Allah's Mercies and Benevolence
Vinod Kumar
Re: Characterizing, stereotyping or generalizing Muslims
Note: The following was written in a group post. The first few paragraphs explain the background. Then my post follows. Names have been withheld. They are not relevant to the subject.
Re: Characterizing, stereotyping or generalizing Muslims
S***** (names withheld) wrote:
<<<
What is most striking about this debate is that those who louldy proclaim that Hinduism is inherently tolerant are the ones foaming at the mouth in their eagerness to blame everything from global warming to Sachin Tendulkar's bad back on Islam. In the meantime, Mr. D** and Mr. S***-A** -- presumably temple-breaking, kafir-killing, Jinnah-loving Saudi Arabian agents -- have remained above the fray. Perhaps Mr. C*********, Mr. D****, Mr. J*** and Mr. S***** can help explain this by quoting chapter and verse from the Koran and the Saudi Arabian constitution. In the meantime, will someone please bring back my hero -- the one and only G**** A***** ? We need to restore the balance of insanity on this list.
Pseudo-Amused in Nueva Delhi,
S******* >>>>
Earlier S*** A** wrote:
<<<. Would appreciate any related Quranic quote on this.And not that one about "slay your enemies where you find them" because it is is preceded by the admonition "Aggress not, for Allah loves not the aggressers. But if they attack you, then slay them. And if you fear death, then remember that percesution is worse than death." As for what Muslims have done to the world - some good, some bad, like most groups in the world.>>>
My post starts:
So off to the Koran, I went and let me see what I found.
If anyone feels offended by what follows, please do not vent your anger at me -- I did not write those verses.
I did not want to talk about the Koran and what it says -- I took for granted most members must have read it. Most Muslims are very touchy on the subject of the Koran -- its critique and fair impartial evaluation. Many are afraid to talk because of physical retaliation -- an early Islamic technique. But since you started on the subject of the Koran, let us see what it says: (excluding the verse mentioned by S*** A**)
Let us see:
"When the sacred months are over slay the idolaters wherever you find them. Arrest them, besiege them, and lie in ambush for them. If they repent and take to prayer and render the alms levy, allow them to go away. God is forgiving and merciful" (9:5)
There are others:
"Prophet make war upon the unbelievers and the hypocrites, and deal sternly with them. Hell shall be their home, evil their fate." (66:9)
"Fight against them until idolatry is no more and God's religion reigns supreme. But if they mend their ways, fight none except the evil doers." (2:193)
What is mending their ways -- give up idolatry?
"Make war upon the infidels that dwell around you. Deal firmly with them. Know the God is with the righteous." (9:23)
And who are the righteous -- those who believe in Allah and His apostle?
"Make war upon them until idolatry shall cease and God's religion shall reign supreme. If they desist, God is cognizant of all their actions; but if they give no heed, know then that God will protect you. He is noblest helper and the noblest Protector." (8:40)
And why people refuse to "heed" His revelations:
"And for the unbelievers, it is the same whether or not you forewarn them; they will not have faith. God has set a seal upon their hearts and ears; their sight is dimmed and grievous punishment awaits them." (2:5?)
What a Merciful Allah -- first He "sets a seal upon their hearts and ears"; and "dims their sight" and punishes them for not obeying His "commands".
We shall see later what He does to those who do not heed His revelations.
What he has to say about friendship with unbelievers:
The general tone is:
"The unbeliever like beasts which, call out to them as one may, can hear nothing but a shout and a cry. Deaf, dumb, and blind, they understand nothing." (2:171)
"Let believers not make friends with infidels in preference to the faithful -- he that does that has nothing to hope from God -- except in self - defense. God admonishes you fear Him: for to Him you shall return." (3:28)
"Believers, do not befriend your fathers or your brothers if they choose unbelief in preference to faith. Wrongdoers are those that befriend them."(9:23)
Even the friendship of those, even one's own fathers and brothers, who refuse to believe in His revelations is not tolerable to Allah.
and:
"Believers do not make friends with any but your own people." (3:118)
"Believers, do not choose the infidels rather than the faithful for your friends. Would you give a clear proof against yourself?" (4:145)
His directive to His believers is:
"Muhammad is God's apostle. Those who follow him are ruthless to the unbelievers but merciful to one another. " (48:29)
Does not specifically call for killing but the tone is clear.
And there are more -- but time is limited to learn all the "mercies" of Allah and His "Wise" pronouncements.
And as far Allah's justice is concerned --it is purely arbitrary -- as a judge in any reasonable and rational court of any age in any civilized society, He would not have much credibility -- it is only in a Muslim's mind that Allah is just while He makes no such claims:
"He pardons whom He will and punishes whom He pleases" (3:129)
"God gives abundantly to whom He will and sparingly to whom He pleases. The unbelievers rejoice in life; but brief indeed is the comfort to the life to come." (13:26)
Allah works purely on whims and again promise is in after-life -- anyone can promise anything after death?
Allah -- the Creator of the world and universe, Mighty and Wise seeks loan from the created and the spoils of the infidels:
"Who will grant God a generous loan? He will repay him many times over. It is God who enriches and makes poor. To Him you shall all return." (2:245)
If it is Allah who enriches, I wonder why he needs loan? He can enrich Himself.
"Who will give a generous loan to God? He will pay him back twofold and he shall receive a rich reward." (57:11)
Also see (57:17), 64:17, 73:20.
On the God's need for spoils of the infidels:
"The spoils belong to God and His apostle." (8:1)
"Know that one-fifth of your spoils belong to God, the Apostle, the apostle's kin-folk, the orphans, the needy, and those that travel the road; if you truly believe in God and ....…….." (8:41)
God, His apostle, his kin and other had to live off the spoils of the infidels -- no further comments?
Let the Koran speak for itself.
Allah's obsession with idolatry is commendable. No, I am no promoter of idolatry but I have no problem if some find it satisfying. I know idols are incapable of giving anything but they don't promise anything either and neither are they jealous of other idols or gods. They are dumb and deaf.
I would have been all for Allah had He been capable of giving some thing concrete in this life on this earth -- all He promises -- the Houris, the wine, reclining couches, or whatever --- to believers is after their death -- anyone can promise that! Why couldn't All Mighty All knowing Allah, the Creator of the Universe give all these goodies to the believers in this life and spare the unbelievers and infidels of the wrath of the believers and their plunder. The believers would not have to fight for the spoils of infidels. Both could have lived peacefully with each other -- the infidels with own riches and the believers with the ones given by Allah. Mahmud and others champions of faith would not have had to go to rape the Hindu women or plunder the kafir land to become the richest monarch the Muslims had ever known -- till that time -- had Allah given them the Houris and all the wealth here in this life on this earth..
I am sure had Allah willed he could have done so? I wonder why He didn't?
You may find Allah Forgiving, Merciful, and Beneficent -- reading the Koran leaves me with the impression of a vengeful Allah, why?
"Those that deny our revelations We shall burn in fire. No sooner will their skins be consumed than We shall give them other skins, so that they may truly taste the scourge. God is mighty and wise." (4:56)
"As for unbelievers, they shall drink scalding water and be sternly punished for their unbelief." (10:4)
"We have bound their necks with chains of iron reaching up to their chins, so that they cannot bow their heads. We have put barriers before them and behind them and covered them over, so that they cannot see.' (36:8)
"But doleful shall be the return of the transgressors. They shall burn in Hell, a dismal resting place. There let them taste their drink: scalding water, festering blood, and other putrid things." (38:58)
Allah seems to be obsessed with Fire too -- he wants to burn incessantly.
There is more but let me stop it here.
Indeed Allah is mighty and wise. He is not satisfied even when a person is dead. His "mercy and benevolence" continues long after even when the skin of unbelievers has burnt He would give them "other skin" to taste His "Mercy and Benevolence". Indeed such "mercy and benevolence" are unheard of .
Why? Because one refuses to believe in His revelations.
Allah has no spirit of compromise and believes in exclusivity and superiority of His own faith:
"The Only true faith in God's sight is Islam." (3:19)
"He that accepts a religion other than Islam, it will not be accepted from him and in the world to come he will one of the lost." (3:85)
God is not willing to accept other religions as equal to Islam.
Don't tell me 'but the Koran says "There shall be no compulsion in religion" (2:257). You know this is only fraction of the whole verse. It continues to say: "True guidance is now distinct from error. He that renounces idol worship and puts his faith in God shall grasp a firm handle that will never break. God hears all and knows all."
There is no acceptance of other's religions as good or equal. How can on the basis of the Koran the Muslims accept other faiths and live with them peacefully? And it is no surprise that in Islamic countries and under Islamic rule in India, practice and worship of other religions and Gods has been mostly outlawed. If a Muslim treats other religions as good or equal to Islam -- he is being un-Islamic.
Allah is only vengeful but He is very insecure also -- let me just quote one:
"He will not forgive those who serve other gods besides Him; but He will forgive whom He will all other sins. He that serves other gods besides Him is guilty of a heinous sin." (4:48)
Allah's knowledge of His own creation is something to be admired:
"The sun hastens to its resting place: its course is laid for it by the Mighty One, the All-Knowing. (36:38)
"We have ordained phases for the moon, which daily wanes and in the end appears like a bent and withered twig." (36:39)
The phases of the moon have nothing to do with the rotation of the earth around the sun and of moon around the earth, but these have been ordained by Allah and where is the "resting place" of the sun? We shall soon find.
and:
"The sun is not allowed to overtake the moon, nor does the night outpace the day. Each in its own orbit runs." (36:40)
If there is any doubt about the meaning and interpretation of these simple verses -- it has been clarified in the next most important book after the Book of Allah -- Sahih al-Bukhari:
The Prophet completed the system with his explanation:
From Sahih Al-Bukhari, Vol. IV, Hadis 421, pp. 283:
"Narrated Abu Dhar: The Prophet asked me at the sunset, "Do you know where the sun goes at the (at the time of sunset)?" I replied, "Allah and His Prophet know better." He said, "It goes (i.e. travels) till it prostrates itself underneath the Throne, and takes the permission to rise again, and it is permitted and then (a time will come when) it will be about to prostrate itself but its prostration will not be accepted, and it will ask permission to go on its course, but it will not be permitted, but it will be ordered to return whence it has come and so it will rise in the west. And this is the interpretation of the Statement of Allah.
And the sun
Runs its fixed course
For a term (decreed)
That is
The Decree of (Allah)
The Exalted in Might,
The All-knowing." (36:38)
And what does Islam thinks of the sun and the moon --- "They move like the handmill" (Sahih al Bukhari vol. 4, pp. 282)
And why were the starts created:
Let me quote Sahih Al - Bukhari again. Vol. 4, p. 282:
"(About the) Stars, Abu Qatada mentioning Allah's Statement: --
'And We have Adorned the nearest heaven
With lamps," (67:5)
And said, "The creations of these stars is for three purposes, i.e. as decorations on the sky, as missiles to hit the devils, and as signs to guide travelers. So, if anybody tries to find a different interpretation, he is mistaken and just wastes his efforts, and troubles himself with what is beyond his limited knowledge (e.g. To send a man over the stars or moon etc. is just wasting on money and energy)."
This is the concept of the universe in Islam according to Allah -- the Creator and His Messenger on Earth.
As said above, in Islam after the Koran, the traditions of the Prophet as recorded in Sahih Al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim are the next most important sources of the divine knowledge. "And it has been unanimously agreed that Imam Bukhari's work is the most authentic of all other works in Hadith literature put together. The authenticity of Al-Bukhari's work is such that the religious scholars of Islam said concerning him: "The most authentic book after the Book of Allah (i.e. Al-Quran) is Sahih-Al-Bukhari."
Besides being insecure and jealous, Allah admits there are other gods besides Him -- If He was the ONLY GOD how could anyone worship any other God? If there is only one sun in the sky, try as one might he cannot see another sun. By whatever name one might call the sun, he still refers to the same sun. God Himself admits He is not the only god. That much for Allah's logic.
And on these foundation Muslims want to build the super structure of "international brotherhood, peace and tolerance". And want to lay the foundations of science too -- on blind belief -- sun going to rest under the throne of Allah.
All these are not my words but of Allah Himself. And the Koran and the hadiths are full of such "gems of wisdom" and words of "peace and tolerance".
I have not touched upon the topic of idols -- what Allah thinks of them and of jihad and jiziya and many other issues. I will let you explore those on your own -- you probably already have and come to a wise conclusion. The Koran, Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim make interesting reading and specially since these are books of Allah -- all Knowing, All Mighty, Merciful and Benevolent -- and His Apostle
I must thank S******** and S*** A** for asking to quote from the Koran "chapter and verse" and it has been truly an enlightening experience.
If anyone feels offended by the above verses, please do not vent your anger at me -- I did not write those verses.
Vinod Kumar
Note:
The above quotations are taken from "The Koran" translated by NJ Dawood.
And according to him:
"The translation , first published in 1956, has now been completely revised in the light of a life-long study of the style and language of the Koran and has been brought as close to the original as English grammar and idiom will allow. Basic changes include 'God' instead of 'Allah', 'Lord of the Universe', instead of 'Lord of the Creation' and 'alms levy' instead of 'alms tax'.
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