A Muslim Convert Once Before

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   The following is my answer to a Quora question: “ What arguments have been used to counter the Epicurean Paradox? ”   I am looking at this question for the Abrahamic and related traditions since they explicitly hold the concept of an Omniscient, Omnipotent God as central to their theological doctrine.   Mainstream Judaism and traditional Islam both agree that evil is perception since if God is All Good, then everything in the Divine Sight and cosmic scale is ultimately good.   It is our inadequacy and perception that causes things to be “evil”.   There is a Day of Judgement where all misconceptions are Addressed.   Based on Scripture, Christianity actually defines evil as all that is opposed to God and His   Intent, sin; or that which the human perspective views as “harmful and non-productive”, suffering. Christian theologians have argued that though evil is present, it is not strong enough evidence to su...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Brother Chris Hutchinson posted this on The Sharing Group, on the 13 th June, 2015: “This question has probably been asked numerous times so I am sorry if you have to explain once again, but since it occurred to me, I am yet to find a satisfactory answer by any monotheist sect.   My question is, if God is Omniscient, and therefore not limited by the boundaries of time; He then Knows everything even before it happens.   This is why most people agree that things are ‘written’ as God Wills.   Therefore, God would Know whether or not someone would accept His Message before He even Created them.   And if a person ultimately ends up in Hell, then it would be fair to say they were ‘destined’ for that fate before they had even been born since God knows Everything and is not bound by time.   So then, why would God Create a person, if he knew the life choices they were going to make beforehand would lead them into a life of sin a...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The following is my answer to a Quora question: “ What is the Ahl as-Sunnah wa al-Jama’ah ? ”   The term literally means, “The People of the Sunnah and the Majority.”   It is based on the line from the last sermon of the Prophet ( s.a.w. ) where he said, “I leave you two things: the Qur’an and my sunnah .”   Some versions of this same narration state “the Qur’an and my family,” which is essentially the same thing.   The sunnah is the way of the Prophet ( s.a.w. ).   The family of the Prophet ( s.a.w. ), the Ahl al-Bayt , literally, “the People of the House”, is the exemplification of it.   The basis of the sunnah is also found in the Qur’an:   سُوۡرَةُ الاٴحزَاب لَّقَدۡ كَانَ لَكُمۡ فِى رَسُولِ ٱللَّهِ أُسۡوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ۬ لِّمَن كَانَ يَرۡجُواْ ٱللَّهَ وَٱلۡيَوۡمَ ٱلۡأَخِرَ وَذَكَرَ ٱللَّهَ كَثِيرً۬ا (٢١)   You have, indeed, in the Messenger of Allah, a beautiful pattern (of conduct) for anyone who...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   The following is my answer to a Quora question: “ Why are the Mu’tazilah concerned whether the Qur’an was Created or Uncreated? ”   The Createdness of the Qur’an has implications on the Divine Attributes, and its relationship with free will.   This is a long and complicated story, but we can summarise it here for simplicity, and mention the salient points.   Firstly, if the Qur’an is Uncreated, what is Its relationship with Allah ( s.w.t. )?   It cannot be from the Dzat , Essence, so it has to be Swifat , an Attribute. Are these Attributes Co-Eternal, as Sunni Islam believes?   If that is so, does it imply a sort of shirk , as the Itsna’ ‘Ashari claim?   My belief is that of Sunni Islam’s that the Attributes, though Co-Eternal, does not imply a multiplicity of godheads, but an immensity of the Divine Absoluteness.   Secondly, the contention is that if Allah ( s.w.t. ) Exists beyond time and space, ...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   The following is my answer to a Quora question: “ What are the ideological differences between the Shi’ah sect, and the Qur’anists ( Mu’tazilah )? ”   The Shi’ah ; the Mu’tazilah ; and the Mukar al-Ahadits , the “Qur’anists”, are distinct groups.   The Shi’ah are a group of sects that disputed with the group that came to be called Sunnis, on the succession of the caliphate, after the demise of the Prophet ( s.a.w. ).   Sunni Islam contended that it should be Sayyidina Abu Bakr ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Utsman asw-Swiddiq ( r.a. ), whereas the Shi’ah contended it be Sayyidina ‘Ali ibn Abu Thalib ( r.a. ).   It began as a dispute on political succession, and evolved into jurisprudential and theological differences.   There are half a dozen or so major Shi’ah sects.   Some of them, such as the Itsna ‘Ashari , the Twelvers; and the Zaydi ; are very close to Sunni Islam in many issues.   This is natural since th...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   The following is my answer to a Quora question: “ If a Muslim rejects the current mainstream Islamic teachings, and practice Islam the way it was practiced during the Abbasid times, is this haram ? ”   Perhaps you should not take Disney’s “Aladdin” as a documentary.   The Abbasids were primarily Sunni of the Hanafi school of jurisprudence.   Some of the later caliphs adhered to one of the Mu’tazilah sects, bit this was a brief period.   They did not practise a different Islam from what we have now.   There were a plurality of views then, and there are a plurality of views now.   If you do not even know what they believed then, and understand what we believe now, how are you going to decide what to keep, and what to reject?

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The following was posted, by Mat Rumi, on The Sharing Group, on the 20 th May 2016, “I read somewhere that the Ash’ari school of thought is favoured by Muslim leaders historically.   This is because their position on qada’ wa qadr is that leaders are put in power by Allah’s ( s.w.t. ) Decree, and to revolt against the rulers is to defy Allah’s ( s.w.t. ) Decree.   In connection to this, the Abbasids initially supported the Mu’tazilah in their fight against the Umayyads. Once they held power, they considered the Mu’tazilah position on qada’ wa qadr dangerous.   Is that true?   Brother Terence Helikaon Nunis: The Abbasids did not favour the Mu’tazilah .   Only three or four of their caliphs did so.   The Mu’tazilah only gained ascendancy in the ‘Abbasid government during the reign of the Caliph al-Ma’mun, from 813 CE.   al-Ma’mun was the founder of Bayt al-Hikmah .   He became a Mu’tazilah , and used ...