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A brief account on the fundamentalist “Islamic” terrors

Instances of Salat in the Quran

The above table is taken from Quran.com which depicts that there are 99 salat and salat-like instances in the Quran in 4 derived forms: 12 times as verb (pray or support), 83 times as noun (the prayer or the prayers), 1 time as noun (a prayer house) and 3 times as active participles (who pray or prayed), are all derived from the same root word “Sila” or “Wasala” meaning to make contact, which has other implication to join and support in certain contexts.

However, fundamentalist “Islamic” terrors continue to flourish and thanks to some so-called Islamic scholars who are poisoning the minds of their followers with ignorant religious decrees and statements. Besides using baseless hadiths (31:6), they mainly base the phrase “Salloo ‘Alayhi” in the verse 33:56 being Quranic support to commemorate Prophet Muhammad day and night despite the commandment to commemorate our Almighty Creator, the Most High day and night only a few verses ahead of (33:56) that we see in (33:41-42):
[31:6] Among the people, there are those who uphold baseless Hadith, and thus divert others from the path of God without knowledge, and take it in vain. These have incurred a shameful retribution.
[33:41-42] O you who believe, you shall remember God frequently. You shall glorify Him day and night.

However, let us now look at 33:56 and see what it really says:

(1) First of all, Muhammad is described in this verse as “Nabi” (prophet). This particular description is used throughout the Qur’an, exclusively, when talking about Muhammad when he was alive, and never after his death.

(2) There are many narrations in the Qur’an that deal with specific historical events, and verses meant for the believers during specified periods. Any narrations connected with the word “Nabi” were applicable only during the prophet’s life on this earth. For example, there is a commandment in (49:2) ordering the believers not to raise their voices above the voice of the “Nabi”. How can we carry out this commandment now? Obviously, the Prophet is dead (39:30), and has no voice; this commandment, therefore, ended when the Prophet died.

(3) The words, “Yusalloon” and “Salloo“used in the verse derived from the same root word, the word “Salat” is derived but meaning to support in broader sense is contact. The word, “Salloo”, therefore, means to keep in contact with the Prophet or to support him with all our strength. Of course, this could be done only when he was alive. Hence, the use of the word “Nabi” plays the crucial role to understand the verse.

(4) The believers observe the Salat prayers five times daily to keep them in contact with their Creator, and their Creator is in contact with them. This is why we see that God and His angels support the believers, as well as the Prophet (33:42). But the Muslim masses have taken the whole thing out of context, and persist in idolizing Muhammad against his will.

(5) The Prophet himself was ordered to keep in contact or support the believers (salli alayhim) as found in (9:103):
[9:103] Take from their money a charity to purify them and sanctify them. And encourage them (wasalli alayhim), for your encouragement reassures them. God is Hearer, Omniscient.

However, here is the translation of the most popular Qur’anic verse that the majority Muslims use to meditate on Muhammad day and night because of the phrase “Salloo ‘Alayhi” in the verse can be accepted to understand what it really says:
[33:56] Indeed, God and His angels support the prophet (yusalloona alaa annabiyi); O you who believed, you shall support him (salloo alayhi) and shall regard him as he should be regarded.

The Muslim masses forget all these facts as the Satan has hypnotized them into commemorating Muhammad and meditating on his name day and night. This is flagrant idol worship that is despised by God, His messenger, and all the true Muslims except Muhammadans. The verse (30:40) reminds us that God is the One who created us; God is the One who provides for us; God is the One who terminates our lives; God is the One who resurrects us for recompense. None of the idols does any of these things. Thus, the true Muslims commemorate their Almighty Creator, meditate on His glorious names, and proclaim His glory day and night.

We had many examples in the past of the kind of response shown by the scholars on terrorist attacks and suicide bombers but here are a few examples of their reactions in honor of the prophet:

Fatwā calling for Rushdie’s death issued by Khomeini

Salman Rushdie’s novel “The Satanic Verses” first published in 1988 inspiring in part by the life of Muhammad. The novel received positive reviews in the United Kingdom while the major controversy ensued as some Muslims accused it of blasphemy and mocking their faith. The outrage among some Muslims resulted in a fatwā calling for Rushdie’s death issued by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, then Supreme Leader of Iran, on 14 February 1989. The issue was said to have divided “Muslim from Westerners along the fault line of culture,and to have pitted a core Western value of freedom of expression—that no one “should be killed, or face a serious threat of being killed, for what they say or write against the view of many Muslims—that no one should be free to “insult and malign Muslims” by disparaging the “honour of the Prophet” Muhammad. The fatwa was supported by the Muslim Parliament of Great Britain, Union of Islamic Students’ Association in Europe, the director of Near East Studies Center at UCLA including English writer Hanif Kureishi who called the fatwa “one of the most significant events in the postwar literary history while his fatwa was condemned across the Western world by governments on the grounds that it violated the universal human rights of free speech, freedom of religion, and that Khomeini had no right to condemn to death a citizen of another country living in that country.

The result was several failed assassination attempts on Rushdie, who was placed under police protection, and attacks on several connected individuals. With police protection, Rushdie escaped direct physical harm, but others associated with his book have suffered violent attacks. Hitoshi Igarashi, his Japanese translator, was stabbed to death on 11 July 1991, Ettore Capriolo, the Italian translator, was seriously injured in a stabbing in Milan on 3 July 1991 and William Nygaard, the publisher in Norway, was shot three times in an attempted assassination in Oslo in October 1993 but survived. Aziz Nesin, the Turkish translator, was the intended target in the events that led to the Sivas massacre on 2 July 1993 in Sivas, Turkey, which resulted in the deaths of thirty seven people. The book was also banned in 13 countries with large Muslim communities: Iran, India, Bangladesh, Sudan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Thailand, Tanzania, Indonesia, Singapore, Venezuela, and Pakistan.

The publication of The Satanic Verses in September 1988 caused immediate controversy in the Islamic world. There are many controversial elements and offensive issues in the book including Abraham being called a “bastard” for casting Hagar and Ishmael in the desert and the brothel of the city of Jahilia was staffed by prostitutes with the same names as Muhammad’s wives but what was seen by many is an irreverent depiction of Muhammad. The utterance and withdrawal of the so-called Satanic Verses forms an important sub-plot in the novel, which recounts several episodes in the life of Muhammad. However, the title refers to a disputed Muslim tradition that is related in the book and Muhammad is referred as Mahound, the name that has been used in the past by Christian writers to vilify him. The phrase that Arab historians and later Muslims used to describe the incident of the withdrawn verses was not “Satanic verses” but the gharaniq verses. The phrase ‘Satanic verses’ was unknown to Muslims, which was coined by the Western academics specializing in the study of Middle Eastern culture. However, the narrator reveals to the reader in the book that these verses belong to the Qur’an accepting three goddesses who used to be worshipped in Mecca as divine beings were actually from the mouth of Gabriel. According to the legend, Muhammad later revoked the verses, saying the devil tempted him to utter these lines to appease the Meccans (hence, the “Satanic” verses).

There are numerous accounts reporting the alleged incident, which differ in the construction and detail of the narrative, but they may be broadly collated to produce a basic account that reports that Muhammad longed to convert his kinsmen and neighbors of Mecca to Islam. As he was reciting Sūra an-Najm (The Star) considered a revelation by the angel Gabriel, Satan tempted him to utter the following lines after verses 19 and 20:
“Have ye thought upon Al-Lat and Al-‘Uzzá
and Manāt, the third, the other?
These are the exalted gharāniq, whose intercession is hoped for.”

Allāt, al-‘Uzzā and Manāt were three goddesses worshipped by the Meccans. Discerning the meaning of “gharāniq” is difficult, as it is a hapax legomenon (i.e. only used once in the text). Commentators wrote that it meant the cranes. The Arabic word does generally mean a “crane” – appearing in the singular as ghirnīq, ghurnūq, ghirnawq and ghurnayq, and the word has cousin forms in other words for birds, including “raven, crow” and “eagle”.

The subtext to the event is that Muhammad was backing away from his otherwise uncompromising monotheism by saying that these goddesses were real and their intercession effective. The Meccans were overjoyed to hear this and joined Muhammad in ritual prostration at the end of the sūrah. The Meccan refugees who had fled to Abyssinia heard of the end of persecution and started to return home. Islamic tradition holds that Gabriel chastised Muhammad for adulterating the revelation, at which point is revealed to comfort him what is found in (22:52):
[22:52] And we have not sent any messenger (rasuulin) of your before nor a prophet (nabiyyin), when he had recited except the Satan cast in his recitation, while God annuls what the Satan cast. Then God establishes His revelations, and God is Knower, Wise.

Muhammad took back his words and the persecution of the Meccans resumed. The verses were given, in which the goddesses are belittled. The passage in question is in the (53:19 -23):
[53:19] So have you considered Allaat and Aluzzaa
[53:20] And Manaat, the third one?
[53:21] Do you have males, while He has females?
[53:22] This is then an unfair division!
[53:23] This is not except names you have named them – you and your forefathers, God has not sent down any authority to them. They do not follow except the conjecture and what the souls (themselves) desire; and certainly, the guidance has come to them from their Lord.

The quick review clearly indicates that it is a folk tale that handed down through even historians as the sura 27 (AL-Naml: The Ant) being the later revelation (48th revelation) of the sura 53 (Al-Najm: The Star) which is 23rd revelation where the verses were claimed to be taken back and there is no chance to happen that way as claimed. In addition, the sura 27 is prefixed with T.S. initials that are letter level proofs as these initials have occurred at certain frequencies in the sura using the knowledge given by God to detect any distortion in His final message, and the removal of any verses would break this phenomenon if the disputed verses would be the actual revelation through the angel Gabriel as pointed by the narrator. However, the honest prophet did the right thing by withdrawing the verses in question from the divine message when he had been informed that those were Satanic inspiration.

Statement issued by Pakistani clerics and scholars praising the assassin

Salmaan Taseer, an outspoken governor of Pakistan’s powerful Punjab province, was shot dead Tuesday January 4, 2011 by one of his own guards in the most high-profile assassination of a political figure since former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in December 2007. Taseer was considered to be the most courageous voice after Benazir Bhutto on the rights of women and religious minorities.

Malik Mumtaz Qadri, the bodyguard, has been arrested after the incident. Qadri said that he shot the Governor because of his liberal views and criticism of the death penalty given to Asia Bibi, a Christian woman. She has been sentenced to death by a lower court for violating Pakistan’s laws against blaspheming prophet Muhammad.

After he murdered the Governor many people congratulated the assassin and even garlanded him. Before being led away by the police Qadri shouted: “We are ready to sacrifice our life for the prestige of Prophet Mohammed.” The assassin’s claims suggest that the crime may have had the sanction of security forces. However, it was regret that five hundred Pakistani clerics and scholars issued a statement praising the assassin. They said Qadri had “revived the 14-century-old traditions of Islam” and made Muslims worldwide proud. Instead of condemning the attack and reminding the people with the Quran about God’s laws, the ignorant scholars congratulated the murderer, and treated him as if he were a hero. This is despite what God says in the Quran with reference to grossness of murder:
[5:32] Because of this, we decreed for the Children of Israel that anyone who murders any person who had not committed murder or horrendous crimes, it shall be as if he murdered all the people. And anyone who spares a life, it shall be as if he spared the lives of all the people. Our messengers went to them with clear proofs and revelations, but most of them, after all this, are still transgressing.

Terror attack in Paris on January 7-9 2015

The terror attack in Paris on 7-9 January, 2015 at the office of the newspaper, Charlie Hebdo killed 12 people and injured many. ‘Prophet has been avenged’ and ‘Allahu Akbar’heard at scene as retaliation for publishing offensive content. It was the personal radicalized terror attack as no terrorist group took the responsibility except ‘wishing best’ for the terrorists by ISIS.

However, the French satirical newspaper, Charlie Hebdo has long been known for publishing anti-Islam content insulting Muslims and Islam. They might attract their readers by publishing and covering such materials for their business interests. If we are true Muslims, we know what is right or wrong about Islam that we know from the Quran. It was Muhammad whom God commissioned to eradicate the era of unjust aggression and ignorance by revealing to him the Quran:
[10:57] O people, enlightenment has come to you herein from your Lord, and healing for anything that troubles your hearts, and guidance, and mercy for the believers.
[7:52] We have given them a scripture that is fully detailed, with knowledge, guidance, and mercy for the people who believe.
[4:82] Why do they not study the Quran carefully? If it were from other than God, they would have found in it numerous contradictions.

God’s laws are just and for all and all times

The Quran is the Final Testament. It is for all people, for all ages and for all times. Nothing can abrogate God’s words. Unlike the Hadith books and Sharia laws, there is no contradiction or nonsense in the Quran. Upholding God’s revelations is the only way for the Muslims to get back on the “right track” leaving all aggression, oppression, murder and unjust. God promises happiness in this life as well as in the Hereafter. Therefore, heaven starts in this world if only we stay with God. It is time for the Muslims to re-examine themselves to see why they are in the situation they are now, and what they can do to achieve God’s truthful promise.
[24:55] God promises those among you who believe and lead a righteous life, that He will make them sovereigns on earth, as He did for those before them, and will establish for them the religion He has chosen for them, and will substitute peace and security for them in place of fear. All this because they worship Me alone; they never set up any idols beside Me. Those who disbelieve after this are the truly wicked.

Conclusion

It is ironic that the criticism of the Quran has frequently occurred, and critics have found and reported many mistakes in the form of contradictions, anomalies, and inconsistencies in the Quran. Their claim is while Muhammad was a false prophet, Quran is man-made and Islam is a fallacious religion. Since the Quran advocates maximum freedom for the people -freedom of religion, freedom of expression, freedom to travel, and freedom of economy (2:256, 10:99, 88:21-22), we must disregard their insult and put our trust in God as He suffices as an advocate (33:48):
[33:48] Do not obey the disbelievers and the hypocrites, disregard their insults, and put your trust in God; God suffices as an advocate.

However, who are these people and what are they following or advocating – the so-called Sharia laws for issuing fatwa like calling for death of a writer for including controversial and offensive issues in the novel or making the statement congratulating the assassin being a hero or attacking the newspaper office for publishing offensive content insulting the prophet? One thing is clear that they are transgressing against God’s laws as aggression, oppression, eviction, destruction and murder are seriously condemned in the Quran and are gross sins. Thus, they are following other sources that are full of contradictions and conflict with the divine laws, and these sources are not approved by God.

It is time for the God-fearing, silent majority of Muslims to speak up against the injustice done to true Islam, Submission to God’s will – the religion of strict monotheism: the religion of the believers including all prophets and messengers. It is also time to let God’s light shine on us to guide us in His straight path. Let us turn to God Alone and His laws to get rid of us from Islamic fundamentalists and their unjust fatwas as well as from the bad name given to our religion using what God has sent down as His messenger:
[5:15] O people of the scripture, certainly, has come to you our messenger (rasuulunaa) to make clear for you many of what you have done to conceal of the scripture and to overlook from many. Certainly, has come to you from God a light and a clarifying scripture.
[5:16] God guides with it (messenger) whoever has sought His pleasure to paths of the peace; and He brings them out of the darkness into the light with His will, and guides them to a straight path.

Peaceful Friday, salaam and God bless.
Tafazzal (12/12/2015)