Re: The Quran

Basic Concepts in the Quran

Question:-

What would you say are the main or most important concepts in the Quran understanding of which are essential to understand Islam?

Answer:-

Firstly, it is necessary to distinguish between reality, experience and description. They are not the same thing. It is possible to put ones attention on anyone of these. One can simply talk about the Quran or experience it or realise and apply it. These are three degrees or levels of knowledge. Verbal discussion, when it is not about fantasies, prejudices or illusions is about information, which can be called "knowing of" and it is a purely intellectual exercise. Understanding, as the word implies, requires greater processing and involvement and is connected with experience and can be called "Knowing about". But realisation requires consciousness and is real "Knowing" or Gnosis.

Religion is about living and adjusting to Reality. The Quran is about Religion. It is firstly a revelation. That is, it is experience about Reality and then a verbal description of it. The sequence is:

Reality > experience > description.

It uses verbal descriptions to induce experiences and these experiences refer to reality. The sequence is:

Description > experience > reality.

It is not, therefore, the verbal defined concepts that have importance, but the experiences they relate to, and these have importance according to the consciousness of reality and the transformation that they cause in the person. This is assessed by its harmony with the rest of reality and its processes, and ultimately with Allah, the source and goal of existence. The concepts must be understood in that context.

7 inter-dependent concepts can be described, but others can be included as parts or associated ones:-

(1) Allah - This is the most often mentioned and described in the greatest detail. It refers to the fundamental, all-pervading, self-existing Reality, the origin of all other things. He is Absolute Unity (unique, indivisible and whole), all-pervading, all-powerful and all-aware. 99 or more attributes are mentioned, including Truth, Benevolence and Justice and these refer to fundamental categories of thought (facts, meanings and values) by which we recognise, understand and judge things.

(2) Creation - its nature and purpose. It is a harmonious unity in which all things have their proportions. It has direction of development, levels and stages.

(3) Man - the Vicegerent, a mortal physical creaturre containing the spirit of Allah and a soul. He has limitations, develops in stages, but has a purpose, function and potentialities that are to be actualised.

(4) Messengers and Prophets - persons who by virtue of higher consciousness have greater contact with Reality and have the function of guiding the rest of humanity.

(5) Consequences - the notions of Resurrection, Judgement, reward and punishment, heaven and hell.

(6) Guidance - This includes channelling of human energy - enablement, encouragement, stimulation and their opposite. The evidence provided by the Signs of Allah (Ayat) that refer to creation, the signs in heaven and earth and within the person as well as the verses of the scripture. The Scriptures are the teachings of the Messengers. They contain examples, teaching stories, similitudes, analogies and symbolism. There is the more direct guidance of the Spirit and of Allah. We also have the existence of human faculties for perception, reasoning and doing when these are purified and developed, and the accumulated knowledge and achievements of human beings.

(7) Religion - A deliberate conscious disciplined, purposive way of life in adjustment to Reality as opposed to an accidental, purposeless undirected one. It is based on notion of Covenants, Sacrifices, Commandments of Allah, and the Cable of Allah. It creates a framework of reference within which experience is interpreted, and informs perception, attitudes to life and existence, motives and behaviour. It gives rise to Rights and Duties, Ethics and special practices such Remembering, Prayer, Charity, Abstinence, Pilgrimage, Striving, seeking knowledge, endurance, withdrawal from worldliness, migration.

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Understanding Islamic Concepts

Question:-

The Quran, like other religions present us with concepts for which there is no scientific evidence. How do you see the connection between Allah, spirit, the soul and the body? How does the mind fit into this scheme? Why do we need religious concepts when we have science to provide us with truths.

Answer:-

I will answer without being dogmatic about it, but giving a tentative explanation that is not to be taken literally but as an analogy.

The Quran like other religions are dealing with a greater reality than that with which science deals. Science deals with the material, that which they regard as objective and ignores consciousness and that which they regard as subjective. But a little thought shows that science itself consists of ideas that exist in consciousness and that it, like any other human activity depends on motives and abilities. Religion is concerned with a much wider and more fundamental sphere, with Reality and adjustment to Reality, and the development of human potentialities. There is no absolute distinction in the Religious Reality between matter, mind and spirit; there are only different kinds and degrees of phenomena.

The fundamental Reality from which all other things, including matter, life and consciousness arise and on which they are dependent is called "Allah" in Islam. This word refers to that which alone is ultimately worthy of worship, i.e. of submission, of praise, adoration, obedience, and service. We have to adjust to Reality consciously or else suffer. The degree of adjustment and inner integration leads to self-fulfilment and is defined as Paradise and degree of maladjustment leads to disintegration and suffering and is called Hell. The ability to adjust is Intelligence.

Causation is ultimately the same as Purpose and lies above or behind the effect rather than being prior in time. That is, the sequence of events is itself controlled by the cause. Events on earth, for instance, are caused by the Solar radiation. This is like having a global idea, within which one has a specific idea, then an intention, then making a plan, then creating a more detailed blueprint and then gathering the materials and then construction the object. There are 7 stages here.

Allah creates by His Word or Command which may refer to fundamental vibrations. But it is defined as Truth (6:74), so it refers to Information, Order or Organisation. Allah is, therefore, the source of Information or Order. The Universe arises from nothing, expands and will contract into nothing (55:27) and this can be regarded as the result of the introduction and withdrawal of Information or Order.

The Spirit that also carries the Word is by the Command of Allah (17:85). This might be regarded as the "ground state" of all things, the fundamental substance, perhaps comparable to a sub-quantum level of existence. The Word of Allah descends through several levels of existence, the 7 heavens and 7 earths (65:12). These can be regarded as levels of organisation - e.g. fundamental particles at Level-1 combine to form particles at Level-2. These combine to form particles at Level-3 and so on. As this happens potentialities are progressively restricted while actualities increase. There is a progression from unity to multiplicity. The lower levels are within the higher levels to which they must adjust. We see that the phenomena at each level not only consist of the materials from the level before, but are more than the sum of the parts owing to the organisation and are animated by the Word at that level. Therefore, apart from the physical aspect of things, we also have to consider the dynamic or living aspect and the organising aspect. The organisation or Laws that form the entity comes from the Command of Allah. The specific pattern of behaviour and activities is attributed to "angels" who are agents of Allah and obey His Word.

According to the Quran, man is made of earth and spirit (32:7-9). The soul is that which accounts for the difference between a living body and a dead one. 39:42 But it also accounts for the difference between wakefulness and sleep. It is, therefore, the seat of consciousness, conscience and will. Spirit refers to consciousness, conscience and will in general. But the soul refers to what is unique in each individual and can, therefore, be regarded as small organised parts of the spirit. The soul can grow or atrophy and it can be withdrawn or inserted. 91:7-10

The mind can be regarded as the resultant of the soul and body and refers to the faculties for thought, feeling and voluntary actions. These are not the same thing as consciousness. The mind is formed by inherent factors, environmental factors and results of personal efforts. Inherent factors include certain modes of perception or categories of thought such as those known as the Names or Attributes of Allah. Environmental factors include the influence of parents and the society, the culture and education. Each individual also contributes to these to various degrees. Therefore, from a Mental point of view, the people of one generation can be regarded as reincarnations of the people of a previous generation and they will be reincarnated in a future generation. Instead of looking at individuals we can speak of a Collective Social or Cultural Field of Information.

But it is well known that the mind is affected by physiological processes and also by the environment through the senses and even more directly through various forces, it can also affect the physical body and the environment through it not only through voluntary actions but also more directly. The images and ideas existing in the mind are not the same as the external realities, but are prone to various mechanisms and processes that include habit formation, fixation, fantasies, re-arrangement, prejudices, suppression, exaggeration, extrapolation, introjection, displacement, merging and so on. It is flexible and can invent, which, of course, has both a useful aspect and a harmful one, according to how it is employed. Control requires consciousness and will. The loss of conscious control leads to mental malfunctions, maladaptation, self-deception, inner contradictions, suffering and disintegration. It is a reality and is explained by the concept of "Satan" and his helpers.

The body, made of the materials of the earth is in interaction with all the other material things on earth and needs food, energy and information through the senses, which it processes and creates an output in action that affects the environment. In life, the materials of which a person's body is formed merely pass through him, entering and leaving all the time. The materials are recycled and they form other bodies in various combinations. A person cannot be identified with these materials. We can speak of a Collective Material Field instead of individual bodies, in which the individual is a part.

Though his structure and pattern of behaviour by which he is recognised seems to be the same these are also changing from birth to death. On death it disintegrates and we could say that the information is also recycled. The same can be said about the Spirit. It too is recycled and forms a Universal Field from which we arise and into which we can be reabsorbed.

Consider a magnet. It is surrounded by an invisible magnetic field. But if you put a piece of paper over it and then sprinkle iron filings on this paper, then these will arrange themselves into a pattern that make the field visible. The soul is like the magnetic field and the body is like the pattern of iron filings. But the magnetic field can be withdrawn and the pattern of iron filings will gradually disintegrate. It can be withdrawn gradually and to different degrees or reintroduced. Or it can weaken or strengthen or its nature can change.

The Quran speaks mainly about the soul rather than about the body or mind. It speaks about the consequences of our thoughts and actions on the soul. These consequences can only be described as similitudes in terms of physical events that we are familiar with. Paradise and Hell refer to such consequences. The soul can grow by receiving and absorbing more spirit or degenerate by loosing it and its organisation can be modified by events in the body and mind. Conversely the mind and body can affect the soul. These three, the body, mind and soul interact, are inter-dependent to a degree and modify each other.

If resurrection means reincarnation on the Day of Judgement, the return of the soul to a body, then we can presume that the state of body and mind will depend on the state of the soul. However, according to the Quran we cannot return to earth, (23:99-100), we will be transformed (56:58-62) and we will travel from state to stage (84:19)

This might mean there are different kinds or levels of worlds and existence and perhaps these refer to the 7 heavens and earths.

Critic:-

But why do we need religion at all seeing it causes conflicts? Why not secularise education and rely on science.

Answer:-

The purpose of living, built-in into us, is self-fulfilment by adjustment to Reality. This requires interaction with Reality. Science is an instrument like others. Apart from facts we also need values that inform our motives and techniques and technologies that support our abilities and actions. Science has not been successful in modifying our motives much which remain primitive and owing to the progress in the other two fields have succeeded only in making man unbalanced, though this may change in the future.

No wonder crime and immorality are rising as is maladjustment that leads to psychopathy, neurosis, psychosomatic and organic diseases as the "capital" created by religion is gradually exhausted and false and harmful assumptions and ideas, motives and modes of behaviour are becoming rampant. And there is a resulting backlash by fundamentalists. The educational system should develop human potentialities and enhance human faculties, particularly intelligence, consciousness, conscience and will.

You say there is no proof of Allah and the veracity of the Quran, but that depends on the effort, desire, ability to understand. A reading of the Quran shows that there are signs of Allah not only in the Quran but also in the laws of nature and the phenomena of the heavens and earth and within oneself. (e.g. 2:164, 2:253, 3:190-191, 10:7, 13:3-4, 14:9, 16:12 etc) The Proof of Allah is the fact that the Universe exists, that we possess consciousness and that Prophets and Messengers have arisen to guide mankind with scriptures.

"We will soon show them Our signs on the horizons (in the Universe) and within themselves (or their own souls), until it become manifest unto them that it is the truth. Is not your Lord sufficient, since He is Witness over all things?" 41:53

But proofs are a matter of action, motives and perception, of directing attention, desiring to see and being able to understand. But wrong actions, prejudices, and rationalisation of desires and false assumptions may distort perception or blind a person. (Quran 2:6-18) As the Quran also says:-

"Have they not travelled in the land, and have they hearts wherewith to feel and ears wherewith to hear? For indeed it is not the eyes that grow blind, but it is the hearts, which are within the bosoms, that grow blind." 22:46

The removal of these inner obstructions and sources of distortion to perception, motives and behaviour require special techniques. It requires:- (i) Knowledge that these mechanisms exist. (ii) Self-awareness and the ability to see them within oneself. (iii) Desire to remove them. (iv) Knowledge of methods of removing them (v) The ability to use these methods. (vi) The required endurance and persistence. (vii) The development of techniques that will create the appropriate ideas, motives and abilities.

But apart from (a) removal of the negative factors we also need (b) positive techniques that will enhance existing faculties and (c) methods that maintain the gains.

It is not difficult to see that because psychological, social and environmental factors interact, then it is necessary that all three must be dealt with in order to benefit each and this requires knowledge and application of facts, meaning and values. We are in constant interaction and mutual modification, consciously, sub-consciously and unconsciously, with (i) all parts of ourselves, (ii) with other people and the society as a whole and also (iii) with the physical environment, through all kinds of psychological, social, biological, chemical, electromagnetic and mechanical forces.

When all this is taken into consideration then we then have a Religion.

A study of the Quran shows that it does not contain a system of ideas, a theology or philosophy as expected by some people conditioned by the Western Academic tradition, but that it is designed to work for psychological, social and environmental welfare and development, on three levels - the spiritual, mental and physical:-

(1) At the Spiritual level it provides experiences to make us more conscious of inner and outer realities, to arouse conscience and to stimulate the will.

(2) At the Mental level it is concerned with introducing certain ideas and attitudes that stimulate thinking, motivation and voluntary actions.

(3) At the physical level it is concerned with Law that applies to the behaviour of individuals, their interactions with each other and with the environment, and the community as a whole.

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Fragmentary Revelation

Question:-

Why was the Quran not revealed as a complete book but in fragments over a long period?

Answer:-

The Quran tells us:-

"Thus have We made for every prophet an opponent from among the guilty; but your Lord is sufficient as good guide and helper. Those who disbelieve said: Why is not the Quran sent down to him all at once (in one piece)? It is revealed as it is so that We may strengthen your heart therewith, and We have rehearsed it to you gradually, in well-arranged stages. And they bring you no similitude but We reveal the truth and the best interpretation thereof (or a better argument)." 25:31-33

It is a question that was asked in the past and even today and some so called Scholars use this as evidence of inconsistency in the Quran and to distort the message of the Quran. In fact, they could have interpreted the Quran in a self-consistent manner as the Quran requires and wondered about this in a document, the revelation of which spans such a length of time. Instead of trying to understand they have already an opinion based on desires, from which they make false judgements. What they are saying is that they regard themselves or wish to be the judges of what the Quran is and how the Quran should have been revealed.

But several good reasons can be found for this gradual revelation:-

The purpose of the Quran is not just to provide ideas but to facilitate application, to educate, to provide experiences, to make aware and to cause psychological development. But it is true that, as Quran complains (25:30), Muslims themselves have ceased to take the Quran sufficiently seriously, trivialised it and made it ineffective.

(1) The objection is contained in a chapter called "The Discrimination". The problem that the fragmentary revelation presents can be regarded as a test to discriminate between those who are humble and try to understand and those who are arrogant and have given priority to their own prejudices.

(2) The revelations were to be recorded in memory. Memorisation takes time and can only be done in small portions at a time.

(3) The verses of the Quran are compact, containing much information. The lesson contained in the verses had to be explained and absorbed.

(4) That each revelation is relevant to a particular event or type of event with respect to which it meaning and which provides the experience by which the idea is understood better and more deeply.

(5) An on going revelation was also necessary in the beginning to provide encouragement in the face of opposition, criticism and persecution by the assurance that Allah was with the Muslims to provide direct guidance. The objections that those hostile to Islam brought were being dealt with by the revelations.

(6) Whereas a book can be read rapidly and superficially, real learning takes time and must be done in stages. That is why educational systems have different classes, each having a limited agenda but preparing for the next stage. The Prophet was preparing to educate and transform a section of the people who could then become teachers for the transformation of other people, the society and humanity as a whole.

Arguments about the Quran

Critic:-

Muslims assume that the Quran is from God and not an ordinary book. Let us examine the arguments Muslims have used to prove that Quran is not man-made:

1) "Muhammad was illiterate so how could he write?"

2) "Muhammad never lied so why would he lie this time?"

3) "Quran has never changed."

4) "No one was able to write like a chapter of the Quran."

5) "There is no error in the Quran."

6) "There are scientific miracles in the Quran."

These are the main arguments that I can remember. None of them stand. Shall we discuss each of them?....

Comment:-

The Quran is not man-made because it is a revelation. That is, the Prophet did not make it up but experienced it.

When you see the computer before you, it is an experience - you do not make it up but you can tell others about it. But when you express ideas such as the one you have done here then that is what you have made up.

The Prophet told us that the Quran was a revelation to him and we have no reason to disbelieve him. This is because:-

(a) He was known to be truthful. If he had been deluded that would have contradicted reality and he would have been maladapted. Neither is true.

(b) He used to get into a particular state when he received revelations.

(c) He was so profoundly affected by these revelations that he devoted his whole life to living according to them and propagating its ideas in the world, sacrificing everything else.

(d) Many of those who read or hear the Quran are affected by it profoundly and accept that it is indeed revelation.

We cannot accept your criticism because:- (a) Your refutations are based on verbal speculation and not on facts which alone prove truth. (b) Nor does Logic work when the terms used are understood differently by different people. (c) The points you try to refute are not logical arguments but things advanced as evidence.

You say that his illiteracy does not prove that he did not compose the Quran. But that argument does not prove that he did and you have your own definition of illiteracy that is not how it is understood. And no doubt your idea of who God is and what He does is not Islamic.

You say his truthfulness does not prove the Quran, because he may have been deluded. Again you have your own idea of what truthful means which includes self-deception. But we do not include this possibility in the meaning of truthful.

You say that the fact that the Quran is unchanged does not prove it is from God. But it may well indicate that it has been preserved by God.

The same can be said about the absence of errors in the Quran. It is more likely to have a non-human source because human beings make errors and you have your own definition of error which is not the one envisaged by Muslims.

As for the absence of scientific facts in the Quran, it has been pointed out that the Quran contains knowledge, not necessarily "scientific facts" which when understood in a narrow sense refer only to recent systems of describing things. You understand the word "science" in a different way from how it is understood by many Muslims.

Apart from this you have ignored the combination of all arguments. We are concerned not with proof but with evidence. The likelihood of something being true increases the greater the number of supporting evidence even if each one is uncertain.

Critic:-

Muhammad may be illiterate, at least initially at the beginning of his prophetic career, but that does not mean that he would be unable to SPEAK eloquently. And scribes would later simply record it. Where is the miracle?

Comment:-

A miracle is defined as a phenomenon in the world that is extraordinary in that it is not caused by the ordinary forces one is familiar with but by forces that come from a higher unfamiliar level. Television is a miracle to people who did not know about electro-magnetism and electronics.

The Prophet was unlettered in the sense that he did not know the Scriptures of the Jews and Christians. The Quran is a revelation to him and to those who understand it. This transformed the history and development of the world. It is, therefore, a miracle.

Another Critic:-

I have heard it said by some Muslims that the Quran has no errors. The conclusion is then drawn from this that it is therefore the word of God. But I do not see how the fact that there are no errors in a book necessarily makes that book the word of God.

Comment:-

Some People are having much trouble understanding the Quran because, if not simply hostile, then owing to minds that are conditioned by Western Culture and modes of thought.

You cannot use naive verbal logical syllogisms. The Quran appeals to the heart, to consciousness, conscience and will, not just to the superficial intellect. A more flexible approach is required. The words point to some events, experiences and realities.

Let us put your statement the other way round:- If there were errors in the Quran then it would not be from God.

The written book is a collection of what was revealed over a long period of time under all kinds of different conditions. Knowing about human limitations, for such a book to be self-consistent would be miraculous. But apart from this people do interpret things differently according to their knowledge, motives and abilities as we can see from this very site. So what the Quran is telling us is that the Quran should be read and interpreted as being wholly self-consistent, otherwise the message will not get through.

The Quran says that it is understood only when it is read correctly and with a sincere mind that seeks to understand. It is an inspiration in the hearts of those who have knowledge. It provides guidelines as to how it should be read. These should be followed.

What the Quran says is:-

"Do they not meditate on the Quran? If it were from other than Allah they would find in it many a discrepancy (inconsistencies, contradictions)." 4:82

The Quran should be meditated on. The verse can be interpreted as implying that if you do find discrepancies then what you are reading is not from Allah and you have misunderstood.

"Falsehood shall not come to it from before it nor from behind it, a revelation from the Wise, the Owner of Praise." 41:42

"Those unto whom We have given the Scripture, who read it with a right reading, those believe in it. And whoso disbelieves in it, those are the losers." 2:121

"This (Quran) is naught else than a reminder unto creation, unto whomsoever of you wills to walk straight. And ye will not, unless it be that Allah wills, the Lord of Creation." 81:27-29 and 68:52.

"Nay, but it (the Quran) is a clear revelation in the hearts of those who are endowed with knowledge, and none deny Our revelations save the wrongdoers (or unjust)." 29:24

"And We reveal in the Quran that which is a healing and a mercy for believers, though it increase the evil doers in nothing but ruin." 17:82

Preservation of the Quran

Critic:-

Before 750CE no Muslim document has survived which can throw light on the formative period of Islam; thus Muslim tradition cannot be confirmed; indeed archaeological and other extra-Islamic evidence disconfirms it. This applies to the Koran itself.

Contrast the position with Christianity: 5,300 manuscripts of the New Testament, 10,000 Latin Vulgates, and 9,300 other early versions, totalling 24,000 New Testament manuscripts, survive from well before the seventh century.

SAHIH BUKHARI Volume 6, Number 510: Narrated Anas bin Malik: "O chief of the Believers! Save this nation before they differ about the Book (Quran)" ... Uthman sent to every Muslim province one copy of what they had copied, and ordered that all the other Quranic materials, whether written in fragmentary manuscripts or whole copies, be burnt.

Comment:-

The Quran existed in fragments and different people had different sets of fragments. Under Uthman all were collected into one book. The Prophet formed an Islamic community and there were always people in it who memorised the Quran. The verses of the Quran had been written down from the beginning and when it was gathered into a book there were sufficient people who could have objected to the inclusion or exclusion of something. One of the objections was that the execution of adulterers was omitted but even this did not lead to its inclusion. The many of Hadith also serve to reinforce it.

The Quran has a style of its own that preserves it and an inner self-consistency, a pattern by which the parts support each other. And there are several repetitions of the same ideas though given in different forms, so that even if something was lost, it is still recoverable.

There is no reason to believe that the Quran is other than it originally was. In any case, it is the claim of the Quran that it will be preserved and this applies to its teachings. And we can interpret this as meaning that the Quran is exactly as it was meant to be and would be transmitted through teachers.

There are Quranic manuscripts written in archaic hijazi script which are tentatively dated to first half of the first century of hijra. There are numerous Islamic inscriptions that date from the first century of hijra. The earliest one with a photograph comes from 24 AH. The earliest Arabic papyri, date from 22 AH. See www.islamic-awareness.org/Quran.

Did you not know that only about 5% of the Greek manuscripts that you have listed date from before the advent of Islam?

The case with the Quran is nothing like that which surrounds the New Testament. There appear to have been about 30 different gospels and only 4 were included in the NT and even these date from more than a century after Jesus and seem to have been written by other than those to whom they are attributed.

It is this fact that makes persons hostile to Islam try hard to persuade us that something similar is the case with the Quran. But this is a futile attempt.

Critic:-

You say that the claim that the Quran will be preserved refers only to its teachings. This is Heresy. All Muslims are required to believe that Quran is preserved, not only in teachings but in words, ayahs, Surahs etc.

Comment:-

Let me ask you:-

Are these not the teachings of the Quran? Or is it your contention that the words, Ayas, Surahs have no meaning? Where does your belief come from if it is not a teaching? Do you make up your own beliefs? Is it part of the teaching of the Quran that the teaching and the text are different? Or are they aspects of the same thing or are they connected? Is it a teaching in the Quran that the text will be preserved without the teaching? Or vice versa?

Did you not understand that the Quran was a revelation and then a recital? And that the Quran according to its own words is

"Nay, but it (the Quran) is a clear revelation in the hearts of those who are endowed with knowledge, and none deny Our revelations save the wrongdoers (or unjust)." 29:24

"Those unto whom We have given the Scripture, who read it with a right reading, those believe in it. And whoso disbelieves in it, those are the losers." 2:121

Is it difficult for you to understand that if the words are meaningless to you or have a wrong meaning then you do not have the Quran, but it is preserved in those who understand it? Are you a worshipper of the paper and ink Quran or of Allah?

But let me make it clear what I mean by the teaching of the Quran. The teaching lies in:-

(a) The meaning of the verses, suras and the whole Quran and at several levels.

(b) The wording - the words selected and the way they are inter-related to form the verses etc. in context.

(c) The rhythm of the recitation

(d) The events to which they relate.

(e) The understanding of the person who reads them and makes the necessary effort to think and meditate.

(f) The practices to which it gives rise to and their effects.

Heresy

Critic:-

It is heresy to believe as you do that Christians and Jews can achieve salvation without accepting Islam.

Comment:-

Heresy refers to departure from established beliefs or standards. Established belief may be wrong. It depends also on what a sect believes. The belief of other sects is heretical. In ordinary use the words "Heresy" and "Heretic" have no connection with Truth. They should really refer to beliefs that depart from Truth.

Did you not understand that the religion brought by all the Messengers of Allah are Islam? Did you not read in the Quran and understand:-

"Say, O people of the scriptures, ye have naught of guidance till ye observe the Torah and the Gospels and that which was revealed unto you from your Lord. That which is revealed unto thee (Muhammad) from thy Lord is certain to increase the rebelliousness and disbelief of many of them. But grieve not for the disbelieving folk. Whosoever believes in Allah and the Last day and does right, there shall no fear come upon them nor shall they grieve." 5:68-69

And what do you think are the implications of the following verses? 16:36, 5:69, 3:64, 3:113-114, 5:48, 22:76

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