Madina Archives

Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board

Suddenly, Everyone Is an Expert on the Qur’an
zanfaz
01/16/02 at 23:50:08
[slm] Suddenly, Everyone Is an Expert on the Qur’an (Author: Asma Gull Hasan, author of ‘American Muslims) In the last two months, the Qur’an has received more attention from non-Muslims than it ever has before. With this new attention though, unfortunately though, is no real understanding. Most in the media and many Americans have a profound misunderstanding of Islam and its holy book, the Qur’an - a misunderstanding that has manifested itself among some of the US’s proclaimed intellectuals. The Qur’an itself, along with some American Muslims, has been discriminated against and victimized in the last few weeks, heavily quoted out of context. In an unlucky coincidence, the Qur’an lends itself well to those who want to demonize Islam or operate under stereotypes of Islam as barbaric mainly because the Qur’an was written at a time when Muslims and ancient Arabia were under siege. Many passages, including Surah (or Chapter) 9, were written specifically to deal with the treachery of neighboring pagan and Jewish tribes that consistently would betray Muhammad (pbuh), to the pagans of Mecca, who held political power, and, convinced that Muhammad meant to seize power from them, attacked him often. A perfect example of such misquotation is Andrew Sullivan’s recent article in the New York Times Magazine entitled, "This is a Religious War." He writes, "But it would be naive to ignore in Islam a deep thread of intolerance toward unbelievers, especially if those unbelievers are believed to be a threat to the Islamic world." He cites a passage from Chapter 9, that many in the media have latched on to recently: ‘And when the sacred months are passed, kill those who join other gods with God wherever ye shall find them; and seize them, besiege them, and lay wait for them with every kind of ambush.’ He totally ignores the historical context as described above as well as the exhortations of the Qur’an to wait at least four months (the "sacred months" in his translation) before retaliating against the attacks of the tribes who had violated their treaties with Muhammad. Further and most egregiously, Sullivan totally ignores the next line in the verse which exhorts readers of the Qur’an to forgive and be merciful as God is, especially for those who repent and amend their ways. I have little doubt that Mr. Sullivan picked up a copy of the Qur’an, probably not the most reputable translation, at his local bookstore and looked through the index for violent words until he found a sufficiently incriminating passage. The lack of regard for historical context accompanied by such an inflammatory title is unfair and intellectual dishonesty. Besides which, he also fails to mention that the Qur’an says that all moral religions come from the same source "God, which means that Muslims can and should consider followers of religions with good intentions and purposes as 'Believers' as well, even if they are not Muslim. Perhaps we Americans feel better attacking other Americans and non-Americans in military strikes if we can impute negative, un-American characteristics to them. The mentality, that fortunately few seemed to have fallen into, is apparently, "If their holy book says to kill us, then we can kill them too!" Perhaps the focus on the Qur’an helps us to avoid asking ourselves the hard questions about our own American foreign policy, that many non-Americans and not just Muslims characterize as arrogant. In truth, the Qur’an is one of the greatest documents for social reform in the history of the world. At the time before and during the revelation of the Qur’an, ancient Arabia was a world where the strong and powerful prevailed, and the weak languished. Muhammad himself was an orphan and illiterate, reportedly often the one the older cousins in his tribe picked on and unloaded the undesirable work on. Muhammad brought the message to Arabia that unchecked commercialism without giving back to the needy in society would not be forgotten on Judgment Day and that the one God of Islam was a god to be feared. Muhammad introduced zakat, the requirement under Islam of donating a portion of one’s income to charity. He also eradicated the practice of female infanticide and proclaimed the God-given rights and equality of women, until then unknown in organized religion, including Christianity, and in the Western world. Muslim women were among the first women to own property outright in their own names and to exercise meaningfully the right to divorce without facing death. Because of Islam’s overtures to assist the poor and weak, many of Islam’s first converts were from these very groups. Islam also has a strong sense of justice, both then and now, which explains why the Qur’an takes the view that once Muslims are attacked, and after allowing time for the attackers to repent, Muslims should wholeheartedly fight for their rights against their oppressors. Keeping in tune with the emphasis on protection of the weak, innocents are clearly not to be harmed according to the Qur’an, a prohibition obviously violated by the hijackers and terrorists behind the attacks of 9/11. With the frenzy pseudo-intellectuals are in against Islam, it doesn’t make a difference to them that the hijackers couldn’t be true Muslims in order to do what they did. (Asma Gull Hasan, author of ‘American Muslims: The New Generation,’ is a weekly columnist for The Pakistan Link. Please visit her website www.asmahasan.com for more information).

Re: Suddenly, Everyone Is an Expert on the Qur’an
akbalkhan
01/17/02 at 00:13:32
Speaking of people who think they are experts: "Besides which, he also fails to mention that the Qur’an says that all moral religions come from the same source "God, which means that Muslims can and should consider followers of religions with good intentions and purposes as 'Believers' as well, even if they are not Muslim" Does no one else take issue with this statement? "Muhammad introduced zakat, the requirement under Islam of donating a portion of one’s income to charity." Isn't the zakat taken from money or goods held over and not used during a given year, and not the total income per se? "...it doesn’t make a difference to them that the hijackers couldn’t be true Muslims in order to do what they did." What's this?  Now this person is not only an expert on the Quran, but also an authority on who is Muslim and who isn't? I give this article a thumbs down, and a couple months short of the other articles that tried to smooth over rough ridges in al-Islam to appeal to the sensitivities of Americans who have know idea what the Quran says. (Not that I do either, hence my responses to selected quotes in the form of questions). Regards, Qamar Akbal Kaan

ironic eh?
se7en
01/17/02 at 15:22:16
as salaamu alaykum, This sister is responding to a specific, hateful article that misquoted the Qur'an.  I think she's really doing a service for Muslims here, may Allah reward her.  How many of *us* have done this, gone out of our way to write a letter to the editor, or to respond to a piece that shows Islam in a distorted light? If you really feel that she has said something *terribly* wrong here, then perhaps you should find her contact info and write to her about it. And the whole *purpose* of daawah is to "smooth over" the "rough edges" of Islam!  Let me clarify here.. I don't mean by that that we should distort Islam, deceive people about what it's really about, or to 'sugar coat' certain concepts or ideas that people would have issue with; but just to speak to people in a way they understand.  This is the sunnah.  It's not shoving things down people's throats, it's explaining things to people in a way that appeals to them, and makes sense to them intellectually. [color=black]Invite all to the way of your Lord with wisdom and beautiful speech; and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious: for your Lord knows best, who have strayed from His Path, and who receive guidance. [/color]   -- An Nahl wAllahu a'lam. wasalaamu alaykum wa rahmatAllah.

Re: Suddenly, Everyone Is an Expert on the Qur’an
akbalkhan
01/17/02 at 15:33:10
Wa lakum as Salam, I disagree with the statement she did a service to al-Islam, respectfully.  I do not think there is any service to al-Islam by combating wrong articles with less wrong articles.  Making people who are not Muslims, Believers?  That kind of does a little more than smooth over, more like mow over. I understand your last point and know that ayah in the Quran, I still don't think it qualifies everyone for this job, or that any time someone speaks or writes about al-Islam they are giving dawah. If I did have any intention of writing back to authors of 'terribly' wrong articles about al-Islam, I wouldn't have time to write posts here, or maybe that is your point. Regards, Qamar Akbal Kaan

Re: Suddenly, Everyone Is an Expert on the Qur’an
Arsalan
01/17/02 at 16:15:14
[slm] Hmm.  Overall it seems to be a good article.  There are some problems though, the biggest of which is probably this one that QAK already pointed out: [quote]"Besides which, he also fails to mention that the Qur’an says that all moral religions come from the same source "God, which means that Muslims can and should consider followers of religions with good intentions and purposes as 'Believers' as well, even if they are not Muslim"[/quote]First of all, what is the definition of "all moral religions?"  The reader can easily take this to mean "all religions," and that is just not true.  In fact, the only religions that we can point to and say with assurance that they originated from Divine teachings are three - Judaism, Christianity and Islam.  There may be other "moral religions" out there that may have no Divine roots.  Wallahu a'alm. Second, I have a big issue with calling people who have rejected Islam as "believers."  Believers in what??  As far as Muslims are concerned, the only people who are believers are people who believe in the Unity of God and the Message of Prophet Muhammad pbuh as the final message.   I see the point that the author is trying to make.  Perhaps she could have said something like Muslims view life as sacred, regardless of whether it's the life of a Muslim or non-Muslim, as long as the person is not guilty of a crime.  The Qur'an also teaches Muslims to have a high regard for People of the Book i.e. Jews and Christians.  Etc.  Something like that. Regarding this statement: "Muhammad introduced zakat, the requirement under Islam of donating a portion of one’s income to charity." [quote]Isn't the zakat taken from money or goods held over and not used during a given year, and not the total income per se?[/quote]Yes, and that is why she mentioned *a portion* of one's income.  I see nothing wrong with her statement.   Wallahu a'lam. I would rather not comment on the "true Muslims" bit.   The rest of the article looks good.   Wassalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah. P.S. There are no "rough edges" in Islam.

Re: ironic eh?
Kashif
01/17/02 at 18:29:25
[quote]And the whole *purpose* of daawah is to "smooth over" the "rough edges" of Islam!  Let me clarify here.. I don't mean by that that we should distort Islam, deceive people about what it's really about, or to 'sugar coat' certain concepts or ideas that people would have issue with; but just to speak to people in a way they understand.  This is the sunnah.  It's not shoving things down people's throats, it's explaining things to people in a way that appeals to them, and makes sense to them intellectually.[/quote] assalaamu alaikum I find this paragraph contradictory. I find the assertion that Islam has rough edges absolutely incorrect. How can something sent by our Creator, and which is described as a Mercy and a Guidance, and a lifestyle that wins us Paradise have *rough edges*? In the West smoothing over is too often an equivalent to putting a sugar coat over concepts and ideas. I did visit her site, and was not surprised at the defeatist/"assimilation-ist" attitude of Asma Hasan. I recall again the words of the great Muslim traveller and philospher of history, Ibn Khaldun, who said that the characteristic of a conquered nation is that they imitate the conquerors. Thus, you have in Asma Hasan's book: "Many American Muslims feel strongly that American values and Islamic values, as derived from the Qur'an and hadith (traditions and sayings of the Prophet Muhammad), are similar -- self-respect, an emphasis on family, importance of education, supporting oneself, contributing to society, individualism. In essence, being a Muslim can often mean being an American." "Islam was founded on the same principles and ideas the US was." I think that people like Asma Hasan are a disease in our community. The eagerness with which they want to show non-Muslims how much we are alike borders on embarrassing, and the ease with which words can be twisted (she says, "Like Ishmael and Isaac were brothers, Muslims believe that Jews and Christians are their brothers, "Brothers of the Book,") and statements made showing a lack of even basic research ("Hijab, though practiced by Muslims, is probably a leftover of pre-Islamic Arabian culture,"**) should be enough to make one turn away from her works until she knows what she's talking about. Kashif Wa Salaam **And later she says: "What is American Islam? I believe it is a return to the Qur'an without the influence of pre-Islamic Arab culture. All of the cultural baggage must be set aside at an American mosque"
NS

Re: Suddenly, Everyone Is an Expert on the Qur’an
akbalkhan
01/17/02 at 20:53:49
"I give this article a thumbs down, and a couple months short of the other articles that tried to smooth over rough RIDGES in al-Islam to appeal to the sensitivities of Americans who have know idea what the Quran says." I said 'rough RIDGES' not 'rough edges'. The 'rough ridges' were intended to be a perceived reality of the authors of other articles also published that misrepresent aspects of al-Islam and actually end up becoming the same 'experts' that they themselves appear to be sarcastically criticizing and attempting to correct.  It should have been placed in quotations from the outset and I apologize for the confusion.  I certainly do not believe that there are any rough edges 'in' al-Islam.  (Maybe some rough ridges though, from an individual perspective of real challenges in adhering to sunnah and din). As far as Zakat is concerned, the statement that Zakat is payable from a portion of the income is wrong in the sense that the Zakat is not taken from our net income, nor is it tallied in this fashion. Surely the income is utilized for payment on food to eat, a home to live in, gas to drive, a even charity given through out the year, and none of this money already spent is calculated in the Zakat.  Again this article is making the American system of taxing people according to their income bracket seem like the Islamiic system of Zakat, and it could not be further from the truth. I grabbed this from Soundvision.com: Ahmad Sakr studied Islam in Lebanon for 12 years with 20 different scholars form all parts of the Middle East. He learned Quran, Hadith, Fiqh, Seerah and Dawa from them. Sakr is also director of the Islamic Education Center in Walnut, California. The amounts are the following: 2.5 percent-on annual SAVINGS that are Zakatable 5 percent-on agriculture being taken care of by a farmer who is planting and irrigating from his own money. During harvest time, he pays five percent from the total crop. 10 percent-on a farmer's product if it is being irrigated by rain 20 percent-on resources like oil or precious metals (i.e. gold, silver) which you find on a piece of land that you own. Sakr notes that this is "your property, no one has the right to nationalize it". You would pay 20 percent on what you produced in one year. Regards, Qamar Akbal Kaan

Re: Suddenly, Everyone Is an Expert on the Qur’an
Kashif
01/17/02 at 21:05:58
[quote]Again this article is making the American system of taxing people according to their income bracket seem like the Islamiic system of Zakat, and it could not be further from the truth.[/quote] Good point brother. And i don't think this movement of trying to make Islam look American is restricted to issues of just zakaah. Nowadays, you find Muslim 'intellectuals' who want to go full steam into the political process calling the Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wa sallam 'The first Democrat' based on their misunderstood meaning of the term shooraa. And likewise you have writers like Asma Khan calling him 'The first feminist.' Kashif Wa Salaam

Re: Suddenly, Everyone Is an Expert on the Qur’an
bhaloo
01/17/02 at 23:03:00
slm Jazak Allah khairen to all the people that spoke out against this article. Ignorant statements such as the ones brought forth in the article should not be tolerated.  Insha'Allah we should all write a letter of protest to the author.  Confusing statements such as those can easily misguide people, including Muslims.

Re: Suddenly, Everyone Is an Expert on the Qur’an
BroHanif
01/18/02 at 12:56:12
AWW, [quote]And the whole *purpose* of daawah is to "smooth over" the "rough edges" of Islam!  Let me clarify here.. I don't mean by that that we should distort Islam, deceive people about what it's really about, or to 'sugar coat' certain concepts or ideas that people would have issue with; but just to speak to people in a way they understand.  This is the sunnah.  It's not shoving things down people's throats, it's explaining things to people in a way that appeals to them, and makes sense to them intellectually.[/quote] I guess this would also mean looking at the example of Abu Jahl, the only language he understood was WAR. How many times did the prophet saws give him dawah ?? enough times, however, at the time of the battle of Badr the only intellect that worked on him was the sword. When it comes to peace its peace and dawah on that term, when it comes to war its war within the commands of Allah and dawah within the terms of war.

Re: Suddenly, Everyone Is an Expert on the Qur’an
lightningatnite
01/18/02 at 15:26:49
Salam :) Just to come to the defense of little sis, I don't think y'all are getting the jist of what se7en is saying.  It takes 1000's of people to build a building, and just one or two to take it down.  What we have in our ummah right now is too much choas.  We've destroyed everything.  Everyone of our scholars has been called a kaafir by someone or another.  Every book has been labelled as too liberal or too conservative.  Everyone is either a Salafi or a Sufi.  We are defeating ourselves by attacking or dishonoring fellow Muslims in their absence.  We have too much disorder and argumentation amongst us.  This is not the quality of early Muslims....we should be builders, not destroyers.  The best criticism is proving that you have something better.  Like Malcolm X said, if you want to prove to somebody that the water in his glass is dirty, show him a glass of clean water. Everyone of us has a million mistakes.  The correct course of action when you see something being done wrong is to criticize the *thing* done wrong, not the person.  I think any educated Muslim who reads Asma's article will realize the mistakes she has made.  But then you'd be missing the whole point.  She's writing for non-Muslims...so on the one hand you think Muslims are kamakaze lunatics, and on the other they aren't so bad.  I mean, she's decided to spend her life writing to non-Muslims about Islam.  How many "good" Muslim women have done that?  Most of us, included myself, are doing computers, medicine, etc.  How betrayed would you feel if you spent your entire life working to spread the message of Islam to non-Muslims, and the only thanks you got was Muslims condemning you.  We can be our own worst enemies.  Yes, I am angry at some of the false things that have been said, but a greater part of me says, "Channel it into something beneficial for Islam."  The nafs likes to lash out and attack anything that bothers it.  We have to overcome our reactionary selves. None of us likes to have our words picked apart.  I know I make 1000's of mistakes.  I would like someone to tell me what my mistakes are, not going around saying how misguided I am to someone else.  The bottom line is, we have to soften our hearts.  The Prophet defended the honor of a drunkard that some of the sahaba used to call Hymaar(donkey).  You never know how hard someone may be stiving to please Allah, but is just ignorant. To raise a healthy child, you should avoid negativism.  Instead of saying "Stop running!", you should say "Walk".  Negativism stagnates the mind and the spirit.  Think positive! :) This is not directed at anyone specifically, but is just meant with the spirit of brotherhood for the collective benefit of us as an Ummah.

Re: Suddenly, Everyone Is an Expert on the Qur’an
akbalkhan
01/18/02 at 20:24:20
Wa lakum as Salam, Woah!! That sounds really bad, "The Prophet, SAWS, defended the honor of a drunkard"  No,not really.  There was one particular guy, who the people were beating or wanted to beat, and the Prophet, SAWS, told them to withhold for that man because he loved the Prophet, SAWS, sooo much.  There were plenty of guys who got the beat down for being drunk, and who had no honor. I wrote the above while at work, and I am sorry for mistating the hadith.  The hadith is as follows: Volume 8, Book 81, Number 771: Narrated 'Umar bin Al-Khattab: During the lifetime of the Prophet there was a man called 'Abdullah whose nickname was Donkey, and he used to make Allah's Apostle laugh. The Prophet lashed him because of drinking (alcohol). And one-day he was brought to the Prophet on the same charge and was lashed. On that, a man among the people said, "O Allah, curse him ! How frequently he has been brought (to the Prophet on such a charge)!" The Prophet said, "Do not curse him, for by Allah, I know for he loves Allah and His Apostle." *********I see no defending of honor in this???????? Sister, lightningatnight, I don't know this sister who wrote the article, and I don't feel that any of my posts were particularly damning of her. You see, just as I wrote some mistakes above, regarding the hadith, I have made an effort to correct my mistake by reposting the hadith in its text, and admitting I was wrong.  Perhaps some people visited the board, read what I said, and saw my comment in opposition to yours and decided that what I said was true, although it was wrong.  I feel terrible anytime that is a possibility.  So I made an effort to repost, and correct my statement.  I do not know that the person who wrote the article also made a similar effort to correct her errors in the article and make an equal effort in making the corrections known.  It is our duty as Muslims to call people out on mistakes, or disagree respectfully, when we see something in the din that does not belong there, for the dangerous and inevitable fact that it will lead less knowledgeable people astray. Regards, Qamar Akbal Kaan

Re: Suddenly, Everyone Is an Expert on the Qur’an
Kashif
01/18/02 at 20:30:56
assalaamu alaikum In all her life she didn't see beyond the myth that hijaab is a pre-Islamic custom of idol-worshippers? There is making excuses and then there is making excuses. She quotes from authors such as Dr Riffat Hasan who herself is so "pro-Muslim women's rights" that she denies Hawa was created from Adam, and regards this as one of the fundamental beliefs which has relegated women to a secondary station in societies. What absurdity is that? We know that men and women are equal because the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam said: "an-nisaa shaqaaiq ur-rijaal" - that women are the twin halves of men. There is no need to twist or deny a teaching of Islam so that you can push your own point across. Yet this is what they do. Again these people are pushing themselves as representatives of Muslims when they have serious errors in basic beliefs. I believe we need to be firm with them. Asma Hasan herself is known to some extent in the literary world, while Dr Riffat holds a position in a US University: i.e. both have more influence than most of us do. If we're going to be tolerant with people like this, what happens when their teachings gain currency?** What will happen is that people will look at them as Muslim scholars who are saying stuff like "hijaab means 'just be modest - it doesn't mean scarf or jilbaab because a T-shirt and jeans can be modest too'" and then this will be regarded as the norm, and thus, those who DO wear hijaab & jilbaab will be looked upon as the extremists or the 'really serious ones.' Kashif Wa Salaam **Obviously what is more dear is that they would accept Islam as it is: pure and simple, and then their position of influence would become a great asset insha'Allah.

Re: Suddenly, Everyone Is an Expert on the Qur’an
bhaloo
01/18/02 at 21:48:36
slm I agree completely with Kashif's statement: [quote] If we're going to be tolerant with people like this, what happens when their teachings gain currency?** What will happen is that people will look at them as Muslim scholars who are saying stuff like "hijaab means 'just be modest - it doesn't mean scarf or jilbaab because a T-shirt and jeans can be modest too'" and then this will be regarded as the norm, and thus, those who DO wear hijaab & jilbaab will be looked upon as the extremists or the 'really serious ones.' [/quote] This is a real danger that is happening, especially after September 11th.  These people should fear Allah (SWT) and not speak unless they have the proper knowledge.  This is why the ummah is facing so many serious problems.  It is not a matter of tolerance, but rather the most ignorant people are the ones speaking.  We also have to speak the truth when talking about Islam.  We can't go to non-Muslims and "lie" and say Islam says this, when the reality is the opposite. Dr. Taha Jaber Alwani's book, "The Ethics of Disagreement in Islam." is a very valuable book that addresses such a topic. It is also available on the Web at the following address: http://www.usc.edu/dept/msa/humanrelations/
Individual posts do not necessarily reflect the views of Jannah.org, Islam, or all Muslims. All trademarks and copyrights on this page are owned by their respective owners. Comments are owned by the poster and may not be used without consent of the author. The rest © Jannah.Org