Ask a Muslim anything

[Lukraak_Sisser]

Oh! another question popped to mind, if you have the time to answer it of course.

Why does the quran lack basic microbiology?
And not the 'wash your hands' and stuff which had been empirically discovered by humans LONG before the quran was written.

No I mean why did an all powerful, all knowing being neglect to mention things like bacteria, virusses(virii?), how they are transmitted and at least a basic description on how to pasteurize/sterilize and make simple antibiotics? All of these could easily have been performed with the technology available at the time and would have prevented immense amounts of suffering, while at the same time showing the superiority of the text.

 

[gerdbonk]

I would tend to disagree, since I take my reference from astrophysicist Alex Filippenko and others.

An example of his views (15:00 in):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLHUNkXGXqI

So, you even misinterpret your sources? Try studying pulsars. They are not bright.

From your link:

Seen from the earth, the pulsar inside the Crab Nebula looks like an insignificant speck. Before it was identified as a pulsar, no one realized it was blinking on and off thirty times a second.

Alex then says exactly what I explained before. The pulsar provides energy to the nebula. Not visible light.

So this eensy-weensy thing [the faint pulsar] is lighting up a tremendously large region around it, because of all the energetic charged particles coming away from it.

So, given that your source does not support your assertion that pulsars are bright (or "knocking"), do you acknowledge that the Qur'an does not accurately describe a pulsar?

 

[Lukraak_Sisser]

About the pulsar bit, I'd have to go with most of the others here.
The verses are vague and multi-interpretable.
If it had said something like
'In this portion of the sky there is the collapsed core of a star that rotates about 2,6 million times a day and emits something like light, but with a greater wavelength'
THEN I'd be convinced, but it doesn't

Stars of regular variable brightness are a known phenomena and have probably been a part of human astronomy since before writing was developed.

 

[Jinn]

Is this the famous Saudi cleric otherwise known as Bin Baz who, IIRC, had to come up with a fatwa to allow troops into the Grand Mosque of Mecca to end al-Otaibi's seige?



How is evolution compatible with the Koran?

Do the majority of Muslims agree with evolution or is this a minority/controversial view?

Peace angrysoba,

I would suspect it to be the same, but don't quote me on that.

As far as evolution, there are several lengthy explanations regarding it's correlation with the Qur'an, but for time's sake, I'll attempt to give you a quick rundown of the basic points.

First, Muslims believe God to have many Names. One of which, is most commonly translated into The Shaper or The Evolver (both are valid) and is referenced in 59:24. The verse also references Him as The Bestower of Forms

Second, 21:30 states that all things were made from water, which from the first cell to today's creatures, is true.

Third, 30:1 states that God increases/adds to the creation as He wills. This is indeed a broad statement, but can mean literally anything from increase in population or an increase in complexity.

Fourth, let's turn to the creation as described in the Qur'an. 23:12 decribes mankind being created from a quintessence, or extract of earth and water, interestingly enough, all the base minerals required for humans to survive are from the earth. In 2:30, God declares that mankind will be placed as a successor on the earth. The word "khalifah" translated into "successor" literally translates into "one who replaces someone else who left or died and assumes their responsibilities." If Adam is the first man, who is the predecessor?

That's... the really, really short version.

There is no contradiction with accepting both evolution and the Qur'an. In fact, Muslims have tossed the idea around long before Darwin ever did.

One should then take a look at the world of creation. it started out from the minerals and progressed, in an ingenious, gradual manner to plants and animals.

The animal world then widens, its species become numerous, and, in a gradual process of creation, it finally leads to man, who is able to think and reflect. The higher stage of man is reached by the world of monkeys

Both of these are quotes from Ibn Khaldun's book "The Muqaddimah" which preceded Darwin by about 1400 years. Other scientists reached similar conclusions, such as Al-Jahiz, Ibn Miskawayah, Hasan Ibin al-Haitham, Nasir al-Din Tusi and Ismail Ibn Kathir. Western scientists were well aware of this at the time and called it "The Mohammedan theory of evolution of man from lower forms"

So as far as I'm concerned, Darwin's theory wasn't anything new, it was just the one that popularized it.

 

[KinskiTemper]

I hope this doesn't come across as rude, but from many Muslims I have heard that it's a religion of peace. However, I have heard that apostasy is punishable by death, as dictated by the Quran (this is what I have heard - I have never read it myself, so please correct me if this is wrong). But if this is so, how do you explain such a thing?

 

[Jinn]

It is another case of GOD OF HINDSIGHT.

Moslims love to go through the quran and contort some verses and WITH HINDSIGHT of science of today squeeze some meaning out of the verses to construe that it actually meant these things.

TARIQ means the KNOCKER and it does not mean PULSING.....and the TAFSEER of IBN KATHIR which is the quintessential expounding and elucidation of the Quran (like the Talmud is to the Torah) said that it was a bright star in the NIGHT Sky that would come through the night like the KNOCKER on the door.

If the Quran has any science in it other than GOD OF HINDSIGHT effect then we would have the Muslims colonizing Mars by now judging by all the science they construe out of it in hindsight after non-muslim scientists have worked it out.



All you need is to look at the Tafseer of Ibn Katheer of the verses to see that he is talking RUBBISH.

Look at how people BEFORE the "kafereen" scientists of the west discovered the cosmological science and made the information available, saw the TAFSEER of the verses. (see below)

Notice the REST of the sura.....notice the verse that talks about the man being made from gushing water that comes from between the back bone and the ribs. Also look at its tafseer. So if the very same surah has BIOLOGY ALL WRONG and as we have seen it has no real meaning in cosmology then we know that it is a LOAD OF RUBBISH

So these SHYSTER new translators who want to RE-INTERPRET the arabic language and the quran to fit it into science DISCOVERED BY "KAFEREEN" should remember to read the TAFSEERS and to remember that ISLAM DID NOT DISCOVER these things that they want to use in HINDSIGHT to try to make the quran APPEAR less retarded than it really is. They also should remember that it is the "KAFEREEN" who discovered these things DESPITE not having any quran to rely upon with HIDDEN and MEANINGLESS stuff.

In the tafseer below notice how the HADITH i.e. Muhammad himself did not know the meaning and no one else did.

Remember that no matter how much they try to TWIST and CONTORT the meaning of the MEANINGLESS WORDS in the quran to CAJOLE them into meaning something scientific in HINDSIGHT, they will not be able to rub out the OTHER RUBBISH verses that are clearly understood and have no way of being twisted into meaning anything else and are TOTALLY UNSCIENTIFIC. For example the verse in the very same surah that talks about sperm coming out from the backbone and ribs of man.....let alone the verses that talk about earth being flat and the heavens is a dome and maintained from falling down on earth due to invisible pillars and hundreds of moronic stuff that one day I will write up in one essay.


Here is the tafseer ibn katheer Notice the colored stuff: (for information on Pulsars see this link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulsar)

For Tafseer....see this site http://www.qtafsir.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1201&Itemid=142

﴿وَالسَّمَآء وَالطَّارِقِ- وَمَآ أَدْرَاكَ مَا الطَّارِقُ- النَّجْمُ الثَّاقِبُ- إِن كُلُّ نَفْسٍ لَّمَّا عَلَيْهَا حَافِظٌ- فَلْيَنظُرِ الإِنسَـنُ مِمَّ خُلِقَ- خُلِقَ مِن مَّآء دَافِقٍ- يَخْرُجُ مِن بَيْنِ الصُّلْبِ وَالتَّرَآئِبِ- إِنَّهُ عَلَى رَجْعِهِ لَقَادِرٌ- يَوْمَ تُبْلَى السَّرَآئِرُ- فَمَا لَهُ مِن قُوَّةٍ وَلاَ نَاصِرٍ-﴾

(1. By the heaven, and At-Tariq) (2. And what will make you to know what At-Tariq is) (3. The star, Ath-Thaqib.) (4. There is no human being but has a protector over him.) (5. So, let man see from what he is created!) (6. He is created from a water gushing forth,) (7. Proceeding from between the backbone and the ribs.) (8. Verily, He is Able to bring him back!) (9. The Day when all the secrets will be examined.) (10. Then he will have no power, nor any helper.)


Allah swears by the heaven and what He has placed in it of radiant stars. Thus, He says,

﴿وَالسَّمَآءِ وَالطَّارِقِ ﴾

(By the heaven, and At-Tariq) Then He says,

﴿وَمَآ أَدْرَاكَ مَا الطَّارِقُ ﴾

(And what will make you to know what At-Tariq is) Then He explains it by His saying,

﴿النَّجْمُ الثَّاقِبُ ﴾

(The star of Ath-Thaqib.) Qatadah and others have said, "The star has been named Tariq because it is only seen at night and it is hidden during the day.'' His view is supported by what has been mentioned in the authentic Hadith that prohibits a man to come to his family Taruq. This means that he comes to them unexpectedly at nighttime. Concerning Allah's statement,

﴿الثَّاقِبُ﴾

(Ath-Thaqib.) Ibn `Abbas said, "The illuminating.'' `Ikrimah said, "It is illuminating and it burns the Shaytan'' Then Allah says,

﴿إِن كُلُّ نَفْسٍ لَّمَّا عَلَيْهَا حَافِظٌ ﴾

(There is no human being but has a protector over him.) meaning, every soul has a guardian over it from Allah that protects it from the calamities. This is as Allah says,

﴿لَهُ مُعَقِّبَـتٌ مِّن بَيْنِ يَدَيْهِ وَمِنْ خَلْفِهِ يَحْفَظُونَهُ مِنْ أَمْرِ اللَّهِ﴾

(For Him, there are angels in succession, before and behind him. They guard him by the command of Allah.) (13:11)


Allah says,

﴿فَلْيَنظُرِ الإِنسَـنُ مِمَّ خُلِقَ ﴾

(So, let man see from what he is created!) This is alerting man to the weakness of his origin from which he was created. The intent of it is to guide man to accept (the reality of) the Hereafter, because whoever is able to begin the creation then he is also able to repeat it in the same way. This is as Allah says,

﴿وَهُوَ الَّذِى يَبْدَأُ الْخَلْقَ ثُمَّ يُعِيدُهُ وَهُوَ أَهْوَنُ عَلَيْهِ﴾

(And He it is Who originates the creation, then He will repeat it; and this is easier for Him.) (30:27) Then Allah says,

﴿خُلِقَ مِن مَّآءٍ دَافِقٍ ﴾

(He is created from a water gushing forth.) meaning, the sexual fluid that comes out bursting forth from the man and the woman. Thus, the child is produced from both of them by the permission of Allah. Due to this Allah says,

﴿يَخْرُجُ مِن بَيْنِ الصُّلْبِ وَالتَّرَآئِبِ ﴾

(Proceeding from between the backbone and the ribs.) meaning, the backbone (or loins) of the man and the ribs of the woman, which is referring to her chest. Shabib bin Bishr reported from `Ikrimah who narrated from Ibn `Abbas that he said,

﴿يَخْرُجُ مِن بَيْنِ الصُّلْبِ وَالتَّرَآئِبِ ﴾

(Proceeding from between the backbone and the ribs.) "The backbone of the man and the ribs of the woman. It (the fluid) is yellow and fine in texture. The child will not be born except from both of them (i.e., their sexual fluids).'' Concerning Allah's statement,

﴿إِنَّهُ عَلَى رَجْعِهِ لَقَادِرٌ ﴾

(Verily, He is Able to bring him back (to life)!) This means that He is able to return this man that is created from fluid gushed forth. In other words, He is able to repeat his creation and resurrect him to the final abode. This is clearly possible, because whoever is able to begin the creation then he surely is able to repeat it. Indeed Allah has mentioned this proof in more than one place in the Qur'an.

Peace Leumas,

Ibin Kathir's tafseer is not akin to the talmud of the Torah. At all. Tafseer is arabic for "commentary" and contains one man's opinions. Unless you have a question, I'm going to kindly disregard this post. You're welcome to attack me in a new thread though.

 

[Jinn]

What is the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow?

Peace Brainache,

http://style.org/unladenswallow/

 

[Jinn]

Hi Jinn
welcome to the forum.
my question would be about transplanting organs. I have heard Islam does allow tranplantations of Organs if the donor does not need it. But this also counts for death donors, so it would be not OK to transplant the heart of a death person.

is that correct? and if so, would you reject a heart if you needed it?

Peace DC,

I LOVE your avatar! I have that same exact Cthulhu fish on the back of my car! I love it so much

Great question! I personally have never heard this restriction and see no reason why there should be one. As I have explained before in previous posts in this thread, I reject the hadith, which unfortunately makes up the bulk of mainstream shariah law. There is nothing in the Qur'an that prevents a donor from donating anything they do not need to others that do need it. I'd even consider it a form of charity.

 

[Jinn]

What is the evidence that Islam is true?

Peace Humes,

That question would force me to preach if answered traditionally, and I'm not here to do that.

What makes Islam true differs from person to person. For me, it's the verses that deal with the universe, I love space, and those verses tug at me with unimaginable relevance to current discoveries. Not everyone is going to accept the Qur'an as the Word of God, and not everyone is going to accept the existence of God. As I said before, I didn't come here to convert anyone, just answer any questions people want to ask and discuss other topics on these forums to expand my knowledge, as well as see who's trying for that million dollar challenge of Randi's

 

[Jinn]

Jinn another question

what do you think about same sex marriages?
should they be allowed? well secular marriages of course.

Peace DC,

I think if a dude wants to marry another dude, that's their concern and not mine. I'm strongly pro-gay marriage because I believe, as an American, that our country was founded on the standard that all people have the same rights.

I'm also a non-denominational minister, which means I can legally marry people. Due to my personal beliefs, I wouldn't conduct a same-sex marriage ceremony, but I'd definitely refer the couple to someone who would.

 

[jibal]

Peace Alan,

I came to Islam after 3 years of studying the Qur'an (which is still an ongoing process). I could write an essay on why, but I will save you the time and tell you that in summation of my studies, the Qur'an described things such as the pulsar that couldn't have been known to mankind 1400 years ago. The rest fell into place quite nicely after that.

I will be frank. If that is the case, then I find you too unreliable as an evaluator of evidence to care about your answers to any question. Peace out.

 

[Brainache]

Peace angrysoba,

I would suspect it to be the same, but don't quote me on that.

As far as evolution, there are several lengthy explanations regarding it's correlation with the Qur'an, but for time's sake, I'll attempt to give you a quick rundown of the basic points.

First, Muslims believe God to have many Names. One of which, is most commonly translated into The Shaper or The Evolver (both are valid) and is referenced in 59:24. The verse also references Him as The Bestower of Forms

Second, 21:30 states that all things were made from water, which from the first cell to today's creatures, is true.

Third, 30:1 states that God increases/adds to the creation as He wills. This is indeed a broad statement, but can mean literally anything from increase in population or an increase in complexity.

Fourth, let's turn to the creation as described in the Qur'an. 23:12 decribes mankind being created from a quintessence, or extract of earth and water, interestingly enough, all the base minerals required for humans to survive are from the earth. In 2:30, God declares that mankind will be placed as a successor on the earth. The word "khalifah" translated into "successor" literally translates into "one who replaces someone else who left or died and assumes their responsibilities." If Adam is the first man, who is the predecessor?

That's... the really, really short version.

There is no contradiction with accepting both evolution and the Qur'an. In fact, Muslims have tossed the idea around long before Darwin ever did.

One should then take a look at the world of creation. it started out from the minerals and progressed, in an ingenious, gradual manner to plants and animals.
...

The animal world then widens, its species become numerous, and, in a gradual process of creation, it finally leads to man, who is able to think and reflect. The higher stage of man is reached by the world of monkeys

Both of these are quotes from Ibn Khaldun's book "The Muqaddimah" which preceded Darwin by about 1400 years. Other scientists reached similar conclusions, such as Al-Jahiz, Ibn Miskawayah, Hasan Ibin al-Haitham, Nasir al-Din Tusi and Ismail Ibn Kathir. Western scientists were well aware of this at the time and called it "The Mohammedan theory of evolution of man from lower forms"

So as far as I'm concerned, Darwin's theory wasn't anything new, it was just the one that popularized it.

Thanks for that. I had no idea.

Amazing.

Peace Brainache,

http://style.org/unladenswallow/

Correct answer.

Peace DC,

I think if a dude wants to marry another dude, that's their concern and not mine. I'm strongly pro-gay marriage because I believe, as an American, that our country was founded on the standard that all people have the same rights.

I'm also a non-denominational minister, which means I can legally marry people. Due to my personal beliefs, I wouldn't conduct a same-sex marriage ceremony, but I'd definitely refer the couple to someone who would.

Does non-denominational still mean Muslim?

 

[Leumas]

So as far as I'm concerned, Darwin's theory wasn't anything new, it was just the one that popularized it.

It goes with the whole "free will" thing .

Jinn,

I can believe you were a Christian….but I find it VERY HARD to believe you were ever an Atheist as you claim.

Your Apologetics for the Quran are exactly the same kind of apologetics Christians use for the Bible.

If you were ever in any form an Atheist out of REASONING you would be ashamed to even begin to use the apologetics you are using for the Quran.

In the Quran God says that he created Humans out of MUD and breathed a soul into them on numerous occasions in many verses in many Suras.

In the Quran, God also says he created EVERYTHING in SIX days and that he holds the sky from falling on our heads and that the earth is a carpet and that the sun and the moon run in their tracks and actually pray to him and that the stars are LANTERNS in the dome.

So unfortunately, the Quran is as RETARDED as the Bible in that aspect….. only by CONTORTING, WARPING, WRIGGLING and WRITHING verses and with HINDSIGHT of today’s science can you even begin to justify to yourself that the quaran even comes close to having evolution in it or that it is in any way not a RETARDED pathetic book when it comes to any kind of EPISTEMOLOGICAL SCIENCE. God in the quran even BOASTS that he hits whoever he wishes with lightning.

Another apologetic you use is FREE WILL……how original…..in the quran God on numerous occasions in many Suras says that he guides whoever he wants and will mislead who he wants……so how is that free will?

And why would he want to make a book in the first place if one’s free will can be free to interpret it in any way it happens to think is best…..why would he then be mad that we did not interpret it correctly?

Why did he not instruct Mohammad to have the Quran written down in his lifetime and collated in one book and have it so that mohammad can then make sure that it is true and sound and is in the right order????

Why did Omar have to order SEVEN versions of the Quran BURNT because they did not tally with the one HE liked best???

Why is it that they had to collect the quran from bits and pieces from here and there written on Asses bones and sheep’s skin and FROM PEOPLE’s MEMORY????

How do we know they got it right???? Mohammad NEVER APPROVED the edition that Omar approved???? There were SEVEN OTHERS….how do we know that Omar got it right….Mohammad was long dead and we have no indication that Omar had Gabriel visit him to EDIT the final collected book????

How do we know that people’s memory was not FALSE or INCORRECT?

The quran is collated in such an amazingly STUPID manner…… Verses that were revealed in Mecca are intermingled with verses released in Medina and in one Sura. And even that is wrong since verses revealed early on come at the end of the book and ones revealed way later are at the beginning of the book on top of the mingling of the verses which are chronologically not consecutive in the same Sura consecutively.

The Quran has the SAME STORIES from the Bible repeated OVER AND OVER ad nauseum. Some are half told in one sura and then picked up and finished in another sura that is 30 suras later.

There is so much repetition in the Quran of almost everything. Most of the quran cannot even be understood unless one has read the Torah and in some cases even the NT.

So for the life of me I cannot see how you can even begin to say that you rejected Christianity and then you turn around and accept a religion that is JUST AS RETARDED and apply to it the EXACT SAME apologetics you could have applied to Christianity and remained a Christian as a result.

There is something WRONG with your assertions…….I do not believe you are INGENIOUS….. or your are very CREDULOUS and just as benighted as you were when you were a Christian and never could have been an Atheist out of any intelligent reasoning.


By the way …. I see no point in wasting my time looking up verse references to support my above assertions about the Quran….. they are all there and anyone can look them up by reading the quran….but if anyone REALLY wants me to do so I am happy to do it but I would rather not waste my time.

 

[Mudcat]

It goes with the whole "free will" thing

Sorry, but you lose. Being definitive about what you are saying doesn't impede on free will.

And since you don't reply to anything but questions, here's one:

Where is the Qur'an on human pain, suffering, and degredation?

 

[jibal]

Peace Ross,

I wouldn't see it as reaching when the word "tariq" literally translates into "Knocking" "Rapping" "Pulsing" etc. but I take your point.

I wouldn't exactly say that western scientists had a Qur'an in their back pocket, but while we're on the topic of space (I love space!) I can give you verses that accurately predicted several recent discoveries.

The Big Bang Theory is described in 21:30:


The expansion of the universe, proven by Hubble's Red Shift in 51:47:


The Cosmic Crunch Theory is described in 21:104:
On that Day We will roll up the heaven, like a scroll rolled up for books. Just as We initiated the first creation, We will revert it. This is Our promise. We will certainly fulfill it.

The Cosmic Crunch theory states that the universe will collapse back in upon itself. Some proponents believe it will create another singularity.

Hope that helps.

Poe?

 

[Jinn]

Salamo Alaykum Ryan,

If you say that the quran is like any other literary work..... how can it be the word of GOD?

If it is the word of GOD then it should NOT be open to interpretations like any other literary work.

If the quran was written by God then it ought to be interpreted UNAMBIGUOUSLY.

Otherwise the quran WOULD BE POINTLESS.....because how would we know which interpretation is the CORRECT one?? What would be the point of a revealed book that cannot be CORRECTLY understood.

How should I know that one interpretation of a MULLAH is better than another interpretation of an IMAM and whether either is better than that of Ibn Katheer or yours or mine or whoever????

If GOD should write a book it should be extremely miraculous that every time one reads it the words should IMPRINT INTO ONE’S BRAIN or SOUL or INNER MIND the CORRECT INTENDED meaning and as such ANY AND ALL who read it should GET IT RIGHT.

The problem of Christianity is they cannot read the Bible in its ORIGINAL language and not even Jews can do that either.

BUT....the Quran is supposed to be preserved and available in its ORIGINAL language. And the Arabs can read it and presumably understand it....no?

Then any arabic speaker SHOULD be able to GET IT RIGHT.

But it seems to me that many are NOT AGREEING.

By the way....what is the meaning of those 3 or 4 letter words that start some of the Suras .... NO MOSLIM knows their meaning.....so are they a SECRET CODE..... do you know that in Judaism there are LETTER CODES that are meant to indicate some meaning to the INITIATED..... does that mean the Muhammad was using Hebrew CODE to indicate some secret code to some RABBIS who only them understood these letter codes?


e.g. ALM in Sura 1 (The Cow)

or ALMS in Sura 7 (A-raaf the Heights)

﴿المص - كِتَـبٌ أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكَ فَلاَ يَكُن فِى صَدْرِكَ حَرَجٌ مِّنْهُ لِتُنذِرَ بِهِ وَذِكْرَى لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ - اتَّبِعُواْ مَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكُم مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ وَلاَ تَتَّبِعُواْ مِن دُونِهِ أَوْلِيَآءَ قَلِيلاً مَّا تَذَكَّرُونَ ﴾

(1. Alif-Lam-Mim-Sad.) (2. (This is the) Book (the Qur'an) sent down unto you, so let not your breast be narrow therefrom, that you warn thereby; and a reminder unto the believers.) (3. Follow what has been sent down unto you from your Lord, and follow not any Awliya' (protectors), besides Him (Allah). Little do you remember!) We mentioned before the explanation of the letters ﴿such as, Alif-Lam, that are in the beginning of some Surahs in the Qur'an﴾.


or KHYA'S in Sura 19 (Maryam = Mary)

﴿كهيعص - ذِكْرُ رَحْمَتِ رَبِّكَ عَبْدَهُ زَكَرِيَّآ - إِذْ نَادَى رَبَّهُ نِدَآءً خَفِيّاً - قَالَ رَبِّ إِنِّى وَهَنَ الْعَظْمُ مِنِّى وَاشْتَعَلَ الرَّأْسُ شَيْباً وَلَمْ أَكُنْ بِدُعَآئِكَ رَبِّ شَقِيّاً - وَإِنِّي خِفْتُ الْمَوَالِىَ مِن وَرَآئِى وَكَانَتِ امْرَأَتِى عَاقِرًا فَهَبْ لِى مِن لَّدُنْكَ وَلِيّاً - يَرِثُنِى وَيَرِثُ مِنْ ءَالِ يَعْقُوبَ وَاجْعَلْهُ رَبِّ رَضِيّاً ﴾

(1. Kaf Ha Ya `Ain Sad.) (2. A reminder of the mercy of your Lord to His servant Zakariyya.) (3. When he called his Lord ﴿with﴾ a call in secret.) (4. He said: "My Lord! Indeed my bones have grown feeble, and gray hair has Ashta`al on my head, and I have never been unblessed in my invocation to You, O my Lord!'') (5. "And verily, I fear Mawali after me, and my wife is barren. So give me from Yourself an heir.'') (6. "Who shall inherit me, and inherit (also) the posterity of Ya`qub. And make him, my Lord, one with whom You are well-pleased!'')




How do you interpret the following

Sura 13 (Ar-Rad = Thunder)

﴿اللَّهُ الَّذِى رَفَعَ السَّمَـوَتِ بِغَيْرِ عَمَدٍ تَرَوْنَهَا ثُمَّ اسْتَوَى عَلَى الْعَرْشِ وَسَخَّرَ الشَّمْسَ وَالْقَمَرَ كُلٌّ يَجْرِى لأَجَلٍ مُّسَمًّـى يُدَبَّرُ الاٌّمْرَ يُفَصِّلُ الآيَـتِ لَعَلَّكُمْ بِلِقَآءِ رَبِّكُمْ تُوقِنُونَ ﴾

(2. Allah is He Who raised the heavens without any pillars that you can see. Then, He rose above (Istawa) the `Arsh ﴿Throne﴾. He has subjected the sun and the moon, each running (its course) for a term appointed. He manages and regulates all affairs; He explains the Ayat in detail, that you may believe with certainty in the meeting with your Lord.)

As far as the Qur'an being open to interpretation or not, it addresses this quite nicely in 5:48 as well as other places:

And We have revealed to you the Book with the truth, verifying what is before it of the Book and a guardian over it, therefore judge between them by what God has revealed, and do not follow their low desires from the truth that has come to you; for every one of you did We appoint a law and a way, and if God had pleased He would have made you a single people, but that He might try you in what He gave you, therefore strive with one another to hasten to virtuous deeds; to God is your return, of all, so He will let you know that in which you differed;

If God wanted us to be united as Muslims, He would have done it. Muslims, along with our Christian and Jewish counterparts, believe that God gave us free will in order to test us. Think of it this way: If God wanted us to have all believed, the Qur'an would never have been revealed because we wouldn't need it.

The Qur'an is a reminder to believers and an invitation for non-believers. The definition of a Muslim is a rather simple one: a believer in One God, His Messengers, Messages and the establisher of prayer, charity and good deeds.

One of my favorite references to free will is in Bruce Almighty, where Jim Carrey asks Morgan Freeman on the topic of free will "Can I ask a question?" and Morgan Freeman replies "Yes! That's the beauty of it!"

I wouldn't know whether one mullah's interpretation is better than an imam's because the Qur'an tells us to study it and reach our conclusions by ourselves. We are never to accept a document until we personally verify it to be true. There are many great orators out there that I enjoy comparing notes with, but ultimately I must validate Islam by myself through my own personal research. For every proponent of an issue I listen to, I make sure to find at least two critics to counterbalance it. I am not perfect, nor are they, and I find that the best way to research interpretations is to study as many variants as I can lay hands on. I have more than one English Qur'an and I read them all alongside the original Arabic. I do not claim that I'm a know-it-all on the topic, and nor does any scholar or official that has half a brain.

Indeed there are variations to interpretations. To me, that's the beauty of the Qur'an. Most arabic words have a multiple of variant definitions. As with my pulsar example, the verse can be translated a multitude of ways, all of which are accurate, with the literal meaning being the one that I have personally found to be most accurate.

There is also a wild card that most people don't know about: The hadith. Every sect has a different compilation of hadith. It is the unwavering consensus of the hadith community that the hadith are to be used to interpret the Qur'an. Thus, with every sect, the different compendiums of hadith act like filters and fillers. Thus, one sect may interpret a verse in a wildly different manner than another sect. The current and most accepted English translation is called "Sahih International" which I believe is Sunni. There are several ongoing projects that are working on a unified English translation without using the hadith.

As you have answered your own question about the letters preceding most chapters, I don't know their meaning. I've seen several interpretations, but ultimately I don't think any of us know. I've never seen any letter codes in the Torah, and I do not accept the Talmud as Islamic, or even valid, so if you are referring to the Talmud, I have yet to see the correlation.

As to the verses you have presented me,

The excerpt refers to the moon's orbit and the Solar Apex, as well as God's Will upon everything in the universe. I am of the unwavering belief that the laws of physics that govern our universe is God's Will at work. If M-Theory is to believed, there are other universes with wildly different physics that would seem utterly impossible to us.

Hope that helps.

 

[Brian-M]

Hello Jinn.

My main question would be, do you have a rational basis for your belief, and if so, what?

Peace Alan,

I came to Islam after 3 years of studying the Qur'an (which is still an ongoing process). I could write an essay on why, but I will save you the time and tell you that in summation of my studies, the Qur'an described things such as the pulsar that couldn't have been known to mankind 1400 years ago. The rest fell into place quite nicely after that.

Can you find a passage that explicitly tells us something that nobody of that time could have possibly known? Otherwise this is just another kooky postdiction, like all those Nostradamus interpretations.

Peace gerdbonk,
The verses in question would be Chapter 86 al-Tariq, 1-3.

The arabic "tariq" means "knocking" "striking" "Rapping" or "pulsing" and so the chapter translates into "The Knocker/Striker/Rapper", etc. I will use "Knocker" for the verses.

1. By the Sky and The Knocker
2. And what will make you know what The Knocker is?
3. The star of piercing brightness!

From these three verses, we can conclude that the object in question is a star of some sort, it is described as knocking, rapping, pulsing, etc; and is piercingly bright. Not only do pulsars sound like they're knocking due to their fast rotations, but they are incredibly bright. The crab nebula is one such example of how immensely bright these things are. That's the basic answer.

I think you're stretching things a little to assume it means a pulsar. It could be referring to a binary system that varies in brightness over time, or possibly a supernova that brightened the skies. In those days the stars were considered portents and omens, so they would be aware of visible changes in the sky like this.

No offense intended, but I'm not going to take your quotation as it stands. Instead I'm going to get one from another source for comparison...

1. By the heaven, and that which appeareth by night:
2. but what shall cause thee to understand what that which appeareth by night is?
3. it is the star of piercing brightness:
4. every soul hath a guardian set over it.
5. Let a man consider, therefore, of what he is created.
6. He is created of seed poured forth,
7. issuing from the loins and the breast-bones.
8. Verily God is able to restore him to life,
9. the day whereon all secret thoughts and actions shall be examined into;
10. and he shall have no power to defend himself nor any protector.
11. By the heaven which returneth the rain,
12. and by the earth which openeth to let forth vegetables and springs,
13. verily this is a discourse distinguishing good from evil,
14. and it is not composed with lightness,
15. Verily the infidels are laying a plot to frustrate my designs;
16. but I will lay a plot for their ruin.
17. Wherefore, O Prophet, bear with the unbelievers I let them alone a while.

Looking at this translation of the entire verse, it doesn't seem to be saying much about stars at all, except possibly vaguely implying that they're really guardian spirits..

(I know Angrysoba beat me to the whole quotation, but I looked this up before I read his comment, and thought it would be worthwhile adding a different translation to the conversation.)

Peace angrysoba,

There are other interpretations that translate it as "The Morning Star" as well as other things. Among other English translations, I am a big fan of Dr. Ghali's work, due to the fact that he recognizes the diverse amount of interpretive room in the Qur'anic language and attempts to bring them together as casually as he can. For example, here is his translation of 86:1

And (by) the heaven and the Night Visitant! (Or: "The Morning Star; literally: The Rapper).

As he points out, the literal translation of "tariq" is "Rapper" or "Knocker"

Hope that helps.

From the comments on my source for the translation of that verse I quoted...

(3) The star, &c. "Some take the words to signify any bright star, without restriction, but others think some particular star or stars to be thereby intended; which one supposes to be the morning star (peculiarly called 'al Tariq,' or 'the appearing by night '), another Saturn (that planet being by the Arabs surnamed 'al Thakib,' or 'the piercing,' as it was by the Greeks ' Phaenon,' or 'the shining'), and a third, the Pleiades."-Sale.

This pretty much says that "Tariq" means "appearing by night". Looking at another source, a literal interpretation this time, we get...

1. And/by the sky/space, and/by the Night Comer/star (Morning Star).
2. And what made you know/informed you what the Night Comer/star (Morning Star is)?
3. The star/planet, the lit/penetrating.

So it literally means "the night comer" or "appearing by night". While your argument is based on it meaning "the rapper" or "the knocker". In other words, your argument is based on a faulty translation.

I personally do not believe the Qur'an to contain a clear error and through my studies have not found one. God has promised to preserve the Qur'an in it's original state and since it's inception there hasn't been a single change, something that even it's harshest critics will admit.

If there hasn't been a single change, why did it become necessary for different groups of Muslims to destroy every copy of any Koran that differed from their own?

The reason why the Koran lacks variation is because the other variations were destroyed, not because God prevented it from varying.

Why would God allow His Word to be open to interpretation?

Why not just be definitive?

He is God after all!

Peace Ross,

It goes with the whole "free will" thing

Being clear and explicit in your meaning does not violate free will. That is a complete non-answer. You sound like a Christian apologist.

 

[Jinn]

What about those that claim the Qur'an describes/predicts specific scientific discoveries? This remains your interpretation, though it is demonstrably incorrect?

Peace gerdbonk,

I believe in a previous post I gave reference to the Big Bang, expansion of the universe and Cosmic Crunch in the Qur'an. Not sure which post number it is, I've been busy answering as fast as I can

 

[Jinn]

Maybe he'll answer you, PixyMisa. He completely ignored my first challenge.

Did I miss it? I'd implore you to check the replies, but if I did miss it, I'd love for you to re-state it, I've had a lot of questions so far.

Furthermore, if you're looking for a debate, I'd ask you to start another thread, let's keep this to Q&A

 

[gumboot]

Hi Jinn,

Where do you stand on God's existence? Do you believe that the Qu'ran provides evidence of God's existence, or do you believe in the existence of God on spiritual or faith grounds, but consider the Qu'ran to be the right "fit" for the "nature" of God, or something else?