Moon Landing

In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful

Extract from Chapter 54 of QUR’AANIC STUDIES – A Modern Tafsir PART II:

1. Iqtarabati alssaAAatu wainshaqqa alqamaru

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54:1. The Hour (the time when the present world will end and the Hereafter begin) has drawn near and the moon is breached.¹

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1. The Arabic word shaqqa has several meanings. Most translators have given it here the meaning of ‘split’ and thus attributed to Prophet Muhammad [peace on him] the performing of the miracle of splitting the moon in two and then rejoining the two parts. Such a miracle – if it did happen – would have indeed been a unique one! The Qur’aan does say that the earlier Prophets were endowed with the gifts of performing various miracles. But none of such miracles involved moon or any other heavenly body! All those miracles were restricted to things of this earth. This miracle attributed to Prophet Muhammad is preposterous on another count as well. Nowhere else in the Holy Book does Allah Almighty mention performance, by Muhammad, of any miracle as those performed by earlier Prophets like Moses and Jesus. The Book, on the other hand, points out the fact that the earlier peoples had failed to follow their Prophets despite the latter showing them the miracles! The stress was therefore laid on Prophet Muhammad’s Ummah to look for miracles in the natural creation of their own selves and of all things around them, and thus attain to faith in Allah Ta’ala. That being the unmistakable tenor throughout in the Qur’aan, it was indeed preposterous for the Prophet to come up suddenly with such an unlikely miracle. Moreover, shaqqa alqamar is meant in this Verse to be the Sign for the approaching end of this world.  There were no signs of the approaching Doom over 1400 years ago when this Verse was revealed. But there definitely are such signs now when nation after nation is engaged in piling up weapons of mass destruction [WMD]. And this piling up was preceded by Man’s first visit to the moon in the late sixties [Watch the Video]. This Verse foretold that visit, when the virginity of the surface of the moon was for the first time breached by human steps and man-made tools.

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Mohammad Shafi

Friday, the 27^th July 2018.

Basic Principle of Jurisprudence

In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful

Excerpts from Chapter 4 of QUR’AANIC STUDIES – A Modern Tafsir:

59. Ya ayyuha allatheena amanoo ateeAAoo Allaha waateeAAoo alrrasoola waolee al-amri minkum fa-in tanazaAAtum fee shay-in faruddoohu ila Allahi waalrrasooli in kuntum tu/minoona biAllahi waalyawmi al-akhiri thalika khayrun waahsanu ta/weelan

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4:59. O you who believe! Obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority from amongst you. Then if you believe in Allah and the Hereafter and quarrel on anything, refer it to Allah and the Messenger. That is better, and it is the best solution.⁴¹

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41. This Verse gives the basic principle of jurisprudence in Islam. Since the Messenger is no longer living amidst mankind now, the only source for reference is Allah Himself. And the Qur'aan is His Book of Guidance especially given to mankind for the purpose. The Qur'aan therefore ought to be the final reference on any dispute. Allah assures us here that this final source for reference would provide the best solution. We have but to trust Him. About the directive to obey the Messenger, please see blog post, Obey the Messenger, for further information.

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Mohammad Shafi

Friday, the 20^th of July 2018.

The Perishing Star

In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful

The Perishing Star

Extract from Chapter 53 of QUR’AANIC STUDIES – A Modern Tafsir PART II:

 53:1. By the star when it perishes!¹

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1. The Arabic word hawa has been used in Verse 20:81 in the sense of something getting perished. But, here, the people living at the time the Qur’aan was revealed – and for centuries thereafter – had difficulty in understanding a star getting perished or destroyed. So those people rendered the said Arabic word as ‘sets’ or ‘disappears’. And they understood the Verse as alluding to a star that disappears from the sky as day breaks. But this obviously is a contrived rendering. At day-break, not one, but all stars [other than the Sun of course] disappear to the naked human eye. It is but an illusion. Now, when human knowledge has taken a quantum jump, we know for a fact that stars do get destroyed! Watch this video! Qur’aan is a living Book valid for all times till the Last Day. We cannot hold it hostage to the limited understanding of any people in the past.

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Mohammad Shafi

Friday, the 13^th of July 2018.

Mankind

In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful

Extract from Chapter 4 of QUR’AANIC STUDIES – A Modern Tafsir PART I:

1. Ya ayyuha alnnasu ittaqoo rabbakumu allathee khalaqakum min nafsin wahidatin wakhalaqa minha zawjaha wabaththa minhuma rijalan katheeran wanisaan waittaqoo Allaha allathee tasaaloona bihi waal-arhama inna Allaha kana AAalaykum raqeeban

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4:1. O mankind! Fear your Lord Who created you out of a single being and created there from its mate and, from the two, created many men and women and caused them to spread out. And fear Allah about Whom, and about the wombs, you make inquiries.¹ Allah does indeed keep a close watch over you all.

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1. People, in all ages, have wondered about their coming into existence. In due course they realise that their parents (wombs) are just instruments used. Then who is the real maker who used those instruments? Or is it that things just happen, with no real maker causing them to happen? But with their ever-increasing knowledge, the people have come to know that the universe at large and their bodies, are gems of creation, requiring a superhuman intelligence and superhuman creative abilities. Who is that superhuman creator and where is he? Is there one creator or many? And if there are many creators, how come the administration of the universe at large runs so smoothly? Questions like these arise in the human mind, and the Qur'aan gives the answers in detail. This Verse informs mankind how their One Creator and Sustainer spread them on earth, starting from one man. Although the parents are just instruments in the creation of their children, mankind is enjoined to give them, and especially the mother, due respect [Verse 31:14].

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Mohammad Shafi

Friday, the 6^th of July 2018.