Reply Of
Challenge To Islam
The Following Information is
not written by me (as I am not a scholar .. just an
ordinary Muslim)but I have collected them from different websites for the sake
of ISLAM as I have been questioned about 10 Issues in Islam from somebody. The
name of the original writer may appear or may not appear in the text. Hope this
wont hurt anybody. There may be some spelling or grammatical mistakes. This
page is not for commercial purposes.
I am thankful to:
http://www.answering-christianity.com/
and many more whose
addresses I have forgotten….
My Comments: As I started
the search for the questions asked from the challenger…My Faith in Allah got more stronger and stronger…and Finally with the help of
Allah Almighty I am able to collect this Article. What I think the challenger
is more interested in increasing hate among the Muslims as compared to the
answers to his questions.….May Allah made this article
a path for innumerable people to come to Islam. May Allah guide us all to the
right path. Amen
I hope that anybody who has
read the question will also read the Answers.
QUESTION:
1.Is Quran complete ?
Much of the
Qur'an has disappeared?
Why are these
suras not part of the Quran today seeing that Muslim reciters such as Ubay
claimed that God revealed them as part of the text?
Whose testimony
should we accept, that of Masud or that of Kabb? Do we agree that Allah only
revealed 111 chapters or do we accept the 116 chapters of Kabb's codex?
Furthermore, why is it that the Uthmanic text contains 114 chapters, three more
than that of Masud and two short from that of Kabb?
In light of
the preceding evidence, can any Muslim honestly claim that the Quran has been
completely preserved?
These
traditions clearly affirm that the Syrians had readings not known to the Iraqis
and vice-versa. These readings had nothing to do with dialectal variations
since variations in dialect would not result in the parties not having heard
verses contained in the other codices. Furthermore, who gave Uthman the right
to burn codices written by eye and ear witnesses of Muhammad?
Answer:
One of the
most common myths about the Qur’an, is that Usman (r.a.),
the third Caliph of Islam authenticated and compiled one Qur’an, from a large
set of mutually contradicting copies. The Qur’an, revered as the Word of Allah
(swt) by Muslims the world over, is the same Qur’an as the one revealed to
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). It was authenticated and written under his personal
supervision. We will examine the roots of the myth which says that Usman (r.a.) had the Qur’an authenticated.
1. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)
himself supervised and authenticated the written texts of the
Qur’an
Whenever the
Prophet received a revelation, he would first memorize it himself and later
declare the revelation and instruct his Companions (R.A. – Radhi Allahu Taala
Anhu) – May Allah be pleased with him who would also memorize it. The Prophet
would immediately ask the scribes to write down the revelation he had received,
and he would reconfirm and recheck it himself. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was an Ummi
who could not read and write. Therefore, after receiving each revelation, he
would repeat it to his Companions. They would write down the revelation, and he
would recheck by asking them to read what they had written. If there was any
mistake, the Prophet would immediately point it out and have it corrected and
rechecked. Similarly he would even recheck and authenticate the portions of the
Qur’an memorized by the Companions. In this way, the complete Qur’an was
written down under the personal supervision of the prophet (pbuh).
2. Order and sequence of
Qur’an divinely inspired
The complete
Qur’an was revealed over a period of 22˝ years portion by portion, as and when
it was required. The Qur’an was not compiled by the Prophet in the
chronological order of revelation. The order and sequence of the Qur’an too was
Divinely inspired and was instructed to the Prophet by
Allah (swt) through archangel Jibraeel. Whenever a revelation was conveyed to
his companions, the Prophet would also mention in which surah (chapter)
and after which ayat (verse) this new revelation should fit.
Every Ramadhaan
all the portions of the Qur’an that had been revealed, including the order of
the verses, were revised and reconfirmed by the Prophet with archangel
Jibraeel. During the last Ramadhaan, before the demise of the Prophet,
the Qur’an was rechecked and reconfirmed twice.
It is
therefore clearly evident that the Qur’an was compiled and authenticated by the
Prophet himself during his lifetime, both in the written form as well as in the
memory of several of his Companions.
3. Qur’an copied on one
common material
The
complete Qur’an, along with the correct sequence of the verses, was present
during the time of the Prophet (pbuh). The verses however, were written on
separate pieces, scrapes of leather, thin flat stones, leaflets, palm branches,
shoulder blades, etc. After the demise of the prophet, Abu Bakr (r.a.), the first caliph of Islam ordered that the Qur’an be
copied from the various different materials on to a common material and place,
which was in the shape of sheets. These were tied with strings so that nothing
of the compilation was lost.
4. Usman (r.a.) made copies of the Qur’an from the original manuscript
Many
Companions of the Prophet used to write down the revelation of the Qur’an on
their own whenever they heard it from the lips of the Prophet. However what
they wrote was not personally verified by the Prophet and thus could contain
mistakes. All the verses revealed to the Prophet may not have been heard personally
by all the Companions. There were high possibilities of different portions of
the Qur’an being missed by different Companions. This gave rise to disputes
among Muslims regarding the different contents of the Qur’an during the period
of the third Caliph Usman (r.a.).
Usman (r.a.) borrowed the original manuscript of the Qur’an, which
was authorized by the beloved Prophet (pbuh), from Hafsha (may Allah be pleased
with her), the Prophet’s wife. Usman (r.a.) ordered
four Companions who were among the scribes who wrote the Qur’an when the
Prophet dictated it, led by Zaid bin Thabit (r.a.) to rewrite the script in
several perfect copies. These were sent by Usman (r.a.)
to the main centres of Muslims.
There were
other personal collections of the portions of the Qur’an that people had with
them. These might have been incomplete and with mistakes. Usman (r.a.) only appealed to the people to destroy all these
copies which did not match the original manuscript of the Qur’an in order to
preserve the original text of the Qur’an. Two such copies of the copied text of
the original Qur’an authenticated by the Prophet are present to this day, one
at the museum in
5.
Diacritical marks were added for non-Arabs
The original
manuscript of the Qur’an does not have the signs indicating the vowels in
Arabic script. These vowels are known as tashkil, zabar, zair, paish in
Urdu and as fatah, damma and qasra in Arabic. The Arabs did not require
the vowel signs and diacritical marks for correct pronunciation of the Qur’an
since it was their mother tongue. For Muslims of non-Arab origin, however, it
was difficult to recite the Qur’an correctly without the vowels. These marks
were introduced into the Quranic script during the time of the fifth ‘Umayyad’
Caliph, Malik-ar-Marwan (66-86 Hijri/685-705 C.E.) and
during the governorship of Al-Hajaj in
Some people
argue that the present copy of the Qur’an that we have along with the vowels
and the diacritical marks is not the same original Qur’an that was present at
the Prophet’s time. But they fail to realize that the word ‘Qur’an’ means a
recitation. Therefore, the preservation of the recitation of the Qur’an is
important, irrespective of whether the script is different or whether it
contains vowels. If the pronunciation and the Arabic is the same, naturally,
the meaning remains the same too.
6. Allah Himself has
promised to guard the Qur’an
Allah has
promised in the Qur’an :
"We have,
without doubt, sent down the Message; and We will
assuredly Guard it (from corruption)."
[Al-Qur’an 15:9]
THE
THEORY OF ABROGATION
1. Two different interpretations
The Glorious
Qur’an says in the following verse:
"None of
Our revelations do We abrogate or cause to be
forgotten, but We substitute something better or similar: knowest thou not that
Allah hath power over all things?"
[Al-Qur’an 2:106]
A reference to this is also made in chapter 16 verse 101 of Surah Nahl. The Arabic word mentioned is ayat which means ‘signs’ or ‘verses’ and which can also mean ‘revelations’. This verse of the Qur’an can be interpreted in two different ways:
a.
The revelations that are abrogated are those revelations that were revealed
before the Qur’an, for example the Torah, the Zaboor and the Injeel.
Here Allah (swt) says that He does not cause the previous revelations to be
forgotten but He substitutes them with something better or similar, indicating
that the Torah, the Zaboor and the Injeel were substituted
by the Qur’an.
b. If we consider that the Arabic word ayat in the above verse refers to the verses of the Qur’an, and not previous revelations, then it indicates that none of the verses of the Qur’an are abrogated by Allah but substituted with something better or similar. This means that certain verses of the Qur’an, that were revealed earlier were substituted by verses that were revealed later. I agree with both the interpretations.
Many Muslims and non-Muslims misunderstand the second interpretation to mean that some of the earlier verses of the Qur’an were abrogated and no longer hold true for us today, as they have been replaced by the later verses of the Qur’an or the abrogating verses. This group of people even wrongly believe that these verses contradict each other.
Let us analyze a few such examples.
2. Produce a recital like the Qur’an / 10 Surahs / 1 Surah:
Some pagan
Arabs alleged that the Qur’an was forged by Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Allah (swt)
challenges these Arabs in the following verse of Surah Al-Isra:
"Say: If
the whole of Mankind and Jinns were together to produce the like of this Qur’an
they could not produce the like thereof, even if they backed up each other with
help and support."
[Al-Qur’an 17:88]
Later the challenge was made easy in the following verse of Surah Al-Hud:
"Or they
may say, "He forged it." Say, "Bring ye then ten Surahs forged,
like unto it, and call (to your aid) whomsover ye can, other than Allah, if ye
speak the truth!’."
[Al-Qur’an 11:13]
It was made easier in the following verse of Surah Yunus:
"Or do
they say, "He forged it"? Say: "Bring then a Surah like unto it,
and call (to your aid) anyone you can, besides Allah, if it be ye speak the
truth!’."
[Al-Qur’an 10:38]
Finally in Surah Al-Baqarah, Allah (swt) further simplied the challenge:
And if ye are in doubt as to what We have revealed from time to time to Our servant, then produce a Surah like thereunto; and call your witnesses or helpers (if there are any) besides Allah if your (doubts) are true.
But if ye
cannot – and of a surety ye cannot – then fear the Fire whose fuel is Men and
Stones – which is prepared for those who reject faith".
[Al-Qur’an 2:23-24]
Thus Allah (swt) made the challenges progressively easier. The progressively revealed verses of the Qur’an first challenged the pagans to produce a book like the Qur’an, then challenged them to produce ten Surahs (chapters) like those in the Qur’an, then one Surah and finally it challenges them to produce one Surah somewhat similar (mim mislihi) to the Qur’anic Surahs. This does not mean that the later verses that were revealed i.e. of Surah Baqarah chapter 2 verses 23 and 24 contradict the earlier three verses. Contradiction implies mentioning two things that cannot be possible simultaneously, or cannot take place simultaneously.
The earlier verses of the Qur’an i.e. the abrogated verses are still the word of God and the information contained in it is true to this day. For instance the challenge to produce a recital like the Qur’an stands to this day. Similarly the challenge to produce ten Surahs and one Surah exactly like the Qur’an also holds true and the last challenge of producing one surah somewhat similar to the Qur’an also holds true. It does not contradict the earlier challenges, but this is the easiest of all the challenges posed by the Qur’an. If the last challenge cannot be fulfilled, the question of anyone fulfilling the other three more difficult challenges does not arise.
Suppose I speak about a person that he is so dumb, that he would not be able to pass the 10th standard in school. Later I say that he would not be able to pass the 5th standard, and further say that he would not be able to pass even the 1st standard. Finally I say that he is so dull that he would not even be able to pass K.G. i.e. kindergarten. One has to pass kindergarten before one can be admitted to school. What I am stating is that the person is so dull as to be unable to pass even kindergarten. My four statements do not contradict each other, but my last statement i.e. the person would not be able to pass the kindergarten is sufficient to indicate the intelligence of that person. If a person cannot even pass kindergarten, the question of him passing the first standard or 5th or 10th, does not arise.
3. Gradual prohibition of intoxicants
Another
example of such verses is that related to gradual prohibition of intoxicants.
The first revelation of the Qur’an to deal with intoxicants was the following
verse from Surah Baqarah:
"They ask
thee concerning wine and gambling say: ‘In them is great sin, and some profit,
for men; but the sin is greater than the profit’."
[Al-Qur’an 2:219]
The next verse to be revealed regarding intoxicants is the following verse from Surah Nisa:
"O ye who believe! approach not prayers
with a mind befogged, until ye can understand all that ye say" [Al-Qur’an
The last verse to be revealed regarding intoxicants was the following verse from Surah Al-Maidah:
"O ye who believe! intoxicants and
gambling, (dedication of) stones, and (divination by) arrows, are an
abomination of Satan’s handiwork; eschew such (abomination), that ye may
prosper."
[Al-Qur’an 5:90]
This was because The
Qur’an was revealed over a period of 22˝ years. Many reforms that were brought
about in the society were gradual. This was to facilitate the adoption of new
laws by the people. An abrupt change in society always leads to rebellion and
anarchy.
The prohibition of intoxicants was revealed in three stages. The first revelation only mentioned that in the intoxicants there is great sin and some profit but the sin is greater than the profit. The next revelation prohibited praying in an intoxicated state, indicating that one should not consume intoxicants during the day, since a Muslim has to pray five times a day. This verse does state that when one is not praying at night one is allowed to consume intoxicants. It means one may have or one may not have. The Qur’an does not comment on it. If this verse had mentioned that one is allowed to have intoxicants while not praying then there would have been a contradiction. Allah (swt) chose words appropriately. Finally the total prohibition of intoxicants at all times was revealed in Surah Maidah chapter 5 verse 90.
This clearly indicates that the three verses do not contradict each other. Had they been contradicting, it would not have been possible to follow all the three verses simultaneously. Since a Muslim is expected to follow each and every verse of the Qur’an, only by following the last verse i.e. of Surah Maidah (5:90), he simultaneously agrees and follows the previous two verses.
Suppose I say
that I do not live in
4. Qur’an does not contain any contradictions
The theory of abrogation does not imply that there is a contradiction in the Qur’an, since it is possible to follow all the verses of the Qur’an at the same time.
If there is a contradiction in the Qur’an, then it cannot be the word of Allah (swt).
"Do they not consider the Qur’an (with care)? Had it been from other than Allah, they would surely have found therein much discrepancy (contradictions)."
[Al-Qur’an 4:82]
QUESTION:
Please find our these Suras
in Quran for me, Sura Al-Nurain, Sura Al-Wilaya
???
It has been claimed by Christian missionaries at their
website that some Shi'ite's have two more chapters in their Qur'an called Sűrah al-Nurayn and Sűrah al-Walayah. Regarding the Sűrah
al-Walayah, they used to say [obviously deleted now!]:
Source: The Sura was taken from
the book "ALThWRh AL'YARANYh FY MYzAN AL'sLAM" (The Iranian
revolution in the balance of Islam), published in
Such views are also echoed by Steven Masood, a well-known
Christian writer. He says:
Among the writings of Shia
scholarship, we find two Surahs al-Wilayah and an-Nurain which
are believed by some to be the part of the Qur'an but which have been rejected
by Sunni Ulema. The style and oration is similar to that of the Qur'an.[1]
[1] S. Masood, The Bible And The
Qur'an: A Question Of Integrity, 2001,
Our methodology is to check the Shi'ite sources and see
what they say about the status of the Qur'an. After that check what the Western
scholars say about the two Sűrahs allegedly from Shi'ite sources and their
stylistic features.
The figure Jacfar al-Sâdiq (d.
148/765) is described in the Shi'ite tradition as a charismatic character and
quietest of the Imâms. The Shi'ites regard him as the
founder of Shi'ite Law, which is based, to a great extent, upon decisions
supposed to have been transmitted from him.
In the section "The Belief Concerning The Extent (Mablagh) Of The Qur'an" Jacfar
al-Sâdiq says:
Says the Shaykh Abu
Jacfar: Our belief is that the Qur'an,
which Allah revealed to his Prophet Muhammad is (the same as) the one
between the two boards (daffatayn). And it is that which is in the hands
of the people, and is not greater extent than that. The number of suras as
generally accepted is one hundred and fourteen.[2]
[2] Abű Jacfar Muhammad ibn cAlî ibn al-Husayn ibn Babwayh
al-Qummî, I'tiqadatu'l Imamiyyah (The Beliefs of Imamiyyah), English
translation: A Shi'ite Creed, 1982 (Revised) Asaf A. A. Fyzee, World
Organization of Islamic Services, Tehran, Iran, p. 77.
And again:
And he who asserts that we say it
is greater in extent than this (the present text) is a liar.[3]
[3] Ibid.
This would have been a proof good enough to stop here and
dismiss what the missionaries are claiming about the "Qur'an" which
Shi'ites have. But let us go further and expose the
deceptive methodology. Another Shi'ite book talking about the two sűrahs as
mentioned above says:
A small minority of Shi'is have
attempted to get much larger passages (and even the whole suras) accepted as
being missing portions of the Qur'an but without success.
[4] M. Momen, An Introduction To
Shi'i Islam: The History and Doctrines of Twelver Shi'ism, 1985, George Ronald,
Quoting the history of the Shi'ite belief regarding the
Qur'an, Momen says:
With regards to the question of the
text of the Qur'an, it has already been noted that the early Shi'is believed
that the Qur'an has been altered and parts of it has been suppressed. The Nawbakhtis
are said to have adhered to this view although it went against their usual
position of agreeing with Mu'tazili thought. The compiler of the earliest,
authoritative collection of Twelver Traditions, al-Kulyanî, seems to have given
some substance to this view in several of the Traditions that he relates. Ibn
Babuya, however, takes the position that the text of the Qur'an is complete and
unaltered. Al-Mufid appears to have wavered somewhat on this point during his
lifetime. He seems to have accepted the fact that parts of the Qur'an had been
excised by the enemies of the Imams in some of his early writings, although he
refused even then to state that anything had been added. In his later writings,
however, al-Mufid had reinterpreted the concept of omissions from the text of
the Qur'an to mean that the text of the Qur'an is complete (although he does
allow that the order needs to be changed) but that what has been omitted is the
authoritative interpretation of the text by cAlî. In this manner, al-Mufid and most subsequent Shi'i writers were
able to fall into line with the rest of the Islamic world in accepting the text
of the Qur'an as contained in the recension of cUthmân.[5]
[5] Ibid., p. 81.
Now we have said enough about the Shi'ite sources. Let us
now discuss the view of the orientalists.
2. Sűrah al-Walayah
& al-Nurayn: Their History & Studies On Them
Between 1055 / 1645 and 1068 /1658, there appeared in
[6]
"Dabestân-E-Madâheb", Encyclopaedia Iranica, 1993, Volume VI, Mazda
Publishers:
The book describes life under Mughal rule in
In 1842, these two sűrahs from Dabistan-i Madhahib
were for the first time fully translated into a European language by the French
orientalist Garcin De Tassy.[7]Only a year after Mirza
Alexandre Kazem-Beg, wrote a commentary on this translation.[8] Interesting in
this regard is the publication and the translation of the manuscript which came
into light in 1912 in the Indian city of Bankipore. Although it is said to
contain the same sűrahs and other additions, no further information on the
manuscript is provided. The translation of the sűrahs was published by St.
Clare Tisdall in the journal The Moslem World in 1913. The manuscript is
said to be some 200-300 years old, at least.
[7]
G. De Tassy, "Chapitre inconnu du Coran", Journal Asiatique, 1842,
Volume XIII, pp. 431-439.
[8]
M. Kazembeg, "Observations sur Chapitre inconnu du Coran", Journal
Asiatique, 1843, Volume XIV, pp. 371-429.
Sűrah
al-Walayah from the Bankipore Manuscript of the Qur'an' [See Tisdall's work]
The Nature & Stylistic Features Of
The Two Sűrahs
Sűrah al-Walayah and Sűrah al-Nurayn are considered
forgeries and their stylistic features are poor imitation of the Qur'an riddled
with grammatical errors. St. Clare Tisdall writes:
The reader (of the original Arabic
especially) is irresistibly led to the conclusion that the whole of these
additions, - with the possible exception of Sura al-Nurain, - are forgeries.
The style is imitated from the Koran, but not always very successfully. There
are some grammatical errors, unless these are due to the transcriber. Occasionally the meaning which the context shews to be that in
which a word is used is later than the time to which the Koran belongs.
The verses are largely, however, centos of Koranic passages taken from their
context. The amount of repetition shews the writer's determination to prove
what he wished to prove at all costs.[9]
[9] W. St. Clair
Tisdall, "Shi'ah Additions To The Koran",
The Moslem World, 1913, Volume III, p. 229.
And talking about the nature of these two sűrahs, St.
Clare Tisdall says:
We notice also that some, - or,
perhaps, only one person, - among the Shi'ites decided to forge the passages
which we are considering. Doubtless he thought the end justified the means. He
certainly must have determined to insert these forgeries in the Koran and to
get his own sect to adopt them. But, although it was so greatly to their
apparent interest to accept these additional passages, yet the Shi'ites did not
do so. The forger found it impossible to introduce a single such altered verse
into the Koran. This, we may again say in passing , is
highly to the credit of the Shi'ah community in general. Although they think
that they are staking their eternal happiness on the truth of their contention
that cAlî and his family are the true and
Divinely commissioned inheritors of Mohammad's spiritual rights, so far as
these could be handed down to others, yet they have never permitted a single
one of these forgeries to become incorporated into their copies of the Koran.[10]
[10] Ibid., pp.
229-230.
He went on to say:
So, far as we know, the manuscript
which we are now concerned with is the only one in existence which, together
with the genuine sűrahs of the Koran, also contains these Alterations and
Additions. To get them generally accepted, even by Shi'ites, proved impossible.
The attempt to Sunnites to adopt them was probably never made, for its
hopelessness must have been evident even to the forger himself.[11]
[11] Ibid., p.
230.
Von Grunebaum says:
The only two Shi'ite sűrahs which
have come to light are obvious forgeries; the other omissions that would have
been dictated mostly by dogmatic considerations foreign to the 'Uthmanic period
can not be substantiated, and the Shi'ites themselves have never been able to
agree on the alleged distortion of the sacred text of their adversaries.[12]
[12] G. E. von
Grunebaum, Islam: Essays In The Nature And Growth Of A
Cultural Tradition, 1961, Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd.,
Therefore, Shi'ite and Western scholars are in agreement
that these two sűrahs are forgeries. The Shi'ites also agree on the text of the
Qur'an which is same as that used by Sunni Muslims. Mahmoud Ayoub says:
Hence Muslims. and
especially Shi'i Muslims, have insisted that God revealed to Muhammad
both the Qur'an and its exegesis. The sacred text of the Qur'an, or what is
contained 'between the two covers', is what Muhammad taught the
generality of faithful.[13]
[13] M. Ayoub,
"The Speaking Qur'an and The Silent Qur'an: A Study of The Principles and
Development of Imami Shi'i Tafsir", in Approaches to the History of the
Interpretation of the Qur'an, Andrew Rippin (Ed.), 1988, Clarendon Press,
Author Of The Two Forged Sűrahs
The discovery of the Dabistan had been ascribed to
a Shi'ite, however, without any specification of name of denomination as
suggested by Tisdall and others.[14] However, this view
has been criticized by Joseph Eliash.
[14] W. St.
Clair Tisdall, "Shi'ah Additions To The Koran", The Moslem World, Op.
Cit., pp. 229-230; "Dabistân al-Madâhib", Encyclopaedia Of Islam, Op.
Cit., p. 74.
Concerning the text from Bankipore and Dabistan-i-Madhahib,
he says:
Concerning the Bankipore text, its
only connection with the Imami Shi'a is the claim that the manuscript was
brought from the Nawwab in
[15] J. Eliash,
"The Shi'ite Qur'an: A Reconsideration Of
Goldziher's Interpretation", Arabica, 1969, Volume XVI, p. 19.
This is in line with the recent research that has shown
that the author of Dabistan was in fact not a Shi'ite at all, but rather
a Parsi.[16]
[16] "Dabestân-E-Madâheb", Encyclopaedia
Iranica, Op. Cit., pp. 533-534. Also in M. M. Marcinkowski, "Some
Reflections On Alleged Twelver Shicite Attitude
Towards The Integrity Of The Qur'an", The Muslim World, 2001, Volume 91,
p. 142.
3. Do These Sűrahs Exist In The Early
"Codices Of The Companions"?
This is a very interesting exercise. Even if one assumes
what some Shi'ites says is true concerning cUthmân, its
authenticity can easily be verified by the work of Arthur Jeffery on the
"early companion Codices". Jeffery collected some 'variant' readings
attributed to cAlî as well as Zaid bin cAlî.
It is interesting to note that none of these Codices have either of
these sűrahs. The Codex of cAlî can be found in Materials For The History Of The
Text Of The Qur'an: The Old Codices[17] and the Codex of
Zaid bin cAlî can be found in "The Qur'an Readings Of Zaid bin cAlî".[18]
[17] A. Jeffery, Materials For
The History Of The Text Of The Qur'an: The Old Codices, 1937, E J Brill,
[18] A. Jeffery, "The Qur'an Readings Of
Zaid bin cAlî", Rivista Degli Studi Orientali, 1936, Volume XVI, pp.
249-289
4. Conclusions
Sűrah al-Walayah and Sűrah al-Nurayn are considered
forgeries by both Shi'ite and Western scholars. This is confirmed by their
absence in Jeffery's studies on "variants" attributed to cAlî
as well as Zaid bin cAlî. The stylistic features of Sűrah al-Walayah and Sűrah
al-Nurayn are a poor imitation of the Qur'an and riddled with grammatical
errors. Contrary to the expectation that they are a Shi'ite forgery, modern
research has shown that the composer of the two forged sűrahs is a Parsi.
And Allah knows best!
QUESTION:
Since Muslims such as Asad
clearly admit that there is no report suggesting that Muhammad spoke about
these mysterious letters in his recorded utterances, where did the Companions
come up with such a practice especially since these letters left them perplexed
as to their meanings? Furthermore, no report has come down to us indicating
that the Companions had inquired Muhammad on the meaning of these mysterious
letters. This is indeed strange since had these letters been part of the
original revelation why would the Companions not have asked about their
meaning? This seems to suggest that scribes added these letters much later and
hadiths were then forged to establish their authenticity.
???
Answer:
1. Abbreviated Letters
Alif Laam
Meem, Ya Seen, Ha Meem’, etc. are known as Al-Muqattaat i.e. the
abbreviated letters. There are 29 letters in the Arabic Alphabet (if hamza
and alif are considered as two letters) and there are 29 surahs
i.e. chapters in the Glorious Qur’an that have the abbreviated letters prefixed
to them. These abbreviated letters some times occur alone, sometimes in a
combination of two letters and sometimes in a combination of three, four or
five letters.
a. Three surahs are pre-fixed with only one
letter:
(i)
Surah Sad chapter 38 with Sad
(ii) Surah Qaf chapter 50 with Qaf
(iii) Surah Nun or Qalam chapter 68 with Nun
b.
The combination of two letters occurs in 10 surahs:
Three of them
occur only once each:
(i)
Surah Ta Ha chapter 20 has Ta Ha
(ii) Surah Al Naml starting with chapter 27 has Ta Seen
(iii) Surah Ya Seen chapter 36 has Ya Seen
Ha Meem occurs in seven consecutive Surahs from
Surah 40 to Surah 46:
(i)
Surah Ghafir or Al-Mu’min chapter 40
(ii) Surah Fussilat or Ha Meem chapter 41
(iii) Surah Al Shura chapter 42
(iv) Surah Al Zukhruf chapter 43
(v) Surah Al Dukhan chapter 44
(vi) Surah Al Jathiyah chapter 45
(vii) Surah Al Ahqaf chapter 46
c.
There are three combinations of three letters each occurring in 14 surahs.
Alif Laam Meem occurs in six surahs
(i)
Surah Al Baqarah chapter 2
(ii) Surah
Ali ‘Imran chapter 3
(iii) Surah Al ‘Ankabut chapter 29
(iv) Surah Al Rum chapter 30
(v) Surah Luqman chapter 31
(vi) Surah Al Sajdah chapter 32
Alif Laam
Ra occurs
in six consecutive surahs: Surah 10 to Surah 15:
(i)
Surah Yunus chapter 10
(ii) Surah Hud chapter 11
(iii) Surah Yusuf chapter 12
(iv) Surah Al Rad chapter 13
(v) Surah Ibrahim chapter 14
(vi) Surah Al Hijr chapter 15
Ta Seen
Meem occurs
in two Surahs:
(i)
Surah Al-Shura chapter 26
(ii) Surah Al-Qasas chapter 28
d.
Combination of four letters occurs twice:
(i)
Surah Aaraf chapter 7: Alif Laam Meem Sad
(ii) Surah Anfal chapter 8: Alif Laam
Meem Ra
e. Combination of five
letters occurs twice:
(i)
Surah Maryam chapter 19 begins with Kaf Ha Ya Ayn Sad
(ii) Surah Al-Shura chapter 42 begins with Ha Meem Ayn Seen Qaf
Surah Al-Shura
chapter 42 has a double combination of abbreviated letters one set of two
letters followed by one set of three letters.
2. Meanings of these abbreviated letters
The meaning
and purpose of these letters is uncertain. There have been a variety of explanations
offered by Muslim scholars through the ages. A few among them are:
i.
These letters might be abbreviations for certain sentences and words for
instance, Alif Laam Meem means Ana-Alahu -a’Laam or Nun
meaning Noor (light), etc.
ii. These letters are not abbreviations but symbols and names of
Allah or something else.
iii. These letters were used for rhyming.
iv. These letters have some numerical significance as the semitic letters also have numerical values.
v. These letters were used to attract the attention of the Prophet
(and later his audience).
Several
volumes have been written on the significance of these abbreviations.
3. Best explanation of
abbreviated letters:
Of all the
explanations given by various scholars, the one which is authentic and also
supported by Tafsir of Ibne-Kathir, Zamakshari and Ibne-Taiymiyah is the
following:
The human body
is composed of various fundamental elements that are found in nature. Clay and
dust are composed of the same fundamental elements. Yet it would be absurd to
say that a human being is exactly the same as the dust.
We can all
have access to the elements that are found in the human body, and add a few
gallons of water, which is the constitution of the human body. We know the
elements in the human body and yet we are at a loss when asked the secret of
life.
Similarly the
Qur’an addresses those people who reject its Divine authority. It tells them
that this Qur’an, is in your own language, and over which the Arabs took pride.
It is composed of the same letters that the Arabs used to express themselves
most eloquently.
The Arabs were
very proud of their language and Arabic was at its peak when the Qur’an was
revealed. With the letters Alif Laam Meem, Yaa Seen, Ha-Meem,
etc., (in Engllish we would say A, B, C, D) the Qur’an challenges mankind to
produce a Surah at least somewhat similar to the Qur’an in beauty and
elegance, if they doubt its authenticity.
Initially, the
Qur’an challenges all the men and jinn to produce a recital like the Qur’an and
adds that they would not be able to do it even if they backed each other. This
challenge is mentioned in Surah Isra chapter 17 verse
88 and in Surah Tur chapter 52 verse 34.
Later the
Qur’an repeats the challenge in Surah Hud chapter 11 verse 13 by saying produce
ten surahs like it and later in Surah Yunus chapter 10 verse 38 produce
one surah like it and finally the easiest challenge is given in Surah
Al-Baqarah chapter 2 verses 23 and 24.
"And if
ye are in doubt as to what We have revealed from time to time to Our servant,
then produce a Surah like thereunto; and call your witnesses or helpers
(if there are any) besides Allah if your doubts are true.
But if ye
cannot – and of a surety ye cannot – then fear the fire whose fuel is men and
stones – which is prepared for those who reject faith."
[Al-Qur’an 2:23-24]
To compare the
skill of two artisans, they must be given samples of the same raw material and
their performance evaluated in performing the same task. If they are tailors
they must be provided with the same fabrics. The raw materials of the Arabic
language are these letters Alif Laam Meem, Ya Seen (in English it is A,
B, C, D, etc.) The miraculous nature of the language of the Qur’an does not lie
only in the fact that it is the Word of Allah, but also in the fact that
although made up of the same letters in which the pagan Arabs took pride, it
has not been rivalled.
The Arabs are
noted for their rhetoric ability, eloquence and meaningful expression. Just as
the constituents of the human body are known to us and can be obtained by us,
the letters comprising the Qur’an, such as Alif Laam Meem are known to us, and
used frequently to formulate words. Life cannot be created by us, even if we
possess knowledge of the constituents of the human body. Similarly we cannot
capture the same eloquence and beauty of expression that we find in the Qur’an,
despite knowing the letters that constitute the Qu’ran. The Qur’an thus proves
its Divine origin.
4. Miraculous quality of Qur’an
mentioned immediately after these broken letters
Therefore
immediately after these broken letters are mentioned in the Qur’an, the
following verses speak about the miracle of the Qur’an, and its authority e.g.
in Surah Baqarah Chapter 2 verse 1-2:
"Alif
Laam Meem.
This is the Book; in it is guidance sure, without doubt, to those who fear
Allah."
[Al-Qur’an 2:1-2]
QUESTION:
The Quran contains myths and
fables that were well known during the time of Muhammad. The Quran testifies
that the unbelievers accused Muhammad of borrowing fables already known to them
and claiming it as revelation from God
1.
QUR’AN PLAGIARIZED FROM THE BIBLE :
Question
Is it not true that Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) has copied the Qur’an from the Bible?
Answer
Many critics allege that Prophet Muhummad (pbuh) himself was not the author of the Qur’an but he learnt it and/or plagiarised (copied or adapted) it from other human sources or from previous scriptures or revelations.
1. MUHUMMAD LEARNT THE QUR’AN FROM A ROMAN BLACKSMITH WHO WAS A CHRISTIAN
Some Pagans accused the Prophet of learning the Qur’an from a Roman Blacksmith, who was a Christian staying at the outskirts of Makkah. The Prophet very often used to go and watch him do his work. A revelation of the Qur’an was sufficient to dismiss this charge - the Qur’an says in Surah An-Nahl chapter 16 verse 103:
"We know
indeed that they say, ‘It is a man that teaches him,’ The
tongue of him they wickedly point to is notably foreign, while this is Arabic,
pure and clear."
[Al-Qur’an 16:103]
How could a
person whose mother tongue was foreign and could hardly speak little but of
poor broken Arabic be the source of the Qur’an which is pure, eloquent, fine
Arabic? To believe that the blacksmith taught the Prophet the Qur’an is some
what similar to believing that a Chinese immigrant to
2. MUHUMMAD (PBUH) LEARNT FROM WARAQA - THE RELATIVE OF KHADIJAH (RA)
Muhummad’s (pbuh) contacts with the Jewish and Christian Scholars were very limited. The most prominent Christian known to him was an old blind man called Waraqa ibn-Naufal who was a relative of the Prophet’s first wife Khadijah (r.a.). Although of Arab descent, he was a convert to Christianity and was very well versed with the New Testament. The Prophet only met him twice, first when Waraqa was worshipping at the Kaaba (before the Prophetic Mission) and he kissed the Prophet’s forehead affectionately; the second occasion was when the Prophet went to meet Waraqa after receiving the first revelation. Waraqa died three years later and the revelation continued for about 23 years. It is ridiculous to assume that Waraqa was the source of the contents of the Qur’an.
3. PROPHET’S RELIGIOUS DISCUSSIONS WITH THE JEWS AND CHRISTIANS
It is true that the Prophet did have religious discussions with the Jews and Christians but they took place in Madinah more than 13 years after the revelation of the Qur’an had started. The allegation that these Jews and Christians were the source is perverse, since in these discussions Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was performing the roles of a teacher and of a preacher while inviting them to embrace Islam and pointing out that they had deviated from their true teachings of Monotheism. Several of these Jews and Christians later embraced Islam.
4.
THE PROPHET LEARNT THE QUR’AN FROM THOSE JEWS AND CHRISTIANS
THAT HE MET OUTSIDE
All historical records available show that Muhummad (pbuh) had made only three trips outside Makkah before his Prophethood:
i.
At the age of 9 he accompanied his mother to Madinah.
ii.
Between the age of 9 and 12, he accompanied his uncle Abu-Talib
on a business trip to
iii.
At the age of 25 he led Khadija’s Caravan to
It is highly imaginary to assume that the Qur’an resulted from the occasional chats and meetings with the Christians or Jews from any of the above three trips.
5. LOGICAL GROUNDS TO PROVE THAT THE PROPHET DID NOT LEARN THE QUR’AN FROM JEWS OR CHRISTIANS
Thus, historically and logically it cannot be established that there was a human source for the Qur’an.
6. MUHUMMAD (PBUH) WAS AN ILLITERATE
The theory that Muhummad (pbuh) authored the Qur’an or copied from other sources can be disproved by the single historical fact that he was illiterate.
Allah
testifies Himself in the Qur’an
In Surah Al-Ankabut chapter no.29 verse 48
"And thou
was not (able) to recite a Book before this (Book
came), nor art thou (able) to transcribe it with thy right hand: in that case,
indeed, would the talkers of vanities have doubted."
[Al-Qur’an 29:48]
Allah (swt) knew that many would doubt the authenticity of the Qur’an and would ascribe it to Prophet Muhummad (pbuh). Therefore Allah in His Divine Wisdom chose the last and final Messenger to be an ‘Ummi’, i.e. unlettered, so that the talkers of vanity would not then have the slightest justification to doubt the Prophet. The accusation of his enemies that he had copied the Qur’an from other sources and rehashed it all in a beautiful language might have carried some weight, but even this flimsy pretence has been deprived to the unbeliever and the cynic.
Allah reconfirms in the Qur’an in Surah Al A’raf chapter 7 verse 157:
"Those who follow the Messenger, the unlettered Prophet, whom they find mentioned in their own (Scriptures) in the Law and the Gospel"
The prophecy of coming of the unlettered Prophet (pbuh) is also mentioned in the Bible in the book of Isaiah chapter 29 verse 12.
"And the
book is delivered to him that is not learned."
[Isaiah 29:12]
The Qur’an testifies in no less than four different places that the Prophet (pbuh) was illiterate. It is also mentioned in Surah A’raf chapter 7 verse 158 and in Surah Al-Jumu’a chapter 62 verse 2.
7. ARABIC VERSION OF THE BIBLE WAS NOT PRESENT
The Arabic
version of the Bible was not present at the time of Prophet Muhummad (pbuh).
The earliest Arabic version of the Old Testament is that of R. Saadias Gaon of
900 C.E. - more than 250 years after the death of our beloved Prophet. The
oldest Arabic version of the new Testament was
published by Erpenius in 1616 C.E. - about a thousand years after the demise of
our Prophet.
8.
SIMILARITIES IN THE QUR’AN AND THE BIBLE DUE TO COMMON SOURCE
Similarities between the Qur’an and the Bible does not necessarily mean that the former has been copied from the latter. In fact it gives evidence that both of them are based on a common third source; all divine revelations came from the same source - the one universal God. No matter what human changes were introduced into some of these Judeo-Christian and other older religious scriptures that had distorted their originality, there are some areas that have remained free from distortion and thus are common to many religions.
It is true that there are some similar parallels between the Qur’an and the Bible but this is not sufficient to accuse Muhummad (pbuh) of compiling or copying from the Bible. The same logic would then also be applicable to teachings of Christianity and Judaism and thus one could wrongly claim that Jesus (pbuh) was not a genuine Prophet (God forbid) and that he simply copied from the Old Testament.
The similarities between the two signify a common source that is one true God and the continuation of the basic message of monotheism and not that the later prophets have plagiarised from the previous prophets.
If someone
copies during an examination he will surely not write in the answer sheet that
he has copied from his neighbour or Mr. XYZ. Prophet Muhummad (pbuh) gave due
respect and credit to all the previous prophets (pbut). The Qur’an also
mentions the various revelations given by Almighty God to different prophets.
9.
MUSLIMS BELIEVE IN THE TAURAH, ZABOOR, INJEEL AND QUR’AN
Four revelations of Allah (swt) are mentioned by name in the Qur’an: the Taurah, the Zaboor, the Injeel and the Qur’an.
Taurah, the revelation i.e. the Wahi given to Moosa (a. s.) i.e.
Moses (pbuh).
Zaboor, the revelation i.e. the Wahi given to Dawood (a.s.)
i.e. David (pbuh).
Injeel, the revelation i.e. the Wahi given to Isa (A.S.) ie.
Jesus (pbuh).
‘Al-Qur’an’, the last and final Wahi i.e. revelation given to
the last and final Messenger Muhammad (pbuh).
It is an article of faith for every Muslim to believe in all the Prophets of God and all revelations of God. However, the present day Bible has the first five books of the Old Testament attributed to Moses and the Psalms attributed to David. Moreover the New Testament or the four Gospels of the New Testament are not the Taurah, the Zaboor or the Injeel, which the Qur’an refers to. These books of the present day Bible may partly contain the word of God but these books are certainly not the exact, accurate and complete revelations given to the prophets.
The Qur’an presents all the different prophets of Allah as belonging to one single brotherhood; all had a similar prophetic mission and the same basic message. Because of this, the fundamental teachings of the major faiths cannot be contradictory, even if there has been a considerable passage of time between the different prophetic missions, because the source of these missions was one: Almighty God, Allah. This is why the Qur’an says that the differences which exist between various religions are not the responsibility of the prophets, but of the followers of these prophets who forgot part of what they had been taught, and furthermore, misinterpreted and changed the scriptures. The Qur’an cannot therefore be seen as a scripture which competes with the teachings of Moses, Jesus and the other prophets. On the contrary, it confirms, completes and perfects the messages that they brought to their people.
Another name
for the Qur’an is the ‘The Furqan’ which means the criteria to judge the right
from the wrong, and it is on the basis of the Qur’an that we can decipher which
part of the previous scriptures can be considered to be the word of God.
10.
SCIENTIFIC COMPARISON BETWEEN QUR’AN AND BIBLE
If you glance through the Bible and the Qur’an you may find several points which appear to be exactly the same in both of them, but when you analyse them closely, you realise that there is a difference of ‘chalk and cheese’ between them. Only based on historical details it is difficult for someone who is neither conversant with Christianity or Islam to come to a firm decision as to which of the scriptures is true; however if you verify the relevant passages of both the scriptures against scientific knowledge, you will yourself realize the truth.
a.
Creation of the Universe in Six Days
As per the Bible, in the first book of Genesis in Chapter One, the universe was
created in six days and each day is defined as a twenty-four hours period. Even
though the Qur’an mentions that the universe was created in six ‘Ayyaams’,
‘Ayyaam’ is the plural of years; this word has two meanings: firstly, it means
a standard twenty-four hours period i.e. a day, and secondly, it also means
stage, period or epoch which is a very long period of time.
When the
Qur’an mentions that the universe was created in six ‘Ayyaams’, it refers to
the creation of the heavens and the earth in six long periods or epochs;
scientists have no objection to this statement. The creation of the universe
has taken billions of years, which proves false or contradicts the concept of
the Bible which states that the creation of the Universe took six days of
twenty-four hour durations each.
b.
Sun Created After the
Day
The Bible says in chapter 1, verses 3-5, of Genesis that the phenomenon of day
and night was created on the first day of creation of the Universe by God. The
light circulating in the universe is the result of a complex reaction in the
stars; these stars were created according to the Bible (Genesis chapter 1 verse
14 to 19) on the fourth day. It is illogical to mention the result that is the
light (the phenomenon of day and night) was created on the first day of Creation
when the cause or source of the light was created three days later. Moreover
the existence of evening and morning as elements of a single day is only
conceivable after the creation of the earth and its rotation around the sun. In
contrast with the contents of the Bible on this issue, the Qur’an does not give
any unscientific sequence of Creation. Hence it is absolutely absurd to say
that Prophet Muhummad (pbuh) copied the passages pertaining to the creation of
the universe from the Bible but missed out this illogical and fantastic
sequence of the Bible.
c.
Creation of the Sun, The
Earth and the Moon
According to the Bible, Book of Genesis, chapter 1, verses 9 to 13, the earth
was created on the third day, and as per verses 14 to 19, the sun and the moon
were created on the fourth day. The earth and the moon emanated, as we know,
from their original star, the Sun. Hence to place the creation of the sun and
the moon after the creation of the earth is contrary to the established idea
about the formation of the solar system.
d.
Vegetation Created on the third day and Sun on
the fourth day
According to the Bible, Book of Genesis, chapter 1, verses 11-13, vegetation
was created on the third day along with seed-bearing grasses, plants and trees;
and further on as per verses 14-19, the sun was created on the fourth day. How
is it scientifically possible for the vegetation to have appeared without the
presence of the sun, as has been stated in the Bible?
If Prophet
Muhummad (pbuh) was indeed the author of the Qur’an and had copied its contents
from the Bible, how did he manage to avoid the factual errors that the Bible
contains? The Qur’an does not contain any statements which are incompatible
with scientific facts.
e.
The Sun and the Moon both Emit
light
According
to the Bible both the sun and the moon emit their own light. In the Book of
Genesis, chapter 1, verse 16 says, "And God made two great lights; the
greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night".
Science
tells us today that the moon does not have its own light. This confirms the
Qur’anic concept that the light of the moon is a reflected light. To think that 1400 years ago, Prophet Muhummad (pbuh) corrected these
scientific errors in the Bible and then copied such corrected passages in the
Qur’an is to think of something impossible.
11. ADAM (PBUH), THE FIRST MAN ON EARTH, LIVED
5,800 YEARS AGO
As per the
genealogy of Jesus Christ given in the Bible, from Jesus through Abraham (pbuh)
to the first man on earth i.e. Adam (pbuh), Adam appeared on the earth
approximately 5800 years ago:
These figures are further confused by the fact that the Jewish calendar is currently on or about 5800 years old.
There is
sufficient evidence from archaeological and anthropological sources to suggest
that the first human being on earth was present tens of thousands of years ago
and not merely 5,800 years ago as is suggested by the Bible.
The Qur’an too speaks about Adam (pbuh) as the first man on earth but it does
not suggest any date or period of his life on earth, unlike the Bible - what
the Bible says in this regard is totally incompatible with science.
12. NOAH (PBUH) AND THE FLOOD
The Biblical description of the flood in Genesis chapter 6, 7 and 8 indicates that the deluge was universal and it destroyed every living thing on earth, except those present with Noah (pbuh) in the ark. The description suggests that the event took place 1656 years after the creation of Adam (pbuh) or 292 years before the birth of Abraham, at a time when Noah (pbuh) was 600 years old. Thus the flood may have occurred in the 21st or 22nd Century B.C.
This story of
the flood, as given in the Bible, contradicts scientific evidence from
archaelogical sources which indicate that the eleventh dynasty in
It is illogical to assume that Prophet Muhummad (pbuh) had borrowed the story of the flood from the Bible and corrected the mistakes before mentioning it in the Qur’an.
13. MOSES (PBUH) AND PHARAOH OF THE EXODUS
The story of Moses (pbuh) and the Pharaoh of the Exodus are very much identical in the Qur’an and the Bible. Both scriptures agree that the Pharaoh drowned when he tried to pursue Moses (pbuh) and led the Israelites across a stretch of water that they crossed. The Qur’an gives an additional piece of information in Surah Yunus chapter 10 verse 92:
"This day
shall We save thee in thy body, that thou mayest be a
sign to those who come after thee! But verily, many among mankind are heedless
of Our Signs!"
[Al-Qur’an 10:92]
Dr. Maurice
Bucaille, after a thorough research proved that although Rameses II was known
to have persecuted the Israelites as per the Bible, he actually died while
Moses (pbuh) was taking refuge in Median. Rameses II’s son Merneptah who
succeeded him as Pharaoh drowned during the exodus. In 1898, the mummified body
of Merneptah was found in the
This verse of the Qur’an compelled Dr. Maurice Bucaille, who was a Christian then, to study the Qur’an. He later wrote a book ‘The Bible, the Qur’an and Science’, and confessed that the author of the Qur’an can be no one else besides God Himself. Thus he embraced Islam.
14. QUR’AN IS A BOOK FROM ALLAH
These evidences are sufficient to conclude that the Qur’an was not copied from the Bible, but that the Qur’an is the Furqaan - ‘the Criteria’ to judge right from wrong and it should be used to decipher which portion of the Bible may be considered as the Word of God.
The Qur’an itself testifies in Surah Sajda chapter 32 verse 1 to 3
Alif Laam Meem.
(This is) the revelation of the Book in which there is no doubt – from the Lord of the Worlds.
Or do they
say, ‘He has forged it’? Nay, it is the Truth from thy Lord, that thou mayest
admonish a people to whom no warner has come before thee: in order that they
may receive guidance."
[Al-Qur’an 32:1-3]
QUESTION:
The Virgin birth of Christ
Allah is our witness, there is not one Aayah in the Book of
Truth, The Al-Quran, which even remotely suggests that Prophet Isa (a.s.) was
born through male intervention; but rather the Quran confirms the belief of our
Christian brethren who believe that Prophet Isa (a.s.) was born miraculously to
Maryam without any male intervention whatsoever. He was but a Word (Be!) from Allah Subhanah,
and a Sign unto mankind from the Lord of the Worlds.
Muslims
believe that Jesus (called 'Isa in Arabic) was the son of Mary, and was
conceived without the intervention of a human father. The Qur'an describes that
an angel appeared to Mary, to announce to her the "gift of a holy
son" (
In the Qur'an
and other Islamic sources, there is no mention of Joseph the carpenter, nor any
recollection of the inn and manger legend. On the contrary, the Qur'an
describes that Mary retreated from her people (outside the city), and gave
birth to Jesus underneath a remote date palm tree. The tree miraculously
provided nourishment for her during labor and birth. (See Chapter 19 of the
Qur'an for the entire story. The chapter has aptly been named "The Chapter
of Mary.")
However, the Qur'an repeatedly
reminds us that Adam, the first human being, was born with neither a human
mother nor a human father. Therefore, Jesus' miraculous birth affords him no
higher standing or presumed partnership with God. When God ordains a matter, He
merely says, "Be" and it is so. "The similitude of Jesus before
God is as that of Adam. He created him from dust, then
said to him: "Be!" And he was" (
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 3 Surah Ale-Imran verses 45-47:
45 Behold! The Angels said "O Mary! Allah giveth thee glad tidings of a Word
from Him: his name will be Christ Jesus, the son of Mary held in honor
in this world and the Hereafter and of (the company of) those nearest to Allah.
46 "He shall speak to the people in childhood and in maturity and
he shall be (of the company) of the righteous."
47 She said: "O my Lord! How
shall I have a son when no man hath touched me?" He said: "Even so: Allah createth what
He willeth; when He hath decreed a plan, He but saith to it `Be' and it is!”
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 19 Surah Maryam verses 19-34:
19 He (the Angel) said: "Nay! I am only a messenger from thy Lord
(to announce) to thee the gift of a holy son."
20 She (Mary) said: "How shall I have a son seeing that no
man has touched me and I am not unchaste?"
21 He said: "So (it will be): thy Lord saith `That
is easy for Me: and (We wish) to appoint him as a Sign unto men and a Mercy
from Us': it is a matter (so) Decreed."
22 So she conceived him and she retired with him to a remote place.
23 And the pains of childbirth drove her to the trunk of a palm-tree:
she cried (in her anguish): "Ah!
Would that I had died before this!
Would that I had been a thing forgotten and out of sight!"
24 But (a voice) cried to her from beneath the (palm-free): "Grieve
not! For thy Lord hath provided a rivulet beneath thee;
25 "And shake towards thyself the trunk of the palm-tree: it will
let fall fresh ripe dates upon thee.
26 "So eat and drink and cool (thine) eye. And if thou dost see any man
say `I have vowed a fast to (Allah) Most Gracious and this day will I
enter into no talk with any human being.'"
27 At length she brought the (babe Jesus) to her people carrying him
(in her arms). They said: "O
Mary! Truly an amazing thing hast thou
brought!
28 O sister of Aaron! Thy father was not a man of evil, nor thy mother
a woman unchaste!"
29 But she pointed to the babe (Jesus).
They said: "How can we talk to one who is a child in the
cradle?"
30 He (Jesus) said: "I am indeed a servant of Allah: He hath given
me Revelation and made me a Prophet;
31 "And He hath made me Blessed
wheresoever I be, and hath enjoined on me Prayer and Charity as long as I live;
32 "(He) hath made me kind to my mother, and not overbearing or
miserable;
33 "So Peace is on me the day I was born, the day that I die, and
the Day that I shall be raised up to life (again)"!
34 Such (was) Jesus the son of Mary: (it is) a Statement of Truth about
which they (vainly) dispute.
In light of the above absolutely crystal clear Aayahs of the Quran
regarding the miraculous birth of Prophet Isa (a.s.),
we honestly cannot understand how someone can claim to be a believer in Allah
and the Last Day and deny the Truth that Prophet Isa (a.s.) was miraculously
born to Maryam without any male intervention.
It is the ardent belief of every believer who believes in Allah
and His Last Messenger (saws), that Prophet Isa (a.s.)
was born miraculously to Maryam without any male intervention as a Sign unto
mankind from the Lord All-Mighty; and the Quran absolutely confirms this belief
without an iota of a doubt whatsoever.
The Christians believe in this Truth, the Muslims believe in
this Truth; it was only the Jews who denied and continue to deny this truth and
accuse Maryam, the mother of Prophet Isa (a.s.) of
being unchaste.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 3 Surah Ale Imraan verses
59-63:
59 This similitude of Jesus before Allah is as that of Adam (both were
a Word from Allah Subhanah and both were born without a father): He created him
(Adam) from dust then said to him: "Be" and he was!
60 The Truth (comes) from Allah alone; so be not of those who doubt.
61 If anyone disputes in this matter with thee now after (full)
knowledge hath come to thee say: "Come! Let us gather together our sons
and your sons our women and your women ourselves and yourselves: then let us
earnestly pray and invoke the curse of Allah on those who lie!"
62 This is the true account: there is no god except Allah; and Allah He
is indeed the Exalted in Power the Wise.
63 But if they turn back Allah hath full knowledge of those who do
mischief.
RELATED
INFO:
More Related Info:
http://www.religioustolerance.org/virgin_b.htm
http://islam.about.com/cs/jesus/f/jesus_birth.htm
QUESTION:
Wife Beating
One sad aspect of Muhammad's
sunna is that Muslim men are given the privilege of
beating their wives if the women show signs of rebellion
This Article is by a woman
http://www.submission.org/women/beating.html
By: Fatimah Khaldoon
Domestic violence represented by wife beating or
abuse is rampant in this country and around the
world. While the exact numbers on domestic violence incidents differ, because
this is such an under-reported crime there are statistics on which most experts
agree.
1. In 1984 the
2. A woman is beaten every 15 seconds by her
partner; it happens at some time in 25-35 % of American homes; 4,000 women die
from such abuse each year. (FBI)
3. Physical abuse by male social partners is the
single most common source of injury among women ages 15 to 44, more common than
auto accidents, muggings and rape by a stranger combined. (U.S. Surgeon
General, 1989)
4. In
5.Women of all cultures, races, occupations, income levels, and
ages are battered - by husbands, boyfriends, lovers and partners. (Surgeon
General Antonia Novello, as quoted in Domestic Violence: Battered Women,
publication of the Reference Department of the Cambridge Public Library,
6.Approximately one-third of the men counseled (for battering) at Emerge
are professional men who are well respected in their jobs and their
communities. these have included doctors,
psychologists, lawyers, ministers, and business executives. (For Shelter and
Beyond, Massachusetts Coalition of Battered Women Service Groups, Boston, MA
1990)
Statistics as these should awaken all those in
denial of the fact that wife beating and abuse is an endemic disease in all
different cultures, religions and communities. It is as common in Western as it
is in Eastern societies.
Men in Western (and Eastern) societies do not
abuse their wives because of scriptural teachings, but because of a natural
instinct of domination and aggression. God, knowing this, has therefore decreed
a perfect law to help men control their temper and to solve any problems before
resorting to physical aggression.
These statistics reflect the failure of modern societies
in treating this perilous condition in men. Despite advances in modern
psychology and improved understanding of behavioral patterns of men, civilized
and uncivilized, a successful solution to this aggressive behavior has not been
found by man.
A solution has however been presented to the
world in the Quran, the Final Testament, more than 1400 years ago, in verse
[
At first glance this verse may appear as if
promoting physical abuse of women. But when reading
The advise to first talk and then avoid sexual
contact, provides the necessary time and space for both parties to cool off,
reason, examine the problem and reach a favorable agreement for both of them.
Abuse of a wife will not
happen if the man learns to follow the clear commandments of God in this verse
and in the order decreed. Abuse will only happen when a man does not follow these commandments, and thus fails to cool off and
reason with himself or with his wife.
Sura 4, where we read
Unfortunately
We have to remember that the right given to the
man in
In reality, a believing husband would most
probably NEVER come to the stage where he would actually lay a hand on
his wife. He would be much too careful to examine his own motives first, as a
God fearing man, before exercising this right. As we see in the verse
immediately following 4:34, when the marriage reaches this stage it's on it's
way to end, as the very next words in the Quran reads; "If a couple fears
separation…"
Most women in the world today do not enjoy the
protection verse
The woman's responsibility in a marriage starts
the day she chooses a husband. If she wants to enjoy her God given rights, she
must obey her God given commands, and choose a believing husband. Thus, she can
expect from him to treat her in accordance with God's decree, and not
transgress against her. She can expect from a believing husband that he will
heed any reminder she gives him, if he forgets. If she chooses to disregard
God's commands, she has to know that there will be consequences.
If women expect the men's deeds to have
consequences, they should expect the same for themselves. These consequences
are however well controlled to protect the women from the outrage of the angry husbands as we can find in God's law for
the believers in
We also learn that one of the traits of the
righteous is that they suppress anger.
[3:134] "…They are suppressors of anger, and
pardoners of the people. GOD loves the charitable."
The nature and essence of a healthy relationship
between a husband and wife is beautifully expressed in the following verse from
the Quran:
[ 30:21] Among His proofs is that He created for
you spouses from among yourselves, in order to have tranquility and contentment
with each other, and He placed in your hearts love and care towards your
spouses. In this, there are sufficient proofs for people who think.
[3:195 ]"Their Lord responded to them:
"I never fail to reward any worker among you for any work you do, be you
MALE OR FEMALE, YOU ARE EQUAL TO ONE ANOTHER........."
When facing difficult times, even if the man
dislikes his wife, God has decreed;
[
And when divorce happens, the full respect to
the wife is urged,
[2:229] Divorce may be retracted twice. The
divorced woman shall be allowed to live in the same home amicably, or
leave it amicably. It is not lawful for the husband to take back
anything he had given her. However, the couple may fear that they may
transgress GOD's law. If there is fear that they may transgress GOD's law, they
commit no error if the wife willingly gives back whatever she chooses. These
are GOD's laws; do not transgress them. Those who transgress GOD's laws are the
unjust.
In conclusion; A BELIEVING wife and a BELIEVING
husband will NEVER get to the point where beating of the wife enters the
picture. A BELIEVING couple will consult one another and agree on the best way
to solve their differences as verse
We have to know that we are not in this world to
protect unrighteous behavior. We are in this world to be given a last chance to
make the right choice and submit to God alone. Making the wrong choices will
have consequences for all of us, both in this world and in the eternal
Hereafter, for women and men equally.
God is the Most Just, the Most Merciful.
Wife beating is not allowed in Islam in any case!
The sections of this article are:
1- Wife beating is
not allowed in Islam!
2- Noble Verses and Sayings that support
the prohibition of any type of
wife beating.
3- The Prophet forbade striking on the face.
4- What about the saying about striking the wife
lightly on her hand with a siwak?
This saying doesn't belong to Prophet Muhammad.
5- More proofs about the translation of Noble
Verse 4:34.
6- Conclusion.
Wife beating anytime and for any reason is never
allowed in Islam. There is however a questionable condition where Allah
Almighty seems to allow the husband to beat his wife, and that is after he
gives her two warnings to stop showing ill-conduct and disloyalty.
Let us look at Noble Verses 4:34-36 "(34). Men are the protectors and maintainers of women, because Allah has given the one more (strength) than the other, and because they support them from their means. Therefore the righteous women are devoutly obedient, and guard in (the husband's) absence what Allah would have them guard. As to those women on whose part ye fear disloyalty and ill-conduct, admonish them (first), (Next), refuse to share their beds, (And last) beat them (lightly); but if they return to obedience, seek not against them Means (of annoyance): For Allah is Most High, great (above you all).
(35). If ye fear a breach between them twain, appoint (two) arbiters, one from his family, and the other from hers; if they wish for peace, Allah will cause their reconciliation: For Allah hath full knowledge, and is acquainted with all things.
(36). Serve Allah, and join not any partners with Him; and do good- to parents, kinsfolk, orphans, those in need, neighbours who are near, neighbours who are strangers, the companion by your side, the wayfarer (ye meet), and what your right hands possess: For Allah loveth not the arrogant, the vainglorious;"
The Arabic word used in Noble Verse 4:34 above is "idribuhunna", which is derived from
"daraba" which means "beat". The issue with all of
the Arabic words that are derived from the word "daraba" is that they
don't necessarily mean "hit". The word "idribuhunna"
for instance, could very well mean to "leave" them. It is
exactly like telling someone to "beat it" or "drop it" in
English.
Allah Almighty used the word "daraba"
in Noble Verse 14:24 "Seest thou not how Allah sets (daraba) forth a parable? --
A goodly Word Like a goodly tree, Whose root is firmly
fixed, And its branches (reach) To the heavens".
"daraba" here meant "give an
example". If I say in Arabic "daraba laka mathal", it
means "give you an example".
Allah Almighty also used the word
"darabtum", which is derived from the word "daraba" in
Noble Verse 4:94, which mean to "go abroad" in the sake of Allah
Almighty:
"O ye who believe! When ye go abroad (darabtum) In the cause of Allah, Investigate carefully, And say not to anyone Who offers you a salutation: 'Thou art none of a Believer!' Coveting the perishable good Of this life: with Allah Are profits and spoils abundant. Even thus were ye yourselves Before, till Allah conferred On you His favours: therefore Carefully investigate. For Allah is well aware Of all that ye do. (The Noble Quran, 4:94)"
So "daraba" literally means
"beat", or "go abroad", or "give" but not in the
sense to give something by hand, but rather to give or provide an example.
Important Note: Notice how Allah Almighty in Noble Chapter (Surah)
4 He used "daraba (
I am sure there are more Noble Verses that used
words derived from "daraba" in the Noble Quran, but these are the
only ones I know of so far. In the case of Noble Verse 4:34 where Allah
Almighty seems to allow men to hit their wives after the two warnings for
ill-conduct and disloyalty, it could very well be that Allah Almighty meant to
command the Muslims to "leave" the home all together and desert their
wives for a long time in a hope that the wives would then come back to their
senses and repent.
Noble Verses and Sayings that support the prohibition of any type of wife beating:
The following Noble Verses and Sayings from the
Noble Quran and Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him
respectively seem to very well support the above interpretation:
"...Do not retain them (i.e., your wives) to harm them...(The Noble Quran, 2:231)"
Narrated Mu'awiyah al-Qushayri: "I went to the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) and asked him: What do you say (command) about our wives? He replied: Give them food what you have for yourself, and clothe them by which you clothe yourself, and do not beat them, and do not revile them. (Sunan Abu-Dawud, Book 11, Marriage (Kitab Al-Nikah), Number 2139)"
Narrated Mu'awiyah ibn Haydah: "I said: Apostle of Allah, how should we approach our wives and how should we leave them? He replied: Approach your tilth when or how you will, give her (your wife) food when you take food, clothe when you clothe yourself, do not revile her face, and do not beat her. (Sunan Abu-Dawud, Book 11, Marriage (Kitab Al-Nikah), Number 2138)"
Abu Huraira (Allah be pleased with him) reported Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) as saying: "He who believes in Allah and the Hereafter, if he witnesses any matter he should talk in good terms about it or keep quiet. Act kindly towards woman, for woman is created from a rib, and the most crooked part of the rib is its top. If you attempt to straighten it, you will break it, and if you leave it, its crookedness will remain there. So act kindly towards women. (Translation of Sahih Muslim, The Book of Marriage (Kitab Al-Nikah), Book 008, Number 3468)"
"O ye who believe! Ye are forbidden to inherit women against their will. Nor
should ye treat them with harshness, that
ye may take away part of the dower [money
given by the husband to the wife for the marriage contract] ye have given them, except where they have been guilty of
open lewdness; on the contrary live with them on a footing of
kindness and equity. If ye take a dislike to them it may be that
ye dislike a thing, and God brings about through it a great deal of good.
(The Noble Quran,
"And among God's signs is this: He created for you mates from amongst yourselves (males as mates for females and vice versa) that you might find tranquillity and peace in them. And he has put love and kindness among you. Herein surely are signs for those who reflect. (The Noble Quran 30:21)"
"Women impure for men impure. And women of purity for men of purity. These are not affected by what people say. For them is forgiveness and an honorable provision. (The Noble Quran 24:26)"
Narrated Abu Huraira: "Allah's Apostle said, 'The strong is not the one who overcomes the people by his strength, but the strong is the one who controls himself while in anger. (Translation of Sahih Bukhari, Good Manners and Form (Al-Adab), Volume 8, Book 73, Number 135)"
Narrated Abu Huraira: "A man said to the Prophet , 'Advise me! 'The Prophet said, 'Do not become angry and furious.' The man asked (the same) again and again, and the Prophet said in each case, 'Do not become angry and furious.' (Translation of Sahih Bukhari, Good Manners and Form (Al-Adab), Volume 8, Book 73, Number 137)"
Abu Huraira reported: "I heard Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: One is not strong because of one's wrestling skillfully. They said: Allah's Messenger, then who is strong? He said: He who controls his anger when he is in a fit of rage. (Translation of Sahih Muslim, The Book of Virtue, Good Manners and Joining of the Ties of Relationship (Kitab Al-Birr was-Salat-I-wa'l-Adab), Book 032, Number 6314)"
Allah Almighty loves those who restrain anger: "Those who spend (freely), whether in prosperity, or in adversity; who restrain anger, and pardon (all) men; for Allah loves those who do good. (The Noble Quran, 3:134)"
The Prophet forbade striking on the face:
Let us look at the following narrations about Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him:
Narrated Salim: "....Umar said: 'The Prophet forbade beating on the face.' (Translation of Sahih Bukhari, Hunting, Slaughtering, Volume 7, Book 67, Number 449)"
Narrated AbuHurayrah: "The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: When one of you inflicts a beating, he should avoid striking the face. (Sunan Abu-Dawud, Book 38, Prescribed Punishments (Kitab Al-Hudud), Number 4478)"
These narrations do not prove the interpretation
that wife beating being ok as long as it is not done on the face, because the
narrations are general and do not mention any wives. The striking could
be done on our children when we discipline them. In this case, the above
two narrations would fit perfectly with the situation, because while we can
still physically discipline our children, we are not allowed to hit them on the
face.
What about the saying about striking the wife lightly on her hand with a siwak?
There is not a single Saying or Noble Verse from
Prophet Muhammad or the Noble Quran respectively that mentions any such
beating.
A siwak is a small piece of wood that is
approximately twice as long as an index finger and as thick as a thumb, which
was used 1400 years ago to brush the teeth and the bad breath.
This saying actually belongs to Imam Shafie, and not to Prophet Muhammad. Imam Shafie or Minister Shafie is a popular Muslim scholar that came 100s of years after Prophet Muhammad. I used to have the reference information to his saying about this subject, but unfortunately I lost it. When I find it insha'Allah (if Allah Almighty wills it) I will post it.
More proofs about the translation of Noble Verse 4:34:
The following is an email that sent to me by brother A. Tilling; may Allah Almighty always be pleased with him.
From: ARJTilling@aol.com
To: ISLM4EVR1@aol.com
Subj: Another Reply to Mr O Abdallah
Date: 3/28/02 3:16:15 AM Central Standard Time
Peace,
I have visited the link and it was what I
expected. But the question I am asking is a linguistic one, not one based
on interpretations and jurisprudence. Here again is the extract I
provided:
>>>>>>>
(4:34) [...]as for
those women on whose part ye fear rebellion (nushuz), admonish
them and banish them to beds apart, (and last) beat (adriboo)
them. Then, if they obey you, seek not a way against them.
Note from me Osama Abdallah:
Actually the Arabic word is not "adriboo" which is a plural for
beating men. It is "idribuhunna" which is a plural for beating
women. But the two Arabic words mean the same thing, which is
"beating".
Continuing with brother
A. Tilling email....
The key to the problem is the mistranslation of
the two key words nushuz and adriboo. Some of the possible meanings for both
the words, according to the lexicon,3 are given below.
Again, the appropriate meaning will depend on the context of the verse.
Nushuz: Animosity, hostility, rebellion, ill-treatment, discord; violation of marital duties on the part of either husband or wife.
Adriboo (root: daraba): to beat, to
strike, to hit, to separate, to part.
In the context of the above verse the most
appropriate meaning for nushuz is 'marital discord' (ill-will, animosity etc),
and for adriboo is 'to separate' or 'to part'. Otherwise, it is inviting
the likelihood of a divorce without any reconciliation procedure. Such a
step would blatantly contravene the Qur'anic guidance shown in verse
(4:34) [...]as for those women whose animosity or ill-will you have reason to fear, then leave them alone in bed, and then separate; and if thereupon they pay you heed, do not seek a way against them.
The separation could be temporary or permanent
depending on the reconciliation procedure. Such as construction is
legitimate within the terms of the language and fits in very well with the
divorce procedure outlined in the Qur'an (see 8.5).
The verse following the above verse gives further
weight to the above translation.
(
Added weight to the meanings outlined above is
given by verse 4:128 quoted below. Here, in the case of a man, the same
word nushuz is used, but it is rendered as 'ill-treatment' as against
'rebellion' in the case of a woman as shown earlier in the traditional
translation of verse 4:34. One find oneself
asking whether since the ill-treatment is on the part of the husband, a process
of reconciliation is here to be encouraged!
(4:128) If a wife fears ill-treatment (nushuz) or desertion on her husband's part, there is no blame on them if they arrange an amicable settlement between themselves; and such settlement is best[...]
This, obviously, is a double standard and the
only way to reconcile the meanings of the two verses, in the contexts they are
being used, is to accept the meaning of adriboo as: 'to separate' or to
'part'. In this connection I would like to refer the reader to an
excellent article by Rachael Tibbet from which I quote:
(a) Qur'anic commentators and translators
experience problems with the term Adribu in the Qur'an not just in this verse but
in others, as it is used in different contexts in ways which appear ambiguous
and open to widely different translations into English. 'Daraba' can be
translated in more than a hundred different ways.
(b) The translation of adribu as 'to strike' in this
particular verse (
(i) The authority of hadiths (Abu Daud 2141 and
Mishkat Al-Masabih 0276) that this is what Adribu means in this context.
(ii) The prejudices and environment of the early
commentators of the Qur'an which led them to assume that 'to strike', given the
overall context of the verse, was the most likely interpretation of the many
possible interpretations of adribu.
>>>>>>>>>
Thanks
A Tilling
Conclusion:
According to the Noble Quran and the Sayings of
Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him above, wife beating in Islam is definetly
prohibited, possibly even in the case where the wife fails after she was warned
twice for her ill-conduct and disloyalty.
It is definetly a valid interpretation for Noble
Verse 4:34 that Allah Almighty commanded the Muslim men to desert and leave their wives, and not to physically beat them as many
scholars believe.
I personally favor this non-violent
interpretation, because (1) It is very well supported in Islam as clearly and
unquestionably shown above; and (2) It makes more sense and seems more
practical in dealing with the bad wife who insists on showing ill-conduct and
disloyalty toward her husband and family.
And Allah Almighty knows best, and may He forgive
me if I made any mistake here.
Related Info:
http://www.themodernreligion.com/women/w_abuse_badawi.htm
http://www.jannah.org/sisters/end.html
The Following links are self
explanatory...
Resources for
Abused wives : Where to Turn for Help:
National Hotline, in the
Some WWW Resources
QUESTION:
Unlimited Concubines For Sex
Answer:
Definition of Polygamy
1. Polygamy means a system
of marriage whereby one person has more than one spouse. Polygamy can be of two
types. One is polygyny where a man marries more than one woman, and the other is
polyandry, where a woman marries more than one man. In Islam, limited polygyny
is permitted; whereas polyandry is completely prohibited.
Now coming to the original question, why is a man allowed to have more than one
wife?
2. The Qur’an is the only religious
scripture in the world that says,"marry only one".
The Qur’an is the only religious book, on the face of this earth, that contains the phrase ‘marry only one’. There is no other religious book that instructs men to have only one wife. In none of the other religious scriptures, whether it be the Vedas, the Ramayan, the Mahabharat, the Geeta, the Talmud or the Bible does one find a restriction on the number of wives. According to these scriptures one can marry as many as one wishes. It was only later, that the Hindu priests and the Christian Church restricted the number of wives to one.
Many Hindu
religious personalities, according to their scriptures, had multiple wives.
King Dashrat, the father of Rama, had more than one wife.
In earlier times, Christian men were permitted as many wives as they wished, since the Bible puts no restriction on the number of wives. It was only a few centuries ago that the Church restricted the number of wives to one.
Polygyny is
permitted in Judaism. According to Talmudic law, Abraham had three wives, and
Solomon had hundreds of wives. The practice of polygyny continued till Rabbi
Gershom ben Yehudah (95% C.E to 1030 C.E) issued an edict against it. The
Jewish Sephardic communities living in Muslim countries continued the practice
till as late as 1950, until an Act of the Chief Rabbinate of
3. Hindus are more polygynous than Muslims
The report of
the ‘Committee of The Status of Woman in Islam’, published in 1975 mentions on
page numbers 66 and 67 that the percentage of polygamous marriages between the
years 1951 and 1961 was 5.06% among the Hindus and only 4.31% among the
Muslims. According to Indian law only Muslim men are permitted to have more
than one wife. It is illegal for any non-Muslim in
Let us now analyse why Islam allows a man to have more than one wife.
4. Qur’an permits limited polygyny
As I mentioned earlier, Qur’an is the only religious book on the face of the earth that says ‘marry only one’. The context of this phrase is the following verse from Surah Nisa of the Glorious Qur’an:
"Marry women of your choice, two, or three, or four; but if ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly (with them), then only one."
[Al-Qur’an 4:3]
Before the Qur’an was revealed, there was no upper limit for polygyny and many men had scores of wives, some even hundreds. Islam put an upper limit of four wives. Islam gives a man permission to marry two, three or four women, only on the condition that he deals justly with them.
In the same chapter i.e. Surah Nisa verse 129 says:
"Ye are never able to be fair and just as between women...."
[Al-Qur’an 4:129]
Therefore polygyny is not a rule but an exception. Many people are under the misconception that it is compulsory for a Muslim man to have more than one wife.
Broadly, Islam has five categories of Do’s and Don’ts:
i.
‘Fard’ i.e. compulsory or obligatory
ii.
‘Mustahab’ i.e. recommended or encouraged
iii.
‘Mubah’ i.e. permissible or allowed
iv.
‘Makruh’ i.e. not recommended or discouraged
v.
‘Haraam’ i.e. prohibited or forbidden
Polygyny falls in the middle category of things that are permissible. It cannot be said that a Muslim who has two, three or four wives is a better Muslim as compared to a Muslim who has only one wife.
5. Average life span of females is more than that of males
By nature males and females are born in approximately the same ratio. A female child has more immunity than a male child. A female child can fight the germs and diseases better than the male child. For this reason, during the pediatric age itself there are more deaths among males as compared to the females.
During wars, there are more men killed as compared to women. More men die due to accidents and diseases than women. The average life span of females is more than that of males, and at any given time one finds more widows in the world than widowers.
6.
7. World female population is more than male population
In
the
8. Restricting each and every man to have only one wife is not
practical
Even if every
man got married to one woman, there would still be more than thirty million
females in U.S.A who would not be able to get husbands (considering that
Suppose my
sister happens to be one of the unmarried women living in
In Western society, it is common for a man to have mistresses and/or multiple extra-marital affairs, in which case, the woman leads a disgraceful, unprotected life. The same society, however, cannot accept a man having more than one wife, in which women retain their honourable, dignified position in society and lead a protected life.
Thus the only two options before a woman who cannot find a husband is to marry a married man or to become public property. Islam prefers giving women the honourable position by permitting the first option and disallowing the second.
There are several other reasons, why Islam has permitted limited polygyny, but it is mainly to protect the modesty of women.
POLYANDRY
Question:
If a man is allowed to have more than one wife, then why does Islam prohibit a woman from having more than one husband?
Answer:
A lot of people, including some Muslims, question the logic of allowing Muslim men to have more than one spouse while denying the same ‘right’ to women.
Let me first state emphatically, that the foundation of an Islamic society is justice and equity. Allah has created men and women as equal, but with different capabilities and different responsibilities. Men and women are different, physiologically and psychologically. Their roles and responsibilities are different. Men and women are equal in Islam, but not identical.
Surah Nisa’ Chapter 4 verses 22 to 24 gives the list of women with who you can not marry and it is further mentions in Surah Nisa’ Chapter 4 verse 24 "Also (prohibited are) women already married"
The following points enumerate the reasons why polyandry is prohibited in Islam:
1. If a man has more than one wife, the parents of the children
born of such marriages can easily be identified. The father as well as the
mother can easily be identified. In case of a woman marrying more than one
husband, only the mother of the children born of such marriages will be
identified and not the father. Islam gives tremendous importance to the
identification of both parents, mother and father.
Psychologists tell us that children who do not know their parents, especially
their father undergo severe mental trauma and disturbances. Often they have an
unhappy childhood. It is for this reason that the children of prostitutes do
not have a healthy childhood. If a child born of such wedlock is admitted in
school, and when the mother is asked the name of the father, she would have to
give two or more names! I am aware that recent advances in science have made it
possible for both the mother and father to be identified with the help of
genetic testing. Thus this point which was applicable for the past may not be
applicable for the present.
2. Man is more polygamous by nature as compared to a woman.
3. Biologically, it is easier for a man to perform his duties as a
husband despite having several wives. A woman, in a similar position, having
several husbands, will not find it possible to perform her duties as a wife. A
woman undergoes several psychological and behavioral changes due to different
phases of the menstrual cycle.
4. A woman who has more than one husband will have several sexual
partners at the same time and has a high chance of acquiring venereal or
sexually transmitted diseases which can also be transmitted back to her husband
even if all of them have no extra-marital sex. This is not the case in a man
having more than one wife, and none of them having extra-marital sex.
The above reasons are those that one can easily identify. There are probably
many more reasons why Allah, in His Infinite Wisdom, has prohibited polyandry
Polygamy in the Bible:
The sections of this article are:
- Polygamy in the Bible.
- A brief look at polygamy in the Oldd Testament.
- Polygamy in the New Testament.
Jesus allowed polygamy.
- Jesus' parable allows polygamy between
1 man and 5 women!
- My Challenge to all Christians.
>
- Some Christians believe that the Olld Testament prohibited Polygamy.
See my rebuttal to Deuteronomy
17:17.
- Do Paul's 1 Timothy
3:2 and 1 Timothy
is prohibited in the Bible?
- Christians are hypocrites for following
ONLY 1 Timothy 3:2 and 1 Timothy 3:12.
- 1 Kings 11:1-4 does not condemn pollygamy!
- Conclusion.
There is a widely prevailing misconception about the Bible's New Testament prohibiting polygamy. The Bible allows polygamy in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. Please don't forget to visit the Christian sites that agree with Polygamy in the New Testament that I linked to at the end of this page.
A brief look at polygamy in the Old Testament:
Let us look at some of the verses from the Old
Testament that allow polygamy:
In Exodus 21:10, a man can marry an infinite amount of women without any limits to how many he can marry.
In 2 Samuel 5:13; 1 Chronicles 3:1-9, 14:3, King David had six wives and numerous concubines.
In 1 Kings 11:3, King Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines.
In 2 Chronicles
11:21, King Solomon's son Rehoboam had 18
wives and 60 concubines.
In Deuteronomy
There are a lot more verses from the Old
Testament that allow polygamy, but I think that the above are sufficient enough
to prove my point.
Polygamy in the New Testament:
Here is a small quote from a Christian (R.M.) who agrees with Polygamy:
Hello,
I was just reading your article on polygamy. I
am a Christian who
actually believes polygamy is a righteous form of marriage.
Despite the
modern secular church you probably usually see, there are Christians who
are serious about God and Truth over men's traditions.
Another small quote from a Christian Pastor who agrees with Polygamy:
From: ApostleJamesI@aol.com
Date: Thu,
Subject: Your statement on Polygamy
To: truthspeaks@answering-christianity.com
Great article for the most part. I am a
born-again Christian and a pastor who
not only supports the Biblical teaching of polygamy but I also
practice it. I
have two wives and seven children so far....
Before I present the verses from the New
Testament that allow polygamy, I first would like to prove to you that Jesus
peace be upon him did honor the laws of the Old Testament, and did order his
followers (the Christians as we call them) to follow the laws of the Old
Testament:
Jesus said: "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law (the Old Testament) or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke or a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law (the Old Testament) until everything is accomplished. (Matthew 5:17-18)"
Christians always say as an excuse "Oh this
law doesn't exist in the New Testament, it is only the
Old Testament." Well, according to Matthew 5:17-18 above, we clearly
see that Jesus honored the Old Testament, and forces Christians to follow the
unmodified laws of it that have not been replaced by newer ones in the New
Testament. The Old Testament as we
clearly see above does indeed allow polygamy without a shadow of a doubt !!.
There is not a single verse from the New Testament that prohibits polygamy. Christians usually mistakenly present the following verses from the Bible to prove that polygamy in the New Testament is not allowed:
Matthew 19:1-12 "1.
When Jesus had finished saying these things, he left
the other side of the
2. Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.
3. Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, "Is it lawful
for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?"
4. "Haven't you read," he (Jesus) replied,
"that at the beginning the Creator `made them male and female,'
5. and said, `For this reason a man will leave his
father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh'
?
6. So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined
together, let man not separate."
7. "Why then," they asked, "did Moses command that a man give
his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?"
8. Jesus replied, "Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your
hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning.
9. I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital
unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery."
10. The disciples said to him, "If this is the situation between a husband
and wife, it is better not to marry."
11. Jesus replied, "Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to
whom it has been given.
12. For some are eunuchs because they were born that
way; others were made that way by men; and others have renounced marriage
because of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept
it."
In the above verses, we see that Jesus was
approached with a question about whether or not it is allowed for a man to
divorce his wife in Matthew 19:3. Jesus immediately referred to the Old
Testament for the answer in Matthew 19:4. He referred to Adam and Eve, one man
and one woman. The Old Testament does talk about the story of Adam and
Eve as one husband and one wife. However, the Old Testament which Jesus
had referred to in Matthew 19:3 does allow polygamy.
Also, when a man becomes a one
flesh with his wife in Matthew 19:5-6, this doesn't mean that the man can't be
one flesh with another woman. He
can be one flesh with his first wife, and one flesh with his second wife, and
one flesh with his third wife and so on.... To further prove this point,
let us look at the following from the New Testament:
Matthew 22:23-32 "23. That same day the Sadducees, who say there is no
resurrection, came to him with a question.
24. "Teacher," they said, "Moses told us that if a man dies without
having children, his brother must marry the widow and have children for him.
25. Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died, and
since he had no children, he left his wife to his brother.
26. The same thing happened to the second and third
brother, right on down to the seventh.
27. Finally, the woman died.
28. Now then, at the resurrection, whose wife will she be of the seven, since
all of them were married to her?"
29. Jesus replied, "You are in error because you do not know the
Scriptures or the power of God.
30. At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage;
they will be like the angels in heaven.
31. But about the resurrection of the dead--have you not read what God said to
you,
32. `I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob' ? He is not the God of the dead but of the
living."
In Matthew 22:24-28, the Jews referred to
Deuteronomy 25:5 from the Old Testament where it states that if a woman's
husband dies, and she didn't have any kids from him, then she must marry his
brother regardless whether he had a wife or not. When the Jews brought
this situation up to Jesus in Matthew 22:24-28, Jesus did not prohibit at
all for the childless widow to marry her husband's brother (even if he were
married). Instead, Jesus replied to them by saying that we do not marry
in heaven, and we will be like angels in heaven (Matthew
So in other words, if Jesus allowed for a widow
to marry her former husband's brother even if he were married, then this
negates the Christians' claim about the Bible prohibiting polygamy. A man
can be one flesh with more than one woman. In the case of Matthew
22:24-28, the man can be one flesh with his wife, and one flesh with his brother's
former wife. Also keep in mind that Exodus
Please visit: Widows are protected in Islam from their in-laws, but are forced and not protected in the Bible's NT and OT.
Jesus' parable allows polygamy between 1 man and 5 women!
Let us look at Matthew 25:1-13 from the NIV
Bible:
Matthew 25
The Parable of the Ten Virgins
1. "At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins
who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.
2. Five of them were foolish and five were wise.
3. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them.
4. The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps.
5. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and
fell asleep.
6. "At
7. "Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps.
8. The foolish ones said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil; our lamps are
going out.'
9. " 'No,' they replied, 'there may not be enough for both us and you.
Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.'
10. "But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom
arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding
banquet. And the door was shut.
11. "Later the others also came. 'Sir! Sir!' they
said. 'Open the door for us!'
12. "But he replied, 'I tell you the truth, I don't know you.'
13. "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.
According to Jesus' parable, the bridegroom
married 5 of the ten virgins! It seems also that Jesus in this parable
really allowed for all women to be naked in one room with their one
husband. THIS IS INDEED VERY SICK!!! Polygamy is allowed in Islam,
but it is forbidden for the man to share the room with more than one wife at a
time:
'Abd al-Rahman, the son of Abu Sa'id al-Khudri, reported from his father: The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: "A man should not see the private parts of another man, and a woman should not see the private parts of another woman, and a man should not lie with another man under one covering, and a woman should not lie with another woman under one covering. (Translation of Sahih Muslim, The Book of Menstruation (Kitab Al-Haid), Book 003, Number 0667)"
But anyway, Jesus in his parable clearly and irrefutably allowed polygamy.
My Challenge to all Christians:
Where in the NT do you see a direct condemnation
of polygamy? And if I were a Christian with many wives, do I have to
divorce them and keep just one?
Also, to those who disagree with my points on
Matthew 25:1-13 above, why is Jesus' parable not allowing polygamy to
you? It seems quite clear and straight forward to me. 5 virgins
marrying one man is as clear as it gets.
Also, why is the Bible so big on "virgins"?
I mean in the Old Testament, we see commands about killing all non
virgin women, men and children and keep the virgins: "Now kill
all the boys [innocent kids]. And kill every woman who has slept with a man,
but save for yourselves every girl who has never slept with a man. (From the NIV
Bible, Numbers 31:17)"
In the OT, we also see that a virgin is forced to
marry her rapist: "If a man happens to
meet a virgin who is not pledged to be married and rapes her and they are
discovered, he shall pay the girl's father fifty shekels of silver. He
must marry the girl, for he has violated her. He can never divorce her as
long as he lives. (From the NIV Bible,
Deuteronomy
And in the NT we see Jesus using virgins in his
parable in the section above. So if women who lose their virginity
without marriage mean that they lose their real value and become something bad,
then where would this leave more than 90% of American and European women
today? In the dumpster?
Some Christians believe that the
Old Testament prohibited Polygamy:
Here is an email that I received from a Christian
reader. My rebuttal is below her email:
From: "Rachel Thomas" <cinral@hotmail.com>
To: truthspeaks@answering-christianity.com
Subject: (no subject)
Date:
mr.Osama..
I do seriously wonder if u will publish any part of my this mail in
..but I cudnt help writing to u.
I only have one verse to quote from the Bible..Deut
multiply wives for himself.
this is a commandment that God gave for the kings of
his nation but sadly
none of the kings.ie David,Solomon obeyed it and if u will read the whole of
the Bible u will get to see the tragic consequences of their disobedience.So
what u re actually using to support
source of much grief and trouble.
You have used many verses and derivations to support
very distorted form the actual truth the Bible contains.
Fear God.
Rachel
My response:
Dear Rachel,
Here is what Deuteronomy 17:17 that you referred
me to says in the NIV Bible:
"The king, moreover, must not acquire great
numbers of horses for himself or make the people return to Egypt to get more of
them, for the LORD has told you, 'You are not to go back that way again.'
He must not take many wives,
or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver
and gold. (From the NIV Bible,
Deuteronomy
In no way, does Deut 17:17 prohibit
polygamy. It prohibited the King from marrying MANY WIVES. I wonder
what is the limit to that? Certainly it doesn't
limit it to just one wife.
"Many wives" clearly proves: (1) The
person can have multiple wives, but not too much; and (2) It doesn't limit
marriage to only one wife. I don't know where do you
see the verse limiting marriage to only one wife.
Also Rachel, this verse is only talking about
kings. It sounds very clear to me that it is more like a restriction for
the king rather than a general verse that would apply to everybody.
I personally don't care about how many wives the
Prophets of the Bible had, and what was the limit of the many wives back
then. My point still stands, and that is Polygamy exists in both the OT
and the NT in the Bible.
Beside, how can you suggest that the Old
Testament prohibited polygamy when for instance Deuteronomy
Plus also, you are ignoring the fact that
Deuteronomy
To me, the NIV Bible's translation to Deuteronomy
Do Paul's 1
Timothy 3:2 and 1 Timothy
Let us look at the verses 1
Timothy 3:2 and 1 Timothy 3:12 from the NIV Bible:
"Now the overseer [some translations have it as "bishop"] must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, (From the NIV Bible, 1 Timothy 3:2)"
"A deacon must be the husband of
but one wife and must manage his children and his household
well. (From the NIV Bible, 1 Timothy
As we clearly see in those two verses, only
church ministers and religious leaders are prohibited from practicing
polygamy. There is no mention for ordinary people or general
population. So unless every Christian in Christianity is considered a
"bishop", "deacon", "priest" or a
"minister", then these two verses are without a doubt
irrelevant! They do not disprove polygamy in the Bible at all!
Also, Paul is known to have his own agenda and
own words inserted into the Bible. In 1 Corinthians
"Now about virgins: I have no
command from the Lord, but I give a judgment as one who by the
Lord's mercy is trustworthy. (From the
NIV Bible, 1 Corinthians
This very own verse from Paul contradicts his
other own verse in 2 Timothy
"All Scripture is God-breathed
and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
(From the NIV Bible, 2 Timothy
If the Bible was truly GOD Almighty's Holy Words,
and if Paul was truly GOD Almighty's Apostle, then we would'nt have this kind
of junk in the Bible.
Also another side point, Paul obviously didn't
know much about the Old Testament, because the Bible itself admits that it is
corrupted and not perfect. So it can never be "All
God-breathed":
"`How can you say, "We [the Jews] are wise, for we have the law of the LORD," when actually the lying pen of the scribes has handled it falsely?' (From the NIV Bible, Jeremiah 8:8)"
Another corruption from Paul is his disagreements
and fights with the other disciples who were more authentic than him, since
they lived with and saw Jesus, while he never even once saw Jesus. Most
of the New Testament is nothing but conversations between people, which are
clearly not inspirations from GOD Almighty. For instance, Paul fought
with Saint Peter and accused him of being "clearly in the wrong"
(Galatians:
Please visit Many famous Historians and Theologians before came to conclusions that Paul was not truthful.
The original Bible was lost! See comments from the commentary of the NIV Bible (one of the most used Bibles world wide) itself admitting that most of the Books and Gospels of the Bible are corrupted. No one ever claimed ownership of the current Books and Gospels. The owners/writers are unknown.
Christians are hypocrites for following ONLY 1 Timothy 3:2 and 1 Timothy 3:12:
Since some Christians are so big on being
politically correct to the majority of their corrupted people, who practice
open pornography, sodomy, homosexual marriage, open sexuality (through tight
and too revealing cloths), etc..., and they LOVE to use nonsense such as 1
Timothy 3:2 and 1 Timothy 3:12 to prove that polygamy is prohibited in the
Bible, then I would like to ask them this:
If you're so big on following Paul's teachings,
then why do you allow your women to preach in churches?!
Didn't Paul himself say: "Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience as also saith the law. And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church. (1 Corinthians 14:34)"
Why then do you have popular female church
ministers such as Mrs. Joyce Meyer? What ever
happened to Paul's command in 1 Corinthians 14:34?!
1 Kings 11:1-4 does not condemn
polygamy!
A Christian emailed me telling me that it is true
that King Solomon had 100s of wives and concubines in the Old Testament, but
that led him astray according to 1 Kings 11:1-4, thus this makes polygamy
sinful and condemned in the Bible. Well, let us look at the verses from
the NIV Bible:
1 Kings 11
Solomon's Wives
1 King Solomon,
however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh's daughter-Moabites,
Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites.
2 They were
from nations about which the LORD had told the Israelites, "You must not
intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their
gods." Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love.
3 He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and
three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray.
4 As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his
heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the LORD his
God, as the heart of David his father had been.
As we clearly see in 1 Kings 11:2, the marriage
of multiple wives by itself is not sinful and was never condemned. It was
Solomon's marriage from the pagan women that was prohibited by GOD Almighty,
because they were idol worshipers, and it resulted for him to be led astray and
follow their pagan gods. I don't see any specific condemnation of
polygamy in general in this verse what so ever! I mean the Bible's Old
Testament (since 1 Kings 11:1-4 exist in the Old Testament) is crystal clear
about allowing polygamy: "If a man has two wives, and he loves one
but not the other, and both bear him sons....(From the
NIV Bible, Deuteronomy
The suggestion of these verses was nothing but a
lame and desperate attempt to cover the Truth. I fully understand that
women in the West have a dominating power over men (which is why the West
is full of sexual sins and corruption!), and men have to be politically correct
with them. I am a married man myself, and frankly I could careless about
my wife getting offended by me when it comes to the Truth! The Truth is
the Truth. And the Truth here is that my points are still valid.
Polygamy is allowed in both of the Bible's Old and New Testaments. I
don't care how many Christian women get offended by that.
Conclusion:
The Bible in both the Old Testament and the New
Testament does allow polygamy. Jesus peace be
upon him never prohibited polygamy. Jesus lived for 33 years of his life
on earth among a nation who practiced polygamy. He never even once
denounced it! In fact, in Jesus' parable in Matthew 25:1-13, he clearly
allowed polygamy, and also he seems to allow all wives to be naked in the same
room with their one husband!
The Bible does allow men to marry an infinite
amount of women. Women in Christianity can be treated and considered as
nothing but sex objects because the Bible doesn't have any rules or controls
over men in this issue. Also, women in the Bible are forced to marry men
in special cases such as forcing childless widows to marry their brothers in
law. It doesn't matter whether the widow wants to marry her brother in
law or not, she will still have to do it anyway without any choice!.
Another case where women in the Bible are forced
to marry men is when a man rapes a single woman, then she must marry him and
she can't get a divorce from him (no matter how bad he is) for the rest of her
life according to Deuteronomy 22:28-30. Only death can separate her from
him!.
A Christian site that agrees with Polygamy.
Another Christian site that agrees with Polygamy (Be Free).
See Polygamy in Islam- Total justice to women in Islam.
QUESTION:
Temporary Marriages-Mut’a
What kind of prophet would
sanction such immorality? Is not this type of temporary marriage a form of
legal prostitution since the intent in the marriage is sexual gratification as
opposed to marital union and family upbringing? And how does this maintain the
integrity of the women who are simply provided material gifts for the degrading
of their bodies in satisfying the sexual lust of men acting as untamed animals?
Fatwa: Islamic Ruling on Mut`ah
Marriage
By: Sheikh Yusuf
Al-Qaradawi
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All
praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His
Messenger.
Dear sister in Islam, we commend your keenness on getting your
self well-acquainted with Islam and its teachings, and we implore Allah
Almighty to help us serve His cause and render our work for His Sake.
As regards the Islamic ruling on mut`ah marriage, we'd like to cite for
you the words of the eminent Muslim scholar, Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi,
in his will known book, The Lawful and Prohibited in Islam. He writes:
"Marriage in Islam is a strong binding contract based on the intention of
both partners to live together permanently in order to attain, as individuals,
the benefit of repose, affection, and mercy mentioned in the Qur'an, as well as
to attain the social goal of the reproduction and perpetuation of the human
species. Almighty Allah says: "And Allah has made for our spouses of
your own nature, and from your spouses has made for you sons and
grandsons...." (An-Nahl: 72)
Now, mut`ah marriage (marriage for the sake of sexual gratification) is
a marriage that is contracted by the two parties for a specified period of time
in exchange for a specified sum of money. While the Prophet (peace and
blessings be upon him) permitted mut`ah marriage during journeys and
military campaigns before the Islamic legislative process was made complete, he
later forbade it and made it Haram on a permanent basis.
It was initially permitted because the Muslims were passing through what might
be called a period of transition from Jahiliyyah (the pre-Islamic
period) to Islam. Fornication was widespread among the Arabs before the advent
of Islam. After Islam, when Muslims were required to go on military expeditions,
they were under great pressure as a result of being away from their wives for
long periods of time. Some of the believers were strong in faith, but others
were weak. The weak in faith feared that they would be tempted to commit
adultery, which is a major sin, while the staunch in faith, on the contrary,
were ready to castrate themselves. Ibn Mas`ud
narrates: "We were on an expedition with the Messenger of Allah (peace and
blessings be upon him) and did not have our wives with us, so we asked Allah's
Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) 'Should we not castrate ourselves?'
(The reason for this request was the desire to preserve their chastity, which
was in danger of being affected by their unmet needs.) He forbade us from doing
so but permitted us to contract marriage with a woman up to a specified date,
giving her a garment as a dowry (Mahr)." (Reported by Al-Bukhari
and Muslim)
Thus, mut`ah marriage provided a solution to the dilemma in which both the
weak and the strong found themselves. It was also a step toward the final
legalization of the complete marital life in which the objectives of
permanence, chastity, reproduction, love, and mercy as well
as the widening of the circle of relationships through marriage ties were
to be realized.
We may recall that the Qur'an adopted a gradual course in prohibiting wine and
usury, as these two evils were widespread and deeply rooted in the pre-Islamic
society. In the same manner, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)
adopted a gradual course in the matter of sex. First, he permitted mut`ah
marriage as an alternative to zina (fornication and adultery), and at
the same time coming closer to the permanent marriage relationship. He then
prohibited it absolutely, as all and many other Companions reported. Muslim
reports this in his Sahih (Authentic Collection of Hadiths), mentioning
that Al-Juhani was with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) at the
conquest of Makkah and that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) gave
some Muslims permission to contract mut`ah marriages. Al-Juhani said:
"Before leaving Makkah, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be
upon him) prohibited it." In another version: "Allah has made it Haram
until the Day of Resurrection."
The question arises: Is mut`ah marriage absolutely haram, like
marriage to one's own mother or daughter, or is it like the prohibition
concerning the eating of pork or dead meat, which becomes permissible in case
of dire necessity, the necessity in this case being the fear of committing zina?
The majority of the Companions hold the view that after the completion of the
Islamic legislation, mut`ah marriage was made absolutely haram.
However, Ibn `Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) holds a different opinion,
permitting it in case of dire necessity. A person asked him about marrying
women on a haram basis, and he permitted him to do so. A servant of his
then asked, "Is this not under hard conditions, when women are few and the
like?" and he replied, "Yes." (Reported by Al-Bukhari) Later,
when Ibn `Abbas saw that people had become lax and were engaging in haram
marriages without necessity, he withdrew his ruling and retracted his previous
opinion. (Zad Al-Ma`ad, vol. 4, p. 7)"
You can also
read:
The Philosophy of Marriage in Islam
Allah
Almighty knows best.
Fatwa
Ends here
Temporary Marriage (Muta) was
ok, but then was later forbidden by our Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him:
In this short article we will see how and why
Temporary Marriage was first allowed in Islam, but then later was forbidden by
our Prophet peace be upon him:
"Rabi' b. Sabra reported that his father went
on an expedition with Allah's Messenger (may peace be
upon him) during the Victory of Mecca, and we stayed there for fifteen days (i.
e. for thirteen full days and a day and a night), and Allah's
Messenger (may peace be upon him) permitted us to contract temporary marriage
with women. So I and another person of my tribe went out, and I
was more handsome than he, whereas he was almost ugly. Each one of us had a
cloaks, My cloak was worn out, whereas the cloak of my
cousin was quite new. As we reached the lower or the upper side of
Narrated 'Ali: "I said to Ibn 'Abbas, 'During the battle of Khaibar the Prophet forbade (Nikah) Al-Mut'a [Temporary Marriage in English] and the eating of donkey's meat.' (Translation of Sahih Bukhari, Wedlock, Marriage (Nikaah), Volume 7, Book 62, Number 50)"
Narrated Jabir bin 'Abdullah and Salama bin Al-Akwa': "While we were in an army, Allah's Apostle came to us and said, "You have been allowed to do the Mut'a (marriage), so do it." Salama bin Al-Akwa' said: Allah's Apostle's said, "If a man and a woman agree (to marry temporarily), their marriage should last for three nights, and if they like to continue, they can do so; and if they want to separate, they can do so." I do not know whether that was only for us or for all the people in general. Abu Abdullah (Al-Bukhari) said: 'Ali made it clear that the Prophet said, "The Mut'a marriage has been cancelled (made unlawful)." (Translation of Sahih Bukhari, Wedlock, Marriage (Nikaah), Volume 7, Book 62, Number 52)"
Narrated Saburah ibn Ma'bad al-Juhani: "The
Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) prohibited temporary marriage with women.
(Translation of Sunan Abu-Dawud, Marriage (Kitab Al-Nikah), Book 11,
Number 2068)"
The reason why temporary marriage was allowed is
to prevent illegal sex, prostitution and rape especially during the early times
of Islam when Muslims didn't have residence stability and were facing all kinds
of difficulties from the Pagans.
When the Muslim state became stable during our
Prophet's time, he then forbidden that act because
Muslims then could get married and have stable lives with their families and
raise Children in a stable and convenient community.
Further explanation as to why
Muta was allowed. It could probably be allowed today for some people:
Narrated Abu Jamra: "I heard Ibn Abbas (giving a verdict) when he was asked about the Mut'a with the women, and he permitted it (Nikah-al-Mut'a [Having Temporary Marriage in English]). On that a freed slave of his said to him, "That is only when it is very badly needed and women are scarce." On that, Ibn 'Abbas said, "Yes." (Translation of Sahih Bukhari, Wedlock, Marriage (Nikaah), Volume 7, Book 62, Number 51)"
I personally think that according to all of the
narrations above, if the Muslim is living in a Muslim country, then he/she must
not be allowed to practice Muta. But if he/she is living in a non-Muslim
country and there are very few Muslims available, and marriage is not possible
for one reason or another (this condition must exist), then it should not be a
sin if he/she practice Muta with other Muslims, because "it is very badly
needed and (men and) women are scarce" as mentioned in the above narration
and verdict.
Muta is a Marriage. A man can marry up to four wives in Islam, and the woman
can only marry one husband. There is a dowry for the man to
pay and if children are produced in this Marriage, then it automatically
becomes a permanent one. So Muta is far away from being called
"legalized prostitution".
Can a Muslim couple go on a date
and have Muta, as Westerners do with their illegal sex without marriage?
Absolutely not! As we clearly saw above,
Muta was allowed for very special cases, and it was prohibited to be practiced
by the ordinary people. Muta is not a legalization of illegal sex or
prostitution. It is important for a person to know this fact very well!
Muta must not exist in Muslim countries what so
ever, because there are plenty of Muslim males and females for marriage.
As we clearly saw above, Prophet Muhammad peace be
upon him prohibited Muta for ordinary Muslims.
Muta should only be allowed when "it is very
badly needed and (men and) women are scarce" as the quote clearly says
above. Even in foreign non-Muslim lands, Muslims must be extremely
careful with practicing Muta. If a person knows well that he/she have the
financial and physical ability to get married, and there are Muslims whom
he/she can marry from, then Muta is definitely a sinful act for them, and it
would be without a doubt be considered as an adultery
or fornication.
If on the other hand, there are very few Muslims,
and the sexual intimidation is very high for males and females as it is in the
Western countries with their tight and short clothings, to bikinis in beaches,
to sometimes having nude and topless beaches, etc...., and the Muslim knows
well that he/she can't get married for financial and other VALID reasons, and
Muta was available for them, then in my opinion, Muta marriage is allowed in
that special case.
It is very difficult to put a set standard on
when Muta can and can't be practiced. It really all depends on the
personal situation of the Muslim. The Muslim,
however needs to be very responsible and very honest toward Allah
Almighty. A person can fool others with his/her lies to convince people,
but they certainly can not fool their Almighty Creator.
And Allah Almighty knows best about our
intentions and deeds
QUESTION:
About Sex In
Answer:
1. Hoor
mentioned in the Qur’an
The word hoor
occurs in the Qur’an in no less than four different places:
(1)
In Surah Dukhan chapter 44, verse 54
"Moreover,
We shall join them to companions
With beautiful, big and lustrous eyes."
[Al-Qur’an 44:54]
(2)
In Surah Al-Tur chapter 52 verse 20
"...And We shall join them to companions, with beautiful,
big and lustrous eyes."
[Al-Qur’an 52:20]
(3) In
Surah Rahman chapter 55 verse 72
"Companions
restrained (as to their glances), in goodly pavilions."
[Al-Qur’an 55:72]
(4)
In Surah Al-Waqiah chapter 56 verse 22
"And
(there will be) companions with beautiful, big and lustrous eyes."
[Al-Qur’an 56:22]
2. Hoor
Translated as Beautiful Maidens
Many
translators of the Qur’an have translated the word hoor as ‘beautiful
maidens’ especially in the Urdu translations. If hoor means ‘beautiful
maidens’ or girls, then they are meant only for the men. Hence, what will the
women get if they enter
3. Meaning
of Hoor
The word hoor
is actually the plural of ahwar (applicable to man) and of haura
(applicable to woman) and signifies a person having eyes characterized by hauar
a special quality bestowed upon a good soul, male or female in paradise and it
denotes the intense whiteness of the white part of the spiritual eye.
The Qur’an
describes in several other verses that in paradise you will have azwaj
which mean a pair or spouse or companion which means you will have spouses or
companions pure and holy (mutaharratun means pure, holy).
"But give
glad tidings to those who believe and work righteousness, that their portion is
gardens, beneath which rivers flow. Every time they are fed with fruits
therefrom, they say: "Why, this is what we were fed with before", for
they are given things in similitude; and they have therein companions pure (and
holy); and they abide therein (forever)".
[Al-Qur’an 2:25]
"But
those who believe and do deeds of righteousness, We
shall soon admit to Gardens, with rivers flowing beneath – their eternal home;
therein shall they have companions pure and holy: we shall admit them to
shades, cool and ever deepening". [Al-Qur’an 4:57]
Therefore the
word hoor has no specific gender. Mohammad Asad has translated the word hoor
as spouse and Abdullah Yusuf Ali as companion. Therefore according to some scholars
a man in paradise will have a hoor that is a beautiful maiden with
beautiful big and lustrous eyes and a woman in paradise will get a man with
beautiful big and lustrous eyes.
4. Women will get something
exceptional in
Many scholars say
that in context, the word hoor used in the Qur’an refers only to ladies
since gents are addressed. A reply that would be accepted by all types of
people would rather be the answer given in the Hadith when a similar question
was posed that if a man gets a hoor, a beautiful Maiden in
Homosexuality:
Allah says in the Holy Quran
Chapter 7 Surah Aaraf
verses 80-82:And We sent
Allah says in the Holy Quran
Chapter 11 Surah Hud verses
82-83:Accordingly, when the time of the execution of Our Judgement
came (for the people of Lot), We turned
the habitation upside down and rained on it stones of baked clay, each of which had been specifically marked by
your Lord. And such a scourge is not
far from the tyrannous people!
Homosexuality is absolutely forbidden in
Islam. It is an abomination and a grave
sin in the eyes of Allah, and in Islam the doers of this sin are punishable by
death!
This deed is deemed un-natural and against
humanity and society in Islam. This deed is an evil and immoral deviation of
man, and is not found even in the lower forms of animate life! Allah destroyed the whole habitation of Prophet
Lot, and turned the whole city upside-down, and rained on them a rain of
brim-stones for their sin of homosexuality.
It was not that every individual in Sodom and Gomorrah who were
destroyed committed sodomy; but even those who accepted it, propagated it,
looked upto it as a norm and fashion, and allowed it
without raising a voice against this abomination, were all destroyed by Allah Subhanah.
And Allah warns in the Holy Quran: ‘And such a scourge is not far from the tyrannous
people!’ Thus if in the world today,
this act of sodomy is propagated and accepted as normal and as fashionable, and
society as a whole does not take steps to abolish this abomination, the scourge
that came upon the people of Sodom and Gomorrah is not far!
We seek refuge in Allah from His Wrath and
His Anger and His Punishment!
The Answer Also continues to Anal Sex.
QUESTION:
anal sex..
What is even more amazing is
that one modern Muslim source has discredited the hadiths forbidding anal sex. According
to the Learner, the hadiths that claim that anal sex is forbidden are
questionable and do not conclusively disprove having sex in the anus.
In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His
help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide,
and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear
witness that there is no one (no idol,
no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam,
no dai,
nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that
Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.
Allah says in the Holy Quran
Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah
verse 222:They ask you about the (women’s) monthly
courses. Say, “It is a state of
impurity; so keep apart from the women during their monthly courses and do not
approach them until they are clean. When
they have cleansed themselves, then you may go to them in the manner
ordained for you by Allah. Most
surely Allah loves those people who refrain from evil and keep themselves pure
and clean.
Allah, who created us, the heavens, the earth,
and everything in between, in His
Divine and Perfect Wisdom and Knowledge created and ordained the laws for
everything. He created and ordained the
sun to a law.. its
distance, its heat, its movement, etc. He created and ordained the earth, mountains,
clouds, rains, vegetation, animals, humans, etc. also to a perfect law. He Who created us,
Knows what is best for us. Likewise,
for our carnal functions and pleasures, He ordained a law and a legal means for
us. In the above aayah
of Surah Baqarah, there are
three basic commandments:
The women’s monthly courses are an impurity, therefore men must not approach their wives for
sexual intercourse.
When they are cleansed, men may approach them
for sexual intercourse, in the manner ordained by Allah (the natural way).
Allah loves those people who refrain from
evil, and are pure and clean.
But if one, in deviation from the natural way
ordained by Allah, devices his own way in any of Allah’s commands: he will not only be liable to Allah’s
punishment for disobedience, but will
also have consequences of his deeds in this world.
anal sex:
By anal sex, we assume you
mean between a man and a woman. The Messenger
of Allah (saws) termed anal sex a grave sin absolutely forbidden in Islam. And even in todays
world, the science of medicine agrees that this act is unclean, unhealthy, and
is one of the causes of the incurable disease, Aids, whether it be between man
and woman, or man and man.
The term ‘anal sex’ is referred to the act
where the husband has intercourse with his wife through her ‘anus’ or back
side. This act is strictly forbidden to
the believers by Allah and His Messenger (saws) and is considered a grave sin
in Islam.
Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 3195 Narrated by Abdullah ibn Abbas
Allah's Messenger (saws) said, "Allah
will not look at a man who has intercourse with a man or a woman through the
anus."
Sunan of Abu-Dawood Hadith 2157 Narrated by Abu Hurayrah
The Prophet (saws) said: ‘He who has
intercourse with his wife through her anus is accursed.’
Sunan of Abu-Dawood Hadith 3895 Narrated by Abu Hurayrah
The Prophet (saws) said: ‘If anyone resorts
to a diviner and believes in what he says, or has intercourse with his wife
when she is menstruating,
or has intercourse with his wife through her anus, he has nothing to do with what has been sent
down to Muhammad (saws).
Also with thanks to the site: http://www.answering-christianity.com/anal_sex.htm
Is anal sex allowed between the
husband and the wife in Islam?
The sections of this article are:
1- Is anal sex
allowed between the husband and the wife in Islam?
2- Cursed are those who perform anal
sex.
3- What is the punishment for fornication
and adultery in Islam in general?
4- Notice the beautiful commands of Allah
Almighty.
5- Anal Sex resources from the Bible for
Christians.
It's quite ironic that the Christian team of "Answering Islam" claim that Islam allows
and even promotes Anal sex between the husband and the wife. There is a
clown among them named Quennel Gale who used this argument in several of his
arguments. This paper will expose this cheap lie from this dumb team (I
apologize to the reader), and will once again, put Islam on the highest rank of
Truth.
Anal sex, or sex from
the rear end of the wife is not allowed in Islam. Let us look at the
following Noble Verse from the Noble Quran:
"Your wives are as a tilth unto you; so approach your tilth when or how ye will; but do some good act for your souls beforehand; and fear God. And know that ye are to meet Him (in the Hereafter), and give (these) good tidings to those who believe. (The Noble Quran, 2:223)"
This Noble Verse was clarified in details through
the Sayings (Hadiths) of our beloved Prophet peace be
upon him. Let us look at some of them:
"Narrated Jabir: Jews used to say: 'If one has sexual intercourse with his wife from the back [The vagina as clearly shown below], then she will deliver a squint-eyed child.' So this Verse was revealed:-- 'Your wives are a tilth unto you; so go to your tilth when or how you will.' (2.223) (Translation of Sahih Bukhari, Volume 6, Book 60, Prophetic Commentary on the Qur'an (Tafseer of the Prophet (peace be upon him)), Number 51)"
"Jabir (Allah be pleased with him) declared that the Jews used to say: When a man has intercourse with his wife through the vagina but being on her back. the child will have squint, so the verse came down:" Your wives are your tilth; go then unto your tilth as you may desire" (ii. 223) (Translation of Sahih Muslim, Book 8, The Book of Marriage (Kitab Al-Nikah), Number 3363)"
"Jabir (b. Abdullah) (Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Jews used to say that when one comes to one's wife through the vagina, but being on her back, and she becomes pregnant, the child has a squint. So the verse came down:' Your wives are your ti'Ith; go then unto your tilth, as you may desire.' (Translation of Sahih Muslim, Book 8, The Book of Marriage (Kitab Al-Nikah), Number 3364)"
"This hadith has been reported on the authority of Jabir through another chain of transmitters, but in the hadith transmitted on the authority of Zuhri there is an addition (of these words): 'If he likes he may (have intercourse) being on the back or in front of her, but it should be through one opening (vagina).' (Translation of Sahih Muslim, Book 8, The Book of Marriage (Kitab Al-Nikah), Number 3365)"
"Narrated Abdullah Ibn Abbas: Ibn Umar misunderstood (the Qur'anic verse, "So come to your tilth however you will")--may Allah forgive him. The fact is that this clan of the Ansar, who were idolaters, lived in the company of the Jews who were the people of the Book. They (the Ansar) accepted their superiority over themselves in respect of knowledge, and they followed most of their actions. The people of the Book (i.e. the Jews) used to have intercourse with their women on one side alone (i.e. lying on their backs). This was the most concealing position for (the vagina of) the women. This clan of the Ansar adopted this practice from them. But this tribe of the Quraysh used to uncover their women completely, and seek pleasure with them from in front and behind and laying them on their backs.
When the muhajirun (the immigrants) came to
So Allah, the Exalted, sent down the Qur'anic verse: 'Your wives are a tilth to you, so come to your tilth however you will,' i.e. from in front, from behind or lying on the back. But this verse meant the place of the delivery of the child, i.e. the vagina. (Sunan Abu-Dawud, Book 11, Marriage (Kitab Al-Nikah), Number 2159)"
Cursed are those who perform
anal sex:
The following was sent to me by brother Waseem Sakka;
may Allah Almighty always be pleased with him.
Regarding your page "Is anal sex really
allowed between husband and wife?" There's a couple more hadeeths
(Sayings of our Prophet) you can use that are really definitive:
"Cursed is the one who approaches his wife in her rectum" (Reported by Imaam Ahmad, 2/479; see also Saheeh al-Jaami', 5865).
and:
"The one who has intercourse with a menstruating woman, or with a woman in her rectum, or who goes to a fortune-teller, has disbelieved in what was revealed to Muhammad." (Reported by al-Tirmidhi, no. 1/243; see also Saheeh al-Jaami', 5918).
What is the punishment for
fornication and adultery in Islam in general?
Please visit Punishment for adultery and fornication in Islam.
Notice the beautiful commands of
Allah Almighty:
"Your wives are as a tilth unto you; so
approach your tilth when or how ye will; but do some good act for your souls
beforehand; and fear God. And know that ye are to meet Him (in the
Hereafter), and give (these) good tidings to those who believe.
(The Noble Quran, 2:223)"
Allah Almighty commands the husbands to fear
Allah Almighty and know that they will meet Him. He commands the husbands to be
kind with their wives when they approach them to have sex with them.
The husbands are not allowed to force their wives
into something that they can't handle or don't desire. They must fear Allah
Almighty.
Please visit If the husband rapes his wife, is that a sin in Islam? Is there any answers to this in the Quran?
Anal Sex resources from the
Bible for Christians:
Please be advised that I am not trying to hammer
Christians here. But since the Christian "Answering Islam" team has
gone way too far with their pathetic attempts to put down Islam, even if it
meant they have to LIE to get the job done, then I would like to provide for
them useful resources regarding Anal sexuality in Christianity and the Bible.
Please visit the most popular Christian Gays and
Lesbians web site on the internet, www.godlovesfags.com.
Make sure to visit their guest book, and see the
many Christians who support their web site and agree with their Biblical quotes
and resources.
Church Priests/Ministers who changed their sex and still preach in their Churches.
Further sites to research:
X-Rated Pornography in the Bible
Raping girls at the age of 3 is allowed in the Jewish Holiest Book, the Thalmud.
What is the punishment for rape in Christianity and Islam? See how the Bible tolerates it and even indirectly promotes it to happen to single women.
Contradicting errors even in Porn in the Bible.
History of man's corruption in the Bible. The Bible was not even written by the Prophets of GOD and the Disciples of Jesus.
Christianity is the cause of our social corruptions today.
Response to the so called "Pornography" in the Noble Quran.
Church Priests/Ministers who changed their sex and still preach in their Churches.
Women and Maidens in Paradise according to Islam. How will women live in
If the husband rapes his wife, is that a sin in Islam? Is there any answers to this in the Quran?
Science proved that Homosexuals are born natural. How then can Islam prohibit homosexuality?
The Full Original Email of the challenger is placed on
http://www.oocities.org/mkamranparacha/challengequestions.htm
Read my collection of
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