Cow Sacrifice the Antidote to Idolatry

 بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

وصلى الله على نبيه الامين

وعلى آله واصحابه اجمعين

اِنَّ اللّٰہَ یَاۡمُرُکُمۡ اَنۡ تَذۡبَحُوۡا بَقَرَۃً

Allah commands you to slaughter a cow

(Surah 2:67)

The narrative in Surat al-Baqarah, the second Surah of the Quran and its longest, is extremely vital for understanding a disease that has spread in the minds of many Muslims.

Baqarah means cow and this Surah is named after the incident of the Prophet Moses على نبينا وعليه الصلاة والسلام under divine authority ordering his people to sacrifice a cow. In the proceeding Ayāt, Allah describes how the people of Moses, who are repeatedly named “stiff necked” in the Torah, attempted to play games with their own Prophet and escape having to carry out his orders by asking him questions regarding the specific description of the cow they were ordered to sacrifice. So Allah says:

فَذَبَحُوۡہَا وَ مَا کَادُوۡا یَفۡعَلُوۡنَ

Then they slaughtered her, though they would rather not do so

(Surah 2:71)

Perhaps the reluctance of the people of Moses in sacrificing a cow was a degree of hypocrisy and unfaithfulness that remained in them after their worship of the Golden Calf. In other words, they were ordered to sacrifice a cow to remove from their hearts once and for all any attachment or veneration for the cow, a mere animal, which had led them to their original idolization of it.

Interestingly, the red heifer sacrifice tradition in Judaism, from the Book of Numbers 19:2, has a connection to the Quranic account of the people of Moses being ordered to sacrifice a cow of a “dun color” (Surah 2:69): “The heifer's color is described in the Torah as adumah אדומה‎, normally translated as "red". However, Saadiah Gaon translates this word to Judeo-Arabic as صفرا, a word translated to English as "yellow". In addition, the Quran describes Moses being commanded about a "yellow" cow (Surat al-Baqara 9.69). To explain this discrepancy, Yosef Qafih (in his Hebrew translation and commentary on Saadiah's work) argues that the Bible requires the cow to have a ruddy light-brown color, which he says is the normal color of a cow. He says this color is in general described as אדום‎ in Hebrew and "yellow" in Arabic, resolving the discrepancy in the color words. He explains the Biblical requirement to mean that the cow be entirely of this color, and not have blotches or blemishes of a different color.” Source: Yosef Qafih, Perushei Rabbeinu Saadiah Gaon al haTorah, footnote to Numbers 19:2

Cow veneration is of course most prominently associated with the Hindus. This story in Surat al-Baqarah describing the apostasy of the Israelites in worshipping the Golden Calf and then being reluctant in sacrificing a cow ought to be read and understood as foreshadowing or using coded language for the Hindus and those Muslims of India who have developed some attachment to the cow due to Hindu influence and religious syncretism. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم said:

لَتَتَّبِعُنَّ سَنَنَ مَنْ قَبْلَكُمْ شِبْرًا بِشِبْرٍ، وَذِرَاعًا بِذِرَاعٍ، حَتَّى لَوْ سَلَكُوا جُحْرَ ضَبٍّ لَسَلَكْتُمُوهُ

“You will follow the wrong ways, of your predecessors so completely and literally that if they should go into the hole of a lizard, you too will go there”

Cow veneration is Satanic, the beaten path to idolatry which duped some of the people of Moses long ago, and has duped an entire nation, the Hindu Indians, till this day. This Ummah is warned severely to beware of cow veneration in the narrative of the second Surah of the Quran.

The apostate Mughal ruler, Akbar, criminalized cow sacrifice in his domain to curry favor with the idolatrous Hindus. Here was the first example, to my knowledge, of someone initially from the Ummah who set the precedent and instituted the demonic concept of cow veneration. Sikhs, despite their pretentious claim to monotheism, avoid consumption of beef and have inherited from their Dharmic tradition a veneration for the cow. During the rule of the tyrant and taghut Ranjit Singh, cow slaughter was a capital offense. Many Muslims were beheaded during his tyrannical government for the “crime” of cow sacrifice. It was only when the British liberated the Punjab from the Sikh bandits during the Anglo-Sikh wars was the religious liberty of Muslims restored and the ludicrous criminalization of cow slaughter reversed.

Some idiotic Muslims in India, such as Abdul Bari of Firangi Mahal, in alliance with the despicable Hindu Gandhi, a pervert who after his wife’s death used to sleep in the nude alongside two young women, began instructing the Muslims to avoid cow sacrifice so as not to hurt the sentiments of their Hindu “brothers” معاذ الله

It is these kind of treacherous and Hinduphilic Muslims that are a carbon copy of the people of Moses who worshipped the Golden Calf and were reluctant to sacrifice a cow. They were blinded by their Indian nationalism and irrational hatred of the British that they corrupted their own Faith and rebelled against the fundamental precepts of Tawhid.

Muslims should therefore go out of their way to sacrifice cows during our religious festivals and other occasions in those lands and among those populations where there is a large number of people who religiously venerate the cow and worship idols.

Shah Ismail of Delhi: Allah Can Create Millions of Prophet Muhammads

 باسمك اللهم

اللهم صلى على محمد وآل محمد

Some Muslims, especially the Barelawis, object to the following line written by the honorable martyr and champion of Tawhid, namely, Shah Ismail of Delhi رحمة الله عليه

اس شہنشاہ کی تو شان یہ ہے کہ ایک آن میں ایک حکم کن سےچاہے تو کروڑوں نبی اور ولی اور جن اور فرشتے، جبرئیل اور محمد صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم کے برابر پیدا کر ڈالے

Allah’s status is so Great and Exalted that if He so wishes, He may bring into existence millions of Prophets, saints, jinns, angels, and entities equal to Gabriel and Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in terms of status, merely by uttering a word ‘Be’

(Taqwiyat ul-Iman p.54):

According to the Barelawis and others who object to this statement, it is rationally impossible for there to come into existence any being that is the equal of the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم, the supreme creation of Allah Most High. While we acknowledge that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم is the greatest creation of Allah, to object to the belief that if, hypothetically, Allah wished to He could create tens of millions of Prophet Muhammads, is to object to the teaching of the Quran itself, wherein it states repeatedly:

اِنَّ اللّٰہَ عَلٰی کُلِّ شَیۡءٍ قَدِیۡرٌ

Surely, Allah has the power to do all that He wills

اِنَّمَا قَوۡلُنَا لِشَیۡءٍ اِذَاۤ اَرَدۡنٰہُ اَنۡ نَّقُوۡلَ لَہٗ کُنۡ فَیَکُوۡنُ

Our word to a thing, when We will it, is only that We say to it, ‘Be!’, and it is

(Surah 16:40)

And what is the alternative to this statement of Shah Ismail shahid رحمة الله عليه? It can only be that Allah is incapable of creating a being that is equal in rank and status to the beloved Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم, and we seek refuge in Allah from such a heresy.

Ibn Ashur and Death of Jesus from Quran (3:55; 5:117)

 باسمك اللهم

اللهم صلى على محمد وآل محمد

I find it astonishing that so many Muslims believe Jesus of Nazareth على نبينا وعليه الصلوات والتسليمات was raised alive into Heaven in his corporal body while our beloved Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم passed away as ordinary mortals and is buried in a grave. The orthodox Ulama have made this particular doctrine of Jesus’s bodily ascension into Heaven without having tasted death a matter of belief and disbelief. They expel those who believe Jesus is deceased from either the fold of Islam, or if they are moderate in their approach, from the fold of Ahl us-Sunnah. However, I have on this very website put forward dozens of references from the Ulama and classical Imams of Ahl us-Sunnah teaching the death of Jesus on the basis of the holy Quran. Now I shall put forward a reference from the scholar and exegete of the Maliki school, Ibn Ashur (1879-1973). Commenting on the Ayah (3:55), he writes:

وقوله { إني متوفيك } ظاهر معناه إنّي مميتك، هذا هو معنى هذا الفعل في مواقع استعماله لأنّ أصل فعل توفَّى الشيءَ أنه قَبَضه تاماً واستوفاه. فيقال توفاه اللَّهِ أي قدّر موته، ويقال توفاه ملك الموت أي أنفذ إرادة الله بموته

ولذلك قال ابن عباس، ووهب بن منبه إنها وفاة موت وهو ظاهر قول مالك في جامع العتبية قال مالك مات عيسى وهو ابن إحدى وثلاثين سنة قال ابن رشد في البيان والتحصيل «يحتمل أنّ قوله مات وهو ابن ثلاث وثلاثين على الحقيقة لا على المجاز

(Tafsir at-Tahrir wat-Tanwir v.3 p.258):

Ibn Ashur has not only explained his own position, but quoted classical authorities before him, such as Ibn Abbas, Wahb b. Munabbih, and Imam Malik. Likewise, in explanation of the Ayah (5:117) Ibn Ashur writes:

قوله { فلمّا توفّيتني كنتَ أنتَ الرقيبَ عليهم } ، أي فلمّا قضيت بوفاتي، لأنّ مباشر الوفاة هو ملك الموت. والوفاة الموت، وتوفّاه الله أماته، أي قضى به وتوفّاه ملك الموت قبض روحه وأماته. وقد تقدّم ذلك عند قوله تعالى{ إنّي متوفّيك } في سورة آل عمران 55

(ibid v.7 p.117):

Rejection of Samaritan Religion

 

باسمك اللهم

اللهم صلى على محمد وآل محمد

In the now academically discredited book Hagarism: The Making of the Islamic World by Patricia Crone and Michael Cook: “the tendency on the Hagarene side is clearly towards the Samaritan scriptural position. The way in which the great Judaic prophets scarcely figure in the Koran is perhaps the Islamic residue of this doctrine. The Samaritan scriptural position had something to offer the Hagarenes on two levels. Specifically, it deleted the scriptural basis of the Davidic component of Judaic messianism – neither the legitimacy of the Davidic monarchy nor the sanctity of Jerusalem are attested to in the Pentateuch” (p.15)

But this theory would only truly hold water if the “great Judaic prophets” did not figure in Islam or the Koran at all. That they do figure in the Quran, however “scarcely” in the perspective of the authors of this book first published in 1977, is manifest proof that Islam is closer to the position of orthodox Judaism than to Samaritanism.

The Samaritans are a misguided sect which rejects the Jewish prophets and scriptures after Joshua son of Nun على نبينا وعليه الصلوات والتسليمات. Almost equally alarming, they reject the Davidic Covenant, the sanctity of Jerusalem, Mount Zion and the Temple Mount, and disbelieve in those great Prophets and Apostles that appear in the Jewish Scriptures and are affirmed in the Quran, namely, Samuel, Kings David and Solomon, Elijah, Elisha, Jonah, Job and Ezra عليهم السلام

And in my humble opinion, the Quran also speaks of the post-exilic Jewish prophet Ezekiel عليه السلام by describing his Vision of the Valley of Dry Bones (2:259).

Contrary to the claim of these two authors, King David and his son King Solomon feature quite prominently in the Quran, which strongly disproves any Samaritan influence on Islam. Likewise, the Quran and Islam strongly recognizes the sanctity and holiness of Jerusalem and the Temple of Solomon. On the other hand, Mount Gerizim, the holiest site for the Samaritans and their false alternative to Jerusalem, has no significance in Islam. In the beginning of Surat Bani Israel, Allah Most High refers to the holy site of the Temple in Jerusalem as Masjid al-Aqsa, and again simply as “the Masjid” (17:7) which was tragically destroyed twice, first by the Babylonians and then by the Romans. In Islam, Jerusalem or more specifically, the Temple Mount, is the third holiest place after Masjid al-Haram or the Ka’bah in Mecca and Masjid al-Nabawi in Medina. Muslims are encouraged to offer a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and pray at the Temple Mount.

According to the New Testament, in the account of Jesus’s encounter with a Samaritan woman, the latter said: “Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.” “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.” (John 4:20-22)

Apparently from this passage, Jesus Christ عليه السلام refuted the Samaritan belief regarding the controversy on whether to worship at Mount Gerizim or Jerusalem and said “salvation is from the Jews”. And the Quran has tacitly acknowledged this truth when it extols Jesus as a true prophet and the Messiah.

Interpret the Quran in Light of Prior Scriptures

سُبْحَانَكَ اللَّهُمَّ وَبِحَمْدِكَ ، أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لا إِلَهَ إِلا أَنْتَ ، أَسْتَغْفِرُكَ وَأَتُوبُ إِلَيْكَ

سُبْحَانَكَ رَبَّنَا وَبِحَمْدِكَ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ أنت أَسْتَغْفِرُكَ ثُمَّ أَتُوبُ إِلَيْكَ

I hold it to be essential for Muslims to truly understand the holy Quran and the Prophet’s صلوات الله وسلامه عليه blessed utterances to be familiar with the Biblical narrative. There is strong indication of this in the Quran itself, for example, when Allah says:

اَوَ لَمۡ تَاۡتِہِمۡ بَیِّنَۃُ مَا فِی الصُّحُفِ الۡاُوۡلٰی

Has there not come to them the clear evidence in what is contained in the former Books?

(Surah 20:133)

In answer to the challenge for a divine sign from the unbelievers, Allah says that clear evidence has already come in the prior Scriptures, meaning the heavenly texts which more or less compose the Bible.

Regarding the Torah specifically, which was revealed to Prophet Moses على نبينا وعليه الصلاة والسلام at Mount Sinai, Allah says:

قُلۡ فَاۡتُوۡا بِالتَّوۡرٰٮۃِ فَاتۡلُوۡہَاۤ اِنۡ کُنۡتُمۡ صٰدِقِیۡنَ

Say, ‘Bring, then, the Torah and read it, if you are truthful.’

(Surah 3:93)

In this blessed Ayah, the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم is instructed to invite the people to recite the Torah. Some Muslims, especially from among the Ulama, wrongly say it is forbidden to read, let alone recite the Torah or other heavenly Scriptures. They cite a narration in which it is said the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم became angry when he saw sayyidina Umar al-Faruq رضى الله عنه reciting from the Torah and forbade him to do so, allegedly saying:

وَالَّذِي نَفْسُ مُحَمَّدٍ بِيَدِهِ لَوْ بَدَا لَكُمْ مُوسَى فَاتَّبَعْتُمُوهُ وَتَرَكْتُمُونِي لَضَلَلْتُمْ عَنْ سَوَاءِ السَّبِيلِ وَلَوْ كَانَ حَيًّا وَأَدْرَكَ نُبُوَّتِي لَاتَّبَعَنِى

“By the One in Whose Hand is the soul of Muhammad! If Moses were to come and you followed him and left me you would be misguided from the Path, and if was alive during my Prophesy he would have to follow me.” (Sunan al-Darimi)

But this Hadith is weak, as mentioned by the muhaddith Zubair Ali Zai in his checking of Mishkat al-Masabih, due to the weakness of the narrator Mujalid b. Sa’id:

On the contrary, we have an authentic Hadith that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم revered and respected a copy of the Torah scrolls that were brought before him by the Jews of Quff in their Bait al-Midras or Yeshiva. It is narrated that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم was seated on a cushion, and when the Torah scrolls were brought to him, he withdrew the cushion from below him and placed the Torah upon it, saying:

آمَنْتُ بِكِ وَبِمَنْ أَنْزَلَكِ

“I believe in you and the One Who revealed you” (Sunan Abi Dawud)

Allah Most High says:

وَ کَیۡفَ یُحَکِّمُوۡنَکَ وَ عِنۡدَہُمُ التَّوۡرٰٮۃُ فِیۡہَا حُکۡمُ اللّٰہِ

And how will they make thee their judge when they have with them the Torah, wherein is Allah’s judgment?

(Surah 5:43)

Here it is affirmed that the Torah contains Allah’s judgment. Going back to the narration of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم going to the Jews in Quff, it was to judge a matter of adultery that had been committed among them. He judged them according to the Torah, which commands the punishment of stoning for adultery:

כִּי-יִמָּצֵא אִישׁ שֹׁכֵב עִם-אִשָּׁה בְעֻלַת-בַּעַל, וּמֵתוּ גַּם-שְׁנֵיהֶם--הָאִישׁ הַשֹּׁכֵב עִם-הָאִשָּׁה, וְהָאִשָּׁה; וּבִעַרְתָּ הָרָע, מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל

If a man be found lying with a woman married to a husband, then they shall both of them die, the man that lay with the woman, and the woman; so shalt thou put away the evil from Israel.

Then ye shall bring them both out unto the gate of that city, and ye shall stone them with stones that they die (Deuteronomy 22)

Interestingly, many Muslims, especially our polemicists and apologists, claim that the Bible has been completely corrupted and it is futile to read or take any information from it. But they fail to answer that why then did the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم command the Jews to read from a scroll of the Torah they themselves wrote and brought to him in order to draw their attention to the punishment of lapidation divinely legislated within its text.

In the next Ayah, Allah goes on to say:

اِنَّاۤ اَنۡزَلۡنَا التَّوۡرٰٮۃَ فِیۡہَا ہُدًی وَّ نُوۡرٌ ۚ یَحۡکُمُ بِہَا النَّبِیُّوۡنَ الَّذِیۡنَ اَسۡلَمُوۡا لِلَّذِیۡنَ ہَادُوۡا وَ الرَّبّٰنِیُّوۡنَ وَ الۡاَحۡبَارُ بِمَا اسۡتُحۡفِظُوۡا مِنۡ کِتٰبِ اللّٰہِ وَ کَانُوۡا عَلَیۡہِ شُہَدَآءَ

Surely, We sent down the Torah wherein was guidance and light. By it did the Prophets, who were obedient to Us, judge for the Jews, as did the godly people and those learned in the Law; for they were required to preserve the Book of Allah, and because they were witnesses over it

(Surah 5:44)

Concerning the relationship between the Torah and the Quran, Allah عز وجل says:

وَ مِنۡ قَبۡلِہٖ کِتٰبُ مُوۡسٰۤی اِمَامًا وَّ رَحۡمَۃً ؕ وَ ہٰذَا کِتٰبٌ مُّصَدِّقٌ لِّسَانًا عَرَبِیًّا لِّیُنۡذِرَ الَّذِیۡنَ ظَلَمُوۡا ٭ۖ وَ بُشۡرٰی لِلۡمُحۡسِنِیۡنَ

And before it was the Scripture of Moses to lead and as a mercy. And this is a confirming Book in an Arabic tongue to warn those who have wronged and as good tidings to the doers of good

(Surah 46:12)

The Quran is a Book which confirms the Torah in the Arabic language. It merely restates and reiterates the essence of the Torah through the last and final Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم. And the Quran affirms that the Torah is an Imam, a mercy, containing guidance, light and the command of the Lord God. So on what basis can it be said that Muslims ought to ignore it and the other heavenly Scriptures contained in the Bible? That is a false methodology. The true methodology for understanding the Quran and Sunnah better is to be familiar with the Bible. It is true that parts of the Bible have been corrupted, lost and interpolated by evil scribes, as Allah says:

فَوَیۡلٌ لِّلَّذِیۡنَ یَکۡتُبُوۡنَ الۡکِتٰبَ بِاَیۡدِیۡہِمۡ ٭ ثُمَّ یَقُوۡلُوۡنَ ہٰذَا مِنۡ عِنۡدِ اللّٰہِ لِیَشۡتَرُوۡا بِہٖ ثَمَنًا قَلِیۡلًا ؕ فَوَیۡلٌ لَّہُمۡ مِّمَّا کَتَبَتۡ اَیۡدِیۡہِمۡ وَ وَیۡلٌ لَّہُمۡ مِّمَّا یَکۡسِبُوۡنَ

Woe, therefore, to those who write the Book with their own hands, and then say: ‘This is from Allah,’ that they may take for it a paltry price. Woe, then, to them for what their hands have written, and woe to them for what they earn

(Surah 2:79)

Indeed, secular scholars and historians have developed a strong consensus that much of the Bible is unreliable and that there has occurred a great degree of interpolation in the text by scribes and copyists. This is especially true of the Christian New Testament. From the Islamic perspective, the solution to this dilemma is simple. Those parts of the Bible which concur with the Quran, Sunnah and Hadith, or at the very least do not explicitly contradict the holy Quran and authentic Hadith, should be accepted. Now I would like to go a step further and say that we should accept the Biblical narrative in explaining the details of things mentioned in the Quran. To illustrate, let me give the example of the account of Jonah the Prophet على نبينا وعليه الصلاة والسلام

Now according to the Book of Jonah in the Hebrew Bible: “The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: ‘Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.’ But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord.” The Bible explains that Prophet Jonah fled to the laden ship (Surah 37:140) after he was called by the Lord God to go to Nineveh. However, many if not most Muslims believe the Prophet Jonah first went to Nineveh, delivered the divine warning unto her people, and then fled to the laden ship without God’s permission, expecting the great city to be destroyed and seized by a terrible wrath. This is mentioned in Ibn Kathir’s Qasas al-Anbiya for example, based on a questionable interpretation of 21:87. But if we return to an examination of the story of Prophet Jonah in the Quran in Surah 37, it clearly mentions subsequent to the narrative of Prophet Jonah running to the laden ship, drawing lots with the crew of the ship, being thrown overboard and then swallowed by the whale, then vomited out and cast ashore:

وَ اَرۡسَلۡنٰہُ اِلٰی مِائَۃِ اَلۡفٍ اَوۡ یَزِیۡدُوۡنَ

And We sent him to a hundred thousand or more

(Surah 37:147)

So in addition to the explicit narrative of the Book of Jonah on this matter, we have a strong inference from the Quran itself that the Prophet Jonah fled to the ship and was swallowed by the whale before he ever stepped foot in Nineveh. It is clear the Quran is speaking of Nineveh, though it isn’t explicitly named, by the fact that it is described as having a hundred thousand people or more, and the last verse of the Book of Jonah says about Nineveh: “And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people”.

An apparent difference between the Quran and the Book of Jonah is regarding the circumstances in which the Lord God caused a plant to grow over him. According to the Book of Jonah, it was after he delivered his oracle of doom to Nineveh: “Jonah had gone out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city. Then the Lord God provided a leafy plant and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort”. However, the Quran seems to suggest this episode occurred after Prophet Jonah was vomited out of the whale and cast upon the shore in a state of sickness, based on the sequence described in Surah 37. Now the hasty reaction of most Muslim apologists and polemicists is to simply dismiss the Biblical narrative and say without hesitation that it has been corrupted. But I am more cautious. My methodology is that the Quranic narrative should be interpreted to accord with the Biblical one since the Quran does not explicitly say that the plant was caused to grow over Prophet Jonah after he was cast ashore. The placement of the Ayah in that sequence may suggest that interpretation, but it is not necessary. There are many other instances in the Quran where the sequence of things narrated is not meant to be understood strictly in chronological order.

Sarmad the Nudist Heretic

 

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

والصلاة والسلام على رسوله الكريم

I find it ironic that many Muslims, especially those who characterize themselves as orthodox Sunnis, disparage pious figures in the history of our Ummah who contributed much to the work of revivalism, accusing them of having been false prophets or otherwise downgrading the lofty station of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم, while simultaneously they revere antinomian heretics, some who claimed divinity for themselves like al-Hallaj and others who taught Satanic doctrines in the name of mysticism. One such antinomian that is sadly revered by many Muslims was Sarmad (d. 1661). He hailed from Kashan in Iran, was of Armenian descent and it is said he was a Jew who converted to Islam after settling in India. While in India, he became a mystic but deviated from orthodox Islam and stopped observing the Shari’ah. He began lusting after a Brahmin boy named Abhi Chand, thus exhibiting the forbidden homosexual tendency, as it is written in the Holy Quran concerning the Sodomites:

اَئِنَّکُمۡ لَتَاۡتُوۡنَ الرِّجَالَ شَہۡوَۃً مِّنۡ دُوۡنِ النِّسَآءِ ؕ بَلۡ اَنۡتُمۡ قَوۡمٌ تَجۡہَلُوۡنَ

What! do you approach men lustfully rather than women? Nay, you are indeed an ignorant people

(Surah 27:55)

This unlawful lust apparently drove Sarmad mad and right into the hands of the Devil, again as it says in the Quran:

الَّذِیۡ یَتَخَبَّطُہُ الشَّیۡطٰنُ مِنَ الۡمَسِّ

one whom Satan has smitten with insanity

(Surah 2:275)

Sarmad discarded his clothing and went about totally in the nude. He composed lines of poetry that are diametrically opposed to the teachings of Islam:

وَ الشُّعَرَآءُ یَتَّبِعُہُمُ الۡغَاوٗنَ

And as for the poets — it is the erring ones who follow them

(Surah 26:224)

The content of his poetry screams of antinomianism. Like the evil “mystics” that preceded him such as Kabir Das (d. 1518), Sarmad disassociated from Muslim identity and put forward a sort of omnist worldview which holds division into communities on the basis of religion and varying spiritual paths to be wrongful. With regret, it has to be said that this tendency was likewise championed by another so-called mystic, Ibn Arabi (d. 1240) who is also held in great esteem by a large number of so-called orthodox Sunni Muslims.

Sarmad’s nudism is considered something positive among a certain understanding of mysticism in India, as it is the well known feature of Digambara Jain monks and Shaivite Naga Sadhus. But from the perspective of the Islamic Shari’ah, it is not only totally forbidden, but when done in the name of mysticism or spirituality it is to be understood as something Satanic and demonic. Therefore, far from being enlightened mystics and saints, these nudists are in fact demon-possessed devil worshippers, the lowest of the low. During his trial before the Mughal emperor Aurangzaib Alamgir رحمة الله عليه Sarmad refused to recite the Shahadah, the testimony of faith, saying only La Elaha “there is no god”. Rightly or wrongly, Sarmad was executed for apostasy and heresy. He is considered a martyr by many so-called orthodox Sunni Muslims, especially those who are attached to Sufism. But in reality, Sarmad was far removed from the principles taught by Islam, the Shari’ah, and orthodox Sufism. His tomb, which has become a shrine or mazar is located in Delhi, where it is revered by local Muslims and those who make pilgrimage to it, another extremely dangerous misguidance that smacks of paganism which is tragically quite prevalent among the Muslims of the Indian subcontinent. As with other famous religious figures, a legend developed around the “martyrdom” of Sarmad that after he was beheaded, his headless, naked body picked up the severed head and he ascended physically into Heaven, a miracle which supposedly persuaded multitudes of people to embrace the faith or recognize the truth of his sainthood.

Quranist Fitnah (Part 1)

 

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

والصلاة والسلام على رسوله الكريم

The so-called Quran-only movement or Quranists are perhaps one of the most dangerous and severely misguided trends that appears to be taking off in the Muslim Ummah today. I believe a major factor for its relative success is its inherent inclination toward modernism and cultural Westernization. Our beloved master the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم predicted this phenomenon centuries ago when he said:

أَلاَ إِنِّي أُوتِيتُ الْكِتَابَ وَمِثْلَهُ مَعَهُ أَلاَ يُوشِكُ رَجُلٌ شَبْعَانُ عَلَى أَرِيكَتِهِ يَقُولُ عَلَيْكُمْ بِهَذَا الْقُرْآنِ فَمَا وَجَدْتُمْ فِيهِ مِنْ حَلاَلٍ فَأَحِلُّوهُ وَمَا وَجَدْتُمْ فِيهِ مِنْ حَرَامٍ فَحَرِّمُوهُ أَلاَ لاَ يَحِلُّ لَكُمْ لَحْمُ الْحِمَارِ الأَهْلِيِّ وَلاَ كُلُّ ذِي نَابٍ مِنَ السَّبُعِ وَلاَ لُقَطَةُ مُعَاهِدٍ إِلاَّ أَنْ يَسْتَغْنِيَ عَنْهَا صَاحِبُهَا

Beware! I have been given the Quran and something like it, yet the time is coming when a man replete on his couch will say: Keep to the Quran; what you find in it to be permissible treat as permissible, and what you find in it to be prohibited treat as prohibited. Beware! The domestic ass, beasts of prey with fangs, a find belonging to mu’ahid, unless its owner does not want it, are not permissible to you (Sunan Abi Dawud #4604)

This Hadith is vital for understanding the controversy raised by the Quran-only movement, or as they should be referred to, the Hadith-rejecters and Sunnah-rejecters. First and foremost, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم announced that Allah Most High revealed to him not only the Quran but the similitude of the Quran, namely, the Sunnah. Hence, both are divinely revealed and Believers cannot be true in their faith until they accept both. And as the Quran contains legal injunctions, prohibitions, and guidance in creed and all aspects of life, likewise, the Sunnah contains the same kind of material.

Secondly, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم described the typical Quranist, that is, Hadith-rejecter, as someone reclining on a couch. This is actually highly significant, as it indicates that this tendency of Hadith rejection will be characterized by a lack of asceticism. So we find that the Quranists are individuals who have totally embraced the Western or modern lifestyle and see nothing virtuous or spiritual about adhering to the Prophetic lifestyle. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and his Companions رضى الله عنهم were not people who reclined on couches, but sat humbly on the ground. You will find that the so-called Quranists have no appetite for worship, for praying, fasting, dhikr, and other spiritual practises which the Sunnah has emphasized and listed countless virtues for.

Thirdly, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم explained that the so-called Quranist is someone who is primarily motivated by a desire to remove the strictures of the Shari’ah and reduce the divine laws to only those that are explicit from the text of the Quran. Therefore, the Quranist typically says that only the prohibitions found in the Quran itself are to be observed. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم gave a wonderful example in that, according to traditional Islam of the Sunnah, the domestic donkey and other beasts of prey having canines are haram, although the prohibition of eating their meat isn’t explicit from the Quran. Therefore, in any discussion or debate with a Quranist, one should necessarily point out that according to their understanding of the Shari’ah, the meat of the domestic donkey and beasts of prey (lions, tigers, bears, wolves, crocodiles, snakes and so forth) are halal. In fact, from the Sunnah and Hadith we know that there are many categories of animals that are forbidden to eat, such as dogs, cats, predatory birds (eagles, falcons, vultures), crows, vermin (mice, rodents), bugs (spiders, insects, worms, scorpions, flies), frogs and so on and so forth. The Quranist has no choice but to admit that all of these are halal. And apart from dietary restrictions, there are other critical laws in the Shari’ah which are not found in the text of the Quran. For example, the imperative of circumcision, laws relating to sexual ethics which forbid anal intercourse, etc. I have come across Quranists who argue that circumcision is not only unnecessary but a crime, and that anal intercourse between husband and wife is permissible معاذ الله

Many Muslims whose commitment to Islam is weak and are on the edge of apostasy or hypocrisy, tend to embrace the Quranist tendency so they can follow their desires in listening to immoral music, interacting with unrelated members of the opposite gender (free mixing), ladies going about unveiled since in their common interpretation of the Quran women are not required to cover their hair, and keeping pet dogs.

To be continued ان شاء الله

Punishment of Blasphemy (Part 1)

 بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

وصلى الله تعالى على نبيه الكريم

The enemies of God have been directed by their demons to use a new weapon in their war against Truth. In the name of freedom of speech they are committing blasphemy - cursing and mocking the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم - with the aim of constantly hurting the sentiments of the Muslims who are known to love their Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم more than anything in the world, including their own parents, children and their own selves. The unbelievers in reality are deeply envious of this attachment and reverence the Muslims have for our beloved Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم because they have nothing like it. They seek to detach the Believers from this devotion and affection for the Prophet صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم by making him the object of their denigration and hurtful mockery. The publishing of insulting caricatures of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم in various parts of Europe, particularly France, is undoubtedly a devilish scheme that is motivated by fear of the spread and vitality of Islam relative to the pitiful condition of Europe’s traditional religion Christianity.

But in this article I want to focus on the Islamic response to blasphemy. I happen to disagree with the response rooted in emotion that whoever dares to blaspheme the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم or anyone or anything else considered sacred and intimately associated with Islam should be killed and dispatched to Hell. While I understand and appreciate that which motivates this response to blasphemy, we must be cognizant of the boundaries which Allah Himself has set in our Shari’ah and consider the problem of blasphemy dispassionately from a legal perspective.

Allah Most High says:

لَتُبۡلَوُنَّ فِیۡۤ اَمۡوَالِکُمۡ وَ اَنۡفُسِکُمۡ ۟ وَ لَتَسۡمَعُنَّ مِنَ الَّذِیۡنَ اُوۡتُوا الۡکِتٰبَ مِنۡ قَبۡلِکُمۡ وَ مِنَ الَّذِیۡنَ اَشۡرَکُوۡۤا اَذًی کَثِیۡرًا ؕ وَ اِنۡ تَصۡبِرُوۡا وَ تَتَّقُوۡا فَاِنَّ ذٰلِکَ مِنۡ عَزۡمِ الۡاُمُوۡرِ

You shall surely be tried in your possessions and in your persons and you shall surely hear many hurtful things from those who were given the Book before you and from those who set up equals to God. But if you show fortitude and act righteously, that indeed is a matter of strong determination

(Surah 3:186)

In this Ayah, Allah Most High informs us that we will have to deal with the phenomenon of blasphemy, especially from the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) and from the polytheists (Hindus and others), but that we must display patience in the face of this enormous trial. No worldly punishment has been prescribed for those from among the people of the Scripture and the polytheists from whom hurtful things, namely, blasphemy, will be heard. On the contrary, Allah commands us with patience and righteousness as the ultimate response to it.

In another place of the Quran, Allah says:

وَ قَدۡ نَزَّلَ عَلَیۡکُمۡ فِی الۡکِتٰبِ اَنۡ اِذَا سَمِعۡتُمۡ اٰیٰتِ اللّٰہِ یُکۡفَرُ بِہَا وَ یُسۡتَہۡزَاُ بِہَا فَلَا تَقۡعُدُوۡا مَعَہُمۡ حَتّٰی یَخُوۡضُوۡا فِیۡ حَدِیۡثٍ غَیۡرِہٖۤ ۫ۖ اِنَّکُمۡ اِذًا مِّثۡلُہُمۡ

And He has already revealed to you in the Book that, when you hear the Signs of Allah being denied and mocked at, sit not with them until they engage in a talk other than that; for in that case you would be like them

(Surah 4:140)

Mocking the Signs of Allah is the definition of blasphemy. But rather than legislate a worldly punishment for such mockery, Allah commands the Believers to remove themselves from any such gathering where blasphemy is taking place, and not to return to that gathering until it has stopped. But in this Ayah, mockery of the Signs of Allah is general in meaning and it is not specifically about blasphemy against the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم, for the honor of Islam and Muslims dictates that we completely disassociate from those who openly blaspheme the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and cut off relations and communication with that completely, at the very least. 4:140 is understood as referring back to this Ayah:

وَ اِذَا رَاَیۡتَ الَّذِیۡنَ یَخُوۡضُوۡنَ فِیۡۤ اٰیٰتِنَا فَاَعۡرِضۡ عَنۡہُمۡ حَتّٰی یَخُوۡضُوۡا فِیۡ حَدِیۡثٍ غَیۡرِہٖ ؕ وَ اِمَّا یُنۡسِیَنَّکَ الشَّیۡطٰنُ فَلَا تَقۡعُدۡ بَعۡدَ الذِّکۡرٰی مَعَ الۡقَوۡمِ الظّٰلِمِیۡنَ

And when thou seest those who engage in vain discourse concerning Our Signs, then turn thou away from them until they engage in a discourse other than that. And if Satan cause thee to forget, then sit not, after recollection, with the unjust people

(Surah 6:68)

There are many examples from the Prophet’s صلى الله عليه وسلم sirah in which the unbelievers and hypocrites committed blasphemy against him, but he took no action against them. For example:

اسْتَأْذَنَ رَهْطٌ مِنَ الْيَهُودِ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَالُوا السَّامُ عَلَيْكَ

A group of Jews sought permission to enter upon the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and said: as-sāmu alaikum “poisonous death be upon you”

(Sahih al-Bukhari)

Here is a clear cut example of blasphemy with this particular group of evil Jews cursing the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم to his blessed face. But rather than ordering their execution in retribution for such blasphemy, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم would merely reply to their curses:

وَعَلَيْكُمْ

“and likewise upon you”

To be continued ان شاء الله

Followers of Dajjal: "Shi'ah"

 بِسۡمِ اللّٰہِ الرَّحۡمٰنِ الرَّحِیۡمِ

وصلى الله على نبيه الكريم

Some years ago I exposed the reality of the Seventy Thousand Followers of the Antichrist. I tend to think these are Shi’ah Muslims and Turkic Muslims (the Hazara from central Afghanistan are an example of Turco-Mongol Shi’ites) who have been described as “Jews” in the Hadith because they possess certain nefarious Jewish characteristics.

The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said:

ثُمَّ يُسَلِّطُ اللَّهُ الْمُسْلِمِينَ عَلَيْهِ ، فَيَقْتُلُونَهُ وَيَقْتُلُونَ شِيعَتَهُ، حَتَّى إِنَّ الْيَهُودِيَّ ، لَيَخْتَبِئُ تَحْتَ الشَّجَرَةِ أَوِ الْحَجَرِ فَيَقُولُ الْحَجَرُ أَوِ الشَّجَرَةُ لِلْمُسْلِمِ : هَذَا يَهُودِيٌّ تَحْتِي فَاقْتُلْهُ

Then Allah will cause the Muslims to subdue him (Antichrist), they shall kill him and they shall kill his Shi’ah, until the Jews hide behind the trees and rocks, but the rocks and trees shall say to the Muslim “Here is a Jew under me, come and kill him”

(Musnad Ahmad)

In this Hadith, the followers of the Antichrist have been named “Shi’ah” and “Jews”. This seems to indicate that they belong to the sect known as Shi’ism and have been named Jews figuratively.

Theistic Personalism of Islam

 

سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ عَدَدَ خَلْقِهِ

سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ رِضَا نَفْسِهِ

سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ زِنَةَ عَرْشِهِ

سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ مِدَادَ كَلِمَاتِهِ

The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said:

وَلاَ شَخْصَ أَغْيَرُ مِنَ اللَّهِ وَلاَ شَخْصَ أَحَبُّ إِلَيْهِ الْعُذْرُ مِنَ اللَّهِ مِنْ أَجْلِ ذَلِكَ بَعَثَ اللَّهُ الْمُرْسَلِينَ مُبَشِّرِينَ وَمُنْذِرِينَ وَلاَ شَخْصَ أَحَبُّ إِلَيْهِ الْمِدْحَةُ مِنَ اللَّهِ مِنْ أَجْلِ ذَلِكَ وَعَدَ اللَّهُ الْجَنَّةَ

“No person is more jealous of his honor than Allah, and no person is more fond of accepting an excuse than Allah, on account of which He has sent Messengers, announcers of glad tidings and warners; and no person is more fond of praise than Allah on account of which Allah has promised Paradise” (Sahih Muslim)

In this blessed Hadith, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم affirmed the shakhsiyyah or personhood of Allah three times.

The belief in God’s personhood and that He is a personal God is perhaps the most fundamental concept taught by Islam. We conceive of God as a person who expresses characteristics like mercy, love, generosity, happiness, will, vengeance, jealousy, patience and so forth. Such qualities in God lead to only one conclusion – He is a real person.

That God is referred to in the Quran in the first and second persons “I” and “You” plenty of times is more evidence that He is necessarily a person.

Some theologies and metaphysical doctrines deny the personhood of God, such as pantheism and pandeism.

There are some streams or theological tendencies coming forth out of religious traditions which overall believe God is a person that have obscured the belief in God’s personhood. Thomas Aquinas and the Thomists are an example of this phenomenon in the Catholic tradition. Muslims influenced by Thomism likewise tend toward a theology which negates the personhood of God. Needless to say, it is a very serious and dangerous heresy that undermines the most fundamental and central tenet of Islam – Allah is a person and is a personal God.