Why Do I Believe In Islam

In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful

If we have a form to fill in, in which personal particulars are required to be given, we generally mention our religion to be the same as that to which our parents are supposed to belong. We do not give much thought to the question whether we really believe in that religion or not. It is as if we automatically inherit our religion from our parents as we inherit some of our physical features and mannerisms from them.

But religion, as a matter of fact, is not a thing to be inherited. It should strictly be a matter of our own individual consciences irrespective of the religious beliefs of our parents. Freedom is our birthright and freedom includes religious freedom. We cannot be the captives of the religious beliefs of our parents or guardians.

It was with these sentiments that I started my journey into my soul to probe whether it really believed in the declared religion of the family in which I was born and, if so, why. It was a long journey and not an easy one at that. On several occasions along the way I was beset with doubts and pitfalls. And it is only in these evening years of my life that I have been able to gather my thoughts on the subject and put them in this booklet.

Through this booklet I wish to share my thoughts with all those who would like to have such sentimental journeys into their own respective souls. They may not all agree with my beliefs. That is not my intention. My intention is to induce my readers to discover their own honestly felt faiths and beliefs and then to have the courage of conviction to act accordingly. One essential word of warning though. Freedom is of course our birthright, but it has its limits. We cannot have freedom to spread chaos, anarchy and corruption in this world.

One other motivating force inducing me to write this booklet came from my friends, non-Muslim ones particularly. Their impressions about Muslims and Islam were not good. Muslims were not fit to live or make friendship with, some of them had thought. “But you are different”, they used to tell me. I tried to explain to them the real position, but it was of no use. Occasionally given oral and impromptu explanations can hardly erase any deep-rooted misunderstandings. This booklet is my humble attempt to give a more detailed written explanation about the reality of Islam.

Above is the first Preface – written way back in 1999 – to the booklet Why Do I Believe In Islam. PDF version of the booklet is freely available at this link. I shall feel richly rewarded even if only a few among this vast human populace in this world are inclined to turn to genuine Islam by reading it.

Mohammad Shafi

Friday, the 28^th of December 2018.

2nd Coming of Jesus?

In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful

Extract from QUR’AANIC STUDIES – A Modern Tafsir PART I:

117. Ma qultu lahum illa ma amartanee bihi ani oAAbudoo Allaha rabbee warabbakum wakuntu AAalayhim shaheedan ma dumtu feehim falamma tawaffaytanee kunta anta alrraqeeba AAalayhim waanta AAala kulli shay-in shaheedun

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5:117. "I did not tell them anything except what You enjoined me with: 'Worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord.' And I was a witness over them so long as I remained among them, but when You caused me to die, You were the Guard over them.⁴⁵ And You are Witness over all things."

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45. The scenario here is Allah's Court on Judgement Day in the Hereafter. Prophet Jesus (peace be upon him) is in the witness box. The Almighty, All-knowing Judge is questioning him. From Verse 5:116 above to Verse 5:119 below is a transcript of that interrogation. And this part of the transcript – recorded in this Verse 5:117 – gives the lie to the popular belief among Muslims about a 2nd coming of Jesus to this earth.

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Mohammad Shafi

Friday, the 21^st of December 2018.

Righteous Are Invincible

In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful

Extract from QUR’AANIC STUDIES – A Modern Tafsir PART I:

105. Ya ayyuha allatheena amanoo AAalaykum anfusakum la yadurrukum man dalla itha ihtadaytum ila Allahi marjiAAukum jameeAAan fayunabbi-okum bima kuntum taAAmaloona

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5:105. O you who believe! You are responsible for your own selves. He who errs cannot hurt you when you are on the right path.⁴³ To Allah you all are to return, when He will inform you of what you did.

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43. Muslims wouldn't be in the doldrums, they are in today, had they unshakeable faith in the divine statement of this Verse.

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Mohammad Shafi

Friday, the 14^th of December 2018.

Where Qur'aan is Silent

In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful

Extract from QUR’AANIC STUDIES – A Modern Tafsir PART I:

101. Ya ayyuha allatheena amanoo la tas-aloo AAan ashyaa in tubda lakum tasu/kum wa-in tas-aloo AAanha heena yunazzalu alqur-anu tubda lakum AAafa Allahu AAanha waAllahu ghafoorun haleemun

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5:101. O you who believe! Do not put questions about things, which, if clarified to you, may cause difficulties for you. And if you put questions about them when the Qur’aan is being revealed, they may be clarified to you. Allah has absolved you of any obligation thereon.⁴⁰ And Allah is Forgiving, Kind.

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40. This Verse makes it clear that in matters in which the Qur'aan is silent, mankind has freedom of action.

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Mohammad Shafi

Friday, the 7^th of December 2018.

Islam & Interest

In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful

It's unfortunate that even some well-known Islamic scholars have been of the opinion that the Qur'aanic word Ar-Riba has not been defined in the Holy Book.

But the said word is defined in the Qur'an!

I have tried to examine the details in the book, ISLAM & INTEREST. The link to it is: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7whKwklZ1K3WHE3SlRRSlczSHc/view?usp=drivesdk

Now, my good friend, Janab Muhammad Aashiq, has kindly given us its Urdu translation. Link to PDF version of the same:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7whKwklZ1K3LUxxTWtvS20xWU5JVVVod2hzR3FXMFYydHJZ/view?usp=drivesdk

Mohammad Shafi

Musings of an old Man

In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful

A burn injury, even at the tip of a finger, hurts badly! Thanks to Allah, that hurt is not long-standing.

But what if the hurt - not only at the finger-tip, but on the entire body - were to be ever-lasting!? 

Thanks be to Allah again, such hurt is never ever-lasting in this finite world!

Now, were someone authoritatively to tell us that omission or commission of a certain act would certainly entail such an ever-lasting hurt, would we ever do it? Never! Unless we completely disbelieved that someone!!

The Qur'aan does repeatedly tell us about such ever-lasting punishment in Hell on omissions or commissions of specified acts.

But we, so-called Muslims, continue ignoring the Qur'aanic do's & dont's!!!

Need I then say, in so many words, that we Muslims disbelieve the Qur'aan, though we may loudly profess belief in it from our rooftops?

Mohammad Shafi

Dua

I'm presently away from home, and away from my laptop. So, the Sermon this Friday is bound to be different.

Let me then give it a rather personal colour.

:

I'm in my mid-eighties. It's becoming increasingly difficult to carry on with life's normal routines. Death seems to be a welcome relief.

The mind then starts wondering whether I've passed the test of this worldly life.

Doubts come floating by.

It's only divine Mercy that could save me.

O Almighty! Grant me the wisdom of doing everything right till I die.


Mohammad Shafi

Abee Lahab

In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful

Extract from QUR’AANIC STUDIES -A Modern Tafsir PART II:

1. Tabbat yada abee lahabin watabba

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111:1. Abee Lahab’s¹ hands are perished; and he too is!

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1. Abee Lahab was the Prophet’s own uncle; and he was his immediate neighbour at Makkah. But the man was deadly against the nephew for preaching the religion of Islam. His wife used to lay thorns at the Prophet’s door; the enmity they both felt against him was so intense! This Verse predicted Abee Lahab’s pathetic end some years later. He died of a disease considered malignant; and he was left by his own family to die alone. He was one of the richest in Makkah, but his wealth was of no avail to him at the time of his death. Although this was to happen some years later, the Verse is in the perfect tense; for Allah Almighty could see it happening in advance.

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Mohammad Shafi

Friday, the 9^th of November 2018.

The Right Path

In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful

Extract from QUR’AANIC STUDIES – A Modern Tafsir PART I:

77. Qul ya ahla alkitabi la taghloo fee deenikum ghayra alhaqqi wala tattabiAAoo ahwaa qawmin qad dalloo min qablu waadalloo katheeran wadalloo AAan sawa-i alssabeeli

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5:77. Say, "O people of the Book! Commit no unjust excesses in your religion (way of life) and follow not the vain desires of people who went astray before, and who led many astray and (themselves) went astray from the Right Path."³²

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32. At the time of revelation of the Qur'aan, this divine directive was addressed to the Jews and the Christians. But now, it is equally applicable to the Muslims. They too are the people of the Book and they too are committing unjust excesses in their religion, as do the Christians and the Jews. Through the ahaadeeth and through the "learned" books of the fuqaha they have unjustly made additions to and subtractions from their Religion, and have thus polluted the pristine purity, clarity and beauty of Qur'aanic Islam.

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Mohammad Shafi

Friday, the 2^nd of November 2018.

No Comments

In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful

Verses That Need No Comments

Extract from QUR’AANIC STUDIES – A Modern Tafsir PART II:

2. WaittabiAA ma yooha ilayka min rabbika inna Allaha kana bima taAAmaloona khabeeran

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33:2. And follow what is revealed to you from your Lord. Allah is indeed ever Aware of what you (all people) do;

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3. Watawakkal AAala Allahi wakafa biAllahi wakeelan

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33:3. And have trust in Allah! And Allah is enough as dispenser of affairs.

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Mohammad Shafi

Friday, the 26^th of October 2018.

What Is Attalaaq?

In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful

Like in الربا (Ar-Riba), in this word الطلاق (Attalaq) too, there is this prefix of ال. This prefix gives طلاق its special Qur'aanic meaning/definition. It is, I submit, as under:

It is the declaration of the husband's intent (عزم), seriously - and not jokingly or in a fit of anger - communicated to his wife. It is the intention that matters, and not the number of declarations - once, twice or thrice, made at one go or at an interval of one month - of the same intention. Once this communication is made, the wife becomes مطلقه (divorced) and the first الطلاق happens.

There is a waiting period (عدت) prescribed for the مطلقه. The عدت in the case of an unconsummated marriage is nil, and in cases of consummated marriages, it is 3 menstrual periods or 3 months. For a pregnant مطلقه, it is till delivery.

During the عدت the couple can resort to امساك (reconciliation). And even after the عدت is over, they can remarry. Then the intent, in husband's mind, of divorce gets wiped out, but, let me repeat, the fact, that first الطلاق has happened, does not get wiped out. If, after lapse of some time then, the couple's mutual relationship again gets so bad that the husband's intent to divorce her reemerges and he communicates that intent to her, then it is counted as الطلاق No. 2!

But if امساك does not happen and the مطلقه has to leave the husband's house, her leaving ought to be باحسان (done with kindness). Nothing that the husband had given her, as his wife, should be taken back from her, except when all concerned (the husband, the wife, and their respective families) agree that the divinely laid down norm of not taking anything back from the مطلقه cannot be adhered to, she may give up any of those things given her, to facilitate the divorce taking effect. This exception also is within the divinely laid-down limits, and no blame of committing any sin, for availing it, lies on either the husband or the wife, and therefore there is no question of imposing any penalty/restriction on either of them.

So, الطلاق is the divorce in which all the conditionals mentioned above are fulfilled. الطلاق is permitted only twice (الطلاق مرتان), which fact has also been reiterated in the Qur'aan, in its unique mathematical way of mentioning the word الطلاق only twice in the entire Scripture. Third time, the divorce becomes irreversible and goes outside the scope of الطلاق.

May Allah Almighty guide Muslims to His correct Path,

Mohammad Shafi

Signs Galore

In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful

Extract from QUR’AANIC STUDIES – A Modern Tafsir PART II:

93. Waquli alhamdu lillahi sayureekum ayatihi fataAArifoonaha wama rabbuka bighafilin AAammataAAmaloona

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27:93. And say, “The praise is for Allah! He will soon show you His signs, and then you shall recognise them.”¹⁶ And your Lord is not unaware of what you do.

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16. Allah Ta’ala has surely shown many signs since the revelation of the Qur’aan that prove it to be genuinely divine. Refer the numerous posts under the Signs category in my blog RabbunAllah. And the discovery of such signs is a continuing process.

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Mohammad Shafi

Friday, the 12^th of October 2018.

A Tragic Paradox

In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful

Extract from QUR’AANIC STUDIES – A Modern Tafsir PART I:

72. Laqad kafara allatheena qaloo inna Allaha huwa almaseehu ibnu maryama waqala almaseehu ya banee isra-eela oAAbudoo Allaha rabbee warabbakum innahu man yushrik biAllahi faqad harrama Allahu AAalayhi aljannata wama/wahu alnnaru wama lilththalimeena min ansarin

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5:72. They did certainly suppress the Truth, who said, “The Messiah, son of Mary, is indeed Allah.” And the Messiah said, “O Children of Israel! Worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord. Whoever indeed associates others with Allah in his worship, then Allah has forbidden to him the Garden³¹, and his abode is the Fire. And there shall be none to help the unjust.”

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31. It's a tragic paradox that the very Prophet who thus strongly advocated against association of anyone with Allah, himself got associated with Allah by his own so-called followers, the Christians! They are blissfully unaware that the Garden is forbidden to them in terms of what their own Prophet said. And they think that their Jesus has already given them their passports to Paradise!

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Mohammad Shafi

Friday, the 5^th of October 2018.

Science Has No Answers

In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful

Extract from QUR’AANIC STUDIES – A Modern Tafsir PART II:

19. Latarkabunna tabaqan AAan tabaqin

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84:19. You [humans] do move from stage to stage.¹

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1. Mankind is aware of the many stages through which man passes from his conception in a womb to his grave. Then why does he not believe in the divine intimation to him of his further stages of barzakh (state of complete unconsciousness from death till his resurrection in the Hereafter) and further life in the Hereafter? This very question is posed to him in the next two Verses. The divine intimation is given to him through the Qur’aan, which he ought to believe in and prostrate (submit himself) to. But one may ask why. The answer is: there is no other source which gives us the information as to what happens after death. Our knowledge of science just tells us that we cease to exist. Science also does not tell us as to what it is that triggers life in the 3-week-old fertilized ovum in mother’s womb. Science is thus helpless in giving us this vital info. So, we have no alternative but to go to the divine source. And the divine info provides answers to several unresolved questions arising in the human mind. Why do innumerable cases of injustices apparently remain unpunished in this world? And why acts of good deeds remain unrewarded? Why do innocents suffer and why do wrong-doers apparently enjoy good life on this earth? Science has no answers to such questions; the Qur’aan has!

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Mohammad Shafi

Friday, the 28^th of September 2018.

Believers Defined

In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful

Extract from QUR’AANIC STUDIES -A Modern Tafsir PART II:

15. Innama almu/minoona allatheena amanoo biAllahi warasoolihi thumma lam yartaboo wajahadoo bi-amwalihim waanfusihim fee sabeeli Allahi ola-ika humu alssadiqoona

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49:15. The believers are only those who believe in Allah and His Messenger. Then they doubt not and struggle hard with their wealth and their lives in the way of Allah. Those are they who are the true believers.²

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2. The believers defined!

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Mohammad Shafi

Friday, the 21^st of September 2018.

The Divine Hand

In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful

Extract from QUR’AANIC STUDIES – A Modern Tafsir PART II:

4. Wafee khalqikum wama yabuththu min dabbatin ayatun liqawmin yooqinoona

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45:4. And in your creation and in animals Allah proliferates, there are Signs for people certain of their belief in Him.²

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2. Take only one part – the eye – of human creation. Scientists are agreed that it is one of the marvels of creation, which no man can equal. All other parts of the body – of any animal – are all marvels of creation, which no man can ever hope to equal! And the atheists’ unscientific assumption that all these marvels just happened of their own, is just nonsense! Every part of the body provides a loud and clear evidence of the existence of the Creator. The other Sign that this Verse mentions is the proliferation of some animals like sheep. Imagine the factual position of lakhs of sheep being slaughtered every day for their meat being served as food for mankind all over the world! But has this fact ever rendered sheep as endangered species like tiger and other wild animals are? Here, in this case also, the divine Hand operating behind the scenes is very much apparent.

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Mohammad Shafi

Friday, the 14^th of September 2018.