Islam in Americas: Islam in the U.S.A - History and Heritage
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Thursday, April 15, 2010
What some great intellectuals have said about Islam, the Bible, and the Holy Quran
Our civilization is standing at dangerous crossroads. The Bible cannot provide workable foundations for the survival of mankind. (Lord Snell, The New World.
For the redemption of humanity we will have to look toward the owner [Mohammad] of the Qur'an not toward Chrisitianity. (Lewis Mumford, Faith for Living.
The Bible cannot lead us to an international religion, nor can it unify all mankind. (Ehrich Fromm, The Sane Society.
The teachings of Islam can fail under no circumstances. No human mind can go beyond the Qur'an. (Johann Goethe - Letters to Eckermann, Sir Henry Elliott’s Collection) 2.
The code of permanent values can only come through Revelation to chosen personalities (messengers) of God.
(Albert Einstein 1879-1955 - Out of My Later Days)
The word of Mohammad is a voice, direct from nature's own heart . . . all else is wind in comparison.
(Thomas Carlyle - On Heroes and Hero Worship)
If the society is not conducive to the growth of human personality, people would remain slaves even if such a society were perceived to be free.
(Nicholes Berdyeau - Destiny of Man)
For the development of SELF I need a society where others' benefit feels like my own.
(Hastings Rashdall - Theory of Good and Evil)
The development of the human personality [NAFS] can take place only collectively with other members of the society.
(Robert Briffault - The Making of Humanity)
The purpose of life is the development of humanity in a collective social order. (Prof A.N.
Whitehead, British author teaching at Harvard in 1920s - Adventure of Ideas)
Development of the self [self-actualization] can take place only in an equitable social system.
(Robert Briffault, The Making of Humanity)
International order for all mankind is the time's foremost demand.
(John Reves - Politics in Future)
The world needs not only for its development but also for its very survival a universal "way of life" in which economic, social, and moral values are uniform for all.
(Frederick Hertz - Nationality, History and Politics)
The purpose of life is development of the person and thereby, of all humanity en mass. (Prof A. N.
Whitehead - Adventure of Ideas)
The real progress entails development of an international social order in which every individual can grow to one’s full potential.
(Hastings Rashdall - The Theory of Good and Evil)
Islam offers a beautiful collective system which says Yes to Life.
(Nicholes Berdyeau - The Divine and the Human)
A complete way of life which would be universal is neither present in human instinct nor can we devise it through intellect. It can only come through Revelation.
(Prof Alfred Cobban - The Crisis of Civilization)
We need a religion that can transcend nationalism and make the world one Nation.
(Robert Murray - The Individual and the State)
Only Islam can transcend the boundaries of nationalism.
(Arnold Toynbee, The World and the West)
In order to make true progress, man must exercise his free will in accordance with the Divine guidance. Man must do this, not to put God under any obligation, but for the evolution of his own SELF. (British astronomer, Sir Arthur S.
Eddington 1882-1944 - Science and the Unseen World)
The time for nations has already passed. The era of mankind as one community is about to dawn. (W. Chardin - Building of the Earth) 19. The solution to humanity's problems lies not in internationalism. It rests in the Qur'anic teaching of universal brotherhood of all men.
(Neveres Emery - The Anatomy of Peace)
The world will shortly see a single government without borders in which the affairs of human beings will be a matter of counsel.
(Gummer Murdael - Beyond the Welfare State)
No tangible forces, no intangible powers, can stop Islam from becoming the universal faith. This is because only Islam can march along with the evolution of human civilization.
(German born, American psychoanalyst, 1900-1980, Erich Fromm - The Sane Society)
It is the sacred duty of our civilization that we revive the true human brotherhood which existed at the beginning of life and after which people divided.
(Professor Hugh Miller - Country and State)
The ideal society will be one where the wellness of others will feel like my own wellness.
(German philosopher, Immanuel Kant 1724-1804 - Critique of Practical Reason)
The teachings of Islam can fail under no circumstances. With all our systems of culture and civilization, we cannot go beyond Islam and, as a matter of fact, no human mind can go beyond the Qur'an. (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the celebrated German poet and thinker, in his letters to J. Eckermann and Sir Henry Elliot)) In fact, Islam is so scientific that the noted Russian thinker, P.D. Ouspensky, stated that any science that collides with the Qur'an will turn out to be false.
(Tertium organum)
What some great intellectuals have said about Islam, the Bible, and the Holy Quran
For the redemption of humanity we will have to look toward the owner [Mohammad] of the Qur'an not toward Chrisitianity. (Lewis Mumford, Faith for Living.
The Bible cannot lead us to an international religion, nor can it unify all mankind. (Ehrich Fromm, The Sane Society.
The teachings of Islam can fail under no circumstances. No human mind can go beyond the Qur'an. (Johann Goethe - Letters to Eckermann, Sir Henry Elliott’s Collection) 2.
The code of permanent values can only come through Revelation to chosen personalities (messengers) of God.
(Albert Einstein 1879-1955 - Out of My Later Days)
The word of Mohammad is a voice, direct from nature's own heart . . . all else is wind in comparison.
(Thomas Carlyle - On Heroes and Hero Worship)
If the society is not conducive to the growth of human personality, people would remain slaves even if such a society were perceived to be free.
(Nicholes Berdyeau - Destiny of Man)
For the development of SELF I need a society where others' benefit feels like my own.
(Hastings Rashdall - Theory of Good and Evil)
The development of the human personality [NAFS] can take place only collectively with other members of the society.
(Robert Briffault - The Making of Humanity)
The purpose of life is the development of humanity in a collective social order. (Prof A.N.
Whitehead, British author teaching at Harvard in 1920s - Adventure of Ideas)
Development of the self [self-actualization] can take place only in an equitable social system.
(Robert Briffault, The Making of Humanity)
International order for all mankind is the time's foremost demand.
(John Reves - Politics in Future)
The world needs not only for its development but also for its very survival a universal "way of life" in which economic, social, and moral values are uniform for all.
(Frederick Hertz - Nationality, History and Politics)
The purpose of life is development of the person and thereby, of all humanity en mass. (Prof A. N.
Whitehead - Adventure of Ideas)
The real progress entails development of an international social order in which every individual can grow to one’s full potential.
(Hastings Rashdall - The Theory of Good and Evil)
Islam offers a beautiful collective system which says Yes to Life.
(Nicholes Berdyeau - The Divine and the Human)
A complete way of life which would be universal is neither present in human instinct nor can we devise it through intellect. It can only come through Revelation.
(Prof Alfred Cobban - The Crisis of Civilization)
We need a religion that can transcend nationalism and make the world one Nation.
(Robert Murray - The Individual and the State)
Only Islam can transcend the boundaries of nationalism.
(Arnold Toynbee, The World and the West)
In order to make true progress, man must exercise his free will in accordance with the Divine guidance. Man must do this, not to put God under any obligation, but for the evolution of his own SELF. (British astronomer, Sir Arthur S.
Eddington 1882-1944 - Science and the Unseen World)
The time for nations has already passed. The era of mankind as one community is about to dawn. (W. Chardin - Building of the Earth) 19. The solution to humanity's problems lies not in internationalism. It rests in the Qur'anic teaching of universal brotherhood of all men.
(Neveres Emery - The Anatomy of Peace)
The world will shortly see a single government without borders in which the affairs of human beings will be a matter of counsel.
(Gummer Murdael - Beyond the Welfare State)
No tangible forces, no intangible powers, can stop Islam from becoming the universal faith. This is because only Islam can march along with the evolution of human civilization.
(German born, American psychoanalyst, 1900-1980, Erich Fromm - The Sane Society)
It is the sacred duty of our civilization that we revive the true human brotherhood which existed at the beginning of life and after which people divided.
(Professor Hugh Miller - Country and State)
The ideal society will be one where the wellness of others will feel like my own wellness.
(German philosopher, Immanuel Kant 1724-1804 - Critique of Practical Reason)
The teachings of Islam can fail under no circumstances. With all our systems of culture and civilization, we cannot go beyond Islam and, as a matter of fact, no human mind can go beyond the Qur'an. (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the celebrated German poet and thinker, in his letters to J. Eckermann and Sir Henry Elliot)) In fact, Islam is so scientific that the noted Russian thinker, P.D. Ouspensky, stated that any science that collides with the Qur'an will turn out to be false.
(Tertium organum)
What some great intellectuals have said about Islam, the Bible, and the Holy Quran
Dr Zakir Discusses the Question on "If Allah is so merciful, why did Allah Create Hell"
Dr Zakir Discusses the Question on "If Allah is so merciful, why did Allah Create Hell"
Dr Zakir Discusses the Question on "If Allah is so merciful, why did Allah Create Hell"
Dr Zakir Discusses the Question on "If Allah is so merciful, why did Allah Create Hell"
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Islam And The Theory Of Evolution
Genes and DNA
There are around 30,000 genes in the human body, incorrect sequences of nucleotides making up a gene would render that gene completely useless. Frank B. Salisbury writes in “Doubts about the Modern Synthetic Theory of Evolution”, American Biology Teacher, September 1971, p. 336:
“A medium protein might include about 300 amino acids. The DNAgene controlling this would have about 1,000 nucleotides in its chain. Since there are four kinds of nucleotides in a DNA chain, one consisting of 1,000 links could exist in 41,000 forms. Using a little algebra (logarithms) we can see that 4^1000=10^600. Ten multiplied by itself 600 times gives the figure 1 followed by 600 zeros! This number is completely beyond our comprehension.”
Robert Shapiro, a professor of chemistry at New York University and a DNA expert, calculated the probability of the coincidental formation of the 2000 types of proteins found in a single bacterium (There are 200,000 different types of proteins in a human cell). The number that was found was 1 over 10^40000. (This is an incredible number obtained by putting 40,000 zeros after the 1)
Scientists’ comments regarding “chance”
“The spontaneous formation of a polypeptide of the size of the smallest known proteins seems beyond all probability.” — Ali Demirsoy, Kalýtým ve Evrim (Inheritance and Evolution), Ankara: Meteksan Publishing Co., 1984, p. 64
“The likelihood of the spontaneous formation of life from inanimate matter is one to a number with 40,000 noughts after it… It is big enough to bury Darwin and the whole theory of evolution. There was no primeval soup, neither on this planet nor on any other, and if the beginnings of life were not random, they must therefore have been the product of purposeful intelligence.” — Fred Hoyle, Chandra Wickramasinghe, Evolution from Space, New York, Simon & Schuster, 1984, p. 148
“An honest man, armed with all the knowledge available to us now, could only state that, in some sense, the origin of life appears at the moment to be almost a miracle.” — Francis Crick, Life Itself: It’s Origin and Nature, New York, Simon & Schuster, 1981, p. 88
Therefore even if Theory of Evolution is true, it still does not disprove the concept of God, on the contrary the complexity of life seems to necessities the need of a creator or supernatural being.
Islam And The Theory Of Evolution
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There are around 30,000 genes in the human body, incorrect sequences of nucleotides making up a gene would render that gene completely useless. Frank B. Salisbury writes in “Doubts about the Modern Synthetic Theory of Evolution”, American Biology Teacher, September 1971, p. 336:
“A medium protein might include about 300 amino acids. The DNAgene controlling this would have about 1,000 nucleotides in its chain. Since there are four kinds of nucleotides in a DNA chain, one consisting of 1,000 links could exist in 41,000 forms. Using a little algebra (logarithms) we can see that 4^1000=10^600. Ten multiplied by itself 600 times gives the figure 1 followed by 600 zeros! This number is completely beyond our comprehension.”
Robert Shapiro, a professor of chemistry at New York University and a DNA expert, calculated the probability of the coincidental formation of the 2000 types of proteins found in a single bacterium (There are 200,000 different types of proteins in a human cell). The number that was found was 1 over 10^40000. (This is an incredible number obtained by putting 40,000 zeros after the 1)
Scientists’ comments regarding “chance”
“The spontaneous formation of a polypeptide of the size of the smallest known proteins seems beyond all probability.” — Ali Demirsoy, Kalýtým ve Evrim (Inheritance and Evolution), Ankara: Meteksan Publishing Co., 1984, p. 64
“The likelihood of the spontaneous formation of life from inanimate matter is one to a number with 40,000 noughts after it… It is big enough to bury Darwin and the whole theory of evolution. There was no primeval soup, neither on this planet nor on any other, and if the beginnings of life were not random, they must therefore have been the product of purposeful intelligence.” — Fred Hoyle, Chandra Wickramasinghe, Evolution from Space, New York, Simon & Schuster, 1984, p. 148
“An honest man, armed with all the knowledge available to us now, could only state that, in some sense, the origin of life appears at the moment to be almost a miracle.” — Francis Crick, Life Itself: It’s Origin and Nature, New York, Simon & Schuster, 1981, p. 88
Therefore even if Theory of Evolution is true, it still does not disprove the concept of God, on the contrary the complexity of life seems to necessities the need of a creator or supernatural being.
Islam And The Theory Of Evolution
Subscribe to Mo5lim by Email
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Monday, April 5, 2010
Hamza Yusuf - Lecture about Islam, the west and the sour of the world
Hamza Yusuf ( islam & the west ) part 1
Hamza Yusuf ( islam & the west ) part 2
Hamza Yusuf ( islam & the west ) part 2
Islamic Philosopher - Sayid Muhammad Naqib Al'Attas
This video about interview between prof. Sayid Muhammad Naqib Al'Attas. he's a professor in the islamic philosophy & Mr.Hamza Yusuf...this interview is apart of TV show called "Rihla with Shaykh Hamza Yusuf"
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Why Suicide Bombings Violate Islam
The evil of suicide bombings must be defeated by Muslims, as it violates every tenet of Islam. In the past week, at least 150 people were killed in Iraq in a wave of suicide bombings which have torn apart any illusion of security in that tragic country.
As a Muslim, as a human begin, I am filled with horror at images of men, women and children torn to shreds by the madness of people who turn themselves into incendiary devices. And I am filled with outrage and fury at the diabolic forces that seek to present this monstrous, murderous, terrorist activity as somehow sanctioned by my faith.
Let me put this in as simple terms as possible. Suicide bombings, indeed all forms of terrorism, are rejected by mainstream Islam, and always have been.
The Holy Qur’an says it in very clear, without any ambiguity:
“Do not kill yourselves, for truly God is merciful. And if any do that in rancor and injustice, soon shall We cast them in the Fire. ” (Surah 4:29-30)
The Qur’an makes it clear that there are rules to human conflict and limits that must be followed:
“And fight in the way of God against those who fight you. But do not transgress the limits. Truly God does not love transgressors.” (Surah 2:190)
As I discuss in my new novel Mother of the Believers, traditional Islamic law established very clear rules of war based on the practice of Prophet Muhammad and his early followers: Do not kill civilians. Do not kill women and children. Do not harm priests of of other religions. Do not destroy the environment.
Abu Bakr, the first leader of Islam after Prophet Muhammad, gave these commandments when Muslims were fighting the forces of the Byzantine Empire, which had sought to destroy the new religion and killed the Prophet’s ambassador:
“Stop, O people, that I may give you ten rules to keep by heart: Do not commit treachery, nor depart from the right path. You must not mutilate, neither kill a child or aged man or woman. Do not destroy a palm tree, nor burn it with fire and do not cut any fruitful tree. You must not slay any of the flock or herds or the camels, save for your subsistence. You are likely to pass by people who have devoted their lives to monastic services; leave them to that to which they have devoted their lives. You are likely, likewise, to find people who will present to you meals of many kinds. You may eat; but do no forget to mention the name of God.”
Muslims always took great pride in the fact that they acted honorably, even in war. They looked with contempt upon the warriors of Europe, who slaughtered civilians mercilessly during the Crusades. When Saladin defeated the Christian kingdom of Jerusalem and took the holy city, he spared its Christian populace and pointedly said: “We will not do to you what you did to us.”
His comment was in reference to the First Crusade, where Christian “holy warriors” massacred tens of thousands of civilians upon taking Jerusalem in 1099. Muslims were slaughtered en masse, the Jews of Jerusalem were locked into its main synagogue and set on fire. And Arab Christians were murdered by their co-religionists for the sin of having dark skin and looking like the enemy. The Gesta Francorum, a Crusader chronicle of their activities, proudly notes that the “the slaughter was so great that our men waded in blood up to their ankles.”
In the town of Ma’arra in Syria, the Crusaders committed the ultimate atrocity — cannibalism. As Crusader chronicler Radulph of Caen wrote: “In Ma’arra, our troops boiled pagan adults in cooking-pots; they impaled children on spits and devoured them grilled.”
To this day, the Crusaders are referred to in the Muslim world as “the cannibals of Ma’arra.”
The Muslims looked at this kind of atrocity committed in the name of God as unworthy of any great religion, and held themselves above such monstrous behavior.
So how is it possible that its modern equivalent, the mass murder of civilians through suicide bombings, should now be done in the name of Islam?
In Dying to Win, Robert Pape, a scholar at the University of Chicago, analyzes the history and motivation of suicide bombers. Many people who read the book will be surprised to learn that suicide bombing was a tactic that was first used regularly by Hindu terrorists known as the Tamil Tigers. One of the most prominent victims of this tactic, Rajiv Gandhi, the Prime Minister of India, was killed on May 21, 1999 by a female suicide bomber from the Tamil Tigers. According to Pape, Gandhi’s murder marks the first use of the “suicide vest” which has become the tool of suicide bombers throughout the world today.
A full chronology of the history of suicide bombing among Tamil extremists can be found at:
http://www.spur.asn.au/chronology_of_suicide_bomb_attacks_by_Tamil_Tigers_in_sri_Lanka.htm
(A warning that the link contains graphic photos of the carnage caused by suicide bombers.)
One of the greatest tragedies of modern Islam is that Muslim extremists began to adopt this horrific tactic of suicide bombing over the past two decades. Palestinian militants, arguing that they had no other effective way to combat Israeli oppression, began to adopt these tactics, and the image of the “Muslim suicide bomber” began to take hold in the media .
I remember at the time most Muslims I spoke with expressed disgust at these horrific acts, but some added the caveat — “What else can these poor people do? They have no tanks or jets to take on Israeli tanks and jets. This is their only way to fight.”
My response then and now is that Islam is a religion that has established rules of war for a reason. Human conflict is perhaps inevitable, but unless there is a sense of morality among warriors, even among the warriors of the oppressed, human beings will descend into monstrosity. The nobility of a cause is forever tainted when dipped in the blood of innocents. The argument that Israeli military activities kill countless Palestinian civilians, so Muslims are free to target their civilians in response, is not an argument that is supported by the noble spirit of Islam. As Saladin pointed out, the Muslims would not inflict on the Christians the atrocities that the Crusaders had inflicted on their victims, simple because we as Muslims were better than that.
And I warned those who would excuse the suicide bombers as long as they targeted “the enemy,” that in Islam all human beings are brothers and sisters and have rights before God and man. I predicted that once some Muslims turned their back on Islam’s strict rules of war and went beneath themselves in order “to win,” the wrath of Allah would be unleashed upon us. If we allowed suicide bombings against non-Muslims, then soon would God punish our sins by unleashing the same horror on Muslims.
Tragically, my prediction came true. Suicide bombers in Iraq and Afghanistan now kill thousands of Muslims a year, innocent people going to pray or shop in the marketplace. Their only crime being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
This kind of monstrous behavior is not Islam. It never has been Islam. And it will never be Islam, no matter what kind of self-serving justifications the terrorists use.
For those who wish to learn more about mainstream Muslim positions about war, terrorism and suicide bombing, I refer you here:
http://islam.about.com/cs/currentevents/a/suicide_bomb.htm
http://www.harunyahya.com/terrorism3.php
It is time for Muslims and people of all faiths to stand together in love and justice and end this horrific scourge of terrorism and suicide bombing on humanity.
I look forward to the day that the world will no longer associate such monstrosity with my beloved faith. And that one day, mankind will believe that Islam represents what its name stands for: “Peace.”
Author : Kamran Pasha
Kamran Pasha is a writer and producer for NBC’s highly anticipated new television series Kings, which is a modern day retelling of the Biblical tale of King David. Previously he served as a writer on NBC’s remake of Bionic Woman, and on Showtime Network’s Golden Globe nominated series Sleeper Cell, about a Muslim FBI agent who infiltrates a terrorist group.
http://www.kamranpasha.com/index.php
Other Sources
As a Muslim, as a human begin, I am filled with horror at images of men, women and children torn to shreds by the madness of people who turn themselves into incendiary devices. And I am filled with outrage and fury at the diabolic forces that seek to present this monstrous, murderous, terrorist activity as somehow sanctioned by my faith.
Let me put this in as simple terms as possible. Suicide bombings, indeed all forms of terrorism, are rejected by mainstream Islam, and always have been.
The Holy Qur’an says it in very clear, without any ambiguity:
“Do not kill yourselves, for truly God is merciful. And if any do that in rancor and injustice, soon shall We cast them in the Fire. ” (Surah 4:29-30)
The Qur’an makes it clear that there are rules to human conflict and limits that must be followed:
“And fight in the way of God against those who fight you. But do not transgress the limits. Truly God does not love transgressors.” (Surah 2:190)
As I discuss in my new novel Mother of the Believers, traditional Islamic law established very clear rules of war based on the practice of Prophet Muhammad and his early followers: Do not kill civilians. Do not kill women and children. Do not harm priests of of other religions. Do not destroy the environment.
Abu Bakr, the first leader of Islam after Prophet Muhammad, gave these commandments when Muslims were fighting the forces of the Byzantine Empire, which had sought to destroy the new religion and killed the Prophet’s ambassador:
“Stop, O people, that I may give you ten rules to keep by heart: Do not commit treachery, nor depart from the right path. You must not mutilate, neither kill a child or aged man or woman. Do not destroy a palm tree, nor burn it with fire and do not cut any fruitful tree. You must not slay any of the flock or herds or the camels, save for your subsistence. You are likely to pass by people who have devoted their lives to monastic services; leave them to that to which they have devoted their lives. You are likely, likewise, to find people who will present to you meals of many kinds. You may eat; but do no forget to mention the name of God.”
Muslims always took great pride in the fact that they acted honorably, even in war. They looked with contempt upon the warriors of Europe, who slaughtered civilians mercilessly during the Crusades. When Saladin defeated the Christian kingdom of Jerusalem and took the holy city, he spared its Christian populace and pointedly said: “We will not do to you what you did to us.”
His comment was in reference to the First Crusade, where Christian “holy warriors” massacred tens of thousands of civilians upon taking Jerusalem in 1099. Muslims were slaughtered en masse, the Jews of Jerusalem were locked into its main synagogue and set on fire. And Arab Christians were murdered by their co-religionists for the sin of having dark skin and looking like the enemy. The Gesta Francorum, a Crusader chronicle of their activities, proudly notes that the “the slaughter was so great that our men waded in blood up to their ankles.”
In the town of Ma’arra in Syria, the Crusaders committed the ultimate atrocity — cannibalism. As Crusader chronicler Radulph of Caen wrote: “In Ma’arra, our troops boiled pagan adults in cooking-pots; they impaled children on spits and devoured them grilled.”
To this day, the Crusaders are referred to in the Muslim world as “the cannibals of Ma’arra.”
The Muslims looked at this kind of atrocity committed in the name of God as unworthy of any great religion, and held themselves above such monstrous behavior.
So how is it possible that its modern equivalent, the mass murder of civilians through suicide bombings, should now be done in the name of Islam?
In Dying to Win, Robert Pape, a scholar at the University of Chicago, analyzes the history and motivation of suicide bombers. Many people who read the book will be surprised to learn that suicide bombing was a tactic that was first used regularly by Hindu terrorists known as the Tamil Tigers. One of the most prominent victims of this tactic, Rajiv Gandhi, the Prime Minister of India, was killed on May 21, 1999 by a female suicide bomber from the Tamil Tigers. According to Pape, Gandhi’s murder marks the first use of the “suicide vest” which has become the tool of suicide bombers throughout the world today.
A full chronology of the history of suicide bombing among Tamil extremists can be found at:
http://www.spur.asn.au/chronology_of_suicide_bomb_attacks_by_Tamil_Tigers_in_sri_Lanka.htm
(A warning that the link contains graphic photos of the carnage caused by suicide bombers.)
One of the greatest tragedies of modern Islam is that Muslim extremists began to adopt this horrific tactic of suicide bombing over the past two decades. Palestinian militants, arguing that they had no other effective way to combat Israeli oppression, began to adopt these tactics, and the image of the “Muslim suicide bomber” began to take hold in the media .
I remember at the time most Muslims I spoke with expressed disgust at these horrific acts, but some added the caveat — “What else can these poor people do? They have no tanks or jets to take on Israeli tanks and jets. This is their only way to fight.”
My response then and now is that Islam is a religion that has established rules of war for a reason. Human conflict is perhaps inevitable, but unless there is a sense of morality among warriors, even among the warriors of the oppressed, human beings will descend into monstrosity. The nobility of a cause is forever tainted when dipped in the blood of innocents. The argument that Israeli military activities kill countless Palestinian civilians, so Muslims are free to target their civilians in response, is not an argument that is supported by the noble spirit of Islam. As Saladin pointed out, the Muslims would not inflict on the Christians the atrocities that the Crusaders had inflicted on their victims, simple because we as Muslims were better than that.
And I warned those who would excuse the suicide bombers as long as they targeted “the enemy,” that in Islam all human beings are brothers and sisters and have rights before God and man. I predicted that once some Muslims turned their back on Islam’s strict rules of war and went beneath themselves in order “to win,” the wrath of Allah would be unleashed upon us. If we allowed suicide bombings against non-Muslims, then soon would God punish our sins by unleashing the same horror on Muslims.
Tragically, my prediction came true. Suicide bombers in Iraq and Afghanistan now kill thousands of Muslims a year, innocent people going to pray or shop in the marketplace. Their only crime being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
This kind of monstrous behavior is not Islam. It never has been Islam. And it will never be Islam, no matter what kind of self-serving justifications the terrorists use.
For those who wish to learn more about mainstream Muslim positions about war, terrorism and suicide bombing, I refer you here:
http://islam.about.com/cs/currentevents/a/suicide_bomb.htm
http://www.harunyahya.com/terrorism3.php
It is time for Muslims and people of all faiths to stand together in love and justice and end this horrific scourge of terrorism and suicide bombing on humanity.
I look forward to the day that the world will no longer associate such monstrosity with my beloved faith. And that one day, mankind will believe that Islam represents what its name stands for: “Peace.”
Author : Kamran Pasha
Kamran Pasha is a writer and producer for NBC’s highly anticipated new television series Kings, which is a modern day retelling of the Biblical tale of King David. Previously he served as a writer on NBC’s remake of Bionic Woman, and on Showtime Network’s Golden Globe nominated series Sleeper Cell, about a Muslim FBI agent who infiltrates a terrorist group.
http://www.kamranpasha.com/index.php
Other Sources
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Rulers and Governments by Ishaq Zahid
This article is an analysis of the state of the rulers and governments of the world today.
Allah T’ala says in the Holy Quran,
3:19 The Religion before Allah is Islam (submission to His Will): Nor did the People of the Book dissent therefrom except through envy of each other, after knowledge had come to them. But if any deny the Signs of Allah, Allah is swift in calling to account.
The Arabic word “Deen” is not just religious rituals, it includes guidance and rules for social, economic, political, and other aspects of life.
In another place in the Holy Quran, Allah T’ala tells us:
O ye who believe! Enter into Islam whole-heartedly; and follow not the footsteps of the evil one (Satan); for he is to you an avowed enemy. (2:208)
Enter into the fold of Islam fully. Islam is it! This is your home. Don’t look elsewhere for anything. Look it up right here in the fold of Islam and be happy and satisfied with it. Islam is the complete way of life and the only way for success.
We did begin our life on earth on Deen-ul-Islam, as one Ummah. We were an Islamic Muslim community. With time, atheists, idol-worshippers (Mushriks) and ascetics, materialists, servants of Satan came out of the Muslim community.
2:213 Mankind was one single nation, and Allah sent Messengers with glad tidings and warnings; and with them He sent the Book in truth, to judge between people in matters wherein they differed; but the People of the Book, after the clear Signs came to them, did not differ among themselves, except through selfish contumacy. Allah by His Grace Guided the believers to the Truth, concerning that wherein they differed. For Allah guided whom He will to a path that is straight.
Allah T’ala sent Prophet Muhammad (s.a.a.w.) as a Mercy for the world and by the Grace of Allah T’ala, he successfully established one Islamic ummah. It stayed that way during the period of khulufa-ur-Rashidoon. But then soon after the martyrdom of Ali ibne Abi Talib (karamullah wajhu), the khilafah changed into kingship. That is when in the Ummah of Muhammad (s.a.a.w.), for the first time, Deen-ul-Islam was sliced as what the westerners call “Separation of Church and State.” That is when the focus of the people shifted from aspiring for Akhirah to worldly lusts and ambitions. So in the history, for example, you will find during the time of a caliph, houses became the topic of the town. In another caliph’s time, sex became the topic of the town.
All this happened at a time, when millions of people of the world have come into the fold of Islam and they needed proper Islamic education. The Muslim government was the best source to provide that education and it failed. No doubt, the task of educating the masses was taken up by great Imams, but obviously, it had its limitations.
These caliphs unfortunately, instead of leaving behind a Sadaqa-Jariah, left behind a Fitnahe-Jariah. What a terrible thing to do!
Be happy and grateful to Allah T’ala that you are not one of those. There is a blessing to be an ordinary person.
Muslim ummah remained in the hands of such caliphs for centuries. Great punishments thru crusaders and Mongols came to the ummah. Then came slavery and colonialism by the western powers. Eventually, freedom came, but what a freedom. Western powers left behind anti-Islamic systems of governments and their minions and cronies. That is how one can describe today’s governments of most of the Muslim countries.
When the system of government, the constitution, the by-laws, judgments and rulings in a country or community are not based on the Holy Quran and Sunnah, the rulers and administrators of that country or community are nothing but kafirs, Zalims and Fasiqs. That is not what I say. That is what Allah T’ala says.
Fourteen centuries ago, Allah T’ala revealed ayaat 44-47 in Surah Al-Maidah (Chapter 5), which speak about the deviations of the Jews and Christians. They were revealed for the Muslim ummah to learn a lesson and not fall into the same errors.
Ayat 44 in Surah 5 says:
5:44 It was We who revealed the law (to Moses): therein was guidance and light. By its standard have been judged the Jews, by the prophets who bowed (as in Islam) to Allah's will, by the rabbis and the doctors of law: for to them was entrusted the protection of Allah's book, and they were witnesses thereto: therefore fear not men, but fear me, and sell not my signs for a miserable price. If any do fail to judge by (the light of) what Allah hath revealed, they are Unbelievers.
In the next Ayat, Allah T’ala says:
And if any fail to judge by (the light of) what Allah hath revealed, they are Zalimoon (wrong-doers, unjust, oppressors).
Then two verses down in Ayaat 47:
If any do fail to judge by (the light of) what Allah hath revealed, they are Fasiqoon (rebels, disobedients).
Kufr is unbelief. Kafir is unbeliever. Zulm is injustice and oppression. Oppression can be against others like you see violations of basic human rights committed by Muslim rulers and the so-called most civilized countries. Oppression can be self-oppression also. Oppression against one’s own self leads oneself into misery and punishment by Allah T’ala.Zulm can be so severe that it can put the person into the Jahannum. In Surah Luqman, Shirk is given as Zulmun-Azeem. And shirk is unforgivable sin. Fisq is disobedience. Fisq is rebellion, breaking the Law of Allah T’ala.Fisq can also be so great that it makes a person Kafir and puts him in Jahannum. When Allah T’ala ordered angels to prostrate to Adam (a.s.) and Shaitan refused to prostrate, as Allah T’ala says in Surah Kahf, Ayat 50, he committed Fisq.
18:50 Behold! We said to the angels, "Bow down to Adam": They bowed down except Iblis. He was one of the Jinns, and he broke the Command of his Lord. Will ye then take him and his progeny as protectors rather than Me? And they are enemies to you! Evil would be the exchange for the wrong-doers!
It is evident that non-Muslim governments do not follow Islamic Shariah. We don’t expect them to, as they are disbelievers. The more serious problem is that Muslim countries are doing the same. Today, you will find secular Muslim governments, socialist Muslim governments, communist Muslim governments, Democratic Muslim governments, but hardly any Islamic Muslim government.
Muslim rulers, instead of prostrating to Allah T’ala, the One and Only Deity, prostrate to the false deities of democracy, secularism, nationalism, socialism, communism, the deities of their own lust and Baghi (iniquity). That has put the Muslim ummah into such a terrible state that we find it difficult to get back to the Straight path.
As the great poet of Islam, Allamah Iqbal said:
The one Sajdah that you find cumbersome, is the Sajdah that saves man from thousands of prostrations. The prostrations to democracy, secularism and the like have brought nothing but ruins to the Muslim Ummah. When Muslim countries leave Islamic Shariah, they are competing with non-Muslim countries in sin!
The ayaat of Surah Al-Maidah I have read to you are not just for rulers of nations and communities. They do apply on all of us. Ibn `Umar (May Allah be pleased with them) reported: I heard Messenger of Allah (PBUH) saying, "All of you are guardians and are responsible for your wards. The ruler is a guardian and responsible for his subjects; the man is a guardian and responsible for his family; the woman is a guardian and is responsible for her husbands house and his offspring; and so all of you are guardians and are responsible for your wards.'' [Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
We all have to worry about falling into the traps of kufr, zulm and fisq.Let us do our best to seek guidance in all affairs of our life from the Holy Quran and the sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.a.w.).Standing still in the face of the wind of troubling time will push us back. Let us try to move forward. Let us read Quran for guidance, seek knowledge and act upon it.
May Allah T'ala forgive our sins and have a lot more of His Mercy on the Muslim Ummah. Ameen
If there is a phrase that can describe the world today, it has to be "Competing in Sin!"
Many Muslim governments, groups and individuals have taken an un-Islamic path and are trying to do what non-Muslim governments, groups and individuals are doing. It is a competition in sin and Muslims are losing. About fourteen hundred years ago, one of the most beloved person of the Muslim ummah, Umar bin Abdul Aziz wrote a letter to a military commander and said:
Sin is even more dangerous than the ruses/tricks of the enemy. Amirul-Momineen bids upon Mansur that instead of taking fright of his enemy, he should fear transgressing the limits of Allah T’ala. We overcome our enemies in the battlefield only because of their vices and sins, for, had it not been so, we would not have had the courage to face them. We can not deploy troops in the same numbers as our enemies can do, nor do we possess the equipments they have got. Thus, if we equate ourselves with our enemies in misdeeds and transgressions, they would undoubtedly gain a victory over us by virtue of their numerical superiority and strength.
Source : http://www.muhammad.net/our-world-today-mainmenu-50/133-rulers-and-governments.html
Allah T’ala says in the Holy Quran,
3:19 The Religion before Allah is Islam (submission to His Will): Nor did the People of the Book dissent therefrom except through envy of each other, after knowledge had come to them. But if any deny the Signs of Allah, Allah is swift in calling to account.
The Arabic word “Deen” is not just religious rituals, it includes guidance and rules for social, economic, political, and other aspects of life.
In another place in the Holy Quran, Allah T’ala tells us:
O ye who believe! Enter into Islam whole-heartedly; and follow not the footsteps of the evil one (Satan); for he is to you an avowed enemy. (2:208)
Enter into the fold of Islam fully. Islam is it! This is your home. Don’t look elsewhere for anything. Look it up right here in the fold of Islam and be happy and satisfied with it. Islam is the complete way of life and the only way for success.
We did begin our life on earth on Deen-ul-Islam, as one Ummah. We were an Islamic Muslim community. With time, atheists, idol-worshippers (Mushriks) and ascetics, materialists, servants of Satan came out of the Muslim community.
2:213 Mankind was one single nation, and Allah sent Messengers with glad tidings and warnings; and with them He sent the Book in truth, to judge between people in matters wherein they differed; but the People of the Book, after the clear Signs came to them, did not differ among themselves, except through selfish contumacy. Allah by His Grace Guided the believers to the Truth, concerning that wherein they differed. For Allah guided whom He will to a path that is straight.
Allah T’ala sent Prophet Muhammad (s.a.a.w.) as a Mercy for the world and by the Grace of Allah T’ala, he successfully established one Islamic ummah. It stayed that way during the period of khulufa-ur-Rashidoon. But then soon after the martyrdom of Ali ibne Abi Talib (karamullah wajhu), the khilafah changed into kingship. That is when in the Ummah of Muhammad (s.a.a.w.), for the first time, Deen-ul-Islam was sliced as what the westerners call “Separation of Church and State.” That is when the focus of the people shifted from aspiring for Akhirah to worldly lusts and ambitions. So in the history, for example, you will find during the time of a caliph, houses became the topic of the town. In another caliph’s time, sex became the topic of the town.
All this happened at a time, when millions of people of the world have come into the fold of Islam and they needed proper Islamic education. The Muslim government was the best source to provide that education and it failed. No doubt, the task of educating the masses was taken up by great Imams, but obviously, it had its limitations.
These caliphs unfortunately, instead of leaving behind a Sadaqa-Jariah, left behind a Fitnahe-Jariah. What a terrible thing to do!
Be happy and grateful to Allah T’ala that you are not one of those. There is a blessing to be an ordinary person.
Muslim ummah remained in the hands of such caliphs for centuries. Great punishments thru crusaders and Mongols came to the ummah. Then came slavery and colonialism by the western powers. Eventually, freedom came, but what a freedom. Western powers left behind anti-Islamic systems of governments and their minions and cronies. That is how one can describe today’s governments of most of the Muslim countries.
When the system of government, the constitution, the by-laws, judgments and rulings in a country or community are not based on the Holy Quran and Sunnah, the rulers and administrators of that country or community are nothing but kafirs, Zalims and Fasiqs. That is not what I say. That is what Allah T’ala says.
Fourteen centuries ago, Allah T’ala revealed ayaat 44-47 in Surah Al-Maidah (Chapter 5), which speak about the deviations of the Jews and Christians. They were revealed for the Muslim ummah to learn a lesson and not fall into the same errors.
Ayat 44 in Surah 5 says:
5:44 It was We who revealed the law (to Moses): therein was guidance and light. By its standard have been judged the Jews, by the prophets who bowed (as in Islam) to Allah's will, by the rabbis and the doctors of law: for to them was entrusted the protection of Allah's book, and they were witnesses thereto: therefore fear not men, but fear me, and sell not my signs for a miserable price. If any do fail to judge by (the light of) what Allah hath revealed, they are Unbelievers.
In the next Ayat, Allah T’ala says:
And if any fail to judge by (the light of) what Allah hath revealed, they are Zalimoon (wrong-doers, unjust, oppressors).
Then two verses down in Ayaat 47:
If any do fail to judge by (the light of) what Allah hath revealed, they are Fasiqoon (rebels, disobedients).
Kufr is unbelief. Kafir is unbeliever. Zulm is injustice and oppression. Oppression can be against others like you see violations of basic human rights committed by Muslim rulers and the so-called most civilized countries. Oppression can be self-oppression also. Oppression against one’s own self leads oneself into misery and punishment by Allah T’ala.Zulm can be so severe that it can put the person into the Jahannum. In Surah Luqman, Shirk is given as Zulmun-Azeem. And shirk is unforgivable sin. Fisq is disobedience. Fisq is rebellion, breaking the Law of Allah T’ala.Fisq can also be so great that it makes a person Kafir and puts him in Jahannum. When Allah T’ala ordered angels to prostrate to Adam (a.s.) and Shaitan refused to prostrate, as Allah T’ala says in Surah Kahf, Ayat 50, he committed Fisq.
18:50 Behold! We said to the angels, "Bow down to Adam": They bowed down except Iblis. He was one of the Jinns, and he broke the Command of his Lord. Will ye then take him and his progeny as protectors rather than Me? And they are enemies to you! Evil would be the exchange for the wrong-doers!
It is evident that non-Muslim governments do not follow Islamic Shariah. We don’t expect them to, as they are disbelievers. The more serious problem is that Muslim countries are doing the same. Today, you will find secular Muslim governments, socialist Muslim governments, communist Muslim governments, Democratic Muslim governments, but hardly any Islamic Muslim government.
Muslim rulers, instead of prostrating to Allah T’ala, the One and Only Deity, prostrate to the false deities of democracy, secularism, nationalism, socialism, communism, the deities of their own lust and Baghi (iniquity). That has put the Muslim ummah into such a terrible state that we find it difficult to get back to the Straight path.
As the great poet of Islam, Allamah Iqbal said:
The one Sajdah that you find cumbersome, is the Sajdah that saves man from thousands of prostrations. The prostrations to democracy, secularism and the like have brought nothing but ruins to the Muslim Ummah. When Muslim countries leave Islamic Shariah, they are competing with non-Muslim countries in sin!
The ayaat of Surah Al-Maidah I have read to you are not just for rulers of nations and communities. They do apply on all of us. Ibn `Umar (May Allah be pleased with them) reported: I heard Messenger of Allah (PBUH) saying, "All of you are guardians and are responsible for your wards. The ruler is a guardian and responsible for his subjects; the man is a guardian and responsible for his family; the woman is a guardian and is responsible for her husbands house and his offspring; and so all of you are guardians and are responsible for your wards.'' [Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
We all have to worry about falling into the traps of kufr, zulm and fisq.Let us do our best to seek guidance in all affairs of our life from the Holy Quran and the sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.a.w.).Standing still in the face of the wind of troubling time will push us back. Let us try to move forward. Let us read Quran for guidance, seek knowledge and act upon it.
May Allah T'ala forgive our sins and have a lot more of His Mercy on the Muslim Ummah. Ameen
If there is a phrase that can describe the world today, it has to be "Competing in Sin!"
Many Muslim governments, groups and individuals have taken an un-Islamic path and are trying to do what non-Muslim governments, groups and individuals are doing. It is a competition in sin and Muslims are losing. About fourteen hundred years ago, one of the most beloved person of the Muslim ummah, Umar bin Abdul Aziz wrote a letter to a military commander and said:
Sin is even more dangerous than the ruses/tricks of the enemy. Amirul-Momineen bids upon Mansur that instead of taking fright of his enemy, he should fear transgressing the limits of Allah T’ala. We overcome our enemies in the battlefield only because of their vices and sins, for, had it not been so, we would not have had the courage to face them. We can not deploy troops in the same numbers as our enemies can do, nor do we possess the equipments they have got. Thus, if we equate ourselves with our enemies in misdeeds and transgressions, they would undoubtedly gain a victory over us by virtue of their numerical superiority and strength.
Source : http://www.muhammad.net/our-world-today-mainmenu-50/133-rulers-and-governments.html
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Why Islam Forbids Pork?
Food and drink have direct effect on our health. That is why Islam has prescribed regulations about our food and drink. It lays great emphasis on our physical as well as moral health, because both of these are equally important for a healthy society. The abstention from eating pork is one of the steps taken by Islam to practise hygiene and to attain purity of soul.
Islam, for the cultivation of inner faculties, insists upon the cleanliness of body and the purification of soul through Salaat (prayers) Zikr (remembrance of Allah) and other devotional duties. Islam teaches us how to attain the virtues and how to give up bad habits because both good and bad grow in the man according to his upbringing, education and environment.
A human being has natural desires: food, sleep and sex being the three primary ones. He has also other natural emotions: sorrow, happiness, love, fear, disgust and avarice etc. Islam doesn't recommend the complete abrogation of these impulses but offers a method of controlling them through religious education and discipline.
The prohibition of eating pork in Islam is relevant in this context. There is a saying in English that "a man becomes what he eats." According to physicians and medical experts, pork is a harmful diet. Consumption of swine-flesh creates lowliness in character and destroys moral and spiritual faculties in a man.
Body and Soul
The life of a man is a compound of body and soul. Anything, which is harmful for the body, hurts the soul as well. Consumption of swine-flesh reduces the feeling of shame and as such the standard of modesty. Those nations, which consume pork habitually, have a low standard of morality with the result that virginity, chastity and bashfulness are becoming a thing of the past in Europe today. The number of unwed mothers is on the increase despite of the use of pills and other contraceptives.
According to a report, 60 to 70% of girls in Sweden become mothers before marriage. The formula of "skin to skin is no sin" is taking its toll but there is hardly any feeling of shame or remorse over the end-result. Since the European nations have become addicted to wine and pork, sexual freedom with all its attendant evils has got ingrained in their culture. Consequently, homosexuality has been legalized by the British Parliament.
The Holy Qur'an has prohibited the swine-flesh, hence the Muslims would not dare touch it. The Bible has also forbidden swine-flesh, but Christians disregarded this order and started consuming it. The Europeans now proclaim that pork is a very powerful diet, rich in protein. Some of them further argue that since there is a great scarcity of food-stuff in the world and swines are available in abundant quantity, they should be consumed in the diet to overcome the food shortage. If this argument is true, why don't they use dog's meat as dogs too are available in abundance? The Europeans perhaps hate the mere mention of dog's meat in the same way as the Muslims shun pork.
Another wrong notion about swine-flesh is that its consumption lengthens life-span, although this is a pure myth and absurdity. On the contrary, people, who abstain from pork and liquor, have a longer span of life. The Muslims in Central Asia bear a testimony to this truth.
However, in the consumption of flesh Muslims are required to be selective and to distinguish between Halaal (Lawful) and Haraam (Unlawful). This step leads automatically to the deeper understanding of the need for the cultivation of a pure human nature. As blood is virtually our life-stream and whatever we consume ultimately affects the blood system, it is, therefore, necessary to exercise choice in the selection of our food and drinks as part of the requirements of the Shariah.
There are certain food and drinks specified by Allah, and His Messenger Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) as forbidden. The prohibition of these food and drinks is not by any means an arbitrary action or an unwarranted decree of Allah. It is the first and foremost a divine intervention in the best interest of man and for his own benefit.
The reasons behind the Divine intervention are numerous. They are of a nature intellectual and spiritual, moral and mental, physical and economic. And the sole purpose is to show man how to develop himself according to an upright course of life in order to be a healthy unit in the structure of the family, then of society and eventually of humanity at large.
Reliable medical doctors and social scientists are able to realize how those food and drinks forbidden by Islam are harmful and destructive to the human spirit and morality as well as to the physique and moral fibre of man and to verify the benefits of Islamic legislations on the subjects.
The prohibition is based on the aim of the purification of one's nature, because food, when consumed, doesn't merely enter the stomach and intestines and become excreta. It is absorbed and metabolized into the system and circulated to all parts of the human body, including the brain, and this in no small way affects man's nature.
Take a look at the nature of the pig for example. The pig is naturally lazy and indulgent in sex, it is dirty, greedy and gluttonous. It dislikes sunlight and lacks the spirit and will to "fight." It eats almost anything, be it human excreta or anything foul and unwholesome. Amongst all animal flesh, pork is the favoured cradle of harmful germs. Pork also serves as a carrier of diseases to mankind. It is for this reason that its flesh is not suitable for consumption.
Some people have argued that the "modern pig" reared in farms is given only clean foods, therefore, its flesh should be consumable. The answer is that you may feed the pig on clean, wholesome food, but you can't change its nature. It is still a pig and will always stay so. A pig is not a plant and you cannot change it by bud-grafting.
Medical Reports
Dr. E. Kazim. M.D. in his article "Medical aspects of forbidden foods in Islam" (July 1981 issue of Muslim Journal has described diseases carried or caused by the flesh of the swine.
He writes:
The pig is a scavenger. It is an omnivorous animal. It eats everything. There are many diseases carried from swine to man, particularly parasite infestations. Lately extensive research has been focused on senility-old age is characterized by hardening of inner lining of the blood vessels of the heart, brain etc. a process called atheroselerosis. When a clot forms, it results in coronary thrombosis or a heart attack, cerebral thrombosis or stroke.
Different dietary factors are responsible for atheroselerosis. Gross atheroma may be produced in rabbit by feeding it with cholesterol, but when you add lard (derived from hog fat) to the cholesterol, the incidence of atheroma is increased and thus you would produce coronary thrombosis, and myocardial infraction.
Besides, lard contains 2800 units of vitamin D per 100 grams and no vitamin A at all. Lately vitamin D has been held responsible for atheroma, by causing increased absorption of calcium in the blood vessels. In human beings, serum cholesterol is not dependent on the intake of cholesterol in the diet, but depends upon the proportion of animal fats in the diet, which elevates the beta-lipo protein level in the blood. Animal fats contain saturated fatty acids and these saturated fatty acids have been found to be as one of the causes of atheroma in man. Medium fat bacon contains 25% proteins and 55% fat.
According to medical research, the fat content in pork is more than any other meat (beef, mutton etc.) and it takes longer to digest. Dr. M Jaffer in an article in the Islamic Review (London) of January 1997 issue has listed 16 kinds of harmful germs, which have been discovered in pork in modern researches and the diseases, which could be caused by them. The number of patients suffering from tapeworm disease is the highest in the world among pork eating nations. Other diseases attributed to pigs are caused by tri-chinelia spirates and intestinal worms occupy first place among such nations too.
Dr. Glen Shepherd wrote the following on the dangers of eating pork in Washington Post (31 May 1952).
"One in six people in USA and Canada have germs in their muscles - trichinosis 8 from eating pork infected with trichina worms. Many people who are infected shows no symptoms. Most of those, who do have, recover slowly. Some die; some are reduced to permanent invalids. All were careless pork caters".
He continued "No one is immune from the disease and there is no cure. Neither antibiotics nor drugs or vaccines affect these tiny deadly worms. Preventing infection is the real answer."
After reading the statement of Dr. Shepherd, one can realize that there is no real guarantee of safety when eating pork that one would not be affected by trichina worm. That is why modern doctors advise three prohibitions during illness: no liquor, no pork and no smoking.
Muslims follow the divine law which is much higher than the medical advice. The Glorious Qur'an says, "So eat of the lawful and good food which Allah has provided for you, and thank the bounty of your Lord if it is Him you serve. He has forbidden for you only carrion and blood and swine-flesh and that which has been immolated in the name of any other than Allah; but he who is driven thereto, neither craving nor transgressing, Lo! then Allah is Forgiving, Merciful." (16:114-115)
The above is the order from the Creator of the universe and the Supreme Law-Giver. All Muslims are under the obligation to obey it. This is a plain and straightforward answer to those, who usually ask why Muslims abstain from eating pork. Nevertheless, there is no sin, if a Muslims is forced by famine or starvation to eat pork in order to save his life.
This was written by brother Rashid Shamsi(The Muslim World League Journal, Rajab 1420 - October 1999). SOURCE
Islam, for the cultivation of inner faculties, insists upon the cleanliness of body and the purification of soul through Salaat (prayers) Zikr (remembrance of Allah) and other devotional duties. Islam teaches us how to attain the virtues and how to give up bad habits because both good and bad grow in the man according to his upbringing, education and environment.
A human being has natural desires: food, sleep and sex being the three primary ones. He has also other natural emotions: sorrow, happiness, love, fear, disgust and avarice etc. Islam doesn't recommend the complete abrogation of these impulses but offers a method of controlling them through religious education and discipline.
The prohibition of eating pork in Islam is relevant in this context. There is a saying in English that "a man becomes what he eats." According to physicians and medical experts, pork is a harmful diet. Consumption of swine-flesh creates lowliness in character and destroys moral and spiritual faculties in a man.
Body and Soul
The life of a man is a compound of body and soul. Anything, which is harmful for the body, hurts the soul as well. Consumption of swine-flesh reduces the feeling of shame and as such the standard of modesty. Those nations, which consume pork habitually, have a low standard of morality with the result that virginity, chastity and bashfulness are becoming a thing of the past in Europe today. The number of unwed mothers is on the increase despite of the use of pills and other contraceptives.
According to a report, 60 to 70% of girls in Sweden become mothers before marriage. The formula of "skin to skin is no sin" is taking its toll but there is hardly any feeling of shame or remorse over the end-result. Since the European nations have become addicted to wine and pork, sexual freedom with all its attendant evils has got ingrained in their culture. Consequently, homosexuality has been legalized by the British Parliament.
The Holy Qur'an has prohibited the swine-flesh, hence the Muslims would not dare touch it. The Bible has also forbidden swine-flesh, but Christians disregarded this order and started consuming it. The Europeans now proclaim that pork is a very powerful diet, rich in protein. Some of them further argue that since there is a great scarcity of food-stuff in the world and swines are available in abundant quantity, they should be consumed in the diet to overcome the food shortage. If this argument is true, why don't they use dog's meat as dogs too are available in abundance? The Europeans perhaps hate the mere mention of dog's meat in the same way as the Muslims shun pork.
Another wrong notion about swine-flesh is that its consumption lengthens life-span, although this is a pure myth and absurdity. On the contrary, people, who abstain from pork and liquor, have a longer span of life. The Muslims in Central Asia bear a testimony to this truth.
However, in the consumption of flesh Muslims are required to be selective and to distinguish between Halaal (Lawful) and Haraam (Unlawful). This step leads automatically to the deeper understanding of the need for the cultivation of a pure human nature. As blood is virtually our life-stream and whatever we consume ultimately affects the blood system, it is, therefore, necessary to exercise choice in the selection of our food and drinks as part of the requirements of the Shariah.
There are certain food and drinks specified by Allah, and His Messenger Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) as forbidden. The prohibition of these food and drinks is not by any means an arbitrary action or an unwarranted decree of Allah. It is the first and foremost a divine intervention in the best interest of man and for his own benefit.
The reasons behind the Divine intervention are numerous. They are of a nature intellectual and spiritual, moral and mental, physical and economic. And the sole purpose is to show man how to develop himself according to an upright course of life in order to be a healthy unit in the structure of the family, then of society and eventually of humanity at large.
Reliable medical doctors and social scientists are able to realize how those food and drinks forbidden by Islam are harmful and destructive to the human spirit and morality as well as to the physique and moral fibre of man and to verify the benefits of Islamic legislations on the subjects.
The prohibition is based on the aim of the purification of one's nature, because food, when consumed, doesn't merely enter the stomach and intestines and become excreta. It is absorbed and metabolized into the system and circulated to all parts of the human body, including the brain, and this in no small way affects man's nature.
Take a look at the nature of the pig for example. The pig is naturally lazy and indulgent in sex, it is dirty, greedy and gluttonous. It dislikes sunlight and lacks the spirit and will to "fight." It eats almost anything, be it human excreta or anything foul and unwholesome. Amongst all animal flesh, pork is the favoured cradle of harmful germs. Pork also serves as a carrier of diseases to mankind. It is for this reason that its flesh is not suitable for consumption.
Some people have argued that the "modern pig" reared in farms is given only clean foods, therefore, its flesh should be consumable. The answer is that you may feed the pig on clean, wholesome food, but you can't change its nature. It is still a pig and will always stay so. A pig is not a plant and you cannot change it by bud-grafting.
Medical Reports
Dr. E. Kazim. M.D. in his article "Medical aspects of forbidden foods in Islam" (July 1981 issue of Muslim Journal has described diseases carried or caused by the flesh of the swine.
He writes:
The pig is a scavenger. It is an omnivorous animal. It eats everything. There are many diseases carried from swine to man, particularly parasite infestations. Lately extensive research has been focused on senility-old age is characterized by hardening of inner lining of the blood vessels of the heart, brain etc. a process called atheroselerosis. When a clot forms, it results in coronary thrombosis or a heart attack, cerebral thrombosis or stroke.
Different dietary factors are responsible for atheroselerosis. Gross atheroma may be produced in rabbit by feeding it with cholesterol, but when you add lard (derived from hog fat) to the cholesterol, the incidence of atheroma is increased and thus you would produce coronary thrombosis, and myocardial infraction.
Besides, lard contains 2800 units of vitamin D per 100 grams and no vitamin A at all. Lately vitamin D has been held responsible for atheroma, by causing increased absorption of calcium in the blood vessels. In human beings, serum cholesterol is not dependent on the intake of cholesterol in the diet, but depends upon the proportion of animal fats in the diet, which elevates the beta-lipo protein level in the blood. Animal fats contain saturated fatty acids and these saturated fatty acids have been found to be as one of the causes of atheroma in man. Medium fat bacon contains 25% proteins and 55% fat.
According to medical research, the fat content in pork is more than any other meat (beef, mutton etc.) and it takes longer to digest. Dr. M Jaffer in an article in the Islamic Review (London) of January 1997 issue has listed 16 kinds of harmful germs, which have been discovered in pork in modern researches and the diseases, which could be caused by them. The number of patients suffering from tapeworm disease is the highest in the world among pork eating nations. Other diseases attributed to pigs are caused by tri-chinelia spirates and intestinal worms occupy first place among such nations too.
Dr. Glen Shepherd wrote the following on the dangers of eating pork in Washington Post (31 May 1952).
"One in six people in USA and Canada have germs in their muscles - trichinosis 8 from eating pork infected with trichina worms. Many people who are infected shows no symptoms. Most of those, who do have, recover slowly. Some die; some are reduced to permanent invalids. All were careless pork caters".
He continued "No one is immune from the disease and there is no cure. Neither antibiotics nor drugs or vaccines affect these tiny deadly worms. Preventing infection is the real answer."
After reading the statement of Dr. Shepherd, one can realize that there is no real guarantee of safety when eating pork that one would not be affected by trichina worm. That is why modern doctors advise three prohibitions during illness: no liquor, no pork and no smoking.
Muslims follow the divine law which is much higher than the medical advice. The Glorious Qur'an says, "So eat of the lawful and good food which Allah has provided for you, and thank the bounty of your Lord if it is Him you serve. He has forbidden for you only carrion and blood and swine-flesh and that which has been immolated in the name of any other than Allah; but he who is driven thereto, neither craving nor transgressing, Lo! then Allah is Forgiving, Merciful." (16:114-115)
The above is the order from the Creator of the universe and the Supreme Law-Giver. All Muslims are under the obligation to obey it. This is a plain and straightforward answer to those, who usually ask why Muslims abstain from eating pork. Nevertheless, there is no sin, if a Muslims is forced by famine or starvation to eat pork in order to save his life.
This was written by brother Rashid Shamsi(The Muslim World League Journal, Rajab 1420 - October 1999). SOURCE
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