Radical Islam

In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful

Donald Trump, in his inaugural address as President of USA, said that he would work for complete eradication of ‘radical Islamic terrorism’ from the surface of the earth.

What is Radical Islam he is referring to? Does it include ‘terrorism’, as he mischievously implies?

History is witness to an extraordinarily shining example of Radical Islam set by none other than Prophet Muhammad (peace on him) himself! For 13 long years, his own people at Makkah had relentlessly harassed the Prophet just because he declared, ‘There is no god but Allah!’ Then they – the Makkans – had sent armies to eradicate the nascent Islamic State at Medina, á la our Donald now, from the surface of the earth, but without success of course! And when the Prophet later marched triumphantly into Makkah, he pardoned all his arch enemies there!! There was no mass massacre, no raping of women on a massive scale, and no massive destruction of public properties, as routinely done by modern national armies when they conquer neighboring territories!!!

That was the true exhibition of Radical Islam! Peace, mercy, goodwill, justice towards one and all!

But it is too much to expect Donald Trump to sincerely study what Radical Islam is! Like any Tom, Dick, and Harry, he goes by common perception. And the common perception among a large number of non-Muslims is that Islam is an evil religion!

And I blame the Muslim community all over the world at large, themselves, for this utterly false perception. The Qur’aan advices them to continue doing good and righteous deeds, without fear and favour and despite facing trying adversities, and to have patience and trust in the One Creator of all in giving them ultimate justice.

Muslims of the modern world, generally, have failed to follow this Qur’aanic advice. Faced with seemingly unending atrocities and injustices around them, they lose patience and faith, and resort to retaliatory violence which may affect even innocents. They have thus lost Help from the Guiding Divine Hand, and are obviously facing ignominy as envisaged in the Qur’aan.

They are themselves responsible for the negative image of Islam Donald Trump gets on his retina.

Guide us back to the Qur’aanic Path, Allah!

Mohammad Shafi

Friday, the 27^th January, 2017.

Iblees

In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful

Excerpt [Verse 2:34] from QUR’AANIC STUDIES – A Modern Tafsir, depicting Satan disobeying Allah Almighty:

34. Wa-ith qulna lilmala-ikati osjudoo li-adama fasajadoo illa ibleesa aba waistakbara wakana mina alkafireena

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34. And when We asked the angels to prostrate ^{27 & 28} before Adam, prostrated they all except for Iblees ²⁹. He (Iblees) refused and was proud ³⁰ and became one of the suppressors of Truth!

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Notes:

27. One may think that it is the prerogative of Allah to be bowed or prostrated to. And Allah does say, "...Prostrate not to the sun or to the moon, but prostrate to Allah Who created them, if it is He Whom you worship." [Q: 41:37] But here, in Verse 2:34, Allah Himself asked the angels to prostrate to Adam who was but a creature of Allah. To understand properly the truth behind this apparent contradiction, one must remember that to worship is to obey completely and unquestioningly. When Allah Himself asked the angels to prostrate to Adam, He was just testing their absolute obedience to Him.

28. There is another instance mentioned in the Qur'aan of a man, Prophet Yusuf (may peace be upon him), being prostrated to by his brothers and parents [Q: 12:100]. That was in the nature of an involuntary act in divine fulfilment of the inerpretation of a dream seen by Yusuf in his childhood. Neither this instance, nor that of the angels prostrating before Adam at the express order of the Almighty Creator, should be taken as a precedent for us humans to prostrate before any created thing. For us, the standing divine command, as given in Verse 41:37 quoted above in the preceding Note, is to prostrate only to Allah!

29. In Verse 18.50, Iblees has been described as Jinn.

30. Justifying his pride, Iblees is quoted, in Verse 7:12, as saying, "I am better than him (Adam). You created me from fire, and him You created from clay."

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Save us from Satanic pride, Allah!

Mohammad Shafi

Friday, the 20^th January, 2017.

Khalifa

In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful

An excerpt from QUR’AANIC STUDIES – A Modern Tafsir, depicting the divine scene when Allah informs Angels of His intention to create Man:

30. Wa-ith qala rabbuka lilmala-ikati innee jaAAilun fee al-ardi khaleefatan qaloo atajAAalu feeha man yufsidu feeha wayasfiku alddimaa wanahnu nusabbihu bihamdika wanuqaddisu laka qala innee aAAlamu ma la taAAlamoona

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30. And when your Lord said to the angels, "I am indeed going to establish a vicegerent^{22 to 25} on the earth", they said, "Will You establish therein those who would spread discord therein and shed blood? And we glorify You with praises, and sanctify You!" He (Allah) said, "I know that which you do not know."

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22. Khalifa is the word used in the original Arabic text and it is important to understand the divine meaning thereof. One of the dictionary meanings of this word is 'successor', but this meaning cannot be applied in the context here. Allah obviously wanted to make the first human, Adam, a Khalifa on the earth and so there is no question of his being a 'successor' there. Earlier to Adam being sent to the earth, Allah's was the only, and complete, sway over there, and it would be preposterous to think that Almighty Allah would appoint any 'successor' to Him, Himself!

23. It would therefore be most appropriate to take the other meaning viz. 'vicegerent' or, so to say, a viceroy acting as the Absolute Sovereign's deputy ruler in a specific region of the Sovereign's vast dominion and exercising some of His delegated powers to a limited extent.

24. And in Verse 35:39, the Qur'aan speaks of the entire mankind being made the Khalaif, or the vicegerents (in plural, that is), on the earth. This Verse and other Verses like 6:165, 7:74, 7:69 etc. go to show that it is not Adam only who had been made the Khalifa, but that human beings that came through his progeny to inhabit this earth so far and that would come in future, are all the Khalaif or Khulafa on this earth. In some translations, this plural word has been wrongly interpreted as 'successors'. All human beings are Allah's vicegerents on this earth. They are, in other words, His deputies, everyone having control over his/her respective little world (aalam).

25. But these little deputies tend to forget their real position and status. They forget that they are only deputies of their common Sovereign, the real Nourisher and Sustainer of all their little worlds (Rabb-il-aalameen). They forget that Allah is, as do Verses 6:165 and 10:14 explain, only testing them by the limited delegation of some of His powers to them. Allah is testing whether His deputies are exercising their delegated powers justly and fairly for constructive creation within the spheres of their little worlds, remembering all the while that they are answerable to their Sovereign for all their acts of omission and commission.

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Grant us the wisdom to deserve being Your Vicegerents on earth, Allah!

Mohammad Shafi 

Friday, the 13^th of January, 2017

Meelaadunnabi

In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful

Extracted below, from QUR’AANIC STUDIES – A Modern Tafsir, are my renderings of Qur’aanic Verses 19:12 to 19:15 into English and my study note #2 on these Verses. These relate to Prophet John (Yahya).

12. “O John! Hold on to the Book firmly.” And We granted him the authority over men while he was yet a child.

 13. And We gave him the gift of compassion from Us and of purity, and he feared Allah.

 14. And ever courteous to his parents, he was never insolent, disobedient.

15. And peace on him on the day he was born, the day he dies, and the day he is raised to life again.²

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2. The plain meaning of this Verse is that Allah is ever well pleased with John – at his birth, his death and his resurrection on the Judgment Day. It gives no authority for any celebration of his birth and death anniversaries. And yet some misguided Muslims quote this Verse as divine authority for celebrating the birth and death anniversaries of our Prophet (peace on him) and of other saintly persons. Such celebrations, as we do see in cases of other celebrities, amount to nothing but showy and ritual eulogy of the persons concerned. They do not lead to any character-building on the parts of the participants in such celebrations. The Muslims should rather emulate the example of our Prophet by trying to abide by the Qur’aan, as the Prophet did, in their day-to-day lives.

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Guide us all to the Right Path, Allah!

Mohammad Shafi

Friday, the 6^th of January, 2017

An Extraordinary Story

In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful

Pasted below are extracts from QUR’AANIC STUDIES – A Modern Tafsir. These are my English renderings of Qur’aanic Verses 18:60 to 18:82 and my study note # 16 thereon:

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60. And when Moses said to the youth accompanying him, “I will not stop until I reach the confluence of two rivers even if I have to continue this journey for a long time.” 

61. So when they reached the confluence, they forgot their fish, and it burrowed its way into the sea. 

62. But when they had gone farther, he said to his young companion, “Take out our breakfast. We have certainly met with fatigue in this journey of ours.” 

63. The youth said, “You know when we took some rest on the rock, I forgot about the fish – and nothing but the Satan made me forget to tell you about it – when, strangely, it found its way into the river!” 

64. Moses said, “That was the spot we had sought for!” They then retraced their footsteps back to the spot. 

65. There they found one of Our devotees. We had favoured him with mercy from Us and We had given him some knowledge from Us. 

66. Moses said to him, “May I follow you so that you teach me of the right knowledge you have been taught?” 

67. He said, “You can never have patience with me.” 

68. “And how can you have patience in matters over which you do not have comprehensive knowledge?” 

69. He said, “Allah willing, you shall find me patient and I shall not disobey you in any matter.” 

70. He said, “If you would follow me, question me not about any thing until I myself speak to you about it.” 

71. And both of them went out on a journey. And there arose no problem between them until when they boarded a boat he (Moses’ new companion) made a hole in it. Moses said, “Have you made a hole in it to drown the people thereon? Certainly you have done a grave thing.” 

72. Moses’ companion said, “Did I not say that you will not be able to have patience with me?” 

73. Moses said, “Hold me not responsible for a thing I forgot, and burden me not with difficulty in my affair.” 

74. And they both went on until, when they met a boy, he (Moses’ companion) killed him. Moses said, “Have you killed an innocent person otherwise than for manslaughter? Certainly you have done a condemnable thing.” 

75. Moses’ companion said, “Did I not tell you that you will not be able to have patience with me?” 

76. Moses said, “If I ask you about anything after this, keep me not in your company. Verily, you shall have then an excuse, provided by me, for you to do so.” 

77. And they both went on until, when they came to a town, they requested its people to give them some food, but they refused to feed them as guests. They then found in it a wall which was about to collapse and Moses’ companion set it right. Moses said, “You could certainly have taken some wages for it.” 

78. Moses’ companion said, “This shall be the parting between me and you. I will now inform you of the true perspective of my actions over which you could not have patience.” 

79. “As for the boat, it belonged to some poor men who worked on the river. And I wished to make it defective as there was, across them, a king who seized every boat by force.” 

80. “And as for the boy, his parents were believers, and we feared lest he should trouble them with disobedience and ingratitude.” 

81. So we desired that their Lord would give them in his place a boy better than him in purity and more compassionate. 

82. “And as for the wall, it belonged to two orphaned boys in the city, and there was beneath it a treasure belonging to them, and their father was a righteous man. So your Lord desired that they should attain their maturity and take out their treasure as a mercy from your Lord. And I did not do it of my own accord. This is the true perspective of my actions over which you could not have patience.”¹⁶

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16. Verses 60 to 82 of this Qur’aanic Chapter give an account of an extraordinary story. It gives us humans a glimpse of the compassionate divine Hand operating behind the scenes in all human affairs in this world. We are unable to understand apparent injustices of events like a poor man’s boat turning suddenly defective and a youth suddenly dying, or the apparent mystery of a poor man’s crumbling wall getting straightened with unexpected help. But the apparent injustices in this world are all a façade to test the believers’ faith in their Lord. They should entertain no doubts that Justice will ultimately prevail over Injustice and Truth over Falsehood.

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Guide us to the Right Path, Allah!

Mohammad Shafi

Friday, the 30^th December, 2016

Divine Authorship of Qur'aan

In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful

Excerpts from QUR'AANIC STUDIES - A Modern Tafsir:

23. Wa-in kuntum fee raybin mimma nazzalna AAala AAabdina fa/too bisooratin min mithlihi waodAAoo shuhadaakum min dooni Allahi in kuntum sadiqeena

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23.  And if you are in doubt concerning what We have sent down unto Our Devotee, then come up with a Chapter like one thereof¹⁶ and call your witnesses – other  than Allah – for  your aid, if you are truthful.

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16.    This is an open divine challenge for those who entertain doubts in the divine authorship of the Qur'aan. The Book elsewhere gives a hint of what the challenge means. "Do they not then ponder over the Qur'aan? Had it been from someone other than Allah, they would surely have found therein many a contradiction." [Q: 4:82]

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Guide us to the Right Path, Allah,

Mohammad Shafi
Friday, the 23rd of December, 2016.

And Yet They Believe Not!

In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful

Excerpts from Quráanic Studies - A Modern Tafsir:

8. Wamina alnnasi man yaqoolu amanna biAllahi wabialyawmi al-akhiri wama hum bimu/mineena

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8. And among mankind there are some who say, "We believe in Allah and in the Last Day." And yet they believe not! ¹⁰

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10. Alas! An overwhelming majority of the so called believers in today's world, I am afraid, fall in the category of people described in this Verse, and in the few Verses that follow this Verse. They declare themselves as Muslims (believers), but their deeds betray the hollowness of their belief. Their attitude towards observance of divine commands regarding praying, fasting etc. is, at best, indifferent. And the general conduct of their worldly affairs does not reflect any concern at all that they would have to account for these before the Lord in the Hereafter. They delude themselves under the deception that this worldly life is the be-all and end-all of their existence! Allah Almighty describes their mental attitude as a disease, which He worsens if they continue indulging in their falsehoods.

Such a mental attitude inculcates in them a tendency to grab what they can, by hook or by crook, here and now! And then the Satan steps in and lures them to the temptations of this world. While in the grips of such a temptation, if they are told not to indulge in any mischief, they protest and say that they are only trying to improve their conditions!

And when someone points out to them that they are not so strict in following the tenets of Islam as some other Muslims are even at the expense of material or business interests, they say - at least, to themselves - that they  are not fools like the others!

On the other hand, if social compulsions make them go through, albeit reluctantly, some religious duties like performing prayers etc., when they meet with their own ilk they dismiss their religious acts as mere delusion.

Allah Almighty compares them to blinded people unable to see the light around them - the light of the Qur'aan, which they hardly ever read with a view to get any guidance therefrom. Like people caught in a rainstorm putting their fingers into their ears to shut out the thunderbolts, they are ever afraid of death, which could put an abrupt end to their illusory life on this earth! It is only because of Allah's grace and mercy that they are able to carry on with whatever lives they could enjoy on this earth. Allah could, if He so willed, deprive them of the little earthly enjoyment too! Allah can indeed do - or undo - whatever He wills!

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