The guidance of God (continued)

Bismillahirohmanirohim (In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful and the Most Compassionate)

 
Surah al Yunus verse 94: "If you are in DOUBT concerning what We have revealed to you, then ask those who have been reading the Book before you. It is the TRUTH that has come to you from your Lord, so never become one of those who DOUBT.
The "TRUTH/haq" refers to the current book/Qur'an. Hence, the focus of the verse, do not be in DOUBT in the Qur'an.
We are told to ask "those who have been reading the Book before you" and not specifically refer to the scriptures/book ourselves. Why? Because i) Arabs were commonly illeterate and ii) not conversant with scriptures.

The pamphlet goes on quoting Genesis 22:18 about "The seed" which according to them is Prophet Jesus(Isa). To our understanding Prophet Muhammad is also "the seed" of Prophet Abraham(Ibrahim) under his son Prophet Ishmael(Ismail). Prophet Jesus did prophecies the coming of a Messenger/prophet in John 16:12-13. Refer to Ahmad Deddat clip (Muhammad in the Bible).

It quotes about "original sin" from Romans 5:12 which contradicts with Ezekiel 18:4 and 18:20. Reference can be made to Ahmad Deedat clip at the side.  It goes on saying Prophet Noah was a righteous man (Genesis 6:9). But they did not reveal that the Bible mentioned that he was an alcoholic. Refer Yushua Evans clip. The Qur'an have responded surah al furqan verse 36 "... People who have given the lie to our sign" (37) "They gave the lie to the Messengers." One of the lie might be about Noah being an alcoholic. Allah knows best!





Muslim takes the Prophets as a role models hence Allah will choose the best of people and not someone who is an alcoholic or commits adultery/incest.

It then says Abraham was a righteous servant of god (Isaiah 41:8). Prophet Abraham created the Ka'abah to remind us that God has no image by human intellectual and only serve One God the Almighty.

In the pamphlet "As for prayer, Christ taught :"When you pray, go into your private room and, after shutting your door, pray to your Father who is secret; then your Father who looks on in secret will repay you. But when praying, do not say the same things over and over again, just as the people of the nations do... God your Father knows what things you are needing before ever you ask him." (Matthew 6:5-8) But they forgot to mention about this verse in the bible : "And he (Jesus) went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt." - New Testament (Matthew 26:39) (Refer Yusha Evans min 1:30)

"And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped." - Old Testament (Exodus 34:8)

And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped the LORD with [their] faces to the ground. - Old Testament (Nehemiah 8:6)

Muslims are taught by Prophet Muhammad salallahualaihiwasalam on how to pray. Prostrating to the ground is one of the actions of our prayer. I'm not an expert in the bible but according to this pamphlet, this sect of Christianity are quite selective in choosing the verses to follow.

Surah al kahf verse 57 : "Who is more wicked than the man who, when he is reminded by the revelations of his Lord, turns away from them and forgets (the consequence of) the deeds wrought by his own hands? We have laid veils over their hearts lest they understand the message of the Qur'an and We have caused heaviness in their ears. Call them as you may to the Right Path, they will not be ever right guided aright."

"(1)"Say : "O unbelievers!" (2) I do not worship those that you worship (3) neither do you worship Him Whom I worship; (4) nor will I worship those whom you have worshipped; (5) not are  you going to worship Him who I worship. (6) To you is your religion, and to me, my religion." (Surah al kafirun verse 1-6)

The main conclusion of this entry is that  "O you who believe! Believe WHOLLY IN ALL THAT HAS REVEALED TO YOU, and do not follow the footsteps of Satan, surely he is to you an avowed enemy" (surah al baqarah verse 208) Therefore we should not be selective in following the teachings of the Qur'an.

The guidance of God

Bismillahirohmanirohim (In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful and the Most Compassionate)

Firstly, I would like to be clear that I'm not a scholar. I might be wrong about certain things and if I am, please correct me.

The pamphlet to identify similarities between our religion

This time, my entry will be slightly different than usual. Recently, there were people who came to my house to preach their religion. They handed me a pamphlet and mentioned that they were followers of the bible but did not like to associate themselves with Christendom. Knowing that I am a muslim, they handed me a special pamphlet to identify the similarities between our religion. This pamphlet was however designed for a Muslim to read because there were a lot of quotes from the Qur'an to make Muslims understand.

In summary of the pamphlet there are some verses mentioned which was out of context with what the Qur'an says about the Holy scriptures. Examples:-

"(Like that book) this too is a Book which We have revealed before, one full of blessing, confirming what was revealed before it so that you might warn the people of the Mother of Cities (Makkah) and those around it. Those who believe in the Hereafter believe in it, and are ever-mindful of their Prayers." (surah al-an'am verse 92) 

This verse is "suppose" to make us think that the current torah & injil are the truth. It is taken out of context because verse 91 says "... Ask them: "The Book which Moses brought as light and guidance for people which you keep in bits and scraps - some of which you disclose while the rest you conceal, even though through it you were taught that which neither you nor your forefathers knew - who was it who revealed it?" Say: "Allah!" and then leave them to sport their argumentation."

It is somehow weird that some do not understand that, the book Prophet Musa (Moses) possess was confirmed (to be the truth) by Prophet Isa (Jesus), hence the book Jesus (Isa) possess should also definitely be confirmed by Prophet Muhammad salallahualaihiwasalam.

The pamphlet goes on to mention that no corruption could possibly have occured before the writing of the Qur'an because many Qur'anic verses call for faith in the Torah & the Injil. Examples of the verses:-

(surah al Baqarah verse 136) " We believe in Allah, and in what has been revealed to us and to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob and the descendants and in what was given to Moses and Jesus and in what the other Prophets received from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and we are those who submit to Allah".

Refer (surah al baqarah verse 120) "Never will the Jews be pleased with you nor the Christians until you follow their way. Say: " Surely Allah's guidance, is the true guidance." Should you follow their desires disregarding the knowledge which has come to you, you shall have no protector or helper against Allah."

   (Surah al baqarah verse 135) "They say : "Be Jews," or "Be Christians". "Then you will be rightly guarded." Say to them: "No, follow exclusively the way of Abraham who was not one of those who associate others with Allah in His Divinity."

This means that something is not right with the current Judaism and Christianity from the Qur'anic viewpoint. Even though the Torah & Injil used to be the Book of the Truth, Muslims are not supposed to trust the current Torah and Injil because Muslims shouldn't follow their way.

(Surah al Nahl verse 43) "(O Muhammad), whenever We raised any Messengers before you, they were no other human beings; (except that) to them We sent revelation. So ask those who possess knowledge if you do not know"

Refer  (surah al Nahl verse 44) "We raised the Messengers earlier with Clear Signs and Divine Books, and We have now sent down this Reminder upon you that you may elucidate(/explain) to people the teaching that has been sent down for them, and that the people may themselves reflect."

I do not wish to reveal which sect of Christianity they belong because my intention is not to criticise them. The purpose of this entry is for my Muslim brothers and sisters that we should read and understand the Qur'an wholly. If we were to read certain verses without understanding the story/teachings wholly, then it might be misinterpreted. This is when Satan may take his advantage on a person.

To Be Continued...

The essentiality of Islamic credit cards

Bismillahirohmanirohim (In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful and the Most Compassionate)

Credit card is being used commonly in this point in time. As we know credit card originates from the conventional banking which allows one to use money in advance and pay it by installments from time to time with additional interest charges. So the first question will be that does Islamic credit cards exists? How does it exist without charging interest?

Technology and human intelectual have allowed us to use these credit cards avoiding the usage of interest. In Malaysia it is based on Bay al inah principle. I have mentioned earlier in one of my entries that Bay al inah is only commonly used in Malaysia and not in other Islamic countries. I have explained a little on Bay al inah in my previous entry.

So the things that were haram is being elevated and becomes halal. From my perspective is that, Islamic banking shouldn't always be associated with technical terms just to justify that it is halal. Islamic banking should always be associated with good morality, caringness and especially fear towards the Creator for any misconduct. One of the reason that Allah has prohibited interest/usuury is because it will lead to oppression as I have mentioned earlier in my other entry. If one were to calculate for example £1 is borrowed at 5%1000 years, the new total would be £1,546,318,920,731,950,000,000. Look at the big difference! Logically no one would make a loan for 1000 years but a person would apply for a loan for thousands or millions of £ in a shorter time length. So I don't think it is it fair to be paying and earning interest because one will have a problem of paying the loan and the person who earns the interest will receive money based on time. This is the kind of oppression  that I am focusing on which is the rich will always/easy become rich and the poor will remain poor.

So, is Islamic credit card in line with the values of Islam as it is certainly has nothing to do with interest? I will be focusing more on the values and morality rather than the technicality of the credit card. It is obvious that risk management is important especially in banks as it involves or deals with huge sum of money everyday. Therefore, banks will only approve credit cards to those who are 'reliable'. 'Reliable' in this sense would mean those who can afford. People who can afford to pay their credit cards will reduce the risk of banks not getting paid for their services, meaning banks are assured payment every month. So, what happens to those who can't afford? Here, one can see that there is a difference between those who are rich and those who are less capable financially. Those who are financially capable would feel easy to get/earn/use more money as they have more privileged, whereelse the less capable are blocked to use these credit cards. In my opinion, this is a kind of oppression, whereby the rich is given the privilage/advantage when actually the poor are in need of the money. One could identify here that the wealth distribution is not being observed in a proper manner. When wealth distribution is not properly observed, it will cause an economical imbalance. It will also cause differences in status between the rich and poor which is not in line with Islamic values.

I have spoken to some who have knowledge on Islamic banking concerning this issue and their reply to me is that there are other forms of financial instruments or facility for the poor to use. These other financial instruments or facility will require one to start a business or equity financing which is  totally different from credit card as it is not an 'easy loan'. Hence, the less capable is being segregated from using credit cards.

These credit rating are causing oppression towards the poor because of them being less capable financially. If one were to refer the history when John Calvin, a pastor who broke from the Roman Catholic Church because of the usage of usury/interest. His interpretation of the bible on usury/interest was that, it was 'ok' to charge interest towards the rich but not to the poor as there will be no oppression to the poor. What he did not realise was that it will cause an economical imbalance and segregation between the rich and the poor which also is a kind of oppression. Consequently, my opinion is that even if Islamic credit card is technically halal, morally it is no difference with  John Calvin's understanding of oppression.

Usury in bible : "If thou lend money to any of my people that is poor by thee, thou shalt not be to him as and usurer, neither shalt thou lay upon him usury." (Exodus 22:25)

Technology have changed our lives and personally I don't see the need for Islamic credit cards. We now have debit cards which is convenient to use and it deducts straight from the account. Some banks have also allowed overdrafts which means, one could use a certain amount even if one did not have the money in the account. The banks will only charge an adminstration fee after a certain amount of time which is not usury/interest because the amount is fixed. Therefore, from my personal point of view, Islamic credit card is not an essential financial instrument as seeing it in the term of Islamic values.

Is it really christmas?

Bismillahirohmaneerohim (In the name of Allah the Most compassionate, the Most Merciful)

We have reach this time of the year where christians generally celebrate christmas which is the birth of christ. Is it being mentioned anywhere that Jesus(Isa) was born on the 25th of December? I have read about this somewhere and I've tried to look it up in the bible about the birth of christ but had no much luck about the specific date. Why does it interest me as a muslim? It is because we muslims consider Jesus/Isa alaihisalam as a prophet of Allah so I was really curious about the birth of prophet Isa alaihisalam and to understand the religion which celebrates the birth of the great man prophet Isa alaihisalam. Let me first clarify that I am not a scholar of the bible nor am I a sheikh/Imam.

Even though I have read this somewhere, I had to look it up myself. It was this particular verse that was mentioned which was Luke chapter 2 verse 8-12 which says: "(8)And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. (9)An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. (10)But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people." (11)Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. (12)This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

Reading these verses in a glance, you would not see anything much. But in verse 8 which says "And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night" caused curiousity of the conditions during the birth. I googled the weather conditions of Bethlehem which is the place of birth according to the bible. The weather conditions of Bethlehem would be freezing cold at night and it is not a custom for the shepherds to watch over their flocks at night particularly during from November till March.

Hence, after reading and a bit of researching in the bible, I have yet to understand why is it celebrated on the 25th of December. Though I might be wrong for I am not really knowledgeable of the bible, this is just a personal research I did. If I am wrong, please forgive me and my humble opinions as I am not trying to cause any disruption on anyone or any religion.

These are some verses on the birth of Jesus/Isa alaihisalam in the Qur'an.

"(O Muhammad) recite in the Book of the account of Mary, when she withdrew from her people to a place towards the east; (17) and drew a curtain , screening herself from people where upon we sent to her Our spirit and he appeared to her as a well-shaped man, (18) Mary exclaimed: "I surely take refuge from you with the Most Compassionate Lord, if you are at all God-fearing." (19) He said: "I am just a message-bearer of your Lord, I have come to grant you a most pure boy." (20) Mary said : "How can a boy be born to me when no man has even touched me, nor have I been unchaste?" (21) The angel said: "Thus shall it be. Your Lord says: 'It is easy for Me; and We shall do so in order to make him a Sign for mankind and a mercy from Us. This has been decreed.'" " (surah Maryam verse 16-21)

In my humble opinion, it is not right to assign something(in this case the birthday) to the great man and prophet which does not actually belong to him.

Fasting month

Bismillahirahmaniraheem,

We are currently in the month of Ramadhan, a month where muslims have to fast everyday from sunrise to sunset for a month. Fasting gives us the benefit to learn self restraint meaning if one can control hunger one can control almost all one's desires. It also enhances spiritual awareness. The medical benefits are increases absorption capacity of intestines and lowers the cholestrol.

Al Quran chapter 2 verse 183-184 :- Believers! Fasting is enjoined upon you, as it was enjoined upon those before you, that you become God-fearing. Fasting is for a fixed number of days, and if one of you be sick, or if one of you be on a journey, you will fast the same number of other days later on. For those who are capable of fasting(but still do not fast) there is redemption: feeding a needy man for each day missed. Whoever voluntarily does more good than is required, will find it better for him; and that you should fast is better for you, if only you know.

Bible Matthew chapter 17 verse 20-21(KJV): - (20) and Jesus say unto them," Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, if ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, ' Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. (21) Howbeith this kind goeth not out by prayer and fasting.

Bible Mark chapter 9 verse 28-29(KJV): (28) and when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast the devil out? (29) and he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.

To those of you who are fasting, may God Almighty bless you all.