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Islamic Reformation

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In “An Open Letter to Moderate Muslims,” Mr. Ali Rizvi ends by saying Islamic reformation needs radicals. We cannot agree more. Here is the radical idea from the Quran.

Quran is the only source of religious law and following any other source for religious law is idolatry (6:114-115; 7:52; 10:37, 6:19; 6:38). Yes this means that we accept the Quran literally, as it is actually written and without any need for metaphorical explanations. This concept within the words of the Quran is alien to ‘Muslim’ scholars, moderate Muslims and Western scholars of Islam.

Almost all contracts have a “The entire agreement clause.” The Quran makes it clear that it is the only source of religious law. No other source including Hadith or Sunnah may be a source of religious law. No outside or parol evidence other than the words of the Quran can be considered for religious law.

Those who call themselves Muslims and indeed the Moderate Muslims have little or no idea what the Quran states. Most who call themselves Muslims have set aside the Quran and go by volumes of Hadith & Sunnah written 250+ years after the revelation of the Quran. The Quran condemns any hadith or Sunnah (system) other than the Quran. The Western Scholars revel at all the nonsense in the books of Hadith/Sunnah and have no hesitation in defining Islam (in English: Submission) based on books other than the Quran.

Absolutely there should be the study of the Quran. Numerous translations are available in the internet for side by side comparisons. Most translators translate (including Western Scholars) through the lens of the books of Hadith/Sunnah. This is a fatal error. The Quran stands on its own and should be studied that way.

Mr. Reza Aslan in his book, “No god but God” narrates that when Abu Bakr was elected as Caliph he proceeded to carry out his duties with the principle, “what would Mohammad do” in a particular situation. The right principle to follow at that time as well as now is “what to do in light of the Quran.”

A study of the Quran and any conclusion should be based on examining the complete verse, looking at preceding/following verses and subsequently in light of the Quran (5:101).

Reading the Quran in Arabic (2:171), ablution before touching the Quran (56:79), prohibiting menstruating women from touching the Quran and carrying out religious duties, Sunni taraweeh in the month of Ramadan, holding the Quran over someone’s head, cutting-off of hand and FGM are not supported in the Quran. All of this, which qualifies as nonsense originates from the man-written and fabricated books of hadith/Sunnah.

[5:38]  The thief, male or female, you shall mark their hands* as a punishment for their crime, and to serve as an example from GOD. GOD is Almighty, Most Wise.

*5:38 The practice of cutting off the thief’s hand, as decreed by the false Muslims, is a satanic practice without Quranic basis. Due to the special importance of this example, God has provided mathematical proof in support of marking the hand of the thief, rather than severing it. Verse 12:31 refers to the women who so admired Joseph that they “cut” their hands. Obviously, they did not “cut off” their hands; nobody can. The sum of sura and verse numbers are the same for 5:38 and 12:31, i.e., 43. It is also the will and mercy of God that this mathematical relationship conforms with the Quran’s 19-based code. Nineteen verses after 12:31, we see the same word (12:50).

[12:31]  When she heard of their gossip, she invited them, prepared for them a comfortable place, and gave each of them a knife. She then said to him, “Enter their room.” When they saw him, they so admired him, that they cut their hands. They said, “Glory be to GOD, this is not a human being; this is an honorable angel.”

IN LIGHT OF THE QURAN – FREEDOM OF RELIGION

[2:256] There shall be no compulsion in religion: the right way is now distinct from the wrong way.

IN LIGHT OF THE QURAN – BASIC RULES FOR ALL FIGHTING

[60:8]  GOD does not enjoin you from befriending those who do not fight you because of religion, and do not evict you from your homes. You may befriend them and be equitable towards them. GOD loves the equitable.

[60:9]  GOD enjoins you only from befriending those who fight you because of religion, evict you from your homes, and band together with others to banish you. You shall not befriend them. Those who befriend them are the transgressors.

VERSES REFERRED BY MR. ALI RIZVI

[4:88-89]  Why should you divide yourselves into two groups regarding hypocrites (among you)? GOD is the one who condemned them because of their own behavior. Do you want to guide those who are sent astray by GOD? Whomever GOD sends astray, you can never find a way to guide them.
They wish that you disbelieve as they have disbelieved, then you become equal. Do not consider them friends, unless they mobilize along with you in the cause of GOD. If they turn against you, you shall fight them, and you may kill them when you encounter them in war. You shall not accept them as friends, or allies.

[4:90-91]  Exempted are those who join people with whom you have signed a peace treaty, and those who come to you wishing not to fight you, nor fight their relatives. Had GOD willed, He could have permitted them to fight against you. Therefore, if they leave you alone, refrain from fighting you, and offer you peace, then GOD gives you no excuse to fight them.
You will find others who wish to make peace with you, and also with their people. However, as soon as war erupts, they fight against you. Unless these people leave you alone, offer you peace, and stop fighting you, you may fight them when you encounter them. Against these, we give you a clear authorization.

Lessons from History

[8:12-13]  Recall that your Lord inspired the angels: “I am with you; so support those who believed. I will throw terror into the hearts of those who disbelieved. You may strike them above the necks, and you may strike even every finger.”
This is what they have justly incurred by fighting GOD and His messenger. For those who fight against GOD and His messenger, GOD’s retribution is severe.

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.

Capital Punishment: When is it Justified?

[5:33-34]  The just retribution for those who fight GOD and His messenger, and commit horrendous crimes, is to be killed, or crucified, or to have their hands and feet cut off on alternate sides, or to be banished from the land. This is to humiliate them in this life, then they suffer a far worse retribution in the Hereafter.
Exempted are those who repent before you overcome them. You should know that GOD is Forgiver, Most Merciful.

[47:4]  If you encounter (in war) those who disbelieve, you may strike the necks. If you take them as captives you may set them free or ransom them, until the war ends. Had GOD willed, He could have granted you victory, without war. But He thus tests you by one another. As for those who get killed in the cause of GOD, He will never put their sacrifice to waste.

VERSE REFERRED BY OTHERS

[9:4-7]  If the idol worshipers sign a peace treaty with you, and do not violate it, nor band together with others against you, you shall fulfill your treaty with them until the expiration date. GOD loves the righteous.
Once the Sacred Months are past, (and they refuse to make peace) you may kill the idol worshipers when you encounter them, punish them, and resist every move they make. If they repent and observe the Contact Prayers (Salat) and give the obligatory charity (Zakat), you shall let them go. GOD is Forgiver, Most Merciful.
If one of the idol worshipers sought safe passage with you, you shall grant him safe passage, so that he can hear the word of GOD, then send him back to his place of security. That is because they are people who do not know.
How can the idol worshipers demand any pledge from GOD and from His messenger? Exempted are those who have signed a peace treaty with you at the Sacred Masjid. If they honor and uphold such a treaty, you shall uphold it as well. GOD loves the righteous.

An Islamic Reformation is the world’s best chance for peace

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An Islamic Reformation is the world’s best chance for peace

John Lloyd writes:

If a young woman, before her marriage or after it, is found to have had sexual relations with another man not her betrothed, she is sentenced to be stoned to death. By contrast, a man who rapes or seduces a young girl usually must pay a fine to her father, and offer to marry her himself.

This punishment, ordained by God, is not confined to the ideologues of Islamic State. It is to be found in the holiest books of Jews and Christians: in a part of the Jewish Torah, known to Christians as Old Testament’s book of Deuteronomy.

This punishment is not found in the only sacrosanct and the only source of religious law for Islam – the Quran. The Quran has none of the drivel as proclaimed above, nor any of the spectacle of Islam reflected by its adherents in their treatment of women, freedom of religion, their dress, etc.

The Muslims consider Hadith and Sunnah (“traditions” of the Prophet) sacrosanct. The Quran condemns any Hadith other than itself. The Quran does not mention the Sunnah (system) of the Prophet. Only God’s Sunnah is acceptable and God’s Sunnah is fully detailed in the Words of the Quran.

The various sects in the Islamic world have no disagreement about the Quran. However, each of them have their own version of Hadith & Sunnah and thus disagree, fight end even kill each other based on their version.

The reformation in Islam is crucial and the pathway to it are the Words of God in the Quran.

John Lloyd writes:

“Man” to a degree meant also “woman” — but far from completely. The idea of male supremacy continues worldwide. Only under the influence of liberal and socialist reformers, emancipatory movements and feminism did (some) cultures recognize real, substantial equality of the sexes — rarely completely.

The Quran 1400 years ago gave the woman the rights of divorce, the right to own property and equality. The Quran gives the example of Sheba, a believer, a woman and a head of a nation. Western women got these right only in the last few centuries. It is the man made fabrications of Hadith and Sunnah which stripped the women of such rights.

John Lloyd writes:

At a talk in London, Morris poured scorn on those Western leaders – As President Obama and UK Prime Minister David Cameron — who argued the attacks on the magazine Charlie Hebdo in January had “nothing to do with the true religion of Islam.”

We can state categorically that the attacks on the magazine Charlie Hebdo in January had “nothing to do with the Quran.”

An Islamic Reformation of following only the Quran and rejecting the man-made fabrications of Hadith & Sunnah will happen and when it does, we agree with John Lloyd when he writes:

An Islamic reformation would be painful, surely internally violent — as reformation’s various phases were in Christianity. It would mean the sharp diminution of the power of the Imams; frontal challenges to the moral framework of millions, and to the power of religiously based dynasties, like the House of Saud. But if reform, and opening a space for free, unafraid debate, is to move from the fringes to the center and allow the majority to encompass both secular citizenship and devout practice, this hard transition is necessary — especially for Muslims themselves, the first and most numerous victims of extremism.

Why Islam Needs a Reformation Now

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Why Islam Needs a Reformation – WSJ

Ayaan Hirsi Ali wrote an essay entitled, “Why Islam Needs a Reformation” in the wall Street Journal in reference to her book.

We agree with her when she states the following:

“To defeat the extremists for good, Muslims must reject those aspects of their tradition that prompt some believers to resort to oppression and holy war.”

Islam (the Arabic word Islam translates as Submission in English) as practiced by the majority today, absolutely needs a reformation. That reformation exists within the Words of God in the Quran – a basis discarded by Ayaan Ali, who calls the Quran “a book that was shaped by human hands.”

Ms. Ali refers to, “sacred texts and religious texts of Islam”. However, Islam as proclaimed in the Quran refers to only one text or scripture – the Quran itself.

Nothing in the Quran supports, “apostasy, adultery, blasphemy and even something as vague as threats to family honor or to the honor of Islam itself.” Nor does the Quran support, “..any statement critical of the Prophet or Islam .. as blasphemy and punishable by death.”

Herein lies the core issue:

“Any serious discussion of Islam must begin with its core creed, which is based on the Quran (the words said to have been revealed by the Angel Gabriel to the Prophet Muhammad) and the hadith (the accompanying works that detail Muhammad’s life and words).”

This is where Ayaan Ali, the Western Scholars and the vast majority of the Muslims (Meccan or Medina) cannot support their point of view from the Quran. Only the Quran is the core creed and source of religious law for Islam.

“Despite some sectarian differences, this creed unites all Muslims. All, without exception, know by heart these words: “I bear witness that there is no God but Allah; and Muhammad is His messenger.” This is the Shahada, the Muslim profession of faith.”

The Shahaada spelled out in the Quran is “I bear witness that there is no God but Allah.” This is the profession of faith for any believer.

Those who can accept and use the Quran as the only source of religious law as the Quran indeed commands us will have no issues with freedom and religious freedom practiced in the west and specifically in USA.

Here are our comments of the five areas that Ayaan Ali offers as amendments.

“Muhammad’s semi-divine status, along with the literalist reading of the Quran.”

The Quran does not consider Mohammad as infallible. He was a human like the rest of us. In fact the Quran commands us not to make distinction among any of God messengers. It is precisely the literal reading of the Quran and upholding it as the only source of religious law which will lead to reformation in Islam.

“The supremacy of life after death.”

Belief in the Hereafter goes hand in hand with belief in God. The words of the Quran do not support any of the actions of the extremists and their destiny in the Hereafter will not be in Paradise.

“Shariah, the vast body of religious legislation”

There is no such body of religious law such as Shariah in the Quran. The words of the Quran fully detail religious law.

“The right of individual Muslims to enforce Islamic law”

Freedom of religion is the basic decree in the Quran.

“The imperative to wage jihad, or holy war”

There is no support for a holy war in the Quran.