Misrepresentations of Islamic Scripture: Difference between revisions

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First, this is an authentic Hadith, with only three narrators between Imam Ahmad and the Prophet . However, it is not relevant to the subject under discussion, for the Prophet did not force that man to become Muslim. The Prophet merely invited this man to become Muslim, and he replied that he does not find himself eager to become Muslim. The Prophet said to the man that even though he dislikes embracing Islam, he should still embrace it, `for Allah will grant you sincerity and true intent.' }}
First, this is an authentic Hadith, with only three narrators between Imam Ahmad and the Prophet . However, it is not relevant to the subject under discussion, for the Prophet did not force that man to become Muslim. The Prophet merely invited this man to become Muslim, and he replied that he does not find himself eager to become Muslim. The Prophet said to the man that even though he dislikes embracing Islam, he should still embrace it, `for Allah will grant you sincerity and true intent.' }}


It is plain, in context, that the verse was traditionally understood to have little to nothing to do with religious tolerance as it is presently understood.
In context, it becomes clear that the verse was traditionally understood to have little to nothing to do with religious tolerance as it is presently understood.


===(2:195) Do not cast yourselves into destruction===
===(2:195) Do not cast yourselves into destruction===
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{{Quote|{{Quran|2|195}}|And spend of your substance in the cause of Allah, and make not your own hands contribute to (your) destruction; but do good; for Allah loveth those who do good.}}
{{Quote|{{Quran|2|195}}|And spend of your substance in the cause of Allah, and make not your own hands contribute to (your) destruction; but do good; for Allah loveth those who do good.}}


{{Quran|2|195}}uses the word 'destruction' to refer to the abandonment of Jihad (rather than its implementation). In this respect it is similar to {{Quran|5|32}}, as the popular reference to the verse assumes an interpretation and context altogether opposite that held by the Islamic scholarly and scriptural tradition.
{{Quran|2|195}} uses the word 'destruction' to refer to the abandonment of Jihad (rather than its implementation). In this respect it is similar to {{Quran|5|32}}, as the popular reference to the verse assumes an interpretation and context altogether opposite that held by the Islamic scholarly and scriptural tradition.


{{Quote|Abu Dawud, At-Tirmidhi, An-Nasa'i, `Abd bin Humayd in his Tafsir, Ibn Abu Hatim, Ibn Jarir, Ibn Marduwyah, Al-Hafiz Abu Ya`la in his Musnad, Ibn Hibban and Al-Hakim|"A man from among the Ansar broke enemy (Byzantine) lines in Constantinople (Istanbul). Abu Ayyub Al-Ansari was with us then. So some people said, `He is throwing himself to destruction.'
{{Quote|Abu Dawud, At-Tirmidhi, An-Nasa'i, `Abd bin Humayd in his Tafsir, Ibn Abu Hatim, Ibn Jarir, Ibn Marduwyah, Al-Hafiz Abu Ya`la in his Musnad, Ibn Hibban and Al-Hakim|"A man from among the Ansar broke enemy (Byzantine) lines in Constantinople (Istanbul). Abu Ayyub Al-Ansari was with us then. So some people said, `He is throwing himself to destruction.'
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{{Quote|{{Quran|8|61}}|But if the enemy incline towards peace, do thou (also) incline towards peace, and trust in Allah: for He is One that heareth and knoweth (all things).}}
{{Quote|{{Quran|8|61}}|But if the enemy incline towards peace, do thou (also) incline towards peace, and trust in Allah: for He is One that heareth and knoweth (all things).}}


[[Abrogation|Abrogation]] (Naskh) refers to one Qur'anic verse superseding another, and is itself supported by [[Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Islamic Theology#Abrogation|Qur'anic verses]] and various hadith narrations. According to Ibn ‘Abbās (Muhammad's Cousin) verse 8:61 has been replaced by another well known verse.  
[[Abrogation|Abrogation]] (Naskh) refers to one Qur'anic verse superseding another, and is explicitly described by [[Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Islamic Theology#Abrogation|Qur'anic verses]] and various hadith narrations. According to a key early tafsir, {{Quran|8|61}} and its message of reconciliation have been abrogated by the so-called 'sword verse'.  


{{Quote|[http://quran.com/8/61 Surat Al-'Anfāl (The Spoils of War) 8:61]<BR>Ibn Abbas in Tafsir Ibn Abbas and Tafsir al-Jalalayn (Suyuti) |‘This has been abrogated by the “sword verse” [Q. 9:5]’}}
{{Quote|[http://quran.com/8/61 Surat Al-'Anfāl (The Spoils of War) 8:61]<BR>Tafsir Ibn Abbas and Tafsir al-Jalalayn (Suyuti) |‘This has been abrogated by the “sword verse” [Q. 9:5]’}}


And here is that verse in full.
{{Quran|9|5}} commands Jihad.


{{Quote|{{Quran|9|5}}|But when the forbidden months are past, then '''fight and slay the Pagans wherever ye find them, an seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem (of war)'''; but if they repent, and establish regular prayers and practise regular charity, then open the way for them: for Allah is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful.}}
{{Quote|{{Quran|9|5}}|But when the forbidden months are past, then '''fight and slay the Pagans wherever ye find them, an seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem (of war)'''; but if they repent, and establish regular prayers and practise regular charity, then open the way for them: for Allah is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful.}}


Notice that it says "if they ''repent, and establish regular prayers'' and practice regular charity, then open the way for them". The only way a non-believer can repent and establish regular prayers, is by converting to Islam. Muhammad also said, fighting must go on even after it stops.
The same verse adds that "if they ''repent, and establish regular prayers'' and practice regular charity, then open the way for them". The only way a non-believer can repent and establish regular prayers is by converting to Islam. Muhammad is reported to have clarified this message further, saying that fighting must go on even after it has come to a natural conclusion.


{{Quote|1=[http://www.qtafsir.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2035&Itemid=103 The Command to strike the Enemies' Necks]<BR>Tafsir Ibn Kathir|2=(Until the war lays down its burden.) Mujahid said:''' "Until `Isa bin Maryam (peace be upon him) descends. It seems as if he derived this opinion from the Prophet's saying, There will always be a group of my Ummah victorious upon the truth, until the last of them fight against Ad-Dajjal'''.) Imam Ahmad recorded from Jubayr bin Nufayr who reported from Salamah bin Nufayl that he went to the Messenger of Allah and said, "'''I have let my horse go, and thrown down my weapon, for the war has ended. There is no more fighting. Then the Prophet said to him, Now the time of fighting has come.''' There will always be a group of my Ummah dominant over others.''' Allah will turn the hearts of some people away (from the truth), so they (that group) will fight against them'''}}
{{Quote|1=[http://www.qtafsir.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2035&Itemid=103 The Command to strike the Enemies' Necks]<BR>Tafsir Ibn Kathir|2=(Until the war lays down its burden.) Mujahid said:''' "Until `Isa bin Maryam (peace be upon him) descends. It seems as if he derived this opinion from the Prophet's saying, There will always be a group of my Ummah victorious upon the truth, until the last of them fight against Ad-Dajjal'''.) Imam Ahmad recorded from Jubayr bin Nufayr who reported from Salamah bin Nufayl that he went to the Messenger of Allah and said, "'''I have let my horse go, and thrown down my weapon, for the war has ended. There is no more fighting. Then the Prophet said to him, Now the time of fighting has come.''' There will always be a group of my Ummah dominant over others.''' Allah will turn the hearts of some people away (from the truth), so they (that group) will fight against them'''}}


====Conclusion====
Verse 8:61 is no longer applicable in the eyes of prominent classical scholars and those who continue to identify with them.
 
Verse 8:61 is no longer applicable to Muslims and many scholars agree.


{{Quote|Ibn Taymiyyah|"It is the consensus of the scholars of this Ummah that if part of the religion is Allah's and other part is not, fighting must go on until the entire religion is Allah's".<ref>Shaykh ul-Islaam Taqi ud-Deen Ahmad ibn Taymiyyah - [http://www.fisabeelillah.org/books/manhaj/The-Religious-And-Moral-Doctrine-Of-Jihad.pdf The Religious and Moral Doctrine of Jihaad] - p.28, 2001 Maktabah Al Ansaar Publications, ISBN 0953984753</ref>}}
{{Quote|Ibn Taymiyyah|"It is the consensus of the scholars of this Ummah that if part of the religion is Allah's and other part is not, fighting must go on until the entire religion is Allah's".<ref>Shaykh ul-Islaam Taqi ud-Deen Ahmad ibn Taymiyyah - [http://www.fisabeelillah.org/books/manhaj/The-Religious-And-Moral-Doctrine-Of-Jihad.pdf The Religious and Moral Doctrine of Jihaad] - p.28, 2001 Maktabah Al Ansaar Publications, ISBN 0953984753</ref>}}
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{{Quote|[http://www.islamistwatch.org/main.html Join The Caravan, p20]<BR>Sheikh Abdullah Yusuf Azzam|"So, if the fighting stops, the disbelievers will dominate, and fitnah, which is Shirk (polytheism), will spread."}}
{{Quote|[http://www.islamistwatch.org/main.html Join The Caravan, p20]<BR>Sheikh Abdullah Yusuf Azzam|"So, if the fighting stops, the disbelievers will dominate, and fitnah, which is Shirk (polytheism), will spread."}}


===Fight those who fight you (2:190)===
===(2:190) Fight those who fight you===
 
====Verse====


{{Quote|{{Quran|2|190}}|Fight in the cause of Allah those who fight you, but do not transgress limits; for Allah loveth not transgressors.}}
{{Quote|{{Quran|2|190}}|Fight in the cause of Allah those who fight you, but do not transgress limits; for Allah loveth not transgressors.}}


====Meaning of verse====
{{Quran|2|190}} is also held to have been abrogated, this time by the 'verse of immunity', which is found at the very beginning of the chapter containing the 'sword-verse'.
 
Again, This verse has been abrogated by verses from chapter nine.


{{Quote|1=[http://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=1&tTafsirNo=74&tSoraNo=2&tAyahNo=190&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=2 Surat Al-Baqarah (The Cow) 2:190]<BR>Tafsir al jalayn (Suyuti)|2=After the Prophet (s) was prevented from [visiting] the House in the year of the battle of Hudaybiyya, he made a pact with the disbelievers that he would be allowed to return the following year, at which time they would vacate Mecca for three days. Having prepared to depart for the Visitation [‘umra], [he and] the believers were concerned that Quraysh would not keep to the agreement and instigate fighting. The Muslims were averse to becoming engaged in fighting while in a state of pilgrimage inviolability in the Sacred Enclosure [al-haram] and during the sacred months, and so the following was revealed: And fight in the way of God, to elevate His religion, with those who fight against you, the disbelievers, but aggress not, against them by initiating the fighting; God loves not the aggressors, the ones that overstep the bounds which God has set for them:''' this stipulation was abrogated by the verse of barā’a, ‘immunity’ [Q. 9:1], or by His saying below''':}}
{{Quote|1=[http://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=1&tTafsirNo=74&tSoraNo=2&tAyahNo=190&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=2 Surat Al-Baqarah (The Cow) 2:190]<BR>Tafsir al jalayn (Suyuti)|2=After the Prophet (s) was prevented from [visiting] the House in the year of the battle of Hudaybiyya, he made a pact with the disbelievers that he would be allowed to return the following year, at which time they would vacate Mecca for three days. Having prepared to depart for the Visitation [‘umra], [he and] the believers were concerned that Quraysh would not keep to the agreement and instigate fighting. The Muslims were averse to becoming engaged in fighting while in a state of pilgrimage inviolability in the Sacred Enclosure [al-haram] and during the sacred months, and so the following was revealed: And fight in the way of God, to elevate His religion, with those who fight against you, the disbelievers, but aggress not, against them by initiating the fighting; God loves not the aggressors, the ones that overstep the bounds which God has set for them:''' this stipulation was abrogated by the verse of barā’a, ‘immunity’ [Q. 9:1], or by His saying below''':}}
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Abu Al-`Aliyah said, "This was the first Ayah about fighting that was revealed in Al-Madinah. Ever since it was revealed, Allah's Messenger '''used to''' fight only those who fought him and avoid non-combatants. Later, Surat Bara'ah (chapter 9 in the Qur'an) was revealed." `Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam said similarly, then he said that this was later '''abrogated by the Ayah'''}}
Abu Al-`Aliyah said, "This was the first Ayah about fighting that was revealed in Al-Madinah. Ever since it was revealed, Allah's Messenger '''used to''' fight only those who fought him and avoid non-combatants. Later, Surat Bara'ah (chapter 9 in the Qur'an) was revealed." `Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam said similarly, then he said that this was later '''abrogated by the Ayah'''}}


====Conclusion====
Chapter 9, which contains both the 'verse of immunity' and the 'sword verse', known as ''surah al-Tawbah'', was part of the final substantive revelation Muhammad pronounced in his life. Seen as a sort of closing message, the majority of classical scholars agreed with the basic idea that the Muslim ummah was destined to engage in an endless war with the unbelieving world until all had submitted to Allah and there was no more 'fitnah' in the land.  
 
Al Taubah (Repentance) is considered to be the [[The Ultimate Message of the Qur'an|closing remarks]] of Allah.  


{{Quote|{{Muslim|11|3941}}|Abu Ishaq said that he heard al-Bara' b 'Azib (Allah be pleased with him) say: The last complete sura revealed (in the Holy Qur'an) is Sura tauba (i e. al-Bara'at, ix.), and the last verse revealed is that pertaining to '''Kalala'''.}}
{{Quote|{{Muslim|11|3941}}|Abu Ishaq said that he heard al-Bara' b 'Azib (Allah be pleased with him) say: The last complete sura revealed (in the Holy Qur'an) is Sura tauba (i e. al-Bara'at, ix.), and the last verse revealed is that pertaining to '''Kalala'''.}}


With all things considered, it should not come as a big surprise to learn that this final chapter is not at all about making peace among the people.
===(8:39) Fight them until there is no more ''fitnah''===
 
===Fight them until there is no more oppression (8:39)===
 
====Verse====


{{Quote| {{Quran|8|39}} |And fight them on until there is no more  '''tumult or oppression''' [Fitna], and there prevail justice and faith in Allah altogether and everywhere; but if they cease, verily Allah doth see all that they do.}}
{{Quote| {{Quran|8|39}} |And fight them on until there is no more  '''tumult or oppression''' [Fitna], and there prevail justice and faith in Allah altogether and everywhere; but if they cease, verily Allah doth see all that they do.}}


====Meaning of Verse====
The Arabic word ''Fitna'' (فِتْنَةٌ‎), used in {{Quran|8|39}} and other verses, does not have the same meaning as found in the English translations of Yusuf Ali, Picktall, and Shakir, who translate the word as "tumult" or "oppression".  
 
The Arabic word ''Fitna'' (فِتْنَةٌ‎) does not have the same meaning as given by our three official translators (Yusuf Ali, Picktall, Shakir), which is "tumult" and "oppression".  


{{Quote|1=[http://www.qtafsir.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=231 The Order to fight until there is no more Fitnah]<BR>Tafsir Ibn Kathir|2=Allah then commanded fighting the disbelievers when He said:
{{Quote|1=[http://www.qtafsir.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=231 The Order to fight until there is no more Fitnah]<BR>Tafsir Ibn Kathir|2=Allah then commanded fighting the disbelievers when He said:
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{{Quote|Tafsir al-Tabari|So fight them until there is no more shirk, and none is worshipped except Allaah alone with no partner or associate, and trials and calamities, which are disbelief and polytheism, are lifted from the slaves of Allaah on earth, and religion is all for Allaah alone, and so that obedience and worship will be devoted to Him alone and none else.<ref>[http://www.islamqa.com/en/ref/34647/Martyrdom The reason why jihaad is prescribed] - Islam Q&A, Fatwa No. 34647</ref>}}
{{Quote|Tafsir al-Tabari|So fight them until there is no more shirk, and none is worshipped except Allaah alone with no partner or associate, and trials and calamities, which are disbelief and polytheism, are lifted from the slaves of Allaah on earth, and religion is all for Allaah alone, and so that obedience and worship will be devoted to Him alone and none else.<ref>[http://www.islamqa.com/en/ref/34647/Martyrdom The reason why jihaad is prescribed] - Islam Q&A, Fatwa No. 34647</ref>}}


====Conclusion====
The word ''fitnah'' has a much broader meaning and was held to refer to unbelief and a lack of submission to Allah in general (thus including non-practicing Muslims, for instance).
 
Oppression or not, Muslims must continue to fight until there is no religion but Islam.


===Those who believe in God, Christians and Jews, shall be in Heaven (2:62)===
===(2:62) Theists, Christians, and Jews, shall be in Heaven===


:''Main Article: [[Christians Jews and Muslims in Heaven|Christians, Jews and Muslims in Heaven]]''
:''Main Article: [[Christians Jews and Muslims in Heaven|Christians, Jews and Muslims in Heaven]]''
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