What is a mazhab (school of Islamic law)

WHAT IS A MADHHAB? WHY IS IT NECESSARY TO FOLLOW ONE?
Q-News Interview, � Nuh Ha Mim Keller 1995

The word madhhab is derived from an Arabic word meaning "to go" or "to take as a way", and refers to a mujtahids choice in regard to a number of interpretive possibilities in deriving the rule of Allah from the primary texts of the Qur'an and hadith on a particular question. In a larger sense, a madhhab represents the entire school of thought of a particular mujtahid Imam, such as Abu Hanifa, Malik, Shafi'i, or Ahmad--together with many first-rank scholars that came after each of these in their respective schools, who checked their evidences and refined and upgraded their work. The mujtahid Imams were thus explainers, who operationalized the Qur'an and sunna in the specific shari'a rulings in our lives that are collectively known as fiqh or "jurisprudence". In relation to our din or "religion", this fiqh is only part of it, for the religious knowledge each of us possesses is of three types. The first type is the general knowledge of tenets of Islamic belief in the oneness of Allah, in His angels, Books, messengers, the prophethood of Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace), and so on. All of us may derive this knowledge directly from the Qur'an and hadith, as is also the case with a second type of knowledge, that of general Islamic ethical principles to do good, avoid evil, cooperate with others in good works, and so forth. Every Muslim can take these general principles, which form the largest and most important part of his religion, from the Qur'an and hadith.

The third type of knowledge is that of the specific understanding of particular divine commands and prohibitions that make up the shari'a. Here, because of both the nature and the sheer number of the Qur'an and hadith texts involved, people differ in the scholarly capacity to understand and deduce rulings from them. But all of us have been commanded to live them in our lives, in obedience to Allah, and so Muslims are of two types, those who can do this by themselves, and they are the mujtahid Imams; and those who must do so by means of another, that is, by following a mujtahid Imam, in accordance with Allahs word in surat al-Nahl, "Ask those who recall, if you know not" (Qur'an 16:43), and in surat al-Nisa, "If they had referred it to the Messenger and to those of authority among them, then those of them whose task it is to find it out would have known the matter" (Qur'an 4:83), in which the phrase those of them whose task it is to find it out, expresses the words "alladhina yastanbitunahu minhum", referring to those possessing the capacity to draw inferences directly from the evidence, which is called in Arabic "istinbat".

These and other verses and hadiths oblige the believer who is not at the level of istinbat or directly deriving rulings from the Qur'an and hadith to ask and follow someone in such rulings who is at this level. It is not difficult to see why Allah has obliged us to ask experts, for if each of us were personally responsible for evaluating all the primary texts relating to each question, a lifetime of study would hardly be enough for it, and one would either have to give up earning a living or give up ones din, which is why Allah says in surat al-Tawba, in the context of jihad:

"Not all of the believers should go to fight. Of every section of them, why does not one part alone go forth, that the rest may gain knowledge of the religion and admonish their people when they return, that perhaps they may take warning" (Qur'an 9:122).

The slogans we hear today about "following the Qur'an and sunna instead of following the madhhabs" are wide of the mark, for everyone agrees that we must follow the Qur'an and the sunna of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace). The point is that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) is no longer alive to personally teach us, and everything we have from him, whether the hadith or the Qur'an, has been conveyed to us through Islamic scholars. So it is not a question of whether or not to take our din from scholars, but rather, from which scholars. And this is the reason we have madhhabs in Islam: because the excellence and superiority of the scholarship of the mujtahid Imams--together with the traditional scholars who followed in each of their schools and evaluated and upgraded their work after them--have met the test of scholarly investigation and won the confidence of thinking and practicing Muslims for all the centuries of Islamic greatness. The reason why madhhabs exist, the benefit of them, past, present, and future, is that they furnish thousands of sound, knowledge-based answers to Muslims questions on how to obey Allah. Muslims have realized that to follow a madhhab means to follow a super scholar who not only had a comprehensive knowledge of the Qur'an and hadith texts relating to each issue he gave judgements on, but also lived in an age a millennium closer to the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) and his Companions, when taqwa or "godfearingness" was the norm--both of which conditions are in striking contrast to the scholarship available today.

While the call for a return to the Qur'an and sunna is an attractive slogan, in reality it is a great leap backward, a call to abandon centuries of detailed, case-by-case Islamic scholarship in finding and spelling out the commands of the Qur'an and sunna, a highly sophisticated, interdisciplinary effort by mujtahids, hadith specialists, Qur'anic exegetes, lexicographers, and other masters of the Islamic legal sciences. To abandon the fruits of this research, the Islamic shari'a, for the following of contemporary sheikhs who, despite the claims, are not at the level of their predecessors, is a replacement of something tried and proven for something at best tentative.

The rhetoric of following the shari'a without following a particular madhhab is like a person going down to a car dealer to buy a car, but insisting it not be any known make--neither a Volkswagen nor Rolls- Royce nor Chevrolet--but rather "a car, pure and simple". Such a person does not really know what he wants; the cars on the lot do not come like that, but only in kinds. The salesman may be forgiven a slight smile, and can only point out that sophisticated products come from sophisticated means of production, from factories with a division of labor among those who test, produce, and assemble the many parts of the finished product. It is the nature of such collective human efforts to produce something far better than any of us alone could produce from scratch, even if given a forge and tools, and fifty years, or even a thousand. And so it is with the shari'a, which is more complex than any car because it deals with the universe of human actions and a wide interpretive range of sacred texts. This is why discarding the monumental scholarship of the madhhabs in operationalizing the Qur'an and sunna in order to adopt the understanding of a contemporary sheikh is not just a mistaken opinion. It is scrapping a Mercedes for a go-cart.

� Nuh Ha Mim Keller 1995

Bimsillah

Anti-Madhabism (rejecting Islamic legal school) ?
By Abdal Hakim Murad

It is common now to see young activists prowling the mosques, criticising other worshippers for what they believe to be defects in their worship, even when their victims are following the verdicts of some of the great Imams of Islam. The unpleasant, Pharisaic atmosphere generated by this activity has the effect of discouraging many less committed Muslims from attending the mosque at all. No-one now recalls the view of the early ulama, which was that Muslims should tolerate divergent interpretations of the Sunnah as long as these interpretations have been held by reputable scholars.

In a Western-influenced global culture in which people are urged from early childhood to think for themselves and to challenge established authority, it can sometimes be difficult to muster enough humility to recognise ones own limitations. The belief that ordinary Muslims, even if they know Arabic, are qualified to derive rulings of the Shariah for themselves, is an example of this egotism running wild. To young people proud of their own judgement, and unfamiliar with the complexity of the sources and the brilliance of authentic scholarship, this can be an effective trap, which ends by luring them away from the orthodox path of Islam and into an unintentional agenda of provoking deep divisions among the Muslims. The fact that all the great scholars of the religion, including the hadith experts, themselves belonged to madhhabs, and required their students to belong to madhhabs, seems to have been forgotten. Self-esteem has won a major victory here over common sense and Islamic responsibility.

Shaykh Said Ramadan al-Buti, who has articulated the orthodox response to the anti-Madhhab trend in his book: Non-Madhhabism: The Greatest Bida Threatening the Islamic Sharia, likes to compare the science of deriving rulings to that of medicine. "If ones child is seriously ill", he asks, "does one look for oneself in the medical textbooks for the proper diagnosis and cure, or should one go to a trained medical practitioner?" Clearly, sanity dictates the latter option. And so it is in matters of religion, which are in reality even more important and potentially hazardous: we would be both foolish and irresponsible to try to look through the sources ourselves, and become our own muftis. Instead, we should recognise that those who have spent their entire lives studying the Sunnah and the principles of law are far less likely to be mistaken than we are.

Another metaphor might be added to this, this time borrowed from astronomy. We might compare the Quranic verses and the hadiths to the stars. With the naked eye, we are unable to see many of them clearly; so we need a telescope. If we are foolish, or proud, we may try to build one ourselves. If we are sensible and modest, however, we will be happy to use one built for us by Imam Abu Hanifah, o Imam Malik or Imam al-Shafi'i or Ibn Hanbal, and refined, polished and improved by generations of great astronomers. A madhhab is, after all, nothing more than a piece of precision equipment enabling us to see Islam with the maximum clarity possible. If we use our own devices, our amateurish attempts will inevitably distort our vision.

A third image might also be deployed. An ancient building, for instance the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, might seem imperfect to some who worship in it. Young enthusiasts, burning with a desire to make the building still more exquisite and well-made (and no doubt more in conformity with their own time-bound preferences), might gain access to the crypts and basements which lie under the structure, and, on the basis of their own understanding of the principles of architecture, try to adjust the foundations and pillars which support the great edifice above them. They will not, of course, bother to consult professional architects, except perhaps one or two whose rhetoric pleases them nor will they be guided by the books and memoirs of those who have maintained the structure over the centuries. Their zeal and pride leaves them with no time for that. Groping through the basements, they bring out their picks and drills, and set to work with their usual enthusiasm.

There is a real danger that Sunni Islam is being treated in a similar fashion. The edifice has stood for centuries, withstanding the most bitter blows of its enemies. Only from within can it be weakened. No doubt, Islam has its intelligent foes among whom this fact is well-known. The spectacle of the disunity and fitnas which divided the early Muslims despite their superior piety, and the solidity and cohesiveness of Sunnism after the final codification of the Shariah in the four Schools of the great Imams, must have put ideas into many a malevolent head. This is not to suggest in any way that those who attack the great madhhabs are the conscious tools of Islams enemies. But it may go some way to explaining why they will continue to be well-publicised and well-funded, while the orthodox alternative is starved of resources. With every Muslim now a proud mujtahid, and with taqlid dismissed as a sin rather than a humble and necessary virtue, the divergent views which caused such pain in our early history will surely break surface again. Instead of four madhhabs in harmony, we will have a billion madhhabs in bitter and self-righteous conflict. No more brilliant scheme for the destruction of Islam could ever have been devised.

Wisdom Of Islam

By

Muhammad ibn Katebur Rahman

(Truth is from Allah, errors are from man and Satan,

The hand only expresses, the mind only receives, the heart realizes)

Bismillah

Preface



Praise be to our Loving Lord, giver of love, mercy and the feeling of ecstasy in our lives, and peace be upon our glorious Leader Prophet Muhammad and his true companions and may Allah mercy and forgive all the Muslims whose repentance is sincere. This book is a collection of paragraphs dealing with various issues of religion. May this book, by Allah�s help, be a help to minimizing our differences and accelerate our long needed unity. May Allah give us understanding and guidance. Amen



Bismillah



Wisdom of Islam on:



Science



Para 1



Islam doesn�t prohibit using medicines because diseases are created by Allah and so are cures for all diseases. The only thing is to identify what constitutes a disease and the best cure for such a disease. There are three types of medical approach: the accurate one where you know the disease and the cure for it, the probable one where you know the disease and the best cure from other probable cures, and the disease where there is no cure yet discovered by men. The example of first type is as pinpointed by Prophet (saas) "...You should not torture your children by treating tonsillitis by pressing the tonsils or the palate with the finger, but use incense." (Bukhari) The example of the second type is �The best medicines you may treat yourselves with are cupping and sea incense.� (Bukhari) And the example of the last is �The Prophet allowed the treatment of poisonous sting with Ruqya (reciting Sura fatihah)." (Bukhari) But question is, are the medicines which prophet (saas) applied in His time specific to His time and that no other better medicine shall be discovered or not? It is absolutely possible that Allah may reveal to Prophet (saas) a certain cure which is specific for a certain disease specific to His time. It is because complicated medicines and treatments weren�t accessible at the time of Prophet (saas). Why do I say such a thing? I say this because extreme people in Muslims may absolutely bar use of modern medicines thinking that those medicines of the time of Prophet (saas) are the only medicines. This stance of these extremists will torture many innocent patients including children and women. Our failure to do research in medicines cannot be a reason for leaving use of advanced medicines, well in fact our leader Prophet Muhammad (saas) had given us a massive head start in medical front which we have failed to benefit from.



Para 2



The nourishment of the intellect comes with self study, knowledge of Allah, philosophy and logic. Without nourishment the intellect loses basic principles for intellectual dialogue, and religious studies.



Para 3



Legally, inability can be defined as the absence of mental and/or physical power or strength by which to advance actions or begin to advance it intentionally and by determination, and that which if coerced to attain this advancement in either mental or physical front harms the person by disabling him from mental activism and/or physical activism resulting necessary laziness, stagnation and hopelessness, highly probable of mental and/or physical harm even if the will arises for an action in this person he is unable to realize it (without coercing himself-under normal state) in determination and/or activation.



Para 3



Knowledge imparting is like building a building where you put bricks and frames architecting the design how it should be put and what it should look like at end. There are many buildings we see and not all of them have a good design or a good layer of bricks put in to it so it may look ugly and it may be weak and break down yet all these are bricks and layers and cements. Universities can make buildings of knowledge like this and they can also make buildings with grand design and strong frame. This is what differentiates universities from universities that are how it has put such bricks and cements and frames to erect a building of knowledge (which are courses, departments, way of teachings, books and lectures i.e. the total methodology of educational atmosphere). Looking at the creation of Allah will enlighten us even more how HE has created everything with design and beauty. Scholars must take an example from Allah's creation in formulating universities and university curriculum in its entirety. We can't just throw some books and lecture some ideas and sayings from these books to students, or prolong their study methods or study hours. The result will be a building with a bad look (incomplete knowledge) and weak frame (i.e. weak mind of the pupils).





God



Para 4



If attributing Allah literally takes to physical division of His oneness then such attributes are taken in the metaphorical sense.



Para 5



God is free completely from the creation by genus or by singularity or by specifics, so for example if we take certain attributes in the literal sense it may necessitate the similarity by genus, for example Hand of God. We can say then the similarity by genus is that of body. If it is said that God has a hand unlike the creation then we are proposing dissimilarity in the specifics and singularity, but not by genus which is body. But some may say that just as we say Life of God unlike life of creation, so to Hand of God unlike hand of creation (i.e. humans). This is an improper analogy (qiyas maa Fariq). Where is the basis of analogy in the former? In the later the basis was body unlike in the former. Because some things do not fall under genus, such is the case of mercy, or life. Rather something exist in conjunctions and some individually. Life of human for example exists in conjunction of body, organs, blood, and lastly soul etc. Life of God however doesn�t exist in conjunction as that would make interdependence in God�s Being, so Life of God exists singularly, the reality of which we do not know and can never know. So God�s attributes are known firstly from His names which are positive attributes, then His attributes are known by negation which are attributes from the mutashabihat (allegorical) verses, and the basis of this ��knowledge by negation�� is ��There is none like unto Him�� (verse from holy Quran). Then His attributes are known by taking verses on their non-literal sense which if were taken literally would make His attribute/s similar to creation, and the proof of that is �And none knows its taweel except Allah...�� (verse...). But this doesn�t give us an absolute permission to search for the correct interpretation. Lastly understanding of His attributes is known always in the minimal way due to our lack of understanding and the proof is ��Vision grasps Him not...�� (verse...)



Para 6



We cannot possibly understand Allah's existence in absolutely full sense; neither can we come to explain His essence and attributes in the full sense. Whatever then is between Him and us in relation to His self and our mind then it is always incomplete in perception because of the limit of our mind and limit of our language. What then we need to do when our language is limited yet we want to know about Allah correctly as allowed by our mind? We then form concepts on the basis of multiplicity of language combinations, rather than abiding by a singularity of language. So when Allah wants to express an intended meaning through language, and such language has more than one meaning one used more than other one, yet the intended meaning is the less used one what are we to do? We need to take three steps as stated by the theologians of Ahl Sunnah wa jamah the followers of Imam Ashari and they are: understanding context of the language, evidence of other texts, or analogy. This is only then when the evident meaning of the language if taken will be improper for Allah, such as taking Hand of Allah in the literal sense.



Para 7



Know this that the Ahl Sunnah has stated that some attributes exalts Allah and some if attributed to Him belittles Him, thus they stated attributes of perfection and attributes of imperfection, necessarily, the mind perceives it. For example the Saq, which is attributed to Allah, how come when human is said to have one saq it points to a defective human, is attributed to Allah?! It is more befitting that He be not attributed with a Saq in the literal sense, because it contradicts the necessary exaltation of Allah, by the mind. You claim that just as human has mercy, so too Allah has mercy, thus just as human has hand, so too Allah has hand, but without how, and this is not tashbeeh. It is what you say to us. Know this that, the effect of attribute is different from having the attribute, thus we see that there are some who has been shown mercy by Allah, which points to His mercy, just as created points to His creativity, unlike having hands, eyes, saq, face, body, laughter, fingers, palm, settlement. That is to say it is possible for some attributes (of Allah) to be there without it being similar to the humans, because we see the effect of such attribute, and it entails anthromorphism, if certain attributes are said to be possessed by Allah, thus for the sake of exaltation and escape from belittling Allah, necessarily, literalism must be rejected.



Para 8



Every word has a reality in our existence, words which express a meaning, thus every attribute has a reality in our existence. How then such attributes we can connect and apply for Allah, the One true God, if its reality is connected to human existence? Will not it then imply a resemblance of God to our reality? The answer is no, it won�t because the premise ��every attribute has a reality in our existence�� doesn�t necessarily mean, every attribute has its root in our existence. There are attributes which are rooted from God, and God has imparted an idea regarding it in our existence, so we may understand it such as the seven attributes of God. There are yet attributes which are rooted from our existence solely for our existence which when applied to God necessitate interpretation to live up with the Highness of God, such as attributes of hand, face, eye, laughter etc. So attributes are rooted from God�s reality and its partial image is applied to our existence so we may know God, and attributes which are rooted from our existence and applied to God in an indirect metaphorical way so we may understand the intention of such. The orthodox Islamic scholars of the ashaira school of thought by Allah�s mercy and guidance have understood this and thus they have named attributes of perfection and attributes of imperfection. So ponder well.



Para 9



If the lexical (literal) meaning of a word is allowed to be decided by the authority of custom usage of people then it is more entitled to be decided by the custom usage (urf) of the intellect, because intellect is more precise and authoritative than social custom, so for example if a certain scholar interprets the Hand of Allah, for example as His power then we should never say it is heresy, because the custom of the rational mind find it detesting to give Allah a literal sense of the hand, and so on.



Para 10



The scope of meaning of language or for that matter words can be extended through conceptual extrapolations and broadening and thus language is not only limited to usage in a certain dimension of concepts and perception. This is general rule of language but not universally applicable in a certain language's mode of activity because that would call for changes of the established basics, and also denying this as a general rule would call for the end of conceptual extrapolation and new perceptible entities through this language. For example "hand" can be used as hand with flesh and bone but if we apply the general rule then it can be used in many other situations and frame-set of concepts and perceptions.



Para 11



Laws of creation doesn't bind or is applicable on Allah for He is beyond all limitations thus when Allah wills that He interacts with His creation He creates conditions which may or may not be understood by created beings. Such will be the way of His vision by the believers as stated in Hadeeth as Ashari school of thought has hinted to.



Soul



Para 12



The nature of sin in connection with the human soul is in two ways: The face of conflict and the face of habit. The face of conflict is when a human yearns for a sin yet his inner self yearns not to do it thinking it as evil then at this point between doing and not doing rises the face of conflict and the jihad of nafs (self struggle). If he succeeds then he has won in defeating evil for a while. The other type is when human does sin whenever it comes up without there, rising a conflict in him and this point is the point of habit when he does it without an inner struggle, and this is the phase when he starts losing the consciousness of evil as evil, and evil becomes to him another type of human freedom. In Holy Quran there is three types of human self: the self which is compliant with the will of Allah, obeying Him and finding the pleasure in obedience and righteousness, this is the point of the self dissolving itself with good. The other is the self in struggle i.e. point of conflict and the last is the evil self, i.e. the habitual self. The two extremes are decided by the self depending on the basis of the point of struggle. Allah has made many ways and many escapes for us to attaining the positive extreme from the point of struggle, for example he has made lawful marriage to leave the sexual evils, he has made many food lawful to leave the evil resulting from food and wasting, he has made many systems of religion to check the appearance of evil in human societies and human self and this is the practical law of Islam dealing with human social existence. The existence is the war between the Satan and the Righteous, between good and evil. This is the universal cause of our existence and the point which makes us the ally of Satan or of Righteous, is the worship of Allah. Allah has thus ordained the universal system of Divine bondsmanship so that we, man attain the victory over evil, and this system of Divine success is the religion of Allah, His formula for the soul to attain its goal. So we have the system of Islam and the system of non-Islam, the existence of Islam and the existence of non-Islam. Whatever conflict exists is between good and evil, and the nature of conflict is determined by the balance of Islam in practical implementation and the balance of non-Islam in practical implementation. Islam in this sense the Divine religion from Adam till Muhammad (saas), i.e. the obedience to divine will. The universal goal of humanity is thus his return to this Divine Will thereby attaining the success of loftiest peace and ecstatic pleasure in their selves.



Servitude of the Divine



Para 13



All religions almost speak about moral good and justice and self purification but by destroying the essence of human nature and failing to uphold the balance of human mind and emotions, individual and society, due to its lack of understanding and vision. Only Islam has a guidance universal dealing with moral virtues, human nature, justice, society, existence, and most important God, as to say Islam has given the universal balance for human existence. A religion which is from God is far greater than religion which is from men's follies and emotional responses, such as Christianity, Judaism, or Hinduism etc.



Para 14



The ultimate gift of worship in this world is inner peace and inner pleasure, which many may not acquire except whom Allah wills. Indeed worship is the relationship between you and Allah and as we see depth of relationship varies among humans so too it varies with Allah. This inner peace is ecstasy, and vision of enlightenment, where as the inner pleasure is continuous rejoice and joy. This cannot be obtained unless one worships Allah with balance and correct framework of worship without extremism or laxity. Understanding of the universal frame of Islamic worship is a necessity. Only correct Sufism can probably be a help to this.



Para 15



Just as the capability of the physical form of humans is limited even though the intent for action is there so too the mind/heart of the human has its capability limited even though there is the intent of further inner decisions resulting in to actions. That is why human self can attain ''malal'' (boredom) as stated in hadeeth in Bukhari, while dictating that ''actions are done as much as is able''. Therefore we shouldn't force anyone or irritate anyone by continuous or regular sermons and/or advices of religious deeds.



Para 16



Any blessing or mercy Allah has done on His servants generally or specifically, essentially or suddenly must be thanked. This thanking is then an act of worship whose norm must be established by Holy Quran or Sunnah Saheeh (established), free from disagreement as to its validity. A general blessing or mercy such as giving us two eyes, or marriage partner and so on and also the specific mercy or blessing must be thanked generally/specifically through obeying Allah's Commands and also by doing established voluntary acts such as tahajjud (night) prayer, fasting, or being charitable. As to specific blessing or mercy the thanking is given in the specific day the blessing was or mercy was given such as the night of Miraj when Allah made our prayer from 50 to 5 times and so on, on the condition that the worshipper remembers the blessing or mercy and acts on it, without any belief attaching to his thanking as to being prescribed in the Holy Quran or Sunnah directly unless it is done so. So for example one cannot believe that thanking in the night of Miraj ascent), is established Sunnah, and so on. Any new form of worship and new way of discharging it cannot be made in to Islam. This is heresy.



Ethics



Para 17



Men are superior to women in position, authority and dominance. All of these words are somewhat in the same degree but implication of these words has sharp differences. Most verses which demand discharge of a duty are directed to the male sex in the Holy Quran showing greater role and importance of the male sex, even including the matters regarding women such as the inheritance, for example in Surah Nisa the wording used by Holy Quran regarding female inheritance is ''wa lahun'' in the third person sense while as male ''wa lakum'' in the second person sense. These shows among other verses of Holy Quran that Male are superior in position and authority. One more example is the verse 19 of the same Sura, even Allah commands male not to inherit women forcefully ''la tarisu nisa karha..'' but doesn�t say ''la yarisukun rijal karha'' meaning, the men shouldn�t inherit you forcefully, or similar to it, thus showing the superiority of male sex in human existence, in position and authority.



Para 18



Marriage is a blessing of Allah which breaks boundaries and maps, social classes and colour, because it is based on love which Allah has placed in our hearts and the love is best safe guarded in a pious bond where the man and woman are Islamic and humble to Allah. But there are people these days who do not believe in such wholly. Such people are destroying the mutuality of human race and their affirmation towards the servitude to Allah.



Para 19



Verily this religion of ours teaches us good behaviour and self dignity. Today when a Muslim talks with a westerner he/she talks in great awe thereby losing his/her dignity and religious pride but when a westerner talks with one of us he/she doesn't lose her western dignity and doesn't give in to awe and behavioural glorification. Our children must be taught to attain dignity by teaching them the greatness of Allah, the proud history of Islam and Muslims. Without our religious dignity what are we? A Muslim needs to realize that the power and wealth they posses are temporal and Allah given, and the style and culture which come forth from such wealth and power are arrogance and denial (of humility).



Para 20



People taste of women through marriage then they come to know their luxury and taste. This taste is fuelled by some other factors. Firstly it is in human nature to desire women, yet this desire has some catalysts where this desire is fuelled and men seek to rush to taste women. To ease accessibility to this taste people form groups and perform organized crime through women trafficking or governments allow brothels. It is not in the dignity and honour of Muslim women to be a tool in being a food of these hungry men. Their honour and dignity must be safeguarded. Muslim women cannot be the catalysts that will fuel men's desires thus they must be under veil and their movements restricted. It is from herself to safeguard her for her true love i.e. husband and it is on the Islamic leader of the state to impose law of veiling on its women citizens so that organized crime cannot find its way in this nation by preying on women, attracted towards them by their manifestation of beauty. All technological means as well as social and economical means by which women may be exposed to be a lure for men must be cleverly and diligently halted by the Islamic state. A just and wise leader will do that in this age.



Para 21



The matrimonial bond is dissolution. This bond is validated by law of Allah, and this dissolution is the unity of two souls through the pleasure of sex starting with admiration and foreplay. All other except this is not dissolution but annihilation. Thus only matrimonial sex must be sought by the human kind.



Para 22



Islam is a religion of balance which necessitates justice in the entire picture of its essence. For example a virgin girl is not allowed to marry without her guardian's permission, and also the Islamic judge must break the marriage of a virgin girl which she was forced to do from her guardian. What does this hold of balance? Well without the permission of her guardian would mean that she doesn't marry out of haste to someone she chooses, and virgin girls may do it out of impatience of their lust or desire or knowing the first impression of manly love which can be deceptive, thus her guardian who is wiser than her in such a matter holds the right to deny her permission when she wants to marry someone who may seem to be good and nice to her. Also the guardian may not force her to marry because the prophet (saas) broke such a marriage. It is her right to enjoy the marriage life and live in peace thus she will marry one she loves and her guardian will permit her when they think such a man is truly loved and loves her. Such is an example of balance in the most important part of human existence: marriage.



Para 23



Man's mind must be free from the subjugation of woman and her deceptions, because man must lead and leadership cannot be attained through subjugation. That is why Man is Qawwam (absolutely authoritative) on women.



Law



Para 24



A mazhab (school of Islamic legal thought) is based on years of evolved principles which culminate a body of Islamic intellectual heritage. The furu (sub branch) of mazhab (school of Islamic legal thought) can only be abandoned when it directly contradicts the purpose of an well established saheeh hadeeth, and that this hadeeth has no disagreement in its being saheeh, and/or when a furu of a mazhab has a weaker prove than that of another mazhab, a prove which is decisive in its weakness, and strength. Being able to realize this is the act of Mujtahid among other acts.



Para 25



Mazhab is the majority agreement of scholars on a certain issue or ruling whether legal, judicial, theological or historical.



Para 26



When the jurist face a certain issue then he needs to connect the risen issue with the Islamic Texts of Holy Quran and must try to understand the purpose of the root legislation of Allah regarding the issue at hand. So the jurist will break down an issue in many parts through questioning and comparison of the issue and then elaborate these broken parts in the light of the Texts.

Para 27



To follow a mazhab is to follow the usool (principles) of that mazhab and this can only be done by scholars thus only scholars can follow a mazhab in the sense of understanding inferred opinions in that mazhab as well as giving new opinions, based on those usool of this mazhab. One who thus understands the inferred opinions and pass down fatwa by it is not a mujtahid but a mufti and one who does both is a mujtahid.





Theology



Para 28



The one who understands religion free from rationalism will not understand it and the one who understands religion purely on basis of rationalism will destroy it and one who understands religion with the balance of rationalism and non-rationalism will understand it as much as Allah wills. The ashaira is the only sect who has been able to done so and the ashaira as religious sect based on the ashaira as the intellectual sect is the sect who has understood religion properly, Allah willing. Those who name themselves ashairas from the misguided Sufis and other deviant religious sects are sects which are not based on the intellectual Ash�arism.



Para 29



The service of Islam stands on three fronts and only the united cooperation of Muslims can serve these three fronts and they are: Defence of Islam (intellectual, political and armed), Islah (purification of the Muslim mind, soul and thoughts and actions by calling them to Islam and worship of Allah sincerely and with simplicity free from extremism and burden), and Dawah (Preaching Islam to non-Muslims with knowledge and vast wisdom and cleverness).



Para 30



One of many form of extremism in the name of Islam is that choosing and acting on some part of Islam and leaving or forgetting other parts thinking it as not important or other way of denial, and seeing down with contempt to those who do not follow this way. This is a cause of sectarianism. Our approach to religious duty must be clear-viewed and flexible in adopting without twisting its importance and value.



Para 31



Almost all of the commands of Holy Quran and Sunnah relates to the mind and the body. The obligatory ones relate to the benefit of Mind and body which we may come to understand or not and the forbidden ones relate to the two also but in the negative way of which we may come to perceive or not. For example, music is forbidden and it is considered an entertainment yet also some companions played chess yet it is also a type of entertainment but the effect of the two on the mind is different that is why one is forbidden and the other is permissible but the question is, does our understanding or realization of the mind and body benefit and harm, make a law obligatory or permissible or forbidden or not? The answer is: no.



Para 32



Preaching is the dialogue of the minds where one mind is in conflict with the other or is in submission. When there is a submission the preaching is a success and when there is conflict then the success is either in submission or in the intellectual win over the opposite. The example of the submission would be a preacher calling a person to Islam and he submits realizing the light of Islam, and the example of the conflict would be when a preacher engages with a person who either submits or has his intellectual position intellectually defeated through arguments and reasoning. There is no place of force or stubbornness in preaching except that it takes time and varies from mind to mind and society to society and class to class. Preaching is then an art.



Para 33



The theology of Ashari (orthodox Islam) is defensive and negative ensuring that Allah doesn't resemble creation and this is a defence of God's Highness, where as the theology of the today salafis sect)is positive and affirmative not drawing the line between the creation and Creator thereby making it difficult for the general masses to digest the concept of Creator. The belief of the early theologians among Tabeen and Companions was in the general norm that of belief in what Allah has affirmed His self without adding the word Haqiqi or Majazi, even though some companions were well versed about Allah's Names and attributes such as Ali, Ibn Abbas.









Politics



Para 34



All change, revolution and leap starts in the mind, in the working of the thoughts. Therefore our Islamic intellectuals must have a mind of activism and not passivism because passivism hazes our thoughts and makes us ignorant about the threats and our enemies. Activism in the mind is the resistance from the mind and thoughts resulting in actions and deeds.



Para 35



The rise of the khawarij relates to a certain political and social context of Muslims and these ignorant rebels were breakers of peace and stability. Are we to relate the Islamic political activists or parties today in that category where as today what we need is a political entity of Muslim intellectuals to represent Islam as a government and religion and way of life. Are these political entities rebels and breakers of peace and stability or are the Arab leaders the cause of chaos and instability in Muslim lands? If they are the reason and they are, then how to deal with them? Through violence or through means of politics and diplomacy? The latter is what is conforming to Islam. We can only bring the end of Islamic parties through violence. That is why Islamic parties of the world cannot be ruled by fools and ignorant just as khawarij were. It must be lead by people who champions piety and knowledge of the two worlds.



Para 36



All Sunnis must help the Iranian government and vice-versa. This help is very spacious. This help and support includes among most important aspects economic, military and political. The Iranians and the Sunnis will form an alliance on conditions where Iranians will help Sunnis establish Sunni rule on Sunni land and Sunni won't interfere in Iran or Lebanon, or Shia Iraq territory. We cannot support the enemy of Islam i.e. the Israel and USA against Iran neither Iran will support any other nation or itself against us.



Education



Para 37



Knowledge is two types: innovative or creative, and informative. A good scholar is one who innovate knowledge from informative knowledge. For example history is informative knowledge and making a claim and judgment on history is innovative knowledge. Our students must learn to be creative along with being informative. Thus our system of Islamic education is to be based on mental variablelism where we need mental stability and longevity of constancy for the thinking mind, on the subjects of knowledge.

The Oneness of Allah

In a day and age when nothing seems acceptable without proof, we find many aspects of our religion are based on complete faith. We are required to believe in many things with or without proof. From amongst these things, is the belief that Allah exists and that He is the creator of this world and that He has no partner in His being or any of his infinite qualities. We have to not only believe this, but also proclaim it.

As we look into the lives of the pious predecessors, we find that they have been asked as to how Allah exists. They have answered in many different ways:

1) Imam Abu Hanifah was posed with this question in a debate with an atheist. The time and date was set for the debate. The whole village gathered but the Imam did not turn up on time. When he eventually arrived, the atheist began to taunt him that he was scared and that is why he turned up late.

The Imam answered calmly: �I was on my way but encountered a river. There was no bridge or boat to cross the river. To my amazement, I see a tree coming out of the ground and begin to shape itself in the form of a boat that enters the water; I was able to board it and cross the river�

The atheist began to laugh and disgrace the Imam. The Imam said the real joke is on you. If this is not possible then how can this whole world come into existence and be maintained in this order without a creator.

2) Imam Malik was asked the same question. He replied that I see a cow, a silk worm, and a honey bee, all eat the same leaf but they all produce different products. This proves to me that there is a creator who has the power to do this.

3) Imam Shafi replied to this question that the different language that people speak and use to communicate proves to me that this world has a creator.

4) Imam Ahmed on being asked this question replied that once I took three eggs of a chicken and three of a duck and placed them with the mother hen. When they hatched, they were taken to a pond. The ducks without hesitation jumped into the water but the chicks remained on the bank. Who taught the duckling to jump in the water and who taught the chicks to refrain from this? There surely has to be a creator.

Besides this, if a person truly ponders on creation, he himself will find many signs guiding him to the belief that Allah exists and that he is One.

Appearances, Identity and Senses
There are billions of people but each and every person has unique features, different eyes and also unique finger prints. Allah has created many aesthetic and functional features for us such as eyebrows. These divert sweat away from eyes, enhances the beauty of the face and do not grow at a rate of other hair on the body. Fingertips are used all the time, whenever we use our hands to grip, touch, push or tap an object. They are strengthened and protected by finger nails and Allah the most merciful replaces this protection without inconvenience to us. Imagine trying to peel a banana where your finger tips would be as flimsy as banana skin or with constant use, wear and tear, they become rigid - we would loose our sense of sensitive touch not to mention damaging the computer keyboard! However with this common function of the tip of the digit Allah still made us unique; fingerprints are the ridge pattern of the skin on a person's fingertips; this is constant through life and no two are exactly the same. What kind of system allows siblings to have different fingerprints? Even though the fingerprints of the parents do not change yet each person has unique prints that are different to their brothers/sisters even where they have the same biological mother and father. What king of system design can implement this and keep everyone's finger prints unique all over the world for all time!

Brain - The brain consists amongst other things grey and white matter joined by nerves that sends chemical electrical waves reaching speeds of 160 m/525 ft per second. The brain is a magnificent controller encased in bone and capping all emotional interchanges: touch/taste, sight, smell, hearing and speech. Even though its signals can travel at high speed the position of the brain in close proximity to these senses further ensures a smaller distance of signal travel for the most highly used senses. In addition the grouping of the brain with the face and senses (the whole head) reduces the vulnerable areas to one: the head of the body. Thus by protecting it one can avert total incapacity (Other vital organs have been protected by cage of bones � rib cage). Allah has facilitated our survival by providing the mechanisms to enable us to live life safely and in comfort. These features have been designed and replicated millions of times by Allah without mutating the position of these senses.

Even our auditory senses are positioned in a prime location so that we can hear sounds 360 degrees in any direction. Had our ears been positioned closer to our eyes our range would have been considerably less; we would be able to hear what was coming but we could see them coming anyway so the ears are there to sense at different frequencies that which we can't see. Our eyes however allow us to view almost 180 degrees and we can perceive objects in 3 dimensions, colour and we can move the components of our eyes so that we can pan and tilt our visual range. The muscles of the eye are used about 100,000 times a day to focus on particular things near or far. The same organ is so unique to each person that the retina of an eye can be scanned and biometrically used for security systems � again the same function of sight, replicated around the world but unique even to same parent siblings � The existence of worlds we have yet to find and the ones we have found and everything within them all are evidence and signs of Allah's supreme intelligence and power.

Reproduction
Once a sperm has fertilized an egg, the egg's wall cannot be penetrated by other sperm, limiting about 4 million sperm that may have started the journey towards the egg to 1 sperm. Occasionally the fertilised egg will split in two or another sperm will fertilise another egg resulting in twins and on very rare instances triplets or a higher number of eggs are fertilised. However an ordinary pregnancy, if any could be described as such, would be where the egg is fertilised by one sperm thus allowing human population to scale in proportion to physical human capacity.

We are one the most complex of species on the planet with physical and psychological needs and so Allah has not overburdened Man or placed an impossible task upon us by allowing all sperm to fertilise all eggs. In fact He has deliberately put factors in place to govern the personal well-being of parents and children and inhibited exponential population surges. However these factors do not inhibit serial reproduction after puberty. For example the head of a sperm contains an acrosin enzyme that dissolves the ovum casing of a woman's egg enabling the sperm to penetrate it. Once a sperm has fertilized an egg, the egg's wall cannot be penetrated by other sperm. The unsuccessful sperm die after about three days even though they have managed to get to the egg. Fertilisation has been pre-determined up to 4Million:1. Another example is of the female ovary, It may have millions of eggs but it will only ovulate one egg every month and stop ovulating whilst pregnant thereby restricting the number of eggs that can be fertilised at any one time. Breast-feeding also often inhibits pregnancy and so these factors govern pregnancy intervals and well-being. The end result is that the specie propagates, survives and inherits the world for the purpose it was created.

Animals
The common peacock has a fan-shaped tail, brightly coloured with blue, green, and purple 'eyes' on a chestnut background which is raised during courtship displays. It is not used as camouflage and the pattern is not seen elsewhere nor does it change. It is a handsome bird and is aesthetic to see. We humans often marvel at its glorious plumage and derive much enjoyment from the bird's majestic display but rarely do we realise that Allah has designed exquisiteness and beauty in creations to augment the environment we have inherited. He has done this for our benefit.

Astronomy
Allah created the moon like a mirror in the sky reflecting light for the benefit of Man; it appears partially or completely so that man can measure the day of the month. It has a gravitational pull causing tides that prevent sea water becoming stagnant and help breakdown and deposit particles at beaches. It is an amazing sign of Allah's greatness that he has purposely placed the moon in a particular position as an aid to Man in the darkness of night and as a significant factor in the ecology of the world.

Signalling Systems
Things that are harmful to humans often have bad smells associated with them. For example, Allah allows Milk to be produced and preserved in the bodies of warm blooded animals on the hottest of days however once the milk is extracted, even if sealed it will sour and smell bad after some time. The sour smell is a signal from Allah that the status of the milk changed and it is no longer fit for normal consumption.

Likewise urine and stool smell to signal the risk of contamination and disease; everyone understands this warning from Allah but just in case the sense of smell is compromised Allah also compliments the signals by showing you flies and insects attracted to the filth and allowing buzzing noises from flies to emanate and be heard. To indicate severity of the problem, insects different in type and number appear depending on the strength and type of smell, i.e. a monitored warning level of the problem. Colour changes in water signal possible pollution and are a sign from Allah to be cautious.

Similarly pleasant fragrances and scents lead to things which can be beneficial. Aroma Therapist and Purveyors of teas and infusions will be more than happy to vouch for this fact. Herbs, spices and condiments not only smell nice but also act as active ingredients in food and drink; lemongrass, ginger, mint and vinegar being classic examples. Again Allah has put these qualities in objects so that we can recognise them and purposefully use them.

Cooperation
Cooperation between creations also occurs such as birds that clean the teeth of crocodiles. Crocodiles do not have a way of cleaning their extended set of teeth themselves so Allah has appointed birds to pick their teeth for food/insects and given the intelligence to the crocodiles to allow the birds to do so.

Inheritance, Uniqueness and Independence
The origin of this cooperation and intelligence in creation is Allah. The ability to share information such as inherited features between generations has been created by Allah. The system of keeping each individual unique is Allah's. The ability to exclude particular traits of a person from his/her progeny (e.g. criminal tendencies) has also been by the mercy of Allah, hence we are all born sinless and have free will. We cannot blame our ill doing to our genetic makeup.

Complexity
There is no evolution in the scenarios described above however the inputs, outputs and processes of the above scenarios are evidence of a system designed with intelligence. Such a system, if compared with man-made inventions, would certainly require a lead technical designer, a single coordinator - a master controller.

Recommendation
The above only mentions a small percentage of the signs of Allah's existence and further reading and contemplation on the topic is strongly encouraged to strengthen one's faith however since man's intellect and knowledge is finite and shataaan deploys trickery to misguide, our faith should be proclaimed with or without proof. May Allah guide us to the straight path and accept us all � Ameen.

The GREATNESS of ALLAH.

Greatness is often attached to world leaders, footballers, boxers and other famous people. However this is a false notion of greatness that holds neither value nor substance. Although we know that Allah (SWT) is the Greatest, yet this is not properly reflected and recognised in the heart. Once a person begins to realise the Greatness of Allah, any subconscious thoughts of greatness that he may have developed regarding a mortal will disappear and, in times of need and difficulty he will turn towards Allah (SWT). Allah says:

�Say (O Muhammed : Shall I take as a helper any other than the Creator of the heavens and the earth? And it is He who feeds but is not fed.� (Al-An'aam : 14)

Hadhrat Abdullah bin Abbas (RA) narrates:

�One day I was behind the Prophet and he said to me, Young man! I shall teach you some words (of advice): Be mindful of Allah, and Allah will protect you. Be mindful of Allah, and you will find Him in front of you. If you ask, ask Allah; if you seek help, seek help from Allah. Know that if the nation were to gather to benefit you with anything, it would only benefit you with something that Allah has already prescribed for you, and that if they gather to harm you with anything, they would only harm you with something Allah has already prescribed for you. The pen has been lifted and the pages have dried.� (Tirmidhi).

This shows the Power and Might of Allah (SWT). The creation is helpless and totally incapable of anything without the Help and Will of Allah. If He wills something to happen, it will definitely happen and there is none who can prevent it.

�Surely, His is the Creation and Commandment�. (Al-A'raaf : 54).

Allah (SWT) is the One who is Most Perfect, free from all deficiencies, worthy of all Praise, the Most Majestic and the Most High. He is the One and Only Lord for all the universe, its Creator, Owner, Organiser, Provider, Master, Planner, Sustainer, Cherisher and Giver of Security. He Knows, Hears, and Sees all things including an ant on a dark, stormy night. He is the Self-Sufficient Master Who is not in need of anything whilst all are in need of Him. Nothing resembles Him as Allah says:

�There is nothing like Him; and He is the All-Hearer, the All-Seer�. (Ash-Shura : 11)

No effort is expended by Him in carrying any action out as He says:

�Verily, His command when He intends a thing is only that He says to it �Be!' � and it is!� (Ya-Seen : 82) and in Ayat-ul-Kursi Allah says :

��and He feels no fatigue in guarding and preserving them (the heavens and the earth)�� (Al-Baqarah : 255).

Along with this, no decision of Allah is overturned or delayed. Allah (SWT) is alone in all of the above attributes and many more. This is all the principle of Tawheed (the oneness of Allah) which states that Allah is Alone in self, Names, Attributes and Worship. In other words, Allah has no partner or equal, He possesses His Names and Attributes without equal, and He alone should be worshipped. Now that is a real mark of greatness.

�So all the Praises and Thanks be to Allah, the Lord of the heavens and the Lord of the earth and the Lord of the Worlds. And His (Alone) is the Majesty in the heavens and the earth, and He is the All-Mighty, the All-Wise�. (Al-Jathiyah : 36-37).

From above it is clear that it is totally incorrect to say that a certain person can cause children to be born, can fulfil our needs or is capable of such action which contradicts the concept of Tawheed. In fact it is also incorrect to believe that our dear Prophet (PBUH), who is undoubtedly the best of creation, is equal in any respect to Allah (SWT). For example our dear Prophet does not have knowledge of the Unseen as Allah says:

�And with Him are the keys of the Ghaib (all that is hidden),none knows them but He�. (Al-An'aam : 59) and this is further corroborated by a number of saheeh Ahaadeeth.

There is a beautiful Hadeethi Qudsi (Sacred Hadith i.e. one in which the Prophet reports what has been revealed to him by Allah) which describes the Greatness of Allah in eloquent terms, part of which is mentioned below:

�O My Servants, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you to be the most pious as the most pious heart of any one man of you, that would not increase My Kingdom in anything. O My servants were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you to be as wicked as the wicked heart of any one man of you that would not decrease My Kingdom in anything. O My servants, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and jinn of you to rise up in one place and make a request of Me, and I were to give everyone what he requested, that would not decrease what I have, any more than a needle decreases the sea if put into it�. (Muslim).

To recognise the Creator, we must remove all thoughts of greatness that we may be harbouring about an individual which conflicts in our recognition of Allah (SWT). To respect and love someone is one thing, but to transgress the limits is an entirely different matter. To build up the recognition and realisation of the greatness of Allah (SWT), we must constantly look, listen, talk and think about the greatness of Allah. Of course, our feeble minds cannot comprehend the Mighty Being of Allah, therefore we should ponder over the creation to recognise the Creator. In addition to this, we must equip ourselves with the correct beliefs regarding Allah and repeatedly praise and glorify Him. May Allah enable us to do this. Ameen.

THE EVILS OF SMOKING

Since the first discovery of tobacco was made in America in the fifteenth century, the aepidemic of smoking has spread continuously around the world. As early as the Seventeenth Century, the European countries realised the dangers of smoking and hastened to ordain Laws in England and various other countries to prohibiting smoking. The Western countries, even today, continue their attempts in combating smoking. They employ means of media, pass legislation and apply multiple methods to discourage people from smoking.

Smoking has, to an extent, become the rule and abstaining from it the exception. Often, people look down with astonishment and contempt at a person who when a cigarette is offered to him, declines explaining that he does not smoke. Offering cigarettes to guests has become a matter of hospitality!

Furthermore, those who pretend to represent the Deen are among the worst addicts. When they are reproached or reprimanded of their vice, they respond by providing weak excuses to justify it. They slyly remark that there is no clear text prohibiting smoking. Whereby they conclude that smoking is not prohibited, but is only makruh (disliked). In this manner they provide a poor excuse for the ignorant and establish a bad example for others.

Thus, it has become necessary to write an article which provides evidence regarding the ruling of smoking in Islam. We hope that this will benefit our Muslim brothers and sisters; and we ask Allah Ta�ala to accept it from us as a sincere deed for His pleasure.

Smoking refers to the act of lighting tobacco or materials of similar effect, which is then sucked on with the lips to extract smoke. This smoke is inhaled into the chest and then exhaled from the nose and mouth. "Smoking", is now used to refer to the action of producing this smoke in English, Arabic, and other languages.

There are many reasons, any one of which are sufficient, to rule smoking as prohibited. Most importantly, it is harmful to the Deen, health, environment, family, brotherhood and social relations, property, etc.

Smoking damages a person�s act of worship, and reduces their rewards. For instance, it ruins the salaah, which is a pillar of Deen. The Prophet said: �Whoever eats garlic or onion, let him avoid us and our masjid, and stay in his home. The angels are surely hurt by things that hurt the human beings.� (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

Those people, with clean and pure nature, have no doubt that the smell emanating from the mouth of a smoker is worse and more foul than that from the mouth of one who ate garlic or onion. Therefore, a smoker has two options, either to harm the praying people and the angels with his foul smell, or abstain from the prayer with jama�ah.

Smoking also ruins fasting. Fasting becomes very hard on the smoker. As soon as the day is over, he hastens to break his fast on an evil cigarette instead of sweet dates or pure water. Even if he fasts throughout the month of Ramadhaan he will be reluctant to fast on other days. Thus he loses the great reward of those who fast even one day in Allah�s path.

The harm that smoking does to the human body is undeniable. The medical evidence for this is well established and overwhelming. Because of this, the law in the United Kingdom and many other countries requires including a government health warning on the packet and on any advertisement.

Smoking contains poisonous materials, such as nicotine, tar, carbon monoxide, arsenic, benzopyrene, etc., which the smoker inhales in small proportions. Their harm accumulates in time, resulting in a gradual damage of the human organs and tissues.

The hazards of smoking to health are hard to count. Cancer, tuberculosis, heart attacks, asthma, coughing, premature birth, infertility, infections in the digestive system, high blood pressure, nervousness, mouth and teeth diseases, etc., are among the many health hazards that have been strongly linked to smoking.

These diseases may not all appear at once, but a smoker runs the risk of suffering from some of them, and his suffering increases as he grows older. Furthermore, statistics have established that smokers, on the average, reduce their age by ten years.

This in itself is sufficient to prohibit smoking. Islam prohibits any action that causes harm to oneself or to other people. Allah Ta�ala says :

�Do not kill yourselves, Allah is indeed merciful to you.�

(An-Nisa� 4-29)
�Do not cast yourselves, with your own hands, into destruction.�
(Al-Baqarah 2:195)
And the Messenger says: �No harm may be inflicted on oneself or others.�
(Ahmad and Ibn Maajah from Ibn Abbaas and Ubaadah)
�The feet of a human being will not depart, on the day of Judgement, from his standing before his Lord, until he is questioned about five things: his lifetime - how did he pass it, his youth - how did he used it, his wealth - where did he earn it and how did he spend it, and how did he follow what he knew.�
(At-Tirmithi and others from Ibn Mas�ud and Abu Barzah )
�Whoever consumes poison, killing himself with it, then he will he consuming his poison in the hellfire, and he will abide in it permanently and eternally.�
(Al-Bukhari and Muslim from Jaabir)
Smoking is also harmful to the human mind and its power to reason. An obvious demonstration of this is that one who is addicted to it passes through periods of severe craving, making it hard for him to think, concentrate, solve a problem, or do any important matter, until he smokes.
His digestive system is also affected, causing him frequent nervousness and trembling of the hands. He passes through periods of excitability and he becomes an insomniac.

Therefore, instead of being the slave of Allah, a smoker becomes a slave to his cigarette. The faculty of reason, clear and unobstructed, is one of Allah�s great bounties on people. Allah Ta�ala has praised it in numerous places of the Qura�an; and He called on people to use it to see the truth and obey Him in a better way. Allah wants of the believer to be strong and capable of controlling the reigns of his desires. He has stated:

�Allah wants to let you into His mercy, whereas those who follow the desires want you to drift far away (from the right path).�

(An-Nisa 4:27)
A smoker also emits his poison in the faces of his companions, wife, children, and the environment. It is a well-established fact that passive smoking is almost as dangerous as first-hand. Thus, whether they like it or not, a smoker�s associates are forced to inhale the smoke and be inflicted with this poison as well.
In addition to the poison normally carried in the smoke, if a smoker has a contagious disease, such as tuberculosis or influenza, his exhaled smoke and coughing will also carry the disease to those around him.

Furthermore, a smoker regularly irritates people by the foul smell and poisonous nature of his smoking. If they suffer from asthma or allergies, they are forced to move away from his vicinity. The Prophet sallallahu alaihe wasallam said: Anyone who believes in Allah and the Last Day should not hurt his neighbour.

(Al-Bukhari)
Thus, smoking constitutes a definite harm to other people; this is prohibited, as was indicated in the Hadith cited earlier.
Also, a smoker is certainly a bad companion to sit with, as is depicted in the following Hadith:

Verily, the example of a good companion and a bad one is like that of a perfume merchant and a blacksmith: As for the perfume merchant, he would either grant you (some perfume), or you would buy (some perfume) from him, or (in the least) you would get a good smell from him. And as for the blower of the bellows (ironsmith), you would either get a foul odour from him, or he would burn your clothes.

(Al-Bukhari and Muslim)
A smoker wastes his wealth on that which harms and has no benefit; he will be asked about his wealth and how he spent it, as has been cited in the Hadith earlier. His wealth belongs to Allah, so how would he dare to waste it in disobedience to Him Allah Ta�ala states(what means):
�And do not entrust to the imprudent ones the possessions that Allah has placed in your charge.�

(An-Nisa 4:5)
�And do not waste (your resources) extravagantly. Indeed the squanderers are the brethren of the devils.�
(Al-lsra� 17:26-27)
And the Prophet sallallahu alaihe wasallam said: Allah hates for you three things: gossiping, begging, and wasting money.
(Al-Bukhari and Muslim)
Furthermore, there are numerous cases of carpets, furniture, and even complete houses and establishments burning down due to this disastrous vice.
Smoking is a form of moral decadence. It is spread mostly among the low-class, immoral people. It reflects blind imitation of the Kuffar and non-pious Muslims. It is mostly consumed in bars, discos, casinos, and other places of sin. A smoker may beg or steal if he does not have the money to buy cigarettes. He is ill mannered with his friends and family, especially when he misses taking his necessary "dose" at the usual time.

Smoking involves the consumption of an evil substance (khabeeth). It has a foul smell, foul taste and is harmful to the body. This is sufficient to prohibit it, because Allah Ta�ala states (what means):

�(The Prophet ) who will enjoin upon them the doing of what is right, forbid them the doing of what is wrong, make lawful to them the good things of life, prohibit for them the evil things, and lift from them their burdens and the shackles that were (previously) upon them.�

(Al-A�raf 7:157)
A smoker inhales smoke that does not give him any nourishment. This is similar to the action of the people of the Hell fire who eat harmful thorny plants:
�No food will be there for them but a poisonous thorny plant, which will neither nourish them nor still their hunger.�

(Al-Ghaashiyah 88:6-7)
A smoker, whether he likes it or not, makes an example of himself for his children and others to follow. He leads them to commit this evil. Actions sometimes have a stronger effect than words. Thus, even if he advises them or forbids them from smoking, his partaking of it provides them with a strong excuse to do it.
The problem is worse when the smoker is of known piety or knowledge. In such case, his harm becomes more emphasised, because more people take him as guide and example and are thus lead astray by him. This multiplies his sins and increases his burden.

The majority of good people avoid smoking and stay away from smokers. Therefore, a smoker would be forced to stay away from them - at least while he smokes. He puts himself in selective exile, creating a spiritual distance and hostility between him and the good people, and a closeness to the evil people. The effects of this become more apparent and acute with time. Note that this applies equally to any sin that a person commits either large or small.

A smoker despises himself, because he feels that a little cigarette is controlling him. Realising his weakness due to his desire, this creates in him a feeling of defeat in the face of hardships.

Since smoking became known to Muslims, all of the great scholars who have the capability of Ijtihad (deriving verdicts in new situations) agree to its prohibition. Thus, there is no value for baseless opinions, conflicting with this, provided by self-proclaimed lesser scholars.

In discussing the subject of the prohibition of smoking, there are some important warnings that need to be mentioned:

1. As indicated before, the prohibition of smoking is not restricted to cigarettes, but applies as well to other objects that have similar effects such as cigars, pipes, water-pipes, chewing tobacco or sniffing tobacco, etc.

2. The reasons mentioned above for prohibiting smoking apply as well, and more strongly, to various types of drugs such as hashish marijuana and ecstasy. These materials have additional problems such as causing drunkenness, death, madness, etc.

3. The prohibition of smoking is not restricted to consuming it, but applies as well to offering it to people, sitting with those who are smoking, or selling it. All of this involves helping people commit sins, which is prohibited, as Allah Ta�ala states (what means):

�Help one another in righteousness and piety, and do not help one another in sinning and transgression. And fear and revere Allah; verily, Allah is severe in punishment.

(Al-Maidah 5:2)
Also, Allah�s Messenger said: Indeed when Allah prohibits something, he prohibits eating its price.
(Ahmad and Abu Dawud: Ibn Abbas; authenticated by al-Albaani)
Only few of those addicted to smoking are able to stop it. The reasons for this are many, among which are the following:
(a). The addictive nature of the poisonous substances contained in it.

(b). The smokers are not totally convinced of its prohibition.

(c). They do not have a strong determination to refrain from it.

The following are some suggestions to help a person stop smoking:

1. Rely on Allah sincerely, with full determination not to return to smoking, in compliance with Allah�s command:

�When you decide on a certain course of action, place your trust in Allah.�

(Al-lmran 3:159)
2. Stop immediately instead of claiming it is best to do it gradually. The gradual approach is the way of one who does not trust his determination and the will power that Allah has granted him. Let the example be taken from the Sahabah who, as soon as Allah�s command reached them regarding alcohol:
�Will you not then desist?� (Al-Maa�idah 5:91) they immediately poured out all the alcohol that they had and said, "We desist our Lord, we desist!" They did this despite the fact that alcohol has a greater addictive power over those who drink it.

3. Avoid the bad company of smokers and smoking environments that are full with the smell of smoke.

4. Change the food diet by abstaining from foods and drinks that would entice the craving to smoke such as spices, meat, tea, and coffee; and eat a lot of vegetables and fruits.

5. Use medically tested and established procedures to help stop smoking, as directed by physicians, such as nicotine patches, nicotine gum, etc.

6. Expel the secret whispers of Satan who continuously dictates to the human being that he is weak and incapable of refraining from sinning, as Allah Ta�ala states (what means):

�It is but Satan who instils (into you) fear of his allies; so do not fear them, but fear Me if you are (truly) believers.�

�Fight then against the allies of Satan; indeed, Satan�s guile is weak

What is Holy Quran

INFORMATION ABOUT THE QUR�AN

It cannot be disputed that Muhammad (may Allah increase his honor) was a Prophet and Messenger of God. He had the characteristics of the Prophets and Messengers as well as miracles. One of the miracles of Muhammad (may Allah increase his honor) that is still present today is the Qur�an. The Qur�an may be read and heard today as it was given by Muhammad (may Allah increase his honor).

The Qur�an was revealed to Muhammad (may Allah increase his honor) over a period of twenty-three years. It contains information about the past which Muhammad (may Allah increase his honor) had no way of knowing before it was revealed to him, since he could neither read nor write, and he did not live among historians to know this information. It was written in such a way that the Arabs, when challenged to write something like the shortest Surah (the larger division of the Qur�an) of the Qur'an, they were unable to, even though it was revealed in the �Golden Age of Arabic Literature.�

One can be sure that the Qur�an is truly a miracle and from God if one notes these points. First the Qur�an is in Arabic, and Muhammad (may Allah increase his honor) could neither read nor write Arabic, which is a well known historical fact. Second, the Qur�an was revealed during what is regarded as the �Golden Age of Arabic Literature.� Though those whom opposed Muhammad (may Allah increase his honor) were challenged to do so, no one could match in literary excellence even the shortest Surah, which is only a few Ayahs (the smaller divisions of the Qur�an). Since the best Arabic writers of the time could not compose the equivalent of a single Surah, it is obvious that the Qur�an could not have been from the Arabs. Third the Qur�an was revealed over a period of twenty three years there was not someone else writing the Qur�an over this time period we only have the Prophet (may Allah increase his honor) receiving this revelation during this time period. So the span of time over which the Qur�an was revealed eliminates the possibility that the Qur�an could have come from anyone else since at times no one was with him when he received the revelations.

Muhammad (may Allah increase his honor) was illiterate. If he wanted power or fame he could have said the Qur�an was from himself, but he never claimed it was from himself. Besides that, Muhammad�s sayings were different than the Qur�an. This means that the Qur�an could only have come from God, having eliminated what some people might say were other possibilities.

The Qur�an is the major source for knowing about Islam, it contains information about the proper belief in God. It tells about some of the Prophets and gives some specific rules of the religion. Muhammad (may Allah increase his honor) was the person most knowledgeable about the meaning of the Qur'an. He taught his followers, who in turn taught their followers, and so on until this knowledge reached the Muslim scholars of today. We need to rely on these scholars who learned what Muhammad (may Allah increase his honor) taught to understand the meaning of the Qur�an. Because Islam is not according to opinion, and one is not allowed to explain the Qur'an according to his opinion.

Even though the Qur�an is in Arabic, very few Arabic speaking people today can understand all of it correctly, much less non-Arabic speaking people. Therefore, anyone wanting to understand the Qur�an should go to a true Islamic scholar for explanation, whether the one seeking knowledge knows Arabic or not. The reason for this is that the Qur�an has different types of Ayah. For example, one type has only one meaning which is obvious, and the other type may have multiple meanings when based on a translation of the Arabic language, rather than on correct Islamic religious knowledge. Some of these meanings are correct while others are completely unacceptable Islamically. To be able to explain the Qur'an requires a huge body of knowledge. We rely on scholars to explain the Qur'an.

The problem is that those who try to explain the Qur�an or to translate it are usually not discriminating in this matter. They make mistakes that give contradictions between Ayahs when it is known that there is no contradiction. If they say something that is contradictory that shows their ignorance of the different types of ayah. Some on the ayah of the Quran can be classified as Nasiq and mansuq. The ayah which is mansuq was revealed in time before the ayah which is nasiq. The ayah which is nasqiq supercedes the meaning of the one which is mansuq, however they both remain in the Quran. They are not considered contradictory since one supercedes the other. The other classifications of ayah as mentioned above are those with an obvious meaning are clear and Mutashabiha , those ayah that in language may appear to have more than one meaning. Ignorance of this has led many to mistranslated.

An example of such a mistranslating is when someone has translated an Ayah as meaning, �God is the light of the Heavens and Earth.� This is in direct contradiction of an Ayah which has a single meaning, that God does not resemble any of His creations. Therefore, God is not light, because He created light. But the person who translated the other Ayah as meaning God is light, either did not keep this Ayah in mind or did not search for the true meaning of the other Ayah. Consequently, he gave an incorrect and completely unacceptable translation due to his ignorance. Not only did he give a completely unacceptable translation, but he became a non-Muslim by contradicting the Qur�an and the basic belief in God. Furthermore, anyone who believed this erroneous translation is not Muslim because it goes against the basic belief of Islam.

Anyone who believes properly in God believes that God does not resemble any of His creations. The person who translated this Ayah as mentioned above is not even Muslim and obviously not qualified to explain the Qur�an. To understand or explain the Qur�an takes a broad understanding of the Arabic language, and an expertise in the Islamic religion, the sayings (Hadith), of the Prophet Muhammad (may Allah increase his honor), his actions and Taqryr (things done in Muhammad's presence which Muhammad did not oppose) .

Running into this type of mistake of mistranslating is the danger of trying to learn Islam from books or unqualified persons. They make mistakes and mislead people, and by presenting incorrect information prevent people from being Muslim. That is why the most important thing in Islam is to know the meaning of the Creedal Statement and have the proper belief in God, since that is what Muhammad (may Allah increase his honor) first taught. The Creedal Statement is, �I firmly believe that there exists only one Creator, His name is Allah, and Muhammad is His Prophet and Messenger.� The Qur�an was revealed over a period of twenty-three years. Not all Muslims knew all the Qur�an before they died. It is not a requirement for all Muslims to know and understand the entire Qur�an to be Muslim.

Some people try to negate the miracle of the Qur'an by saying it is just a book of history or culture, morals or social structure. But when one realizes that the Qur�an mentions all these things along with the point as to its origin, as previously mentioned, together with the fact that its literary form is not found in books written by men and cannot be imitated nor duplicated, one cannot refuse that the Qur�an is a miracle.

For those who maintain that Muhammad (may Allah increase his honor) simply took existing religions and merged them to form a new religion, the Qur�an contains proof that this could not be the case, for the Qur�an contains information about the past that was not widely spread. For example, it is mentioned in the Qur�an that as a baby, 'Aysa spoke one time. This is a miracle of 'Aysa that is not known by most Christians, but Muslims know about this miracle from the Qur�an.

Not only were things of the past revealed, but also things that would happen in the future, both things of this life as well as the next. If the Qur�an was not from the Creator, at the time, how could anyone have known what would happen in the future? The Qur�an is truly a miracle. For how could this information which was not available to Muhammad (may Allah increase his honor) have been recorded at that time?

No matter how one looks at the Qur�an in terms of history, literature or culture, there are things in the Qur�an which prove beyond a doubt that it is no mere book, but a miracle given by God, because it cannot be imitated nor duplicated, and the knowledge level of all the people of the time combined could not have produced such a book, much less a single man.

Therefore, one has to conclude that the Qur�an is a miracle from God to Muhammad (may Allah increase his honor). Knowing this, one has no choice but to believe in it. Believing in it includes believing in God and His Messengers, the last being Muhammad (may Allah increase his honor). To save oneself in the next life, one must be Muslim. For God does not accept good deeds except from Muslims, because only Muslims truly believe in God.

While others might admit there is a Creator, they do not fulfill the requirements to be believers. To be a believer one must believe and say, �I firmly believe that there exists only one Creator, His name is Allah and Muhammad is His Prophet and Messenger,� with the intent in one�s heart to become Muslim and leave all things contradictory to this belief. It is required to believe in all Prophets from Adam to Muhammad (may Allah increase their honor). These include Nuh (Noah), Ibraheem (Abraham), Musa (Moses), and 'Aysa (Jesus), (may Allah increase their honor). This is how one becomes Muslim and saves himself from eternal suffering in the next life.

Proof for the existence of God

A person who disputes the existence of God is one who refuses to look past the end of his nose. For example, the person who wants to buy a garment will not argue that before he can buy it, it has to be made from cloth which requires a tailor or seamstress to take the cloth, cut it out, and sew the garment together. Similarly, the one who goes into a desert and finds no house built, waits for mud to turn into bricks and be laid to form a house without a builder, would be called mad, stupid, or ignorant.

So what can one say who looks at the universe with all the planets, the stars, the sun and the moon moving in great precision. It is obvious that it has to have a Creator, and if someone thinks about the human body developing from an infant to an adult, maintaining the complex human body, this could not happen by chance. It had to have a Creator. For just as you cannot have a house without a builder, you cannot have this world or living beings without a Creator.

Nevertheless, there are those who insist on denying the existence of the Creator. Everyone who denies the existence of the Creator can be classified into one of two groups. The first group consists of those who deny the existence of God and deny that the world has a beginning. The second group are those who deny the existence of God, but admit that the world has a beginning. Now, let us turn our attention to the first group and prove that the world has a beginning, then the two groups will have merged, since both groups will be forced to admit that the world has a beginning, though they still maintain that God does not exist.

Before proceeding, let us define some terminology. An event is anything which has a beginning. According to this definition the motion of a moving hand is an event, and the hand itself is an event. As you can see the world is a huge set of events. We ourselves are events as we develop from birth to death. Our emotions, the seasons and growing plants are all events.

To show that the world has a beginning, let us consider this example. If someone promises to give you a dollar with the condition that he is not going to give you a dollar unless he gave you a dollar before, and the previous dollar has the same condition (that you received a dollar from him), and this dollar and each previous dollar promised has the same condition. Now the question is, �Will you ever get the dollar he promised?� The answer is simply, �No!�

In the same way, the events that make up the world are like the dollar and could never have happened unless there is a beginning. If these events had no beginning, then we would not be able to reach the present event, in this case, the moment during which you are reading this essay. Thus, if someone says that the world has no beginning, he is saying that no event took place, which is obviously contradictory, and there is no way to get out of this contradiction except by admitting that the world has a beginning.

Another example to clarify this point is that if someone tells you to go to a wall, but says you have to take an infinite number of steps to reach the wall, he is saying you will never reach it. Because infinity, by definition does not end, you can never reach the wall. This is exactly what the person who claims that the world has no beginning is saying one must do to reach the event we are now experiencing. Since we have reached this event, the person who claims the world has no beginning has been proven wrong.

Mathematically if you consider the year 1066 and this year and ask what is the difference between them the one who claims that the world does not have a beginning will have to answer none. Because if you look at the year 1066 and now. You can express it in a formula where now (a) and 1066 is also (a). However if you consider it carefully Now is 1066 plus the number of years from 1066 till Now (b). In other words the one who claims that the world has no beginning are saying the a+b=a where b is a non-zero number. A beginning algebra student will tell you that it can�t be. So this proves that the world has to have a beginning

So as promised, we have proven that this world has a beginning. Now we will turn our attention to prove that the Creator exists to those who deny His existence but admit that the world has a beginning.

Before proceeding, there are some facts that must be faced. Those who insist on denying the existence of God must first understand that there are things which are possible to the mind and things which are impossible to the mind. For example, it is impossible for the mind to accept that a person could fit into a normal cup. However, it is possible for the mind to accept that a cup could be made large enough for a person to fit inside it. So, one must be rational and accept only things which are possible to the sound intellect. Keeping this point in mind, let us proceed with our discussion.

People who deny the existence of God can be divided into three groups. One group says the world created itself, one group says the world happened by chance, and one group says nature created the world.

For those who claim that the world created itself, they claim a logical contradiction. Because, if somebody says Mr. X created himself that means that he had to exist and not exist simultaneously. According to their claim, for Mr. X to create himself, he has to exist already, while to be created he does not yet exist. This is impossible, and this same principle applies to the world.

Another proof of this point is that if someone is sitting in a room, knows that there is a book on the table, leaves the room and when he returns, finds the book on the chair, he will not say that the book moved by itself, because being able to move is not an attribute of the book. In the same way creating is not an attribute of the world. So the world cannot create.

Now, for those who maintain that the world exists by chance, we don�t have to pass the human body to see the great order and precision in the world, much less looking at the universe and the precise movement of the stars, sun and moon. Statistically, you cannot get such order from randomness. It is like a man who stands by a river with logs in it. No one will accept that the logs will come together and form a raft to take him to the other side by chance. So if one cannot accept this small bit of order from randomness, how can he accept the order of the entire universe or the human body as occurring by chance? It is impossible.

As for those who claim that the world was created by nature, it is obvious that nature is a part of the world. We observe and marvel at it. Since nature is a part of the world, it is as if they are saying a part of the world created the entire world. To these people we refer them back to those who say that the world created itself, and as we have already proved, this cannot be.

Having discussed and disproved what some people might claim to be how the world originated, it is more than obvious that the world has to have a Creator. It is further evident that the Creator does not resemble any of His creations. It is important to note that God is not His attributes, nor is He other than them. So God has the attribute of power but He is not power.

It is required for us to believe in God and His Messengers. The first Prophet was the first man, Adam (may Allah increase his honor), and the last Prophet was Muhammad (may Allah increase his honor). To believe properly in God, one must believe in all the Prophets and Messengers. To have the proper belief in God, one must be Muslim. One becomes Muslim by believing and saying, �I firmly believe that there exists only one Creator, His name is Allah, and Muhammad is His Prophet and Messenger,� with the intent in one�s heart to become Muslim and leave anything contrary to this belief.


Famous question of the atheists


Famous question of the atheists and I quote ''Can God make a stone which He can't lift Himself''? If you answer yes that means God can make a stone which He canot lift Himself so His powers are limited, yet if you answer no then again His powers are limited. But the answer to this question is very simple and is found in the book of Imam Ghazzali (refer to Islamic belief detalied). The answer is ''This question doesn't apply on God''. Why? it is because the atheists have made a terrible mistake in their perception of God and thus they have committed a conceptual fallacy.

Imam Ghazzali states in his book ''The Foundation of Islamic belief'' and I quote

''Allah is not a body possessing form, nor a substance restricted and limited: He does not resemble other bodies either in limitation or in accepting division.He is not a substance and substances do not reside in Him; He is not a quality of substance, nor does a quality of substance occur in Him.Rather, He resembles no existent and no existent resembles Him. Nothing is like Him and He is not like anything. Measure does not bind Him and boundaries do not contain Him. Directions do not surround Him and neither the earth nor the Heavens are on different sides of Him'' (elaborations are below)

Any man with a simple knowledge of physics will know that for gravity to act on something it must have a mass, must possess a body, must be subjected to the laws of creation which Allah created. The conceptual fallacy which the atheists have committed is that they have attributed to God a body which is subjected to His own created Laws, and God is not subjected to His creation but the oppossite. So this question is not applicable on God Al-Mighty




Asharis' (the orthodox scholars of Islam) proof of God's existence:


All bodies, they argued, are ultimately one in so far as their essence is concerned. But, in spite of this basic unity, their characteristics are different. Hence there must be an ultimate cause for these divergent characteristic, and that ultimate cause is God. The world is contingent. Every contingent thing must have a cause; therefore, the world must have a cause, and as no contingent thing can be the cause, that cause must be God. The major premise (i.e., every event must have a cause) does not require a proof. The minor premise-the world is con�tingent-they proved in the following manner: Everything that exists in the world is either a substance or a quality. The contingent character of a quality is evident, and the contingence of substance follows from the fact that no substance could exist apart from qualities. The contingence of quality neces�sitates the contingence of substance; otherwise, the eternity of substance would necessitate the eternity of quality.

What is Islam

ISLAM IN GENERAL

Islam encompasses every aspect of one's life. It is the only religion accepted by God. Due to the misrepresentation of Islam in modern media and by various others, what the Islamic religion actually is has been obscured to the general public. To understand Islam, one should learn Islam from a qualified, trustworthy Muslim.

First of all, to be Muslim, one must believe that there is only one Creator, and Muhammad is His Prophet and Messenger. Muhammad (may Allah increase his honor) was the last of many Prophets and Messengers, all of whom shared the same belief in God. All the Prophets and Messengers were Muslims. This means Adam, Noah, Abraham (Ibrahim), Issac, Ishmail, Solomon, David, Jacob Jonah, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad (May Allah increase their honor) were all Muslim. All the prophets practiced Islam none of them had another religion.

The first Prophet and Messenger was Adam, who taught his children Islam, he taught them to believe that there is only one Creator. Adam taught them what God ordered him to teach. The rules that they lived by at that time were called Shariat of Adam. Shariat might be translated as the rules of the religion. One of these rules was that a brother could marry a sister who was not his twin. Later, another Messenger was sent, and in his Shariat it was revealed that it had become forbidden for a brother to marry his sister at all. This was a change in one of the rules but the basic belief in Islam did not change.

God has been generous in having sent Prophets and Messengers. We need Prophets and Messengers, because the sound intellect alone cannot determine what is beneficial for us in the next life. God gave the Prophets miracles to support their Prophethood. A miracle is an extraordinary event that occurs in support of a claim of Prophethood, it cannot be duplicated or opposed. This means that even if something is marvelous, such as birth, or even if something strange or unusual happens, it does not qualify as being a miracle. A miracle is a clear proof that this man is a Prophet. People have to believe in the Prophet because a miracle cannot be opposed, and therefore the sound intellect requires us to believe in him. Those who do not believe in Muhammad (may Allah increase his honor) are ignoring the value of intellect. All the Prophets taught the same belief in God, and Muhammad's Shariat is valid until the Day of Judgment.

****

The rules of the religion, Shariat, cover every aspect of one�s life. God, being the Creator, knows everything about the creations. God knows what happened, what is happening, and what will happen, and has revealed the rules that people and jinn should comply with. All the Prophets and Messengers were Muslim, and they all taught Islam. Adam was the first Prophet and Messenger. By the time of Noah , some people had become decadent, worshipping something other than God. Noah was the first Prophet to call people back to Islam.

Ibraheem was a Muslim, a Prophet and a Messenger. His faith was so great that when God ordered him to slaughter his son, Ismayil, both he and his son were willing, but God was merciful and provided a sheep to be slaughtered instead. Moses too, was Muslim, and he did exactly what God ordered him to do. 'Aysa, Jesus, (May Allah increase his honor) was also Muslim and ordered people to believe that there is only one God. Muhammad (may Allah increase his honor) was the last Prophet and Messenger.

All the Prophets knew Muhammad (may Allah increase his honor) would come, and they ordered their people to follow him if he appeared in their lifetime. By the time Muhammad (may Allah increase his honor) was sent, people had changed the rules brought by Jesus to the point that they had developed a new religion called Christianity. Muhammad (may Allah increase his honor) called people back to Islam. His Shariat (rules) are still available today. They have been preserved in the Qur�an and in Muhammad�s sayings (Hadith) which have been transmitted by the Islamic scholars through the centuries.

All together, there were many Prophets and Messengers. All the Prophets and Messengers from Adam to Muhammad were handsome in appearance, well-mannered, intelligent, courageous, honest, trustworthy and patient. They were always Muslim, and did what God ordered them to do. They had miracles which God gave them to prove their Prophethood. These characteristics, along with their miracles, allowed people to know they were Prophets and Messengers and should be followed.

Since Muhammad (may Allah increase his honor) is the last Prophet and Messenger, today people must follow the rules given to him. Jesus, when he returns to Earth, will live and rule by Muhammad�s rules. Muslims believe that Jesus was not crucified and did not die, but was raised to the sky, and he will come down and fight the non-Muslims and rule by the rules revealed to Muhammad (may Allah increase his honor).

Now, having a brief history of Islam, the basic belief in Islam is to firmly believe that there is only one Creator, His name is Allah, and Muhammad is His Prophet and Messenger.

To understand how Islam is applicable today, it is useful to see how Islam affected the Arabs. The Arabs were a very superstitious, very primitive tribal people. In a very short time after Muhammad (may Allah increase his honor) received his revelation, the Arabs became united and changed their entire social system.

Many of the Arabs used to worship stones, and if they could not find a stone to worship they made one from earth and worshipped it. This primitive practice changed when Muhammad (may Allah increase his honor) taught what was revealed to him. Many of the Arabs became Muslim and began worshipping God, the Creator.

Psychologically this was a huge step, to go from worshipping something physical to worshipping the Creator who does not resemble His creations. This change united the Arabs. But Islam is not just for Arabs, it is for all people. Any person who is not Muslim can become Muslim by saying the Creedal Statement with the intent to become Muslim. When someone becomes Muslim, he has the same rights and obligations as any other Muslim. Just as believing in God changed the Arab society in the past, it can change societies today.

For example, sexual relationships are a real problem facing the Western World today. The society cannot cope with the problems caused by �sexual freedom� in terms of diseases like AIDS, parental responsibility or even the feelings between people. In Islam however, there are clear guidelines for sexual behavior. There are ways to deal with these normal sexual desires and needs in a way that is productive. Through marriage both men and women can satisfy their sexual desires, but both also accept the responsibility of that marriage. Marriage is structured so that neither party is misused or abused. It takes care that their emotional, psychological and physical needs are met.

The rights of women is another example of the justice of Islam. Women in Islam have rights that cannot be denied. Women can work, become educated, and pursue careers such as medicine, engineering, biology, business and so on. Khadijah, Muhammad�s wife, was a business woman. Few women in the West have the rights and respect guaranteed to the Muslim woman.

From these few examples one can see that Islam changed the lives of Arabs and non-Arabs alike. It contains the solutions to the problems of the past, the problems of today and the problems of the future. It is rational and objective. It teaches responsibility of the individual to himself and his society. It is as applicable today as it was in the past and will be in the future. It unites all Muslims in the belief that there is only one Creator, His name is Allah, and Muhammad is His Prophet and Messenger. This is why Islam spread from China and the Far East to Spain and Europe. Islam was accepted by many people. To the extent that you still find Muslims there today, more than 1400 years after Muhammad received his revelation.

The Muslim's belief includes believing in God�s attributes which are: God exists. God does not resemble any of His creations. God is one, He has no partner nor counterpart. God has no beginning and no end. God does not need anything. God has the attribute of will, what God willed will be and what God did not will won�t be. God has the attribute of power, God has the power to do whatever he wills. God sees without an organ. God hears without an ear. God has the attribute of Kalam, Kalam may be translated as speech, but it is not like our speech, made up of sound and language, and God does not need either of these. God has the attribute of life, but God's life does not resemble any creation's life. God knows everything, God knows what happened, what is happening, and what will happen.

In addition to believing in God, the Muslim's belief includes believing in the Prophethood of Muhammad, and also to believe in the Prophets and Messengers before Muhammad. All the Prophets taught people to believe in God. They taught that Heaven and Hell exist. Heaven is the place of reward for the Muslim, and Hell is the place of punishment for the non-believer forever. They taught that everything is predestined, and they taught people to be obedient to God by following the rules He sent.

Today, people are responsible for following the rules revealed to Muhammad (may Allah increase his honor), which are as applicable today as they were during Muhammad�s life. These rules are fair and just. They apply to both the rich and the poor. They recognize the difference between men and women. They provide guidelines for dealing with children and adults. Islam provides rules for society, and laws for civil and criminal matters. It provides regulations for the community and government. It is a complete, feasible system.

It does not make sense to follow rules made by men, because a man at any one time cannot know what is best for himself, much less his entire community. For example, if a man knew that if he went to work today he would be hit by a car, he wouldn�t go, even though he needs to provide for his family. Just as a man does not have the information about his personal life, he does not have the information to give a complete set of rules to govern his life and the lives of those in the community. Therefore, it does not make sense to follow man-made laws. Whereas, God is the Creator and knows everything about His creations, it makes sense to follow His laws, which we know from the Prophet and Messenger of God, Muhammad (may Allah increase his honor). To follow anything else leads to problems, complications, and the unfair treatment of someone. Islam encompasses all aspects of one�s life.