A Muslim Convert Once More

‎ ‎ بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Shaykh Yahya Rhodus said, “The Day of Judgement is, in reality, a celebration of Muhammad ( s.a.w. ).   They will all come to know him.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The following legal opinion on tawaswswul was given by Shaykh Swalih an-Na’man ( r.a. ), the Secretary of the Section of Ifta’ and Religious Education, at the Ministry of Religious Endowments, Wizarat al-Awqaf , of the Syrian Arab Republic in the city of Hama’ on the 22 nd March, 1980.   It is reproduced, in full, in the 1992 Waqf Ikhlasw reprint of Imam Ahmad ibn Zayni ad-Dahlan’s ( q.s. ) section of his history of Islam, al-Futuhat al-Islamiyyah , on the Wahhabi sect entitled Fitnat al-Wahhabiyyah .   In response to a Sayyid ‘Ashiq ar-Rahman who asked about at-tawaswswul ila Allah Ta’ala bi al-anbiya’ wa al-mursalin , seeking a means to Allah ( s.w.t. ), through the prophets and the Messenger, and about hukmu man tawaswswal , the law’s position with regard to the person who makes tawaswswul , he gave the following answer below.   Praise Belongs to Allah ( s.w.t. )!   Regarding at-tawaswswul , seeking or using means, to...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The following is my answer to a Quora question: “ We know that Muhammad ( s.a.w. ) received some verses inspired by evil spirits, so could the entire Qur’an be inspired by evil spirits in order to lead humanity astray?   We know that Jesus ( a.s. ) warned people to be aware of false prophets. ”   There are no verses in the Qur’an inspired by evil spirits.   That is a misconception by Orientalists.   The verses claimed to be inspired by Satan are these:   سُوۡرَةُ النّجْم أَفَرَءَيۡتُمُ ٱللَّـٰتَ وَٱلۡعُزَّىٰ (١٩) وَمَنَوٰةَ ٱلثَّالِثَةَ ٱلۡأُخۡرَىٰٓ (٢٠) Have ye seen Lat and ‘Uzza?   And another the third (goddess) Manat? (Surah an-Najm:19-20)   These are the names of the pagan goddesses, the so-called daughters of Allah ( s.w.t. ), that the Quraysh believed in.   Here is the verse in context:   سُوۡرَةُ النّجْم أَفَرَءَيۡتُمُ ٱللَّـٰتَ وَٱلۡعُزَّىٰ (١٩) وَمَنَوٰةَ ٱلثَّالِثَةَ ٱلۡأُخۡرَ...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The following is my answer to a Quora question: “ Islam strongly proposes the idea of an ummah , one Muslim nation with belief in the same God, and Muhammad ( s.a.w. ) as the Prophet.   With these intra-Muslim issues today, do you think this concept is challenged or even practiced? ”   This concept of ummah refers to the idea that we are all one humanity, not just Muslims.   The ummah of Muhammad ( s.a.w. ) is all Creation, and this is found in the Qur’an:   سُوۡرَةُ الاٴنبیَاء وَمَآ أَرۡسَلۡنَـٰكَ إِلَّا رَحۡمَةً۬ لِّلۡعَـٰلَمِينَ (١٠٧)   We Sent you not, but as a mercy for all creatures. (Surah al-Anbiya’:107)   “ Arsalnaka ” is better translated as   you, and you alone”.   That aside, there are further clarifications that the believers, not the Muslims, are one body.   The word used is “ mu’min ”, not “ muslim ”, “those who submit”.   This means mere adherence to the organised faith...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   The following is my answer to a Quora question: “ Why did Prophet Muhammad ( s.a.w. ) ask Muslims to drink camel urine as one hadits says?   How many Muslim brothers and sisters drink camel urine following his advice? ”   There are a few assumptions that have to be addressed here.   Firstly, a hadits is a snapshot of a moment.   In books such as Swahih al-Bukhari and others, the narration is given, but no context. This is because these books were written for scholars as a resource.   Books that explain the sharh , the context, are found elsewhere.   For example, Adab al-Mufrad , also by Imam Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad ibn Isma’il al-Bukhari ( r.a. ), is one of these books of sharh .   A hadits is not applicable to a lay Muslim directly.   It is neither a hukm , ruling; nor a fatwa , legal opinion.   That is the process of ifta’ , of deriving jurisprudential positions based on the Qur’an, and ...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   The following is my answer to a Quora question: “ How do Muslim scholars answer accusations made, on Muhammad ( s.a.w. ), by Christian converts like Nabeel Asif Qureshi? ”   Nabeel Asif Qureshi was Ahmadi before he converted to Protestant Christianity.   That means, he was not even considered a Muslim by mainstream Islam, but a member of a heretical sect.   Even as an Ahmadi, his opinions on matters of theology would have been discounted.   Secondly, Nabeel Qureshi was neither a scholar of Islam nor Christianity.   He was a lay preacher with opinions on both religions.   He was not trained in the religious sciences of either, and had no facility with Arabic, Aramaic, Hebrew, Koine Greek or Latin – the languages of scripture.   In that light, he has a right to his opinions.   From a Muslim scholar’s perspective, those opinions carried little weight. To paraphrase a Yemeni proverb, we cannot respo...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Shaykh ‘Utsman Nuri Tufbas wrote, in “Islam, Spirit, & Form”, the existence of prophets is essential for our well-being.   They combine many models of good personalities in one body; and they harmoniously lead the souls of human beings to their Lord.   They were Prepared, and Chosen, by Allah ( s.w.t. ). Thus, they have different features Endowed by Allah ( s.w.t. ). These features are as follows below.   Truthfulness: Prophets always maintain the feature of righteousness.   Their actions are in complete accord with their words.   It is impossible for them to lie.   Their truthfulness was even confirmed by those who did not believe in them.   Here are a few examples of many regarding their feature of honesty.   Heraclius, the emperor of Byzantium, in order to learn about the Prophet Muhammad ( s.a.w. ), questioned Abu Sufyan Sakhr ibn Harb, who was, at that time, without belief.   One of the que...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   The following is my answer to a Quora question: “ Is there a resemblance between belief in return of the prophet Elijah ( a.s. ), and the return of the Mahdi ( a.s. )? ”   If I understand this correctly, the question here is whether Elijah ( a.s. ) and the Mahdi ( a.s. ) are the same person since they are expected to appear in some traditions of Christian and Muslim eschatology respectively.   The belief in the return of the Elijah ( a.s. ) is found here:   Malachi 4:5-6 5 And before ever that day comes, great day and terrible, I will Send Elias to be your prophet; 6 he it is shall reconcile heart of father to son, heart of son to father; else the whole of earth should be forfeit to my vengeance.   5 ὃς ἀποκαταστήσει καρδίαν πατρὸς πρὸς υἱὸν καὶ καρδίαν ἀνθρώπου πρὸς τὸν πλησίον αὐτοῦ μὴ ἔλθω καὶ πατάξω τὴν γῆν ἄρδην 6 μνήσθητε νόμου Μωυσῆ τοῦ δούλου μου καθότι ἐνετειλάμην αὐτῷ ἐν Χωρηβ πρὸς πάντα τὸν Ισραηλ ...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The following is my answer to a Quora question: “ If today, Prophet Muhammad ( s.a.w. ) comes to your home, and says he wants to marry your 6-year-old daughter, then what would you do? ”   There are a lot of assumptions here, since this is a leading question.   Firstly, in that unlikely scenario, the answer is obviously “no”.   Secondly, the Prophet Muhammad ( s.a.w. ) is not going to people’s houses to ask for their hand in marriage.   In fact, a look at the sirah , the story of the Prophet ( s.a.w. ), there is actually not a single instance where the Prophet ( s.a.w. ), out of his own volition, went and looked for anybody’s hand in marriage.   Thirdly, if this is in reference to the Prophet’s ( s.a.w. ) marriage to Sayyidatina ‘Aishah bint Abu Bakr ( r.a. ), the circumstances are disputed.   There are those who do believe that they were married when she was 6 years old, and the marriage was consummated when ...