THE SLOGAN OF PLURALISTIC ASPECT OF ISLAM ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Islam did not force someone to accept faith but its message is clear "For you is your religion, and for me is my religion" (Q109:1-6), and that's the proof of its pluralistic stand. Its presentation is in a pure democratic and civilized way. Its basic principle is let there be no compulsion in religion (Q2:256). On the other hand it never compromises truth. For example, Islam will never accept 1+1+1=1 just in the name of welfare, cohesion, pluralistic aspect & brotherhood, an elementary grade school student will reject this and tell you it is three and not one. In the similar way Quran gives a clear picture and definition what does "believe in God" mean or stand for? Some People due to some misunderstanding call anyone who says, "We believe in One God" is a Believer. Please note this was the same claim by the Bedouins during the period of Muhammad (pbuh) but God refuted them and said, "You have not (yet) believed"(Q49:15). Now we study this case in the light of Quran and Hadith. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ THE HEADINGS 1) Misunderstanding the verse of Quran, 2) who really believe in Allah & last day? 3) The Bedouins say, "we have believed", 4) food for thought, 5) understanding the faith of early Christians, 6) what is the least faith? 7) Who believe in trinity are..8) Who is a disbeliever? 9) The judgment of God, 10) The pluralistic aspect of Islam, 11) Misuse of word "hikma" and compromise, 12) The slogan, 13) what is the beauty of Islam?, 14) check who is not a believer?, 15) Misunderstanding the word jihad fi-sabililah, 16) A lesson from turkey ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Please follow the details -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- · MISUNDERSTANDING THE VERSE OF QURAN As per Quran 2:62, "Surely those who believe, and those who are Jews, and the Christians, and the Sabians, whoever believes in Allah and the Last day and does good, they shall have their reward from their Lord, and there is no fear for them, nor shall they grieve." The bottom line is whoever believes in Allah & the last day and does good deeds will be entitled for Janna. Now the question arises who really believe in Allah & last day and doing good deeds and thus becoming a believer? The answer is mentioned in Quran 3:199 see below. Some people make business with the religion and they try to find out the crook ways out of context or entirely depending on the apparent words & meaning and leave the basic message. The basic message of Islam stands on monotheism (i.e. oneness of God), dedication, and belief in messengers and striving in the cause of Allah as mentioned below to declare someone as believing in Allah and to call him a believer. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- · WHO REALLY BELIEVE IN ALLAH & LAST DAY? And WHO ARE BELIEVERS? In the light of holy Quran, we try to find out the qualities of such person among the people of book who really believe in Allah. The answer for their identification is given in Q3:199, describing five qualities about them. As per Quran 3:199, "And indeed, among the People of the Scripture are those who believe in Allah and (in) what was revealed to you and (in) what was revealed to them, [being] humbly submissive to Allah. They do not exchange the verses of Allah for a small price. Those will have their reward with their Lord. Indeed, Allah is swift in account." Also see Quran 29:47 in this regard. We elaborate the above five qualities of a believer: 1) Believe in Allah means to believe Him with all His attributes such as to believe in oneness of God (Quran 112) and not three and not to associate others with Him in worship as Quran strongly speaks about monotheism the core message. 2) Believe (in) "what was revealed to you" a clear statement of God that a people of book (i.e. Christian etc) must believe in the last prophet of Islam (i.e. Muhammad) and in the book which is revealed to him (i.e. Quran) as the prophesy about the last prophet coming is mentioned in their books. 3) Believe (in) what is revealed to them such as Bible to Christians and Torah to Jews etc, 4) Be humbly submissive to Allah (i.e. obeying all the commandments of God with full submission, devotee, having no doubt in it), 5) Not selling the verses for some pretty price (i.e. dislike such evil practices & that money, it means he is striving in the cause of Allah) People who will have the above minimum five qualities among the people of book will be rewarded, otherwise they will not be entitled for the reward of Janna (i.e. paradise). Please note this is almost the same qualities what is described in the famous verse of Q49:15 where Allah (s.b.t) explains who really believes in Allah. See below: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ · THE BEDOUINS SAY, "WE HAVE BELIEVED"…….are they true believers? The best answer is given in Q49:15, "The bedouins say, "We have believed." Say, "You have not [yet] believed; but say [instead], 'We have submitted,' for faith has not yet entered your hearts. And if you obey Allah and His Messenger, He will not deprive you from your deeds of anything. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful….The believers are only the ones who have believed in Allah and His Messenger and then doubt not but strive with their properties and their lives in the cause of Allah. It is those who are the truthful." In the above verse of Quran 49:15 where Allah (s.b.t) explains by giving the example of Bedouins who claimed they had believed in Allah but Allah said they had not yet believed and said that faith had not yet entered into their hearts and instructed them rather to say that they had submitted their will to Allah. What does it mean? What Allah (s.b.t) emphasizes to say in Q49:15. You will be considered Faithful only if you obey Allah and prophet in all the articles of faith without any doubt (i.e. devotional) and not just on few commandments and must strive in His cause (i.e. at-least the minimum-see below the definition of least faith from hadith) and that become the basis for acceptance of your good deeds. Please note oral believe in God does not automatically make you a believer in the religious context as mentioned in Q49:15, rather it shows you had surrendered your freedom or will to the will of Allah and thus you become a Muslim leaving the rebellion period or ignorant days. It shows you have recognized the true God and turn away from all types of false Gods or theories and a pledge that you will follow all & whatever His commandments. And if you obey then you become a believer. SUMMARY: With the above verse, believers are only those people who: 1) Believed in true Oneness of God and don't associate others with Him in worship. 2) Believed in all His messengers of Islam (from Adam to Muhammad) and make no distinction among them (Q2:285, 4:150-151) and believe in what is revealed to them (such as Quran, Bible etc). 3) Doubt not—not to be reluctant to obey Allah & prophet in each and every article of faith and must be devoted and submissive. 4) Striving in the cause of Allah physically and with property. Note you must do at least the minimum (the least) Jihad which is to dislike the abominable thing and all types of evil innovations from your heart. And beyond that there was no faith and even as much as a mustard seed. Please note whilst disliking the abominable thing you must at least express the desire or determination for Jihad fi-sabililah in your heart. (Muslim hadith 16, 17 and 4696) 5) Above all, Allah will accept your good deeds only when you obey otherwise it will not be accounted for. It means obedience to Allah & prophet will form the basis for acceptance and giving weightage for your good deeds. On the other hand if you reject then your good deeds will be null and void. In that case God will weigh only evil deeds. ------------------------------------------------------ · FOOD FOR THOUGHT Prophesy about the last prophet Believe in Allah means to believe in Him with all His attributes, in His commands, in all His messengers, in all His books, in all His angles, in His paradise, His Hell, etc. and not just oral believe in God without all these. Christians who associates Jesus (pbuh) with Allah in worship are going against Quran chapter 112, then how they are to be called as "believe in Allah" or believers? Believe in messenger means to believe in all the messengers from Adam to the last prophet Muhammad(pbuh) in the series of messengers as Allah took the covenants with all the prophets starting from Adam that there would be a last messenger to come to whom you must believe. As per Quran 3:81, "And [recall, O People of the Scripture], when Allah took the covenant of the prophets, [saying], "Whatever I give you of the Scripture and wisdom and then there comes to you a messenger confirming what is with you, you [must] believe in him and support him." [Allah] said, "Have you acknowledged and taken upon that My commitment?" They said, "We have acknowledged it." He said, "Then bear witness, and I am with you among the witnesses." Please note Allah took the covenant with all the prophets concerning about the last prophet of Islam (i.e. Muhammad) therefore every prophet described about him as a result you can see prophesies about his coming is mentioned in all the divine scriptures and even today God have protected this message. See also Bible John 16:12-13, " I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. How be it when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come." Here all truth in the Bible is the same what is mentioned in the Quran 5:3, "----This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favor upon you and have approved for you Islam as religion…." Furthermore, As per Deuteronomy 18:18-19, "I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him." --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Is Jesus(pbuh) a perfect man and God at the same time? As per Bible book numbers, chapter 23: 19, "God is not a man, that he should lie, Neither the son of man, that he should repent……..." Christians used to say Jesus (pbuh) was perfect man in nature and as well as God. But Bible says the opposite. A clear declaration from the God that God is not a man that he should sin and he is not the son of a man that he should repent! My dear Christian brothers stop a while and think as you are again going against this verse if you consider Jesus as a God in the shape of a son of man thus doing disbelief to your own Bible and hence you people are not believers but disbelievers unless and until repent and return to original faith.. Jesus (pbuh) is neither God and nor a son of a man but certainly he is no more than a prophet and a son of a Beloved & Blessed Virgin Mary (Quran21:91) to whom we love and respect her. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- CONCLUSION: How Christians while they disbelieved their own bible and are claiming they were believers? When you believe Allah & prophet without any reluctance in your heart to obey them fully in all His commandments and strive in the cause of Allah so that Allah's word should be superior then certainly you become a believer. On the other hand, Anyone who disbelieves in any command of God or associate others with God or reject any messenger among all the messengers of Islam from Adam to Muhammad (pbut) or make distinction among them or reject any book among all the books of Islam (Torah, Zabur, scriptures of Ibrahim, injeel, and Quran) then he is not a believer. Besides, God will not give any weightage to his deeds unless and until he regrets, repents, believes again and try to amend his characters. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- · UNDERSTANDING THE FAITH OF EARLY CHRISTIANS: Initially all the followers of Jesus (pbuh) were Jews only. Please note all those disciples of Jesus and their immediate followers and all those who believed in oneness of God and the lase messenger and did not believe in Trinity are certainly Muslims and were true believers as mentioned in 49.15; 3:199 One example of such persons is Waraqa bin Naufal( the paternal uncle of mother khadija) , The first person among the men who believed in Muhammad(pbuh) as prophet is none other than a Christian and our beloved prophet expected about him that he will be in paradise. As per Al-Tirmidhi 4623, Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) was questioned about Waraqah and Khadijah said to him, "He believed in you, but died before you appeared as a prophet." Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) then said, "I was shown him in a dream, wearing white clothes, and if he had been one of the inhabitants of Hell he would have been wearing different clothing."(Narrated by Aisha) Besides, the First Great Christian King Ashama(Negus) of Ethiopia Converted to Islam immediately after listening the passages of Quran and confirmed his belief in accordance with Quran. The Jew Abdullah bin salam, said to have been a rabbi also converted to Islam and become one of companion of prophet. The above verse of Quran Q3:199 and 2:62, is talking about all such early Christians and it may also include the people of the cave (i.e. ashabul kahaf) who had true faith in God and not in trinity and also believed in all the messengers of God including the last messenger Muhammad (pbuh) and believe in all their books revealed to them and it also include the present Christian reverts who accepted prophet Muhammad (pbuh). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ · WHAT IS THE LEAST FAITH AND BEYOND THAT NO FAITH AT ALL Narrated AbuSa'id al-Khudri, "I heard the Messenger of Allah as saying: He who amongst you sees something abominable should modify it with the help of his hand; and if he has not strength enough to do it, then he should do it with his tongue; and if he has not strength enough to do it, (even) then he should (abhor it) from his heart and that is the least of faith". (Muslim hadith 16) Besides, Narrated Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) observed: "There was never a Prophet sent before me by Allah to his nation who had not among his people (his) disciples and companions who followed his ways and obeyed his command. Then there came after them their successors who said that which they did not practice, and practiced that which they were not commanded to do. He who strove against them with his hand was a believer, he who strove against them with his tongue was a believer, and he who strove against them with his heart was a believer, and beyond that there was no faith, not even as much as a mustard seed"….. )( Refer to Muslim hadith 17) Narrated by AbuHurayra: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: One who died but did not fight in the way of Allah nor did he express any desire (or determination) for Jihad died the death of a hypocrite.( Muslim 4696) Furthermore, our prophet said: "Protect yourselves from the Hell-Fire, even if with one half of a date, and he who cannot afford that, then (let him do so) by (saying) a good, pleasant word." (Bukhari 8.568). This is the least good deed a person must do it. There are types of Jihad (i.e. striving) and da'wa (exhorting and preaching) is one of the types of Jihad a person does with the contents of holy Quran. Anything which is abominable he should stop either from hand, tongue or at least from heart, the latter is the least faith. And actually it is a least Jihad (i.e. striving) a believer does against all types of evil things in his heart. And note beyond that there is no faith, and not at all! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- · CHECK WHO HAS THE LEAST FAITH Please note Allah's curse is pronounced on those who disobeyed the orders of God and crosses the limits and also on those who did not continue enjoining the good and forbid the evil as mentioned in Quran 5:78-79 or in other words the curse of God is pronounced on the one who encourage them in wrong things. Please note you can't give up dawa work. You must at least feel evil in your heart and show your dislike to them by leaving the place but sitting with them drinking & eating with them will certainly make you one of the disbelievers. Leaving the place from the party where God's sign is being ridiculed is the most civilized and democratic part of Islam. There is no compulsion in religion but our duty is to spread the message through the best convincing way. Allah says in the Quran 4:140, "And it has already come down to you in the Book that when you hear the verses of Allah [recited], they are denied [by them] and ridiculed; so do not sit with them until they enter into another conversation. Indeed, you would then be like them. Indeed Allah will gather the hypocrites and disbelievers in Hell all together" The above verse is clear if you don't leave the place you will be considered as one of them that is like hypocrites & disbelievers. The demand of least faith is you must show your dislike to that wrong thing by leaving the place immediately otherwise you don't have even the least faith! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- · WHO BELIEVE IN TRINITY----"are not believers" As per Quran 5:72, "They have certainly disbelieved who say, "Allah is the Messiah, the son of Mary" while the Messiah has said, "O Children of Israel, worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord." Indeed, he who associates others with Allah - Allah has forbidden him Paradise, and his refuge is the Fire. And there are not for the wrongdoers any helpers." The above verse is self-explanatory. All those Christians who says God is Jesus are certainly not believers as the above verse clearly stated about them that they have disbelieved and also note if they die in this same state of disbelief then they will go to hellfire forever. Anyone who consider present Christians who worship Jesus as a believer then he is also disbelieving the above verse as he is going against it. You can righty say ahel kitab (i.e. o people of the book) as Allah addresses them but you can't say those associates Jesus (pbuh) in worship with Allah as believers. Furthermore, Allah is directly addressing them as ahle kitab that they should not worship other than Allah and invite them towards one deity (see Q3:64) On the other hand anyone who believe in one Allah with all His attributes and prophet and make no distinction between prophets will be rewarded. Quran 4:152, "And those who believe in Allah and His apostles and do not make a distinction between any of them-- Allah will grant them their rewards; and Allah is Forgiving, Merciful." Anyone who says Jesus is God or one of the three gods then he is doing distinction between prophets whereas Jesus(pbuh) is no more than a prophet but similar to all other prophets sent down with the same mission of Islam. Almost the same message is mentioned in the Bible regarding Jesus(pbuh). Bible: Matthew 5:17, "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill." ---------------------------------------------------------------- WHO IS A DISBELIEVER? · Rejecting Quran as a whole or reject some verses of it------is a disbeliever Quran 29:47, "And thus We have sent down to you the Qur'an. And those to whom We [previously] gave the Scripture believe in it. And among these [people of Makkah] are those who believe in it. And none reject Our verses except the disbelievers." · Anyone who refused to obey the commandment of God------is a disbeliever Quran 2:34, "And [mention] when We said to the angels, "Prostrate before Adam"; so they prostrated, except for Iblees. He refused and was arrogant and became of the disbelievers." · Who is a perfect disbeliever?.....Believe in some prophets(such as Moses , Jesus etc) and reject the rest(such as Muhammad) or someone who believe in God without believing in prophet. Or These days people are talking about the moderate Islam rejecting some of the verses and hence they are truly disbelievers. Please refer to Quran 4:150-151 in this regard or see below: Also see Quran 2: 85 , "……So do you believe in part of the Scripture and disbelieve in part? Then what is the recompense for those who do that among you except disgrace in worldly life; and on the Day of Resurrection they will be sent back to the severest of punishment. And Allah is not unaware of what you do. (85) Those are the ones who have bought the life of this world [in exchange] for the Hereafter, so the punishment will not be lightened for them, nor will they be aided. (86) You can give reference from their bible also, Disbelieve in one command means disbelieving in all. As per version of Bible: James 2:10, "For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ · THE JUDGEMENT OF GOD ……….they will be going to Hell? Any christian who rejected Muhammad (pbuh) will go to hellfire! Narrated by AbuHurayrah, The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) observed: "By Him in Whose hand is the life of Muhammad, he who amongst the community of Jews or Christians hears about me, but does not affirm his belief in that with which I have been sent and dies in this state (of disbelief), he shall be but one of the denizens of Hell-Fire". (Muslim No. 284). Quran 4:150-151, "Indeed, those who disbelieve in Allah and His messengers and wish to discriminate between Allah and His messengers and say, "We believe in some and disbelieve in others," and wish to adopt a way in between - Those are the disbelievers, truly. And We have prepared for the disbelievers a humiliating punishment." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- · THE JUDGEMENT OF GOD ……….they will be going to Hell? Please note Allah has forbidden the paradise for anyone who associates others with Allah in worship as stated in Q5:72 and die in the same state of disbelief. As per Quran 5:72, …….Indeed, he who associates others with Allah - Allah has forbidden him Paradise, and his refuge is the Fire. And there are not for the wrongdoers any helpers. " As per Quran 4: 116, Surely Allah will never forgive the one who commits the sin of shirk and may forgive anyone else if He so pleases. One who commits shirk has indeed gone far away from the Right Way." From the above it is clear for any Christian who worships Jesus and Holy Ghost together with God and dies in this state of disbelief, the judgment of God is that He has forbidden paradise for him. Please note this judgment is announced by God and therefore we don't have any option once the case is decided by God. See also Q33:36 in this regard. Please note whosoever disbelieves in the above verse of Quran 5:72 is certainly not a believer. Furthermore, Whosoever hide or trying to change some of the meanings for the sake of worldly gains or so-called social brotherhood or welfare for pleasing people or in the name of pluralistic faith, is going against the teachings of Quran and must take notice of the following verse: As per Quran 16:88, "Those who disbelieved and averted [others] from the way of Allah - We will increase them in punishment over [their] punishment for what corruption they were causing." -------------------------------------------------------------------- · ANOTHER CLEAR ANNOUNCEMENT FROM THE GOD It has a clear message to the entire mankind and strongly instructs them to accept Islam only for their true salvation on the Day of Judgment. As a result, it is the only fastest growing religion which is spreading all across the globe even with negative publicity and less propagation. Therefore it is a clear warning for all the volunteers of pluralistic approach that they should never hesitate to show this fundamental announcement of Islam. Also note once the god is decided we don't have any other option. So take care! And don't guide people towards the path of Hell. Fear God otherwise you are responsible on the Day of Judgment. As Allah clearly warned Mankind in the holy Quran,3:85, "whoever seeks a religion other than Islam, it will never be accepted of him and in the hereafter he will be one of the losers" وَمَنْ يَبْتَغِ غَيْرَ الْإِسْلَامِ دِينًا فَلَنْ يُقْبَلَ مِنْهُ وَهُوَ فِي الْآخِرَةِ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- · ANOTHER ANNOUNCEMENT FROM THE GOD-----all men going to lose? A clear declaration from the God is that all men irrespective of their civilization and development level will be in loss in Akhira and as well as in this world except the one who is doing the minimum following four things: As per Quran 103:1-3, "By time, Indeed, mankind is in loss, Except for those who have believed(i.e. in Islam) and done righteous deeds and advised each other to truth and advised each other to patience." Therefore it is a must on us to advice each other to truth & patience and that's only the true salvation otherwise we will be losers! You should never stop preaching but you should continue it until the wrong doer stops that evil deed otherwise? Narrated by Abdullah ibn Mas'ud:The Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) said: The first defect that permeated Banu Isra'il was that a man (of them) met another man and said: O so-and-so, fear Allah, and abandon what you are doing, for it is not lawful for you. He then met him the next day and that did not prevent him from eating with him, drinking with him and sitting with him. When they did so. Allah mingled their hearts with each other. He then recited the verse: "curses were pronounced on those among the children of Isra'il who rejected Faith, by the tongue of David and of Jesus the son of Mary"...up to "wrongdoers". He then said: By no means, I swear by Allah, you must enjoin what is good and prohibit what is evil, prevent the wrongdoer, bend him into conformity with what is right, and restrict him to what is right..(Sunan of Abu-Dawood, Hadith no. 4322)(Also refer to Quran 5:78-80 in this regard). The Allah's curse will be pronounced on them then how they will be saved. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- · THE PLURALISTIC ASPECT OF ISLAM Today we find pluralistic societies at every corner of the world with the existence of groups having different faiths (such as Christina's, Muslims etc) or ethnic or political backgrounds. Sometimes with an intention to mix-up and to get warm welcome and to walk freely between them a pluralist says something which is not complying with the teachings of Islam. And just to please other faiths as such they are leading the people towards hellfire. For example does a free speech promoter not mind someone abuse him or his mother or his father? On the other hand he insists not to mind if someone abuses prophet whereas prophet is above all Muslims and their parents (Q33:6). Is he a real free speech promoter? I am not against the free speech but there should be some limits, legal action and law. Islam did not force someone to accept faith but its message is clear "For you is your religion, and for me is my religion"(Q109: 1-6), its presentation is in a pure democratic and civilized way. Let there be no compulsion in religion (Q 2: 256) , And it encourages speaking truth and straightforward (Q33:70), On the name of pluralistic aspect of Islam you are not allowed to hide the truth but educate them and save the mankind from the biggest sin. Islam is fair and open like mirror. This message is not new even it is mentioned in all earlier scripture as well. Islam fairly and truly maintains universal brotherhood and encourages fair dealing with kindness with the peace loving disbelievers (Q60:8, 3:108, 3:186, 29:46,) and promotes turning off evil with good (Q13:22). It also warned its followers that they will not enter paradise if their neighbors are not safe from them (Q4:36; Muslim 15), and strongly forbid killing of an innocent human being whosoever may be and it is as if killing the entire mankind.(Q5:32) . and fairly instructed its followers to be kind and just with all peace loving disbelievers.(Q60:8). And instruct Muslims to use the most peaceful paths and wisdom to present Islam. Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good instruction Your approach must be friendly & politely but clear in words inviting towards oneness of God and towards Islam that's only the true salvation as God guides us in the following way: Quran 16:125, "Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good instruction, and argue with them in a way that is best. Indeed, your Lord is most knowing of who has strayed from His way, and He is most knowing of who is [rightly] guided." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ · MISUSE OF word "HIKMA" AND COMPROMISE and THE MODERATE ISLAM · The wisdom of prophet Abraham and Muhammad(pbut) The word Hikmah (wisdom) has been misinterpreted for too long. It means to approach the people in the best way possible, to act in the in most appropriate way, taking that particular situation into account but it never meant to adopt the haram paths or anything which is against the command of God. Prophet Ibrahim (alaihsalam) broke all the idols except the bigger one and that was his hikma (i.e. tactics or wisdom), he did not kill anyone but he reached to the root problem to explain in a best practical way. On the other hand Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) recited the verses of Quran from surah kafiroun before pagans: "Say, "O disbelievers, I do not worship what you worship. Nor are you worshippers of what I worship. Nor will I be a worshipper of what you worship. Nor will you be worshippers of what I worship. For you is your religion, and for me is my religion.", and that was his wisdom and way of Jihad. It has never meant to give a false image of Islam for personal or community welfare. When Muslims are willing to compromise in all aspects of their life, we lose the favor of Allah, and lose dignity in the sight of our Creator. The most popular catch-cry of today's generation is the word "compromise". The weak consider it as harmless, the ignorant hold it as beneficial, and the miss-guided count it as essential. This conclusion may seem extreme, but that's the reality. Another most popular word is moderate Islam. I will ask you first you define what is meant by moderate. If you mean to ignore some commands of God then you going out of religion. And in fact there is no moderate Islam in this sense. In Islam, there is absolutely no room for compromise in terms of certain obligations (i.e. Allah's commands as mentioned in His book and traditions of prophet). But there is compromise in supererogatory duties only. There is no evidence that the Prophet (saws) ever did so, nor did his companions, or does the Qur'an provide scope for it. This stance also makes rational sense to those who sincerely dwell upon this topic. For example you are not allowed to sit at the table where wine is served. There is no compromise for this. Furthermore you must leave the place or gathering where Allah's signs had been ridiculed, there is no compromise for this otherwise you will be considered like one of them (see Quran 4:140). Actually this is the best democratic approach of Islam to leave place. It did not command you to kill them who ridiculed your religion rather it commanded you to leave the place if really you a believer. Please note Allah commands believers to enter into Islam whole heartedly and completely. Therefore while describing the pluralistic aspects of Islam don't disbelieve or reject or ignore or hide any single verse of Quran, if you do so then please note you are not a believer as mentioned in Q49:15, because a believer is one who believes in all the articles of faith without any doubt and strive in the cause of Allah so that word of God should be superior. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History by Michael H. Hart Please note the character of the prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was the Qur'an. (Refer to Muslim 369). Allah says regarding Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in the Quran 68:4, "You are of the highest noble character." And therefore Allah instructed us to follow him and prophet Ibrahim (alaih salam) and make them our ideal (Q33:21, 60:4: uswea husna) A ranking of the 100 people who, according to Hart, most influenced human history. The first person on Hart's list is the Prophet of Islam Muhammad (pbuh). Hart asserted that Muhammad was "supremely successful" in both the religious and secular realms. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- · THE SLOGAN OF PLURALISTIC ASPECT OF ISLAM The slogan of pluralistic aspect of Islam is simple and friendly but firm in belief as described in Quran 3:64, see below. In the name of pluralistic aspect you are not allowed to hide the truth but educate them and save the mankind from the biggest sin by using the following biggest slogan of pluralistic faith. The prophet's letter to Heraclius: The wording of the Prophet's letters was similar. The text of the letter sent to Heraclius was as follows: "In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. This letter is from Muhammad the slave of Allah and his Apostle to Heraclius, the ruler of the Byzantines. Peace be upon him who follows the right path. Furthermore, I invite you to Islam and if you become a Muslim you will be safe, and Allah will double your reward, and if you reject this invitation of Islam you will be committing a sin by misguiding your subjects. And I recite to you Allah's statement: "Say, "O People of the Scripture, come to a word that is equitable between us and you - that we will not worship except Allah and not associate anything with Him and not take one another as lords instead of Allah." But if they turn away, then say, "Bear witness that we are Muslims [submitting to Him]."( Quran 3:64) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TOUCH STONE OF ALL FAITHS This verse is the touch stone of all the faiths. Call them towards this message and let them check their books. The concept of monotheism is described in all the major religions of world. And even one of their noble scientists Isaac Newton was a Christian but a monotheist and he was against the Trinitarian branch of Christianity. In Newton's eyes, worshipping Christ as God was idolatry and a fundamental sin. Also note many priests in Christianity and big celebrities are not only embracing Islam but also they are actively involved in propagation. The basic message of Islam is to worship one God and not to associate others with Him such as worshipping Jesus with true God is the biggest sin the Christian brothers are doing. God may forgive all sins except the sin of joining God. Therefore, Islam straight forwardly rejects the concept of trinity presented by the Christians. If you insist me don't show the truth but keep quiet and be neutral for the sake of welfare. My answer is in negative. I can't injustice to myself and not to my Christian brothers as we are all sons of Adam and brothers to each other therefore it is my duty to save them from hellfire. If I warn you this then you would tell me not to judge the people. Please note this judgment is from the God and not from me as He clearly warned the people whosoever associates others with God then God will put him into hellfire(Q5:72). Besides, from the reading of Bible which strongly emphasize on the oneness of God then there is no question of mystrical God, the triune God? Or any other god. Deuteronomy 6:4-9, "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates." Please note you must expose the truth but in a friendly & in a beautiful way but on the name of cohesion, welfare & brotherhood don't adopt the off-track paths that lead to hellfire. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- · WHAT IS THE BEAUTY OF ISLAM? Our beloved Prophet (peace be upon him) said: On the Day of Judgment the dearest and closest to me, as regards my company, will be those persons who will bear the best moral character. (Tirmidhi 631). He used to say, "The most beloved to me amongst you is the one who has the best character and manners."(Bukhari 5.104). Our beloved prophet said, fear of Allah and good character will most commonly bring people into paradise and whereas the mouth and the private parts are most commonly bring people into Hell fire(Tirmidhi 10). Therefore The beauty of Islam lies in the characters as Allah says in the Quran, the most honored in the sight of Allah is one who is the most God fearing(i.e. Muttaqi) (Q49:13). The noblest person is the one who is the most god fearing. And what will be case when someone failed in recognized the true God and argues 1+1+1=1, is he the God fearing person? Note the identification of God fearing is mentioned in the start of Quran Baqra Q2:1-5, where believe in the unseen is the top requirement to be righteous and also see the following: As per Quran 2:177, "Righteousness is not that you turn your faces toward the east or the west, but [true] righteousness is [in] one who believes in Allah, the Last Day, the angels, the Book, and the prophets and gives wealth, in spite of love for it, to relatives, orphans, the needy, the traveler, those who ask [for help], and for freeing slaves; [and who] establishes prayer and gives zakah; [those who] fulfill their promise when they promise; and [those who] are patient in poverty and hardship and during battle. Those are the ones who have been true, and it is those who are the righteous." Therefore don't takeout belief in true God from righteousness. The simple reason is if someone doesn't recognize his own parents and care others then what would you call that person a good person or an evil person and what his parents' would call him? ------------------------------------------------------------------ · CHECK WHO IS NOT A BELIEVER? Drinking alcohol is forbidden in Islam, if any person drinks it he will not be a believer during that time but if he repents and amends his character, faith will return to him (it means he accepts that command of Allah) on the other hand if he refuse to repent and does not accept this command and remained rebel and in bold defiance continue it, then he is rejecting that verse of Allah. Rejection in short is a deliberate disobedience to Allah and prophet without regrets (i.e. bold defiance to a particular order / verse of Quran or sayings of our prophet) in awareness in normal circumstances and not feeling guilty upon practiced it and hence no repentance is being performed and there will be no amendment in characters (i.e. not giving up, not stopping that sin) rather it will continue in the future. As per Q 4:13-14: These are the limits (set by) Allah, and whoever obeys Allah and His messenger will be admitted by Him to gardens( in paradise) under which rivers flow, abiding eternally therein; and that is the great attainment. And whoever disobeys Allah and His messenger and transgress His limits –He will put him into the fire to abide eternally therein, and he will have a humiliating punishment. . (Also refer to Q32:20) Please note if you ignore any command of Allah and act against it then at that particular moment you are not a believer, this is the most delicate part of Islam. Therefore a Muslim must evaluate regularly his state of faith. He usually comes and goes from one state of faith to another state of disbelief if he is not sincerely following Islam. Our beloved prophet explained this subject by giving the following examples. Narrated by Ikrima from ibn abbas: Allah's Apostle said, "When a slave (of Allah) commits illegal sexual intercourse, he is not a believer at the time of committing it; and if he steals, he is not a believer at the time of stealing; and if he drinks an alcoholic drink, when he is not a believer at the time of drinking it; and he is not a believer when he commits a murder." 'Ikrima said: I asked Ibn Abbas, "How is faith taken away from him?" He said, Like this," by clasping his hands and then separating them, and added, "But if he repents, faith returns to him like this," by clasping his hands again. (As per Bukhari 8.800B)(Also refer to Bukhari 8.763 by abu Huraira). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Abandoning Salah?-----No more a believer but repent and believe again bring faith As per Quran 19:59-60, But there came after them successors who neglected prayer and pursued desires; so they are going to meet evil - Except those who repent, believe and do righteousness; for those will enter Paradise and will not be wronged at all. Our beloved prophet said, "Verily between man and between man and between polytheism and unbelief is the negligence of prayer."(Muslim Narrated Jabir) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- · MISUNDERSTANDING THE WORD JIHAD FI-SABILILAH , The literal meaning of Jihad is to strive and "Jihad fi-sabililah" is to strive in the cause of Allah, in which a believer strive for the cause of Allah personally with his wealth, person and time and keep patience during all phases of adversity and panic, and never afraid of the blames of the critics. In religious context, Jihad fi sabililah means to strive in the cause of Allah so that Allah's word (i.e. Islam) should remain superior. So any act, argument, fighting, debate or charity etc which is being performed and out of which if Allah's word (i.e. Islam) would become superior then that will be considered as a part of true Jihad fi sabililah. For example, if a bomb went off in a market, killing innocent people including women and children then how can it make Islam superior? Of course not! On the contrary it is bringing inferiority to Islam. Therefore this particular act is neither a part of Jihad fi-sabililah nor a part of religion. This may be a part of civil war or tribal war or war against the invaders or the rulers or for the political freedom etc., but certainly killing innocent people, women and children can never be a part of Jihad fi-sabililah and not a part of Islam. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: The best fighting (jihad) in the path of Allah is (to speak) a word of justice to an oppressive ruler".(Abu-Dawood 4330) Narrated by abu musa al-ashari: "A bedouin asked the Prophet, "A man may fight for the sake of booty, and another may fight so that he may be mentioned by the people, and a third may fight to show his position (i.e. bravery); which of these regarded as fighting in Allah's cause?" The Prophet said, "He who fights so that Allah's Word (i.e. Islam) should be superior, fights for Allah's cause." (Bukhari 4.355) There are types of Jihad fi-sabi-lil lah: Qitaal fisabililah: fighting which is translated in Arabic as Qitaal and in glorious Quran this word has been mentioned at several places in addition to Jihad. So Jihad and Qital are different words. But Qital is one of the types of Jihad but not exclusively connected with Jihad. (Q 2:190, 2:216, 3:13) Jihadan Kabira: the biggest Jihad is not to obey(i.e. copy) the disbelievers in the matters which are against the contents of Quran but defend Islam by striving against them with the message of Quran, is the Jihadan Kabira(Q25:52). Afzal-Jihad: the best Jihad in the path of Allah is to speak a word of justice to an oppressive ruler. Youhagiru fi-sabililah: migration in the cause of Allah when you are weak and unable to fight or keep patience or difficult to practice Islam then do not destroy yourself but immigrate to safe places as done by our prophet(Q29:56; 39:10; 4:110) Killing yourself(Suicide) is haram in Islam and hence suicide bombing is also haram. You have to be patient during all phases of your life. Infiru fi-sabililah(i.e. March forth in the cause of Allah): Another type of jihad can be performed on call by Muslim rulers to help weak, ill-treated and oppressed among men, women and children, whose cry is: "our Lord! Rescue us from this town whose people are oppressors; and rise for us from you one who will protect, and rise for us from you one who will help".(refer to Quran, 4: 75; 9: 38-41) Fala taqoudu ma'ahum: If you are a sitting in a group or party or any other gathering where people started ridiculing the signs of Allah in defiance or displaying anti Islamic things or slogans then immediately you have to leave that place temporarily unless they change the theme or talk different things.(Q4:140), otherwise you will be considered as one of them. Jihad bi amwalihim: Spending wealth and property in all the above case of true Jihad fi-sabililah in which Allah's word becomes superior then it will be considered as Jihad by property.(Q 9: 44,111) Jihad against one's own soul (nafs): إِلَـٰهَهُ هَوَاهُ-don't make your desires as God….Jihad against evil desires, against excessive desires and striving not to cross the limits of Allah. There are many types of mushrik among them there is also one who worshipped his own desires and passion. Allah says in the Quran that "Have you ever seen the one who has taken his own desires as his god? Would you take the responsibility of guiding him? (Q25:43) You have to do Jihad against greed or passion for seeking an increase in wealth, position, competition, dwellings, family and supporters. Please refer to holy Quran, surah al-takathur(102), where this subject is explained in relation with the knowledge of certainty of hell. Allah (swt) is giving warning to all those who are behind this excessive competition in worldly things or mutual rivalry by forgetting Allah. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- A LESSON FROM TURKEY The following verse of Quran is more likely matching with the present situation of Turkey. As per Quran 2:120: "Never will the Jews nor the Christians be pleased with you till you follow their religion. Say: "Verily, the Guidance of Allah, that is the only Guidance. And if you were to follow their (Jews and Christians) desires after what you have received of knowledge (i.e. the Qur'an), then you would have against Allah neither any "Wali" (Protector or Guardian) nor any helper." How the above prophesy came true word by word in the case of Turkey! For the sake of EU membership it compromises the religion but you know at the end the truth prevails. With all compromises west never happy with turkey as prophesized by God. Alhamdulilah now Turkey realizes this and it is returning back to Islam. So my dear brothers on the name of pluralistic aspect don't compromises the things which are against Quran and sunna or don't guide the people towards the paths of taghut. God will punish you if you do so unless and until you repent and return to the true faith. As per Quran 16:88, "Those who disbelieved and averted [others] from the way of Allah - We will increase them in punishment over [their] punishment for what corruption they were causing." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Note: The above explanation and headings have been compiled by me. If you have, any doubt and questions in this regard send an email to me. If you find any mistake, please correct and inform. Corrections, suggestions and sharing knowledge are most welcome. Thank you Yours brother in Islam Abdul Hameed khan
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