O Muslims - 16

In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful

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

149. Ya ayyuha allatheena amanoo in tuteeAAoo allatheena kafaroo yaruddookum AAala aAAqabikum fatanqaliboo khasireena

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3:149. O you who believe! If you obey those who suppress the Truth, they will turn you back. Then you turn back doomed!

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Mohammad Shafi

Friday, the 29^th of May 2020.

Qur'aan Seldom followed

In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful

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

23. Alam tara ila allatheena ootoo naseeban mina alkitabi yudAAawna ila kitabi Allahi liyahkuma baynahum thumma yatawalla fareequn minhum wahum muAAridoona

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3:23. Have you not seen those who have been given a share from the Book? They are called upon to refer to the Book of Allah to settle things among themselves. A section of them then back out and turn hostile.²⁴

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24. Initially, at the time of revelation, this Verse obviously referred to the Jews or the Christians as being those given a share of the Book. But in our present times, it very well refers to Muslims who have been given the Qur'aan. The Muslims seldom refer to the Qur'aan, for settlements of disputes among themselves. At the time of writing of these comments, the Muslim Ummah is faced with the unseemly spectacle of Muslims celebrating EidulFitr on different days, not only in the different parts of the world, but also in different parts of the same country! The Muslim Ummah is not at all bothered to follow what the Qur'aan says in this regard. They would rather follow a hadeeth, no matter it leads them to follow a calendar, untenable and impracticable in the present circumstances when Islam has become a fast-growing world Religion. Please refer to my article The New Moon in this context.

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Mohammad Shafi

Friday, the 1^st of November 2019.

Following Forefathers

In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful

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

170. Wa-itha qeela lahumu ittabiAAoo ma anzala Allahu qaloo bal nattabiAAu ma alfayna AAalayhi abaana awa law kana abaohum la yaAAqiloona shay-an wala yahtadoona

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2:170. And when they are asked to follow what Allah has sent down, they say, "But we follow what we found our forefathers doing." Even if their forefathers had understood nothing, nor had they been guided!?²⁷⁸

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278. This loaded question, divinely posed over 1400 years ago, is still valid for people today, including most Muslims! Even though the Muslims have with them the divinely protected Qur'aan, they hardly refer to this invaluable Book of guidance, and choose instead to follow what they have found their forefathers doing. So, they call dead saints to their aid in worldly matters and visit their graves, even though the Qur'aan categorically tells them that such acts of shirk would be unpardonable sins [Q: 4:116].

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Mohammad Shafi

Friday, the 19^th of July 2019.

In Forefathers' Footsteps

In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful

Extract from Chapter 2 of QUR’AANIC STUDIES – A Modern Tafsir:

170. Wa-itha qeela lahumu ittabiAAoo ma anzala Allahu qaloo bal nattabiAAu ma alfayna AAalayhi abaana awa law kana abaohum la yaAAqiloona shay-an wala yahtadoona

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170. And when they are asked to follow what Allah has sent down, they say, "But we follow what we found our forefathers doing." Even if their forefathers had understood nothing, nor had they been guided!?²⁷⁸

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278. This loaded question, divinely posed over 1400 years ago, is still valid for people today, including most Muslims! Even though the Muslims have with them the divinely protected Qur'aan, they hardly refer to this invaluable Book of guidance, and choose instead to follow what they have found their forefathers doing. So, they call dead saints to their aid in worldly matters and visit their graves, even though the Qur'aan categorically tells them that such acts of shirk would be unpardonable sins [Q: 4:116].

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Mohammad Shafi

Friday, the 11^th of August 2017.