The deeper side Of Islam

elle · Joined: 27 Feb 2003 Posts: 334 Location: Nottingham, UK

The Virtues of Martyrdom
by Imâm al-Haram Usâmah Khayyat

فضل الشهادة

First Khutbah
O Muslims! Achieving noble and lofty objectives require enormous sacrifices in proportion. There can be no doubt that the higher an objective is, the greater its sacrifice must be. Therefore, if ones ultimate objective is to please Allah and hope to be granted Paradise, then defending Allah’s religion and protecting His Book and sacred places ranks highest in attempting to attain His pleasure.

Sacrifice comes in many shapes, forms and levels, it can be performed through many different channels, but there is no doubt that the sacrificing of one’s soul for the sake of Allah in order to defeat His enemies and support Islam is the very highest level. This is of course Shahadah, or martyrdom. The Prophet sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam exerted maximum effort to instil the magnitude of Shahadah as well as the concept of Jihad deep into the hearts of his companions and his followers who were to come after him. He sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam used two methods in order to achieve this objective:

Firstly: By repeatedly declaring his deep love and fervent wish for Shahadah. Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that the Prophet sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam said: “I swear by the One in Whose Hands my soul is, I wish that I would fight for the sake of Allah (i.e., Jihad ) and get martyred, then return and fight again and get martyred, then return and fight again and get martyred” (Bukhari & Muslim) What a wonderful wish coming from the purest of hearts! This is nothing except a reflection of deep love and overwhelming desire; a desire to attain Shahadah, which is one of the greatest paths to Paradise.

Secondly: By explaining the virtues of Shahadah and the ranks of the martyrs in Paradise as well as descriptions of their bounties, such as in the Hadeeth when Marwan said: “We asked ‘Abdullah Ibn Mas’ud, may Allah be pleased with him, about the following verse: (which translates as): “And never think of those who have been killed in the cause of Allah as dead. Rather, they are alive with their Lord, receiving provision.” (Aal-‘Imran: 169).’He, may Allah be pleased with him, replied: “We asked the Prophet sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam about this verse and he replied: “Their (i.e., the martyrs souls) will live inside green birds that dwell in designated lamps which hang on the throne of Allah, they will roam freely in Paradise as they please, then return to these lamps”” (Muslim).

A Shahid has six other benefits; Al-Miqdam Ibn Ma’di Karib, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that the Prophet sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam said:
“A martyr has six bounties: He will be forgiven with the first drop of his blood that is spilt; He will see his place in Paradise (at the time of death); He will be saved from the ‘Great Horror’ (on the Day of Judgment): A Crown of Dignity will be placed on his head, which contains many corundums, each one being more precious than this life and all that it contains; He will have seventy two Women of Paradise; And, he will be allowed to intercede for seventy of his family members (who would have otherwise gone to hell).” (Tirmidhi & Ibn Maajah).

The pain that a martyr feels at the time of death will be reduced so greatly that he will only feel as if he was stung by a mosquito. Abu Hurayrah narrated that the Prophet sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam said:

“A martyr only feels from the effect of being killed that which one would when being stung by a mosquito.” (Tirmidhi, Nasa’i and others).

Moreover, the finest dwellings in Paradise are those of the martyrs. Samurah Ibn Jundub, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that the Prophet sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam said:

“Last night I was inspired (through a dream); I saw two men come to me and take me up a tree (in Paradise) then into a dwelling which was the best I have ever seen; they informed me that it was the dwelling of the martyrs.” (Bukhari).

Also, the angels spread their wings over the body of a martyr as a form of honour, dignity and respect. Jabir Ibn ‘Abdullah, may Allah be pleased with him narrated:

“My father’s body was brought to the Prophet sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam on the day of Uhud. The disbelievers had mutilated it; I went to uncover his face when some of my family members stopped me. Then the Prophet sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam heard a woman crying, so he said:“Why are you crying? Do not cry, the angels are continuing to shade him””.

Among all the dwellers of Paradise, only the martyrs would wish to return to this life. This is due to the immense rewards and respect that have been mentioned in the previous Ahadith. Anas bin Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that the Prophet sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam said:

“Nobody who enters Paradise would ever wish to return to this life again, even if he was to be given the whole world and everything in it – except for a martyr; for he would wish to return and get killed ten times due to the honour that he received (in Paradise).”

elle · Joined: 27 Feb 2003 Posts: 334 Location: Nottingham, UK

Does Islam have a special respect for 'People of the Book'? How does Islam relate to Christians and Jews?

There is a general misconception that Islam seeks friendly relations with the People of the Book, that is, the Jews and the Christians. In fact, Islam is hostile to the members of these religious groups as it is to idolators such as the Hindus. However, this is another matter that the Jews and the Hindus suffered terribly at the hands of Islam, but the Christians, though initially bore its brunt, eventually succeeded in steming its tide in their lands.
No matter what the adherents of Islam claim about the brotherly outlook that this religion is supposed to have toward the non-Muslims, its basic doctrine, which seeks survival through intense communal strife, cannot be hidden. The Muslim scholars know this truth very well but they deliberately resort to misinterpretation. They do so, though falsely, to demonstrate that Islam is an eternal religion, which adapts itself to all ages and circumstances. Without this stance, Islam, the advocate of ferocious social principles and practices, cannot survive; it must have a humanitarian pretence in our age, dedicated to free speech and human rights. One must remember that it is only the Islamic countries, which amputate human limbs for trivial offenses, and hang people for the most innocent criticism of the Prophet.

I may come straight to the point and demonstrate that Islam gives no real preference to the People of the Book: the said tolerance is just a euphemism without any substance at all. It is because Islam declares itself to be the only true religion, which has the duty to dominate all other faiths, and eventually abolish them. See the truth for yourself:

"And when Allah took Compact with the Prophets: That I have given you of Book and Wisdom: then there shall come to you a Messenger confirming what is with you - you shall believe in him and you shall help him; do you agree? They said, 'We do agree'. Allah said, 'bear witness so, and I shall be with you among the witnesses'. Then whosoever turns his back after that - they are ungodly." (III - The House of Imran: 75)

It is not easy to understand these verses. In a nutshell, they mean that even before people were created, Allah convened the assembly of the Prophets' (soul) and asked them to promise that they would tell the communities of their followers about the coming of Muhammad and instruct them to embrace his religion.

Obviously, Judaism and Christianity ceased to exist in principle, the moment Muhammad declared Islam. The Hadith No. 284, The Muslim, volume one, says that any Jew or Christian, who heard of Muhammad but did not convert to Islam, and died in disbelief, would rot in hell! Thus Islam withdraws from all Jews and Christians the right to believe in their faiths, and pratice them as such.

The Koran goes even as far as to declare about Abraham:

"No: Abraham in truth was not a Jew, neither a Christian; but he was a Muslim and one pure of faith; certainly he was never of the idolators." (III - The House of Imran: 60)

Abraham was the Jewish patriarch; by quoting him as a Muslim i.e. the follower of Islam, Muhammad claims that he observed the Compact that he made with Allah in the Assembly that He had convened before the creation of mankind.

However, there is an ambiguity in the Koranic approach, which gives the impression that Islam is tolerant of the Jews and Christians:

"Dispute not with the People of the Book save in the fairer manner, except for those of them that do wrong; and say, 'We believe in what has been sent down to us, and what has been sent down to you: Our God and your God is One, and to Him we have surrendered'." (XXIX: The Spider: 45)

These verses apparently indicate tolerance with the People of the Book i.e. the Jews and Christians. It is because at that time the Prophet was not militarily strong enough to impose his will on them. In fact, he tried a policy of carrot and stick. When persuasion failed, he told them what he thought of them:

"The unbelievers of the People of the Book and the idolators shall be in the Fire of Hell therein dwelling for ever; those are the worst of creatures. But those who believe, and do righteous deeds, those are the best of creatures..." (XCVIII: The Clear Sign: 5)

Here those Jews and Christians, who spurn Islam, have been lumped together with the idolators such as the Hindus, and classified as 'the worst of creatures'. Therefore the Koran commands:

"O believers, take not as your friends those of them, who were given the Book before you, and the unbelievers, who take your religion in mockery and as a sport..." (V: The Table: 60)

In the same sura, the Koran states the same fact more emphatically:

"O believers, take not Jews and Christians as friends; they are friends of each other. Whoso of you makes them his friends is one of them..." (V: The Tables: 55)

It means that if a Muslim makes friends with a Jew or a Christian, i.e. becomes one of them i.e. a Kafir, that is an unbeliever.

The People of the Book, unless they renounce their faith, are liable to become the victims of Jehad i.e. destruction by force of arms:

"...And he brought down those of the People of the Book who supported them from their fortresses and cast terror in their hearts; some you slew, some you made captive. And He bequeathed upon you their lands, their habitations, and their possessions, and a land you never trod. Allah is powerful over everything." (XXXIII - The Confederates: 25)

The above is the description of what happened to the Jews of Khyber, who were attacked without an ultimatum of war, and this practice was also repeated against the Christian tribes of Arabia.

Of course, the Koran treats Jesus as a Prophet of God and confirms that he had been given the power to perform miracles but it defies the Christian fundamentals. For example, it refutes the doctrine of Crucifixion, which holds that God made His Son the Sacrificial Lamb to carry away the people's burdens of sin:

"...for their saying, We slew the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, the Messenger of God. Yet they did not slay him, neither crucified him, only a likeness of that was shown them... God raised him up to Him..." (IV - Women: 155)

It means that God did not allow Jesus to suffer crucifixion, which is the kernel of the Christian faith. He raised him from the cross, and replaced him with someone, who looked like Jesus. Thus Islam destroys the very foundation of Christianity.

Not only that, Islam subordinates Jesus to Muhammad. The hadith No. 287 of Sahih Muslim, volume one, states:

"...the son of Mary will soon descend among you as a just judge. He will break crosses, kill swine and abolish Jeziya..."

One must try to understand the sophistication of this hadith: it means that Jesus will come to destroy crosses, that is, he will abolish Christianity; kill all swine, whose flesh Islam forbids, and eliminate Jeziya, the poll tax which the Koran imposes on non-Muslims. It demonstrates that the purpose of Christ's coming is to expunge all faiths including Christianity and Judaism, and enforce Islam for removing the need to impose Jeziya. Thus, Jesus has been allotted a subordinate role, and this in full accord with the Compact that all Prophets had made with Allah in the (imaginary) Assembly, before creation.

To prove the friendly attitude of Islam toward the Jews and Christians, it is claimed that it allows intermarriages between the Muslims and the People of the Book. It is a misrepresentation of the Islamic doctrine of marriage:

a. "Anyone of you, who has not the affluence to be able to marry believing free women in wedlock, let him take believing handmaids that your right hands own...so marry them with their people's leave, and give them their wages honorably as women in wedlock, not as license or taking lovers." (IV - Women: 25)

Here one can see whether a woman is free or a handmaid, a Muslim (man) cannot marry her unless she is a believer, that is a Muslim woman.

elle · Joined: 27 Feb 2003 Posts: 334 Location: Nottingham, UK

Dear Daniel Pipes,

We have met a few times over the years and I have sent you my comments on various occasions. I will take the liberty to express myself with the verve and rage of Oriana Falacci. I would very much appreciate a reply to this one.

. ...Repeating ...that "militant Islam is the problem and that moderate Islam is the solution" is ...the very epitomy of the "Treason of the Pseudo-Intellectuals". It spells the twilight of Western Civilization.
. ...
There is no more difference between plain old Islam and Militant Islam than there was between the Nazi movement and the S.S. in Hitler's Germany. There are many analogies to be made between Nazism and Islam. The main difference is that Nazi ideology took hold of the Germanic peoples (no more than some eighty million in all) for some fifteen years and was grafted on a people who had already known centuries of civil society. It was possible to defeat Germany by war and eradicate Nazism from Germany to a large extent.

The Islamist Plague as propagated by the Arabs, is a far more dangerous phenomenon. In the fifteen centuries since its conception as a rallying cry for the waring nomadic tribes of the Arabian peninsula, Islam has conquered vast territories and subjugated all before it. By population swamping and the sword it has destroyed all vestiges of previous civilisations. It has brought in its wake despotism and destitution.

Islam's main point of reference is the Koran which explicitly commands world domination by war. Dar es Salam and Dar es Harb. ....Islamism is a totalitarian global political ideology, belief system, phylosophy, culture of one and a half billion people and it has been their only point of reference and their collective unconscious for some fifteen hundred years. For Moslems, the infidel is the mortal enemy . Even when Islam is subjugated, from its bowels will always surge, the old primitive, tribal blood lust of the desert, all in the name of the greater glory of Allah and the prophet Muhamed. Against any form of government, be it Islamic. ..
The Free World will pay dearly for the betrayal of its academia in obfuscating the threat not even so much of Global Islamic Terrorism but especially of the Islamic invasions of the late 20th and early 21st Century.

Already our civil society and our freedom is under siege. An ever greater part of the national budget and workforce is employed to guard our airports, planes, buses, government offices, public venues, cinemas, concert halls. sports stadiums, schools, hospitals, kindergardens. What Israel and Lebanon have been forced to undergo over the last seventy years is the model that the Free Wolrd is preparing itself for.

The War on Terrorism has not a chance to stop Islamim. The US will run from Iraq with its tail between its legs. Why? Because the Islamist Plague is at its most virulent since September 11th. It has infected the Islamic masses. Islam must be contained just as Nazi Germany should have been, and as Communism was. How?

First of all by not underestimating Islam, Moderate or other. Be honest, say it as it is. Islam is not merely a religion, a personal belief. Islam is a political ideology and it has a Territorial Imperative. Islam is on the march, moderated and militant, fundamentals and radical. All together are marching to the same tune. ... The more you play nice, the more the Moslems have only contempt for you. They are many times smarter than the degenerate white men who lead the Free World... As soon as the Islamic settlements reach critical mass, they become a law unto itself. Look around you. Its leaders, religious or military commanders act in accordance to the road map prescribed by the Koran. ... Moreover the median age of the Moslem populations is around 15 years. These hordes have a territorial imperative and they will invade by all means at their disposal the lands of the rich Europeans, Canada, the USA. Look at the schools, many classes are Islamic. Islam will either explode onto the Free World or it will implode.

...Islamism must be territorially contained. It cannot be tolerated outside Dar es Salam. Wherever it is at all possible, it must be pushed back.

Only when the pressure gets bad enough will the Islamic peoples turn on their theologians and their despots. As did the Christian people against the Catholic church druing the reformation. Only when the people imposed separation of state and religion did Europe begin to enter the age of modernity. Ataturk in Turkey understood this and worked a miracle. Unfortunately, because of the US's lame leadership over the past fifty years, the Islamist plague is out of the bottle and is spreading like wildfire. The Academia, the Media, the affairists, and assorted useful idiots, are leading the US leaders by the nose. The Barbarians are at the gates. If there will not be some brave men to scream the truth from the roof-tops, I am afraid that the 21st Century will be recorded in history as the Islamic Century. Islam will be to the American Empire what the Barbarians invasions were to the Roman Empire. Pillage, mayhem and destruction.

We might have to wait for two hundred years before some Isabella and Ferdinand will appear on the destruction and lead a Reconquista. ... Islamism is militant, radical, fundamentalist, despotic, fascist, by its very nature.... Look at the Arab street on your TV.
Best regards, Yael Amishav Medved.

elle · Joined: 27 Feb 2003 Posts: 334 Location: Nottingham, UK

Now if you cannot draw any conclusions for all that then you had better give up. I have put my views clearly and squarely, and all from quotations, just like what the Pope did! Now are you going to request a jihad on my views or on my quotations?

tenpence · Joined: 24 Feb 2003 Posts: 174

Well Elle, it seems that you can't debate the issue that I want to discuss which is, why are you being anti Islamic. What have these people done to you to make you hate them so much? Have they affected your family? Are you christian?

Personally I'm not a Muslim or a Christian or a Buddhist. i just hate this sort of ranting without any proper cause. To be honest it just makes you look like a fanatic, rather than being able to hold any sensible sort of conversation or dialogue with other members of the forum.

This alone has much more of a negative impact on you and your beliefs than anything else. You have done a lot of research, but why can't you just cut and past A LINK rather than reprint reams of rubbish from the web?

elle · Joined: 27 Feb 2003 Posts: 334 Location: Nottingham, UK

tenpence · Joined: 24 Feb 2003 Posts: 174

elle, I'm really surprised. All i am looking to do is to debate this topic rather than have a slanging match. Saying that I have a 'microscopic mind' is not contributing to any sort of debate.

Instead of quoting from other people why do'nt you talk to me? Instead of calling me blinkered or prejudiced why don't you discuss why you think my view is wrong?

Why if I don't agree with you why am I suddenly called a 'secret Islam admirer?' I'm not at all! I just think that there are 2 sides to a story.

BTW I hope you are aware that thousands of articles are printed every day on the web. Some are good some are bad. The nature of the internet means that people can pretty much publish what they want. It does not mean that these articles are right.

Reprinting lots of materials shows that you can do online research. Well done, but that's not what I'm after. I want to know why you have posted 16 replies to my short response. That's more than a little wierd.

elle · Joined: 27 Feb 2003 Posts: 334 Location: Nottingham, UK

Tenpence, I found that I received no pleasure from my encounters with you. You do not discuss, you put people down. You bully! You try to intimidate. You do not encourage, or finesse, or entice answers. You do not argue ideas but you criticize and ridicule the person. Maybe it is your style which I have found unfriendly and always belitttling others without a substantial rhetoric.. Your style is the style of a Defense Lawyer of ethnic minorities. I certainly do not need to waste my energies on such a person.

Since you do not like what or how I put my points across, and I don't find you friendly but antagonistic and abrasive, why should we continue talking to one another? It is a waste of both our times. I come here for leisure and for relaxation, not constant confrontation or having to prove this or that. I find that very stressfull and unpleasant and very unproductive. So why bother to get myself into such a scenario? It is evident that you don't like my posts, and I hate your replies, so why pretend?

If there is room here, you go your way and I go mine. If there is not enough room then I will make room for you to lead these forums, and I will go elsewhere. No big deal! We are both very old (timewise) members here, and I would rather leave now that this forum is becoming alive again. I strongly believe that BBC and the minority Chinese in England should have this platform to air their views and share their views for a better understanding of one another and to integrate into this English community. That is my sincere wish, that the Chinese open up to one another and to others who live in England. Chinese tend to be rather shy/hesitant in this respect.In the last few weeks, we have injected a lot of stimulation into this forum and I hope it will remain active and alive from now on. If I fade out, you have the job of stimulating this forum, because I want to see it flourish! Good luck to you tenpence!

tenpence · Joined: 24 Feb 2003 Posts: 174

Elle, I think you've totally got the wrong end of the stick. i'm not the bully, not the one writing pageds and pages of stuff. I'm just asking you a question which you can't respond to without going off the handle.

I'm trying to debate a very simple point which you refuse to engage in.

elle · Joined: 27 Feb 2003 Posts: 334 Location: Nottingham, UK

Tenpence, just stop and think whether your aggressive style, has managed to alienate me? I had not intend to visit this site any longer, but I will reply to this post of yours.

It is your aggressive, and thoughtless and bullying style that has annoyed me. You certainly have the knack of raising my blood-pressure and my annoyance. I am quite prepared to leave this forum because you seem to have the knack of wanting to annoy me to distraction.

Let me say this, I doubt if you will find another more widely experienced and unbigoted neutral intellectual and academic with as much worldly experience as myself. (Sorry to blow my own trumpet.) But by this very same token, I will find people who want to pull me down a peg or two. Several people in America and elsewhere "invite me" to join their group forums when the form one. I have declined several. So I do have a reputation of "one of the better posters" in any forum. That means I am not considered a troll, but a sought after intellect. I am also educated and commercially experienced. I am also not a trouble maker (like some).

I have lived in England, America, India, HongKong, KualaLumpur, Singapore, and visited every continent on earth except South America, and I am worldly wise. I am probably twice your age and I only seek tranquility today, not AGRO! And you make agro!

So if you start driving away intellectuals like myself, it is Dimsum's loss, not mine, because I can then spend more time with other people who appreciate my contributions. I have only recently been active with the new Dimsum format, since this summer, and because it was "dead" was determined to revive it. I have contributed a fair amout of posts here, more than most in the given time. Many stimulating, including my views on Islam, of which I am very knowledgeable and authentic in my knowledge of Islam. I argue with facts, not on emotion. As I have indicated I have posted some "brilliant posts" at:

http://groups.google.co.uk/group/PoliticalForum?lnk=li

if you care to browse there anytime. And I argue about American policies with Americans there. I often criticize basic American policies, and I hold my ground.

I still maintain that if you continue with your aggressive style of challenging posters, the good posters will leave, and it will be because of you and people like you. I have not got the wrong end of the stick but I feel that I have to highlight the problem with your writing styles. If you intimidate people here, they won't post! If you intimidate people, you are a bully! And people will leave. Moderators and Editors please note these conversations, and my comments because you are about to lose me

taichi · Joined: 03 Sep 2006 Posts: 59 Location: australia

From the viewpoint of scientific communication I would explain following differences between observation, inference and judgement

Observation: What is objectively seen or felt, a summary of facts. E.g. a person says:" that man has glasses." This is an objective observation because it can be seen that the man wears glasses NOthing can be denied
Observation is objective because it comes from outside

Inference: An assumption, positive or negative, based on observation. E.g.:"The man has bought the glasses." This is an assumption but it is very unlikely to steal prescription glasses. It is based on the fact and perception of the man wearing his glasses.
Inference is subjective because although based on third party facts, it is comes from the inside of a person. It is however based on observation

Judgement: "The man is intelligent." This is interesting because it has nothing to do with the person being talked about but says a lot about the person who does the talking. It tells the standards of intelligence of the talker; it is his view of what is intelligent and what not

Observation comes from outside somebody's skin, while inference and judgement comes from inside a person.

During internet research, it is advisable to find out why certain things are said. Is it a mere observation and study research, or is it inference and even judgement, based on facts in form of historical and scientific papers. Very often, an internet site is similar to the inference or judgement of the reader. The reader will take over the inference of the writer and think it was his idea.

It is difficult to find authentic papers about Islam. Many people confuse Islam and the various denominations. On wikipedia it is just a very small amount of denominations. It is simplistic to talk about Islam as just being Islam or about Christianity just being Christianiy. Just within the Anglican Church there are various streams from HIgh Anglican, episcopal up to fundamentalist and moderate evangelical. Al Qaeda and TAliban form the extreme part of Islam and rejected by most proper Muslims. I don't share the Muslim view as a catholic, but I do respect them(not extremist like Saddam or Bin Laden).

htp://enwikipedia.org/wiki/islam

Last but not least, just from my viewpoint, I tend to skip whole speeches by PM's, although they can be interesting and relevant. It would save space and more reader-friendly when posting just links or excerpts.

I would find personal views based on these speeches more interesting than just loads of whole texts. If somebody pastes e.g. Santa Claus' speech I may assume that this person agrees with what Santa Claus says.
But for the reader's sake I would paste a link of the speech and make some of my personal comments

There are enough fores for politics and websites where I can read these speeches, CNN, ABC etc. Also isolated speeches and documents pasted. To be honest, I joined this forum more for Chinese living in UK or Australia, US, Chinese culture, food, how they feel, what they feel when they live in a western country etc.

taichi · Joined: 03 Sep 2006 Posts: 59 Location: australia

Ayatollah is a rank within the Shi'a. Not every Muslim is a Shi'a.

Jeff Minter · Joined: 31 Aug 2006 Posts: 342

Holy crap, he's totally lost it. Run... run for your lives!!!

Chineseperson · Joined: 19 Sep 2006 Posts: 19

Newsfeeds

Latest Posts

	Dimsum Forum Index -> Culture	All times are GMT + 1 Hour Goto page Previous 1, 2, 3
Page 3 of 3