jnawaz%skat.usc.edu@usc.edu (Jemshed Nawaz) (09/24/90)
Asalam-U-Alekum Netters, I have a few questions that I would like to ask, and hopefully you could provide me with the answers (this is also to initiate some activity in this newsgroup): -What requirements does one have to meet in order to qualify for the position of Rector of Al-Azhar University? What exactly does the Rector do? Does he have to be an Egyptian? Could someone name all the Rectors of the 20th century and where they were from? -Are there any works of the great Doctors of Sunni Jurisprudence (Imam Abu Hanifa, Imam Shafi', Imam Malik, Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal) which are accessible i.e. I could get hold of....if so what are they called and where can I get them? -Sunni jurists use Istidlal (inference) to make up laws for society e.g. when something is prevalent in a culture (and maybe peculiar to that culture) but does in no way contradict the Qur'an or the Sunnah, and proves beneficial to the society it applies to, then it has the force of law. But Istidlal is also used for the laws of the People of the Book which donot contradict the Qur'an and the Sunnah. I take it means all the laws mentioned in the *present* Bibles and *present* Torahs which donot contradict the Qur'an and the Sunnah. My question is: Is it safe for us to assume that the laws mentioned in the different vesions of the Bible and the Torah that were not specifically rejected by the Qur'an or our Prophet, are the ones that were originally revealed and not later additions (in the latter case they would be false and should not be applied to an Islamic society). Any responses will be appreciated. Jemshed Nawaz
soudan@iitmax.iit.edu (Bassel Soudan) (09/26/90)
In article <15974@wpi.WPI.EDU> jzubairi@rodan.acs.syr.edu (Junaid Ahmed Zubairi) writes: [ Some stuff deleted here to conserve network bandwidth. ] >if chickens, lambs, and cows are allowed to bleed while > being slaughtered , then the meat available in USA is ok to eat. >because by definition, christians and jews are people of the book >and Suratul Maidah in Quran gives them special status as far as >relations with muslims are considered. The problem here is not whether they are allowed to bleed while being slaughtered or not. The problem is that in most slaughter houses the animal is given an electric shock to sedate/imobalize it first. People used to think that this shock did not only sedate the animal, but it actually killed it. If that is true, then the animal was not slaughtered correctly according to the teachings of the Prophet (PBUH). One sloution is to go and see what actually happens in the slaughter house closest to you to satisfy your self. That is one side of the problem. The other side is that Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) said that both arteries in the neck have to be cut in order for the blood to be completely removed from the animal's body. The problem here is with the chickens, because that may not happen all the time in the slaughter houses in the US or Europe. (There are some horrific details here about the way chickens are slaughtered, that I can e-mail direct to you if you wish) > >On the other hand, Ulema in Pakistan are rather strict on this >question and they reject such meat mostly haram. > I think this might be because of the two reasons I mentioned above. >What is the practice of most muslims living in USA and Europe? Here in Chicago, we don't have to worry so much about this problem because there are several stores here that carry "Halal" meat. I had some friends who lived near a farming community and they found a farmer that slaughters for them according to their wishes. You might want to try that. I hope that this might help a little. The above is what "I" know about this subject. If I am wrong please tell me so that I would correct myself. I bid you peace. Bassel
jzubairi@rodan.acs.syr.edu (Junaid Ahmed Zubairi) (09/26/90)
============================== One more question Since Brother Jamshed has mentioned people of the book and their laws, I have an additional question. What I understand from different opinions gathered from present day scholars, including Dr. Jamal Badawai of Canada, Dr. Israr Ahmed of Pakistan, and the scholar of Arab News who replies to queries on "our dialogue" page, if chickens, lambs, and cows are allowed to bleed while being slaughtered , then the meat available in USA is ok to eat. because by definition, christians and jews are people of the book and Suratul Maidah in Quran gives them special status as far as relations with muslims are considered. On the other hand, Ulema in Pakistan are rather strict on this question and they reject such meat mostly haram. What is the practice of most muslims living in USA and Europe? What opinions have they heard about it? Thanks Wassalam Junaid Zubairi
seth@attunix.att.com (Seth R Rosenthal) (09/27/90)
In article <15974@wpi.WPI.EDU>, jzubairi@rodan.acs.syr.edu (Junaid Ahmed Zubairi) writes:
<
< ==============================
<
< One more question
<
< Since Brother Jamshed has mentioned people of the book
< and their laws, I have an additional question.
<
< What I understand from different opinions gathered from
< present day scholars, including Dr. Jamal Badawai of
< Canada, Dr. Israr Ahmed of Pakistan, and the scholar of
< Arab News who replies to queries on "our dialogue" page,
< if chickens, lambs, and cows are allowed to bleed while
< being slaughtered , then the meat available in USA is ok to eat.
< because by definition, christians and jews are people of the book
< and Suratul Maidah in Quran gives them special status as far as
< relations with muslims are considered.
<
< On the other hand, Ulema in Pakistan are rather strict on this
< question and they reject such meat mostly haram.
<
< What is the practice of most muslims living in USA and Europe?
< What opinions have they heard about it?
<
I have always been under the impression that if Islamic
meat preparation has not been available in a community
with Muslim residents, that they have always been
willing to use meat slaughtered by a kosher butcher.
Is this not true? I am also not aware of special
slaughtering practices on behalf of Christianity. Of
course Christians in general have no problem with pork.
Seth Rosenthalmoorthy@hctdemo.leis.bellcore.com (Velu Sembugamoorthy) (05/22/91)
I have some more questions. Ignore these questions if they hurt you even slightly. Please do not take this as a question from a Hindu. I do not belong to any religion including HINDU and yet NOT an athiest. I am curious to know about God from any religion. With that little background let me ask the following questions. Suppose somebody commits a lot of sins and Allah doest not forgive him/her. That person is doomed forever and sent to hell? Does Quron say so directly? (Incidently thanks for the references on Islam. I am going to buy them and read). One of the persons who was kind enough to reply to my earlier posting said that Allah created Muslims. I read from earlier postings that Muslim is one who believes in Allah and accepts Mohammed as his only prophet. If that is so: A child just born to Muslim parents has no knowledge, as far as I know, of the prophet. So naturally the child does neither believe nor disbelieve in the prophet. Is the child a muslim? Does the child become a Muslim only after he/she learns Quron? If Allah has created Muslims and Allah is the only one who creates, then who created non-muslims? Is there an entity called Satan according to Islam? If so, who created her/him? Is Satan a person? Who created the ancestors of Muslims who preceded the prophet? Clearly they did not know the prophet? Or did they? Is the above definition of Muslim directly written in Quron? Perhaps many asked you these silly questions. I would appreciate if you could answer me once again to satisfy this curious guy. I would appreciate if you could answer using what has been written in Quron. As I said before, I am a curious guy who wants to know about God from any religion. Thanks. /moorthy Disclaimer: everything said above is my personal ideas and is not associated with the company for which I work in any way.
paydarfa@cs.unc.edu (Yousef Paydarfar) (05/24/91)
In article <1991May22.121307.2906@wpi.WPI.EDU> moorthy@hctdemo.leis.bellcore.com (Velu Sembugamoorthy) writes: I dont claim to be any kind of authority on Islam, however I will try to answer your questions as best I can. I strongly encourage the other brothers/sisters on the net to correct me if I have said something incorrect: > > Suppose somebody commits a lot of sins and Allah doest not forgive >him/her. That person is doomed forever and sent to hell? Does Quron say so >directly? In Islam, you can be forgiven for your sins if you sincerely ask for repentence. Allah will forgive you for your sins as long as you do not commit the same sin later on. Also, before commiting a sin you can say to yourself "I'm going to commit such and such a sin, and then ask God to forgive me." > One of the persons who was kind enough to reply to my earlier posting >said that Allah created Muslims. I read from earlier postings that Muslim is >one who believes in Allah and accepts Mohammed as his only prophet. If that >is so: > > A child just born to Muslim parents has no knowledge, as far > as I know, of the prophet. So naturally the child does neither > believe nor > disbelieve in the prophet. Is the child a muslim? Does the > child > become a Muslim only after he/she learns Quron? > > If Allah has created Muslims and Allah is the only one who > creates, then who created non-muslims? > > Is there an entity called Satan according to Islam? > If so, who created her/him? Is Satan a person? > > Who created the ancestors of Muslims who preceded the prophet? > Clearly they did not know the prophet? Or did they? > > Is the above definition of Muslim directly written in Quron? From what I understand, everyone is born a Muslim. Islam means "submission to the will of God" and Muslims are people who submit. It is only later in life that a person may or may not choose to submit to God. For example, Adam and Eve were both Muslims along with all of the other prophets (Moses, Jesus, etc). About Satan: Satan is the same entity in Islam as in Christianity. In the Quran, the story behind Satans origins is described (I dont know the exact location of hand). Satan was one of the angels. When God created Adam God told all of His angels to prostrate before Adam. Satan replied that he would not because he was made of fire and Adam was only made of mud. God then banished Satan from heaven. > >/moorthy > yousef PS: again, if any of the knowledgeable brothers/sisters on the net have found anything I said incorrect, please correct me!
mmdh@cbnewsf.cb.att.com (Mamdouh Maher) (05/24/91)
Velu Sembugamoorthy writes: > Suppose somebody commits a lot of sins and Allah doest not forgive >him/her. That person is doomed forever and sent to hell? Does Quron say so >directly? (Incidently thanks for the references on Islam. I am going to buy >them and read). > It is by the Will and Mercy of Allah (God) that we enter heaven. Allah forgives whom He wishes to forgive. Allah, however is Most Wise and Just, it is not a matter of chance whether or not a person is forgiven. If one is punished, it is by what one has done. > One of the persons who was kind enough to reply to my earlier posting >said that Allah created Muslims. Allah created ALL. Muslims, non-Muslims, the earth, time, logic, physics - ALL. Perhapse that person meant to say that Allah (God) is the One whom Muslims accept as the Creator? In any case, We are Muslims because we accept Allah's command and submit to it. Others may not accept it. [If Allah created Muslims, then Islam would be a racial religion, Islam is strongly against that concept.] >A child just born to Muslim parents has no knowledge, as far >as I know, of the prophet. So naturally the child does neither believe nor >disbelieve in the prophet. Is the child a muslim? Does the child >become a Muslim only after he/she learns Quron? All people are born Muslim, and they remain as such till they choose to stray from the right path. That makes every one-week old a Muslim with the rights and privileges of a Muslim (babies have no obligations,) but sometimes in the custody of non-Muslim parents. >If Allah has created Muslims and Allah is the only one who >creates, then who created non-muslims? Allah. >Is there an entity called Satan according to Islam? >If so, who created her/him? Is Satan a person? In Islam, a satan (noun, not name) is one who knowingly becomes a source of evil, eg: An aquaintance who encourages you to try just one drink: "It's only a small sip, come on, it will make you less inhibited" -- while knowing that it is wrong. These are people who see merit in encouraging and doing evil. Then there is Iblis, which is a concept closest to Satan (name). He is a Jinn --Jinns are creatures of God who also have freedom of choice, but we know very little about them-- and he chose to disobey Allah. He has no power on us beyond suggesting that which is wrong. We choose to act based on desire or based on what is right depending on the kind of person we are. The nature of Jinn is different enought from our own that it is difficult for me to understand how they think or work, but what I need, I know. >Who created the ancestors of Muslims who preceded the prophet? >Clearly they did not know the prophet? Or did they? Allah sent numerous messengers, each on his nation. Muhammad was sent for all humanity. All messengers preached Islam, none asked to be considered a deity. Many were killed, many were disobeyed and many were deified. They all told their people to worship the One, the Creator. All those who followed faithfully their messengers are Muslims. Adam was the first messenger. I did not put the quotations from the Qur'an, but if you have one, most of what I said is in the second Sura - Al Baqara (The Heifer). May Allah lead you and lead us all to the Straight Path. Mamdouh Maher
jnawaz@skat.usc.edu (Jemshed Nawaz) (05/28/91)
In article <1991May24.151002.12135@wpi.WPI.EDU> paydarfa@cs.unc.edu (Yousef Paydarfar) writes: > >About Satan: Satan is the same entity in Islam as in Christianity. In the >Quran, the story behind Satans origins is described (I dont know the exact >location of hand). Satan was one of the angels. When God created Adam >God told all of His angels to prostrate before Adam. Satan replied that >he would not because he was made of fire and Adam was only made of mud. God >then banished Satan from heaven. Man is made of clay Angel is made of light Jinn is made of fire (smokeless) Satan/Iblis was/is a Jinn .... it says in the Qur'an that he was of the Jinn. People make this mistake (that Satan is a fallen angel) because in the Qur'an it says something like all the Angels prostated except Iblis ..... in English usage it implies that Iblis was one of the Angels that did not prostrate, but not so in Arabic. One scholar (forgot who), said, probably while commenting on that part of the verse, that it's correct usage in Arabic to say "all the people of the village came except the little donkey...". Now that doesn't mean that the little donkey is one of the people... > >yousef Jemshed Nawaz
azhar@cs.duke.edu (Salman Azhar) (05/29/91)
In article <1991May24.151002.12135@wpi.WPI.EDU> paydarfa@cs.unc.edu (Yousef Paydarfar) writes: >In Islam, you can be forgiven for your sins if you sincerely ask for >repentence. Allah will forgive you for your sins as long as you do not >commit the same sin later on. Also, before commiting a sin you can say to >yourself "I'm going to commit such and such a sin, and then ask God to >forgive me." According to my understanding, forgiveness is entirely God's (Allah's) decision, and we cannot anticipate, or predict whom He will forgive and who He will not. The sincerity of repentence, and the dedication of the repenter is also his judgement. And, verily He is the best of judges. I strongly contend your final sentence, i.e >"I'm going to commit such and such a sin, and then ask God to forgive me." I don't think it works quite this way. In some interpretations of Islam, one is allowed to commit certain excesses under the banner of necessity. However, there haev been long-standing debates among scholars about what can be classified as necessity. I believe that Islam leaves the final decision to the discerning individual. Salman [learn, research, teach] Azhar -- For, Believers are those who, when God is mentioned, feel a tremor in their hearts. And, when they hear His signs rehearsed, find their faith strengthened. And, put all their trust in their Lord. -Spoils of War (8:2)
parrikar@csn.org (Rajan Parrikar) (05/30/91)
In article <1991May29.144851.26150@wpi.WPI.EDU> azhar@cs.duke.edu (Salman Azhar) writes: > ><deleted> > According to my understanding, forgiveness is entirely God's >(Allah's) decision, and we cannot anticipate, or predict whom He willi ^^ >forgive and who He will not. The sincerity of repentence, and the ^^ >dedication of the repenter is also his judgement. And, verily He is ^^ Is it stated in the Quran that Allah is male?? If not, why do people keep on referring to "He"? If yes, isn't "He" or "She" an attribute of mere mortals? Rajan Parrikar ============== MIMICAD CENTRE Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering University of Colorado at Boulder E-mail: parrikar@mimicad.colorado.edu (O): 303-492-8719
paydarfa@cs.unc.edu (Yousef Paydarfar) (05/31/91)
In article <1991May28.152142.16892@nntp-server.caltech.edu> jnawaz@skat.usc.edu (Jemshed Nawaz) writes: > Man is made of clay > Angel is made of light > Jinn is made of fire (smokeless) > > Satan/Iblis was/is a Jinn .... it says in the Qur'an that he > was of the Jinn. People make this mistake (that Satan is a [ some stuff deleted] thanks for the clarification. i was wondering if you, or others on the net could comment some more about the role of Jinn in Islam. Are there good and bad Jinns or just bad ones. I've heard that there are both. Are Jinns the same as 'spirits' (as in the spirit of a dead person)? How much interaction is there between mortals and Jinns? khoda-hafez, yousef > > Jemshed Nawaz -- yousef paydarfar dept. of biomedical engineering university of north carolina at chapel hill
azhar@cs.duke.edu (Salman Azhar) (06/03/91)
In article <1991May30.150810.8589@wpi.WPI.EDU> parrikar@csn.org (Rajan Parrikar) writes: >In article <1991May29.144851.26150@wpi.WPI.EDU> azhar@cs.duke.edu (Salman Azhar) writes: >> >><deleted> >> According to my understanding, forgiveness is entirely God's >>(Allah's) decision, and we cannot anticipate, or predict whom He will > ^^ >[other usage of He for God] omitted] >Is it stated in the Quran that Allah is male?? If not, why do people >keep on referring to "He"? If yes, isn't "He" or "She" an attribute >of mere mortals? >Rajan Parrikar The Holy Quran (and by natural consequence Islam) is very clear that God is One Entity. He is not a male or for that matter female. Unfortunetely, it is the shortcoming in our language that forces us to clasify God as He/She when God is mentioned in third person. It says in the Book: "Say Allah is One! ..." In future I shall control my referencing God in third person for an all-together different reason: God is omni-present (hence never "third person"). Salman [claims that God should not be referenced in "third person"] Azhar -- For, Believers are those who, when God is mentioned, feel a tremor in their hearts. And, when they hear His signs rehearsed, find their faith strengthened. And, put all their trust in their Lord. -Spoils of War (8:2)
blais@emx.utexas.edu (Donald Blais) (06/03/91)
In article <1991May28.152142.16892@nntp-server.caltech.edu> jnawaz@skat.usc.edu (Jemshed Nawaz) writes: > Man is made of clay > Angel is made of light > Jinn is made of fire (smokeless) > > Satan/Iblis was/is a Jinn .... it says in the Qur'an that he > was of the Jinn. People make this mistake (that Satan is a > fallen angel) because in the Qur'an it says something like all > the Angels prostated except Iblis ..... In many early biblical references the word satan is a common noun and means adversary. In the biblical book of Job, Satan is prosecutor in the heavenly court of YHWH. In later Jewish and in Christian usage, Satan is portrayed as a fallen angel and as chief among devils. All of the devils are regarded as fallen angels. Jinn are not mentioned in Christianity. The Islamic tradition regarding the refusal to bow to Adam is also absent in Christian tradition. The Christian story involves the pride of Satan and his attempt to usurp his creator. A short overview of the varying Jewish, Christian, and Muslim traditions on Satan can be found at the Encyclopaedia Britannica entry "devil". -- Donald E. Blais Internet: blais@emx.utexas.edu Computation Center Bitnet: blais@utxvms University of Texas Uucp: uunet!cs.utexas.edu!ut-emx!blais Austin, TX 78712 Phone: +1 512-471-8530 +1 512-471-3241
parrikar@csn.org (Rajan Parrikar) (06/04/91)
In article <1991Jun2.200301.23724@wpi.WPI.EDU> azhar@cs.duke.edu (Salman Azhar) writes: > >In article <1991May30.150810.8589@wpi.WPI.EDU> parrikar@csn.org (Rajan Parrikar) writes: >>In article <1991May29.144851.26150@wpi.WPI.EDU> azhar@cs.duke.edu (Salman Azhar) writes: >>> >>><deleted> >>> According to my understanding, forgiveness is entirely God's >>>(Allah's) decision, and we cannot anticipate, or predict whom He will >> ^^ >>[other usage of He for God] omitted] >>Is it stated in the Quran that Allah is male?? If not, why do people >>keep on referring to "He"? If yes, isn't "He" or "She" an attribute >>of mere mortals? >>Rajan Parrikar > > The Holy Quran (and by natural consequence Islam) is very >clear that God is One Entity. He is not a male or for that matter >female. Unfortunetely, it is the shortcoming in our language that One would have thought Islam to be a major motivation for changing a few things in Arabic then!! >forces us to clasify God as He/She when God is mentioned in third >person. It says in the Book: > "Say Allah is One! ..." > > In future I shall control my referencing God in third person >for an all-together different reason: God is omni-present (hence never >"third person"). > >Salman [claims that God should not be referenced in "third person"] Azhar > >-- >For, Believers are those who, when God is mentioned, feel a tremor in >their hearts. And, when they hear His signs rehearsed, find their >faith strengthened. And, put all their trust in their Lord. > -Spoils of War (8:2) On a related matter: Somehow God seems to have an unusual proclivity for sending out *male* Prophets. Why is that? (Don't tell me, It's not ours to question WHY??) Rajan Parrikar ============== MIMICAD CENTRE Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering University of Colorado at Boulder E-mail: parrikar@mimicad.colorado.edu (O): 303-492-8719
aj3u@opal.cs.virginia.edu (Asim Jalis) (06/05/91)
In article <1991Jun4.131416.815@wpi.WPI.EDU> parrikar@csn.org (Rajan Parrikar) writes: > azhar@cs.duke.edu (Salman Azhar): > > > > The Holy Quran (and by natural consequence Islam) is very > >clear that God is One Entity. He is not a male or for that matter > >female. Unfortunetely, it is the shortcoming in our language that > > One would have thought Islam to be a major motivation for changing > a few things in Arabic then!! > > On a related matter: > Somehow God seems to have an unusual proclivity for sending out > *male* Prophets. Why is that? (Don't tell me, It's not ours to > question WHY??) > On the issue of changing Arabic to bestow a neutral gender to God, that is such an absurd proposition, that I feel unmotivated to respond to it. What difference does it make if the masculine gender is used for God. If it makes difference to a person he is simply betraying his own sexism. But if for the sake of argument we assume that such an approach was possible. How could it be implemented? The Quran has already been revealed with the masculine gender used for God. Do we alter the Quran to reflect our newly realized political correctness? How do we enforce this new politically-correct Arabic? Do we institute punitive measures to make the masses see our view on this? What does all this trivial juggling achieve? Answers to these questions are as pointless as the original question they were a response to. See the last paragraph for more discussion on this. The second issue is more interesting. However, equally pointless. Not only were prophets always male, but they were also from the noblest tribes of their regions. Also they were never born into slavery. While you have answered the question yourself: "it's not ours to question why" -- we can still speculate. Perhaps God did not want to place unnecessary hurdles for his messengers in their goal to spread his message to their communities. Had the prophets been women or slaves or from the less respectable tribes, their eventual goal would have become even more challenging than it already was -- maybe even impossible. Of course all of this is strictly speculation. And in fact I would like to add that not only is this speculation, but it is also pointless. This is because these are all tangential issues, of interest to only those who are interested in attacking Islam and to those who are interested in defending it against these attackers. That is hardly the "essense" of Islam. Islam is not a religion that is designed to produce sophists who are able to handle these attacks with more prowess than followers of other philosophies are able to. The purpose is entirely different. If you are seriously interested in this religion I would suggest a modification to your approach. Asim Jalis.
parrikar@csn.org (Rajan Parrikar) (06/05/91)
In article <1991Jun4.201035.13786@wpi.WPI.EDU> aj3u@opal.cs.virginia.edu (Asim Jalis) writes: > >In article <1991Jun4.131416.815@wpi.WPI.EDU> parrikar@csn.org (Rajan Parrikar) writes: ><deleted> >still speculate. Perhaps God did not want to place unnecessary hurdles for >his messengers in their goal to spread his message to their communities. Or perhaps God has an affinity for the male gender. Why rule out that possibility?:-) >And in fact I would like to add that not only is this speculation, but it is >also pointless. This is because these are all tangential issues, of >interest to only those who are interested in attacking Islam and to those Nonsense of the first order and first degree! Nowhere have I even attempted to denigrate Islam; I'm not in that business. My questions could well have applied to any of the major religions. > >Asim Jalis. Rajan Parrikar ============== MIMICAD CENTRE Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering University of Colorado at Boulder E-mail: parrikar@mimicad.colorado.edu (O): 303-492-8719