even 10 weak traditions recorded on the authority of the companions that confirm stoning.

11. The juristic rule says: “Punishments are cancelled by suspicion.” Prophet Muhammad himself said, “Forsake what fills you with doubt to what you are sure of.” Lady

‘Āʾishah said, “Ward off punishments from upon the people as much as you can. It is better for a judge to be mistaken in pardoning than to be mistaken in punishment.”

So how can we apply such a brutal punishment when all of the evidence supporting it is speculative and contradicts the Qur’an?!

Then the second team started submitting their rebuttal evidences, they said:

 Bukhari recorded a tradition reported by a follower named Ibn Al-Shaibany who said,

“I asked ‘Abdullah Ibn Abi-Awfa: ‘Did the prophet apply stoning?’ He answered,

‘Yes.’ So I asked, ‘Was it before or after Chapter An-Nur?’ He answered, ‘I don’t know.’ ” [Recorded by Bukhari].

1. Chapter 24 was revealed after the “Slander incident” by one month, approximately in Ramadan of the 6th year A.H.

2. ‘Abdullah Ibn Abi-Awfa was one of the companions. His regular companionship to the prophet started in 6 A.H.

3. He witnessed “Al-Hudaibeyah treaty” with the prophet in Dhul-Qe‘dah of the 6th year A.H., this was 1 month after chapter 24 was revealed.

4. ‘Abdullah witnessed the last 5 years of the prophet’s life, but still, he didn’t have a clue whether stoning was applied before or after the verses of chapter 24.

Putting the previous together, you should be able to deduce that: 1. ‘Abdullah never witnessed the prophet applying the punishment of stoning.

2. The prophet didn’t apply stoning during the last 5 years of his life.

3. The probability that chapter 24 abrogated the stoning laws of the Torah are now sky high.

 The previous translation of the Qur’anic verses (4:15-16) is wrong. The correct translation is as follows: “If any of your women is involved in an unlawful sexual relation, call in four male witnesses from among yourselves against them, if they testify to their guilt, confine them to their houses until death comes to them, or until Allah grants them a way out. And if two men from among you commit it, punish them both. If they repent and mend their ways, leave them alone. Allah is the Most-Relenting and Most-Merciful.” [The Qur’an (4:15-16)].

These two verses are not speaking about fornication or adultery, they are speaking about sapphism and sodomy. This was the recorded opinion for Mujahed Ibn Jabr the student of Ibn ‘Abbās, and the Mu‘tazily scholar Abu Muslim Al-Asfahany (Died 322 A.H.).

The verses were revealed prescribing the punishment for such unlawful relationships.

A female who commits sapphism should be confined to her house until a man proposes to take her as a lawful wife; this is her way out. As for sodomites, they should be punished by flogging each one of them 100 stripes if intromission occurred. But if there was no intromission, then the judge may prescribe the punishment he deems appropriate on the condition that it doesn’t exceed 39 stripes.

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 Chapter 24 speaks about fornicators, whether married or unmarried. This is obvious in the verses that say, “One who accuses his wife and has no witnesses except himself shall swear four times by Allah that his charge is true, and the fifth time, that Allah’s curse may be upon him if he is telling a lie. The wife shall receive no punishment, if she bears witness four times in the name of Allah that her husband has lied, and a fifth time that Allah’s wrath will be upon her if he is telling the truth.”

[The Qur’an (24:6-9)]

The punishment mentioned in these verses is the one prescribed 3 verses earlier.

This is an ultimate proof that the flogging punishment includes both married and unmarried persons.

 Allah says in the Qur’an, “If any of you cannot afford to marry a free believing woman let him marry one of his believing maids whom he possesses. Allah best knows your faith. You are one of another. So marry them with their owner’s permission, and give them their dowry according to what is fair, neither committing fornication nor taking secret paramours. And if, after they are married, they commit adultery they shall have half the punishment prescribed for a free woman.” [The Qur’an (4:25)].

This verse prescribed the adultery punishment for a wife who was originally a female slave. She should receive half the punishment of the wife of free origins. If the punishment for adultery was stoning, how can this be split into two halves?! Of course the punishment meant here is flogging her with 50 stripes. This further proves that flogging is the lawful punishment for adultery and not stoning.

 If the method of applying the death penalty on “killers” was chosen to be the least painful and most quick, and so was the case with the enemies who fight against Muslims, then how come that the method chosen to punish a Muslim who commits adultery would be stoning?! Is a Muslim adulterer worse than the enemy who is killing and persecuting Muslims?! Didn’t Prophet Muhammad say, “If you kill, then make it a quick death.” How could stoning be a quick death?!

The previous was a simplified record of the debate that has been occurring since the 1st century A.H. Which of the two teams is more correct is something that you have to figure out on your own after a complete fair study. All I wanted to do by tackling this issue was to draw your attention towards the critical thinking of the early generations, which unfortunately, Muslims don’t have today. Today, Muslims follow blindly like Christians did during the dark ages.

Since that we have tackled sapphism and sodomy, then it’s worth mentioning here that Prophet Lot P.B.U.H. tried to treat the sexual disorientation of his people by preaching marriage. He called on all sodomites to take women as lawful wives, explaining that marriage was the cleanest and safest method to satisfy their sexual lusts. He even offered his daughters to be their lawfully wedded wives, but they declined and insisted on their deviant act. This makes it clear that the Qur’anic cure prescribed for homosexuals is marriage. Allah says in the Qur’an, “When Our messengers came to Lot, he was troubled 343

on this account and felt powerless to protect them. He said, ‘This is a dreadful day.’

His people, who were used to committing foul deeds, came running to him. He said,

‘O people, here are my daughters. They are purer for you, [if you marry them] so have some fear of Allah and do not disgrace me before my guests. Is there not a single right-minded man among you?’ They replied, ‘You know it is not your daughters whom we want. You know very well what we seek.’ ” [The Qur’an (11:77-79)].

One should ask, “Why did Allah prohibit homosexuality? Didn’t He create gays and lesbians the way they are? Could the Creator be unknowledgeable of those whom He created, or is He unfair?!” Well, this is an important question, but answering it is not within my grasp of knowledge, this is why I tried to compile an extract from different medical articles written about this issue. The reader should not suffice with the data included in this book, but should try to indulge deeper into the subject, maybe he or she will be successful in presenting it in a more accurate and helpful manner.

From the fact Sheet used in teaching medical Classes on AIDS, published as part of “The AIDS Epidemic in San Francisco: The Medical Response 1981-1984. Volume I, an oral history conducted 1992-1993,” published by the University of California, Berkeley, 1995—this information was based upon a distillate of the knowledge accumulated by San Francisco general hospital “SFGH,” the university of California-San Francisco “UCSF,” University of California-Los Angeles “UCLA,” Stanford, several hospitals in New York and the combined efforts of the AIDS Task Force at the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta, Georgia. There are no other authorities to turn to for better information.

What is A.I.D.S?

“Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome,” is a disease of previously healthy people who for some reason develop diseases seen only in the immuno-deficient. The deficiency appears to be permanent and is not explained by other known immune defect diseases.

While there are several theories as to what it is, the one felt to be the most likely is that it is a new virus, not previously seen.

Who is at risk?

Homosexual and bisexual men (75% of cases)

Heterosexual men, women, and children (25% of cases)

Hemophiliacs, IV drug abusers, Haitians, 5% unknown risk factors.

(End of adaptation from the facts sheet)

Of course there is no need to say that since homosexuals comprise such a small percent of the population (about 1-3 %), they have a significantly higher rate of infection than heterosexuals. In order to make things clearer, we need to take a sample look at what some of those who work in the medical field had to say about this issue.

“Susan Brinkmann,” a well experienced nurse, in her article “Health risks of the homosexual lifestyle” published back in 2004, threw some light on the harms of homosexuality based on facts and statistics reached by many physicians and medical centers through many years of observation. Among what she stated is the following: 344

A 1997 New York Times article reported that a young male homosexual has about 50%

chance of getting HIV by middle age. (Sheryl Gay Stolberg, “Gay Culture Weighs Sense and Sexuality,” New York Times (Late edition, east coast), November 23, 1997, section 4, p.1)

As of 1998, 54% of all AIDS cases in America were homosexual men and according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) nearly 90% of these men acquired HIV through sexual activity with other men. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1998, June, HIV or AIDS Surveillance Report).

Even more alarming, the Center for Disease Control & Prevention reported in 1998 that an estimated half of all new HIV infections in the United States are among people under 25. Among 13 to 24 years old, 52% of all AIDS cases reported among males in 1997 were among young men who have sex with men. (CDC Fact Sheet: “Young People at Risk,”

Center for Disease Control & Prevention, National Center for HIV, STD and TB

Prevention Division of HIV or AIDS Prevention, July 24, 1998.

Researchers at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver conducted a study to assess how HIV

infection and AIDS is impacting the mortality rates for homosexual and bisexual men.

Lead by “R.S. Hogg” and published in the International Journal of Epidemiology (vol.

27, no. 3, 1997, pp 657-661) they reached an alarming conclusion:

In a major Canadian center, life expectancy at age 20 years for gay and bisexual men is 8 to 20 years less than for all men. If the same pattern of mortality continues, we estimate that nearly half of gay and bisexual men currently aged 20 years will not reach their 65th birthday. Under the most liberal assumptions, gay and bisexual men in this urban center are now experiencing a life expectancy similar to that experienced by all men in Canada in the year 1871.

In addition to AIDS, there is a long list of maladies that attack homosexually active persons. Of particular concern is anal cancer. According to “J.R. Daling”, “Correlates of Homosexual Behavior and the Incidence of Anal Cancer”, Journal of the American Medical Association 247, no.14, 9 April 1982, pp. 1988-90: The risk of anal cancer soars by 4000 percent among those who engage in anal intercourse.

(End of adaptation)

Dr. “John Diggs, Jr”, a Practicing Internist in “Wing Medical Center”, a researcher in area of sexually transmitted diseases, member in the “National Advisory Council of the Family Research Council” and Co-chair member of the “Massachusetts Physicians Resource Council”, in his article “The Health Risks of Gay Sex” explained further these harms in a more academic way. Among what he wrote:

Anal intercourse is the sine qua non of sex for many gay men. Yet human physiology makes it clear that the body was not designed to accommodate this activity. The rectum is significantly different from the vagina with regard to suitability for penetration by a penis. The vagina has natural lubricants and is supported by a network of muscles. It is composed of a mucus membrane with a multi-layer stratified squamous epithelium that allows it to endure friction without damage and to resist the immunological actions caused by semen and sperm. In comparison, the anus is a delicate mechanism of small 345

muscles that comprise an “exit-only” passage. With repeated trauma, friction and stretching, the sphincter loses its tone and its ability to maintain a tight seal.

Consequently, anal intercourse leads to leakage of fecal material that can easily become chronic.

The potential for injury is exacerbated by the fact that the intestine has only a single layer of cells separating it from highly vascular tissue, that is, blood. Therefore, any organisms that are introduced into the rectum have a much easier time establishing a foothold for infection than they would in a vagina. The single layer tissue cannot withstand the friction associated with penile penetration, resulting in traumas that expose both participants to blood, organisms in feces, and a mixing of bodily fluids.

Furthermore, ejaculate has components that are immuno-suppressive. In the course of ordinary reproductive physiology, this allows the sperm to evade the immune defenses of the female. Rectal insemination of rabbits has shown that sperm impaired the immune defenses of the recipient. Semen may have a similar impact on humans.

The end result is that the fragility of the anus and rectum, along with the immuno-suppressive effect of ejaculate, make anal-genital intercourse a most efficient manner of transmitting HIV and other infections.

A 1988 survey from the “Center for Disease Control and Prevention” CDC identified 21 percent of all Hepatitis B cases as being homosexually transmitted while 18 percent were heterosexually transmitted. Again since homosexuals comprise such a small percent of the population (only 1-3 percent), they have a significantly higher rate of infection than heterosexuals.

Anal intercourse puts men at significant risk for anal cancer. Anal cancer is the result of infection with some subtypes of human papilloma virus (HPV), which are known viral carcinogens. Data as of 1989 showed the rates of anal cancer in male homosexual practitioners to be 10 times that of heterosexual males, and growing. Thus, the prevalence of anal cancer among gay men is of great concern. For those with AIDS, the rates are doubled. (End of adaptation)

Regarding the “Emotional and mental harms of homosexuality” , “Susan Brinkmann”

gave briefs of the following:

Two extensive studies published in the October 1999 issue of American Medical Association Archives of General Psychiatry confirmed the existence of a strong link between homosexuality and suicide, as well as other mental and emotional problems.

Youth who identify themselves as homosexual, lesbian and bisexual are four times more likely than their peers to suffer from major depression, three times more likely to suffer anxiety disorders, four times more likely to suffer conduct disorders, six times more likely to suffer from multiple disorders and more than six times more likely to have attempted suicide.

Many homosexual activists point their finger at homophobia as the cause of these disorders, but the most extensive studies have been done in the Netherlands and New Zealand where homosexuality is widely accepted.

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In an interview with Zenit News, Dr. Richard Fitzgibbons, a child and adult psychiatrist in practice for more than 27 years, said, “Compared to controls who had no homosexual experience in the 12 months prior to the interviews, males who had any homosexual contact within that time period were much more likely to experience major depression, bipolar disorder, panic disorder, agoraphobia and obsessive compulsive disorder.

Females with any homosexual contact within the previous 12 months were more often diagnosed with major depression, social phobia or alcohol dependence.”

He concluded by saying, “Men and women with a history of homosexual contact had a higher prevalence of nearly all psychiatric disorders measured in the study.

These findings are the result of a lifestyle marked by rampant promiscuity and an inability to make commitments, combined with unresolved sadness, profound insecurity, anger and mistrust from childhood and adolescence.”

(End of adaptation)

Dr. “John Diggs” also included the following data in his article: Multiple studies have identified high rates of psychiatric illness, including depression, drug abuse and suicide attempts, among self-professed gays and lesbians. Some proponents of GLB rights have used these findings to conclude that mental illness is induced by other people's unwillingness to accept same-sex attraction and behavior as normal. They point to homophobia, effectively defined as any opposition to or critique of gay sex, as the cause for the higher rates of psychiatric illness, especially among gay youth. Although homophobia must be considered as a potential cause for the increase in mental health problems, the medical literature suggests other conclusions.

An extensive study in the Netherlands undermines the assumption that homophobia is the cause of increased psychiatric illness among gays and lesbians. The Dutch have been considerably more accepting of same-sex relationships than other Western countries in fact, same-sex couples now have the legal right to marry in the Netherlands. So a high rate of psychiatric disease associated with homosexual behavior in the Netherlands means that the psychiatric disease cannot so easily be attributed to social rejection and homophobia.

The Dutch study, published in the Archives of General Psychiatry, did indeed find a high rate of psychiatric disease associated with same-sex sex. Compared to controls who had no homosexual experience in the 12 months prior to the interview, males who had any homosexual contact within that time period were much more likely to experience major depression, bipolar disorder, panic disorder, agoraphobia and obsessive compulsive disorder. Females with any homosexual contact within the previous 12 months were more often diagnosed with major depression, social phobia or alcohol dependence. In fact, those with a history of homosexual contact had higher rates of nearly all psychiatric pathologies measured in the study. The researchers found “that homosexuality is not only associated with mental health problems during adolescence and early adulthood, as has been suggested, but also in later life.” Researchers actually fear that methodological features of “the study might underestimate the differences between homosexual and heterosexual people.”

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The Dutch researchers concluded: “This study offers evidence that homosexuality is associated with a higher prevalence of psychiatric disorders. The outcomes are in line with findings from earlier studies in which less rigorous designs have been employed.”

The researchers offered no opinion as to whether homosexual behavior causes psychiatric disorders, or whether it is the result of psychiatric disorders.

(End of adaptation)

Dr. Diggs stated in his article that suicide rates among a San Francisco cohort were 3.4

times higher than the general U.S. male population in 1987 (Homosexuals today comprise 15.4% of San Francisco's population). More over there has been much more cases of “physical abuse” reported between homosexuals than between heterosexuals in relation to their population.

“Susan Brinkmann” stated that: “A recent study published in the ‘American Journal of Public Health’ has shown that 39% of males with same-sex attraction have been abused by other homosexual men.”

A study by “Susan Turrell” titled “A descriptive analysis of Same-Sex Relationship Violence for a Diverse Sample,” and published in the Journal of Family Violence (vol 13, pp 281-293), found that relationship violence was a significant problem for homosexuals.

44% of gay men reported having experienced violence in their relationship, 13% reported sexual violence and 83% reported emotional abuse. Levels of abuse ran even higher among lesbians with 55% reporting physical violence, 14% reporting sexual abuse and 84% reporting emotional abuse.

As outrageous as it might sound: “Most medical groups have embraced the homosexual agenda and are advocating that lifestyle despite all the scientific studies and medical evidence that demonstrate medical and psychological risks” said Joseph Nicolosi, President of the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality.

“Homosexual activism and political correctness are clearly trumping science.”

(End of adaptation)

As for the question: “Didn't God create homosexuals this way?” Science has the answer in the following statement: “Researches designed to prove that gays and lesbians are

‘born that way’ has come up empty handed. There is no scientific evidence that being gay or lesbian is genetically determined.” Researcher “Dean Hamer”, who once hoped he had identified a gay gene, admitted later that, “There is a lot more than just genes going on.”

In the article titled “This is the Way God Made Me,” A Scientific Examination of Homosexuality and the ‘Gay Gene,’ by Brad Harrub, Ph.D., Bert Thompson, Ph.D.

and Dave Miller, Ph.D., a very good summary of the studies aimed to determine whether a gay gene existed or not is presented. From what they have stated: In June of 1998, University of Chicago psychiatrist “Alan Sanders” reported at the meeting of the American Psychiatric Association that he had been unable to verify Hamer’s results. In 1999, George Rice and his colleagues from Canada looked intently at the gene Xq28 that Hamer described. They included 182 families in their study, 348

they observed: “These results do not support an X-linked gene underlying male homosexuality.” They noted: “It is unclear why our results are so discrepant from Hamer’s original study. Because our study was larger than that of Hamer, we certainly had adequate power to detect a genetic effect as large as was reported in that study. Nonetheless, our data do not support the presence of a gene of large effect influencing sexual orientation at position Xq28.”

That is a tactful way of saying that any claims of having found a gay gene were overblown, if not outright false, and that Hamer’s results are dubious at best. Commenting on the study of Rice and his colleagues, Ingrid Wickelgren remarked: “…the Ontario team found that gay brothers were no more likely to share the Xq28 markers than would be expected by chance... Ebers interprets all these results to mean that the X linkage is all but dead.” [1999].

Consider the obvious problem of survival for individuals who allegedly possess a gay gene: individuals who have partners of the same sex are biologically unable to reproduce without resorting to artificial means, and taking in to consideration that this was not available except a few decades ago; therefore, if an alleged gay gene did once exist, the homosexual population would have disappeared altogether.

At 2003, Robert L. Spitzer who is a Professor of Psychiatry at Columbia University in New York City, United States and is on the research faculty of the Columbia University Center for Psychoanalytic Training and Research conducted a study on 200 self-selected individuals (143 males, 57 females) in an effort to see if participants could change their sexual orientation from homosexual to heterosexual. Spitzer observed: “The majority of participants gave reports of change from a predominantly or exclusively homosexual orientation before therapy to a predominantly or exclusively heterosexual orientation in the past year. ” In summarizing his findings, Spitzer declared: “Thus, there is evidence that change in sexual orientation following some form of reparative therapy does occur in some gay men and lesbians.” He thus concluded: “This study provides evidence that some gay men and lesbians are able to also change the core features of sexual orientation.”

We now know that it is not scientifically accurate to refer to a ‘gay gene’ as the causative agent in homosexuality. The available evidence clearly establishes that no such gene has been identified. Additionally, evidence exists which documents that homosexuals can change their sexual orientation by therapy. Future decisions regarding policies about, and or treatment of, homosexuals should reflect this knowledge.

(End of adaptation)

Many other issues are still discussed by specialists and researchers regarding homosexual life, like the children’s need for both parents in their lives and upraising, the causes of homosexuality that could be prevented, the psychiatric treatment that has proven to be effective with many cases in reforming their sexual behavior and rectifying their mental orientation. As reported by Dr. Richard Fitzgibbons, who has practiced child and adult psychiatry for 27 years, about half the cases subjected to therapy got better.

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Hence, from the statistics we can realize how the communities that practice illicit sexual relationships like fornication, sapphism and sodomy, are more vulnerable to the epidemical and incurable diseases we have given brief of. At the end of 2008, it was estimated that 1,178,350 persons were living with HIV infection in the United States.

CDC estimates 1.2 million people in the United States are living with HIV infection, one in five (i.e. 20%) of those people are unaware of their infection. Unfortunately, the western media propagates ideas like “Safe sex,” “Homosexual activism,” “Free sex,”

etc., instead of propagating knowledge about the harms and risks of such relationships.

By all means, this is their choice. All we can do is to ring a warning bell, then it’s up to them whether to take heed or ignore us. As for us, we should abide by our Lord’s laws and teachings. In Islam, fornication, adultery, anal sex, gay sex, lesbian sex and animal sex are all prohibited. Any sexual relation outside lawful wedlock is prohibited and has a deterring prescribed punishment. By all means, marriage is the purist way of life, so why forsake it for what’s inferior and risky?!

5. Drinking Liquor

Allah says in the Qur’an, “Indeed wine, gambling, idols and divination stones are abominations from satan, so stay away from them. Satan only wishes to produce animosity and hatred between you through intoxicants and gambling and to avert you from the remembrance of Allah and from your prayers, so will you not desist.”

[The Qur’an (5:90-91)].

There was a consensus among the companions that after the gradual prohibition of wine, Prophet Muhammad imposed a penalty of 40 stripes for whoever drinks after being cured from his addiction. This was a deterrent punishment for all Muslims, so that they would stay away from wine. It’s up to the judge to increase this number to 80 stripes if the previous punishment wasn’t deterring enough and the convict returned to drinking again after being punished the first time. Please return to chapter 3, subtitle 3.5 for more insight information about the gradual prohibition of wine.

Drinking liquor numbs the senses and befogs the mind. This state leads many people to commit horrible sins. In many cases a man fornicates with another man’s wife while drunk and wakes up the next morning to discover the catastrophe. Many people are run over annually by drunk drivers. Many murder crimes occur under the effect of liquor.

Those who fall into the well of addiction lose their social lives. Family ties get broken and innocent people pay the price. These reasons, among many others, made drinking liquor, narcotic abuse or consuming any intoxicants unlawful in Islam. Scholars also agreed that if consuming a big amount of any substance befogs the mind, then consuming a few amount of it is also unlawful. The above verses say, “Stay away from them;” this is a complete boycott order. The objective is to protect people against the procrastination and weakness that always push them towards overstepping the reasonable limits.

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6. Spreading Disorder

Allah says in the Qur’an, “Those who wage wars against Allah and His Messenger, and spread disorder in the land shall either be put to death or crucified or have their hands and feet cut off on alternate sides, or be banished from the land.

They shall be disgraced in this world, and then severely punished in the Hereafter, except for those who repent before you gain power over them: for you must know that Allah is forgiving and merciful.” [The Qur’an (5:33-34)].

If an adult sane person, or a group of persons who decided to act together, committed an armed organized crime like breaking and entering, banditry, armed robbery, kidnapping, rape, assassination, terrorism, high treason, etc., they have committed a crime against Allah and Prophet Muhammad’s teachings. Their punishment is issued by the judge based on the size of their crime and its consequences. They receive one of the following 4 sentences:

1. Banished or imprisoned.

2. Cutting off their right hands and left legs or vice versa.

3. Death.

4. Death and Crucifixion

If the criminal frightened the people and practiced bullying against them, he is imprisoned. If the criminal used force in stealing the possessions of others, he is sentenced to have his right hand and left leg cut off or vice versa. If the criminal killed his victim in the process, he receives a death sentence. If the criminal kidnapped a female and raped her, he receives a death sentence. If he breaks into her house and rapes her, he receives a death sentence. If he kills her after raping her and his crime was so terrible and disturbing for the community, the judge should order the criminal’s corpse to be crucified after his death as a warning for other criminals.

Likewise, all crimes that waste lives and disturb the communities like high treason, organized crime, assassination and terrorism, they all receive that same sentence. Some crimes like arms trafficking and drug dealing are considered highly destructive for the communities. Their punishment, as decided by jurists in many Islamic countries is death.

Finally, I would like to say that killing killers, rapists, drug dealers, traitors, arms traffickers, and assassins, means life for those who are innocent. Those who claim that the death sentence should be cancelled, are actually pulling the trigger with their own hands and killing those who want to live in peace. Before following into their footsteps, think carefully and decide: which camp is it that you want to join.

That was a simplified quick overview on the penal code in Islam. In my opinion deterring laws ward off crimes. They form a protective shield for the community against corruption and save lives. And since that protecting this earth and its inhabitants against corruption is the sole objective of vicegerency; therefore, applying these laws is highly important.

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Other crimes were made highly corruptive in Islam, the most important of which are the following 5 civil crimes:

1. Bribery: Allah says in the Qur’an, “Do not consume one another’s property by unjust means, nor offer it as a bribe to the authorities, so that you may deliberately and wrongfully devour a part of other people’s wealth.” [The Qur’an (2:188)].

2. Usury: Allah says in the Qur’an, “Believers, be pious to Allah, and give up what is still due to you from usury, if you are true believers. For, if you do not do so, then know that you are at war with Allah and His Messenger. But if you repent, you may retain your capital. Do not wrong [others] and you will not be wronged. If the debtor is in straitened circumstances, then grant him respite till a time of ease. If you were to write it off as an act of charity, which would be better for you, if only you knew.”

[The Qur’an (2:278-280)].

3. Gambling: Allah says in the Qur’an, “Indeed wine, gambling, idols and divination stones are abominations from satan, so stay away from them. Satan only wishes to produce animosity and hatred between you through intoxicants and gambling and to avert you from the remembrance of Allah and from your prayers, so will you not desist.” [The Qur’an (5:90-91)].

4. Monopoly: Prophet Muhammad P.B.U.H. said, “No one monopolizes except that he has sinned.” [Recorded by Muslim and Abu Dāwood].

5. Cheating: Prophet Muhammad P.B.U.H. said, “Whoever cheats is not one of us (i.e. is not a Muslim).” [Recorded by Muslim]. Cheating is highly forbidden in all civil and personal interactions.

Under each one of these titles comes many injunctions and prophetic traditions that need a separate book to tackle them all. The punishments for such crimes were left for the discretion of the judge and the law makers of the state. Exposition, imprisonment, financial fines and public flogging are the most common punishments applied for such crimes. They may differ from one Islamic country to another, there is no fault or wrongdoing in that.

I hope that the reader has found in the second section a fair amount of information about the laws that were revealed in the Qur’an and taught by Prophet Muhammad 1400

years ago. Hundreds of laws could be found within the folds of the Qur’an and Prophet Muhammad’s Sunnah. I believe that if Muslims convert these laws into a modern book of law, and apply it in a professional manner, they will be able to solve many of their current problems and move forward. Life is built upon choices, if I were given the chance to choose the law by which my country will abide, I would choose the Islamic law every time, but where are the rulers who are sincere and truthful enough to do the hard task and grant us this chance?

May Al ah save us all from the evils and sorrows of this world, Amen.

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10. Apostasy or High Treason?

One of the most famous misconceptions raised against Islam is that of apostates.

Some non-Muslims say, “Islam orders the killing of apostates; is this a religion or is it the Mafia? Where is the freedom of choice in that?! Where is ‘Let there be no compulsion in religion’ which you always drawl with?! You people are hypocrites and liars.”

Well, this is an important issue which needs to be addressed. How does Islam order its adherents to deal with apostates? What exactly does the word apostate mean? What are the proofs from the Qur’an and the Sunnah on the punishment ascribed to apostasy?

Did Prophet Muhammad apply himself any punishment on those who apostatized during his life? Did the Caliphs apply any punishment on those who apostatized during their reigns? If yes, then what were the circumstances under which such incidents occurred?

To tell the truth, the questions raised by non-Muslims are all correct and need answers.

Many sheikhs and scholars propagate the idea that Islam orders the killing of apostates.

Let’s get to understand their argument so that we can either accept or refuse it.

Those scholars built their opinion on two traditions, the first one is: Prophet Muhammad P.B.U.H. said, “It is unlawful to sentence any Muslim to death except in one of three cases, that he commits murder, that he commits adultery1, or that he

forsakes his religion and leaves our community.” [Recorded by Bukhari].

Jurists deduced from the last clause that apostates should be sentenced to death.

The problem with this clause is that it doesn’t describe a person who will only forsake Islam, but will also leave the Muslim community. This creates a dilemma, for if he departs from the Muslim community and goes to live somewhere else, then Muslims have no authority over him. Moreover, why should he be considered dangerous in any way if he is not living among Muslims? I can imagine that if he apostates and preaches renouncing Islam while living among Muslims, maybe those who are not well grounded in religion will be affected by him and apostate as well, so some may say that he constitutes a sort of danger on the stability of the community. But this person left, he departed the Muslims’

community and went to live on his own at peace, so why should he receive a death sentence?! In other words, what does “leave the community” really mean?

The answer to these questions is found in another version of this tradition. It was recorded by Abu Dāwood on the authority of Lady ‘Āʾishah that Prophet Muhammad P.B.U.H.

said, “It is unlawful to sentence a Muslim to death except in one of three cases, him who commits adultery1, he is stoned, him who departs the community and wage wars against

Allah and His messenger, he is either killed, crucified or banished from the land,

and him who commits murder, he is killed.” [Recorded by Abu Dāwood].

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1: The reader should not think that this tradition is solid evidence on stoning those who commit adultery. Those who deny stoning will say it could have been said before the verses of chapter 24

were revealed, and it is also an indecisive narration of an individual, so it cannot stand as evidence above the decisive verses of the Qur’an.

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The tradition of Lady ‘Āʾishah clarifies that the person intended is not a peaceful apostate, but this is someone who forsakes Islam, departs the community and wages wars against Muslims. In other words, he joins the enemy’s lines, organizes hostile operations against the community and tries to kill Muslims. This is treason, not apostasy. In this case, I don’t find applying the death sentence something weird.

The second tradition upon which jurists based their opinion is the one in which Prophet Muhammad P.B.U.H. said, “Whoever changes his religion, kill him. ” [Recorded by Bukhari].

From this tradition jurists deduced that changing one’s religion is a crime, which entails applying the death sentence on any Muslim who forsakes Islam. This needs some investigation because the word “Badala” translated as “changes” does not imply clearly the intended meaning of the tradition. Since that all Muslims from all sects agree that the Qur’an is the main reference for the Arabic language, let’s search for this word inside it so that we can understand its correct meaning and interpretation.

This word is mentioned in the Qur’an in several verses among them is the following relevant verse, “When Our clear revelations are recited to them, those who do not expect to return to Us say, ‘Bring us a different Qur’an, or make some changes in it.’ Say

[O Muhammad], ‘It is not for me to change it of my own accord.” [The Qur’an (10:15)].

I guess now things are starting to clear up. The word “Badala” means “tamper with,”

“distort” or “make changes in” . So the correct translation of the tradition at hand is:

“Whoever makes changes in his religion, kill him.” This is a protective order and punishment against anyone who would try to distort the teachings of Islam and deny any of its decisive teachings while he claims to be a Muslim. This was the case with the Arab tribes who refused to pay Zakah after the prophet’s death, they said that he was the only one entitled to collect and distribute it, and after his death, no Zakah is required any more. On learning what they stated, Abu Bakr said, “I shall fight against those who

have separated Zakah (as an obligation) from Prayers and want to make changes in

our religion and its legal rulings.” [Recorded by Bukhari].

From this we can deduce that if a Muslim tries to distort the decisive Islamic teachings, he is sentenced to death as a traitor, not as an apostate. But as for those who may forsake Islam and embrace a different religion, or forsake all religions and follow a different path of their own choice without fighting against Muslims or committing any treason, they constitute no danger, nor have they committed a crime in choosing the path which they deemed more correct. Allah says: “Let there be no compulsion in religion”, “Whosoever

wills, let him believe and whosoever wills, let him deny”, “We did not send you as

a warder over them, your duty is but to convey the message”, etc. These, among many other verses stipulate the freedom of choice for every person.

Now some scholars will say, “NO, you are wrong; these verses mean that we should not force anyone to embrace Islam, but after he acquires sufficient understanding of its teachings and have all of the misunderstood points explained to him, he is not allowed to apostate. Didn’t you see that many of those whom Abu Bakr fought against apostatized in the sense that they totally forsook Islam and followed false prophets?”

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Exactly, they followed false prophets who claimed that they were receiving new messages from Allah like Prophet Muhammad did, which is tampering with the decisive teachings of Islam. Allah says in the Qur’an, “Muhammad is not the father of any of your men,

but is Allah’s Messenger and the seal of all Prophets.” [The Qur’an (33:40)].

Prophet Muhammad also said: “Lying false prophets shall come forth from my nation.

Know that I’m the seal of all prophets, there shall be no prophets after me.” [Recorded by Abu Dāwood].

“I’m Muhammad, the unlettered prophet, there shall be no other prophets after me.”

[Recorded by Ahmad].

Based on the Qur’an and Sunnah, Abu Bakr fought against those traitors who fancied prophethood as a privilege, and went mad after the prophet’s death, each one of them seeking to subjugate people to his whim by claiming to be a new prophet. This is not apostasy, but distortion to the Islamic teachings and spreading disorder in the community. Moreover, those people prepared armies to attack Madinah, so what exactly is it that you wanted Abu Bakr to do, stand watching and clap his hands?! If you revise the incidents mentioned by scholars to prove that the punishment of apostasy is death, you will find that the crime committed was not apostasy but treason. Let’s check the origins of apostasy as mentioned in the Qur’an for better understanding.

When Muslims started building their capital in Madinah, the Islamic teachings about Jesus and Mother Mary, and the corruptions in the previous Holy books started spreading among all people. The Jews dwelling there tried to respond to these teachings by seducing Muslims from their faith. They planned that some of them would embrace Islam, and then after a short while apostatize claiming that Islam is a fake unworthy religion. This was an attempt to drive people away from Islam and spread disorder among Muslims. They were wishing to disseminate confusion among Muslims and facilitate for the pagans a way to destroy them once and for all. Allah informed Muslims of their plan in the verses that say:

“Abraham was neither a Jew nor a Christian. But he was an upright Muslim, and was not one of those who associate partners with Allah. The closest of all people to Abraham are those who followed him, and this prophet, and those who believe, and Allah is the Guardian of all believers. A group from the people of the Book loves to mislead you, while they mislead none but themselves, and they do not realize so. O people of the Book, why do you disbelieve in the verses of Allah while you are yourselves witnesses [to their truthfulness]? O People of the Book, why do you confound the truth with falsehood,

and conceal the truth when you know [the reality]? And a group from the people of the

Book said [to their people]: ‘Believe in what has been revealed to Muslims in the early

part of the day, and [declare your] disbelief at the end of it, so that they may turn back,

but do not believe [for real] except in those who follow your faith.’ Say [O Muslims],

‘Guidance is only from Allah.’ (But all that you do is due to your envy) that someone is given what is similar to that which you have been given, or that they argue against you before your Lord. Say, ‘All bounties are in the hand of Allah. He gives it to whom He wills.’ Allah is All- Embracing, All-Knowing.” [The Qur’an (3:67-73)].

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The people mentioned in the previous verses were planning for treason not apostasy.

They didn’t believe in Islam in the first place so that we may call them apostates.

Their main concerns were spreading disorder and dispersing the Muslims’ unity.

The previous 2 traditions under discussion should be understood under the spotlight of these Qur’anic verses. Those who toy with religion and seek to spread corruption in the land should be sentenced to death for treason, not apostasy.

Those who embrace Islam and claim to be sincere Muslims while they lurk to destroy the Muslim community were again mentioned in the following verses. Allah informed the prophet about them and about their plans. He ordered the prophet to warn those traitors of a terrible fate in this life and the next if they do not desist.

“O Prophet, strive against those who deny the truth and the hypocrites, and be firm against them. Their abode shall be Hell: an evil destination. They swear by Allah that

they did not, yet they uttered the words of disbelief after they had accepted Islam.

They meditated a plot which they were unable to carry out, and being spiteful was their only response to Allah, who had enriched them out of His bounty, and to His Messenger.

If they repent, it will indeed be better for them. If they turn away, Allah will punish them with grievous suffering in this world and the Hereafter, and there will be no one on earth to protect or help them.” [The Qur’an (9:73-74)].

What’s truly amazing about this debate is that apostasy is mentioned clearly in the Qur’an several times, but it has no punishment mentioned in this life whatsoever, neither implicitly nor explicitly. Let’s go through these verses to further understand that the crime intended by the previous traditions was treason and not apostasy. Allah says in the Qur’an,

“They will not stop fighting you until they make you renounce your faith, if they can.

Whoever of you turns back from his faith and dies a denier of the truth will have his deeds come to nothing in this world and the Hereafter, and he will be an inhabitant of the Fire, to abide therein forever.” [The Qur’an (2:217)].

“Those who deny the truth after accepting it and then grow in their refusal to acknowledge the truth, their repentance will not be accepted. They are the ones who have gone far astray.” [The Qur’an (3:90)].

“On the Day when some faces shall be bright and some faces shall be dark, it will be said to those with darkened faces, ‘Did you reject faith after accepting it? Taste then this punishment for having denied the truth.’ ” [The Qur’an (3:106)].

“Muhammad is only a messenger. Messengers have passed away before him. If he should die, or be killed, will you turn back on your heels? Those who turn on their heels do not harm the Lord in the least. Allah will reward the grateful.” [The Qur’an (3:144)].

“Those who have taken denying the truth as the price of their faith shall in no way harm Allah, painful punishment awaits them. Let not those who deny the truth think that granting them respite is good for them: We grant them respite only to permit them to indulge in their disobedience—shameful punishment awaits them.” [The Qur’an (3:177-178)].

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“As for those who believe, and then deny the truth, Then again they believe, and again

they deny the truth, thereafter they grow stubborn in their denial to the truth—Allah

shall never forgive them, nor will He guide them. Warn the hypocrites that for them there is a painful punishment.” [The Qur’an (4:137-138)].

“Believers, if any among you renounce his faith, Allah will replace them by others who love Him and are loved by Him, who will be kind and considerate towards believers and firm and unyielding towards those who deny the truth. They will strive hard for the cause of Allah and will in no way take to heart the reproaches of the fault finder. Such is Allah’s bounty, which He gives to anyone He wishes. God is bountiful and all-knowing.”

[The Qur’an (5:54)].

All of the above verses speak about apostasy, not treason, and all of them state that the punishment of apostates is not in this worldly life, but shall be in the hereafter.

Verses (4:137-138) speak of a Muslim who would believe then deny, then again believe and then again deny, if killing apostates was Allah’s prescribed punishment for apostates, then how come that Allah speaks of a person who is swinging between apostasy and belief while not ordering once that he should be killed?!

From the previous simplified analysis, it should be clear now that there are two kinds of apostasy, the first kind usually occurs due to misunderstanding the Islamic teachings or the verses of the Qur’an. The following cases are a few examples from what we face so frequently:

 A woman who may apostate when reading verse (4:34) that is always misunderstood to imply that beating women is allowed in Islam.

 Students who find in the big bang and evolution theories what proves that there is no God needed for the universe to exist.

 The youths who may not find the teachings of Islam coherent with the modern world.

 A person who may invoke Allah for certain things to happen, and when he does not receive his wish, he loses faith.

The previous among many other examples are a kind of intellectual apostasy. It should be dealt with by reasoning things out and explaining them calmly. We have seen many examples of Muslims who have apostatized in this manner, but after sometime, they returned to Islam benefiting us with their experiences. Two famous examples are:

 Dr. Mustafa Mahmoud (1921-2009 A.D.): The famous Egyptian writer, philosopher and Islamic thinker. He is among the most famous contemporary examples for intellectual apostasy. He apostatized for three years during which he read about all religions and followed their ways in his trial to reach the truth, and then finally, he returned to Islam choosing it as the true path to the Creator. His famous books,

“An interview with my atheist friend,” “My journey from doubt to belief,”

“The Mystery of Life,” “The Mystery of death,” “The Torah,” and many other books are considered a fortune for any truth seeker.

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 Imam Abu Hamed Al-Ghazzaly (1058-1111 A.D.): By all means, he is one of the most famous Muslim scholars through all times. He apostatized for two months, which he spent in solitude doubting everything. After this, he returned to Islam but much stronger in faith. He wrote his famous books in critical thinking and philosophy, which formed a corner stone for the European Philosophy centuries later.

The apostasy of the previous categories does not present a public threat for the community, nor does it contradict the human nature so that any scholar may hold it a crime that deserves punishment. If the 2 knowledgeable scholars we have mentioned apostatized, and they both needed time to think things over and reach the truth, then by all means, having doubts by laymen is something totally normal. Threatening to kill apostates could never produce a righteous community, it can only produce a community of hypocrites who are hiding their disbelief.

Some scholars will say, “We don’t harm apostates in any way except after granting them a chance to clarify their reasons for apostasy and discussing things with them for 3 days.

If they are not convinced, then we have no choice but to issue a death sentence against them to protect others who are naïve from their seduction.”

No one should think that there is a fixed period in which an apostate can reach the truth.

Some scholars like restricting this period to 3 days as if all apostates are alike; this is wrong. One apostate may need a few hours of thinking to return to Islam, another may need a couple of days, and some cases take years of research. The intellectual problems which we face in the modern world are much more complicated than things used to be 1400 years ago. Justice says that every case should be dealt with separately. Besides, who is more dangerous, a person who states clearly that he doesn’t believe in Islam, or a person who hides his disbelief out of fear and gets filled with hatred against Muslims for subjugating him? By all means this is against Islam.

The Islamic teachings are about providing a fair chance for all people to choose their faith.

Unlike other religions, in Islam, no religious knowledge is monopolized by any group or authority whomsoever. There is no priesthood in Islam. The Qur’an and the prophetic teachings are clear and available for any person to read and study carefully. Choosing to embrace Islam or disregarding it, is up to the person him or herself. No Muslim ever hides knowledge from others. Prophet Muhammad P.B.U.H. said, “Whoever hides knowledge shall be bridled with a bridle of fire on the judgment day.” [Recorded by Abu Dāwood and others]. Actually the Qur’an orders its reader to study it carefully, ask about all vague issues and think first before taking any decision regarding its truthfulness. If you are not convinced, then you have all the right to disregard it. Freedom of thought and of belief are granted in the Qur’anic verses; nonetheless, we must differentiate between those who are seeking after the truth and those who are toying with religion and seeking to spread disorder among the Muslim communities.

Among the very famous supplications that were taught by the early generations is the one in which we say, “O Allah, we ask you for truthful faith, beneficial knowledge,

a pious heart, and a tongue that is disposed to mention you continuously.”

No one should think that he or she has reached the apex of faith; only hypocrites do that.

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We all have our shortcomings, so who are you to judge that another Muslim deserves to be killed because he or she has an intellectual problem and needs time to think?!

If Prophet Muhammad himself was forbidden to assign himself as a warder over people, then who are you to do that?! All we can do is present the evidence, then it’s up to the people whether to believe or deny. Their choice is not our responsibility in any way.

As for the second kind of apostasy, it is the organized apostasy attempted by some people seeking to:

 Tamper with the decisive teachings of Islam.

 Spread disorder among Muslims.

 Double cross those who are naïve and entice them to renounce their faith.

 Propagate false information to defame Islam.

 Spy on Muslims for a while and plot for their destruction.

If any attempt of that sort was proven to be the intention of an apostate through enough solid evidence, then he or she should be sentenced to death for treason, not apostasy.

Such persons were never actually Muslims to say that they apostatized. Allah knows best.

May Al ah guide us all to the truth, Amen.

This is the end of a 5 years journey through the main points utilized by westerners to attack Islam. I have learned a lot and trained myself to indulge into religious matters without any fear. Reading and acquiring knowledge are truly the hoarded treasure I came up with. I hope the reader has found some light within the folds of this book.

May Al ah’s mercy, forgiveness and guidance shower us all, Amen.

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The Methodology of Spiritual Purification

Islamic knowledge is built upon three main pillars: Monotheism, Jurisprudence, and Self-Purification, or what’s commonly known as “Sufism.” We have already tackled the first two among these three pillars. Now it’s time to tackle the third and last one.

Because of its great importance, I decided to place it at the end. That’s mainly because this is its proper place within the folds of this book. If a person pursues a spiritual purification path, he must acquire good unshakable understanding of religion first; otherwise, he shall go astray.

Allah says in the Qur’an, “By the human-spirit and how [Allah] formed it, then inspired it to understand what is wrong and what is right. Him who purifies it will indeed be successful, and him who demoralizes it is sure to fail.” [The Qur’an (91:7-10)].

Honest religious individuals recognize good traits and greatly respect them. Spiritual-purification is a path through which they walk their lives. What they hope to acquire in their life-times, what they wish to meet their maker with is a sound heart. Of course, the previous only applies to those who are true. Recognizing them is not possible for they esteem the privacy of their endeavor greatly. Every one of them consider this a very special relation between himself and his creator. He allows no one to intrude. Nonetheless, some of them were so bright like the full moon amidst the night. Keeping their identities a secret was impossible. It’s from those individuals that we learned so much.

The main source from which sufists quench their thirst for wisdom and real knowledge is the Qur’an. They read it but not like the majority do. They ponder deeply over its verses and find treasures hidden therein. They feel like it’s living, speaking to them continuously even during their sleep. They build an intimate relationship with the book and its conversations. They find therein guidance and light far beyond all else. Our Sheikhs used to say, “Whoever wants to speak to Allah, let him read the Qur’an, and whoever wants Allah to speak to him, let him read the Qur’an.” In my personal endeavor to follow into their footsteps, I decided to include a brief compilation of the relevant verses that have always touched deep into my heart and urged me to ponder. I won’t comment on them.

My sole purpose is to outline a spiritual-purification example from the Qur’an, the shield that any Muslim can always raise against life’s tribulations. Sufism is not mysticism like some people think, Sufism is the path of those who are truthful and faithful to one single thought, that is: “making what’s right prevail above all else no matter what the price.”

May Allah raise from Muslims knowledgeable sound-hearted steadfast generations.

I hope young Muslims would ponder over this brief compilation with their hearts and minds. I hope they would try to weigh worldly matters on their scale. If we compare the Qur’an to a human being, then the next few pages could be considered its aorta.

Allah says in the Qur’an, “Have the people not travelled through the land to make their

hearts understand and let their ears hear, verily it is not the eyes that go blind but the hearts inside chests.” [The Qur’an (22:46)].

“[Here is] a Book which We have sent down unto you, full of blessings, that they may ponder over its verses, and that people of understanding may receive admonition. ”

[The Qur’an (38:29)].

This chapter is the first step in a new journey. May it be a blessed fruitful one.

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Allah tells us that the faithful invoke upon Him; they say,

“In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to [You] Allah the Lord of the Universe, the merciful the compassionate, Lord of the judgment day, it is you whom we worship and from you alone do we seek strength; guide us to the righteous path, the path of those upon whom you have bestowed your grace, neither those who earned your wrath, nor those who have gone astray.” [The Qur’an (1:1-7)].

Allah responds to their supplication; He says,

“This book (i.e. the Qur’an), without any doubt, holds guidance for the pious, those who believe in the unseen (i.e. Allah, the Creator), pray sincerely, and spend in charity from what We have provided to them. Those who believe in what We have sent down to you [O Muhammad], and in what We have sent down before you (i.e. the scriptures), and they have certitude in the hereafter. Those are the ones following their Lord’s guidance, and those are the successful.” [The Qur’an (2:2-5)].

“Virtue is not to set your face towards the east or the west [in prayers], virtue is to believe in Allah, the judgment day, the angels, the scriptures, the prophets, and to spend in charity—despite your love for wealth—on relatives, orphans, the poor, waifs, beggars, and to set slaves free; and to pray sincerely, give alms, and fulfill all taken pledges; and to show patience in face of hardship, adversity, and in times of distress. Those are the truthful, and those are indeed the pious.” [The Qur’an (2:177)].

“If my servants ask you [O Muhammad] about me, indeed I am near, I respond to the supplication of him who invokes upon me. Hence, let them respond to me and believe in me, may they be rightly guided.” [The Qur’an (2:186)].

“Those who spend from their wealth in the cause of Allah (i.e. the welfare of all people) and do not follow their spending with condescension or malice, their reward is well present with their Lord, fear shall not befall them, nor shall they grieve.” [The Qur’an (2:262)].

“For the poor who were engrossed in the cause of Allah (i.e. learning and studying), they cannot travel about in the lands seeking livelihood, they are considered affluent by those unaware [of their strife] because of their dignified abstinence. You shall identify them by their modest appearances, they are never persistent when they ask people for help.

Whatever wealth you spend [on them], Allah is well aware of it. Those who spend their wealth night and day, in secret and openly, they shall receive their reward from their Lord, fear shall not befall them, nor shall they grieve.” [The Qur’an (2:273-274)].

The faithful invoke upon Allah again,

“O our Lord, pardon us if we forget or err. O our Lord, lay not upon us a burden like that which You laid upon our predecessors. O our Lord, burden us not with what we have no strength to bear. Pardon [our weakness], Forgive [our sins] and [treat us] mercifully; You are our protector, make us triumphant over the deniers.” [The Qur’an (2:286)].

“O our Lord, let not our hearts swerve after you have guided us, and bestow upon us from your mercy; verily, You are the munificent giver.” [The Qur’an (3:8)].

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Allah responds to their supplications, He says,

“Never will you attain virtue until you spend [in charity] from that which you cherish; verily, whatever you spend is well known to Allah.” [The Qur’an (3:92)].

“Whoever seeks refuge in Allah (i.e. His scripture); surely, he has been guided to a righteous path.” [The Qur’an (3:101)].

“Make haste towards [great] forgiveness from your Lord and a [magnificent] garden whose width equates that of the heavens and the earth prepared for the pious. Those who spend [in charity] at times of prosperity and adversity, those who restrain their anger and pardon their fellow men; verily, Allah loves the benevolent. Those who having committed any abominable deed and wronged their souls, they remember Allah and ask Him to forgive their sins—and who forgives all sins save Allah—and they do not knowingly persist to continue misbehaving.” [The Qur’an (3:133-135)].

“Do not feel abased or grieve; you shall be triumphant if you are faithful. If you are suffering, then know that your enemies have suffered similarly. Those are the days [the good and the bad], We give them to men by turns that We may test the faithful and take martyrs from among you. Verily, Allah loves not the evildoers.” [The Qur’an (3:139-140)].

“Think not of those who were martyred as dead. Nay, they are alive rejoicing with their lord’s blessings. They rejoice with what Allah has bestowed upon them from His grace, and they await happily those who haven’t yet joined them, but remained behind heralding that those shall have no fear nor grieve. They rejoice with Allah’s bounty and grace, and

[the fact] that Allah waists not the reward of the faithful.” [The Qur’an (3:169-171)].

“Those [outnumbered few] unto whom some say, ‘The enemy has gathered a great army against you, so fear them,’ but this only increased their faith, and they responded, ‘Allah is sufficient for us, He is the disposer of all affairs.’ So they returned [to their homes]

unharmed with bounty from their Lord and grace, and they followed Allah’s favored path; verily, Allah is the munificent giver. Satan could only frighten the evil-doers, so fear his followers not, and fear Me (i.e. My wrath upon evil-doers) if you are faithful.”

[The Qur’an (3:173-175)].

“O you who have believe, have patience, show perseverance, remain steadfast, and fear Allah so that you may succeed.” [The Qur’an (3:200)].

“Worship Allah and do not associate partners with Him. Be good to your parents, your relatives, orphans, the needy, the neighbor who is a kinsman, and the neighbor who is not a relative, your companions, wayfarers, and those whom you rightfully hold.

Allah does not like arrogant boastful people, who are miserly and enjoin others to be the same, they conceal what Allah has granted them of His bounty. We have prepared a humiliating punishment for those who deny the truth.” [The Qur’an (4:36-37)].

“Allah commands you to hand back your trusts to their rightful owners, and when you judge between people, judge justly. Allah instructs you with what’s best; indeed, Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.” [The Qur’an (4:58)].

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“O believers, stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses to Allah, even if against yourselves, or your parents, or your kin, and whether it be [against] rich or poor: for Allah can best protect both. Do not follow the lusts (of your hearts), lest you swerve, and if you distort (justice) or decline to do justice, verily Allah is well acquainted with all that you do. O believers, believe in Allah and His messenger, and the scripture which He has sent to His messenger and the scripture which He sent to those before him. Any who denies Allah, His angels, His Books, His messengers, or the Judgment Day, has gone far, far astray.” [The Qur’an (4:135-136)].

“O Believers, be steadfast in the cause of Allah (i.e. achieving justice) and bear witness with justice. Do not let your enmity for others turn you away from being just. Deal justly; that is closer to piety. Fear Allah; verily, Allah is well aware of what you do.” [The Qur’an (5:8)].

Prophet Ibrahim said,

“Verily, I have set my face towards Him who has created the heavens and the earth, staunch, and I am not among those who associate others with Allah.” [The Qur’an (6:79)].

Allah says about that,

“Those who have believed [in the creator] and never do they cloth their faith with polytheism, such are the secure and they are rightly guided.” [The Qur’an (6:82)].

Then Allah speaks to the prophet and to all people interchangeably saying,

“This is a blessed Book which We have revealed, confirming what was sent before it, so that you [O Muhammad] may warn the Mother of all villages [Makkah] and the cities surrounding it. Those who believe in the hereafter do believe in it, and they are ever-sincere in their prayers.” [The Qur’an (6:92)].

“He designed the break of day, and has made the night for rest, and He made the sun and the moon a reckoning of time. Such is the measure determined by the Almighty, the All Knowing. It is He who has set up for you the stars so that you might be guided by them in the darkness of land and sea. We detail the signs for people of knowledge.”

[The Qur’an (6:96-97)].

“Say [O Muhammad], ‘Come! I will tell you what your Lord has decreed unlawful for you! Do not associate partners with Him; be good to your parents; and do not kill your children for fear of poverty—We shall provide sustenance for you as well as for them; refrain from committing indecent deeds, whether openly or in secret; and do not take a life which Allah has made sacred save by right. That is what He has enjoined upon you that you may understand. Stay well away from an orphan’s property, except with the best intentions, until he comes of age. Give full measure and weight according to justice—We never charge a soul with more than it can bear—when you speak, observe justice, even though it concerns a close relative; and fulfil the covenant of Allah. That is what He has enjoined upon you so that you may take heed. [He has enjoined], ‘This is My straight path, so follow it, and do not follow other paths that will lead you astray.’ That is what He enjoins upon you, so that you may guard yourselves.”

[The Qur’an (6:151-153)].

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“Indeed, those who have split up their religion into sects, you have nothing to do with them. Their case rests with Allah; He will inform them of what they used to do.” [The Qur’an (6:159)].

“This Book has been sent down to you [O Muhammad]—let there be no heaviness in your heart about it—so that you may warn by means of it and it is a reminder to the believers. [O People] Follow what has been sent down to you by your Lord and do not follow any protector other than Him. How seldom you take heed.” [The Qur’an (7:2-3)].

“O children of Adam, We have bestowed upon you clothes to cover your nakedness and as adornment; but the raiment of righteousness: that is best. That is from the signs of Allah that perhaps they will take heed.” [The Qur’an (7:26)].

“Say [O Muhammad], ‘My Lord has forbidden obscenity—both overt and covert—sin and wrongful maltreatment, and that you associate partners with Him against what He has revealed, and that you say about Allah what you know not.” [The Qur’an (7:33)].

“O children of Adam! If messengers come to you from among yourselves, reciting My revelations, then those who take heed and mend their ways will have nothing to fear nor shall they grieve. But those who deny and scorn Our revelations shall be the inmates of Hellfire, where they shall dwell forever.” [The Qur’an (7:35-36)].

“Indeed, We have brought them a Book which We have expounded with knowledge, a guide and mercy for those who believe.” [The Qur’an (7:52)].

When the sons of Israel invoked upon Allah to forgive their sins, He said,

“As for My punishment, I smite with it whom I will, but My mercy encompasses all matters; thus, I shall prescribe it for those who are pious, who give alms and believe in Our signs. Those who follow the Messenger—the unlettered prophet they find described for them in the Torah and in the Gospel—who commands them of what is good, and forbids them from what is evil, who makes good things lawful to them and bad things unlawful, who will relieve them of their burdens and of the shackles that weigh down upon them. Those that believe in him and honor him, those that give him aid and follow the light sent down with him, such are the successful.” [The Qur’an (7:156-157)].

Then Allah tells of what happened to them when they persisted on sinning,

“We split them up into sections scattered around the earth. Some of them are righteous and some are otherwise. We tested them with blessings and misfortunes, so that they might return to the righteous path. They were succeeded by generations who inherited the book (i.e. the Torah) and took to the fleeting gains of this world, saying, ‘We shall be forgiven.’ Yet, if similar fleeting gains loomed to them, they would partake of it. Were they not made to vow on the book that they would not say but the truth about Allah?

Did they not study what is in it? Surely, the abode of the Hereafter is better for those who are pious; will you not reflect? Those who hold fast to the book and pray sincerely, We shall not deny the righteous their reward.” [The Qur’an (7:168-170)].

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Now, Allah directs His speech to all people saying,

“Of those We have created there are some who give true guidance and act justly therewith. As for those who deny Our signs, We shall stealthily seize them from whence they do not know.” [The Qur’an (7:181-182)].

Thence, Allah directs His speech to the prophet and all Muslims interchangeably,

“Say [O Muhammad], ‘I have no power to bring upon myself benefit or harm, save as Allah pleases. Had I been able to foresee the unknown, I would have availed myself of an abundance of good, and no harm would have touched me. I am but a warner and a bearer of glad tidings for those who will believe…’ ” [The Qur’an (7:188)].

“ ‘…Verily, my protector is Allah who sent down the book (i.e. The Qur’an) and takes care of the righteous.’ ” [The Qur’an (7:196)].

“And keep remembrance of your Lord [O Muhammad] within yourself in humility and awe, without raising your voice, morning and evening, and do not be one of the heedless.” [The Qur’an (7:205)].

“They ask you about the spoils of war [O Muhammad]; say, ‘The spoils’ management belongs to Allah and His Messenger. So stay devout to Allah, make amends amongst yourselves, and obey Allah and His Messenger if you are [true] believers. Indeed, [true]

believers are those whose hearts tremble in awe at the mention of Allah, whose faith grows stronger as they listen to His revelations, and they are those who put their trust in their Lord. Those who pray regularly and give alms out of what We have provided for them. Such are the true believers; they have a high ranking with their Lord, [along with] His forgiveness and an honorable provision…’ ” [The Qur’an (8:1-4)].

“Remember [O Muhammad] when you prayed asking your Lord for help [when fighting back became incumbent], and He answered your prayers saying, ‘I am sending to your aid a thousand angels in succession.’ Allah only did this to give you glad tidings, and to reassure your hearts. Verily, victory is granted solely by Allah. Indeed, Allah is Most-Magnificent, All-Wise.” [The Qur’an (8:9-10)].

“O believers, when you meet in battle those who deny the truth, never turn your backs on them. Whoever turns his back on such an occasion, unless it be as a stratagem of war, or in an endeavor to join another group [of outnumbered believers] will indeed draw down upon himself the wrath of Allah; hell shall be his abode, and what a wretched fate. You did not kill them; it was Allah who killed them; and when you [O prophet] thrust [sand]

at them it was not you, but it was Allah who thrust it so that the believers would do well by His favor. Surely, Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.” [The Qur’an (8:15-17)].

“O believers, obey Allah and His Messenger, and do not turn away from him while you can hear [his preaching]. Do not be like those who said, ‘We hear,’ but they do not listen.

Indeed, for Allah, the worst creatures are the deaf and dumb who possess no reasoning.

If Allah had found any good in them, He would have certainly made them listen; but

[being as described], even if He makes them hear, they would turn away in aversion.

O believers, obey Allah and the Messenger when he calls you to that which revives your life. Know that Allah gets between a man and his heart (i.e. reads his thoughts and knows 365

his feelings), and to Him, you shall all be assembled. Beware of an affliction that will not smite exclusively the evildoers amongst you. Know that Allah is severe in exacting retribution. Remember when you were few, accounted weak in the land, ever fearing the onslaught of your enemies, but He provided you with shelter, granted you His victory, and provided you with good spoils, may you be grateful. O believers, Do not betray Allah and His Messenger, and do not knowingly violate your trusts. Know that your wealth and children are a trial and that there is an immense reward with Allah. O believers, if you stay devout to Allah, He will grant you the ability to discriminate between right and wrong, and will forgive you your sins; Allah is limitless in His bounty. Remember

[O Muhammad] how those bent on denying the truth plotted against you to imprison you, kill you, or expel you; they schemed but Allah also schemed, and indeed, Allah is the best of schemers.” [The Qur’an (8:20-30)].

“Those who are bent on denying the truth are spending their wealth in debarring others from Allah’s path. They will spend it, but in the end, this will become a source of intense regret for them, and then they will be defeated; and all who deny the truth shall be gathered in Hell. So that Allah may separate the wicked from the good, He will pile up the wicked, one upon another in heaps, and then cast them all into the Hellfire. Such are surely the losers. Tell those who are bent on denying the truth that if they desist, their past sins shall be forgiven, but if they return to denying, they have an example in the fate of those who went before. Fight them until there is no more [religious] persecution, and religion belongs wholly to Allah: if they desist, then surely Allah is watchful of what they do, but if they turn away, know that Allah is your Protector, the Best of Protectors and the Best of Helpers!” [The Qur’an (8:36-40)].

“O believers, when you encounter one of the enemy’s factions, stand fast and keep constant remembrance of Allah, may you succeed. Obey Allah and His Messenger, and avoid dissension lest you falter and blow the wind out of your sails. Show perseverance; verily, Allah is with those who are persevering.” [The Qur’an (8:45-46)].

“If you apprehend treachery on the part of any people [O Muhammad], inform them that you renounce their pact equally; verily, Allah does not like the treacherous. Let not the deniers think that they will ever get away. They cannot frustrate [Allah’s scheme]. They have not the power to do so. Prepare against them whatever strength and cavalry you can muster with which you can overawe Allah’s enemy and yours, and others besides them whom you do not know, but whom Allah knows. Anything you spend for the cause of Allah will be repaid to you in full and you shall not be wronged. Then if they incline towards peace making, make peace with them and put your trust in Allah. Surely, it is He who is All Hearing and All Knowing. Should they seek to deceive you; surely, Allah is enough a supporter for you. It was He who strengthened you with His aid, rallied the faithful around you, and bound their hearts together. Even if you had spent all that is on the earth, you could not have bound their hearts together, but Allah has bound them together. Surely, He is Most-Magnificent, All-Wise.” [The Qur’an (8:58-62)].

“O prophet, tell those you have taken captive, ‘If Allah sees any good in your hearts, He will give you what is better than what has been taken from you, and He will forgive you, Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.’ If they intend to betray you, they have betrayed Allah before, and He gave [you] power over them. Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise.” [The Qur’an (8:70-71)].

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“If any of the polytheists seeks your refuge, grant him asylum so that he may listen to the word of Allah then accompany him to his place of safety, for they are people who have no knowledge. How can the polytheists hold a pact with Allah and His Messenger, except for those with whom you drew a pact at the Sacred Mosque, as long as they respect it, you should respect it too. Verily, Allah loves the righteous.” [The Qur’an (9:6-7)].

“Say [O Muhammad], ‘If your parents and your sons and your brothers and your spouses and your tribe, and the wealth that you have gained, and the commerce which you fear might decline, and the homes you love, are dearer to you than Allah and His Messenger and striving for His cause, then wait until Allah fulfills His decree. Allah does not guide those who are disobedient.’ ” [The Qur’an (9:24)].

“On the Day Allah created the heavens and the earth, He decreed that the number of months should be twelve in number. Out of these, four are sacred—that is the true religion—so do not wrong yourselves during them. Fight the polytheists altogether as they fight you altogether, and know that Allah is with the righteous. ” [The Qur’an (9:36)].

“Rally lightly or heavily equipped, and strive with your possessions and yourselves for the cause of Allah (i.e. achieving freedom and justice for all people). That is better for you if you knew.” [The Qur’an (9:41)].

“It is not right that all believers should go out [in time of war] all together. There should stay behind a party from every group in order to acquire deeper religious knowledge and warn their people if they return, so as to guard themselves against evil?” [The Qur’an (9:122)].

“Indeed, those who believe and do good deeds will be guided by their Lord because of their faith. Rivers shall flow at their feet in the Gardens of Bliss. There, they will call out,

‘Glory be to You, O Lord,’ while their greeting in it shall be, ‘Peace,’ and the closure of their call will be, ‘All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Universe.’ ” [The Qur’an (10:9-10)].

“For every nation there is a messenger. Once their messenger has come, judgment will be passed upon them in all fairness and they will not be wronged.” [The Qur’an (10:47)].

“O mankind, there has come to you an admonition from your Lord, a cure for what is in the hearts, a guide and a blessing for true believers.” [The Qur’an (10:57)].

“Those who are full-heartedly loyal to Allah shall certainly have no fear, nor shall they grieve. For those who believe and are devout, there is good news in this life and in the hereafter. The decree of Allah never changes; that is the supreme triumph. Do not let their words grieve you. Surely, all glory belongs to Allah alone; He is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.” [The Qur’an (10:62-65)].

“Say [O Muhammad], ‘O people, if you are in doubt concerning my religion, then [know that] I do not worship those whom you worship instead of Allah, but rather I worship Allah who causes you to die (i.e. to whom life belongs), and I am commanded to be among 367

the believers.’ And set your face towards the [true] faith in all uprightness, and do not be among the polytheists. Do not invoke besides Allah what can neither benefit nor harm you. If you do, then you will be among the evildoers. If Allah inflicts harm upon you, no one can uplift it but He, and if He intends good for you, no one can withhold His bounty. He grants His bounty to whom He wills among His servants. He is the Oft-Forgiving, Most-Merciful. Say, ‘O people, the truth has come to you from your Lord, anyone who accepts guidance is guided only for his own sake, and he who goes astray does so at his own peril. I am not appointed a warder over you.’ Follow what is revealed to you, [O Prophet], and show perseverance until Allah issues His judgment. He is the Best of Judges.” [The Qur’an (10:104-109)].

“Therefore, stand firm [on the righteous path] as you were commanded [O Muhammad], along with those who have repented joining you, and do not exceed the bounds, for He sees everything you do. Do not incline towards those who do evil, lest the Fire touch you, and then you would have none to protect you save Allah; later on, you will not be helped.

Observe the prayers by the break and end of day, and during parts of the night; surely, good deeds erase evil ones. This is a reminder for people who pay heed. Be steadfast; surely, Allah never wastes the reward of the righteous. Why then were there not among the generations before you upright men who would speak-out against the corruption on earth—except for a few whom We saved? But the evildoers pursued their worldly pleasures and thus became guilty. Your Lord would never unjustly destroy communities while their people were trying to reform. If your Lord had wished, He would have made mankind into one community but they will not cease to differ, except for those to whom your Lord has shown mercy; and it is to this end that He created them (i.e. having free wills, able to make their own choices).” [The Qur’an (11:112-119)].

“Say to those who do not believe, you do things in your way and we are doing things in our way, and wait, we too are waiting.’ The knowledge of the secrets of the heavens and the earth belongs to Allah alone, and to Him shall all affairs be referred. So worship Him and put your trust in Him alone. Your Lord is never unaware of what you do.” [The Qur’an (11:121-123)].

“These are verses from a clear Book. We have sent down the Qur’an in Arabic may you reflect. We recount to you the best of narratives while revealing this Qur’an to you, even though, prior to that, you were unaware.” [The Qur’an (12:1-3)].

“Do not despair of Allah’s support; none but those who deny the truth despair of Allah’s support.” [The Qur’an (12:87)].

“Those who stay devout and remain steadfast, surely, Allah wastes not the reward of the benevolent.” [The Qur’an (12:90)].

“Yet, most men will not believe, no matter how keen you may be [on guiding them].”

[The Qur’an (12:103)].

“Say [O Muhammad], ‘This is my path, I call to Allah on the basis of solid knowledge, I and those who follow me. Praised be Allah, I am not one of the polytheists.’ We never sent before you [O Muhammad] except men to whom We gave our revelations, chosen 368

from among the people of their towns. Did they (i.e. those is doubt) not travel through the lands and observe the fate of those who came before them? Verily, the life to come is a better abode for the pious. Will you not then reflect? It was not until the [previous]

messengers lost all hope and thought that they had been denied, that Our help came to them; thence, whoever We pleased was saved, and Our punishment shall not be averted from the guilty.” [The Qur’an (12:108-110)].

“Those who deny the truth ask, ‘If only a sign has been sent down upon him from His Lord;’ verily, you are only a warner, and for every folk there is a guide.” [The Qur’an (13:7)].

“Indeed, Allah changes not the condition of any people unless they change what is within themselves.” [The Qur’an (13:11)].

“Those who believe and their hearts find comfort in the remembrance of Allah; indeed, in the remembrance of Allah hearts find comfort. Those who believe and do righteous deeds, blessings be upon them, and blissful is their final abode.”

[The Qur’an (13:28-29)].

“Thus, We have revealed it [The Qur’an] as an Arabic Commandment. If you follow their desires (i.e. the people of the book) after all the knowledge which has come to you [O

Muhammad], you would have no protector or shield against Allah.” [The Qur’an (13:37)].

“We have revealed to you this Book that you may lead the people from darkness to light; by their Lord’s will, to the path of the Most Magnificent, the Most Praiseworthy, Allah to whom belongs whatever is in the heavens and the earth. Woe to those who deny the truth, for they shall be sternly punished, those who prefer this life over the hereafter, who turn others away from the path of Allah and seek to make it crooked, they have gone far astray. We have never sent a prophet except if he spoke in the language of his own people, so that he might make [My message] clear to them; thereafter, Allah lets go astray whom He wills and guides whom He pleases (i.e. based upon what He sees in their hearts). He is the Most Magnificent, Most Wise.” [The Qur’an (14:1-4)].

“Remember when your Lord proclaimed [to the sons of Israel], ‘If you are grateful, I will surely bestow more favors upon you; but if you are ungrateful, then know that My punishment is indeed severe.’ ” [The Qur’an (14:7)].

“Did you not see those who countered Allah’s favor with ingratitude, and caused their people to descend into the Abode of Ruin? In the Hellfire shall they burn; such a wretched abode. They have set up rivals to Allah to lead people away from His path. Say

[O Muhammad], ‘Enjoy your lives for a while; verily, your fate shall be the Hellfire.’ ”

[The Qur’an (14:28-30)].

“Do not think that Allah is unaware of what the evildoers are doing. He only gives them respite until a Day on which all eyes shall stare fixedly in horror.” [The Qur’an (14:42)].

“This is a message for mankind, may they be warned therewith and know that there is but one God, may the mindful take heed.” [The Qur’an (14:52)].

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“These are the verses of a clear Book. Perhaps [a time will come when] those who are bent on denying the truth will wish they had been Muslims. Let them enjoy themselves; let their vain hope beguile them. Soon they shall realize [the truth].”

[The Qur’an (15:1-3)].

“Verily, it is We who have sent down the dhikr (i.e. content of The Qur’an) and We will, most surely, safeguard it.” [The Qur’an (15:9)].

“Proclaim openly what you are commanded [O Muhammad], and avoid the polytheists.

Indeed, We are sufficient for you against the mockers. Those who set up another god with Allah, they shall soon learn. We do indeed know how your heart is distressed by what they say; glorify your Lord with His praise and be among those who prostrate, and worship your Lord until death comes to you.” [The Qur’an (15:94-99)].

“Allah ordains upon you justice, kindness and showing liberality towards kith and kin, and He forbids all shameful deeds, injustice and transgression. He admonishes you so that you may take heed.” [The Qur’an (16:90)].

“What you have shall come to an end, but what’s with Allah is everlasting. We will certainly give those who are patient their reward according to the best of their actions.

To whoever does good deeds, man or woman, and is a believer, We shall assuredly give a good life; We shall bestow upon them their reward according to the best of their works.

When you read the Qur’an, seek Allah’s protection from Satan the rejected one.

Surely, he has no power over those who believe and put their trust in their Lord; his sole authority is over those who are willing to follow him and associate others with Allah.”

[The Qur’an (16:96-100)].

“Call to the path of your Lord [O Muhammad] with wisdom and fair preaching, and reason with them in a way that is best. Your Lord knows best those who have strayed away from His path, and He knows best those who are rightly guided. If you want to retaliate, retaliate to the same degree as the injury done to you; but if you show patience, that is indeed the best act for the patient. Endure with patience; truly, your patience is possible only with the help of Allah. Do not grieve for them, or feel distressed by their plots; indeed, Allah is with those who are pious and those who do good.” [The Qur’an (16:125-128)].

“Whoever chooses to follow the right path, follows it for his own good; and whoever goes astray, goes astray at his own peril. No bearer of burdens shall bear the burdens of another. Nor do We punish before We send a messenger [to forewarn them].” [The Qur’an (17:15)].

“Verily, nothing prevents Us from sending [supernatural] signs, except the fact that the early nations denied them…” [The Qur’an (17:59)].

“…Sufficient is your Lord as a guardian.” [The Qur’an (17:65)].

“…He is most merciful towards you.” [The Qur’an (17:66)].

“So be patient [O Muhammad] with anything they say and glorify your Lord with His praise before the rising of the sun and before its setting; and glorify Him during the night 370

and at the beginning and end of the day, may you find satisfaction. Do not give regard to the pleasures We have given parties of them, the splendor of the worldly life, with it We seek to test them. The provision of your Lord is better and more enduring. Enjoin the prayers upon your people, and be constant therein. We ask you for no provision, We provide for you, and the hereafter is for righteousness.” [The Qur’an (20:130-132)].

“Time of reckoning has drawn near for mankind, yet they are heedless and turn away.

Never comes to them a renewed message from their Lord [to warn and enlighten them], except that they listen to it in a playful manner.” [The Qur’an (21:1)].

“To Him belongs whoever is in the heavens and on earth; those that are with Him are never too proud to worship Him, nor do they grow weary; they glorify Him night and day without tiring. Have they taken deities from earth who can bring the dead to life? If there had been in the heavens or on earth other deities besides Allah, both would be ruined.

Exalted is Allah, Lord of the throne, far above that which they describe. He should not be questioned about His works, but they shall be questioned. Have they taken other deities besides Him? Say to them [O Muhammad], ‘Bring forth your proofs. This is a reminder for those who are with me and a reminder of those who came before me.’ But most of them do not know the truth, and so they turn away from it. We sent not a messenger before you except that We reveled to him that, ‘There is no deity save Me, so worship Me alone.’ They say, ‘The All Merciful has taken a son!’ Glory be to Him! They (i.e. all messengers) are only honored servants; they dare not preach before [receiving] His revelations, and they act at His command. He knows what faces them and what happens after them, and they cannot intercede except on behalf of one whom He approves. Indeed they themselves stand apprehensive in awe of Him. Whoever of them should say, ‘I am a deity besides Him,’ that one shall be requited with Hell. Thus do We recompense the wrongdoers. Haven’t the deniers seen that the heavens and the earth were joined together and then We split them asunder, and We have made every living thing out of water?

Will they still not believe? We set firm mountains upon the earth lest it should sway under them, and We placed therein passages for paths so that they might find their way.

We have made the heaven a well-secured canopy [around the earth]; yet still they turn away from Our signs. It is He who created the night and the day, and the sun and the moon, each gliding in an orbit. We have not granted everlasting life to any human being before you; then if you [O Muhammad] should die, will they live forever? Every soul shall taste death; We test you with both good and evil [circumstances] as a trial, and then to Us you shall return.” [The Qur’an (21:19-35)].

“Say [O Muhammad], ‘I warn you only through the Revelation.’ But the deaf can hear nothing when they are warned.” [The Qur’an (21:45)].

“We gave Moses and Aaron the criterion [for judgment], a light and a message for the righteous, those who fear their Lord though unseen, and stand apprehensive in awe of the Judgment hour. And this [Qur’an] is a blessed message that We have revealed, will you then reject it?” [The Qur’an (21:48-50)].

“Before this We gave Abraham his sound judgment; of him (i.e. what’s in his heart), We were well-knowing.” [The Qur’an (21:51)].

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“And We saved him and Lot [and brought them] to a land in which We have set blessings for all people.” [The Qur’an (21:71)].

“To Lot We gave wisdom and knowledge and delivered him from the city which practiced abomination. Indeed, they were wicked people. We admitted him to Our mercy; he was a righteous man. Before him Noah cried out to Us, and We answered his supplication. We saved him and his household from a great distress. We helped him against his people who rejected Our revelations. Surely, they were wicked people, so We drowned them all. Remember David and Solomon who both passed judgment on the field into which some people’s sheep had strayed [and grazed] at night. We bore witness to their judgment. We gave Solomon the right understanding of the matter, and We bestowed wisdom and knowledge on both of them. We caused the mountains and the birds to celebrate Our praises along with David. It is We who did this. We taught him the art of making coats of mail for you, to protect you in battle. Will you then be grateful?

We subjected to Solomon the stormy wind, which blew at his behest towards the land which We had blessed (i.e. Palestine). It is We who have knowledge of all things. We also subjected to him some of the jinn who dived for him in the sea and performed other tasks. It is We who kept watch over them. Remember Job when he called on his Lord saying, ‘I have been afflicted with great distress, but You are the most merciful of the merciful.’ We heard his prayer and relieved his suffering, We restored to him his family, doubling their number as an act of Our grace, and as a reminder for the worshippers.

Remember Ishmael and Idris and Dhul Kifl: they were all of the patient. We admitted them to Our mercy; they were all of the righteous. Remember the man of the whale

[Jonah] when he set off in anger thinking We had no power over him; he cried out in the darkness, ‘There is no deity but You. Glory be to You! Indeed I was of the wrongdoers.’

We answered his supplication and delivered him from sorrow. Thus shall We deliver the true believers. Remember Zachariah, when he called out to his Lord, ‘Do not leave me heirless, O Lord. You are the best of heirs.’ We answered his supplication and bestowed John upon him and made his wife fit to bear him a child. Verily, they used to hasten towards good deeds and they called upon Us in hope and fear, and they were always humble towards Us. Remember the woman [Maryam] who guarded her chastity.

We breathed into her from our spirit [Gabriel], and made her and her son a sign for all people. Surely, this is your nation [O faithful believers], one nation, and I am your Lord, so worship Me.” [The Qur’an (21:74-92)].

“The true promise of the Last Hour is close at hand. Soon, the deniers shall stare in horror fixedly, exclaiming, ‘Woe unto us! Indeed we were heedless of this. Ah! We truly have been wrongdoers.” [The Qur’an (21:97)].

“On that Day We shall roll up the heavens like a scroll of parchment. As We originated the first creation, so shall We repeat it. This is a promise binding on Us. Indeed, We shall fulfill it. We have already written in the Psalms following the Torah that, ‘My righteous servants shall inherit the earth.’ Surely, herein is a message for true worshippers. We have sent you forth as a mercy to all mankind. Say, ‘It has been revealed to me that your God is but One God. Will you then submit to Him?’ ” [The Qur’an (21:104-108)].

“O People! Fear your Lord. The convulsion of the Last Hour shall be terrible indeed.”

[The Qur’an (22:1)].

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“That is because Allah is the truth. It is He who gives life to the dead and He has the power to will anything. The Last Hour is bound to come. There is no doubt about it. Allah will raise up those in the graves.” [The Qur’an (22:6-7)].

“…Verily, Allah never wrongs His servants.” [The Qur’an (22:10)].

“…Give glad tidings to the humble, those whose hearts shiver at the mentioning of Allah; they endure adversity with fortitude, observe the prayers, and spend out of what We have given them.” [The Qur’an (22:34-35)].

“Verily, Allah shall defend the believers. Allah does not love the perfidious and the ungrateful.” [The Qur’an (22:38)].

“[The believers] whom if We give them authority in the land, would observe their prayers, give alms, enjoin good and forbid evil. The final outcome of all affairs rests with Allah.” [The Qur’an (22:41)].

“Have the people not travelled through the land to make their hearts understand and let their ears hear; verily, it is not the eyes that go blind but the hearts inside chests.”

[The Qur’an (22:46)].

“Verily, they did not recognize Allah in His true esteem. Indeed, Allah is Powerful, Mighty.” [The Qur’an (22:74)].

“O believers, bow and prostrate yourselves, worship your Lord and do good works so that you may succeed. Strive truthfully in the cause of Allah as is owed to Him. He has chosen you and laid no burden on you in religious matters, that is the faith of your forefather Abraham. In this—as in former scriptures—He (i.e. Allah) has given you the name ‘Muslims,’ (i.e. those who submit to Allah’s will) so that the Messenger may be a witness over you, and so that you may be witnesses over mankind. Therefore, observe your prayers, give alms and hold fast to Allah. He is your master; the best master and best helper!” [The Qur’an (22:77-78)].

“Successful indeed are the faithful, those who are mindful in their prayers, who turn away from all that is frivolous, who give alms, who safeguard their chastity except with their wives and what their right hands possess, for then they are free from blame; as for those who seek to go beyond that, they are transgressors. [The faithful are] those who honestly observe their trusts and their promises; and those who attend to their prayers; those are the heirs who shall inherit Al-Ferdaws (i.e. the loftiest dwellings in Paradise) wherein they shall abide forever.” [The Qur’an (23:1-11)].

“Those who tremble with fear of their Lord, believe in His messages and do not ascribe partners to Him; those who give to others what has been bestowed upon them with their hearts trembling at the thought that they must return to their Lord [and be judged]; it is they who vie with one another in doing good works and shall be the foremost in doing so.” [The Qur’an (23:57-61)].

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“Exalted be Allah, the True King, there is no deity except Him, the Lord of the Glorious Throne. Whoever invokes another deity along with Allah—a deity of whose divinity he has no proof—will be brought to account by his Lord. Certainly, those who deny the truth shall never prosper [in the hereafter]. Say, ‘O Lord, forgive us and have mercy. You are the best of those who show mercy.’ ” [The Qur’an (23:116-118)].

“Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The example of His Light is like a niche wherein there is a lamp; the lamp is within glass; the glass [shines] as if it were a pearl-like radiant star, lit from the oil of a blessed olive tree that is neither of the east nor of the west. The oil would almost give light of itself even if untouched by fire. Light upon light!

Allah guides to His Light whom He wills. Allah strikes parables for people. Allah has full knowledge of all things. In houses decreed by Allah to be raised for the continuous mentioning of His name morning and evening, there are men who are never distracted by trade or commerce from the remembrance of Allah, the observance of prayers and alms; they fear a day when hearts and eyes will be convulsed; may Allah reward them according to the best of their deeds and give them more out of His bounty. Allah provides for whoever He wills without measures.” [The Qur’an (24:35-38)].

“[O Muhammad] do you not see that Allah is praised by all those who are in the heavens and on earth, as do the birds with wings outstretched? Each knows his own mode of prayer and glorification. Allah has full knowledge of all that they do. To Allah belongs the kingdom of the heavens and earth, and to Allah shall all things return.” [The Qur’an (24:41-42)].

“Allah promises those among you who believe and do good deeds that He will surely grant them power in the lands as He granted it to those who passed before; and that He shall establish for them their religion which He has approved of. He shall cause their state of fear to be replaced by a sense of security. Let them worship Me and associate none else with Me. Whoever chooses to deny the truth is truly rebellious.” [The Qur’an (24:55)].

“True servants of the Gracious One are those who walk upon the earth with humility and when they are addressed by those who are ignorant, their response is, ‘Peace,’ those who spend the night prostrating themselves, and standing before their Lord, they say,

‘Our Lord, ward off from upon us the punishment of Hell, for its punishment is a dreadful torment to suffer. Indeed, it is an evil abode and evil dwelling-place.’ They are those who are neither extravagant nor niggardly but keep a balance between the two, those who never invoke any other deity besides Allah, nor take a life which Allah has made sacred, except with the right to do so, nor commit adultery. Anyone who does that shall face punishment: he shall have his suffering doubled on the Day of Resurrection and he will abide forever in disgrace, except for those who repent, and believe, and do good deeds. Allah will change the evil deeds of such people into good ones: He is most forgiving and most merciful. He who repents and does good deeds has truly turned to Allah. And those who do not bear false witness, and when they pass by frivolity, they pass by with dignity, who do not turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to the signs of their Lord when they are reminded of them, who say, ‘Lord, grant us joy in our wives and children and make us a model for the righteous. These are the ones who will be rewarded with lofty mansions in Paradise, for their steadfastness. They will be received therein with greetings of welcome and salutations of peace. There they shall abide forever: a blessed dwelling and a blessed resting place.” [The Qur’an (25:63-76)].

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“Say [O Muhammad], ‘“My Lord would not care for you were it not for your supplications.” [The Qur’an (25:77)].

“Tell them [O Muhammad] the story of Abraham, when he asked his father and his people, ‘What is that which you worship?’ They said, ‘We worship idols and will continue to cling to them.’ He asked, ‘Do they hear you when you call onto them? Do they help or harm you?’ They replied, ‘[Nay,] But we found our fathers doing this.’ Abraham said,

‘Have you really thought about what you have been worshipping, you and your forefathers—they are all my enemies save the Lord of the Universe who created me. It is He who guides me, He who feeds me and quenches my thirst, He who cures me when I am ill, He who will cause me to die and bring me back to life, and He who I hope would forgive my misdeeds on the judgement Day. O Lord, bestow wisdom upon me; unite me with the righteous; grant me a virtuous renown among posterity; make me one of the inheritors of the Garden of Bliss; forgive my father for he is one of those misguided; do not disgrace me on the Day when all people are resurrected, the Day when wealth and children will be of no avail, when he alone will be saved who comes to [you] Allah with a sound heart.’ ” [The Qur’an (26:69-89)].

“Who then responds to the distressed when they call upon Him, and relieves their suffering, and who makes you vicegerents on earth? Then, is there a god besides Allah?

How little you pay heed!” [The Qur’an (27:62)].

“As for the abode of the hereafter, We shall assign it to those who seek neither self-aggrandizement on earth nor corruption. Only the righteous shall have a blessed end.”

[The Qur’an (29:83)].

“We shall surely admit those who believe and do good deeds into the company of the righteous.” [The Qur’an (29:9)].

“[O Muhammad] recite [and convey] what has been revealed to you of the book, and pray regularly. Surely, praying restrains one from indecency and evil deeds; and verily, the remembrance of Allah is a greater [means of worship]. Allah knows what you do.”

[The Qur’an (29:45)].

“We will surely guide to Our ways those who strive hard in Our cause. Allah is surely with the righteous.” [The Qur’an (29:69)].

“These are the verses of the Book of wisdom, a guide and a mercy for those who do good, for those who observe their prayers, give alms and have firm faith in the hereafter: these are rightly following their Lord’s guidance, and these are the ones who shall prosper.” [The Qur’an (31:2-5)].

“[Luqman said,] ‘O son! Though [a deed] be but the weight of a grain of mustard seed and though it be hidden in a rock, or in the heavens or on the earth, Allah shall bring it forth. Truly, Allah is the knower of all subtleties and He is aware. O son! Observe your prayers, enjoin good, forbid evil, and endure patiently whatever befalls you; surely, this is something which requires firm resolve. Do not avert your face scornfully from people and do not walk haughty on earth; verily, Allah loves not arrogant boastful people. Walk modestly and lower your voice, for the ugliest of all voices is the braying of asses.’” [The Qur’an (31:16-19)].

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“Whoever submits himself completely to Allah, and is a doer of good, he has surely grasped the strongest handhold, for the final outcome of all events rests with Allah.”

[The Qur’an (31:22)].

“The ones who truly believe in Our messages are those who fall to the ground prostrating when they are recited to them, they glorify their Lord with praise and are not arrogant. They forsake their beds calling upon their Lord in fear and in hope, and spend out of what We have provided them with. No soul knows what joy is kept hidden in store for them as a reward for their good deeds.” [The Qur’an (32:15-17)].

“Verily, there is an excellent model in Allah’s messenger for those who aspire to return to Allah and long for the hereafter.” [The Qur’an (32:21)].

“Among the believers are men who were truthful to their covenant with Allah; some passed away [fulfilling their vows] and some are still waiting; never did any of them retreat, not in the least way.” [The Qur’an (32:23)].

“O believers, remember Allah abundantly; exalt Him morning and evening. He is the one who bestows His blessings upon you—and His angels invoke Him to bring you out from darkness to light; He is oft-merciful towards the faithful.” [The Qur’an (33:41-43)].

“Verily, Allah and His angels praise the prophet; O believers, praise him and [invoke Allah to deliver to him] your continuous peace greetings.” [The Qur’an (33:56)].

“O People, remember Allah’s favor to you. Is there any creator other than Allah who provides for you from the heavens and the earth? There is no God save Him. How then are you turned away from the truth?” [The Qur’an (35:3)].

“If one seeks glory, let him know that glory belongs to Allah alone. To Him ascends good words, and righteous deeds are exalted by Him.” [The Qur’an (35:10)].

“O people, it is you who stand in need of Allah; verily, Allah is self-sufficient and praiseworthy.” [The Qur’an (35:15)].

“Only those who possess knowledge fear Allah. Verily, Allah is all-glorious and most forgiving. Those who read Allah’s book, observe their prayers, and spend in charity secretly and publicly out of what We have provided them with, they seek a trade that will never perish. He shall give them their full rewards and give them more out of His bounty. He is most-forgiving and most-appreciative.” [The Qur’an (35:28-30)].

“The chosen servants of Allah; those have known provision—fruits of various kinds; and they shall be honored, in the Gardens of Bliss, seated on couches, facing one another.

A drink will be passed round among them from a flowing spring: white and delicious to those who drink it, causing no headiness or intoxication. With them will be spouses—

modest of gaze and beautiful of eye—like closely guarded pearls.” [The Qur’an (37:40-49)].

“This is a blessed Book which We sent down to you [O Muhammad], for people to ponder over its messages, and for those with understanding to take heed.” [The Qur’an (38:29)].

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“He who brings the truth, and he who confirms it—those are surely pious people.

They will have everything they wish for from their Lord. Such is the reward of those devoted to doing good.” [The Qur’an (39:33-34)].

“Follow the best of what is revealed to you from your Lord.” [The Qur’an (39:55)].

“No just estimate have they (i.e. most people) fathomed of Allah as He well deserves.

On the Resurrection Day, the whole earth will lie within His power, and heavens shall be folded up under His dominion—Glory be to Him! Exalted is He above all that they associate with Him. The Trumpet shall be blown and whoever is in the heavens or on earth shall fall down in a swoon, except those who shall be spared by Allah. Then the trumpet shall be blown again and all shall rise gazing around [in awe]. The earth shall shine with its Lord’s light, and the Book will be laid open. The prophets and all witnesses shall be brought forth, and judgement shall pass on them with fairness; none shall be wronged. Every soul will be repaid in full for what it has done. He is fully aware of all that they do.” [The Qur’an (39:67-70)].

“Those who fear their Lord will be led in groups towards Paradise. When they reach it, its gates shall be opened, and its keepers shall say to them, ‘Peace be upon you. You have done well, enter Paradise and dwell in it forever,’ and they will respond, ‘All praises be to Allah who has fulfilled His promise to us and made us the inheritors of these lands, letting us settle inside Paradise wherever we please.’ How excellent is the reward of good doers! You shall see the angels circling about the throne glorifying their Lord with His praise. And judgement will have been passed in justice on all and it will be said,

‘All praises be to Allah, the Lord of the universe!’ ” [The Qur’an (39:73-75)].

“The [angels] who bear the Throne, and those around it, glorify their Lord with His praise and believe in Him. They ask forgiveness for those who believe, saying, ‘O Lord, You embrace all things in mercy and knowledge, forgive those who turn to You and follow Your path. Save them from the punishment of Hell and admit them, O Lord, to the Eternal Gardens of Eden which You have promised them, together with their righteous ancestors, spouses, and offspring. You alone are the Almighty, All-Wise. Protect them from all evil deeds; whoever You protect from [the punishment for] evil deeds will receive Your mercy—that is the supreme success.’ ” [The Qur’an (40:7-9)].

“Verily, We make victorious Our messengers and those who believe in the worldly life and on the day when all shall be resurrected and bear witness.” [The Qur’an (40:51)].

“Be patient [O Muhammad]; verily, Allah’s promise shall come to pass. Ask forgiveness for your sins and praise your Lord morning and evening.” [The Qur’an (40:55)].

“Indeed, those who affirm, ‘Our Lord is Allah,’ and remain devout, the angels descend upon them, saying, ‘Have no fear and do not grieve. Rejoice in glad tidings with Paradise that you have been promised. We are your allies in this life and in the Hereafter. Therein you shall have all that your souls desire, and therein you shall have all that you ask for, a rich provision from the ever forgiving, the most merciful.’ Who’s words are better than one who calls to Allah, does good deeds, and says, ‘I am surely of those who submit [to Allah]’? Good and evil deeds are not equal. Repel evil with what is better, then you will 377

see that one who was once your enemy has become your dearest friend, but no one will be granted such goodness except those who exercise patience and self-restraint; no one is granted it save those who are truly fortunate. If a prompting from Satan should stir you, seek refuge with Allah, He is the All Hearing, All Knowing.” [The Qur’an (40:30-36)].

“Allah chooses for Himself whoever He pleases and guides towards Himself those who turn to Him.” [The Qur’an (42:13)].

“Surely, those who profess, ‘Our Lord is Allah,’ and remain steadfast [on that path], they shall feel no fear, nor shall they grieve.” [The Qur’an (42:13)].

“Have patience [O Muhammad] as did the steadfast Messengers, and be in no haste about them (i.e. those who deny your message).” [The Qur’an (46:35)].

“O believers, if you make victorious Allah’s cause, He will make you victorious and establish your endeavors.” [The Qur’an (47:7)].

“That’s for Allah is the guardian of believers, but the deniers have no guardian.”

[The Qur’an (47:11)].

“Indeed, Allah is self-sufficient, but you stand in need [of Him].” [The Qur’an (47:38)].

“It was He (i.e. We Allah) who cast tranquility into the hearts of believers, that they may acquire more faith along with their own.” [The Qur’an (48:4)].

“We have sent you forth [O Muhammad] as a witness, a bearer of glad tidings, and a warner, so that you [mankind] may believe in Allah and His Messenger, help and honor him, and so that you may glorify Allah morning and evening.”

[The Qur’an (48:8-9)].

“Verily, the believers are but those who have believed in Allah and His Messenger and then they doubt not, but strive with their wealth and themselves for the cause of Allah. Such are the truthful ones.” [The Qur’an (49:15)].

“Paradise will be brought near to the righteous and will no longer be far away.

This is what you were promised—this is for everyone who often turned to Allah and kept Him in mind, who fears the Compassionate One, though He is unseen, and comes to Him with a sound heart; ‘Enter it in peace. This is the Day of immortality.’ Therein they shall have all that they desire, and there is even more with Us.” [The Qur’an (50:31-35)].

“Bear with patience what they (i.e. the deniers) say [O Muhammad], and glorify your Lord with His praise before the rising of the sun and before its setting; proclaim His praise during the night and at the end of every prayer.” [The Qur’an (50:39-40)].

“Surely, the pious shall dwell amidst gardens and springs. They shall well-accept what their Lord shall bestow upon them; indeed, they have done good works in the past, sleeping little during night-time, asking for forgiveness in the hour before dawn, and sharing their possessions with beggars and the deprived.” [The Qur’an (51:15-19)].

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“The pious shall find themselves in gardens and rivers, in the assembly of the truthful with an all-powerful sovereign.” [The Qur’an (54:54-55)].

“One Day, you [O Muhammad] shall see the faithful men and women, their light streaming out before them and on their right hands, [you shall hear a voice saying to them:] ‘Rejoice with glad tidings, today you shall enter gardens with rivers flowing through them wherein you shall forever dwell. That is the supreme triumph.’ ”

[The Qur’an (57:12)].

“Blessed is He in whose hand is all creation: He has power over all things. He created death and life so that He might test you, which of you is best in conduct. He is the Almighty, the Most Forgiving.” [The Qur’an (67:1-2)].

“Indeed, man is born impatient, when misfortune touches him he starts lamenting, and whenever good fortune comes to him, he grows niggardly. Not so the worshippers who pray regularly; those who give a due share of their wealth to the beggars and the destitute; and those who believe in the Judgement day and are careworn by the punishment of their Lord—none should ever feel secure from the punishment of their Lord [in this life]— those who preserve their chastity except from their spouses and their right hand possessions, for which they incur no blame—but those who go beyond that limit are transgressors; those who are faithful to their trusts and to their pledges; those who stand by their testimony and those who observe their prayers. They will be honored in the Gardens of Bliss.” [The Qur’an (70:19-35)].

“Verily, this is a reminder, so let him who wills follow a path to his Lord.” [The Qur’an (76:29)].

The previous verses are a small portion of what I could’ve added in this chapter.

I hope that those few pages would help the reader see one of the many paths to spiritual-purification amidst the Qur’an. May Allah bestow His grace upon us all.

O Al ah, I seek your refuge from all evils, those that I know, and those that I know not, in this life and the next. O Al ah, if you treat me with your justice, I’m doomed; I seek refuge in your mercy and kindness; forgive my sins and guide me to make amends. If you forsake me to my whim, I shall go astray; lead me to your righteous path, and help me in every step along the way. Let me live among the pious and return to you with a sound heart. Amen.

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Section III: People of the Book

This section is a brief record for the main stops in the history of the people of the book.

Kindly note that some of the dates, incidents, numbers and data included in this section could not be confirmed, nor do they present a 100% accurate account of history.

This is a summarized chronology for the history of the Jewish and Christian nations.

I believe it’s important for students to understand the sequence of the events in order to have a better understanding of the ideologies governing the two famous religions.

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The Jewish Chronicles

According to the Jewish transmitted chronicles: After a series of tragic dealings with mankind, starting from Adam’s sin and expulsion from paradise, up to Noah’s flood, God decided to choose one man and his descendants to be the trustees on his messages, and from among them, all messengers to mankind would be chosen. Their duty was to abide by god’s messages, and in return, god would grant them his protection and victory.

This was a covenant between god and Abraham, the chosen pious man. After Abraham died, this covenant was renewed with his son Isaac, then with Isaac’s son Jacob (AKA Israel), then with the 12 sons of Jacob. These 15 figures are known in the Jewish traditions as “The Patriarchs.” Levi was one of the 12 sons of Israel, from his offspring came Moses, the true founder of Judaism. He is the first bearer of a message from god to the sons of Israel. This message included the commandments around which Judaism revolved. The message was named the Torah. It consists of 5 books usually referred to by the name “Pentateuch”.

God’s covenant to Abraham included a promise to grant him a great nation that would dwell in Canaan. Through the course of history, the sons of Israel had to immigrate to Egypt escaping a famine that hit Palestine, and in Egypt they were enslaved by Egyptians for almost 430 years. During this period their numbers multiplied vastly from a few tens of persons to hundreds of thousands. This made the Egyptian king, Pharaoh, issue a decree that stipulates the killing of new born babies for the Israelites. Moses was among the children born in this period. God saved him in a miraculous manner; he was raised and protected by Pharaoh himself. When he was 40, an incident happened that changed the history of mankind till the moment of writing this. Moses saw 2 men fighting, one of them was a Hebrew and the other was Egyptian. Trying to defend the Hebrew, he punched the Egyptian accidently killing him. The Bible tells the story as follows: “And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens: and he spied an Egyptian smiting an Hebrew, one of his brethren. And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that [there was] no man, he slew the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand.” This incident forced Moses to escape from Egypt towards Midian where he lived in exile for 40 years working as a shepherd for Jethro.

One day, while traveling between the mountains with his herd searching for pasture, it happened that he received god’s orders telling him to lead his people out of Egypt.

After many dramatic events, Moses succeeded in leading the Israelites into the wilderness of Shur, and then into the wilderness of Sin where god inspired Moses to ascend Mount Sinai, and there he received the tablets which included god’s message to the Israelites. Moses received laws governing every aspect of life of that day. Based on these laws, the Mishnah and the Talmud were later on compiled. A while before Moses received the laws, the Israelites were gathered under Mount Sinai and God related to them 10 commandments. They are the foundation of Judaism:

1. I am your Lord who has delivered you from Egypt. You shall have no other gods but me.

2. You shall not make any graven images.

3. You shall not take your Lord’s name in vain.

4. You shall remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.

5. You shall honor your parents.

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6. You shall not kill.

7. You shall not commit adultery.

8. You shall not steel.

9. You shall not bear false witness.

10. You shall not covet your neighbor’s property.

During the years of wandering, Israelites were given 2 religious institutions, those are: 1) The ark of the covenant: it’s a coffin containing the sacred relics of the Exodus.

2) The tent of meeting: in which the Israelites worshipped YHWH and offered sacrifice in his name. Later on, Solomon established a huge temple for YHWH in Jerusalem.

His father David wanted to do this, but he was forbidden because he shed a lot of blood.

The Ark of the Covenant was placed inside the temple, and a group of priests assumed the responsibility of serving YHWH’s temple.

961-922 B.C.: Solomon’s reign – Establishment of YHWH’s temple – Priests of the temple compiled what was later known as the “Yahvist text”.

922 B.C.:

Solomon’s death and the split of the Israelites into 2 nations.

The northern one was called Israel. It included 10 tribes of the 12, consequently, they were larger in number and more productive.

The southern nation consisted of the remaining 2 tribes Judah and Benjamin. These 2 nations fought against each other seeking to seize full control. The war between them extended for years, the book of Chronicles (13:17) mentions 500,000 men from Israel being slain by Judah. This was mainly because the northern nation was also attacked by the neighboring countries during its war with Judah.

800-700 B.C.: The 8th century witnessed a huge prophetic movement during these troubled times. Hosea, Isaiah, Micah and Amos were 4 famous prophets who lived in this century. They gave prophecies about Judah, Jerusalem, future prophets, etc. Their role was mainly reformatory, they criticized the sins of the Jewish community and the social injustices of their time in a poetic style. Some of them lived during the Assyrian invasion in 721.

During this century, the “Elohist text” was compiled.

721 B.C.:

Year of the Assyrian invasion to the Northern nation “Israel.”

The invasion resulted in complete destruction of the 10 tribes.