Showing posts with label History. Show all posts
Showing posts with label History. Show all posts
Thursday, 28 September 2017
Armenian Genocide Was A Secularist Genocide Not an Islamic Genocide - Karen Armstrong
During the First World War, in order to create a purely Turkic state, the Young Turks ordered the deportation and ‘resettlement’ of Armenian Christians from the empire on the pretext that they were conniving with the enemy. This led to the first genocide of the twentieth century, committed not by religious fanatics but by avowed secularists. Over a million Armenians were slaughtered: men and youths were killed where they stood while women, children and the elderly were driven into the desert where they were raped, shot, starved, poisoned, suffocated or burned to death [Karen Armstrong, Fields of Blood]
African Children and the Harm of White Jesus Imagery - Umar Johnson
Geza Vermes on How Jesus Would Have Reacted to Trinitarian Christians
Hinduism and Polygamy
Muslim Rule in India: No Evidence of Forced Mass Coversions of Hindus
For Christians Who Call Muslims Rag-Heads...
Tuesday, 26 September 2017
Geza Vermes on How Jesus Would Have Reacted to Trinitarian Christians
Geza Vermes speaks of Jesus as a ‘lover and worshipper of his Father in heaven’ , whose transformation into an object of worship ‘would have filled this Galilean Hasid with stupefaction, anger and deepest grief’ (Vermes 1983:13) [Cambridge Companion to Jesus Edited by Markus Bockmuehl – Cambridge University Press – 2001]
Is Limited Atonement Doctrine Taught Clearer than the Trinity Doctrine in the New Testament?
Does Jesus use Violence and Force According to Trinitarian Christianity?
Analysing Richard Lucas' Heretical Understanding of Trinity
Synoptic Gospels and the Idea of a Pre-Existent Jesus?
Paula Fredriksen: Paul was NOT a Trinitarian
Wayne Grudem Shoe-horning Partial Trinitarianism into the Old Testament
Edgar G Foster: Trinity Came After the Council of Nicea
Tovia Singer: Does the New Testament Teach Jesus is God?
Why Islam
Monday, 25 September 2017
Muslim Rule in India: No Evidence of Forced Mass Coversions of Hindus
The Ummayad Islamic Caliphate, whose capital was Damascus, had expanded to establish a kingdom in the lower Indus River valley as early as 711 CE. These were Arabic-speaking Muslims, many of whom also traded along India’s Malabar Coast. However, /islam’s major push into the subcontinent began with the Turkish ruler Mahmud of Ghazni, who had his Afgha armies move into Northwest India. By the time of his assassination in 1206, he had established a Turko-Afghan state bordering on Delhi. His successor, Qutb u’d-din Aibak, conquered Delhi, making it his capital, and became the first in a series of Delhi Sultans, Turko-Afghan rulers whose empire eventually stretched from the Punjab to Bengal.
It may be misleading to characterize the region of this empire as under “Muslim” or “Islamic” rule, because the ruling styles of the Hindu and Muslim kingdoms of these states were fairly similar. Furthermore, it conveys the sense that obligatory mass conversions to Islam had occurred, which current historical analyses reject. From studies in regions where Islamic populations grew, such as Western Punjab and Bengal, conversion was often driven by desires for upward mobility through intermarriage, and by teachings of charismatic religious leaders. Historians also reject a prevailing popular view of systematic wholesale destruction of non-Muslim holy places, such as Buddhist monasteries and Hindu temples. While some such were definitely sacked for their wealth, and many religious centers were destroyed by zealous Muslim rulers, such as Firuz Tughluq (14th century CE), Islam and non-Islamic spiritual and philosophical life generally coexisted and interacted peacefully. [Introducing Hinduism, Hilary P. Rodrigues, Routledge, 2nd Edition p28]
Russell Brand Exposes Muslim Terrorism Percentage
It may be misleading to characterize the region of this empire as under “Muslim” or “Islamic” rule, because the ruling styles of the Hindu and Muslim kingdoms of these states were fairly similar. Furthermore, it conveys the sense that obligatory mass conversions to Islam had occurred, which current historical analyses reject. From studies in regions where Islamic populations grew, such as Western Punjab and Bengal, conversion was often driven by desires for upward mobility through intermarriage, and by teachings of charismatic religious leaders. Historians also reject a prevailing popular view of systematic wholesale destruction of non-Muslim holy places, such as Buddhist monasteries and Hindu temples. While some such were definitely sacked for their wealth, and many religious centers were destroyed by zealous Muslim rulers, such as Firuz Tughluq (14th century CE), Islam and non-Islamic spiritual and philosophical life generally coexisted and interacted peacefully. [Introducing Hinduism, Hilary P. Rodrigues, Routledge, 2nd Edition p28]
Russell Brand Exposes Muslim Terrorism Percentage
Wednesday, 20 September 2017
Yes, Muslims Used Taqiya FAO Christian Islamophobes
Yes Muslim did do Taqiya! Let the Islamophobes know some Muslims pretended to be Christians to save themselves from persecution in Spain. From Karen Armstrong's Fields of Blood
Karen Armstrong, Fields of Blood, Religion and the History of Violence. The Bodley Head, 2014
Truth about Taqiyyah (Takiya, Taqiyya)
Karen Armstrong, Fields of Blood, Religion and the History of Violence. The Bodley Head, 2014
Truth about Taqiyyah (Takiya, Taqiyya)
Sunday, 13 August 2017
Notes and Select Quotes from the Book Mecca the Sacred City
Mecca The Sacred City, Ziauddin Sardar, Bloomsbury
Mecca has had many names. It was known as al-Balad (the main city) and al-Qaryah (place large numbers of people congregate like water flowing into a reservoir). Mecca was also known as Baca as mentioned in Psalm 84:5-6
5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
in whose heart are the highways to Zion.[a]
6 As they go through the Valley of Baca
they make it a place of springs;
the early rain also covers it with pools.
The Arabic form of Baca, Bakkah, can be translated as ‘lack of stream’. The valley indeed was a dry place with no vegetation.
Archeology and Mecca
p4 Today’s Mecca, in the modern Saudi Arabia, has for the past eighty years been ruled by a family with a horror of history, of historical evidence, that includes evidence from archaeology, as well as from manuscripts. The government ensured that Mecca was washed clean of its history in June 1973 when entire districts of the city were bulldozed and its cultural property and historic sites were erased from the landscape as easily as one rubs out pencil marks on paper. The little archaeology that has been undertaken in Saudi Arabia occurs far removed from the Holy Places. As far as the Saudis are concerned Mecca has no prehistory, no history before Muhammad, and no history after Muhammad. This denial of Meccan history is based on a single reason: the Saudis do not want anyone to venerate Muhammad. The fear is that historical sites, rather than God, will become objects of worship.
Archeological evidence, however, is not our only source of insights into history. Our window into the past includes words as well as memories, what today is known as oral history...p4
...Many of the Psalms are attributed to the Prophet King David, whose reign is tentatively dated 1040-970 BCE. Psalm 84, however, is attributed to ‘the sons of Korah’, believed to be either a family of religious singers or a guild of singers and musicians. Originally, the sons of Korah were appointed by the David to provide songs and music during the building of the Temple in Jerusalem. However they continued to function long after. Psam 84 might have come into existence at any time from the era of King David up to the time when the 150 Psalms found in the Old Testament are known to have existed in written form. This spans a period from somewhere after 1040 BCE up to around 165 BCE. p5
We can, however, agree with Edward Gibbon, the eighteenth century historian and author of the celebrated Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, that the genuine antiquity of Caaba ascends beyond the Christian era’. Gibbon knew of claims that the existence of Mecca was known to the ancient Greeks. Diodorus Siculus, the Greek historian who lived during the first century BCE, mentions the Kaaba in his Bibliotheca Historica, a book describing various parts of the discovered world: ‘ a temple has been set up there, which is very holy and exceedingly revered by all Arabians’. The city is also mentioned by Claudius Ptolemy, the Egyptian Roman citizen who wrote his classic text, Geography, in Greek, and lived around 90-168 CE...In his survey of the inhabitable world he provides a list of cities in Arabia Felix. Amongst them is ‘a place called Macroba’, which ‘allows us to identify it as a Southern Arabian foundation created around a sanctuary’. P5-6
A string of archeological sites from modern-day Iraq to Pakistan, home of the Indus Valley civilization of Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro, provide evidence of a trade route dating back to around 3000 BCE. When the Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses II was buried in 1224 BCE several peppercorns that would have originated in India or even South East Asia were used along with other unguents as part of the embalming process. P6
In the stories and poems of Arabia before Islam, Mecca was the city of Abraham, biblical prophet, patriarch of Israelites and Ishmalites, and founder of the monotheistic faiths. P7
Location of Abraham and Hagar
According to the Bible, Hagar wandered in the city of Beersheba, located in the Negev desert, and eventually settled in the desert known as Paran. If that is the case, then it is highly unlikely that she would turn up several hundred miles away in Mecca; or that Abraham would visit her frequently. It is possible, as recent research suggests, that Abraham and his family were located not in Egypt and Palestine, but in the Asir province, which shares its western border with Yemen, in the southwest of Arabia [FN to Kamal Al Salibi, The Bible Came from Arabia (Jonathan Cape, London, 1984)] That, of course, would make the Muslim account more plausible. And Abraham would be able to visit Hagar and Ishmael relatively easily and more frequently. p11
Early historians
P12-13 The first book to be written about Mecca was put together before 865 by a native of the city: Meccan Reports by al-Azraqi....But Meccan Reports is not history as we conventionally understand it. To begin with it concentrates on the city monuments, for example the Kaaba and Muqam Ibrahim, and the living quarters of the city. What it tells us about ancient Mecca is based on oral traditions and the stories familiar to the city’s inhabitants. Whereas al-Azraqi tells us little about the social and political makeup of Mecca, more general histories focus on the city’s notables, its politics and struggles. One of the most important of these is the monumental forty-volume History of al-Tabari, the ninth-century historian, theologian and commentator. Al Tabari (838-923), who was of Persian origins, was an avid collector of stories; and he includes them all, good and bad, true and false, without comment, in his work. The biographer ibn Saad (784-845), who was born in Basra, Iraq, and worked as a scribe before blooming into a writer, seemed just as open-minded...Other historians were more discerning. The biographer and historian ibn Ishaq (d. 767 or 761) was more discerning in what he included in The Life of Muhammad, the first part of which deals with the ancient history of Mecca.
Prophet Muhammad illiterate but not uneducated
p20 Muhammad was ‘unlettered’: he could not read or write. This does not necessarily mean that he was uneducated. He was the product of an oral culture, where history and tradition were passed from generation to generation through sagas, genealogical narratives, and most importantly poetry. He was probably well versed in the ancient history of his city: he would have heard the sagas repeatedly told , the epic poems, the odes, the satires, as well as the lament of Mudad, and the couplets of Amr of the Luhayy.
[couplet begins: We became the custodians of the Kaaba after Jurhum]
Oral history of Mecca
...The history of Mecca was constantly being recited in the streets and squares, alleys and assemblies, and within and around the Sanctuary. The Meccans lived and breathed their history. In this fiercely tribal society Muhammad would, of course, have been familiar with the history of his own tribe – the Quraysh.
Boycott/blockade on early Muslims
Back in Mecca, the Quraysh leadership prepared its next move: this would be a boycott of all those who had any connection to Muhammad’s Banu Hashim clan. Today we would call this a blockade or extreme form of ‘sanctions’. Back then it included a ban on marrying into the Banu Hashim, as well as forbidding all trade and other forms of association. The pact was written down and hung on the door of the Kaaba. The boycott would continue till the Banu Hashim agreed to hand Muhammad over to the Quraysh.
Comprehensively shunned and excluded from society, members of the Banu Hashim, including Muhammad, had little choice but to leave the city. Under the leadership of Muhammad’s uncle Abu Talib, who still insisted on protecting his nephew, clan members moved to a nearby mountain cave. But not everyone did. Some in the Banu Hashim, such as another of Muhammad’s uncles, Abu Lahab, chose to side with the Quraysh leadership and remained in the city.
Life outside the city, without food and provisions, was harsh. Reports from the time say that the new Muslims were reduced to eating leaves. Abu Jahl, Abu Sufyan and other Meccan leaders watched like hawks to ensure that isolation was strictly enforced. The blockade continued for almost three years and became so intense that the screams of hungry children from behind the mountain pass could be heard in the streets and squares of the city. p44-45
Some Christians used to perform the pilgrimage before Islam
‘Even Christian Arabs made pilgrimage to Kaaba, honouring Allah there as God the Creator’ Marshall Hodgson, The Venture of Islam (Chicago University Press, Chicago, 1974) vol. I p.10
Sourced from page 24 Mecca The Sacred City, Ziauddin Sardar
Early Caliphs and rulers:
Abu Bakr 2 years
Umar 10yrs
Uthman 12yrs
Ali becomes Caliph in 656. Battle of the Camel.
Muawiya takes control in 660. He’s the son of Abu Sufyan. First Ummayad ruler. He sets his base in Damascus. His son is Yazid. Yazid takes control in 680.
In 683, there’s a rebellion in Mecca after Hussain was killed. Blackstone broken by projectile from Yazid’s army.
684 Marwan
685 Abdal Malik Ibn Marwan (rules 685-705). His commander was Al Hajjaj Ibn Yusuf. There was another siege on Mecca in 692.
Ummayad: 13 Caliphs from 661-750. From the family lineage of Abbas Ibn Abdal Mutallib.
Mystics
Persian Mansur al Hallaj was a mystic with heterodox views. He died in 922. He believed in union with God. “On the whole the Meccans paid very little attention to the mystics in their midst” 96
It is unlikely that the city’s inhabitants, locals or visitors, were impressed by the heterodox views of Mansur. He believed in union with God and was in the habit of losing himself in mystical introspection. While in this state, he would declare: ‘I am the Truth’. This declaration eventually led to his long trial and imprisonment in Baghdad, culminating in his execution by the order of the orthodox jurists in March 922. 96
The Mihna persecution
The Mihna was an attempt by the Abbasid Caliph al-Mamun to impose his own theological views on his subjects. This is what comes closest to the Spanish Inquisition in Islamic history. Mihna means ‘testing or ‘trial’. He wanted people to believe the Quran was created. The Mihna continued after al-Mamun’s death under his successors al Mustasim (r. 833-42) and al-Wathiq (r. 842-7), and was finally ended in 861 (ref pages 97-99)
Some notable dates and events
By the 9th century 4 schools had been established.
Qarmatians attacked Mecca in 930. Abu Tahir al-Qarmati. They took the black stone. Returned broken in 951.
1202 in Mecca: Ibn Arabi. Philospophy of Unity of Being (Wahdat al Wujud)
The demon of the West: Reynaud de Chatillon 1180
Abdal Wahhab 1703-92. His teachings were strongly opposed. His own father and brother rejected his call.
Muhammad bin Saud made a pact with in 1747. Ottomans compared Wahhabis to Qarmatians of the 9th century. Ottamans were unable to deal with Wahhabis due to European expansionism. 1803 Wahhabis entered Mecca. It was retaken by Sharif Ghalib.
The end of the First World War revealed the existence of the secret Sykes-Picot Treaty of 16 May 1916 by which the British and French had agreed on the distribution of territories of the defeated Ottoman Empire. Mandated territories were a polite fiction for colonial rule and the wholesale remaking of lands and their peoples towards the interest of the European powers. Arab independence had been gained from the Ottomans, only to become mortgaged to Britain and France. 295
Upon King Abdul Aziz’s rule, the 4 stations of different schools of thought were removed and prayers were now led by a single Wahhabi imam.
Slavery
Rutter discovered many ageing slaves in the city, freed or abandoned by their owners because they were no longer fit to work. ‘Several of these poor creatures, some of them women were living in the Haram during my stay in Mecca’ surviving on begging. Rutter had studied the Quran and was an expert in Islamic Law. He could not reconcile the teachings of Islam with the prevalence of slavery in the Holy City. If the injunctions of Islam were ‘rightly practised’, he observed, it would lead to ‘the complete cessation of slavery in the Islamic state....again and again, the Koran reiterates the teaching that one of the most acceptable acts in the sight of God is the liberation of the slave. 310
What is the Kaba
The function of the Kaaba, a cuboid structure made of brick and mortar and draped in black cloth, is to provide Muslims with a sense of direction. Wherever they may be on God’s benevolent earth, Muslims turn towards the Kaaba during their five daily prayers. They walk around it seven times when they are performing the Hajj, or Umra, the lesser pilgrimage. It is a symbol, a sign of direction for Muslims to turn towards and inculcate a sense of unity amongst themselves 342
"It is a familiar category mistake, blaming revelation, the Divine, for the failings of the human beings who so imperfectly adhere to its word" 345
Vocab
Erstwhile
Staunch the flow
Acme
Interloper
Presage
Redoubtable
Sharif - man of importance
Intransigent
Annals
Internecine
Opulent
Haven of consumerism
Obscurantism
Predeliction
Scion
Shibboleth
Muslim Defends John Sentamu vs Andrea Williams, Timothy Benstead, Christian Concern and James Gibson
Muslim Reads Mere Christianity
Non-Arab Muslims With Surnames Like Qureshi, Related to Quraish Tribe?
Mecca has had many names. It was known as al-Balad (the main city) and al-Qaryah (place large numbers of people congregate like water flowing into a reservoir). Mecca was also known as Baca as mentioned in Psalm 84:5-6
5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
in whose heart are the highways to Zion.[a]
6 As they go through the Valley of Baca
they make it a place of springs;
the early rain also covers it with pools.
The Arabic form of Baca, Bakkah, can be translated as ‘lack of stream’. The valley indeed was a dry place with no vegetation.
Archeology and Mecca
p4 Today’s Mecca, in the modern Saudi Arabia, has for the past eighty years been ruled by a family with a horror of history, of historical evidence, that includes evidence from archaeology, as well as from manuscripts. The government ensured that Mecca was washed clean of its history in June 1973 when entire districts of the city were bulldozed and its cultural property and historic sites were erased from the landscape as easily as one rubs out pencil marks on paper. The little archaeology that has been undertaken in Saudi Arabia occurs far removed from the Holy Places. As far as the Saudis are concerned Mecca has no prehistory, no history before Muhammad, and no history after Muhammad. This denial of Meccan history is based on a single reason: the Saudis do not want anyone to venerate Muhammad. The fear is that historical sites, rather than God, will become objects of worship.
Archeological evidence, however, is not our only source of insights into history. Our window into the past includes words as well as memories, what today is known as oral history...p4
...Many of the Psalms are attributed to the Prophet King David, whose reign is tentatively dated 1040-970 BCE. Psalm 84, however, is attributed to ‘the sons of Korah’, believed to be either a family of religious singers or a guild of singers and musicians. Originally, the sons of Korah were appointed by the David to provide songs and music during the building of the Temple in Jerusalem. However they continued to function long after. Psam 84 might have come into existence at any time from the era of King David up to the time when the 150 Psalms found in the Old Testament are known to have existed in written form. This spans a period from somewhere after 1040 BCE up to around 165 BCE. p5
We can, however, agree with Edward Gibbon, the eighteenth century historian and author of the celebrated Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, that the genuine antiquity of Caaba ascends beyond the Christian era’. Gibbon knew of claims that the existence of Mecca was known to the ancient Greeks. Diodorus Siculus, the Greek historian who lived during the first century BCE, mentions the Kaaba in his Bibliotheca Historica, a book describing various parts of the discovered world: ‘ a temple has been set up there, which is very holy and exceedingly revered by all Arabians’. The city is also mentioned by Claudius Ptolemy, the Egyptian Roman citizen who wrote his classic text, Geography, in Greek, and lived around 90-168 CE...In his survey of the inhabitable world he provides a list of cities in Arabia Felix. Amongst them is ‘a place called Macroba’, which ‘allows us to identify it as a Southern Arabian foundation created around a sanctuary’. P5-6
A string of archeological sites from modern-day Iraq to Pakistan, home of the Indus Valley civilization of Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro, provide evidence of a trade route dating back to around 3000 BCE. When the Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses II was buried in 1224 BCE several peppercorns that would have originated in India or even South East Asia were used along with other unguents as part of the embalming process. P6
In the stories and poems of Arabia before Islam, Mecca was the city of Abraham, biblical prophet, patriarch of Israelites and Ishmalites, and founder of the monotheistic faiths. P7
Location of Abraham and Hagar
According to the Bible, Hagar wandered in the city of Beersheba, located in the Negev desert, and eventually settled in the desert known as Paran. If that is the case, then it is highly unlikely that she would turn up several hundred miles away in Mecca; or that Abraham would visit her frequently. It is possible, as recent research suggests, that Abraham and his family were located not in Egypt and Palestine, but in the Asir province, which shares its western border with Yemen, in the southwest of Arabia [FN to Kamal Al Salibi, The Bible Came from Arabia (Jonathan Cape, London, 1984)] That, of course, would make the Muslim account more plausible. And Abraham would be able to visit Hagar and Ishmael relatively easily and more frequently. p11
Early historians
P12-13 The first book to be written about Mecca was put together before 865 by a native of the city: Meccan Reports by al-Azraqi....But Meccan Reports is not history as we conventionally understand it. To begin with it concentrates on the city monuments, for example the Kaaba and Muqam Ibrahim, and the living quarters of the city. What it tells us about ancient Mecca is based on oral traditions and the stories familiar to the city’s inhabitants. Whereas al-Azraqi tells us little about the social and political makeup of Mecca, more general histories focus on the city’s notables, its politics and struggles. One of the most important of these is the monumental forty-volume History of al-Tabari, the ninth-century historian, theologian and commentator. Al Tabari (838-923), who was of Persian origins, was an avid collector of stories; and he includes them all, good and bad, true and false, without comment, in his work. The biographer ibn Saad (784-845), who was born in Basra, Iraq, and worked as a scribe before blooming into a writer, seemed just as open-minded...Other historians were more discerning. The biographer and historian ibn Ishaq (d. 767 or 761) was more discerning in what he included in The Life of Muhammad, the first part of which deals with the ancient history of Mecca.
Prophet Muhammad illiterate but not uneducated
p20 Muhammad was ‘unlettered’: he could not read or write. This does not necessarily mean that he was uneducated. He was the product of an oral culture, where history and tradition were passed from generation to generation through sagas, genealogical narratives, and most importantly poetry. He was probably well versed in the ancient history of his city: he would have heard the sagas repeatedly told , the epic poems, the odes, the satires, as well as the lament of Mudad, and the couplets of Amr of the Luhayy.
[couplet begins: We became the custodians of the Kaaba after Jurhum]
Oral history of Mecca
...The history of Mecca was constantly being recited in the streets and squares, alleys and assemblies, and within and around the Sanctuary. The Meccans lived and breathed their history. In this fiercely tribal society Muhammad would, of course, have been familiar with the history of his own tribe – the Quraysh.
Boycott/blockade on early Muslims
Back in Mecca, the Quraysh leadership prepared its next move: this would be a boycott of all those who had any connection to Muhammad’s Banu Hashim clan. Today we would call this a blockade or extreme form of ‘sanctions’. Back then it included a ban on marrying into the Banu Hashim, as well as forbidding all trade and other forms of association. The pact was written down and hung on the door of the Kaaba. The boycott would continue till the Banu Hashim agreed to hand Muhammad over to the Quraysh.
Comprehensively shunned and excluded from society, members of the Banu Hashim, including Muhammad, had little choice but to leave the city. Under the leadership of Muhammad’s uncle Abu Talib, who still insisted on protecting his nephew, clan members moved to a nearby mountain cave. But not everyone did. Some in the Banu Hashim, such as another of Muhammad’s uncles, Abu Lahab, chose to side with the Quraysh leadership and remained in the city.
Life outside the city, without food and provisions, was harsh. Reports from the time say that the new Muslims were reduced to eating leaves. Abu Jahl, Abu Sufyan and other Meccan leaders watched like hawks to ensure that isolation was strictly enforced. The blockade continued for almost three years and became so intense that the screams of hungry children from behind the mountain pass could be heard in the streets and squares of the city. p44-45
Some Christians used to perform the pilgrimage before Islam
‘Even Christian Arabs made pilgrimage to Kaaba, honouring Allah there as God the Creator’ Marshall Hodgson, The Venture of Islam (Chicago University Press, Chicago, 1974) vol. I p.10
Sourced from page 24 Mecca The Sacred City, Ziauddin Sardar
Early Caliphs and rulers:
Abu Bakr 2 years
Umar 10yrs
Uthman 12yrs
Ali becomes Caliph in 656. Battle of the Camel.
Muawiya takes control in 660. He’s the son of Abu Sufyan. First Ummayad ruler. He sets his base in Damascus. His son is Yazid. Yazid takes control in 680.
In 683, there’s a rebellion in Mecca after Hussain was killed. Blackstone broken by projectile from Yazid’s army.
684 Marwan
685 Abdal Malik Ibn Marwan (rules 685-705). His commander was Al Hajjaj Ibn Yusuf. There was another siege on Mecca in 692.
Ummayad: 13 Caliphs from 661-750. From the family lineage of Abbas Ibn Abdal Mutallib.
Mystics
Persian Mansur al Hallaj was a mystic with heterodox views. He died in 922. He believed in union with God. “On the whole the Meccans paid very little attention to the mystics in their midst” 96
It is unlikely that the city’s inhabitants, locals or visitors, were impressed by the heterodox views of Mansur. He believed in union with God and was in the habit of losing himself in mystical introspection. While in this state, he would declare: ‘I am the Truth’. This declaration eventually led to his long trial and imprisonment in Baghdad, culminating in his execution by the order of the orthodox jurists in March 922. 96
The Mihna persecution
The Mihna was an attempt by the Abbasid Caliph al-Mamun to impose his own theological views on his subjects. This is what comes closest to the Spanish Inquisition in Islamic history. Mihna means ‘testing or ‘trial’. He wanted people to believe the Quran was created. The Mihna continued after al-Mamun’s death under his successors al Mustasim (r. 833-42) and al-Wathiq (r. 842-7), and was finally ended in 861 (ref pages 97-99)
Some notable dates and events
By the 9th century 4 schools had been established.
Qarmatians attacked Mecca in 930. Abu Tahir al-Qarmati. They took the black stone. Returned broken in 951.
1202 in Mecca: Ibn Arabi. Philospophy of Unity of Being (Wahdat al Wujud)
The demon of the West: Reynaud de Chatillon 1180
Abdal Wahhab 1703-92. His teachings were strongly opposed. His own father and brother rejected his call.
Muhammad bin Saud made a pact with in 1747. Ottomans compared Wahhabis to Qarmatians of the 9th century. Ottamans were unable to deal with Wahhabis due to European expansionism. 1803 Wahhabis entered Mecca. It was retaken by Sharif Ghalib.
The end of the First World War revealed the existence of the secret Sykes-Picot Treaty of 16 May 1916 by which the British and French had agreed on the distribution of territories of the defeated Ottoman Empire. Mandated territories were a polite fiction for colonial rule and the wholesale remaking of lands and their peoples towards the interest of the European powers. Arab independence had been gained from the Ottomans, only to become mortgaged to Britain and France. 295
Upon King Abdul Aziz’s rule, the 4 stations of different schools of thought were removed and prayers were now led by a single Wahhabi imam.
Slavery
Rutter discovered many ageing slaves in the city, freed or abandoned by their owners because they were no longer fit to work. ‘Several of these poor creatures, some of them women were living in the Haram during my stay in Mecca’ surviving on begging. Rutter had studied the Quran and was an expert in Islamic Law. He could not reconcile the teachings of Islam with the prevalence of slavery in the Holy City. If the injunctions of Islam were ‘rightly practised’, he observed, it would lead to ‘the complete cessation of slavery in the Islamic state....again and again, the Koran reiterates the teaching that one of the most acceptable acts in the sight of God is the liberation of the slave. 310
What is the Kaba
The function of the Kaaba, a cuboid structure made of brick and mortar and draped in black cloth, is to provide Muslims with a sense of direction. Wherever they may be on God’s benevolent earth, Muslims turn towards the Kaaba during their five daily prayers. They walk around it seven times when they are performing the Hajj, or Umra, the lesser pilgrimage. It is a symbol, a sign of direction for Muslims to turn towards and inculcate a sense of unity amongst themselves 342
"It is a familiar category mistake, blaming revelation, the Divine, for the failings of the human beings who so imperfectly adhere to its word" 345
Vocab
Erstwhile
Staunch the flow
Acme
Interloper
Presage
Redoubtable
Sharif - man of importance
Intransigent
Annals
Internecine
Opulent
Haven of consumerism
Obscurantism
Predeliction
Scion
Shibboleth
Muslim Defends John Sentamu vs Andrea Williams, Timothy Benstead, Christian Concern and James Gibson
Muslim Reads Mere Christianity
Non-Arab Muslims With Surnames Like Qureshi, Related to Quraish Tribe?
Wednesday, 9 August 2017
Christian Attitudes to Wife Beating Have Changed...
This is a British newspaper cutting from the mid 1800s. Reverend Bird would have got feminist knickers in a twist. He believed the Bible allowed husbands to beat their wives. On that note, he was not contradicted by the big man, Luther centuries earlier: "Although he disapproved of wife-beating, he did not categorically condemn it if no other means of discipline sufficed" [p13 of Luther on Women]
DCCI Ministries' Lizzie Schofield: Theological Problem of Christian Domestic Violence
DCCI Ministries' Lizzie Schofield: Theological Problem of Christian Domestic Violence
Wednesday, 19 July 2017
The Mihna
The Mihna was an attempt by the Abbasid Caliph al-Mamun to impose his own theological views on his subjects. This is what comes closest to the Spanish Inquisition in Islamic history. Mihna means ‘testing or ‘trial’. He wanted people to believe the Quran was created. The Mihna continued after al-Mamun’s death under his successors al Mustasim (r. 833-42) and al-Wathiq (r. 842-7), and was finally ended in 861 (refer to pages 97-99 in Mecca The Sacred City, Ziauddin Sardar, Bloomsbury, 2015 )
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Friday, 2 June 2017
Notes on Christians and the Fall of Rome, Penguin Books – Great Ideas
Edward Gibbon – Historian d. 1794
Christians and the Fall of Rome, Penguin Books – Great Ideas
"Truth and reason seldom find so favourable reception in the world"
Vocab:
salutary - producing healthy/beneficial effects
Perfidious – deceitful, untrustworthy
Extirpate – eradicate
Inculcate – instil
Fetters – chain/manacle
interpose - interfere
Imperceptible - not perceived (i.e. something really slight, incremental or subtle)
Edward Gibbon posits 5 causes behind the spread of Christianity over other religions in Rome:
1. Inflexible and intolerant zeal
2. Doctrine of future life
3. Miraculous powers ascribed to the church
4. Christian morality
5. Union and discipline of the Christian republic
#2 Doctrine of future life
“The doctrine of the future state was scarcely considered among the devout polytheists of Greece and Rome as a fundamental article of faith”
“When the promise of eternal happiness was proposed to mankind, on condition of adopting the faith, and of observing the precepts of the gospel, it is no wonder that so advantageous an offer have been accepted by great numbers of every religion, of every rank, and of every province in the Roman empire”
Prophecy of the 2nd coming
Edward Gibbon does touch on this Biblical idea of Jesus returning during the lifetime of the disciples. Clearly this did not happen. I think the footnote mentioning Grotius is worth looking into further.
“The near approach of this wonderful event had been predicted by the apostles; the tradition of it was preserved by their earliest disciples, and those who understood in their literal sense the discourses of Christ himself, were obliged to expect the second and glorious coming of the Son of Man in the clouds, before the generation was totally extinguished, which had beheld his humble condition upon earth, and which might still be witness of the calamities of the Jews under Vespasian or Hadrian. The revolution of seventeen centuries has instructed us not to press too closely the mysterious language of prophecy and revelation; but as long as, for wise purpose, this error was permitted to subsist in the church , it was productive of the most salutary effects on the faith and practice of Christians, who lived in the awful expectation of that moment...*”
*This expectation was countenanced by the twenty-fourth chapter of St Matthew, and by the first epistle of St Paul to the Thessalonians, Erasmus removes the difficulty by the help of allegory and metaphor; and the learned Grotius ventures to insinuate, that, for wise purposes, the pious deception was permitted to take place.
#3 Supernatural gifts
The WCF denies the church or Christians has this power any longer. Charismatics believe spiritual gifts to have continued. Gibbon argued the notion of Christians and the church being able to perform exorcisms of demons, healings and even resurrections would have attracted converts. The power of prayer effect is worth keeping in mind too. If a pagan was not having having a desired outcome in his or her life whilst praying to Roman deities he/she may have been inclined to enter the church considering they were making claims of such supernatural feats.
"Supernatural gifts, which even in this life were ascribed to the Christians above the rest of mankind, must have conduced to their own comfort, and very frequently to the conviction of infidels. Besides the occasional prodigies, which might sometimes be effected by the immediate interposition of the Deity when he suspended the laws of Nature for the service of religion, the Christian church, from the time of the apostles and their disciples, has claimed an uninterrupted succession of miraculous powers, the gift of tongues, of vision and of prophecy, the power of expelling daemons, of healing the sick, and of raising the dead. The knowledge of foreign languages was frequently communicated to the contemporaries of Irenaeus, though Irenaeus himself was left to struggle with difficulties of a barbarous dialect whilst he preached the gospel to the natives of Gaul."
“The expulsion of daemons from the bodies of those unhappy persons whom they had been permitted to torment, was considered as a signal though ordinary triumph of religion, and is repeatedly alleged by the ancient apologists, as the most convincing evidence of the truth of Christianity”
I think the story of the bishop of Antioch being challenged to provide evidence of such supernatural powers claimed by the church is pertinent for today given the sketch, nebulous claims of miraculous healings and resurrections coming out of Christian faith healers and evangelists - especially those acting in Africa. Reinhardt Bonnke and Daniel Kolenda types as well as the more notorious come into mind.
“..in the days of Irenaeus , about the end of the second century, the resurrection of the dead was very far from being esteemed an uncommon event; that the miracle was frequently performed on necessary occasions, by great fasting and the joint supplication of the church of the place, and that the persons thus restored to their prayers, had lived afterwards among them many years”
“A noble Grecian had rested on this important ground the whole controversy, and promised Theophilus, bishop of Antioch, that if he could be gratified with the sight of a single person who had been actually raised from the dead, he would immediately embrace the Christian religion. It is somewhat remarkable, that the prelate of the first eastern church, however anxious for the conversion of his friend, thought proper to decline this fair and reasonable challenge”
Gibbon points out there must have been an era for the cessation belief of supernatural gifts: most commonly fixed era by Protestants is the conversion of Constantine. He does believe the churches which claimed miraculous powers would have attracted curious/credulous pagans.
“The most curious, or the most credulous, among the Pagans, were often persuaded to enter into a society, which asserted an actual claim of miraculous powers”
#4 Christian morality
This claim of extreme Christian sinners being reformed into moral people is used as an evidence for Christianity (for the Holy Spirit to be specific) but back then this process of rehabilitation of the sinner would involve peer pressure, honour based guilt and incentive as well as somebody constantly watching over you like some sort of parole/probation officer! Not to mention, some of these sinners were refused redemption in their pagan temples and thus sought "forgiveness" elsewhere - the church.
“It is a very ancient reproach, suggested by the ignorance or the malice of infidelity, that the Christians allured into their party the most atrocious criminals, who as soon as they were touched by a sense of remorse, were easily persuaded to wash away, in the water of baptism, the guilt of their past conduct , for which the temples of the gods refused to grant them any expiation”
“when the new converts had been enrolled in the number of the faithful, and were admitted to the sacraments of the church, they found themselves restrained from relapsing into their past disorders by another consideration of a less spiritual, but of a very innocent and respectable nature. Any particular society that has departed from the great body of the nation, or the religion to which it belonged, immediately becomes the object of universal as well as invidious observation. In proportion to the smallness of its numbers, the character of the society may be affected by the virtue and vices of the persons who compose it; and every member is engaged to watch with the most vigilant attention over his behaviour, and over that of his brethren, since, as he must expect to incur a part of the common disgrace, he may hope to enjoy a share of the common reputation.”
Overall it is a worthy read. Of course it was written in the 18th century so one can imagine historical scholarship of that period in relation to Christianity may have moved on but in reality his speculated thoughts on tangible reasons why some pagans would be attracted to Christianity are valuable.
Paula Fredriksen: Paul was NOT a Trinitarian
Wayne Grudem Shoe-horning Partial Trinitarianism into the Old Testament
Edgar G Foster: Trinity Came After the Council of Nicea
Quran’ic Exegesis of al-Ikhlas as a Corrective of Trinitarian Theo-Christology by Ali Ataie
Tovia Singer: Does the New Testament Teach Jesus is God?
Why Islam
Monday, 29 May 2017
Abu Afak and Asma Bint Marwan Stories Explained
Did the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) order the assassinations of Abu Afak and Asma Bin Marwan as found in Ibn Ishaq pages 675-676 and Ibn Sad Volume 2 Pages 31-32 and by critics of Islam like Robert Spencer? Muslim Apologist Ehteshaam Gulam refutes the assassination of Asama Bin Marwan and Abu Afak allegedly under the Prophet Muhammad's orders.
Wednesday, 10 May 2017
Church Fathers, Reformers and Islam on Women's Rights
Simply Seerah writes: Today we find that many Christians have this type of Superiority complex when it comes to other nations and religions. But the reality is that the West evolved from Secular ideas rather than Biblical ones. Things like women's rights, and equality were never really considered something which correlates with the Bible. Actually quite the opposite. For this reason, I wanted to share with our viewers the Top 10 Historic quotes we have from famous Church Fathers and Reformers. These were men who had, throughout the course of History, helped shape Christianity into the religion it is today.
Video also uploaded here
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Video also uploaded here
British Muslims Protested to Defend Jesus p
Sharia Law against terrorism
Christians having dreams and converting to Islam
Conversions to Islam
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Saturday, 6 May 2017
Thoughts for Ed Atkinson on Christopher de Bellaigue Podcast Interview
Ed Atkinson asked for some thoughts on a BBC History podcast on Islamic Enlightenment:
If a Muslim would like to listen to this and give their thoughts, I'd be delighted. It is history and the basic message is that the recent developments in Islam, some less welcome to all, are in large part the result of awful British colonial behaviour. I was convinced.
Note: I have not read Chris' book. I'm sure it would be very informative and a useful learning resoruce. Chris is a smart and informed scholar.
I found what was said in the interview a little ironic and perhaps even a little myopic in that (perhaps) Christopher de Bellaigue was looking through a particular lens. One lens. A Western lens.
Christopher de Bellaigue states there was a liberal movement in Egypt (and the Ottomon Empire) before WW1; the society was going towards more liberal interpretations of personal freedoms and autonomy. WW1 and its aftermath stopped that movement in its tracks. As Britain and France created new countries it led to more nationalist views within Muslim communities.Iran and Turkey went towards illiberal directions, according to Christopher de Bellaihue, in an effort to fend off authoritarian westernisation and subjugation.
Some thoughts that stemmed from listening to Christopher de Bellaigue:
Firstly, self-preservation is a natural reaction to perceived threats. Just look at North Korea, there’s a reason why that country is like it is – the regime feels its autonomy, self-determination and control is under threat from external players.
2ndly, I found it ironic that Christopher de Bellaigue spoke about imperialism and colonialism as grinding this progression to more liberal values to an abrupt halt as the very reason the liberalisation of Egypt began was precisely because of colonialism. This movement of liberalism began at the onset of Egypt’s rediscovery of the West, or rather the West’s discovery of Egypt. Napoleon in the late 18th century set the ball rolling. Napoleon’s conquest of Egypt led to Muhammad Ali encouraging the translation of French books into Arabic and this, alongside the colonist-colonialist psychology, would have sparked this fascination with the West. Albert Memmi has a good book on the dynamic between the colonizer and the colonized.
3rdly, what about Europe, how did Europe, Germany in mind, drift away from socialism into fascism in the early 20th century and culminate in Nazism? Economics, right? Perhaps, in his book de Bellaigue talks about this and to be fair war and carnage from WW1 would assume an economic downturn anyway but it would be nice to explore whether liberalism does not thrive in societies and communities facing economic struggle. Is liberalism the purview of those who have?
4thly, Christopher de Bellaigue talks about personal freedoms and a liberal view of such but what does he mean? What are personal freedoms, they are relative to a society. The deeper meaning of freedom would be to be free of one’s desire but the meaning in our culture of individualism is for one to be able to act on one’s desires no matter how base or petty they are.
5thly,when he talks about a closing down of cultural avenues have we ever thought these folks were just sick of being exploited and wanted self-dignity so they looked at their societies and thought these societies aren’t working and wanted to go back to a more older and nostalgic view of the past hence a move back to conservatism? And what about the idea of power working when the people are complicit, either passively or actively. Is this shift not the will of the people over there or must one think for them and think oh well they don’t really want to live like that, they want to be able to party it up every Friday night in an area like Soho or Brixton. Or to give a SC example, one of Jay Smith’s colleagues/students claiming the Muslim women wearing hijabs are oppressed yada yada...[imposing one’s condescending thoughts on them]...without ever thinking whether they are happy to wear such.
6. de Bellaigue is anti-foreign (military) intervention – great. But that does not stop Britain and other Western powers from arming certain groups and countries to effectively intervene in another state’s affairs. Perhaps it does if the West became completely isolationist. Are WE willing to see a reduced living standard and the costs of commodities increase? That’s what would happen if our country stopped exploited weaker countries. Do you want to pay over the odds for an iPhone? 2000 quid, or more? Who knows how much! We would be coughing up more if the Congo (?) had real autonomy of its resources.
7. How about our society’s lurches to a more liberal society? They have not worked. The Occupy Movement? Gone. What do we have, the rise of the Alt-Right, Donny Trump in the White House and the rise of far-right politics which has become mainstream in Europe now. Can somebody explain what’s going on here? We cannot even explain how the West has seen its liberalism stunted. Or can somebody explain it?
9. What is Freedom? Maybe we are going over ground I’ve rambled about above. Plato argued most ordinary people don’t have a strong rational nature therefore need to be constrained by those naturally more rational. Bye bye “personal freedoms”. But nobody has complete freedom. Everybody is under some legal, political, societal, emotional and physical constraint. This idea of freedom is all relative. Who gets to define what freedom is? And having less freedoms does not necessarily mean one loses their ability to exercise free will.
9. What are universal values? What is universality? A development or growth in humanity? There will be various views on what would be a growth in humanity. In the study of ethics there is no agreement on how to define “good”. I think it is colonisation of the mind and cultural imperialism for a Westerner to start talking about somebody in Egypt and imposing their view of values on them (not saying de Bellaigue was doing or implying that). We live in a society of hyper-individualism which is alien to many people in the East. Has this hyper-individualism which was propelled by the hippy movement done Western society much good? We live in broken societies. Was it Thatcher who said society in no more and we now have individuals and families?
Friday, 4 March 2016
Did Ignatius Teach the Trinity?
Did Ignatius of Antioch believe in the Trinity idea? Some Trinitarian apologists claim Ignatius taught the Trinity idea before the 4th century (in the first or second century). Is this a valid claim? No.
Firstly, the letters of Ignatius are suspected to be highly interpolated thus cannot be used as proof of Ignatius' beliefs as they are unreliable. See
..even the genuine epistles were greatly interpolated to lend weight to the personal views of its authors. For this reason they are incapable of bearing witness to the original form [Source]
Also:
There may be serious question whether these epistles of Ignatius have not been emended or edited by later writers. There are some words and phrases alien to early Christianity which raise suspicion that some of the works have been manipulated or added to by later church [Source]
Secondly, the quote Trinitarians use to contend Ignatius believed in the Trinity is thus:
"In Christ Jesus our Lord, by whom and with whom be glory and power to the Father with the Holy Spirit for ever,"
Notice there's no mention of the Trinity idea here. Remember the Trinitarians teach 3 in 1. This verse mentions three but there's no mention of the three being co-equal and of the same substance.
Thirdly, the Trinitarian is quite selective here in terms of which Triune formula they reference as it seems there's Triune formula including Mary:
A "triune formula" -- often used to prove the Trinity -- is a phrase which includes three things or three persons. The answer to this question is yes. There is one surprising Trinitarian formulation which seems alien to early Christian. In To the Ephesians, section 7, there is a trinity of God, the Son, and Mary. Or, in section 18, the trinity of Jesus, Mary and the Holy Ghost. [Source]
Conclusion
To say Ignatius taught the Trinity would be misleading.
Tovia Singer: Does the New Testament Teach Jesus is God?
Conversions to Islam
[QURAN MIRACLES] The Miracles of the Number 19 in Quran | Dr. Shabir Ally
People having dreams and visions showing Jesus is not divine
Sunday, 7 June 2015
Who Was Ibn Ishaq and Was His Work Reliable?
It's good to know a little about Ibn Ishaq as you may come across quotes from his work on various websites across the internet. The fact remains his biographical work is not binding on Muslims and each account in his work needs to be looked at in order to ascertain whether it's reliable or not. Just because it's in his biographical work does not mean it is reliable. Do not be fooled by Islamophobic spin.
Ibn Ishaq (d. 150/767)....was a very controversial figure. Malik, Ibn al Qattan, Ibn Hanbal, and others considered him highly unreliable because he accepted hadiths from questionable narrators as well as Christians and Jews. But Ibn Shu'ba felt he was impeccably reliable... [Hadith, Muhammad's Legacy in the Medieval and Modern World, Jonathan A C Brown, Oneworld Publications, Kindle, p86]
And here's further insight into who Ibn Ishaq was, his and his methodology:
Let us agree first that Ibn Ishaq is a controversial figure in the Muslim history. In what follows I will focus on his life and his work on the biography of the Prophet (peace be upon him).
His name is Muhammad ibn Ishaq ibn Yasar. He was born in Madinah about 80 AH/699 AD and died in
Ibn Ishaq was a contemporary of the second generation of traditionists such as al-Zuhri, Asim ibn Umar ibn Qatadah and Abd Allah ibn Abi Bakr. He devoted himself to the study of Hadith from his youth. At the age of thirty he traveled to
In
Yahya ibn Ma`in, an early Hadith authority, said: "Ibn Ishaq is firm in tradition." Abu Zur`ah (d. 281AH/860AD) said: "Older scholars drew from him and professional traditionists tested him and found him truthful."
Ibn al-Madini said: "Prophetic tradition originally lay with 6 men; then it became the property of 12, of whom Ibn Ishaq is one."
Al-Bukhari quoted him as an authority and Muslim cited him often.
On the other hand, other scholars accused him of being a Qadari and a Shi`i. In response to this accusation, scholars said that the narrations which might be interpreted as a support for Shi`isim were reported by Ibn Ishaq in the form of stories not as a support.
Ibn Ishaq excelled in the field of Hadith, Fiqh, Tafsir and Maghazi (the Prophet's wars).
Ibn Ishaq's biography of the Prophet is titled: The Book of the Campaigns or The Book of the Campaigns and the Prophet's Biography or The Book of the Beginning of the Campaigns. Al-Baka', a pupil of Ibn Ishaq, made two copies of the whole book, one of which must have reached Ibn Hisham (d. 218AH/797AD) whose text, abbreviated and annotated is the main source of our knowledge of the original work.
Throughout his work, Ibn Ishaq precedes every statement with the word za`ama or za`amu, he (they) alleged). It carries with it more than a hint that the statement may not be true, though it might be sound. This attitude reflects Ibn Ishaq's caution and fairness.
The phrase 'God knows best' speaks for itself and needs no comment. It is sometimes when the author records two conflicting traditions and is unable to say which one is correct. Another indication of the author's scrupulousness is the phrase 'God preserve me from attributing to the prophet's words which he did not use."
It is not always Ibn Ishaq's Sirah which is attacked but the man himself. Ibn Ishaq had another book titled Al-Sunan which if it ran counter to the schools of law that were in the process of development, the author would hope to escape strong condemnation.
By now, we can conclude that Ibn Ishaq is the main source of our knowledge about the Prophet as all later works relied on the narrations contained in his book which survives only in the recension of Ibn Hisham.
I hope this answers your query.
Note: This answer is based on Alfred Guillaume's introduction to his Translation of Ibn Ishaq's Sirat Rasul Allah (The Life of Muhammad), published by Oxford University Press, 1955. [OnIslam]
Ehteshaam Gulam writes:
Several critics of Islam say that Ibn Ishaq's "Sirat Rasulallah" - "Life of the Prophet of Allah" is considered the most authentic biography of Prophet Muhammad. This is certainly false. While it is true that Sirat Rasulallah is the oldest and earliest biography of the Prophet-- no Muslim accpets Ibn Ishaq to be 100% true, inspired, a sunnah book or reliable. Most of the material of the Sira as we'll see has been rejected by hadith collectors such as Bukhari, etc. What several critics of Islam and Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) fail to realize is that there is a huge difference between Sirah (Biography of the Prophet) and Hadith (the sayings and actions of Prophet Muhammad). The Seerah is a collection of narrations about the people and events surrounding the Prophet (SAW) arranged in a chronological order. The amount of rigor put into authenticating and analyzing the chains and narrators [4] of an incident or event that is found in the Seerah is far lower than when a narration is used in the Sunnah or Hadith. Only the top of the top narrations, namely Sahih [5] or Hasan [6] are used in the books of Hadith and Sunnah. As for Seerah this is not the case, the narrations used include all the authentic and acceptable ones, along with ones with weaknesses. The reason for including these weaker narrations is in order to fill in gapes or holes in the story. Muslims accept the hadith 100%. Muslims however don't accept the Sirah 100%--- rather Muslim scholars question 70% of the material found in the works of Al-Waqidi, Ibn Sa'd, Ibn Ishaq, etc. These were more or less historians-- they were not hadith collectors. Ibn Ishaq, Al-Waqidi, Ibn Sa'd and Al-Tabri all operated outside of f all the sciences of Islam and isnaad (Arabic for chain of transmitters). Ibn Is’haaq’s specialty was seerah therefore he was abandoned by the scholars of hadeeth (such as Bukhari and Muslim) when it came to narrating hadeeth and a reason for this might be because he might include those weaker narrations while he narrated the hadeeth.
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Thursday, 19 March 2015
Did Ali and Abu Bakr Really Burn People?
Did Ali and Abu Bakr Really Burn People? Sorted Out Once And For All - Islamophobe Ignorance Exposed
This video looks into the claims that two companions of Prophet Muhammad (p), Ali (ra) and Abu Bakr (ra), burned people to death.
Educate yourselves so the Islamophobes cannot mislead you. Islamophobes have little understanding of what they quote. It's your duty to know more than them!
[QURAN MIRACLES] The Miracles of the Number 19 in Quran | Dr. Shabir Ally
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Tags: zakir naik, cemb, amal farah, mdi, big questions, mohammed shafiq, rochdale, nicky Campbell, Abdullah al andalusi,ramadhan foundation,
Monday, 16 March 2015
Evidence of Mecca before Islam
Ka'bah & Makkah In History
Edward Gibbon writes about the Ka'bah and its existence before the Christian era in his book:
..... of blind mythology of barbarians - of the local deities, of the stars, the air, and the earth, of their sex or titles, their attributes or subordination. Each tribe, each family, each independent warrier, created and changed the rites and the object of this fantastic worship; but the nation, in every age, has bowed to the religion as well as to the language of Mecca. The genuine antiquity of Caaba ascends beyond the Christian era: in describing the coast of the Red sea the Greek historian Diodorus has remarked, between the Thamudites and the Sabeans, a famous temple, whose superior sanctity was revered by all the Arabians; the linen of silken veil, which is annually renewed by the Turkish emperor, was first offered by the Homerites, who reigned seven hundred years before the time of Mohammad.[1]Diodorus Siculus was a Greek historian of 1st century BC who wrote Bibliotheca Historica, a book describing various parts of the discovered world. The following lines are the English translation of Greek quoted by Gibbon from the book of Diodorus Siculus (Diodorus of Sicily) describing the 'temple' considered to be the the holiest in the whole of Arabia.
And a temple has been set-up there, which is very holy and exceedingly revered by all Arabians.[2]It is interesting to know that Claudius Ptolemy of Alexandria, mathematician and astronomer, flourishing about a century after Pliny, undertook to make an atlas of the habitable world. He was not a descriptive geographer, and his book was intended to be no more than a commentary on his maps. He enumerated some hundred and fourteen cities or villages in Arabia Felix.
For example, Dumaetha, placed by Ptolemy just outside the northern boundary of Arabia Felix, must be the mediaeval Arabian Daumet, which is today the chief village of the great oasis of Jauf. Hejr, famous in the "times of ignorance" as the seat of a kingdom, and now Medayin Salih, is Ptolemy's Egra. His Thaim is Teima, now known for its inscriptions to have had temples and some sort of civilization as far back as 500 BC. It is the Tema of Job. In Lathrippa, placed inland from Iambia (Yambo), we recognize the Iathrippa of Stephan of Byzantium, the Yathrib of the early Arab traditions, now honoured as El Medina, the City of Cities.[3]Apart from this a place called Macoraba is also shown which is identified as Mecca (please refer to the map facing page 17 of reference [3]). G E von Grunebaum says:
Mecca is mentioned by Ptolemy, and the name he gives it allows us to identify it as a South Arabian foundation created around a sanctuary.[4]Makkah In The Scriptures
The Qur'ân talks about Bakkah (the older name of Makkah) being the first house of worship appointed for mankind. It also addresses this place as Umm ul-Qurâ i.e., Mother of the Settlements.
Verily, the first House (of worship) appointed for mankind was that at Bakkah (Makkah), full of blessing, and a guidance for Al-'Alamin (the mankind and jinns). In it are manifest signs (for example), the Maqam (place) of Ibrahim (Abraham); whosoever enters it, he attains security. And Hajj (pilgrimage to Makkah) to the House (Ka'bah) is a duty that mankind owes to Allah, those who can afford the expenses (for one's conveyance, provision and residence); and whoever disbelieves [i.e. denies Hajj (pilgrimage to Makkah), then he is a disbeliever of Allah], then Allah stands not in need of any of the 'Alamin (mankind and jinns). [Qur'ân 3:96-97]The Bible also mentions about the valley of Baca in connection with the pilgrimage. Below is the quote from Psalms 84 (NIV):
1 How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD Almighty!The interpretation of the valley of Baca in the The Jewish Encylopedia is quite interesting, though it does not provide a complete evidence and leaves the reader with a suggestion. Below is the full quote.
2 My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
3 Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young-- a place near your altar, O LORD Almighty, my King and my God.
4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you.
5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.
6 As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools.
7 They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.
8 Hear my prayer, O LORD God Almighty; listen to me, O God of Jacob.
9 Look upon our shield, O God; look with favor on your anointed one.
10 Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.
12 O LORD Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you.
Baca, The Valley Of: A valley mentioned in Psalms LXXXIV:7. Since it is there said that pilgrims transform the valley into a land of wells, an old translators gave to Baca, the meaning of a "valley of weeping"; but it signifies rather any valley lacking water. Support for this latter view is to be found in II Samuel V:23 et seq.; I Chronicles XIV:14 et seq., in which the plural form of the same word designates a tree similar to the balsam tree; and it was supposed that a dry valley could be named after this tree. Konig takes Baca from the Arabian Baka'a, and translates it "lack of streams". The Psalmist apparently has in mind a particular valley whose natural condition led him to adopt its name.[5]The translation of Arabian Baka'a as "lack of stream" seems to throw some light on the nature of the valley before the appearance of the stream of Zam-Zam near Ka'bah which was a dry place with no vegetation whatsoever.
The Anchor Bible Dictionary does not throw any light on it, albeit, there are some suggestions in it too like the The Jewish Encylopedia. Below is the full quote.
Baca, The Valley Of (PLACE): [Hebrew 'emeq habakka'], The valley of Baca (Psalms 84:1) is either a historical place name or a symbolical expression for "deep sorrow". The first part of Psalms 84:6 seems to mean that by "passing through the experience of deep sorrow, righteous ones can make it the source of life." The Septuagint translated the phrase into Greek as "the valley of weeping". The word 'emeq "valley" has the root meaning of "deep", so the expression may mean "deep sorrow".The interpretation of the valley of Baca as a "the valley of weeping" makes sense because of the distress which Hagar(P) underwent when she was left with Ishmael(P) in the barren desert with no means of living.
However, some have considered it as the "valley of the balsam tree" from the same word in plural form found in 2 Samuel 5:24. This is based on the assumption that baka may be a "gum-exuding [weeping] tree". Another possibility is that the word beka'im (plural of baka) may mean "weeping wall-rocks" in the valley of Rephaim on whose tops David and his troops were waiting for the coming of the Philistine army passing through the valley below (2 Samuel 5:24). It seems safe to seek the meaning of baka in relation to the dripping water, since we often find this word in the names related to rivers and wadis, such as Wadi al-Baka in the Sinaitic district and Baca on the wadi in the central Galilee area, W of Meroth. It is also possible to understand beka'im as the place of "weepings" of the Philistine army for their defeat by David. After all these considerations, the expression of "valley of baka" can best be taken as a symbolic expression "weeping" or "deep sorrow" which fits well in the context of Psalms 84:6.[6]
The two interpretations of Baca, viz., "lack of stream" and "the valley of weeping" appears to fit in the context of pilgrimage to Bakkah, the older name of Makkah where the Ka'bah is situated. Ka'bah has been a place of reverence by all Arabians before the Christian era as we have seen earlier.
And Allah knows best!
Taken from: http://www.islamic-awareness.org/History/kaaba.html
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Monday, 23 February 2015
Who was At-Tabarani, Sulaiman bin Ahmad?
Sulaiman bin Ahmad At-Tabarani
Abul-Qasim, Sulaiman bin Ahmad bin Ayyub bin Mutair Al Lakhmi At-Tabarani was born in 260 H. in Tabariya As-Sham. He wan an authoritative imam and narrated Ahadith from more than one thousand Shaykhs (professors). He left Ash-Sham to acquire the knowledge of Ahadaith and spent thirty-three years travelling in its pursuance.
He authored many interesting and amusing books, among them are Al-Mu'jam Al-Kabir, Al-Mu'jam Al-Awsat, and Al-Mu'jam As-Saghir. At-Tabarani lived in Asfahanand died there on 27th Dhul-Qa'da, 360 H. Bulugh Al Maram, Darussalam, 2002, p16
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Who was Ibn Majah?
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Saturday, 7 February 2015
Who was Ibn Majah?
This is a little biography of Ibn Majah which is at the front of my copy of Bulugh Al Maram.
Aside from knowing who this great scholar is, it's important to note that his Sunan contains many weak and munkar* Hadith. On the internet people quote Hadith left, right and centre so it's beneficial to know that a Hadith from this Sunan Ibn Majah could well be unreliable. So check things up - ask your local scholar about matters on the net which you're not sure about.
IBN MAJAH, Muhammad bin Yazid:
Abu Abdullah Muhammad bin Yazid bin Majah Al Qizwini was born in 207 H. He studied under many scholars of Hadith, and many people narrated Ahadith from him. He was one of the eminent scholars of Hadith, but his Sunan contains many weak and even Munkar Ahadith. Ibn Majah died in Ramadan in 273 H.
* Munkar (مُنْكَر meaning "denounced") — According to Ibn Hajar, if a narration which goes against another authentic hadith is reported by a weak narrator, it is known as munkar. Traditionists as late as Ahmad used to simply label any hadith of a weak reporter as munkar. [Wikipedia]
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Thursday, 5 February 2015
Ibn Taymiyya Dream of Prophet Muhammad p
Ibn Taymiyya, a learned and conservative Hanbali don but also an iconoclast unintimidated by mainstream censure. He used to admit how impressed he was by one Fatima bint Abbas (d. 1315), a female Hanbali scholar who had mastered the greatest works of law and took to the pulpits of Damascus mosques to harangue and inspire a sinful public with her preaching. Despite his respect for her, Ibn Taymiyya recalled that he had marked reservations about her speaking in the mosque pulpit. He intended to put a stop to it. Then the Prophet came to him in a dream. 'This is a righteous woman,' the Messenger of God counselled him. The inimitable scholar, who had stood unperturbed before sultans and had smashed idols, held his tongue. 'Misquoting Muhammad', Jonathan A.C Brown, Kindle p199
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