the light english edition (march 13 issue)

7/29/2019 The Light English edition (March 13 issue)

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Editors:

Shahid Aziz

Mustaq Ali

Contents: Page

Call of the Messiah 1

Sharia Law Is Not Based On the

Quran But the Bible byDr Mir Faizal 4Misconceptions About theCurative Power of AlcoholbyDr Muhammad Al Bar 5

As Islam Grows, US Imams in ShortSupply byJohn Burnett 7

Call of the Messiah

(Continued from the previous issue)Four reasons

It should also be remembered that for the

obligation of

prayer which

the word of

God has en-

joined upon

the Muslims,

there are four

reasons:

(1) that

firm and im-

plicit faith in

the Unity of

God be ac-

quired by turn-

ing towards

Him in every

condition and

every time; for,

to ask and beg from God is to acknowledge andadmit that He and He alone is the Great Granter

of our wishes and desires;

(2) that faith may further be strengthened

with the acceptance of prayer and the granting

of the object prayed for;

(3) that knowledge and wisdom may in-

crease, in case Divine help and triumph be

vouchsafed in a different way;

(4) that if a promise for the acceptance ofprayer be held out through a vision or revela-

tion, and if it should come to pass exactly as

foretold, then our knowledge of God and mat-

ters Divine may increase in this way, and we

may, from this knowledge, acquire realization

and belief, which may further give rise to love

and loyalty; and that this perfect love and admi-

ration of the Divine Being may, in its turn, in-

spire us to have complete disjunction and dis-

association from every sin and everything

other-than-Allah, which is the fruit of real andtrue salvation. But if one should, of himself, ob-

tain the fulfilment of his desires, being also re-

mote and

a d r i f t

from the

Most High

God, all

those de-

sires will

at last be-

come the

cause of

i n t e n s e

grief, and

all the ob-

jects in

which a

pride is

taken, will

ultimately

assume the shape of sorrow and unhappiness.All the pleasures of the world will at last be

March

2013

Webcasting on the worlds first real-time Islamic service at

www.virtualmosque.co.uk

Faith


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changed into pain, and all the comforts and ease

into suffering and distress. But the mental per-

ception and Divine knowledge which a man gets

through prayer, and the blessings and benefac-

tion which are granted at the time of prayer

from the

h e a v e n l y

t r e a s u r e

will never

d i m i n i s h

or de-

crease, nor

will decay

ever come

u p o n

them; on

the other

hand, un-

c e a s i n g

p r o g r e s s

b e i n g

made from

day to day

in Divine knowledge and love, man will continue

to ascend paradiseward by means of this prayer

-ladder.

Four supreme attributes

There are four supreme and most exalted attrib-

utes of the Most High God which are, in fact, the

mothers of all attributes; and each of these at-

tributes calls for and requires a contribution

from our human nature. The four attributes are:

1. Rububiyyat Providence; nourishing

unto perfection;

2. RahmaniyyatBeneficence;

3. Rahimiyyat Mercy;

4. Malkiyyat-yaum-il-din Requital.

The attribute of Rububiyyat, for the execu-

tion of its function, requires absolute nothing-

ness, or a state very similar to it, and all kinds of

creation, animate as well as inanimate, the gar-

ments of their existence being made by its

agency. The attribute of Rahmaniyyat, for the

doing of its good, requires mere inexistence,

during which time there should be no effect nor

any manifestation of existence; and this attrib-ute has its relation only with animated objects

and has nothing to do with other things. The

attribute of Rahimiyyat requires, for the be-

stowal of its benefit, the admission of nonentity

and nothingness from the lips of existing ra-

tional beings, and is related only to humankind.

The attrib-

ute of Mal-

k i y y a t -

yaum-il-din

( M a s t e r -

ship of the

Day of Re-

quital) re-

quires, for

the display

of its per-

fo rm an ce ,

the most

humble and

submissive

solicitation

and earnest

and eager

supplication; and it pertains only to those hu-

man beings who, beggar-like, lay their humble

heads on the Most High Gods threshold andspread out their skirt of poverty for receiving

alms and, finding themselves empty-handed in

reality, repose faith in the mastership and sover-

eignty of the Most High God.

These are the four Divine attributes func-

tioning in the world; and of these, Rahimiyyatis

the attribute which stirs up and stimulates

prayer, whereas the attribute of Malkiyyat, ton-

ing down and softening with the flame of fear

and disquietude, creates true humility and invo-

cation; for, it is established and proved from this

attribute that the Most High God is the Master of

requital and recompense, that no one can claim

anything from Him as a matter of right or title,

and that deliverance and salvation rest exclu-

sively on His mercy and grace.

Review

To sum up and recapitulate briefly: these are the

four attributes of the Most High God which

stand proved and established by the teaching ofthe Holy Quran and the inquiry and investiga-


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A matter of paramount importance

It is but obvious that the matter of paramount im-

portance which we should get through and accom-

plish is the realization of God, and that if this reali-zation of ours be doubtful, dim and defective, our

faith can never be shining and bright; and until this

realization of God, by means of His attribute of Ra-

himiyyat, become an event of our own seeing or

perception, we cannot,

up till then, drink the

pure and sweet water

from the fountain of

real knowledge of our

Supreme Lord. If we

deceive not ourselves,

we shall have to admit

that, for the comple-

tion of our knowledge

of God, we stand in

need of and require

that by means of the

Divine attribute of Ra-

himiyyat all our doubts

and suspicions be removed, and such a strong im-

pression be created on our minds His attributesof mercy, grace and all-powerfulness having been

felt and experienced by us that we may be ren-

dered free and delivered from the sensual passions

which, merely on account of the weakness of our

faith and realization, overmaster us and cause our

minds to turn in another direction. Is it not a fact

that man, coming into this transient and ephem-

eral world, slips into a dreadful darkness for the

obvious reason that the powerful and piercing rays

of God-realization fall not upon his mind; that for

the real pleasure and peace of the next world hehas not as much yearning and quest in his mind as

he cherishes love for this world, its wealth and

riches, kingdoms and rule; and that if a recipe

could be discovered for remaining in this world for

all time to come, he would certainly be prepared to

declare with the lips of his own mouth that he has

given up and renounced his wish of getting the

world? What, then, is the reason? The reason is

that there is no real, living faith in the existence of

God, His mercy, power and word of promise.

(Ayyam-us-Sulah)

tion of wisdom and intellect. Of these, Rahimiyyat

is the attribute which demands that one offer up a

prayer and supplicate that Divine blessings and

benefits be showered on that prayer. We have alsowritten in our books Barahin-i-Ahmadiyya and

Karamat-al-Sadiqin how exquisitely all these four

attributes have been mentioned in the Opening

Chapter of the Holy Quran, and how obviously it is

proved, by casting a

look upon the Book of

Nature, that the very

same order and ar-

rangement has been

followed in the Sura

Fatihah (OpeningChapter).

All these four at-

tributes are found in

Gods Book of Action,

the Law of Nature.

Therefore, to give de-

nial to and belie prayer,

or look upon it as a use-

less thing, and regard it not as an incentive or

stimulus for the attraction and absorption of Di-vine grace, is, as it were, to gainsay and deny the

third great attribute of the Most High God, which is

Rahimiyyat. But this denial is a move, in secret, in

the direction of agnosticism; for, Rahimiyyatis the

one such attribute by means of which belief is in-

duced in all the other attributes and reaches the

stage of perfection. The reason is that when we

find, by means of Gods Rahimiyyat, that our

prayers and supplications have been blessed with

Divine mercy and grace and that every kind of dif-

ficulty and trouble has been removed, then our

faith in the existence of God, His power and com-

passion, as well as in respect of other attributes,

gets to and reaches the degree of haqq-al-yaqin,

i.e., certainty by realization, and we come to know

for certain as of an event perceived and seen by

our own eyes that in reality the Most High God is

worthy of all praise and honour, and that His Ru-

bubiyyat, Rahmaniyyatand other attributes are all

correct and true; but without the establishment of

the truth of Rahimiy yat, the other attributes, too,

remain doubtful and uncertain.


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Sharia Law Is Not Based On

the Quran but the Bible

byDr Mir FaizalThis article is not meant as an attack on Chris-

tians and Jews, and we do apologise if we hurt

the feelings of any Christian or Jew. We also un-

derstand that most Christians and Jews do not

take the Bible literally. The Bible also contains

some beautiful spiritual metaphors and some

beautiful moral teaching. This article is, rather,

an attempt to expose those extremists who want

to oppress people and falsely claim that these

oppressive laws come from the Quran.

Every now and then we see the image of

some woman getting stoned in Afghanistan, a

gay getting hanged in Iran and Muslims de-

manding the killing of those people who insult

Islam. We also see terrorist attacks taking place

in different parts of the world. To most people it

seems that Islam is not a very tolerant religion.

Some people also think that maybe all this vio-

lence of the Sharia law comes from the Quran.

However, in reality this is not the case. Almost

all of Sharia law comes from Hadith, many ofwhich are most probably directly copied from

the Bible. In fact, in the Quran it is forbidden to

give capital punishment to any criminal except a

murderer or a tyrant who persecutes people: If

anyone slew a person, unless it be for murder or

for spreading mischief in the land, it would be as

if he slew the entire humanity (Quran, 5:32).

However, in Sharia law there is death for all

kinds of crimes. In Sharia law the punishment

for blasphemy is death. This will not come as a

surprise to many people, who have seen Mus-

lims protesting and demanding the execution of

those who have insulted Islam or Prophet Mu-

hammad. However, what will come as a surprise

is what the Quran has to say about blasphemy.

The Quran commands us to be patient with

those who commit any blasphemy: Bear, then,

with patience, all that they [blasphemers]

say (Quran, 50:39); We [God] know best what

they [blasphemers] say; and you are not one to

overawe them by force (Quran, 50:45). On theother hand, in Bible the punishment for blas-

phemy is death: He that blasphemeth the name

of the LORD, he shall surely be put to death, and

all the congregation shall certainly stone

him (Leviticus, 24:1316). So, it is clear where

the Sharia law derived its ruling from.

Another aspect of Sharia law that is against

human rights is the capital punishment for

leaving Islam. This is, again, against a clear

Quranic commandment about freedom of relig-

ion: Let there be no compulsion in religion:

Truth stands out clear from Error (Quran,

2:256). This law is again derived from the Bible:

If thy brother,the son of thy mother, or thy son,

or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy

friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee se-

cretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods,

which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers

thou shalt stone him with stones, that he

die (Deuteronomy, 13:510).

What really makes Islam come on the news

most of the times is terrorism. Terrorism has no

place in the Quran. The rules of war in the Quran

are clear. War can only be fought against oppres-

sion or in self-defense and no civilian can be

killed in a war:Fight in the cause of God those

who fight you, but do not transgress limits; forGod loves not the transgressors But if they

cease [fighting you], then let there be no hostility

except to those who practice oppression (Quran,

2:190193). The question then remains: Where

does Al-Qaida gets its inspiration to kill so many

civilians? Where did the 9/11 bombers get their

inspiration? The answer isfatwas based on the

Bible: Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly

destroy all that they have, and spare them not;

but slay both man and woman, infant and

suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass (Samuel,

15:3).

The images of women getting stoned for

adultery and gays getting killed seems somehow

to be always associated with Islam. However, in

the Quran there is nothing about the stoning of

women to death or killing gays. This again

comes from the Bible: If a damsel that is a virgin

be betrothed unto an husband, and a man find

her in the city, and lie with her; Then ye shall

bring them both out unto the gate of that city,and ye shall stone them with stones that they die;


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the damsel, because she cried not, being in the

city(Deuteronomy, 22:2324); If a man also lie

with a man, as he lieth with a woman, both of

them have committed an abomination: they shall

surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon

them (Leviticus, 20:13).

Another thing that usually comes up in the

media is honour killing. To be fair on Sharia law,

even Sharia law forbids honour killing. However,

it is practised mainly because of cultural reasons

in the some parts of the Muslim world. There is,

of course, no mention of honour killing in the

Quran but, interestingly, there is mention of

honour killing in the Bible: Jesus replied, And

why do you break the command of God for the

sake of your tradition? For God said,

Honour your father and mother

and Anyone who curses his father or

mother must be put to

death(Matthew, 15:34).

Another thing Islam is blamed

for is paedophilia. There is nothing

in the Quran relating to paedophilia.

The story of Muhammad marrying a

9-year-old girl is not in the Quran. It

comes from a wrong Hadith whichwas written more than 200 years

after Muhammads death. All his-

torical research into this matter has

shown that this Hadith is wrong.

This Hadith does seem to be again

based on the Bible: And Moses said

unto them, Have ye saved all the

women alive? Now therefore kill

every male among the little ones, and kill every

woman that hath known man by lying with him.

But all the women children, that have not known

a man by lying with him, keep alive for your-

selves (Numbers, 31:1518).

In Saudi Arabia, every year, people are killed

by the government for witchcraft. There is,

again, nothing in the Quran to justify it. How-

ever, according to the Bible, witches are to be

killed: A man also or woman that hath a familiar

spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to

death: they shall stone them with stones: their

blood shall be upon them (Leviticus, 20:27).Our advice to extremists is that they should

follow the Quran and stop following the Bible.

Misconceptions About the

Curative Power of AlcoholbyDr Muhammad Al Bar

DM, MRCP, Consultant, King Fahd

Center for Medical Research

(From Nur-i-Islam magazine, published by the

Ahmadiyya Anjuman Ishaat -i-Islam,

Lahore (Canada))

Since antiquity, alcohol has been used not only

as a social lubricant but also as a remedy for

many different ailments and diseases ranging

from insomnia and indigestion to

heart attacks and as an anesthetic.

The list of diseases for which alco-

hol was used as a remedy was in-

deed very long.

The Arabs ofJahiliyya [pre-Islamic]

period used alcohol to boost cour-

age and benevolence. The poet Has-

san ibn Thabit Al Ansari before he

embraced Islam said: When we

drink liquor we become like kings[in our benevolence] and during

fight we become lions who never

waver or falter from confrontation.

They also used it as a remedy for

their ailments and diseases. The au-

thentic narrators quote many

Hadiths to show how the new con-

verts tried to convince the Prophet

(s) that they used alcohol only as a remedy, and

asked for his permission to continue doing so.

The Prophet (s) emphatically denied the bene-

fits of liquor as a remedy and clearly mentioned

it as a case of ailment and disease and not a rem-

edy for any disease.

Muslim, Abu Dawood and Tirmithi narrate

the following Hadith: A man called Tariq Al Joofi

came to the Prophet (s) and asked permission to

consume liquor. The Prophet (s) refused. The

man said: I use it and prescribe it as a medicine.

The Prophet (s) answered: It is no medicine. It

is a disease and ailment.Another Hadith says that a man called Tariq

Fatima Khatun, Cairo


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ibn Swaid Al Hadrami came to the Prophet (s)

and said: O Messenger of Allah, in our land we

have vineyards and we make wine and drink.

The Prophet (s) said: Stop drinking. The man

proclaimed: We use it as a remedy for the illand diseased. The Prophet (s) said: It is no

remedy. It is an illness itself.

The people of Yemen, who came to the

Prophet (s), asked him to allow them to drink

because they lived in a mountainous cold area,

and they drank liquor to fight the cold weather

and to help them in their hard jobs. The

Prophet (s) asked if that liquor [made from

wheat] was intoxicating. The man who spoke for

the Yemeni delegation agreed. The Prophet (s)

said: Then you have to stop drinking.

Abu Dawood nar-

rated this Hadith:

Allah has made for

every illness a cure, but

never seek your cure

by things prohibited.Al Bukhari narrated a

similar Hadith in which

the Prophet (s) said:

Allah did not makeyour remedy in any of

the things prohibited.

This shows that

Arabs at the time of the

Prophet (s) were strong believers in the medici-

nal powers of liquor. However, the Prophet (s)

emphatically denied that power. Instead he re-

peatedly stated drinking liquor even in small

quantities was a cause of illness and disease.

It is, therefore, quite strange to find that the

great medieval Muslim physicians and philoso-

phers like Abu Baker Al Razi and Ibn Sina com-

mended the use of liquor in moderation to keep

good health. What is even more astonishing is

that highly esteemed men of religion like Ibn

Katheer believed in the medicinal and health

procuring powers of the intoxicating liquor. This

misconception still persists though science and

medicine have proved beyond doubt the fallacy

of the medicinal powers of liquor. The modern

scientific findings have also proved how base-less are the claims that alcohol heats the body

and therefore is good remedy for cold weather,

that it helps the digestion, and that it is a stimulant

of the brain.

Imam Jaffer Al Sadiq, a descendant of the

Prophet Muhammad (s), was asked by a man suf-

fering from severe, bleeding piles to allow him to

drink liquor, as his physician prescribed it. The

Imam refused and said: Allah has never made your

remedies in things that were prohibited. He also

rejected emphatically the suggestion to dissolve the

ingredients of medicines in alcohol.

Ibn Al Qaim, one of the renowned jurists of the

seventh century of Hijrah, wrote many a chapter in

his books to refute the arguments in favor of the

medicinal uses of alcohol claimed by the physicians

of his time. There is a saying to the effect that We

are what we eat. This is true to a great extent, as

the food and drink we con-

sume is transformed in our

bodies by the processes of

anabolism into the cells of

our bodies, and the proc-

esses of catabolism into

the energy that we need to

perform the functions of

our life. Therefore, it is no

wonder that alcohol, whenit enters the body, affects

both the psyche and the

soma badly.

That was what Ibn Al Qaim

was explaining to his contemporaries, including the

physicians of his age. He was denying emphatically

the benefits of alcohol claimed by Al Razi and Ibn

Sina and the whole medical profession in his days.

At his time there was little proof of what he said

except that it was clearly stated in the Prophets

sayings. Now we have ample evidence for what he

was trying to prove. The ill effects of alcohol on

both psyche and soma are well documented. They

are taught in the schools of medicine all over the

world. The learned men of religion [Jurists] agreed

that liquor should never be used as a drug for

medicine, or to quench the thirst. However, the ju-

rists allowed the use of alcohol as a solvent of drugs

provided that: (a) there is no other available drug

which does not contain alcohol; (b) the amount of

alcohol as a solvent is minute and does not causedrunkenness; and (c) it is prescribed by a compe-

tent Muslim physician.


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Ibn Qudama Al Maqdisi states this quite

clearly in his book Mughni Al Muhtaj; The use

of liquor as a remedy is prohibited in our relig-

ion. However, the use of drugs, which have been

mixed with liquor as a solvent, is another mat-

ter. It is permissible to use that drug provided

the liquor used is very small in quantity and

provided that a competent, good Muslim physi-

cian has prescribed it.

The medical and pharmacological profes-

sions in the Muslim world are strongly called to

replace the drugs containing alcohol with others

which are alcohol-free. Most of the drugs con-

taining alcohol found on the counter, e.g., tonics,

etc., could easily be replaced by alcohol-free

drugs. A ban could be imposed in the Muslim

countries, if the governments do agree.

As Islam Grows, US Imams in

Short Supply

byJohn Burnett

Islam in America is growing exponentially. From

2000 to 2010, the number of mosques in the

United States jumped 74 percent.Today, there are more than 2,100 American

mosques but they have a challenge: There arent

enough imams, or spiritual leaders, to go

around.

The Mid-Cities Mosque in Colleyville, Texas,

has two modest minarets that distinguish it as a

sacred building here

in this sedate suburb

between Fort Worth

and Dallas. Its

trimmed in green

lights the color of

Islam. A Dallas Mus-

lim Yellow Pages sits

in a rack outside the

doors.

Inside, maghrib

prayers, after sunset,

are commencing. A

husky young imam

dressed in a sand-colored tunic closes his eyesand leans into a microphone. A dozen men stand

barefoot, elbow-to-elbow on a green carpet, in

quietude.

The 200 mostly Pakistani-American mem-

bers of this small Texas mosque are lucky to

have a full-time, American-born imam. Theres

an acute imam shortage in America, the result of

supply, and demand, says Nouman Ali Khan.

Ive had the opportunity to travel to maybe

150 mosques across the country. And the vast

majority of them, actually, did not have a full-

time imam, says Ali Khan, who heads Bayyinah,

an Arabic-language institute in Dallas that edu-

cates future imams. The ones that did are very

happy to have them and the ones that didnt are

constantly asking me when I go for a seminar,

Hey, so you know anybody?

Separated geographically from the rest of

Islam, he says American Muslims must find their

own way, must invent their own traditions.

In Islamic countries, mosques and imams

are supported by the state. Here in the U.S., they

are private just like any church. Moreover, they

are likely to serve as religious and community

centers for their ethnically distinct congrega-

tion.

Indeed, American mosques are filled withMuslims from many different countries. And

increasingly theyre the spiritual home of native

-born Muslims whose identities are completely

American.

Some young Muslims feel alienated from the

mosque and from religious culture altogether.

So U.S. mosques not

only need imams

trained in classical

Islam, but who pos-

sess good English

skills and a thorough

understanding of

American culture.

You may have a

scholarly religious

figure that can speak

to the older congrega-

tion, but hes not able

to connect as well

with the youth, Ali Khan says. And in a lot ofthe interviews, its even sort of a primary con-


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2013

cern how well can you connect with the young

in our community.

The Islamic Association of Mid-Cities went

without an imam for 15 months before it finally

chose Yahya Jaekoma. Hes a cherubic, 23-year-

old of Thai and Afghan descent, who was born in

San Diego.

I was a

s p o n s o r e d

skater at the age

of 10 ... and after

breaking my

arm, my grand-

mother told me I

[had] to put it

off, Jaekoma

explains. So she

sent me to a ma-

drassa, which is

an institute to

study the Quran,

at the age of 14.

By the time he was 18, Jaekoma had memo-

rized the entire Quran and dedicated his life to

religious study. But his time as a hip-hop skate-

boarder gives him a unique voice for the youthin his mosque.

I tell them my life story, he says. I tell

them where I came from. I tell them what Ive

done.

The youth group at the Mid-Cities mosque

includes Sijil Patel, a 16-year-old Pakistani-

American who is thoroughly modern with Face-

book, Twitter, Instagram, crazy-colored sneak-

ers, and a headscarf.

By having someone that was born here, its

easier to relate to them, and its easier for them

to understand our view on what were dealing

with and, like, the difficulties we have with our

faith in, like, such a modern environment, Patel

says.

Some of those things include dating, sex, drugs,

alcohol and profanity.

Weve been strictly taught in Islam that vulgar

language is not allowed, Patel says. I try my best

to, like, not engage in

that type of thing, and

Ive told my friends,

too.

A recent survey by the

Islamic Society of

North America reports

that only 44 percent of

American imams are

salaried and full-time.

The rest are volunteer

religious leaders. Four

out of five imams here

were born and edu-

cated outside the

United States, mostly in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and

India.

I can count the number of institutions that

prepare imams in the U.S. on three fingers, says

Jihad Turk, president the Bayan Claremont Islamicgraduate school in Southern California.

Turk estimates that his institution, Hartford

Seminary in Connecticut, and Zaytuna College in

the San Francisco Bay Area will, collectively, gradu-

ate fewer than 30 Koranic scholars this year.

This handful of newly minted American imams

should have no trouble at all finding work.

[Copyright NPR, February 10th, 2013, submitted by

Hameed Jahangiri. Source:

http:www.npr.org/2013/02/10/171629187/as-

islam-grows-u-s-imams-in-short-supply?

sc=ipad&f=1001]

Ahmadiyya Anjuman Ishaat Islam Lahore (UK)

The first Islamic Mission in the UK, established 1913 as the Woking Muslim Mission

Dar-us-Salaam, 15 Stanley Avenue, Wembley, UK, HA0 4JQ

Centre: 020 8903 2689 President: 020 8529 0898 Secretary: 01753 575313 E-mail: [email protected]

Websites: www.aaiil.org/uk | www.ahmadiyya.org | www.virtualmosque.co.uk

Donations: www.virtualmosque.co.uk/donations

Mosque on Water, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

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