A Muslim Convert Once Before

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Shaykh  Muswlih ad-Din   Abu Muhammad Sa’adi ibn ‘Abdullah ash-Shirazi ( q.s. ) wrote:   “The sons of Adam are limbs of each other, Having been Created of one essence. When the calamity of time affects one limb, The other limbs cannot remain at rest. If you have no sympathy for the troubles of others, You are unworthy to be called human.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   Once, the Mu’tazilah claimed that the Ahl al-A’araf , the People of the Heights, were those whom Allah (s.w.t.) deemed to good for the Fire, but not good enough for the Garden.   A thousand years later, these ideas have resurfaced again.   The following are the verses in question:   سُوۡرَةُ الاٴعرَاف وَبَيۡنَہُمَا حِجَابٌ۬‌ۚ وَعَلَى ٱلۡأَعۡرَافِ رِجَالٌ۬ يَعۡرِفُونَ كُلاَّۢ بِسِيمَٮٰهُمۡ‌ۚ وَنَادَوۡاْ أَصۡحَـٰبَ ٱلۡجَنَّةِ أَن سَلَـٰمٌ عَلَيۡكُمۡ‌ۚ لَمۡ يَدۡخُلُوهَا وَهُمۡ يَطۡمَعُونَ ( ٤٦ ) ۞ وَإِذَا صُرِفَتۡ أَبۡصَـٰرُهُمۡ تِلۡقَآءَ أَصۡحَـٰبِ ٱلنَّارِ قَالُواْ رَبَّنَا لَا تَجۡعَلۡنَا مَعَ ٱلۡقَوۡمِ ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ ( ٤٧ ) وَنَادَىٰٓ أَصۡحَـٰبُ ٱلۡأَعۡرَافِ رِجَالاً۬ يَعۡرِفُونَہُم بِسِيمَٮٰهُمۡ قَالُواْ مَآ أَغۡنَىٰ عَنكُمۡ جَمۡعُكُمۡ وَمَا كُنتُمۡ تَسۡتَكۡبِرُونَ ( ٤٨ ) أَهَـٰٓؤُلَآءِ ٱلَّذِينَ أَقۡسَمۡتُمۡ لَا يَنَالُهُمُ ٱللَّهُ بِرَحۡمَةٍ‌ۚ ٱدۡخُلُواْ ٱلۡجَنَّةَ لَا خَوۡفٌ عَلَيۡكُمۡ وَلَآ أَنتُمۡ تَحۡزَنُونَ...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Abu al-Qasim ‘Abd al-Karim ibn Huzan al-Qushayri ( r.a. ) wrote, in his ar-Risalah al-Qushayriyyah fi ʿIlm at-Taswawwuf , about Shaykh Abu Hafsw ‘Umar ibn Maslamah al-Haddad ( q.s. ), who came from the village of Kuradabadh, near the gate of the city of Nishapur, toward the direction of Bukhara.   He was a great Sufi master, and leader, who died around 260 AH. Shaykh Abu Hafsw ‘Umar ibn Maslamah al-Haddad ( q.s. ) said, “When you see a disciple who likes spiritual concerts, know that there is, in him, a residue of vanity.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Abu al-Qasim ‘Abd al-Karim ibn Huzan al-Qushayri ( r.a. ) wrote, in his ar-Risalah al-Qushayriyyah fi ʿIlm at-Taswawwuf , about Shaykh Abu Hafsw ‘Umar ibn Maslamah al-Haddad ( q.s. ), who came from the village of Kuradabadh, near the gate of the city of Nishapur, toward the direction of Bukhara.   He was a great Sufi master, and leader, who died around 260 AH. Shaykh Abu Hafsw ‘Umar ibn Maslamah al-Haddad ( q.s. ) said, “Good manners on the outside is the sign of good manners inside.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Abu al-Qasim ‘Abd al-Karim ibn Huzan al-Qushayri ( r.a. ) wrote, in his ar-Risalah al-Qushayriyyah fi ʿIlm at-Taswawwuf , about Shaykh Abu Hafsw ‘Umar ibn Maslamah al-Haddad ( q.s. ), who came from the village of Kuradabadh, near the gate of the city of Nishapur, toward the direction of Bukhara.   He was a great Sufi master, and leader, who died around 260 AH. He recorded that Shaykh Abu Hafsw ‘Umar ibn Maslamah al-Haddad ( q.s. ) said, “Whoever does not weigh his spiritual states, and deeds, at every moment, against the Book and the sunnah , while at the same time being suspicious of his true motives, should not be counted among the true.’’

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The Arabic numerals we us were created by Imam Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi ( r.a. ), a Persian scholar of the natural sciences, and mathematics.  These numbers were based on the number of angles in the digit, as can be seen here.  As part of the decimal system, they are the foundations of our modern society.   Imam al-Khwarizmi ( r.a. ) was appointed the chief astronomer in the House of Wisdom, in Baghdad.  We are indebted to his contributions to navigation, from inventing much of the mathematics we use, to writing extensively on cartography, celestial movements, and calculating the size of the Earth, and distances between cities.  His work also allowed for a more accurate calendar, which became more important, as civilisation advanced.

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   The following is my answer to a Quora question: “ Should Singapore’s shari’ah court punish local Muslim apostates to protect the Malay-Muslim population? ”   The assumptions of the questions are wrong on many levels.   You should be disabused of certain notions, and misconceptions.   Firstly, Singapore is a secular state.   It does not promote, or protect one religion at the expense of others.   We allow the free market of ideas, and people have the right to choose their faith traditions.   If we allow such rules, preventing Muslims from converting out, we should allow the same for every other religion, meaning there will be no conversion to Islam.   Secondly, the shari’ah court in Singapore is a tribunal, established under the auspices of the Administration of Muslim Law Act, Cap 3.   It is not a full court, and may only render judgements through the requisite courts, such as Family Court f...