Middle East Media Research Institute TV Monitor Project
posted by Cultfree at 9:44 AM
0 comments
Friday, December 30, 2005
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
Time to Act Against Saudis Over Religious Persecution
Nov 9, 2005
By Patrick GoodenoughCNSNews.com International Editor
A statutory body that advises the U.S. government on religious freedom has welcomed the State Department's decision to keep Saudi Arabia on a list of egregious religious freedom violators -- but it wants to see further steps taken.
A Saudi expert and critic of the regime says that in the absence of punitive measures, the designation of the kingdom as a "country of particular concern" is a pointless exercise.
The State Department says Saudi authorities deny religious freedom to non-Muslims as well as to Muslims who do not adhere to the state-sanctioned version of Salifi Sunni Islam, including Shi'ites.
"The government prohibits the public practice of other religions; non-Muslim worshippers risk arrest, imprisonment, lashing, deportation, and torture for engaging in religious activity that attracts official attention," especially that of the religious police, it said in a report to Congress Tuesday.
The report, which surveys 197 countries, identifies Saudi Arabia and seven others -- Burma, China, North Korea, Eritrea, Iran, Sudan and Vietnam -- as "countries of particular concern" (CPCs).
The annual report to Congress and CPC designations are requirements under the 1998 International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA), which provides for the administration to take steps against violators including sanctions -- although temporary waivers are permitted.
So far, IRFA sanctions have only been taken against Eritrea. Others on the list are already subject to pre-existing U.S. sanctions, although no action has been taken against Saudi Arabia.
The IRFA also set up the U.S. Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) to give independent recommendations to the executive branch and Congress.
For four years, the Commission urged the State Department to designate Saudi Arabia as a CPC, but until last year the department demurred.
Over the year since the Sept. 2004 designation, steps taken have been limited to the raising of U.S. concerns with what Tuesday's report called "a wide range of senior government and religious leaders."
Two months ago - six months behind schedule - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice finally authorized a 180-day waiver of action against Saudi Arabia, "in order to allow additional time for the continuation of discussions leading to progress on important religious freedom issues."
USCIRF communications director Anne Johnson said Tuesday the Commission was pleased to see Saudi Arabia again on the CPC list, but hoped for further action.
"We continue to call for the State Department to take action on last year's designation," she said by phone, noting that steps could be taken at any stage, and did not have to await the end of the 180-day waiver period (next March).
"They can determine before that that there's no progress likely to be made and that they need to take action," she explained.
The Commission has recommended travel bans and restrictions on the export of "dual use" items to Saudi government elements responsible for violating religious freedom or promoting a "hate ideology."
Johnson pointed out that Saudi Arabia has evaded punishment despite getting what amounts to the department's harshest evaluation.
"There are only two countries in the world that the State Department says there is no religious freedom -- or religious freedom does not exist -- Saudi Arabia and North Korea."
Improvement, or getting worse?
At a press conference Tuesday, John Hanford, the State Department official who heads the religious freedom office, was critical of Saudi Arabia but also said the kingdom had "demonstrated a willingness to engage with us to improve religious freedom."
He cited Saudi pledges to deal with the problem of "hateful messages in Saudi-sponsored literature" and efforts by the government to promote dialogue with the Shi'ite minority.
The religious police "are kept largely under control from raiding private worship groups," Hanford said, but added that there had been exceptions, with several groups of people arrested this year.
Asked about the waiver authorized by Rice last September, Hanford said the option was taken "because we feel like our discussions are productive, unlike discussions with some other countries. We feel like the government of Saudi Arabia is moving in the right direction."
In the view of Saudi scholar Ali Al-Ahmed, however, the situation in Saudi Arabia has not improved. On the contrary, he said last Tuesday, "in historical context it has gotten worse."
"Any expression of religious or cultural identity by anyone else is forbidden."
In the past, the authorities were not as well organized as they are today in acting against illicit religious items, he said in a phone interview. Now, along with Bibles, even non-religious items associated with Christianity, such as Christmas trees, were banned.
Al-Ahmed said a recent exhibition by the religious police in the southern city of Asir included, in a display of confiscated contraband, copies of the Bible.
"This is poisonous to them - it is not allowed, not legal."
He said the exhibition had been opened by, and was held under the auspices of, a "so-called liberal" member of the ruling family, Prince Khalid Al-Faisal.
Al-Ahmed, a Shi'ite who heads the Institute for Gulf Affairs think tank, was critical of the State Department report and its handling of Saudi Arabia in general, describing it as "very apologetic" and "very careful."
He claimed that the report was "harsher" on Iran than on Saudi Arabia, even though "Iran has a better religious freedom record than Saudi Arabia - there are churches and synagogues and ... non-Muslim celebrations on Iranian TV."
Without taking punitive steps against Riyadh, he said, the CPC designation was "pointless and actually counterproductive."
'Making excuses'
Al-Ahmed's criticism went beyond the religious freedom issue, saying the department in other areas too -- including the treatment of women and the question of human trafficking -- was "making excuses for the Saudi government."
In an annual report on trafficking, a phenomenon sometimes described as "modern-day slavery," the department over the summer found that Saudi Arabia and 13 other countries were not doing enough to combat the problem, making them eligible for denial of non-humanitarian U.S. aid.
But in September, the administration waived sanctions against Saudi Arabia, and several others among the 14. It argued that, in the kingdom's case, this was "in the national interest because it will allow us to continue democracy programs ... and will permit continued security cooperation to effectively prosecute the war on terror."
At the time, Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), author of legislation combating human trafficking, said he was disappointed by the waiver decision.
"Ally or not, America cannot condone human trafficking by any nation, and that is what we seem to be doing," Smith said. "I have said it time and time again, 'friends don't let friends commit human rights violations."
http://www.gulfinstitute.org/artman/publish/article_22.shtml
By Patrick GoodenoughCNSNews.com International Editor
A statutory body that advises the U.S. government on religious freedom has welcomed the State Department's decision to keep Saudi Arabia on a list of egregious religious freedom violators -- but it wants to see further steps taken.
A Saudi expert and critic of the regime says that in the absence of punitive measures, the designation of the kingdom as a "country of particular concern" is a pointless exercise.
The State Department says Saudi authorities deny religious freedom to non-Muslims as well as to Muslims who do not adhere to the state-sanctioned version of Salifi Sunni Islam, including Shi'ites.
"The government prohibits the public practice of other religions; non-Muslim worshippers risk arrest, imprisonment, lashing, deportation, and torture for engaging in religious activity that attracts official attention," especially that of the religious police, it said in a report to Congress Tuesday.
The report, which surveys 197 countries, identifies Saudi Arabia and seven others -- Burma, China, North Korea, Eritrea, Iran, Sudan and Vietnam -- as "countries of particular concern" (CPCs).
The annual report to Congress and CPC designations are requirements under the 1998 International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA), which provides for the administration to take steps against violators including sanctions -- although temporary waivers are permitted.
So far, IRFA sanctions have only been taken against Eritrea. Others on the list are already subject to pre-existing U.S. sanctions, although no action has been taken against Saudi Arabia.
The IRFA also set up the U.S. Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) to give independent recommendations to the executive branch and Congress.
For four years, the Commission urged the State Department to designate Saudi Arabia as a CPC, but until last year the department demurred.
Over the year since the Sept. 2004 designation, steps taken have been limited to the raising of U.S. concerns with what Tuesday's report called "a wide range of senior government and religious leaders."
Two months ago - six months behind schedule - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice finally authorized a 180-day waiver of action against Saudi Arabia, "in order to allow additional time for the continuation of discussions leading to progress on important religious freedom issues."
USCIRF communications director Anne Johnson said Tuesday the Commission was pleased to see Saudi Arabia again on the CPC list, but hoped for further action.
"We continue to call for the State Department to take action on last year's designation," she said by phone, noting that steps could be taken at any stage, and did not have to await the end of the 180-day waiver period (next March).
"They can determine before that that there's no progress likely to be made and that they need to take action," she explained.
The Commission has recommended travel bans and restrictions on the export of "dual use" items to Saudi government elements responsible for violating religious freedom or promoting a "hate ideology."
Johnson pointed out that Saudi Arabia has evaded punishment despite getting what amounts to the department's harshest evaluation.
"There are only two countries in the world that the State Department says there is no religious freedom -- or religious freedom does not exist -- Saudi Arabia and North Korea."
Improvement, or getting worse?
At a press conference Tuesday, John Hanford, the State Department official who heads the religious freedom office, was critical of Saudi Arabia but also said the kingdom had "demonstrated a willingness to engage with us to improve religious freedom."
He cited Saudi pledges to deal with the problem of "hateful messages in Saudi-sponsored literature" and efforts by the government to promote dialogue with the Shi'ite minority.
The religious police "are kept largely under control from raiding private worship groups," Hanford said, but added that there had been exceptions, with several groups of people arrested this year.
Asked about the waiver authorized by Rice last September, Hanford said the option was taken "because we feel like our discussions are productive, unlike discussions with some other countries. We feel like the government of Saudi Arabia is moving in the right direction."
In the view of Saudi scholar Ali Al-Ahmed, however, the situation in Saudi Arabia has not improved. On the contrary, he said last Tuesday, "in historical context it has gotten worse."
"Any expression of religious or cultural identity by anyone else is forbidden."
In the past, the authorities were not as well organized as they are today in acting against illicit religious items, he said in a phone interview. Now, along with Bibles, even non-religious items associated with Christianity, such as Christmas trees, were banned.
Al-Ahmed said a recent exhibition by the religious police in the southern city of Asir included, in a display of confiscated contraband, copies of the Bible.
"This is poisonous to them - it is not allowed, not legal."
He said the exhibition had been opened by, and was held under the auspices of, a "so-called liberal" member of the ruling family, Prince Khalid Al-Faisal.
Al-Ahmed, a Shi'ite who heads the Institute for Gulf Affairs think tank, was critical of the State Department report and its handling of Saudi Arabia in general, describing it as "very apologetic" and "very careful."
He claimed that the report was "harsher" on Iran than on Saudi Arabia, even though "Iran has a better religious freedom record than Saudi Arabia - there are churches and synagogues and ... non-Muslim celebrations on Iranian TV."
Without taking punitive steps against Riyadh, he said, the CPC designation was "pointless and actually counterproductive."
'Making excuses'
Al-Ahmed's criticism went beyond the religious freedom issue, saying the department in other areas too -- including the treatment of women and the question of human trafficking -- was "making excuses for the Saudi government."
In an annual report on trafficking, a phenomenon sometimes described as "modern-day slavery," the department over the summer found that Saudi Arabia and 13 other countries were not doing enough to combat the problem, making them eligible for denial of non-humanitarian U.S. aid.
But in September, the administration waived sanctions against Saudi Arabia, and several others among the 14. It argued that, in the kingdom's case, this was "in the national interest because it will allow us to continue democracy programs ... and will permit continued security cooperation to effectively prosecute the war on terror."
At the time, Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), author of legislation combating human trafficking, said he was disappointed by the waiver decision.
"Ally or not, America cannot condone human trafficking by any nation, and that is what we seem to be doing," Smith said. "I have said it time and time again, 'friends don't let friends commit human rights violations."
http://www.gulfinstitute.org/artman/publish/article_22.shtml
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posted by Cultfree at 8:00 PM
0 comments
Monday, December 26, 2005
Radicalism Extends Roots
Radicalism extends roots, becoming institutionalized
Religious -- Islamic -- doctrines and traditions often paint and influence Indonesian politics and community life, which has in turn encouraged radicalism, conservatism and fundamentalism among some members of the public.
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailnational.asp?fileid=20051226.L02&irec=6
Religious -- Islamic -- doctrines and traditions often paint and influence Indonesian politics and community life, which has in turn encouraged radicalism, conservatism and fundamentalism among some members of the public.
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailnational.asp?fileid=20051226.L02&irec=6
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posted by Cultfree at 3:16 AM
0 comments
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Free Expression Banned
Iran's President Bans Western Music and Music Illegal in Iran
"Blocking indecent and Western music from the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting is required," according to a statement on the council's official Web site.
also
Sunni Islam
Talk about 'Big Brother'.
"Blocking indecent and Western music from the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting is required," according to a statement on the council's official Web site.
also
Sunni Islam
Talk about 'Big Brother'.
| | | | | | | | |
posted by Cultfree at 8:41 PM
0 comments
Monday, December 19, 2005
The Fate of Infidels and Apostates under Islam
Also read this: Death For Apostasy Quran Hadith
http://www.iheu.org/node/1540
Azam Kamguian
We Need to Fight the Battle for Enlightenment
I am delighted to be here today to speak at such a wonderful conference. Here, I talk as an apostate, an atheist who left Islam and religion altogether at the age of 15, a veteran activist of women’s rights who survived the atrocities committed by political Islam in Iran.
My being a Muslim, like all other children who are accidentally born into Muslim families, was hereditary. My parents were ordinary Muslims. My father was relatively open-minded but my mother indoctrinated us and used religious rules for protecting her children. In my childhood, faith meant that I had an all powerful all knowing father figure watching over me. Anything bad that happened to me – he’d take care of me. To me it was comforting to Know that evil would not triumph, that the anguish of the innocent in this world would not go un-avenged was comforting. The temptation to subordinate your being to a deity ; to a god was immense.
My doubts about god began seriously when I was 12 years old. I would give a lot to be able to believe. But in the end I had to tread the rocky and non-comforting path of atheism. I gave up the shelter of a divine shadow – but I gained a life that could question and explore the life and human existence. I questioned and rejected religion and became an atheist because I could not answer the inconsistencies and hypocrisies of religion to myself, and because religion limited me as a human being – I remain an atheist because I have discovered myself as human being not alienated by any god or religion and I do not need religion to tell me who I am.
But those years of exploring and searching for truth was soon replaced by horrors years of brutality and atrocities by political Islam in Iran. Though I left Islam, I had to live Islam. In my youth and young adulthood in Iran, I lived through thousands of days when political Islam shed blood. Since 1979, a hundred thousand men, women and children have been executed in the name of Allah. I have lived through years of assassination of infidels, apostates and opponents of the Islamic republic inside and outside Iran. Years of suppression of women and brutal treatment of those women who resisted the misery of mandatory Hijab and the rule of sexual apartheid. I, along with thousands of non – believers and political prisoners, was tortured by order of the representative of Allah and Sharia; tortured, while the verses of the Koran about non-believers were played in the torture chambers. The voice reading the Koran was mixed with our cries of pain from lashes and other brutal forms of torture.
Non-believers - atheists under Islam do not have "the right to life ". They are to be killed. According to Islamic culture, sins are divided into great sins and little sins. Among the seventeen great sins, unbelief is the greatest, more heinous than murder, theft, adultery and so on. Courageous apostates aim to skewer the hypocrisies and inconsistencies of a faith that commands the allegiance of a billion people–as well as the hypocrisies of those Western defenders of Islam who would not tolerate its strictures in their own cultures.
A free discussion of Islam is extremely dangerous not only in countries under Islamic rule but also in the west. Most keep their feelings to themselves. Those Muslims who disown or even criticize their faith publicly are likely to be accused of apostasy, a crime punishable by death under Islamic law–a penalty enforced by a number of Islamic states, including Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Sudan.
The Islamic position on apostasy has been described as: “total disbelief that any sane person could possibly have a genuine reason for leaving ‘the most perfect religion’. He or she must therefore, by definition, be acting in bad faith. Essential aspects of our civilised humanity, such as freedom of speech and freedom of belief, are best exemplified in Islam by those thinkers and writers it calls apostates. The importance of apostates and other religious dissidents is crucial.
Freedom from and of religion does not mean merely the freedom to have a faith but also the freedom to change one's religion, and freedom to be free from religion. But under the Sharia, apostasy (either advocating the rejection of Islamic belief or announcing such rejection by word or deed) is not permitted and for a man is punishable by death. The punishment for a woman is more lenient - she must stay in prison until she reverts, however long it takes. Even when the death penalty is not applied, those accused of apostasy can be subject to the most violent treatment. This discrimination is clearly contrary to freedom of religion and belief and to the principle that religion should be a private matter for the individual.
In a feeble attempt to disguise the Islamic attitude to apostasy, apologists often quote the Koranic verse: “There shall be no compulsion in religion”. For a Muslim wishing to leave Islam this is simply not true. In Yemen it’s punishable by death as it is in Iran, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan under the Taliban and other Islamic states. The most famous incidence of Apostasy was in 1989 when Ayatollah Khomeini announced a fatwa, or death sentence against Salman Rushdie for his alleged apostasy in writing “The Satanic Verses”. In a similar vein in Iran in July 1998 a man was executed for allegedly converting a Muslim woman to the Baha’i faith, this was even though the woman claimed that her mother was Baha’i and that she was raised according to that faith. Freedom House's Centre for Religious Freedom recently protested the forthcoming trial, before a Sharia court of Islamic law, of Hamid Pourmand, the 47 year old lay leader of a small Assemblies of God church in the southern port city of Bandar-i-Bushehr. Pourmand, a convert from Islam, is facing charges of apostasy from Islam and proselytising Muslims, both capital offences in Iran. The government of Iran puts someone on trial for his life solely for his religious belief. The state's criminalisation of apostasy is always subject to political manipulation and indicates an absolute negation of individual rights and freedom. Iran applies an extremist interpretation of Shiite Islamic law or Sharia, which harshly represses the free expression of belief, including religious conversion by Muslims. Iran's Sharia courts view non-Muslims as second-class citizens, whose testimony is given less weight than Muslims, and sometimes even as non-persons, without any legal protections.
In countries ruled by Islamic law and where political Islam holds sway, writers, thinkers, philosophers, activists, and artists are frequently denied freedom of expression. Islamic regimes are notorious for the violent suppression of free thought. Often, as a government allies itself closely with Islam, any critics of the government will be accused of blasphemy or apostasy.
In Islam, there exists a horror of putting the Koran to critical scrutiny. Ordinary people do not dare to question the Koran. The result is tyranny, thought police, and stagnation, no intellectual and moral progress. Even in the academic community it is a taboo to discuss the Koran scientifically. While there exist a growing critical movement to criticise religion, particularly Islam, Islamists, apologists for Islam, and western governments have come up with the idea of Islamophobia. They try to silence critics. Islam must be subject to critical examination. By silencing critics and calling them racists, Islamists and apologists intend to keep religious domination intact. In Iran the price for criticising Islam is death in its most horrendous way. How many more fates of Theo Van Gogh’s are we expecting in the west?
The moment you say that any idea system is sacred, the moment you declare a set of ideas to be immune from criticism, satire, derision, or contempt, freedom of thought becomes impossible. We must win the right to criticize the religion without fear of retribution. Criticism, free speech, is the foundation of an open society. We need to criticise and use reason to solve our problems.
No belief, rational or irrational, scientific or divinely inspired, should be exempt from critical examination. If a belief is sound it will stand on its own merits. If it is not it deserves to fail. No religion should seek immunity from the examination of its claims, or seek freedom from moral criticism of its practices.
In the West, the Enlightenment brought about defence of individual freedom and civil liberties. The battle against the Church and backward culture caused a deep change in society's horizon and values and advanced the society. Western society shook off backward and religious thoughts and beliefs. Most of our contemporary ideas about freedom of speech and civil liberties come from the Enlightenment.
We the atheist and freethinkers need to fight the battle for enlightenment in the East. We need to push Islam back to where it rightfully belongs. We should fight for unconditional freedom of speech including freedom to criticise Islam. We atheists have to challenge religious authority. For every vilified and oppressed atheist, two more, ten more, a thousand more will spring up. No matter how brutal inquisitions and slaughter, atheists and freethinkers will spring up because people's minds and needs cannot be imprisoned forever. Today our society under political Islam is being held prisoner by Islamic captors, who fight to dominate this world.
And I am delighted to say that hopes continue coming from Iran where the society has changed dramatically and deeply since 1979. The movement for secularism and atheism, for modern ideas and culture, for individual freedom, for women's freedom and civil liberties is widespread. Contempt for religion and the backward ruling culture is deep. Women and the youth are the champions of this battle; a battle that threatens the foundation of the Islamic system. Any change in Iran will not only affect the lives of people living in Iran, but will have a significant impact on the region and worldwide.
Therefore, we must fight the battle for Enlightenment in Iran and elsewhere in the Middle East.
http://www.iheu.org/node/1540
Azam Kamguian
We Need to Fight the Battle for Enlightenment
I am delighted to be here today to speak at such a wonderful conference. Here, I talk as an apostate, an atheist who left Islam and religion altogether at the age of 15, a veteran activist of women’s rights who survived the atrocities committed by political Islam in Iran.
My being a Muslim, like all other children who are accidentally born into Muslim families, was hereditary. My parents were ordinary Muslims. My father was relatively open-minded but my mother indoctrinated us and used religious rules for protecting her children. In my childhood, faith meant that I had an all powerful all knowing father figure watching over me. Anything bad that happened to me – he’d take care of me. To me it was comforting to Know that evil would not triumph, that the anguish of the innocent in this world would not go un-avenged was comforting. The temptation to subordinate your being to a deity ; to a god was immense.
My doubts about god began seriously when I was 12 years old. I would give a lot to be able to believe. But in the end I had to tread the rocky and non-comforting path of atheism. I gave up the shelter of a divine shadow – but I gained a life that could question and explore the life and human existence. I questioned and rejected religion and became an atheist because I could not answer the inconsistencies and hypocrisies of religion to myself, and because religion limited me as a human being – I remain an atheist because I have discovered myself as human being not alienated by any god or religion and I do not need religion to tell me who I am.
But those years of exploring and searching for truth was soon replaced by horrors years of brutality and atrocities by political Islam in Iran. Though I left Islam, I had to live Islam. In my youth and young adulthood in Iran, I lived through thousands of days when political Islam shed blood. Since 1979, a hundred thousand men, women and children have been executed in the name of Allah. I have lived through years of assassination of infidels, apostates and opponents of the Islamic republic inside and outside Iran. Years of suppression of women and brutal treatment of those women who resisted the misery of mandatory Hijab and the rule of sexual apartheid. I, along with thousands of non – believers and political prisoners, was tortured by order of the representative of Allah and Sharia; tortured, while the verses of the Koran about non-believers were played in the torture chambers. The voice reading the Koran was mixed with our cries of pain from lashes and other brutal forms of torture.
Non-believers - atheists under Islam do not have "the right to life ". They are to be killed. According to Islamic culture, sins are divided into great sins and little sins. Among the seventeen great sins, unbelief is the greatest, more heinous than murder, theft, adultery and so on. Courageous apostates aim to skewer the hypocrisies and inconsistencies of a faith that commands the allegiance of a billion people–as well as the hypocrisies of those Western defenders of Islam who would not tolerate its strictures in their own cultures.
A free discussion of Islam is extremely dangerous not only in countries under Islamic rule but also in the west. Most keep their feelings to themselves. Those Muslims who disown or even criticize their faith publicly are likely to be accused of apostasy, a crime punishable by death under Islamic law–a penalty enforced by a number of Islamic states, including Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Sudan.
The Islamic position on apostasy has been described as: “total disbelief that any sane person could possibly have a genuine reason for leaving ‘the most perfect religion’. He or she must therefore, by definition, be acting in bad faith. Essential aspects of our civilised humanity, such as freedom of speech and freedom of belief, are best exemplified in Islam by those thinkers and writers it calls apostates. The importance of apostates and other religious dissidents is crucial.
Freedom from and of religion does not mean merely the freedom to have a faith but also the freedom to change one's religion, and freedom to be free from religion. But under the Sharia, apostasy (either advocating the rejection of Islamic belief or announcing such rejection by word or deed) is not permitted and for a man is punishable by death. The punishment for a woman is more lenient - she must stay in prison until she reverts, however long it takes. Even when the death penalty is not applied, those accused of apostasy can be subject to the most violent treatment. This discrimination is clearly contrary to freedom of religion and belief and to the principle that religion should be a private matter for the individual.
In a feeble attempt to disguise the Islamic attitude to apostasy, apologists often quote the Koranic verse: “There shall be no compulsion in religion”. For a Muslim wishing to leave Islam this is simply not true. In Yemen it’s punishable by death as it is in Iran, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan under the Taliban and other Islamic states. The most famous incidence of Apostasy was in 1989 when Ayatollah Khomeini announced a fatwa, or death sentence against Salman Rushdie for his alleged apostasy in writing “The Satanic Verses”. In a similar vein in Iran in July 1998 a man was executed for allegedly converting a Muslim woman to the Baha’i faith, this was even though the woman claimed that her mother was Baha’i and that she was raised according to that faith. Freedom House's Centre for Religious Freedom recently protested the forthcoming trial, before a Sharia court of Islamic law, of Hamid Pourmand, the 47 year old lay leader of a small Assemblies of God church in the southern port city of Bandar-i-Bushehr. Pourmand, a convert from Islam, is facing charges of apostasy from Islam and proselytising Muslims, both capital offences in Iran. The government of Iran puts someone on trial for his life solely for his religious belief. The state's criminalisation of apostasy is always subject to political manipulation and indicates an absolute negation of individual rights and freedom. Iran applies an extremist interpretation of Shiite Islamic law or Sharia, which harshly represses the free expression of belief, including religious conversion by Muslims. Iran's Sharia courts view non-Muslims as second-class citizens, whose testimony is given less weight than Muslims, and sometimes even as non-persons, without any legal protections.
In countries ruled by Islamic law and where political Islam holds sway, writers, thinkers, philosophers, activists, and artists are frequently denied freedom of expression. Islamic regimes are notorious for the violent suppression of free thought. Often, as a government allies itself closely with Islam, any critics of the government will be accused of blasphemy or apostasy.
In Islam, there exists a horror of putting the Koran to critical scrutiny. Ordinary people do not dare to question the Koran. The result is tyranny, thought police, and stagnation, no intellectual and moral progress. Even in the academic community it is a taboo to discuss the Koran scientifically. While there exist a growing critical movement to criticise religion, particularly Islam, Islamists, apologists for Islam, and western governments have come up with the idea of Islamophobia. They try to silence critics. Islam must be subject to critical examination. By silencing critics and calling them racists, Islamists and apologists intend to keep religious domination intact. In Iran the price for criticising Islam is death in its most horrendous way. How many more fates of Theo Van Gogh’s are we expecting in the west?
The moment you say that any idea system is sacred, the moment you declare a set of ideas to be immune from criticism, satire, derision, or contempt, freedom of thought becomes impossible. We must win the right to criticize the religion without fear of retribution. Criticism, free speech, is the foundation of an open society. We need to criticise and use reason to solve our problems.
No belief, rational or irrational, scientific or divinely inspired, should be exempt from critical examination. If a belief is sound it will stand on its own merits. If it is not it deserves to fail. No religion should seek immunity from the examination of its claims, or seek freedom from moral criticism of its practices.
In the West, the Enlightenment brought about defence of individual freedom and civil liberties. The battle against the Church and backward culture caused a deep change in society's horizon and values and advanced the society. Western society shook off backward and religious thoughts and beliefs. Most of our contemporary ideas about freedom of speech and civil liberties come from the Enlightenment.
We the atheist and freethinkers need to fight the battle for enlightenment in the East. We need to push Islam back to where it rightfully belongs. We should fight for unconditional freedom of speech including freedom to criticise Islam. We atheists have to challenge religious authority. For every vilified and oppressed atheist, two more, ten more, a thousand more will spring up. No matter how brutal inquisitions and slaughter, atheists and freethinkers will spring up because people's minds and needs cannot be imprisoned forever. Today our society under political Islam is being held prisoner by Islamic captors, who fight to dominate this world.
And I am delighted to say that hopes continue coming from Iran where the society has changed dramatically and deeply since 1979. The movement for secularism and atheism, for modern ideas and culture, for individual freedom, for women's freedom and civil liberties is widespread. Contempt for religion and the backward ruling culture is deep. Women and the youth are the champions of this battle; a battle that threatens the foundation of the Islamic system. Any change in Iran will not only affect the lives of people living in Iran, but will have a significant impact on the region and worldwide.
Therefore, we must fight the battle for Enlightenment in Iran and elsewhere in the Middle East.
| | | | | | | | |
posted by Cultfree at 5:50 PM
0 comments
Sunday, December 18, 2005
Bravo!
Here is a dialogue in Iraq that the Moonbats© dont want you to see
http://switch5.castup.net/frames/20041020_MemriTV_Popup/video_480x360.asp?ClipMediaID=87735&ak=null
Apparently he's had several assasination attempts. Check out this post on the BigPharoah blog.
http://switch5.castup.net/frames/20041020_MemriTV_Popup/video_480x360.asp?ClipMediaID=87735&ak=null
Apparently he's had several assasination attempts. Check out this post on the BigPharoah blog.
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posted by Cultfree at 6:04 PM
0 comments
Saturday, December 17, 2005
Muslims view of others
'Najis' is a word that means ugly, despicable, untouchable, impure.
The link below explains how muslims view all others.
http://www.al-islam.org/laws/najisthings.html
and
http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/009.qmt.html#009.028
The link below explains how muslims view all others.
http://www.al-islam.org/laws/najisthings.html
and
http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/009.qmt.html#009.028
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posted by Cultfree at 11:37 PM
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Islam condones wife beating
Note that in most of the non-arabic translations of verse 4:34 of the quran, the word lightly is added to soften and sanitize it to western audiences. The word 'lightly' or any insinuation of 'lightly' does not appear in the Arabic quran.
source: http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/004.qmt.html#004.034
004.034 YUSUFALI: Men are the protectors and maintainers of women, because Allah has given the one more (strength) than the other, and because they support them from their means. Therefore the righteous women are devoutly obedient, and guard in (the husband's) absence what Allah would have them guard. As to those women on whose part ye fear disloyalty and ill-conduct, admonish them (first), (Next), refuse to share their beds, (And last) beat them (lightly); but if they return to obedience, seek not against them Means (of annoyance): For Allah is Most High, great (above you all).
PICKTHAL: Men are in charge of women, because Allah hath made the one of them to excel the other, and because they spend of their property (for the support of women). So good women are the obedient, guarding in secret that which Allah hath guarded. As for those from whom ye fear rebellion, admonish them and banish them to beds apart, and scourge them. Then if they obey you, seek not a way against them. Lo! Allah is ever High, Exalted, Great.
SHAKIR: Men are the maintainers of women because Allah has made some of them to excel others and because they spend out of their property; the good women are therefore obedient, guarding the unseen as Allah has guarded; and (as to) those on whose part you fear desertion, admonish them, and leave them alone in the sleeping-places and beat them; then if they obey you, do not seek a way against them; surely Allah is High, Great.
No evidence needed. Look! They all say 'you fear'. The mere suspicion... Beat her!
and the hadith confirms this!
Book 11, Number 2142:
Narrated Umar ibn al-Khattab:
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: A man will not be asked as to why he beat his wife.
http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/abudawud/011.sat.html <<--#2142 note the word 'fundamentals' in the link! religion of peace???? This is sharia law!
cant find it on the page? press control and F at the same time on your keyboard on the usc.edu page, a little box comes up, type in the words 'beat his wife' and bingo... there it is.
Note that the arabic word waidriboo is used in both 4:34 and 8:12 and in both verses it is used to refer to physically striking. (waidriboohunna is the feminine plural ie; them - wives)
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http://www.exmuslima.com/portal.php?topic_id=4
Muslim Clerics on the Religious Rulings Regarding Wife-Beating By Steven Stalinsky & Y. Yehoshua*. Introduction On January 14, 2004, Sheikh Muhammad Kamal Mustafa, the imam of the mosque of the city of Fuengirola, Costa del Sol, was sentenced by a Barcelona court to a 15 month suspended sentence and fined € 2160 for publishing his book 'The Woman in Islam.' In this book, the Egyptian-born Sheikh Mustafa writes, among other things, on wife-beating in accordance with Shar'ia law.
On pages 86-87, Mustafa states: "The [wife-]beating must never be in exaggerated, blind anger, in order to avoid serious harm [to the woman]." He adds, "It is forbidden to beat her on the sensitive parts of her body, such as the face, breast, abdomen, and head. Instead, she should be beaten on the arms and legs," using a "rod that must not be stiff, but slim and lightweight so that no wounds, scars, or bruises are caused." Similarly, "[the blows] must not be hard." [1]
Mustafa noted in his book that the aim of the beating was to cause the woman to feel some emotional pain, without humiliating her or harming her physically. According to him, wife-beating must be the last resort to which the husband turns in punishing his wife, and is, according to the Qur'an, Chapter 4, Verse 34, the husband's third step when the wife is rebellious: First, he must reprimand her, without anger. Next, he must distance her from the conjugal bed. Only if these two methods fail should the husband turn to beating.
In his verdict, the judge said that Sheikh Mustafa's book contained incitement to violence against women, that today's society is completely different from society 1400 years ago, and that the sections of the book in which the sheikh wrote of wife-beating constitute a violation of the penal code and of women's constitutional rights. In his defense, Sheikh Mustafa's attorney argued that his client was not expressing his personal opinion, but only reiterating the writings of Islam from the 13th and 19th centuries. [2]
The book, which sold around 3,000 copies in Islamic cultural centers across Spain, was removed from the shelves. [3]
The following report will review the writings and statements of Muslim clerics and of other Islamic religious institutions that instead of condemning wife-beating, discuss it as a legitimate way of "disciplining" the wife, based on the Qur'an (4:34).
Sheikh Yousef Qaradhawi: 'It is Permissible For The Husband to Beat Her Lightly' Sheikh Yousef Qaradhawi, one of the most influential clerics in Sunni Islam and head of the European Council for Fatwa and Research, has advocated non-painful wife-beating.
In his 1984 book 'The Lawful and the Prohibited in Islam,' he wrote: "Because of his natural ability and his responsibility for providing for his family, the man is the head of the house and of the family. He is entitled to the obedience and cooperation of his wife, and accordingly it is not permissible for her to rebel against his authority, causing disruption. Without a captain the ship of the household will flounder and sink.
"If the husband senses that feelings of disobedience and rebelliousness are rising against him in his wife, he should try his best to rectify her attitude by kind words, gentle persuasion, and reasoning with her. If this is not helpful, he should sleep apart from her, trying to awaken her agreeable feminine nature so that serenity may be restored, and she may respond to him in a harmonious fashion. If this approach fails, it is permissible for him to beat her lightly with his hands, avoiding her face and other sensitive parts. In no case should he resort to using a stick or any other instrument that might cause pain and injury.Rather, this 'beating' should be of the kind which the Prophet (peace be on him) once, when angry with his servant, mentioned to him, saying, 'If it were not for the fear of retaliation on the Day of Resurrection, I would have beaten you with this miswak (tooth-cleaning stick)' [as reported by Ibn Majah and by Ibn Hibban, in his Sahih].
"The Prophet (pbuh) admonished men concerning beating their wives, saying 'None of you must beat his wife as a slave is beaten and then have intercourse with her at the end of the day.'
"It was reported to the Prophet (pbuh) that some of his Companions beat their wives, whereupon he said, 'Certainly those are not the best among you [as reported by Ahmad, Abu Daoud, and al-Nisai. Ibn Hibban and Al-Hakim classify it as sound, as narrated by Iyas ibn 'Abdullah ibn Abu Dhiab].'
"Says Imam Al-Hafiz ibn Hajar, 'The saying of the Prophet (pbuh), 'The best among you do not beat,' could imply that beating wives is in general permissible. To be specific, one may beat only to safeguard Islamic behavior and if he (the husband) sees deviation only in what she must do or obey in relation to him. It is preferable to warn (her) or something of the sort, and as long as it is possible to achieve things through warning, any use of force is disallowed because force generates hatred, which is inimical to the harmony expected in marriage. Force is applied only when sin against Allah Ta'alah (masiyah) is feared. Al-Nasai has reported 'Aishah as saying, 'The Prophet (pbuh) never beat any of his wives or servants; in fact, he did not strike anything with his hand except in the cause of Allah or when the prohibitions of Allah were violated, and he retaliated on behalf of Allah.'
"If all these approaches fail, and the rift between the husband and wife deepens, the matter then devolves on the Islamic society for solution. Two individuals of good will and sound judgment, one from the wife's and one from the husband's side, should meet with the couple in order to try to resolve their differences. Perhaps the sincerity of their efforts may bear fruit and Allah may bring about reconciliation between the spouses." [4]
On the Al-Jazeera weekly program 'The Shar'ia and Life' of October 5, 1997, Al-Qaradhawisaid: "Beating is permitted [to the man] in the most limited of cases, and only in a case when the wife rebels against her husband… The beating, of course, will not be with a whip, a stick, or a board. The beating will be according to what the Prophet said to a servant girl who annoyed him on a particular matter, 'If it were not for fear of punishment in the Hereafter, I would have beaten you with this miswak.'
"Likewise, the beating must come only after admonishment, and expelling [the wife] from the bed [as is said in the Qur'an 4:34], 'Admonish them, leave them alone in their beds, and beat them.'
He also said: "Beating is not suitable for every wife; it is suitable for certain wives and for other wives it is not. There is a woman who cannot agree to being beaten, and sees this as humiliation, while some women enjoy the beating and for them, only beating to cause them sorrow is suitable…
"The Prophet said about those who beat their wives: 'Those are not the best among you.' The respectable and honest Muslim man does not beat his wife, and his hand is not accustomed to beating. If [the husband] beats [his wife] he must beat her in the way of which we spoke. He must refrain from beating her in sensitive places or on her face." [5]
In a Fatwa posted on http://www.islamonline.net,/ Qaradhawi said on the same matter: "It is forbidden to beat the woman, unless it is necessary, and she 'is in a state of rebellion' against the husband and flouts him. This is temporary discipline [ta'adib] that is permitted to him according to the Qur'an in exceptional circumstances, when other efforts of admonishing [the wife] have failed and removing her from the bed as Allah said: 'As to those women on whose part you fear disloyalty and ill-conduct, admonish them (first), (next), refuse to share their beds, (and last) beat them; but if they return to obedience, seek not against them pretexts (for annoyance): for Allah is Most High, Great (above you all).'[Qur'an 4:34] Despite this permission for the hour of necessity, the Prophet said: 'The good men from among you do not beat [their wives].'" [6]
Islamic Affairs Department of Saudi Arabia's Washington, DC Embassy: Men Have a Supervisory Authority because of Their Physical Advantages
According to the website of the embassy of Saudi Arabia's [7] Islamic Affairs Department (IAD), [8] wife-beating is permitted in accordance with Qur'anic verses and Hadiths used by the IAD to explain the rights a husband has over his wives: [9] "The husband's rights on his wife are greater than hers over him." Another source states, "Men have a supervisory authority on account of the physical advantage they possess…" [10] It is also stated, "When the husband calls his wife to his bed and she disobeys, and he spends the night in anger against her, the angels keep cursing her till the morning." [11] In addition, "If a woman dies while her husband was pleased with her," it is explained that "she will enter into Paradise." [12]
The IAD explains that the Qur'an [13] authorizes a husband to beat his "disobedient wife." Like many sources in modern Islamic history, the IAD tries – by basing its interpretation on Hadith – to explain this authority as limited in circumstances as well as in harshness (i.e. limited to use of small, non-harmful methods, such as beating with a toothpick). [14]
If a woman does not follow authority, the IAD explains at what point men are allowed to discipline her: "The maximum disciplining measure is limited by the following: a) It must be seen as a rare exception to the repeated exhortation of mutual respect, kindness and good treatment. Based on the Qur'an and Hadith, this disciplining measure may be used in the case of lewdness on the part of the wife or extreme refraction and rejection of the husband's reasonable requests on a consistent basis. Even then other measures such as exhortation should be tried first. b) As defined by the Hadith, it is not permissible to strike anyone's face, cause any bodily harm or even be harsh. What the Hadith qualified as dharban ghayra mubarrih, or light beating, was interpreted by early jurists as a (symbolical) use of the miswak." [15]
Prominent Muslim-American Leader: 'Beating Does Not Mean Physical Abuse'
Answering the question: "Does Islam allow wife-beating?" Dr. Muzammil H. Siddiqi, former president of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) stated: "It is important that a wife recognizes the authority of her husband in the house. He is the head of the household, and she is supposed to listen to him. But the husband should also use his authority with respect and kindness towards his wife. If there arises any disagreement or dispute among them, then it should be resolved in a peaceful manner. Spouses should seek the counsel of their elders and other respectable family members and friends to batch up the rift and solve the differences.
"However, in some cases a husband may use some light disciplinary action in order to correct the moral infraction of his wife, but this is only applicable in extreme cases and it should be resorted to if one is sure it would improve the situation. However, if there is a fear that it might worsen the relationship or may wreak havoc on him or the family, then he should avoid it completely."
According to Siddiqi, "The Qur'an is very clear on this issue. Almighty Allah says: ' Men are the protectors and maintainers of women, because Allah has given the one more strength than the other, and because they support them from their means. Therefore the righteous women are devoutly obedient and guard in the husband's absence what Allah would have them to guard. As to those women on whose part you fear disloyalty and ill-conduct, admonish them (first), (next), refuse to share their beds, (and last) beat them (lightly); but if they return to obedience, seek not against them means (of annoyance); for Allah is most High and Great (above you all). If you fear a breach between them twain, appoint (two) arbiters, one from his family and the other from hers. If they wish for peace, Allah will cause their reconciliation; for Allah has full knowledge and is acquainted with all things. (4:34-35)'
"It is important to read the section fully. One should not take part of the verse and use it to justify one's own misconduct. This verse neither permits violence nor condones it. It guides us to ways to handle [a] delicate family situation with care and wisdom. The word 'beating' is used in the verse, but it does not mean 'physical abuse.' The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) explained it 'dharban ghayra mubarrih,' which means 'a light tap that leaves no mark.' He further said that [the] face must be avoided. Some other scholars are of the view that it is no more than a light touch by siwak, or toothbrush." Siddiqi cites a Hadith to use caution when beating one's wife: "Generally, the Prophet (pbuh) used to discourage his followers from taking even this measure. He never hit any female, and he used to say that the best of men are those who do not hit their wives. In one Hadith he expressed his extreme repulsion from this behavior and said, ' How does anyone of you beat his wife as he beats the stallion camel and then embrace (sleep with) her?' (Al-Bukhari, English Translation, vol. 8, Hadith 68, pp. 42-43)" Siddiqi adds: "It is also important to note that even this 'light strike' mentioned in the verse is not to be used to correct some minor problem, but it is permissible to resort to only in a situation of some serious moral misconduct when admonishing the wife fails, and avoiding from sleeping with her would not help. If this disciplinary action can correct a situation and save the marriage, then one should use it." [16]
Saudi TV Show: Disciplining Wives and Children Jasem Muhammad Al-Mutawah, an expert on family matters in Islam, hosts a show on Saudi Arabia's Iqraa TV. [17] In one episode, Al-Mutawa discussed wife-beating while holding a 10-foot pool cue which he said some couples keep in the home. The following are excerpts of one episode; to view in RealPlayer visit: http://stream.realimpact.net/rihurl.ram?file=realimpact/memri/memri_10-30-02_08.rm
Al-Mutawah opened the show by explaining: "Imposing discipline within the family is the right of the husband towards his wife, as it is the right of the wife towards the husband. As has always been our custom, on every program we present stories from the home of the Prophet Muhammad and how these stories serve the topic of our program. All the Prophet Muhammad's wives united against him on the matter of meeting their material needs because they had asked for more money, and demanded to live a life of luxury, but the Prophet told them: 'I cannot; this is my material level and this is what I am capable of giving.' On this point the Prophet was resolute, but they insisted on receiving a raise.
"The Prophet, to discipline them, banished them (from his bed) for 30 days until 'Omar Ibn Al-Khattab intervened, to present to the Prophet the wives' desires. But the Prophet was insistent, and then 'Omar Ibn Al-Khattab said to the Prophet: 'Your wives have relinquished their demand'… How did the Prophet handle the matter? With wisdom and calmness. The Prophet did not handle the matter with a rod. We have a proverb that says what? The proverb says: The rod… Ah? The rod for whom? 'The rod is for the disobedient.' What do you think, is it true or not? This is a small rod. I want to take now the large rod… this is not even a rod… Look at this rod with me, look… look… Some husbands and wives keep such rods at home."
Al-Mutawah explains when using the rod is allowed and also on what types of wood they are made from: "I once heard someone say that whenever he has a problem at home he has a very long rod like this. The moment my wife makes a mistake towards me, what I do to her with this rod… We say, then, that the proverb, 'The rod is for the disobedient' is, in truth, a perception that is wrong. On the contrary: The rod destroys our life and our homes. We should solve our problems with dialogue, in truth, we must solve our problems, with mutual understanding because we are human, civilized people. Therefore, every problem in marriage, or every educational problem, we encounter we handle with mutual understanding… The Qur'an states: First of all guidance, advice, and admonition; then, banishment from the bed, and then 'beat them.' When the Qur'an presented this verse, it did not present it for all cases, but for one case out of all ways of female behavior – the case of disobedience. Let's assume that one man, his wife made a mistake, then he comes and says to her: 'I implement the Qur'an on you – advice, banishment, and beatings.' No, brothers, no, sisters… this is a misunderstanding of the religion. So, how should we deal with the other party when they behave with obstinacy and arrogance? How will we impose discipline and change the behavior?
"There is a wife with whom using hard words is useful, and there is a wife with whom it is not. There is a wife with whom using quiet, good words is useful, in contrast, there is a wife with whom if you use hard words her obstinacy will only increase, and thus the problem will get worse. In contrast, there is a wife with whom the situation is the opposite: If you use calm words with her, she will not grasp them, and the problem will continue… We all know that Allah has given authority to the man, including admonishing and guiding the wife in cases of disobedience, banishing her from the bed, and then – the beatings. What is your opinion on the matter?…"
Dr. Muhammad Al-Hajj, lecturer on Islamic faith at the University of Jordan (Amman) was a guest on the show. His opening statement discussed disciplining one's wife: "We in Islam see the family as an institution, an institution that must succeed. This institution has foundations, and it has the elements for its success. Allah gave the management of this institution to the man. This is the concept of guardianship. Guardianship in Islam does not mean repression, concerning which there are penal and moral laws. The issue is who directs this institution, because two people cannot drive a car – there must be one driver. Islam has given the wheel of this car, the car of the family, to the man. The verse discussing the handling of problems that may crop up in the family is included in the passage discussing guardianship: 'Men are the guardians of women,' and then Allah says, 'Admonish those of them on whose part you fear disobedience, and banish them from the beds, and beat them. Then, if they obey you, do not seek a pretext to hurt them.' The order that appears in this verse is a wise order. It is not possible to move to the second stage before the first stage, or to the third stage before the second. The wonderful thing in this verse is that it mentioned this solution for the case of disobedience."
The following are excerpts from the episode:
Guest: "We are not talking about a man imposing discipline every day, asking any little thing of her, and she refuses, and then he banishes her or beats her. Such a thing does not exist in Islam at all."
Host: "All right, doctor, what does 'disobedience' mean?"
Guest: "Yes, Allah said, 'Those on whose part you fear disobedience.' Disobedience is defiance, rebellion, doing deplorable and ugly things about which there is a consensus among the people that they are deplorable. Therefore, not every little transgression at home, such as, she cooked something he didn't want, is considered disobedience. This is not disobedience. Punishment is limited to cases of disobedience, and for instances of making this family into hell, and into an unnatural situation. Then, in order to handle this problem, in the case of the wife's disobedience and rebellion – there must be a cure for such instances – to this end, there is this progression. First, the moment there is fear of disobedience, and even before the disobedience itself happens, comes the stage of admonition: admonition by mentioning Allah, mentioning the rights of the couple, mentioning the continuation of the family and the children's future…"
Host: "And the admonition continues for a long time, not a day or two…"
Guest: "No, no. Obviously, the admonition cannot end in a day or two. It must continue for a significant period, during which all means of persuasion are exhausted."
Host: "The admonition must be done with words, or the [husband] can use a cassette, a video film, a book, a meeting, a course, a magazine…"
Guest: "All these means are included in the method of admonition, which can include also enticements through money or gifts…"
Host: "He can get her an Internet program, so she will learn…"
Guest: "He can remind her of matters concerning this world and the world to come. All these are included in this admonition. And if this wife continues in her rebelliousness…"
Host: "After a long time…"
Guest: "Yes, yes. After all these attempts at persuasion with gentle language, there is still danger of corruption for the family…"
Host: "And the wife continues in her rebelliousness…"
Guest: "And the wife continues in her rebelliousness, there comes another stage, and this is the stage of banishing her from the bed, which is aimed at giving her a sense that 'I am not happy.'" Host: "Yes."
Guest: "And if she persists and he gives her another chance during this same period and she continues for months, and sometimes even for years, with her refusal and rebellion here is revealed the wisdom of Islam: another means must be introduced. This is the means of the not-hard beatings, and the condition 'not hard' appears in the texts, it is not an interpretation. It is said in the Hadiths of the Prophet that we are talking of 'not-hard' beatings…"
Host: "What is the difference between 'hard' and 'not-hard?'"
Guest: "Hard beatings are those that leave marks on the body or on the face. Thus, beating on the face is prohibited, because the face is a combination of the features of beauty, as it is said. It is forbidden to beat the face, it is forbidden to administer blows that leave fractures or wounds this is what our sages have said in their books."
Host: "Doctor, the Qur'anic verse directs the husband in how to deal with a disobedient wife while if the husband is disobedient, let us assume now the husband is the rebellious one, the husband does not listen, the husband is neglectful, and the husband… rebels! The wife does not have the right to treat the husband in accordance with the three steps stated by the Qur'an. The wife, as it has been written, is restricted to admonition and guidance. She cannot banish him from the bed, and she cannot beat him. Do you not find inequality in this?"
Guest: "No, I do not find inequality in this, because as I said from the outset, the ultimate responsibility for managing the institution of family is given to the husband and therefore when the wife encounters disobedience on the part of her husband, or negative deeds, there is no doubt that she must remark on them and express her dissatisfaction with these deeds; she can go to his friends, his relatives, or her relatives so that they will take care of the problem…"
Host: "You mean that there are other means she can use to handle the husband?"
Guest: "Many means. She can, uh… She can… uh… ask him to get treatment for his problem. All these means. "However, for the situation to get to the point of beating, for example, I think that it is a kind of corruption, if, say, the wife is the one punishing her husband using beatings, because in this there is aggression against (the husband's) rule and responsibility. Besides, Islam has spared her the need to use her hand to beat, in order to preserve the woman's femininity, honor, and morality."
Host: "Doctor, we thank you for the interview and for the good words we have heard from you." Al-Mutawah ended the show with a detailed explanation of wife-beating and how to deal with Western criticism of such activity.
Host: "The interview with the doctor was most enjoyable, and it gave us some of the meanings, but I would like to add to the doctor's words the claims spreading in the West today according to which, 'You Muslims are not giving the woman her rights; how have you given the husband three means for dealing with (the wife) and not give the wife three means for dealing with the husband? Why can't the woman beat the man?! Why can't the wife banish the husband from bed?!' And I say to you that anyone who studies Islamic religious law – who said that the wife cannot banish the husband from the bed in Islamic law?! Who said that the woman has no right to beat the man?! Do you want me to give you a lesson in Islamic religious law? Read the Islamic religious law and you will see that Islamic religious law gave women this right. There is, therefore, equality. Besides, on the subject of disobedience, there is no doubt that we are speaking of exceptional cases, as we have shown. And this, by the way, is an issue of choice – it is not compulsory. That is, even if the wife of a particular husband is disobedient, is he obliged to admonish and advise, to banish her from the bed, or to beat her? No, he is not obliged. If he says: 'By Allah, I have a brilliant idea that is not included in the three steps,' will we tell him: 'You cannot carry it out?' No, it is not prohibited. He may carry it out. Islamic religious law, therefore, comes to guide; the law comes to protect the family and stability… Therefore, although Islamic religious law permitted beatings, the sages came and discussed the subject of beatings. The most extreme of them was Ibn 'Abbas. I want to show you something that I keep in my pocket. Allah be praised, look… Ibn 'Abbas said that the husband must beat his wife with a handkerchief. Imagine this together with me. Can one beat with rods like we saw at the beginning of the program? No! He beats using a handkerchief! This is the interpretation of Ibn 'Abbas, which is an extreme interpretation. Another interpretation of the sages is that he beat his wife using toothpicks. This is because the point of the beatings is not revenge.
"If the beatings were for the purpose of revenge, the husband would sin. The point of the beatings is to convey a message: 'Oh so and so, I am not happy,' 'Oh so and so, behave yourself, behave like you should.' This is the lesson. Therefore, why did Ibn 'Abbas say that she should be beaten with a handkerchief? Can any of you believe this? Westerners are now coming to us complaining about the matter of beatings. All right, it doesn't happen among us that a wife dies because of husband's beating. And if something like this does happen in our society, it is considered rare, and all the newspapers talk of it, true or not? In contrast, the latest U.N. statistics from 1999-2000 say that every 12 seconds in the U.S. a wife is beaten by her husband and in some instances these beatings reach the point of killing the wife. Therefore, when the Westerners bring up complaints against us regarding our affairs, why shouldn't we be strong and bring up complaints against them regarding their affairs? Despite the existence of the verse in the Qur'an, no cases of death have been recorded in our society, and if there were, then these were rare cases. In contrast, they are without verse, religious law, or law, and despite this, every 12 seconds a wife is beaten by her husband! What is better?! A man must know… Therefore, when we have a dialogue with the West, we must talk with them based on foundations, based on culture, based on thought. That is one thing. Second, when they come and say to us that Islam gave the wife the right that her husband will banish her from the bed, but the wife does not banish the husband – Who said so?!
"The wife, in two instances, has the right to banish her husband from the bed. The first instance is if he asks to have sex with her in a place forbidden by religious law, let's say the anus and the second instance is if he behaves towards the wife in an offensive manner during sex. Then she is permitted to banish him from the bed. And who said that the wife has no right to beat her husband? This too is permitted her. This appears in a very important study by Dr. Muhammad Said Ramadan Al-Bouti. He said that Islam protects the soul of the woman, defends her biological structure. Her build is weaker than the man's and if Islam gave the wife the right to beat her husband – by Allah, her husband would break her! True or not? The husband with his build and muscles – the wife cannot handle him.
"But Islam gave the woman the right that the husband will be beaten by someone on her behalf. The husband is beaten by a man, and then the battle is waged between two men, and not between a man and a woman. Between two men. Therefore, if the husband scorned the wife, humiliated her, or treated her disrespectfully, the wife can go to court, and then the judge rules the wife her right. And so, if the wife wants the husband to be beaten, he will be beaten! But he will be beaten by court order, and then the battle is waged between the judge and the husband, and not between the husband and the wife, within the home. Therefore, my brothers and sisters, the matter must be discussed realistically and logically. If husband and wife … even in one of the psychology conferences, when they presented this Qur'anic verse, there was a psychiatrist who converted to Islam because of this verse. He said: 'This is the first time that I see, in the holy book of a monotheistic religion, a social and psychological problem being handled by the Qur'an.' We all know that some men are afflicted with a mental illness known as 'sadism' and some women are also afflicted with a mental illness known as 'masochism.' What is the treatment for these mental illnesses? Beatings! He must treat her harshly! Even one of the sages claimed that this verse descended for those afflicted with this mental illness. Therefore, a husband married to a wife afflicted by this illness, let's say sadism – well, let him beat her because the beatings, for her, are a cure."
Study of Egyptian Government TV: Viewers Believe 'Women Deserve to be Beaten'
The May 22-28, 2003 issue of Al-Ahram Weekly featured an article by Lina Mahmoud on violence against women shown on Egyptian television. The article focused on the results of a media monitoring project conducted by the New Woman Research Center (NWRC) and the Media House (MH), an independent production company. According to the article, the project, which monitored 18 television dramas [18] shown on Egyptian national television during Ramadan 2002, is the first of its magnitude to study the portrayal of violence against women in Egyptian media. The following are excerpts from the article as it appeared in English:
"The group counted the number of cases of violence shown on the programs. The study was conducted during the month of Ramadan because it is the month with the highest television viewer rates. According to Nalwa [sic] Darwish [of the NWRC], 'Audiovisual media has a great influence in shaping the collective consciousness of Egyptians. The extremely high illiteracy rates in Egypt, among women in particular, give media an uncontested role in dictating people's behaviour and ideas…'
"The report of the findings of the study shows that all of the programs reviewed last Ramadan included scenes of violence against women. 'The problem is that those who perpetuate the violence are the heroes of the episodes, are those who are closest to the hearts of the audience and hence have the largest impact on them,' said the report.
"The report also addressed the ways viewers react to violence. Just as disturbing as the portrayals of violence against women is the lack of public outrage to them. In many cases, observers responded with either indifference or approval, making such aggression seem commonplace or justifiable.
"The majority of the women portrayed in the television episodes were housewives, followed by a large number of students. Unemployed individuals comprised 5.1 percent of the characters. The report argued that this is not an accurate representation and that the actual unemployment rate for women is much higher… Many of the soap operas featured educated characters, particularly university graduates, ignoring the fact that half of the Egyptian population is illiterate.
"Beating was the most prevalent mode of physical violence against women in the dramas, accounting for 42 percent of all physical aggression. Other forms of violence included killing (13.1 percent) and forms of sexual abuse. Incidents of verbal and sexual harassment were found in many of the shows and withholding sex from wives was portrayed as a form of punishment.
"In all of the cases of violence against women, 41.9 percent of the 'heroines' displayed active resistance, whereas 31.1 percent accepted the abuse. This resistance was usually verbal in form, although one woman reacted by killing herself and another became physically paralyzed. Further, 67.3 per cent of the men who acted violently against women displayed no remorse. Thirty percent felt guilty and shameful.
"Most of the women in the programs played negative roles. The few women who were portrayed positively were shown as naïve or harmless wives, lovers, and mothers.
"Darwish expressed her uneasiness at the results of the report. 'In 12 serials, there were 500 violent episodes. This means there are one or two scenes of violence in each part of a serial. This is too much. Moreover, not a single series was free of violence against women.'
"After the completion of the report, a documentary was filmed in which people were questioned about their reactions to violence in television dramas. 'Women deserve to be beaten,' responded one viewer. 'A husband should beat his wife if she does something wrong,' said another. One woman said that 'men are so cruel to women. They should be merciful.' A young man commented that beating a woman makes her 'more stubborn.'
"The meeting convened by the NWRC and MH [in which the study results were released] posed several important questions. What is required of the media? Should the media portray violence against women? Should television programs condemn violence against women or reflect it as it is? Most everyone seemed to agree, however, that television should stop stereotyping women negatively and avoid showing violence against women in a positive light." [19]
Muslim-Canadian Professor Explains: "There Are Cases, However, In Which A Wife Persists In Bad Habits"
Dr. Jamal Badawi, professor at Saint Mary's University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and a cross-appointed faculty member in the Departments of Religious Studies and Management, has also explained that Islam allows beating ones wife. Badawi explains which circumstances permit "striking" a disobedient wife:
"If the problem relates to the wife's behavior, the husband may exhort her and appeal for reason. In most cases, this measure is likely to be sufficient. In cases where the problem persists, the husband may express his displeasure in another peaceful manner, by sleeping in a separate bed from hers. There are cases, however, in which a wife persists in bad habits and showing contempt of her husband and disregard for her marital obligations. Instead of divorce, the husband may resort to another measure that may save the marriage, at least in some cases. Such a measure is more accurately described as a gentle tap on the body, but never on the face, making it more of a symbolic measure than a punitive one.
Dr. Badawi elaborates on six instances regarding the permissibility of wife-beating as follows:
"a) It must be seen as a rare exception to the repeated exhortation of mutual respect, kindness and good treatment. Based on the Qur'an and Hadith, this measure may be used in the cases of lewdness on the part of the wife or extreme refraction and rejection of the husband's reasonable requests on a consistent basis (nushuz). Even then, other measures, such as exhortation, should be tried first. "
b) As defined by Hadith, it is not permissible to strike anyone's face, cause any bodily harm or even be harsh. What the Hadith qualifies as dharban ghayra mubarrih, or light striking, was interpreted by early jurists as a (symbolic) use of siwak! They further qualified permissible 'striking' as that which leaves no mark on the body. It is interesting that this latter fourteen-centuries-old qualifier is the criterion used in contemporary American law to separate a light and harmless tap or strike from 'abuse' in the legal sense. This makes it clear that even this extreme, last resort, and 'lesser of the two evils' measure that may save a marriage does not meet the definitions of 'physical abuse,' 'family violence,' or 'wife battering' in the 20th century law in liberal democracies, where such extremes are so commonplace that they are seen as national concerns. "
c) The permissibility of such symbolic expression of the seriousness of continued refraction does not imply its desirability. In several Hadiths, the Prophet (pbuh) discouraged this measure. Here are some of his sayings in this regard: 'Do not beat the female servants of Allah'; 'Some (women) visited my family complaining about their husbands (beating them). These (husbands) are not the best of you.' In another Hadith the Prophet (pbuh) is reported to have said: 'How does any one of you beat his wife as he beats the stallion camel and then he may embrace (sleep with) her?' "
d) True following of the Sunnah is to follow the example of the Prophet (pbuh) who never resorted to that measure, regardless of the circumstances. "
e) Islamic teachings are universal in nature. They respond to the needs and circumstances of diverse times, cultures and circumstances. Some measures may work in some cases and cultures or with certain persons but may not be effective in others. By definition, a 'permissible' act is neither required, encouraged, or forbidden. In fact it may be to spell out the extent of permissibility, such as in the issue at hand, rather than leaving it unrestricted or unqualified, or ignoring it all together. In the absence of strict qualifiers, persons may interpret the matter in their own way, which can lead to excesses and real abuse. "
f) Any excess, cruelty, family violence, or abuse committed by any 'Muslim' can never be traced, honestly, to any revelatory text (Qur'an or Hadith). Such excesses and violations are to be blamed on the person(s) himself, as it shows that they are paying lip service to Islamic teachings and injunctions and failing to follow the true Sunnah of the Prophet (pbuh)." [20]
*Steven Stalinsky is Executive Director of MEMRI; Y. Yehoshua is a Research Fellow at MEMRI.
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[1] http://www.sudaneseonline.com/cgi-bin/sdb/2bb.cgi?seq=msg&board=1058187705&rn-1.
[2] In a similar incident, a Turkish state-funded religious foundation published retired Turkish cleric Kemal Guran's 'The Muslim's Handbook'(2000) which recommended wife-beating but warns "not to strike the women's face, but to hit her gently elsewhere." At the time of the book's release, Turkish parliamentarian Ferda Cilalioglu called it "scandalous" and "insane." (www.islamonline.com, August 13, 2000).
[3] Roz Al-Yousef (Egypt), January 30, 2004.
[4] Al-Qaradawi, Yusuf. The Lawful and the Prohibited in Islam. Kuwait: International Islamic Federation of Student Organization, 1984. p.205-206.
[5] Al-Jazeera (Qatar), October 5, 1977. http://www.aljazeera.net/programs/shareea/articles/2003/5/5-28-6.htm.
[6] Islam Online, http://www.islamonline.net/fatwa/arabicFatwaDisplay.asp?hFatwaID=1484
[7] The Saudi Gazette reports that t he issue of wife-beating is a pressing one among Muslims in the Middle East as well. 300 women recently initiated a lawsuit against their husbands for "brutal beating and unjustified physical abuse. Saudi Gazette, March 3, 2004.
[8] MEMRI Special Report No. 23, November 26, 2003, ' The Islamic Affairs Department of the Saudi Embassy in Washington, D.C. '
[9] In Saudi Arabia today, women are denied certain rights and privileges afforded to male citizens. Women are denied the right to drive a car, to obtain a state identification without the consent and presence of a male guardian, or to travel outside the country without the permission a male guardian.
[10] IAD website: "Rights Dictated by Nature: Rights of Both Spouses on Each Other."
[11] IAD website: "Rights Dictated by Nature: Rights of Both Spouses on Each Other." The IAD cites Qur'anic verse 4:129.
[12] IAD website: "Rights Dictated by Nature: Rights of Both Spouses on Each Other."
[13] The IAD cites Qur'an 4:34.
[14] IAD website: "Women in Islam." [15] IAD website: "Gender Equity in Islam."
[16] Islam Online, http://www.islamonline.net/fatwa/english/FatwaDisplay.asp?hFatwaID=41775, June 25, 2003/July 25, 2003.
[17] IQRAA Television (Saudi Arabia), Program on Imposing Discipline in the Family: Hosted by Jasem Muhammad Al-Mutawah, Expert on Family Matters, May 9, 2002, http://stream.realimpact.net/rihurl.ram?file=realimpact/memri/memri_10-30-02_08.rm.
[18] "Among the serials were Asa'd Ragul fi Al-Alam (The Happiest Man in the World), Al-Atar wa Al-Saba'a Banat (The Herbalist and His Seven Daughters), Qassem Amin, Ayna Qalbi (Where is My Heart?), Amira fi Abdeen (A Princess in Abdeen), together with six films shown on the two main Egyptian channels, Channel One and Channel Two. Among these films were Al Hafid (the Grandson), Al Zawga 13 (Wife Number 13)."
[19] Al-Ahram Weekly (Egypt), May 22-28, 2003, http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/print/2003/639/fe3.htm. See MEMRI Special Dispatch 522, June 13, 2003, 'Egyptian Television's Portrayal of Excessive Violence Against Women.'
[20] Islam Online, http://www.islamonline.net/fatwa/english/FatwaDisplay.asp?hFatwaID=41775, June 25, 2003/July 25, 2003. Source: http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=archives&Area=sr&ID=SR2704
http://www.memritv.org/default.asp watch clip #1154
source: http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/004.qmt.html#004.034
004.034 YUSUFALI: Men are the protectors and maintainers of women, because Allah has given the one more (strength) than the other, and because they support them from their means. Therefore the righteous women are devoutly obedient, and guard in (the husband's) absence what Allah would have them guard. As to those women on whose part ye fear disloyalty and ill-conduct, admonish them (first), (Next), refuse to share their beds, (And last) beat them (lightly); but if they return to obedience, seek not against them Means (of annoyance): For Allah is Most High, great (above you all).
PICKTHAL: Men are in charge of women, because Allah hath made the one of them to excel the other, and because they spend of their property (for the support of women). So good women are the obedient, guarding in secret that which Allah hath guarded. As for those from whom ye fear rebellion, admonish them and banish them to beds apart, and scourge them. Then if they obey you, seek not a way against them. Lo! Allah is ever High, Exalted, Great.
SHAKIR: Men are the maintainers of women because Allah has made some of them to excel others and because they spend out of their property; the good women are therefore obedient, guarding the unseen as Allah has guarded; and (as to) those on whose part you fear desertion, admonish them, and leave them alone in the sleeping-places and beat them; then if they obey you, do not seek a way against them; surely Allah is High, Great.
No evidence needed. Look! They all say 'you fear'. The mere suspicion... Beat her!
and the hadith confirms this!
Book 11, Number 2142:
Narrated Umar ibn al-Khattab:
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: A man will not be asked as to why he beat his wife.
http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/abudawud/011.sat.html <<--#2142 note the word 'fundamentals' in the link! religion of peace???? This is sharia law!
cant find it on the page? press control and F at the same time on your keyboard on the usc.edu page, a little box comes up, type in the words 'beat his wife' and bingo... there it is.
Note that the arabic word waidriboo is used in both 4:34 and 8:12 and in both verses it is used to refer to physically striking. (waidriboohunna is the feminine plural ie; them - wives)
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http://www.exmuslima.com/portal.php?topic_id=4
Muslim Clerics on the Religious Rulings Regarding Wife-Beating By Steven Stalinsky & Y. Yehoshua*. Introduction On January 14, 2004, Sheikh Muhammad Kamal Mustafa, the imam of the mosque of the city of Fuengirola, Costa del Sol, was sentenced by a Barcelona court to a 15 month suspended sentence and fined € 2160 for publishing his book 'The Woman in Islam.' In this book, the Egyptian-born Sheikh Mustafa writes, among other things, on wife-beating in accordance with Shar'ia law.
On pages 86-87, Mustafa states: "The [wife-]beating must never be in exaggerated, blind anger, in order to avoid serious harm [to the woman]." He adds, "It is forbidden to beat her on the sensitive parts of her body, such as the face, breast, abdomen, and head. Instead, she should be beaten on the arms and legs," using a "rod that must not be stiff, but slim and lightweight so that no wounds, scars, or bruises are caused." Similarly, "[the blows] must not be hard." [1]
Mustafa noted in his book that the aim of the beating was to cause the woman to feel some emotional pain, without humiliating her or harming her physically. According to him, wife-beating must be the last resort to which the husband turns in punishing his wife, and is, according to the Qur'an, Chapter 4, Verse 34, the husband's third step when the wife is rebellious: First, he must reprimand her, without anger. Next, he must distance her from the conjugal bed. Only if these two methods fail should the husband turn to beating.
In his verdict, the judge said that Sheikh Mustafa's book contained incitement to violence against women, that today's society is completely different from society 1400 years ago, and that the sections of the book in which the sheikh wrote of wife-beating constitute a violation of the penal code and of women's constitutional rights. In his defense, Sheikh Mustafa's attorney argued that his client was not expressing his personal opinion, but only reiterating the writings of Islam from the 13th and 19th centuries. [2]
The book, which sold around 3,000 copies in Islamic cultural centers across Spain, was removed from the shelves. [3]
The following report will review the writings and statements of Muslim clerics and of other Islamic religious institutions that instead of condemning wife-beating, discuss it as a legitimate way of "disciplining" the wife, based on the Qur'an (4:34).
Sheikh Yousef Qaradhawi: 'It is Permissible For The Husband to Beat Her Lightly' Sheikh Yousef Qaradhawi, one of the most influential clerics in Sunni Islam and head of the European Council for Fatwa and Research, has advocated non-painful wife-beating.
In his 1984 book 'The Lawful and the Prohibited in Islam,' he wrote: "Because of his natural ability and his responsibility for providing for his family, the man is the head of the house and of the family. He is entitled to the obedience and cooperation of his wife, and accordingly it is not permissible for her to rebel against his authority, causing disruption. Without a captain the ship of the household will flounder and sink.
"If the husband senses that feelings of disobedience and rebelliousness are rising against him in his wife, he should try his best to rectify her attitude by kind words, gentle persuasion, and reasoning with her. If this is not helpful, he should sleep apart from her, trying to awaken her agreeable feminine nature so that serenity may be restored, and she may respond to him in a harmonious fashion. If this approach fails, it is permissible for him to beat her lightly with his hands, avoiding her face and other sensitive parts. In no case should he resort to using a stick or any other instrument that might cause pain and injury.Rather, this 'beating' should be of the kind which the Prophet (peace be on him) once, when angry with his servant, mentioned to him, saying, 'If it were not for the fear of retaliation on the Day of Resurrection, I would have beaten you with this miswak (tooth-cleaning stick)' [as reported by Ibn Majah and by Ibn Hibban, in his Sahih].
"The Prophet (pbuh) admonished men concerning beating their wives, saying 'None of you must beat his wife as a slave is beaten and then have intercourse with her at the end of the day.'
"It was reported to the Prophet (pbuh) that some of his Companions beat their wives, whereupon he said, 'Certainly those are not the best among you [as reported by Ahmad, Abu Daoud, and al-Nisai. Ibn Hibban and Al-Hakim classify it as sound, as narrated by Iyas ibn 'Abdullah ibn Abu Dhiab].'
"Says Imam Al-Hafiz ibn Hajar, 'The saying of the Prophet (pbuh), 'The best among you do not beat,' could imply that beating wives is in general permissible. To be specific, one may beat only to safeguard Islamic behavior and if he (the husband) sees deviation only in what she must do or obey in relation to him. It is preferable to warn (her) or something of the sort, and as long as it is possible to achieve things through warning, any use of force is disallowed because force generates hatred, which is inimical to the harmony expected in marriage. Force is applied only when sin against Allah Ta'alah (masiyah) is feared. Al-Nasai has reported 'Aishah as saying, 'The Prophet (pbuh) never beat any of his wives or servants; in fact, he did not strike anything with his hand except in the cause of Allah or when the prohibitions of Allah were violated, and he retaliated on behalf of Allah.'
"If all these approaches fail, and the rift between the husband and wife deepens, the matter then devolves on the Islamic society for solution. Two individuals of good will and sound judgment, one from the wife's and one from the husband's side, should meet with the couple in order to try to resolve their differences. Perhaps the sincerity of their efforts may bear fruit and Allah may bring about reconciliation between the spouses." [4]
On the Al-Jazeera weekly program 'The Shar'ia and Life' of October 5, 1997, Al-Qaradhawisaid: "Beating is permitted [to the man] in the most limited of cases, and only in a case when the wife rebels against her husband… The beating, of course, will not be with a whip, a stick, or a board. The beating will be according to what the Prophet said to a servant girl who annoyed him on a particular matter, 'If it were not for fear of punishment in the Hereafter, I would have beaten you with this miswak.'
"Likewise, the beating must come only after admonishment, and expelling [the wife] from the bed [as is said in the Qur'an 4:34], 'Admonish them, leave them alone in their beds, and beat them.'
He also said: "Beating is not suitable for every wife; it is suitable for certain wives and for other wives it is not. There is a woman who cannot agree to being beaten, and sees this as humiliation, while some women enjoy the beating and for them, only beating to cause them sorrow is suitable…
"The Prophet said about those who beat their wives: 'Those are not the best among you.' The respectable and honest Muslim man does not beat his wife, and his hand is not accustomed to beating. If [the husband] beats [his wife] he must beat her in the way of which we spoke. He must refrain from beating her in sensitive places or on her face." [5]
In a Fatwa posted on http://www.islamonline.net,/ Qaradhawi said on the same matter: "It is forbidden to beat the woman, unless it is necessary, and she 'is in a state of rebellion' against the husband and flouts him. This is temporary discipline [ta'adib] that is permitted to him according to the Qur'an in exceptional circumstances, when other efforts of admonishing [the wife] have failed and removing her from the bed as Allah said: 'As to those women on whose part you fear disloyalty and ill-conduct, admonish them (first), (next), refuse to share their beds, (and last) beat them; but if they return to obedience, seek not against them pretexts (for annoyance): for Allah is Most High, Great (above you all).'[Qur'an 4:34] Despite this permission for the hour of necessity, the Prophet said: 'The good men from among you do not beat [their wives].'" [6]
Islamic Affairs Department of Saudi Arabia's Washington, DC Embassy: Men Have a Supervisory Authority because of Their Physical Advantages
According to the website of the embassy of Saudi Arabia's [7] Islamic Affairs Department (IAD), [8] wife-beating is permitted in accordance with Qur'anic verses and Hadiths used by the IAD to explain the rights a husband has over his wives: [9] "The husband's rights on his wife are greater than hers over him." Another source states, "Men have a supervisory authority on account of the physical advantage they possess…" [10] It is also stated, "When the husband calls his wife to his bed and she disobeys, and he spends the night in anger against her, the angels keep cursing her till the morning." [11] In addition, "If a woman dies while her husband was pleased with her," it is explained that "she will enter into Paradise." [12]
The IAD explains that the Qur'an [13] authorizes a husband to beat his "disobedient wife." Like many sources in modern Islamic history, the IAD tries – by basing its interpretation on Hadith – to explain this authority as limited in circumstances as well as in harshness (i.e. limited to use of small, non-harmful methods, such as beating with a toothpick). [14]
If a woman does not follow authority, the IAD explains at what point men are allowed to discipline her: "The maximum disciplining measure is limited by the following: a) It must be seen as a rare exception to the repeated exhortation of mutual respect, kindness and good treatment. Based on the Qur'an and Hadith, this disciplining measure may be used in the case of lewdness on the part of the wife or extreme refraction and rejection of the husband's reasonable requests on a consistent basis. Even then other measures such as exhortation should be tried first. b) As defined by the Hadith, it is not permissible to strike anyone's face, cause any bodily harm or even be harsh. What the Hadith qualified as dharban ghayra mubarrih, or light beating, was interpreted by early jurists as a (symbolical) use of the miswak." [15]
Prominent Muslim-American Leader: 'Beating Does Not Mean Physical Abuse'
Answering the question: "Does Islam allow wife-beating?" Dr. Muzammil H. Siddiqi, former president of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) stated: "It is important that a wife recognizes the authority of her husband in the house. He is the head of the household, and she is supposed to listen to him. But the husband should also use his authority with respect and kindness towards his wife. If there arises any disagreement or dispute among them, then it should be resolved in a peaceful manner. Spouses should seek the counsel of their elders and other respectable family members and friends to batch up the rift and solve the differences.
"However, in some cases a husband may use some light disciplinary action in order to correct the moral infraction of his wife, but this is only applicable in extreme cases and it should be resorted to if one is sure it would improve the situation. However, if there is a fear that it might worsen the relationship or may wreak havoc on him or the family, then he should avoid it completely."
According to Siddiqi, "The Qur'an is very clear on this issue. Almighty Allah says: ' Men are the protectors and maintainers of women, because Allah has given the one more strength than the other, and because they support them from their means. Therefore the righteous women are devoutly obedient and guard in the husband's absence what Allah would have them to guard. As to those women on whose part you fear disloyalty and ill-conduct, admonish them (first), (next), refuse to share their beds, (and last) beat them (lightly); but if they return to obedience, seek not against them means (of annoyance); for Allah is most High and Great (above you all). If you fear a breach between them twain, appoint (two) arbiters, one from his family and the other from hers. If they wish for peace, Allah will cause their reconciliation; for Allah has full knowledge and is acquainted with all things. (4:34-35)'
"It is important to read the section fully. One should not take part of the verse and use it to justify one's own misconduct. This verse neither permits violence nor condones it. It guides us to ways to handle [a] delicate family situation with care and wisdom. The word 'beating' is used in the verse, but it does not mean 'physical abuse.' The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) explained it 'dharban ghayra mubarrih,' which means 'a light tap that leaves no mark.' He further said that [the] face must be avoided. Some other scholars are of the view that it is no more than a light touch by siwak, or toothbrush." Siddiqi cites a Hadith to use caution when beating one's wife: "Generally, the Prophet (pbuh) used to discourage his followers from taking even this measure. He never hit any female, and he used to say that the best of men are those who do not hit their wives. In one Hadith he expressed his extreme repulsion from this behavior and said, ' How does anyone of you beat his wife as he beats the stallion camel and then embrace (sleep with) her?' (Al-Bukhari, English Translation, vol. 8, Hadith 68, pp. 42-43)" Siddiqi adds: "It is also important to note that even this 'light strike' mentioned in the verse is not to be used to correct some minor problem, but it is permissible to resort to only in a situation of some serious moral misconduct when admonishing the wife fails, and avoiding from sleeping with her would not help. If this disciplinary action can correct a situation and save the marriage, then one should use it." [16]
Saudi TV Show: Disciplining Wives and Children Jasem Muhammad Al-Mutawah, an expert on family matters in Islam, hosts a show on Saudi Arabia's Iqraa TV. [17] In one episode, Al-Mutawa discussed wife-beating while holding a 10-foot pool cue which he said some couples keep in the home. The following are excerpts of one episode; to view in RealPlayer visit: http://stream.realimpact.net/rihurl.ram?file=realimpact/memri/memri_10-30-02_08.rm
Al-Mutawah opened the show by explaining: "Imposing discipline within the family is the right of the husband towards his wife, as it is the right of the wife towards the husband. As has always been our custom, on every program we present stories from the home of the Prophet Muhammad and how these stories serve the topic of our program. All the Prophet Muhammad's wives united against him on the matter of meeting their material needs because they had asked for more money, and demanded to live a life of luxury, but the Prophet told them: 'I cannot; this is my material level and this is what I am capable of giving.' On this point the Prophet was resolute, but they insisted on receiving a raise.
"The Prophet, to discipline them, banished them (from his bed) for 30 days until 'Omar Ibn Al-Khattab intervened, to present to the Prophet the wives' desires. But the Prophet was insistent, and then 'Omar Ibn Al-Khattab said to the Prophet: 'Your wives have relinquished their demand'… How did the Prophet handle the matter? With wisdom and calmness. The Prophet did not handle the matter with a rod. We have a proverb that says what? The proverb says: The rod… Ah? The rod for whom? 'The rod is for the disobedient.' What do you think, is it true or not? This is a small rod. I want to take now the large rod… this is not even a rod… Look at this rod with me, look… look… Some husbands and wives keep such rods at home."
Al-Mutawah explains when using the rod is allowed and also on what types of wood they are made from: "I once heard someone say that whenever he has a problem at home he has a very long rod like this. The moment my wife makes a mistake towards me, what I do to her with this rod… We say, then, that the proverb, 'The rod is for the disobedient' is, in truth, a perception that is wrong. On the contrary: The rod destroys our life and our homes. We should solve our problems with dialogue, in truth, we must solve our problems, with mutual understanding because we are human, civilized people. Therefore, every problem in marriage, or every educational problem, we encounter we handle with mutual understanding… The Qur'an states: First of all guidance, advice, and admonition; then, banishment from the bed, and then 'beat them.' When the Qur'an presented this verse, it did not present it for all cases, but for one case out of all ways of female behavior – the case of disobedience. Let's assume that one man, his wife made a mistake, then he comes and says to her: 'I implement the Qur'an on you – advice, banishment, and beatings.' No, brothers, no, sisters… this is a misunderstanding of the religion. So, how should we deal with the other party when they behave with obstinacy and arrogance? How will we impose discipline and change the behavior?
"There is a wife with whom using hard words is useful, and there is a wife with whom it is not. There is a wife with whom using quiet, good words is useful, in contrast, there is a wife with whom if you use hard words her obstinacy will only increase, and thus the problem will get worse. In contrast, there is a wife with whom the situation is the opposite: If you use calm words with her, she will not grasp them, and the problem will continue… We all know that Allah has given authority to the man, including admonishing and guiding the wife in cases of disobedience, banishing her from the bed, and then – the beatings. What is your opinion on the matter?…"
Dr. Muhammad Al-Hajj, lecturer on Islamic faith at the University of Jordan (Amman) was a guest on the show. His opening statement discussed disciplining one's wife: "We in Islam see the family as an institution, an institution that must succeed. This institution has foundations, and it has the elements for its success. Allah gave the management of this institution to the man. This is the concept of guardianship. Guardianship in Islam does not mean repression, concerning which there are penal and moral laws. The issue is who directs this institution, because two people cannot drive a car – there must be one driver. Islam has given the wheel of this car, the car of the family, to the man. The verse discussing the handling of problems that may crop up in the family is included in the passage discussing guardianship: 'Men are the guardians of women,' and then Allah says, 'Admonish those of them on whose part you fear disobedience, and banish them from the beds, and beat them. Then, if they obey you, do not seek a pretext to hurt them.' The order that appears in this verse is a wise order. It is not possible to move to the second stage before the first stage, or to the third stage before the second. The wonderful thing in this verse is that it mentioned this solution for the case of disobedience."
The following are excerpts from the episode:
Guest: "We are not talking about a man imposing discipline every day, asking any little thing of her, and she refuses, and then he banishes her or beats her. Such a thing does not exist in Islam at all."
Host: "All right, doctor, what does 'disobedience' mean?"
Guest: "Yes, Allah said, 'Those on whose part you fear disobedience.' Disobedience is defiance, rebellion, doing deplorable and ugly things about which there is a consensus among the people that they are deplorable. Therefore, not every little transgression at home, such as, she cooked something he didn't want, is considered disobedience. This is not disobedience. Punishment is limited to cases of disobedience, and for instances of making this family into hell, and into an unnatural situation. Then, in order to handle this problem, in the case of the wife's disobedience and rebellion – there must be a cure for such instances – to this end, there is this progression. First, the moment there is fear of disobedience, and even before the disobedience itself happens, comes the stage of admonition: admonition by mentioning Allah, mentioning the rights of the couple, mentioning the continuation of the family and the children's future…"
Host: "And the admonition continues for a long time, not a day or two…"
Guest: "No, no. Obviously, the admonition cannot end in a day or two. It must continue for a significant period, during which all means of persuasion are exhausted."
Host: "The admonition must be done with words, or the [husband] can use a cassette, a video film, a book, a meeting, a course, a magazine…"
Guest: "All these means are included in the method of admonition, which can include also enticements through money or gifts…"
Host: "He can get her an Internet program, so she will learn…"
Guest: "He can remind her of matters concerning this world and the world to come. All these are included in this admonition. And if this wife continues in her rebelliousness…"
Host: "After a long time…"
Guest: "Yes, yes. After all these attempts at persuasion with gentle language, there is still danger of corruption for the family…"
Host: "And the wife continues in her rebelliousness…"
Guest: "And the wife continues in her rebelliousness, there comes another stage, and this is the stage of banishing her from the bed, which is aimed at giving her a sense that 'I am not happy.'" Host: "Yes."
Guest: "And if she persists and he gives her another chance during this same period and she continues for months, and sometimes even for years, with her refusal and rebellion here is revealed the wisdom of Islam: another means must be introduced. This is the means of the not-hard beatings, and the condition 'not hard' appears in the texts, it is not an interpretation. It is said in the Hadiths of the Prophet that we are talking of 'not-hard' beatings…"
Host: "What is the difference between 'hard' and 'not-hard?'"
Guest: "Hard beatings are those that leave marks on the body or on the face. Thus, beating on the face is prohibited, because the face is a combination of the features of beauty, as it is said. It is forbidden to beat the face, it is forbidden to administer blows that leave fractures or wounds this is what our sages have said in their books."
Host: "Doctor, the Qur'anic verse directs the husband in how to deal with a disobedient wife while if the husband is disobedient, let us assume now the husband is the rebellious one, the husband does not listen, the husband is neglectful, and the husband… rebels! The wife does not have the right to treat the husband in accordance with the three steps stated by the Qur'an. The wife, as it has been written, is restricted to admonition and guidance. She cannot banish him from the bed, and she cannot beat him. Do you not find inequality in this?"
Guest: "No, I do not find inequality in this, because as I said from the outset, the ultimate responsibility for managing the institution of family is given to the husband and therefore when the wife encounters disobedience on the part of her husband, or negative deeds, there is no doubt that she must remark on them and express her dissatisfaction with these deeds; she can go to his friends, his relatives, or her relatives so that they will take care of the problem…"
Host: "You mean that there are other means she can use to handle the husband?"
Guest: "Many means. She can, uh… She can… uh… ask him to get treatment for his problem. All these means. "However, for the situation to get to the point of beating, for example, I think that it is a kind of corruption, if, say, the wife is the one punishing her husband using beatings, because in this there is aggression against (the husband's) rule and responsibility. Besides, Islam has spared her the need to use her hand to beat, in order to preserve the woman's femininity, honor, and morality."
Host: "Doctor, we thank you for the interview and for the good words we have heard from you." Al-Mutawah ended the show with a detailed explanation of wife-beating and how to deal with Western criticism of such activity.
Host: "The interview with the doctor was most enjoyable, and it gave us some of the meanings, but I would like to add to the doctor's words the claims spreading in the West today according to which, 'You Muslims are not giving the woman her rights; how have you given the husband three means for dealing with (the wife) and not give the wife three means for dealing with the husband? Why can't the woman beat the man?! Why can't the wife banish the husband from bed?!' And I say to you that anyone who studies Islamic religious law – who said that the wife cannot banish the husband from the bed in Islamic law?! Who said that the woman has no right to beat the man?! Do you want me to give you a lesson in Islamic religious law? Read the Islamic religious law and you will see that Islamic religious law gave women this right. There is, therefore, equality. Besides, on the subject of disobedience, there is no doubt that we are speaking of exceptional cases, as we have shown. And this, by the way, is an issue of choice – it is not compulsory. That is, even if the wife of a particular husband is disobedient, is he obliged to admonish and advise, to banish her from the bed, or to beat her? No, he is not obliged. If he says: 'By Allah, I have a brilliant idea that is not included in the three steps,' will we tell him: 'You cannot carry it out?' No, it is not prohibited. He may carry it out. Islamic religious law, therefore, comes to guide; the law comes to protect the family and stability… Therefore, although Islamic religious law permitted beatings, the sages came and discussed the subject of beatings. The most extreme of them was Ibn 'Abbas. I want to show you something that I keep in my pocket. Allah be praised, look… Ibn 'Abbas said that the husband must beat his wife with a handkerchief. Imagine this together with me. Can one beat with rods like we saw at the beginning of the program? No! He beats using a handkerchief! This is the interpretation of Ibn 'Abbas, which is an extreme interpretation. Another interpretation of the sages is that he beat his wife using toothpicks. This is because the point of the beatings is not revenge.
"If the beatings were for the purpose of revenge, the husband would sin. The point of the beatings is to convey a message: 'Oh so and so, I am not happy,' 'Oh so and so, behave yourself, behave like you should.' This is the lesson. Therefore, why did Ibn 'Abbas say that she should be beaten with a handkerchief? Can any of you believe this? Westerners are now coming to us complaining about the matter of beatings. All right, it doesn't happen among us that a wife dies because of husband's beating. And if something like this does happen in our society, it is considered rare, and all the newspapers talk of it, true or not? In contrast, the latest U.N. statistics from 1999-2000 say that every 12 seconds in the U.S. a wife is beaten by her husband and in some instances these beatings reach the point of killing the wife. Therefore, when the Westerners bring up complaints against us regarding our affairs, why shouldn't we be strong and bring up complaints against them regarding their affairs? Despite the existence of the verse in the Qur'an, no cases of death have been recorded in our society, and if there were, then these were rare cases. In contrast, they are without verse, religious law, or law, and despite this, every 12 seconds a wife is beaten by her husband! What is better?! A man must know… Therefore, when we have a dialogue with the West, we must talk with them based on foundations, based on culture, based on thought. That is one thing. Second, when they come and say to us that Islam gave the wife the right that her husband will banish her from the bed, but the wife does not banish the husband – Who said so?!
"The wife, in two instances, has the right to banish her husband from the bed. The first instance is if he asks to have sex with her in a place forbidden by religious law, let's say the anus and the second instance is if he behaves towards the wife in an offensive manner during sex. Then she is permitted to banish him from the bed. And who said that the wife has no right to beat her husband? This too is permitted her. This appears in a very important study by Dr. Muhammad Said Ramadan Al-Bouti. He said that Islam protects the soul of the woman, defends her biological structure. Her build is weaker than the man's and if Islam gave the wife the right to beat her husband – by Allah, her husband would break her! True or not? The husband with his build and muscles – the wife cannot handle him.
"But Islam gave the woman the right that the husband will be beaten by someone on her behalf. The husband is beaten by a man, and then the battle is waged between two men, and not between a man and a woman. Between two men. Therefore, if the husband scorned the wife, humiliated her, or treated her disrespectfully, the wife can go to court, and then the judge rules the wife her right. And so, if the wife wants the husband to be beaten, he will be beaten! But he will be beaten by court order, and then the battle is waged between the judge and the husband, and not between the husband and the wife, within the home. Therefore, my brothers and sisters, the matter must be discussed realistically and logically. If husband and wife … even in one of the psychology conferences, when they presented this Qur'anic verse, there was a psychiatrist who converted to Islam because of this verse. He said: 'This is the first time that I see, in the holy book of a monotheistic religion, a social and psychological problem being handled by the Qur'an.' We all know that some men are afflicted with a mental illness known as 'sadism' and some women are also afflicted with a mental illness known as 'masochism.' What is the treatment for these mental illnesses? Beatings! He must treat her harshly! Even one of the sages claimed that this verse descended for those afflicted with this mental illness. Therefore, a husband married to a wife afflicted by this illness, let's say sadism – well, let him beat her because the beatings, for her, are a cure."
Study of Egyptian Government TV: Viewers Believe 'Women Deserve to be Beaten'
The May 22-28, 2003 issue of Al-Ahram Weekly featured an article by Lina Mahmoud on violence against women shown on Egyptian television. The article focused on the results of a media monitoring project conducted by the New Woman Research Center (NWRC) and the Media House (MH), an independent production company. According to the article, the project, which monitored 18 television dramas [18] shown on Egyptian national television during Ramadan 2002, is the first of its magnitude to study the portrayal of violence against women in Egyptian media. The following are excerpts from the article as it appeared in English:
"The group counted the number of cases of violence shown on the programs. The study was conducted during the month of Ramadan because it is the month with the highest television viewer rates. According to Nalwa [sic] Darwish [of the NWRC], 'Audiovisual media has a great influence in shaping the collective consciousness of Egyptians. The extremely high illiteracy rates in Egypt, among women in particular, give media an uncontested role in dictating people's behaviour and ideas…'
"The report of the findings of the study shows that all of the programs reviewed last Ramadan included scenes of violence against women. 'The problem is that those who perpetuate the violence are the heroes of the episodes, are those who are closest to the hearts of the audience and hence have the largest impact on them,' said the report.
"The report also addressed the ways viewers react to violence. Just as disturbing as the portrayals of violence against women is the lack of public outrage to them. In many cases, observers responded with either indifference or approval, making such aggression seem commonplace or justifiable.
"The majority of the women portrayed in the television episodes were housewives, followed by a large number of students. Unemployed individuals comprised 5.1 percent of the characters. The report argued that this is not an accurate representation and that the actual unemployment rate for women is much higher… Many of the soap operas featured educated characters, particularly university graduates, ignoring the fact that half of the Egyptian population is illiterate.
"Beating was the most prevalent mode of physical violence against women in the dramas, accounting for 42 percent of all physical aggression. Other forms of violence included killing (13.1 percent) and forms of sexual abuse. Incidents of verbal and sexual harassment were found in many of the shows and withholding sex from wives was portrayed as a form of punishment.
"In all of the cases of violence against women, 41.9 percent of the 'heroines' displayed active resistance, whereas 31.1 percent accepted the abuse. This resistance was usually verbal in form, although one woman reacted by killing herself and another became physically paralyzed. Further, 67.3 per cent of the men who acted violently against women displayed no remorse. Thirty percent felt guilty and shameful.
"Most of the women in the programs played negative roles. The few women who were portrayed positively were shown as naïve or harmless wives, lovers, and mothers.
"Darwish expressed her uneasiness at the results of the report. 'In 12 serials, there were 500 violent episodes. This means there are one or two scenes of violence in each part of a serial. This is too much. Moreover, not a single series was free of violence against women.'
"After the completion of the report, a documentary was filmed in which people were questioned about their reactions to violence in television dramas. 'Women deserve to be beaten,' responded one viewer. 'A husband should beat his wife if she does something wrong,' said another. One woman said that 'men are so cruel to women. They should be merciful.' A young man commented that beating a woman makes her 'more stubborn.'
"The meeting convened by the NWRC and MH [in which the study results were released] posed several important questions. What is required of the media? Should the media portray violence against women? Should television programs condemn violence against women or reflect it as it is? Most everyone seemed to agree, however, that television should stop stereotyping women negatively and avoid showing violence against women in a positive light." [19]
Muslim-Canadian Professor Explains: "There Are Cases, However, In Which A Wife Persists In Bad Habits"
Dr. Jamal Badawi, professor at Saint Mary's University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and a cross-appointed faculty member in the Departments of Religious Studies and Management, has also explained that Islam allows beating ones wife. Badawi explains which circumstances permit "striking" a disobedient wife:
"If the problem relates to the wife's behavior, the husband may exhort her and appeal for reason. In most cases, this measure is likely to be sufficient. In cases where the problem persists, the husband may express his displeasure in another peaceful manner, by sleeping in a separate bed from hers. There are cases, however, in which a wife persists in bad habits and showing contempt of her husband and disregard for her marital obligations. Instead of divorce, the husband may resort to another measure that may save the marriage, at least in some cases. Such a measure is more accurately described as a gentle tap on the body, but never on the face, making it more of a symbolic measure than a punitive one.
Dr. Badawi elaborates on six instances regarding the permissibility of wife-beating as follows:
"a) It must be seen as a rare exception to the repeated exhortation of mutual respect, kindness and good treatment. Based on the Qur'an and Hadith, this measure may be used in the cases of lewdness on the part of the wife or extreme refraction and rejection of the husband's reasonable requests on a consistent basis (nushuz). Even then, other measures, such as exhortation, should be tried first. "
b) As defined by Hadith, it is not permissible to strike anyone's face, cause any bodily harm or even be harsh. What the Hadith qualifies as dharban ghayra mubarrih, or light striking, was interpreted by early jurists as a (symbolic) use of siwak! They further qualified permissible 'striking' as that which leaves no mark on the body. It is interesting that this latter fourteen-centuries-old qualifier is the criterion used in contemporary American law to separate a light and harmless tap or strike from 'abuse' in the legal sense. This makes it clear that even this extreme, last resort, and 'lesser of the two evils' measure that may save a marriage does not meet the definitions of 'physical abuse,' 'family violence,' or 'wife battering' in the 20th century law in liberal democracies, where such extremes are so commonplace that they are seen as national concerns. "
c) The permissibility of such symbolic expression of the seriousness of continued refraction does not imply its desirability. In several Hadiths, the Prophet (pbuh) discouraged this measure. Here are some of his sayings in this regard: 'Do not beat the female servants of Allah'; 'Some (women) visited my family complaining about their husbands (beating them). These (husbands) are not the best of you.' In another Hadith the Prophet (pbuh) is reported to have said: 'How does any one of you beat his wife as he beats the stallion camel and then he may embrace (sleep with) her?' "
d) True following of the Sunnah is to follow the example of the Prophet (pbuh) who never resorted to that measure, regardless of the circumstances. "
e) Islamic teachings are universal in nature. They respond to the needs and circumstances of diverse times, cultures and circumstances. Some measures may work in some cases and cultures or with certain persons but may not be effective in others. By definition, a 'permissible' act is neither required, encouraged, or forbidden. In fact it may be to spell out the extent of permissibility, such as in the issue at hand, rather than leaving it unrestricted or unqualified, or ignoring it all together. In the absence of strict qualifiers, persons may interpret the matter in their own way, which can lead to excesses and real abuse. "
f) Any excess, cruelty, family violence, or abuse committed by any 'Muslim' can never be traced, honestly, to any revelatory text (Qur'an or Hadith). Such excesses and violations are to be blamed on the person(s) himself, as it shows that they are paying lip service to Islamic teachings and injunctions and failing to follow the true Sunnah of the Prophet (pbuh)." [20]
*Steven Stalinsky is Executive Director of MEMRI; Y. Yehoshua is a Research Fellow at MEMRI.
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[1] http://www.sudaneseonline.com/cgi-bin/sdb/2bb.cgi?seq=msg&board=1058187705&rn-1.
[2] In a similar incident, a Turkish state-funded religious foundation published retired Turkish cleric Kemal Guran's 'The Muslim's Handbook'(2000) which recommended wife-beating but warns "not to strike the women's face, but to hit her gently elsewhere." At the time of the book's release, Turkish parliamentarian Ferda Cilalioglu called it "scandalous" and "insane." (www.islamonline.com, August 13, 2000).
[3] Roz Al-Yousef (Egypt), January 30, 2004.
[4] Al-Qaradawi, Yusuf. The Lawful and the Prohibited in Islam. Kuwait: International Islamic Federation of Student Organization, 1984. p.205-206.
[5] Al-Jazeera (Qatar), October 5, 1977. http://www.aljazeera.net/programs/shareea/articles/2003/5/5-28-6.htm.
[6] Islam Online, http://www.islamonline.net/fatwa/arabicFatwaDisplay.asp?hFatwaID=1484
[7] The Saudi Gazette reports that t he issue of wife-beating is a pressing one among Muslims in the Middle East as well. 300 women recently initiated a lawsuit against their husbands for "brutal beating and unjustified physical abuse. Saudi Gazette, March 3, 2004.
[8] MEMRI Special Report No. 23, November 26, 2003, ' The Islamic Affairs Department of the Saudi Embassy in Washington, D.C. '
[9] In Saudi Arabia today, women are denied certain rights and privileges afforded to male citizens. Women are denied the right to drive a car, to obtain a state identification without the consent and presence of a male guardian, or to travel outside the country without the permission a male guardian.
[10] IAD website: "Rights Dictated by Nature: Rights of Both Spouses on Each Other."
[11] IAD website: "Rights Dictated by Nature: Rights of Both Spouses on Each Other." The IAD cites Qur'anic verse 4:129.
[12] IAD website: "Rights Dictated by Nature: Rights of Both Spouses on Each Other."
[13] The IAD cites Qur'an 4:34.
[14] IAD website: "Women in Islam." [15] IAD website: "Gender Equity in Islam."
[16] Islam Online, http://www.islamonline.net/fatwa/english/FatwaDisplay.asp?hFatwaID=41775, June 25, 2003/July 25, 2003.
[17] IQRAA Television (Saudi Arabia), Program on Imposing Discipline in the Family: Hosted by Jasem Muhammad Al-Mutawah, Expert on Family Matters, May 9, 2002, http://stream.realimpact.net/rihurl.ram?file=realimpact/memri/memri_10-30-02_08.rm.
[18] "Among the serials were Asa'd Ragul fi Al-Alam (The Happiest Man in the World), Al-Atar wa Al-Saba'a Banat (The Herbalist and His Seven Daughters), Qassem Amin, Ayna Qalbi (Where is My Heart?), Amira fi Abdeen (A Princess in Abdeen), together with six films shown on the two main Egyptian channels, Channel One and Channel Two. Among these films were Al Hafid (the Grandson), Al Zawga 13 (Wife Number 13)."
[19] Al-Ahram Weekly (Egypt), May 22-28, 2003, http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/print/2003/639/fe3.htm. See MEMRI Special Dispatch 522, June 13, 2003, 'Egyptian Television's Portrayal of Excessive Violence Against Women.'
[20] Islam Online, http://www.islamonline.net/fatwa/english/FatwaDisplay.asp?hFatwaID=41775, June 25, 2003/July 25, 2003. Source: http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=archives&Area=sr&ID=SR2704
http://www.memritv.org/default.asp watch clip #1154
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posted by Cultfree at 11:17 PM
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Hadith Islam
Hat tip to:
http://www.westernresistance.com/blog/archives/000849.html
Why There is No Islam without the Hadiths
** This is the first of a four part series regarding the difficulties faced in reforming Islam. Funk Soul Bruhva offers an excellent response to a "Quran only" Muslim, Ameer during a debate as to why the Hadiths cannot be separated from the Quran as a way to minimize the violence and oppression in Islam.
Qur'an-only Muslim, You Say?
There seems to be a growing number of Muslims who call themselves "Quran only" Muslims. Now why would that be anything to boast about, let alone be a trend? If you haven't read the Hadith, the answer may not be apparent. For in the Hadith, are the accounts of Mohammad's deeds and examples. This is the only place they are found, for the Quran is supposedly the world of Allah. No person can come to know Mohammad without knowing the Hadith. The reason a growing number of Muslims want to invalidate the Hadith, is that the Hadith depict Muhammad as a most unsavory person: a selfish, egotistical pirate, serial-murderer, sex-addict, pedophile, plagiarizer, liar, and bigot.
So it all comes down to this: If the Hadith Collections of Ishaq, Tabari, Bukhari and Muslim are true, Muhammad was the most evil man who ever lived, Allah was the most demented god ever conceived, and Islam was the most vile doctrine ever imposed on humankind. If, however, the Hadith Collections are untrue, then nothing is known of Muhammad, the conception of his god, or his formation of Islam. There is no rational reason to believe it, observe it, suffer under it, or die for it.
So, let's begin by examining how the Quran repeatedly commands Muslims to obey the prophet and follow his example:
Obey the Messenger (Mohammad): Qur'an 4: 64 "We sent not a messenger but to be obeyed, in accordance with the will of Allah." Qur'an 4:80 "He who obeys the Messenger obeys Allah." Qur'an 5:92 "Obey Allah and obey the Messenger, and beware!" Qur'an 24:53 "Say: 'Swear not; Obedience is (more) reasonable.' Say: 'Obey Allah, and obey the Messenger." Qur'an 48:10 "Verily those who swear allegiance to you (Muhammad), indeed swear their allegiance to Allah."
These are but a few listed commands to obey Mohammad. It is, in fact, a recurring theme found throughout the Qur'an. Let's see here, "He who obeys the Messenger obeys Allah". This sounds a lot like a confession to me.
Next I will highlight where the Qur'an orders Muslims to follow Mohammad's example:
Follow Mohammad's example:
Qur'an 33.21 "Verily in the Messenger of Allah you have a good example for him who looks unto Allah and the Last Day."
Qur'an 60.4 "There is for you an excellent example, a pattern in Abraham and those with him[ie: Mohammad], when they said to their people: 'We are through with you and with what you worship besides Allah. We reject you. Hostility and hate have come between us forever, unless you believe in Allah only.'"
Qur'an 6.83 "And this was Our argument which we gave to Abraham against his people. And We gave him Ishaq (Isaac) and Yah'qub (Jacob) [Oops. Abraham was given Isaac and Ishmael. Jacob came later]; each did We guide, and Nuh (Noah) did We guide before, and of his descendants, David and Solomon, and Job and Joseph and Moses and Aaron; and thus do We reward those who do good (following Muhammad's example in the Sunnah). And Zachariah and Yahya (John), Isa (Jesus) and Elias; every one was of the good [i.e. Muslims]; And Ishmael and Elisha and Jonah and Lot and every one We preferred above men and jinn."
Those of sound mind who have studied the Qur'an and Hadith understand that Mohammad merely repackaged moon-god worshiping Arab paganism into the form of a monotheistic cult. Monotheism was a big trend during those times with Judaism and Christianity as the major monotheistic religions gaining power. Mohammad wanted a piece of the action for himself, and so created his own religion by plagiarizing both Judaism and Christianity, as well as other bits and pieces of information he came across, like the work of Greek scientist Galen. Mohammad then mixed it all together with Arab pagan customs and ideas, like jinn, Hajj, praying to Mecca, prostration, etc. Some of these pagan practices, in fact, have become pillars of Islam. The Hadith only serve to confirm this, another reason why some Muslims wish to ignore or discard the Hadith.
The Hadith tell the stories of Mohammad's search to plagiarize Jewish scripture, at any price, which the Jews were happy to charge, and why Mohammad hated them so afterwards, and why Muslims still hate Jews today. Not only did the Jewish Rabbis charge Mohammad a high price, they also recited to him slightly inaccurate stories (Mohammad couldn't read). The rabbis likely knew what Mohammad was up to.
From the Hadith, Mohammad's Sunnah (or example) has become the basis for Islamic law-the most oppressive, repressive, violent and male-chauvinist code on earth. Muslims follow Mohammad's example, which is why they tend to be the most irrational, male-chauvinist and violent people on earth.
Muslims are also ultra-sensitive when comes to criticism of their "prophet" - much more so than criticism of Allah. Why is this? Could it be that most Muslims, deep inside, realize Mohammad was an immoral and evil man, therefore criticism should be hushed and quashed; questions should not be asked? Even drawing his face is prohibited. What is there to hide? Why do some muslims deny the Hadith? Is there something in there that disagrees with their human side? The answers can be found in the Hadith themselves, chronicled initially by Ishaq, then by Bukhari, Muslim and Tabari.
Below is an example of a Muslim, "Ameer", attempting to deny the validity of the Hadith, and thus try to sweep Mohammad's evil character under the carpet. Many Muslims, as the one below, go so far as to say that "fake" Hadiths exist. I suppose, perhaps, it must have been the Jews who made the fake Hadiths [sarcasm].
The problem with that excuse is that Ishaq, Bukhari, Muslim and Tabari are considered by Muslim scholars themselves as "Sahih Hadith". They are the most authenticated and accepted Hadith by the scholars. How can an ordinary Muslim dispute them? So when I'm debating with Muslims, I only reference Ishaq, Bukhari, Muslim and Tabari. There can be no argument to their authenticity, so any argument put forth a Muslim, means they are challenging the highest scholars. That could constitute heresy.
Below the Muslim's denial of the validity of the Hadith, is my rebuttal:
----------------------------------------------- Ameer wrote: I don't find things in the Qu'ran objectable [sic] but many Hadiths are objectable [sic], so I don't really follow Hadiths. Firstly, there are so many fake ones. And even if they were true, if they go against Islam's teaches, they are still wrong. I think the best thing to do is just not take Hadiths seriously. --------------------------------------------- Aye, there's the rub.... not taking them seriously is impossible.Without the Hadith, you cannot know Mohammad. Without knowing anything about Mohammad, you cannot follow his example, and there is no Islam. If you doubt the Hadith you doubt the entirety of Islam, and therefore are apostate/murtad/kafir (whatever applies to you).
In fact, 4 out of 5 of Islam's Pillars would not exist without the Hadith, and the Qur'an would be indecipherable.
Bukhari:V1B2N7 "Allah's Apostle said: 'Islam is based on (the following) five (principles):
First Pillar: To testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and Muhammad is Allah's Apostle.
The Qur'an orders Muslims to obey the Messenger. If you don't know what he ordered, that's impossible. The Qur'an alleges that it's entirely composed of Allah's commands, not Muhammad's, so you'd be out of luck. The Qur'an also tells Muslims that they must follow the Messenger's example, yet the only place that example is established is in the Sunnah. Therefore, Islam's First Pillar is utterly meaningless, and impossible to implement, without Ishaq and Tabari.
Second Pillar: To offer the (compulsory congregational) prayers dutifully and perfectly.
Once again, that's not feasible. The "compulsory congregational prayer" isn't described in the Qur'an. There aren't even any clues. In fact, the Qur'an says that there should be three prayers, none of which it depicts, and the Hadith demands five. The only explanation of the obligatory prostration is found in the Sunnah-and even then it's never described by the prophet himself. Muslims are performing a ritual without Qur'anic precedence. As such, the Second Pillar is rubble. However if we take a look at the pagan rituals of the times, we can see where this practice originated.
Third Pillar: To pay Zakat. (Bukhari:V1B2N7)
How is that possible when the terms of the Zakat are omitted from the Qur'an? The first to commit them to paper was Ishaq. A century later, Tabari referenced Ishaq's Hadith. The only reason Muslims can pay the Zakat is because Ishaq explained it to them.
Fourth Pillar: To perform Hajj.
Nope. That's impossible too. The only explanations of the Hajj are in the Sunnah. No aspect of the pilgrimage can be performed without referencing the Hadith. Muslims would be lost without it.
Do you suppose Allah will redeem himself and explain the final pillar in his "perfect, detailed, and final revelation to mankind?"
Fifth Pillar: To observe fast during the month of Ramadan. (Bukhari:V1B2N7)
Although the Qur'an does indeed describe the fast, without the Hadith, Muslims wouldn't know why Ramadhan was so special (unless they researched Arab paganism). The accounts of the meaning of Ramadan are in their Traditions - initially chronicled by Ishaq and then copied by Bukhari, Muslim, and Tabari.
Funny thing is, the one pillar that is actually described in the Quran, is actually a borrowed pagan ritual Qusayy invented pre-dating Mohammad's Islam. Qusayy's family took a cut on merchandise sold during the "truce of the gods" fairs of Ramadhan. Ramadhan and all the associated customs that go along with it (stoning of the devil, circumambulation of the ka'aba, the ka'aba stone itself, walking the mountains, etc.) are all of pagan origin.
If you follow the Qur'an, it is incumbent upon you to follow Mohammad's example and obey him. The only way to do this is to accept the Hadith.
You have a serious dilemma to ponder, Ameer. Funk Soul Bruhva
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Feel free to borrow from this essay in your on-line debates with Quran-Only Muslims. All the Best, -Funk Soul Bruhva
http://www.westernresistance.com/blog/archives/000849.html
Why There is No Islam without the Hadiths
** This is the first of a four part series regarding the difficulties faced in reforming Islam. Funk Soul Bruhva offers an excellent response to a "Quran only" Muslim, Ameer during a debate as to why the Hadiths cannot be separated from the Quran as a way to minimize the violence and oppression in Islam.
Qur'an-only Muslim, You Say?
There seems to be a growing number of Muslims who call themselves "Quran only" Muslims. Now why would that be anything to boast about, let alone be a trend? If you haven't read the Hadith, the answer may not be apparent. For in the Hadith, are the accounts of Mohammad's deeds and examples. This is the only place they are found, for the Quran is supposedly the world of Allah. No person can come to know Mohammad without knowing the Hadith. The reason a growing number of Muslims want to invalidate the Hadith, is that the Hadith depict Muhammad as a most unsavory person: a selfish, egotistical pirate, serial-murderer, sex-addict, pedophile, plagiarizer, liar, and bigot.
So it all comes down to this: If the Hadith Collections of Ishaq, Tabari, Bukhari and Muslim are true, Muhammad was the most evil man who ever lived, Allah was the most demented god ever conceived, and Islam was the most vile doctrine ever imposed on humankind. If, however, the Hadith Collections are untrue, then nothing is known of Muhammad, the conception of his god, or his formation of Islam. There is no rational reason to believe it, observe it, suffer under it, or die for it.
So, let's begin by examining how the Quran repeatedly commands Muslims to obey the prophet and follow his example:
Obey the Messenger (Mohammad): Qur'an 4: 64 "We sent not a messenger but to be obeyed, in accordance with the will of Allah." Qur'an 4:80 "He who obeys the Messenger obeys Allah." Qur'an 5:92 "Obey Allah and obey the Messenger, and beware!" Qur'an 24:53 "Say: 'Swear not; Obedience is (more) reasonable.' Say: 'Obey Allah, and obey the Messenger." Qur'an 48:10 "Verily those who swear allegiance to you (Muhammad), indeed swear their allegiance to Allah."
These are but a few listed commands to obey Mohammad. It is, in fact, a recurring theme found throughout the Qur'an. Let's see here, "He who obeys the Messenger obeys Allah". This sounds a lot like a confession to me.
Next I will highlight where the Qur'an orders Muslims to follow Mohammad's example:
Follow Mohammad's example:
Qur'an 33.21 "Verily in the Messenger of Allah you have a good example for him who looks unto Allah and the Last Day."
Qur'an 60.4 "There is for you an excellent example, a pattern in Abraham and those with him[ie: Mohammad], when they said to their people: 'We are through with you and with what you worship besides Allah. We reject you. Hostility and hate have come between us forever, unless you believe in Allah only.'"
Qur'an 6.83 "And this was Our argument which we gave to Abraham against his people. And We gave him Ishaq (Isaac) and Yah'qub (Jacob) [Oops. Abraham was given Isaac and Ishmael. Jacob came later]; each did We guide, and Nuh (Noah) did We guide before, and of his descendants, David and Solomon, and Job and Joseph and Moses and Aaron; and thus do We reward those who do good (following Muhammad's example in the Sunnah). And Zachariah and Yahya (John), Isa (Jesus) and Elias; every one was of the good [i.e. Muslims]; And Ishmael and Elisha and Jonah and Lot and every one We preferred above men and jinn."
Those of sound mind who have studied the Qur'an and Hadith understand that Mohammad merely repackaged moon-god worshiping Arab paganism into the form of a monotheistic cult. Monotheism was a big trend during those times with Judaism and Christianity as the major monotheistic religions gaining power. Mohammad wanted a piece of the action for himself, and so created his own religion by plagiarizing both Judaism and Christianity, as well as other bits and pieces of information he came across, like the work of Greek scientist Galen. Mohammad then mixed it all together with Arab pagan customs and ideas, like jinn, Hajj, praying to Mecca, prostration, etc. Some of these pagan practices, in fact, have become pillars of Islam. The Hadith only serve to confirm this, another reason why some Muslims wish to ignore or discard the Hadith.
The Hadith tell the stories of Mohammad's search to plagiarize Jewish scripture, at any price, which the Jews were happy to charge, and why Mohammad hated them so afterwards, and why Muslims still hate Jews today. Not only did the Jewish Rabbis charge Mohammad a high price, they also recited to him slightly inaccurate stories (Mohammad couldn't read). The rabbis likely knew what Mohammad was up to.
From the Hadith, Mohammad's Sunnah (or example) has become the basis for Islamic law-the most oppressive, repressive, violent and male-chauvinist code on earth. Muslims follow Mohammad's example, which is why they tend to be the most irrational, male-chauvinist and violent people on earth.
Muslims are also ultra-sensitive when comes to criticism of their "prophet" - much more so than criticism of Allah. Why is this? Could it be that most Muslims, deep inside, realize Mohammad was an immoral and evil man, therefore criticism should be hushed and quashed; questions should not be asked? Even drawing his face is prohibited. What is there to hide? Why do some muslims deny the Hadith? Is there something in there that disagrees with their human side? The answers can be found in the Hadith themselves, chronicled initially by Ishaq, then by Bukhari, Muslim and Tabari.
Below is an example of a Muslim, "Ameer", attempting to deny the validity of the Hadith, and thus try to sweep Mohammad's evil character under the carpet. Many Muslims, as the one below, go so far as to say that "fake" Hadiths exist. I suppose, perhaps, it must have been the Jews who made the fake Hadiths [sarcasm].
The problem with that excuse is that Ishaq, Bukhari, Muslim and Tabari are considered by Muslim scholars themselves as "Sahih Hadith". They are the most authenticated and accepted Hadith by the scholars. How can an ordinary Muslim dispute them? So when I'm debating with Muslims, I only reference Ishaq, Bukhari, Muslim and Tabari. There can be no argument to their authenticity, so any argument put forth a Muslim, means they are challenging the highest scholars. That could constitute heresy.
Below the Muslim's denial of the validity of the Hadith, is my rebuttal:
----------------------------------------------- Ameer wrote: I don't find things in the Qu'ran objectable [sic] but many Hadiths are objectable [sic], so I don't really follow Hadiths. Firstly, there are so many fake ones. And even if they were true, if they go against Islam's teaches, they are still wrong. I think the best thing to do is just not take Hadiths seriously. --------------------------------------------- Aye, there's the rub.... not taking them seriously is impossible.Without the Hadith, you cannot know Mohammad. Without knowing anything about Mohammad, you cannot follow his example, and there is no Islam. If you doubt the Hadith you doubt the entirety of Islam, and therefore are apostate/murtad/kafir (whatever applies to you).
In fact, 4 out of 5 of Islam's Pillars would not exist without the Hadith, and the Qur'an would be indecipherable.
Bukhari:V1B2N7 "Allah's Apostle said: 'Islam is based on (the following) five (principles):
First Pillar: To testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and Muhammad is Allah's Apostle.
The Qur'an orders Muslims to obey the Messenger. If you don't know what he ordered, that's impossible. The Qur'an alleges that it's entirely composed of Allah's commands, not Muhammad's, so you'd be out of luck. The Qur'an also tells Muslims that they must follow the Messenger's example, yet the only place that example is established is in the Sunnah. Therefore, Islam's First Pillar is utterly meaningless, and impossible to implement, without Ishaq and Tabari.
Second Pillar: To offer the (compulsory congregational) prayers dutifully and perfectly.
Once again, that's not feasible. The "compulsory congregational prayer" isn't described in the Qur'an. There aren't even any clues. In fact, the Qur'an says that there should be three prayers, none of which it depicts, and the Hadith demands five. The only explanation of the obligatory prostration is found in the Sunnah-and even then it's never described by the prophet himself. Muslims are performing a ritual without Qur'anic precedence. As such, the Second Pillar is rubble. However if we take a look at the pagan rituals of the times, we can see where this practice originated.
Third Pillar: To pay Zakat. (Bukhari:V1B2N7)
How is that possible when the terms of the Zakat are omitted from the Qur'an? The first to commit them to paper was Ishaq. A century later, Tabari referenced Ishaq's Hadith. The only reason Muslims can pay the Zakat is because Ishaq explained it to them.
Fourth Pillar: To perform Hajj.
Nope. That's impossible too. The only explanations of the Hajj are in the Sunnah. No aspect of the pilgrimage can be performed without referencing the Hadith. Muslims would be lost without it.
Do you suppose Allah will redeem himself and explain the final pillar in his "perfect, detailed, and final revelation to mankind?"
Fifth Pillar: To observe fast during the month of Ramadan. (Bukhari:V1B2N7)
Although the Qur'an does indeed describe the fast, without the Hadith, Muslims wouldn't know why Ramadhan was so special (unless they researched Arab paganism). The accounts of the meaning of Ramadan are in their Traditions - initially chronicled by Ishaq and then copied by Bukhari, Muslim, and Tabari.
Funny thing is, the one pillar that is actually described in the Quran, is actually a borrowed pagan ritual Qusayy invented pre-dating Mohammad's Islam. Qusayy's family took a cut on merchandise sold during the "truce of the gods" fairs of Ramadhan. Ramadhan and all the associated customs that go along with it (stoning of the devil, circumambulation of the ka'aba, the ka'aba stone itself, walking the mountains, etc.) are all of pagan origin.
If you follow the Qur'an, it is incumbent upon you to follow Mohammad's example and obey him. The only way to do this is to accept the Hadith.
You have a serious dilemma to ponder, Ameer. Funk Soul Bruhva
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Feel free to borrow from this essay in your on-line debates with Quran-Only Muslims. All the Best, -Funk Soul Bruhva
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posted by Cultfree at 6:26 PM
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Muhammad's Own Words
Muhammad
http://www.prophetofdoom.net/quotes5.html
CHRISTIANS: Qur’an 5:17 “Verily they are disbelievers and infidels who say, ‘The Messiah, son of Mary, is God.’”Qur’an 5:51 “Believers, take not Jews and Christians for your friends. They are but friends and protectors to each other.” Qur’an 5:72 “They are surely infidels who blaspheme and say: ‘God is Christ, the Messiah, the son of Mary.’ But the Messiah only said: ‘O Children of Israel! Worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord.’”Qur’an 74:31 “We have appointed nineteen angels to be the wardens of the Hell Fire. We made a stumbling-block for those who disbelieve and We have fixed their number as a trial for unbelievers in order that the People of the Book may arrive with certainty, and that no doubts may be left for the People of the Book, those in whose hearts is a disease.”Ishaq:180 “According to my information, the Apostle often sat by a young Christian slave named Jabr. The Meccans said, ‘He is the one who teaches Muhammad most of what he brings.’ Then Allah revealed, Qur’an 16:103 ‘We know what they (pagans) say: “It is only a mortal man who teaches him (Muhammad). But the tongue of the man they wickedly point to is notably foreign, while this (Qur’an) is pure Arabic.’” Qur’an 72:15 “But the Qasitun (disbelievers) are the firewood of hell.”Qur’an 88:1 “Has the narration reached you of the overwhelming (calamity)? Some faces (Jews and Christians) that Day, will be humiliated, downcast, scorched by the burning fire, while they are made to drink from a boiling hot spring.”Qur’an 9:29 “Fight those who do not believe in Allah or the Last Day, who do not forbid that which has been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, or acknowledge the Religion of Truth (Islam), (even if they are) People of the Book (Christians and Jews), until they pay the Jizyah tribute tax in submission, feeling themselves subdued and brought low.” [Another translation says:] “pay the tax in acknowledgment of our superiority and their state of subjection.”Ishaq:552 “The Quraysh had put pictures in the Ka’aba including two of Jesus and one of Mary. Muhammad ordered that the pictures should be erased.”Qur’an 5:14 “From those, too, who call themselves Christians, We made a covenant, but they forgot and abandoned a good part of the message that was sent them: so we estranged them, stirred up enmity and hatred among them to the Day of Doom. Soon will Allah show them the handiwork they have done.”Qur’an 5:15 “O People of the Book! There has come to you Our Apostle, revealing to you much that you used to hide in your Scripture, suppressing and passing over much. There has come to you from Allah a (new) light (Muhammad) and a clear Book [the Qur’an].”Qur’an 5:17 “...Say (Muhammad): ‘Who then has the least power against Allah, if His will were to destroy Christ, the Messiah, the son of Mary, his mother, and everyone else on earth?”Qur’an 5:18 “The Jews and the Christians say: ‘We are sons of Allah, and his beloved.’ Say: ‘Why then does He punish you for your sins? Nay, you are but men. He forgives whom He wishes and punishes whom He pleases.’”Qur’an 5:35 “Believers, fear Allah and seek the way to approach Him, striving hard, fighting Jihad with all your might in His Cause that you may be successful. As for the disbelievers [previously defined as Christians], if they had everything on earth, two times over, to give as ransom for the penalty of the Day of Doom, it would never be accepted from them. Theirs will be a painful torment. They will desire to get out of the fire, but they shall not be released from it. They shall have an everlasting torture.”Qur’an 5:47 “Let the people of the Gospel judge by what Allah has revealed therein. If any fail to judge by what Allah has revealed, they are (no better than) those who rebel.”Qur’an 5:48 “To you [Christians] We sent the Scripture in truth, confirming the scripture that came before it, and guarding it in safety: so judge between them by what Allah has revealed.”Qur’an 5:49 “And this (He commands): Judge between them by what Allah has revealed and follow not their [Christian] desires, but beware of them lest they beguile you, seducing you away from any of that which Allah hath sent down to you. And if they turn you away [from being Muslims], be assured that for their crime it is Allah’s purpose to smite them. Truly most men are rebellious.”Qur’an 5:57 “Believers, take not for friends those who take your religion for a mockery or sport, a joke, whether among those who received the Scripture before you or among those who reject Faith; but fear Allah.”Qur’an 5:68 “Say: ‘People of the Scripture Book! You have no ground to stand upon unless you observe the Taurat [Torah], the Injeel [Gospel], and all the Revelation that has come to you from your Lord.’ It is certain to increase their rebellion and blasphemy. But grieve you not over unbelieving people.”Qur’an 5:72 “...Lo! Whoever joins other gods with Allah or says He has a partner, Allah has forbidden Paradise, and the Hell Fire will be his abode. There will for the wrong-doers be no one to help.” Qur’an 5:73 “They are surely disbelievers who blaspheme and say: ‘God is one of three in the Trinity for there is no Ilah (God) except One, Allah. If they desist not from saying this (blasphemy), verily a grievous penalty will befall them—the disbelievers will suffer a painful doom.” Qur’an 5:75 “The Messiah, Christ, the son of Mary, was no more than a messenger; many were the messengers that passed away before him. His mother was a woman of truth. They had to eat their food. See how Allah does make His signs clear to them; yet see in what ways they are deluded!” Qur’an 4:157 “‘We [Jews] killed the Messiah, Jesus,’ but they killed him not, nor crucified him. It appeared so to them (as the resemblance of Jesus was put over another man and they killed that man). Nay, Allah raised him up unto Himself. Those who differ with this version are full of doubts. They have no knowledge and follow nothing but conjecture. For surely they killed him not.” Qur’an 4:171 “O People of the Book! Do not exaggerate in your religion; nor speak lies of Allah. The Messiah, Christ Jesus, the son of Mary was (no more than) a messenger of Allah, and His Word, which He bestowed on Mary, and a Spirit proceeding from Him. So believe in Allah and His messengers. Say not ‘Trinity.’ Cease and Desist: (it is) better for you: for Allah is one Ilah (God). (Far it is removed from him of) having a son. To Him belong all things in the heavens and on earth. And enough is Allah as a Disposer of affairs. The Messiah is proud to be a slave of Allah, as are the angels, those nearest. Those who disdain His worship and are arrogant. He will gather them all together unto Himself to (answer)…. He will punish with a painful doom; Nor will they find, besides Allah, any to protect or save them.” Qur’an 4:159 “And there is none of the People of the Book but will believe in him (Jesus as only a messenger of Allah and a human being) before his (Jesus’) death. He will be a witness against them.”Qur’an 5:77 “Say (Muhammad): ‘People of the Book, do not overstep the bounds in your religion, or follow the people who erred and led many astray. Cursed are the unbelievers among the Children of Israel by David and Jesus.... They do vile things, allying themselves with the infidels so that Allah’s indignation is upon them and in torment they will suffer for all eternity.” [Another translation reads:] “Curses were pronounced on the unbelievers, the Children of Israel who rejected Islam, by the tongues of David and of Jesus because they disobeyed and rebelled.” Qur’an 5:80 “You see many of them allying themselves with the unbelieving infidels. Vile indeed are their souls. Allah’s wrath is on them, and in torment will they abide.” Qur’an 5:81 “If only they had believed in Allah, in the Prophet, and in what had been revealed to him.” Qur’an 5:82 “You will find the Jews and disbelievers [defined as Christians in 5:73] the most vehement in hatred for the Muslims.” Qur’an 5:110 “And God will say: ‘O Jesus! Recount My favor to you and to your mother. Behold! I strengthened you with the Holy Spirit so that you spoke to the people in the cradle and in the prime of life. Behold! I taught you the law and the judgment, the Torah and the Gospel. And behold, you made out of clay, as it were, the figure of a bird and you breathed into it and it became a bird by My permission. And you healed those born blind by My permission and the lepers by My permission. And behold! You raised forth the dead by My permission. And behold! I did restrain the Jews from harming you when you came with clear proofs. And the unbelievers among the Jews said: ‘This is nothing but magic.’”Qur’an 5:111 “Behold! I inspired the [Christian] disciples to have faith in Me and My Messenger. They said, ‘We are believers, and bear witness that we prostrate ourselves to Allah as Muslims.’” Qur’an 5:112 “Behold! The disciples, said: ‘O Jesus, can your Lord send down to us a table well laid out from heaven?’ Said Jesus: ‘Fear Allah, if you have faith.’ When the disciples said: ‘O Jesus, son of Mary, is your Lord able to send down for us a table spread with food from heaven?’ He said: “Observe your duty to Allah, if you are true believers.’” Qur’an 5:113 “They said: ‘We only wish to eat thereof to satisfy our hearts, and to know that you have told us the truth. We want to witnesses a miracle.’ Said Jesus, the son of Mary: ‘O Allah our Lord! Send us from heaven a table well laid out, that there may be for us a feast, a Sign from you.” Qur’an 5:115 “Allah said: ‘I am going to send it down unto you, but if any of you after that disbelieves, resisting Faith [Islam], I will punish him with a torment such as I have not inflicted on any one of my creatures, man or jinn. I will punish them with a torment such as I have not inflicted on any one of my creatures.”Qur’an 5:116 “And behold! Allah will say: ‘O Jesus, the son of Mary! Did you say unto men, worship me and my mother as two gods besides Allah?’ He will say: ‘Glory to You! Never could I utter what I had no right.” Qur’an 5:117 “I only said what You (Allah) commanded me to say: Worship Allah, my lord and your Lord. I was a witness over them while I dwelt amongst them but you took me up. (This is a great admonition and warning to the Christians of the whole world.)”Tabari IX:15 “One of the Ansari who was plundering the slain came upon a Thaqif boy. He discovered that he was an uncircumcised Christian. He uncovered others and then yelled out at the top of his voice, ‘Allah knows that the Thaqif are uncircumcised.”Tabari IX:86 “Don’t seduce the Jews or Christians for incumbent on them is to pay the jizyah protection tax.”Bukhari:V2B23N414 “The Prophet in his fatal illness said, “Allah cursed Jews and Christians because they took their Prophets’ graves as places for praying.’”Bukhari:V5B59N727 “When Allah’s Apostle became seriously sick, he started covering his face with a woolen sheet. When he felt short of breath, he removed it, and said, ‘That is so! Allah’s curse be on Jews and Christians.’”Bukhari:V4B55N607 “Allah’s Apostle said, ‘On the night of my Ascension to Heaven, I saw Jesus with a red face as if he had just come out of a bathroom. And I resemble Abraham more than any of his offspring.’”Qur’an 2:111 “They say: ‘None shall enter Paradise unless he be a Jew or a Christian.’ Those are their (vain) desires. Say: ‘Produce your proof if you are truthful.’ Nay, whoever submits His face to Allah and surrenders, he will get his reward; on such shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve. The Jews say: ‘The Christians follow nothing; and the Christians say: ‘the Jews follow nothing (true);’ Yet they (profess to) recite the (same) Scripture Book. But Allah will judge between them in their quarrel.” Qur’an 9:30 “The Jews call Uzair the son of Allah, and the Christians say that the Messiah is the son of Allah. That is their saying from their mouths; they but imitate what the unbelievers of old used to say. Allah’s (Himself) fights against them, cursing them, damning and destroying them. How perverse are they!”Qur’an 9:31 “They (Jews and Christians) consider their rabbis and monks to be gods besides Allah. They also took their Lord Messiah to be a god but they were commanded (in the Taurat and Injeel) to worship only One Ilah (God). There is no ilah (god) but He. Too holy is He for the partners they associate (with Him).”Qur’an 9:34 “Believers, there are many (Christian) monks and (Jewish) rabbis who in falsehood devour the wealth of mankind and hinder (men) from the way of Allah. And there are those who bury gold and silver and spend it not in Allah’s Cause. (Muhammad) announce unto them tidings of a painful torture. On the Day [of Doom] heat will be produced out of that (wealth) in the Fire of Hell. It will be branded on their foreheads, their flanks, and their backs. ‘This is the (treasure) which you hoarded for yourselves: now taste it!’”Qur’an 2:116 “They say: ‘Allah hath begotten a son: glory be to Him.’ Nay, to Him belongs all that is in heavens and on earth: All are subservient and obedient to Him.”Qur’an 2:145 “Even if you were to bring to the people of the Scripture Book all the Signs, they would not follow Your Qiblah; nor are you going to follow their Qiblah; nor indeed will they follow each other’s Qiblah.” Qur’an 2:146 “The People of the Book, unto whom We gave the Scripture, know/recognize this revelation/him as they know/recognize their own sons; But lo! a party of them knowingly conceals truth.”Qur’an 2:71 “The semblance of the infidels is one who shouts to one who cannot hear. They are deaf, dumb, and blind. They make no sense.” Qur’an 2:174 “Those who conceal Allah’s revelations in the [Bible] Scripture Book, and thus make a miserable profit thereby [selling it to Muhammad], swallow Fire into themselves; Allah will not address them. Grievous will be their doom.” Qur’an 2:175 “They are the ones who bartered away guidance for error and Torment in place of Forgiveness. Ah, what boldness (they show) for the Fire! (Their doom is) because Allah sent down the Book in truth but those who seek causes of dispute in the Book are in a schism of great opposition.” Tabari VIII:98 “Between the truce of Hudaybiyah and his death, the Messenger dispersed his Companions with letters. ‘I have been sent as a mercy and for all. Therefore, convey the message from me, and Allah shall have mercy on you. Do not become disobedient to me as the Disciples became disobedient to Jesus. He called them to the like of what I called you to. Those whom he sent close by were pleased and accepted; those whom he sent far off were refused. Jesus complained of their behavior to Allah, and when they awoke the next morning, each could speak the language of the people to whom he had been sent. Then Jesus said, ‘This is an affair that Allah has determined for you; so go forth!’”Qur’an 8:50 “If you could have seen the infidels when the angels drew away their souls, striking their faces and smiting their backs. The angels said: ‘Taste the penalty of the blazing Fire.’” Qur’an 8:52 “They brought this on themselves. Their case is like that of Pharaoh and of those before them. They denied and rejected the revelations of Allah, and Allah destroyed them, punishing them for their crimes: for Allah is strict, severe in punishment.”Qur’an 61:6 “And Jesus, the son of Mary, said: ‘Children of Israel, I am the Messenger of Allah (sent) to you, confirming that (which was revealed) before me in the Torah, and giving Glad Tidings of a Messenger to come after me, whose name shall be Ahmad, the Praised One.’ But when he came to them with Clear Signs, they said, ‘this is sorcery!’”Qur’an 61:14 “O Muslims! Be helpers of Allah: As Jesus the son of Mary said to the Disciples, ‘Who will be my helpers (in the Cause) of Allah?’ Said the disciples, ‘We are Allah’s helpers!’ Then a portion of the Children of Israel believed, and a portion disbelieved: But We gave power to those who believed against their enemies, and they became the victorious.”Qur’an 3:37 “Mariam was given into the care of Zacharyah. Whenever he came to see her in her chamber he found her provided with food, and he asked, ‘Where has this come from Mary?’ She said, ‘From Allah who gives in abundance to whomsoever He will. Zacharyah prayed, ‘Bestow on me offspring that is good [i.e., not a girl]. As he stood in the chamber the angels said, ‘Allah sends you tidings of Yahya (John) who will confirm a thing from Allah (the creation of Isa (Jesus), the Word of Allah) and be a noble prophet, one who is upright and does good [a Muslim].” Qur’an 3:42Qur’an 3:44 “Behold! the angels said: ‘Mariam! Allah has chosen you and purified you above the women of all nations and creation (including jinn). Mary! submit with obedience to your Lord (Allah). Prostrate yourself, and bow down with those [Muslims] who bow down.” “This is part of the tidings of the things unseen, which you have no knowledge and We reveal unto you (Messenger!) by inspiration. You were not with them when they cast lots with arrows, as to which of them should be charged with the care of Mariam. Nor were you with them when they disputed.”Qur’an 3:45 “Behold, the angels said: ‘O Mariam! Allah gives you glad tidings of a Word from Him: his name will be the Messiah, Isa (Jesus), the son of Mariam, held in honor in this world and the Hereafter and of those nearest to Allah.”Qur’an 4.171 “O people of the Book (Christians), do not be fanatical in your faith, and say nothing but the truth about Allah. The Messiah who is Isa (Jesus), son of Mariam, was only a messenger of Allah, nothing more. He bestowed His Word on Mariam and His Spirit. So believe in Allah and say not Trinity for Allah is one Ilah (God)…far be it from His Glory to beget a son.” Qur’an 3:46 “And he shall speak to the people when in the cradle and when of old age, and shall be one of the good ones.”Bukhari:V4B55N645 “The Prophet said, ‘None spoke in cradle but three: The first was Jesus, the second was an Israeli called Juraij. While he was offering his prayers, his mother called him. He said, “Shall I answer her or keep on praying?” He went on praying and did not answer her. His mother said, “O Allah! Do not let him die till he sees the faces of prostitutes.” Qur’an 3:47 “Mary said: ‘O my Lord! How shall I have a son when no man has touched me?’ He said: ‘Even so: Allah creates what He wills: When He has decreed a plan, He but says to it, ‘Be,’ and it is!” Qur’an 3:48 “And Allah will teach him the Scripture Book and Wisdom, the Torah and the Gospel, and appoint him a messenger to the Children of Israel, with this message: ‘Lo! I come unto you with a Sign from your Lord. Lo! I fashion for you out of clay the likeness of a bird, and I breathe into it and it is a bird, by Allah’s leave. I heal him who was born blind, and the leper, and I raise the dead, by Allah’s leave.” [As if reading a different Arabic text, the Ali translation says:] “He will teach him the Law and the Judgment, the Torah and the Gospel, and he will be Apostle to the children of Israel, (saying) ‘I have come to you with a prodigy from your Lord that I will fashion the state of destiny out of the mire for you and breathe (a new spirit) into it, and (you) will rise by the will of Allah.”Bukhari:V4B55N657 “Allah’s Messenger said, ‘Isa (Jesus), the son of Mariam, will shortly descend amongst you Muslims and will judge mankind by the law of the Qur’an. He will break the cross and kill the swine [Jews] and there will be no Jizyah tax taken from non-Muslims. Money will be so abundant no one will accept it. So you may recite this Holy Verse: “Isa (Jesus) was just a human being before his death. On the Day of Resurrection he (Jesus) will be a witness against the Christians.”’”Bukhari:V4B55N658 “Allah’s Apostle said ‘How will you be when the son of Mary (i.e. Jesus) descends amongst you and he will judge people by the Law of the Qur’an and not by the law of Gospel.’” Bukhari:V4B55N651-2 “I heard Allah’s Apostle saying, ‘I am the nearest of all the people to Jesus. There has been no prophet between me and Jesus. All the prophets are paternal brothers; their mothers are different, but their religion is one.’”Qur’an 3:50 “(I [Isa/Jesus] have come) to attest the Torah which was before me. And to make lawful to you part of what was forbidden; I have come to you with a Sign from your Lord. So fear Allah, and obey me. Lo! Allah is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him. That is a straight path.”Bukhari:V4B56N814 “There was a Christian who embraced Islam and he used to write the revelations for the Prophet. Later on he returned to Christianity again he used to say: ‘Muhammad knows nothing but what I have written for him.’”Qur’an 3:52 “But when Jesus became conscious of their disbelief, he cried: ‘Who will be my helpers in the Allah’s Cause? The disciples said: We will be Allah’s helpers. We believe in Allah, and do you bear witness that we are Muslims.” Qur’an 3:54 “And they (the disciples from the previous verse) schemed, and Allah schemed and plotted (against them): and Allah is the best of schemers.” [Another translation reads:] Qur’an 3:54 “‘Lord, we believe in Your revelations [the Torah and Gospels] and follow this Apostle [Jesus]. Enroll us among the witnesses.’ But the Christians contrived a plot and Allah did the same; but Allah’s plot was the best.” [A third translation says that “they” refers to “disbelievers,” not the disciples and they plotted to kill Jesus.] “And they (disbelievers) plotted (to kill Isa [Jesus]) and Allah plotted too.”Qur’an 3:55 “Allah said, ‘Jesus, I will take you and raise you to Myself and rid you of the infidels (who have forged the lie that you are My son).… Those who are infidels will surely receive severe torment both in this world and the next; and none will they have as a savior for them.” [Interesting, considering...] Qur’an 5:72 “They are surely infidels who say; ‘God is the Christ, the Messiah, the son of Mary.” [Another translation reads:] Qur’an 3:55 “Behold! Allah said: ‘O Jesus! I will take you and raise you to Myself and clear you (of the falsehoods) of those who blaspheme; I will make those who follow you superior to those who reject faith. Then shall you all return unto me, and I will judge between you on the matters wherein you dispute.” [Another:] “(Remember) when Allah said: ‘Jesus! Lo! I am gathering you and causing you to ascend unto Me. I am cleansing you of those who disbelieve.” [A fourth reads:] “When Allah said: ‘Jesus, I am going to terminate the period of your stay (on earth) and cause you to ascend unto Me and purify you of those who disbelieve.... I will decide between you concerning that which you differed.”Qur’an 3:56 “As for those disbelieving infidels, I will punish them with a terrible agony in this world and the next. They have no one to help or save them.” Qur’an 3:58 “This is what We rehearse to you of the Signs and Message, a wise reminder. The similitude (likeness) of Jesus before Allah is as that of Adam; He created him from dust, then said to him: ‘Be.’ And he was.” Qur’an 3:60 “The Truth (comes) from Allah alone. So be not of those who doubt, waver or dispute. If any one disputes in this matter with you, now after knowledge has come to you, say: ‘Come! Let us gather together our sons and women among ourselves. Then let us earnestly pray, and invoke the curse of Allah on those who lie!’”Qur’an 3:61 “If anyone disputes with you about Jesus being divine, flee them and pray that Allah will curse them.” Qur’an 3:62 “This is the true account, the true explanation: There is no Ilah (God) except Allah; and Allah—He is the Mighty, the Wise. And if they turn away, then lo! Allah is aware of the corrupters, the mischief-makers. Say: ‘O People of the Book, come to common terms as an agreement between us and you: That we all shall worship none but Allah; that we associate no partners with him; and that none of us shall take others for lords beside Allah.’ If then they turn back, say you: ‘Bear witness that we (at least) are Muslims surrendered.”Qur’an 3:67 “Abraham was not a Jew nor yet a Christian; but he was a true Muslim, surrendered to Allah (which is Islam), and he joined not gods with Allah.” Qur’an 3:69 “It is the wish of the followers of the People of the Book to lead you astray. But they make none to go astray except themselves, but they perceive not. You People of the Book! Why reject you the signs, proofs, and verses of Allah, of which you are witnesses? You People of the Book! Why do you clothe Truth with falsehood, and conceal the Truth?”Qur’an 3:118 “O you who believe! Take not into your intimacy those outside your religion (pagans, Jews, and Christians). They will not fail to corrupt you. They only desire your ruin. Rank hatred has already appeared from their mouths. What their hearts conceal is far worse. When they are alone, they bite off the very tips of their fingers at you in their rage. Say unto them: ‘Perish in your rage.’”Qur’an 4:48 “Allah forgives not that partners [Christ as God] should be set up with Him; but He forgives anything else, to whom He please; to set up partners with Allah is to devise a sin most heinous.” Qur’an 4:50 “Behold! how they invent lies against Allah! That is flagrant sin.” Qur’an 4:51 “Have you not seen those to whom a portion of the Book has been given? They believe in sorcery and false deities and say of those who disbelieve: these are better guided than those who believe. They are (men) whom Allah has cursed: And those whom Allah has cursed, you will find that they have no savior.” Qur’an 4:54 “Are they jealous and envious what Allah has given them of his bounty? But We had already given the house of Abraham the Book, and conferred upon them a grand kingdom. Some of them believed, and some of them averted their faces from him. And Hell is sufficient for their burning. Those who reject our Signs, We shall soon cast into the Fire. As often as their skin is burnt and singed, roasted through, We shall change it for fresh skin, so that they may go on tasting the torment.” [top] [toc] [quotes main]RACISM: Ishaq:243 “I heard the Apostle say: ‘Whoever wants to see Satan should look at Nabtal!’ He was a black man with long flowing hair, inflamed eyes, and dark ruddy cheeks…. Allah sent down concerning him: ‘To those who annoy the Prophet there is a painful doom.” [9:61] “Gabriel came to Muhammad and said, ‘If a black man comes to you his heart is more gross than a donkey’s.’” Ishaq:144 “A rock was put on a slave’s chest. When Abu Bakr complained, they said, ‘You are the one who corrupted him, so save him from his plight.’ I will do so,’ said Bakr. ‘I have a black slave, tougher and stronger than Bilal, who is a heathen. I will exchange him. The transaction was carried out.”Qur’an 9:97 “The Arabs of the desert are the worst in unbelief and hypocrisy, and most fitted to be in ignorance of the command which Allah hath sent down to His Messenger.” Tabari II:11 “Shem, the son of Noah was the father of the Arabs, the Persians, and the Greeks; Ham was the father of the Black Africans; and Japheth was the father of the Turks and of Gog and Magog who were cousins of the Turks. Noah prayed that the prophets and apostles would be descended from Shem and kings would be from Japheth. He prayed that the African’s color would change so that their descendants would be slaves to the Arabs and Turks.” Tabari II:21 “Ham [Africans] begat all those who are black and curly-haired, while Japheth [Turks] begat all those who are full-faced with small eyes, and Shem [Arabs] begat everyone who is handsome of face with beautiful hair. Noah prayed that the hair of Ham’s descendants would not grow beyond their ears, and that whenever his descendants met Shem’s, the latter would enslave them.”Tabari IX:69 “Arabs are the most noble people in lineage, the most prominent, and the best in deeds. We were the first to respond to the call of the Prophet. We are Allah’s helpers and the viziers of His Messenger. We fight people until they believe in Allah. He who believes in Allah and His Messenger has protected his life and possessions from us. As for one who disbelieves, we will fight him forever in Allah’s Cause. Killing him is a small matter to us.”Bukhari: V9B89N256 “Allah’s Apostle said, ‘You should listen to and obey your ruler even if he is a black African slave whose head looks like a raisin.’” Ishaq:405 “It is your folly to fight the Apostle, for Allah’s army is bound to disgrace you. We brought them to the pit. Hell was their meeting place. We collected them there, black slaves, men of no descent. Ishaq:374 “The black troops and slaves of the Meccans cried out and the Muslims replied, ‘Allah destroy your sight, you impious rascals.’”Bukhari:V4B52N137 “The Prophet said, ‘Let the negro slave of Dinar perish. And if he is pierced with a thorn, let him not find anyone to take it out for him.... If he [the black slave] asks for anything it shall not be granted, and if he needs intercession [to get into paradise], his intercession will be denied.’” [top] [toc] [quotes main]WOMEN IN ISLAM: Tabari IX:113 “Allah permits you to shut them in separate rooms and to beat them, but not severely. If they abstain, they have the right to food and clothing. Treat women well for they are like domestic animals and they possess nothing themselves. Allah has made the enjoyment of their bodies lawful in his Qur’an.”Tabari I:280 “Allah said, ‘It is My obligation to make Eve bleed once every month as she made this tree bleed. I must also make Eve stupid, although I created her intelligent.’ Because Allah afflicted Eve, all of the women of this world menstruate and are stupid.” Qur’an 4:3 “If you fear that you shall not be able to deal justly with orphans, marry women of your choice who seem good to you, two or three or four; but if you fear that you shall not be able to do justice (to so many), then only one, or (a slave) that you possess, that will be more suitable. And give the women their dower as a free gift; but if they, of their own good pleasure, remit any part of it to you, eat it with enjoyment, take it with right good cheer and absorb it (in your wealth).”Qur’an 4:11 “Allah directs you in regard of your Children’s (inheritance): to the male, a portion equal to that of two females…. These are settled portions ordained by Allah.”Bukhari:V1B22N28 “The Prophet said: ‘I was shown the Hell Fire and the majority of its dwellers were women who are disbelievers or ungrateful.’ When asked what they were ungrateful for, the Prophet answered, ‘All the favors done for them by their husbands.’” Muslim:B1N142 “‘O womenfolk, you should ask for forgiveness for I saw you in bulk amongst the dwellers of Hell.’ A wise lady said: Why is it, Allah’s Apostle, that women comprise the bulk of the inhabitants of Hell? The Prophet observed: ‘You curse too much and are ungrateful to your spouses. You lack common sense, fail in religion and rob the wisdom of the wise.’ Upon this the woman remarked: What is wrong with our common sense? The Prophet replied, ‘Your lack of common sense can be determined from the fact that the evidence of two women is equal to one man. That is a proof.’”Qur’an 4:43 “Believers, approach not prayers with a mind befogged or intoxicated until you understand what you utter. Nor when you are polluted, until after you have bathed. If you are ill, or on a journey, or come from answering the call of nature, or you have touched a woman, and you find no water, then take for yourselves clean dirt, and rub your faces and hands. Lo! Allah is Benign, Forgiving.” [The Qur’an claims women are unclean and polluted—worse than dirt.]Bukhari:V4B55N547 “The Prophet said, ‘But for the Israelis, meat would not decay, and if it were not for Eve, wives would never betray their husbands.’” Qur’an 33:59 “Prophet! Tell your wives and daughters and all Muslim women to draw cloaks and veils all over their bodies (screening themselves completely except for one or two eyes to see the way). That will be better.”Qur’an 4:15 “If any of your women are guilty of lewdness, take the evidence of four witnesses from amongst you against them; if they testify, confine them to houses until death [by starvation] claims them.”Bukhari:V4B52N143/V5B59N523 “When we reached Khaybar, Muhammad said that Allah had enabled him to conquer them. It was then that the beauty of Safiyah was described to him. Her husband had been killed, so Allah’s Apostle selected her for himself. He took her along with him till we reached a place called Sad where her menses were over and he took her for his wife, consummating his marriage to her, and forcing her to wear the veil.’” Bukhari:V5B59N524 “The Muslims said among themselves, ‘Will Safiyah be one of the Prophet’s wives or just a lady captive and one of his possessions?’”Ishaq:593 “From the captives of Hunayn, Allah’s Messenger gave [his son-in-law] Ali a slave girl called Baytab and he gave [future Caliph] Uthman a slave girl called Zaynab and [future Caliph] Umar another.”Bukhari:V3B48N826 “The Prophet said, ‘Isn’t the witness of a woman equal to half of that of a man?’ The women said, ‘Yes.’ He said, ‘This is because of the deficiency of a woman’s mind.’” Ishaq:584 “Tell the men with you who have wives: never trust a woman.”Ishaq:185 “In hell I saw women hanging by their breasts. They had fathered bastards.”Qur’an 24:31 “Say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty except what (must) appear; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms and not display them except to their husbands...”Qur’an 24:34 “Force not your slave-girls to whoredom (prostitution) if they desire chastity, that you may seek enjoyment of this life. [And here’s the freedom-to-pimp card:] But if anyone forces them, then after such compulsion, Allah is oft-forgiving.”Ishaq:469 “The Apostle said, ‘Every wailing woman lies except those who wept for Sa’d.’”Tabari VIII:62/Ishaq:496 “Ali [Muhammad’s adopted son, son-in-law, and future Caliph] said, ‘Prophet, women are plentiful. You can get a replacement, easily changing one for another.’”Ishaq:496 “Ask the slave girl; she will tell you the truth.’ So the Apostle called Burayra to ask her. Ali got up and gave her a violent beating first, saying, ‘Tell the Apostle the truth.’”Qur’an 24:1 “(This is) a surah which We have revealed and made obligatory and in which We have revealed clear communications that you may be mindful. For the woman and the man guilty of adultery or fornication, flog each of them with a hundred stripes. Let not compassion move you in their case, in a matter prescribed by Allah. And let a party of the Believers witness their punishment.” Qur’an 24:6 “And for those who launch a charge against their wives, accusing them, but have no witnesses or evidence, except themselves; let the testimony of one of them be four testimonies, (swearing four times) by Allah that he is the one speaking the truth.” [top] [toc] [quotes main]STUPIDITY: Bukhari:V6B61N550 “The Prophet said, ‘It is a bad thing some of you say, “I have forgotten such-and-such verse of the Qur’an.” For truly, I have been caused by Allah to forget it. So you must keep on reciting the Qur’an because it escapes faster than a runaway camel.’” Tabari I:299 “Scholars of the nation of our Prophet say, ‘The tree which Allah forbade Adam and his spouse to eat was wheat.’” Tabari I:321 “When Eve became heavy with her first pregnancy, Satan came to her before she gave birth and said, ‘Eve, what is that in your womb?’ She said, ‘I do not know.’ He asked, ‘Where will it come out from-your nose, your eye, or your ear?’ She replied, ‘I do not know.’” Tabari I:299 “It was the cover of fingernails that had kept their secret parts concealed.” Tabari I:275 “Satan wanted to meet them in Paradise, but the keepers prevented him from entering. He went to a snake, an animal with four feet like a camel. Satan tried to persuade it to let him enter its mouth and take him to Adam. The snake agreed, passed by the keepers, and entered without their knowledge, because that was Allah’s plan.” Tabari I:278 “Adam went inside the tree to hide. Eve cut the tree and it bled. Then feather that covered Adam and Eve dropped off. So Allah said, ‘Now Eve, as you caused the tree to bleed, you will bleed every new moon, and you, snake, I will cut off your feet and you will walk slithering on your face.’” Tabari I:279 “It was a tree which made whoever ate from it defecate. But there must be no faeces in Paradise.” Tabari I:281 “I heard him swear by Allah unequivocally, ‘As long as Adam was in his right mind, he would never have eaten from the tree. Eve gave him wine and got him drunk. She led him to the tree.” Tabari I:267 “And Allah taught Adam all the names as follows: He taught him the name of everything, down to fart and little fart.” Bukhari:V1B4N137 “Allah’s Apostle said, ‘The prayer of a person who does Hadath (passes urine, stool or wind) is not accepted till he performs ablution.’” Bukhari:V1B4N139 “I asked Allah’s Apostle about a person who imagined they passed wind during prayer. He replied: ‘He should not leave his prayer unless he hears sound or smells something.’”Bukhari:V1B4N156 “The Prophet said, ‘Whenever anyone makes water he should not hold his penis or clean his private parts with his right hand. While drinking, one should not breathe in the utensil.’” Bukhari:V1B4N163 “The Prophet said, ‘Whoever cleans his private parts with stones should do it with an odd number of stones. And whoever wakes up should wash his hands before putting them in the water for ablution. Nobody knows where his hands were during sleep.’” Bukhari:V1B4N174 “During the lifetime of Allah’s Apostle dogs used to urinate and pass through the mosque. Nevertheless they never used to sprinkle water on it.” Tabari I:367 “The Apostles said to Jesus, ‘Would you send us a man who saw the ark and could tell us about it.’ He took a handful of the earth in his palm and asked, ‘Do you know what this is?’ ‘Allah and His prophet know best!’ they replied. Jesus said, ‘This is the grave of Noah’s son, Ham.’ He struck the hill with his staff and said, ‘Rise with Allah’s permission!’ And behold there was Ham, with gray hair, shaking the earth from his head. Jesus asked him whether he had perished in that state with gray hair. Ham replied, ‘No when I died, I was a young man, but I thought the Day of Doom had come, and my hair turned gray.’ Jesus said, ‘Tell us about Noah’s ark.’ He said, ‘It was 1,200 cubits long [nearly 4,000 feet] and 600 cubits wide. It had three stories, one for domestic and wild animals, another for human beings, and a third for birds. When the dung of the animals became excessive, Allah inspired Noah to tickle the elephant’s tail. He did, and a male and female hog fell down and attacked the dung. When the rat fell down into the seams of the planks of the ark and gnawed at them, Allah inspired Noah to strike the lion between its eyes and a male and female cat came out from its nose and attacked the rat.’” Tabari I:360 “The first animal to be put aboard was the ant, and the last the donkey. When Noah brought the donkey in, Lucifer attached himself to its tail, so that it could not lift its legs. Noah started to say, ‘Woe to you. Go in.’ The donkey rose but was unable to move. Noah said, ‘Woe to you. Go in even if Satan is with you.’ It was a slip of the tongue, but when Noah said it, Satan let the donkey proceed. It went in, and Satan went in with it. Noah said, ‘How did you get in here with me?’ Satan replied, ‘You cannot escape from having me on board. Satan stayed in the rear of the boat. Noah also carried along Adam’s corpse, making it a barrier between the women and men.” Tabari II:106 “Allah sent gnats against the Babylonians, and they ate their flesh and drank their blood, and nothing but their bones were left. But Allah gave Nimrod a single gnat which entered his nostril and went on beating the inside of his head with hammers for four hundred years. The most merciful of his friends was he who bunched up his hands and beat Nimrod’s head with them.” Tabari II:107 “Nimrod vowed to seek out Abraham’s God. So he took four eagle fledglings and nurtured them on meat and wine so that they grew up tough and strong. Then he tied them to a chest and sat in it. He suspended a piece of meat over them and they flew up trying to reach it. When they had risen high in the sky, Nimrod looked down and beheld the earth. He saw the mountains crawling below like creeping ants. When they had risen still higher he looked and saw the earth with a sea surrounding it. After climbing still higher, he came into a region of darkness and could not see what was above him nor what was below him. He became frightened and threw the meat down. The eagles followed it, darting downward. When the mountains saw them coming near and heard their noise, they became afraid and almost moved from their places, but did not do so. As Allah says in the Qur’an, ‘Verily they have plotted their plot, and their plot is with Allah, even if their plot were one whereby the mountains should be moved.’” Tabari II:78 “And everything that heard him-stones, trees, hills, and dust said, ‘Here I am, my Allah, here I am.’” Tabari II:99 “Abraham was tested with ten Islamic practices: rinsing the mouth, cleansing nostrils with water, trimming the mustache, using a toothstick, plucking the armpit, paring nails, washing finger joints, circumcision, shaving pubic hair, and washing the rear and vulva.” Qur’an 2:138 “(Our religion is) the Baptism of Allah: And who can baptize better than Allah?” Tabari VI:21 “Qusayy purchased the custodianship of the Ka’aba for a skin full of wine and a lute.” Bukhari:V4B55N585 “‘O Allah’s Apostle! Which mosque was first built on the surface of the earth?’ He said, ‘The mosque Haram in Mecca.’ ‘Which was built next?’ He replied ‘The mosque of Al-Aqsa in Jerusalem.’ ‘What was the period of construction between the two?’ He said, ‘Forty years.’”Tabari VI:66 “Umar said, ‘By Allah I was by one of the idols of the Jahiliyyah. An Arab sacrificed a calf to it, and we were waiting for it to be divided up in order to receive a share. I heard coming from the belly of the calf a voice which was more penetrating than any I’ve heard. The dead calf’s belly said, ‘There is no ilah but Allah.’” Ishaq:85 “The people were afraid to demolish the temple and withdrew in terror from it. Al-Walid said, ‘I will begin the demolition.’ He took up his pickaxe and walked up to Allah’s House saying, ‘O Ka’aba, do not be afraid. O Allah we intend nothing but good.’ The he demolished part of it near the two corners.” Bukhari:V4B54N52 “The Prophet said, ‘Kill the snake with two white lines on its back, for it blinds the onlooker and causes abortion.’” Tabari VI:75 “‘Messenger, how did you first know with absolute certainty that you were a prophet?’ He replied, ‘Two angels came to me while I was somewhere in Mecca…. One angel said, “Open his breast and take out his heart.” He opened my chest and heart, removing the pollution of Satan and a clot of blood, and threw them away. Then one said, “Wash his breast as you would a receptacle.” He summoned the Sakinah, which looked like the face of a white cat, and it was placed in my heart. Then one said, “Sew up his breast.” So they sewed up my chest and placed the seal between my shoulders.’” Qur’an 33:69 “Believers, be not like those who annoyed Moses. Allah proved his innocence of that which they alleged.” Bukhari:V4B55N616 “Allah’s Apostle said, ‘The Prophet Moses was a shy person and used to cover his body. An Israeli insulted him, saying, “He covers it because of some defect like leprosy or scrotal hernia.” Allah wished to clear Moses of this allegation, so one day he took off his clothes, put them on a stone and started taking a bath. When he moved towards his clothes the stone took them and fled. Moses picked up his staff and ran after the stone saying, “O stone! Give me back my clothes!” He reached some Israelis who saw him naked, and found him to be the best of what Allah had created. The stone stopped there and Moses took his garments and started hitting the stone with his stick. By Allah, the stone still has some traces of the hitting, three, four or five marks. This was what Allah meant when he revealed the surah saying: “Believers! Be you not like those who annoyed Moses. Allah proved his innocence of that which they alleged.”’”Bukhari:V7B71N643 “I heard the Prophet saying, ‘If anyone of you dreams something he dislikes, when you get up, blow thrice on your left.’” Bukhari:V9B87N115 “If you spit on the left side of your bed the bad dream will not harm you.”Bukhari:V6B60N373 “The Prophet explained, ‘Paradise and Hell argued…. Allah said to the Hell Fire, “You are my (means of) punishment by which I torment whoever I wish of my slaves. You will have your fill. As for the Fire, it will not be filled until I put My Foot over it.’”Bukhari:V7B71N590 “The climate of Medina did not suit some people so the Prophet ordered them to drink camel urine as a medicine.” Bukhari:V7B71N592 “I heard Allah’s Apostle saying, ‘There is healing in black cumin for all diseases except death.’” Bukhari:V7B71N673 “Allah’s Apostle said, ‘If a fly falls in your drink, dip all of it into the cup and then throw it away, for in one of its wings there is a disease and in the other there is healing, an antidote or treatment for that disease.’”Qur’an 49:12 “Spy not behind the backs of others. Would any of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother?”Ishaq:565 “The Apostle sent Khalid to destroy the idol Al-Uzza in the lowland of Nakhlah. The Quraysh used to venerate her temple. When Sulami heard of Khalid’s approach, he hung his sword on Al-Uzza, climbed a mountain, and shouted: ‘O Uzza, make an annihilating attack on Khalid. Throw aside your veil and gird up your train. O Uzza, if you do not kill Khalid then bear a swift punishment or become a Christian.’ When Khalid arrived he destroyed her and returned to the Apostle.” Tabari VIII:187 “‘I have destroyed it,’ he said to Muhammad. ‘Did you see anything?’ ‘No.’ ‘Then,’ Muhammad said, ‘go back and kill her.’ So Khalid returned to the idol. He destroyed her temple and broke her graven image. The shrine’s keeper began saying, ‘Rage, O Uzza, display one of your fits of rage!’ Whereupon a naked, wailing Ethiopian woman came out before him. Khalid killed her and took the jewels that were on her. Then he went back to Allah’s Messenger and gave him a report. ‘That was Al-Uzza,’ Muhammad said. ‘Al-Uzza will never be worshiped again.’” Bukhari:V1B3N68 “Muhammad used to take care of us in preaching by selecting a suitable time, so that we might not get bored. He abstained from pestering us with sermons and knowledge.”Muslim:B40N6837 “Allah’s Messenger delivered an address, mentioning a camel and a bad person who cut off its hind legs, reciting: ‘When the basest of them broke forth with mischief.’ He then delivered instruction saying: ‘There are amongst you those who beat their women. They flog them like slave girls. Then after flogging them like slaves they comfort them in their beds as a result at the end of the day.’ He then advised in regard to people laughing at the breaking of wind and said: ‘You laugh at that which you yourself do.’”Bukhari:V3B33N254 “Satan circulates in human beings as blood flows in our bodies.” Tabari II:121 “Gabriel spread out his wings and gouged out their eyes. Gabriel seized Sodom’s girdle, snatching it up so high into the sky the angels could hear their dogs. He threw rocks at the laggards, one after the other. There were three towns called Sodom that lay between Medina and Syria. It has been mentioned that there were four million people in the town.” Qur’an 79:1 “I swear by those (angels) who violently tear out (the souls), and drag them forth to destruction, by those who gently take out, by those meteors rushing by, swimming along (angels or planets), and by those who press forward as in a race (the angels, or stars, or horses [the translators added, clueless as to what “god” was trying to say]), and by those who regulate the affair.”Bukhari:V7B71N665 “The Prophet said, ‘No contagious disease is conveyed without Allah’s permission.’” Bukhari:V4B54N484 “I heard the Prophet saying, ‘Fever is from the heat of the Hell Fire.’” Bukhari:V8B77N616 “Allah’s Apostle said, ‘Plague is a means of torture which Allah sends upon whom-so-ever He wishes.’”Qur’an 38:17 “We endued Our slave David with power. It was We who subdued the hills to sing Our praises with him at nightfall. And the birds were assembled, all obedient to him.” Qur’an 89:6 “Saw you not how your Lord dealt with [the mythical] Ad, possessors of lofty buildings, the likes of which were not produced in all the land?” Qur’an 91:11 “Thamud rejected (their prophet) through inordinate wrong-doing. Behold, the most-wicked wretch among them broke forth but the Messenger said: ‘Be cautious. It is a She-camel of Allah! And bar her not from having her drink!’ But they rejected him as a false prophet and hamstrung her. So Allah on account of their crime, obliterated their traces, doomed them, desolated their dwellings, leveling them to the ground for their sin.”Qur’an 78:37 “The Lord with Whom they cannot dare to speak, none can converse with Him, none are able to address Him.” Qur’an 86:13 “Lo this (Qur’an) is a conclusive Word; it is not a thing for amusement. It is no pleasantry. And it is no joke.” [top] [toc] [quotes main]ISLAMIC SCIENCE: Bukhari:V4B55N546 “Allah’s Apostle said, ‘Gabriel has just now told me of the answer. If a man has sexual intercourse with his wife and gets discharge first, the child will resemble him, and if the woman gets discharge first, the child will resemble her.’” Tabari I:258/Qur’an 15:26 “Allah created Adam from sticky clay, meaning viscous and sweet smelling slime, being stinking. It became stinking slime after having been compact soil.”Qur’an 80:17 “Be cursed man! He has self-destructed. From what stuff did He create him? From nutfa (male and female semen drops) He created him and set him in due proportion.”Tabari I:258 “Allah sent Gabriel to the earth to bring Him some clay. The earth said, ‘I take refuge in Allah against you mutilating me. Then He sent the angel of death. He took some soil from the earth and made a mixture. He did not take it from a single place but took red, white, and black soil. Therefore, the children of Adam came out different.” Bukhari:V4B54N430 “Allah’s Apostle, the true and truly inspired said, ‘Regarding the matter of the creation of a human being: humans are put together in the womb of the mother in forty days. Then he becomes a clot of thick blood for a similar period. He becomes a piece of flesh for forty days. Then Allah sends an angel who is ordered to write four things: the new creature’s deeds, livelihood, date of death, and whether he will be blessed or wretched. He will do whatever is written for him.’” Tabari I:293 “When Allah cast Adam down from Paradise, Adam’s feet were on earth while his head was in heaven. He became too familiar with the angels and they were in awe of him so much so that they complained to Allah in their various prayers. Allah, therefore, lowered Adam. But Adam missed what he used to hear from the angels and felt lonely. He complained to Allah and was sent to Mecca. On the way every place where he set foot became a village, and the interval between his steps became a desert until he reached Mecca.”Bukhari:V4B54N482 “Allah’s Apostle said, ‘The Hell Fire complained to its Lord saying, “O my Lord! My different parts are eating each other up.” So, He allowed it to take two breaths, one in winter, the other in summer. This is the reason for the severe heat and bitter cold you find in weather.’” Bukhari:V1B10N510 “Allah’s Apostle said, ‘If it is very hot, the severity of the heat is from the raging of the Hell Fire.’” Qur’an 56:58 “Then tell Me the semen that you emit, throwing out. Is it you who create it, or are We the Creators? [It’s only natural—the god of lust is the god of semen.] We have decreed/predestined/ordained Death for you all, and We are not to be frustrated from replacing you with others in (forms) that you know not.”Ishaq:255 “Jewish rabbis came to the Apostle and asked him to answer four questions saying, ‘If you do so we will follow you, testify to your truth, and believe in you.’ They began, ‘Why does a boy resemble his mother when the semen comes from the father?’ Muhammad replied, ‘Do you not know that a man’s semen is white and thick and a woman’s is yellow and thin? The likeness goes with that which comes to the top.’ ‘Agreed,’ the rabbis proclaimed. ‘Tell us about your sleep.’ ‘Do you not know that a sleep which you allege I do not have is when the eye sleeps but the heart is awake?’ ‘Tell us about what Israel [Jacob] voluntarily forbade himself.’ ‘Do you not know that the food he loved best was the flesh and milk of camels or perhaps two lobes of liver, kidneys, and fat?’ ‘Tell us about the spirit.’ ‘‘Do you not know that it is Gabriel, he who comes to me?’ ‘Agreed,’ the rabbis said. ‘But Muhammad, your spirit is an enemy to us, an angel who comes only with violence and the shedding of blood, and were it not for that we would follow you.”Qur’an 33:72 “We did indeed offer the opportunity to the Heavens, the Earth, the Mountains, but they refused to take it, being afraid (of Allah’s torment). But man undertook it. He was unjust and foolish. Lo, he has proved a tyrant and fool, ignorant. Allah has to punish the Hypocrites, men and women, and the Unbelievers.” [top] [toc] [quotes main]ALLAH’S ASTRONOMY: Tabari I:232 “Gabriel brings to the sun a garment of luminosity from the light of Allah’s Throne according to the measure of the hours of the day. The garment is longer in the summer and shorter in the winter, and of intermediate length in autumn and spring. The sun puts on that garment as one of you here puts on his clothes.” Tabari I:233 “When the Messenger was asked about that, he replied, ‘When Allah was done with His creation He created two suns from the light of His Throne. His foreknowledge told Him that He would efface one and change it to a moon; so the moon is smaller in size.” Tabari I:234 “Allah thus sent Gabriel to drag his wing three times over the face of the moon, which at the time was a sun. He effaced its luminosity and left the light in it. This is what Allah means: [in Qur’an 17:12] ‘We have blotted out the sign of the night, and We have made the sign of the day something to see by.’ The blackness you can see as lines on the moon is a trace of the blotting.” Tabari I:244 “Allah then created for the sun a chariot with 360 handholds from the luminosity of the light of the Throne and entrusted 360 of the angels inhabiting the lower heaven with the sun and its chariot, each of them gripping one of those handholds. Allah also entrusted 360 angels with the moon.” Tabari I:234 “Then the Prophet said: ‘For the sun and the moon, Allah created easts and wests on the two sides of the earth and the two rims of heaven. There are 180 springs in the west of black clay-this is why Allah’s word says: “He found the sun setting in a muddy spring.” [18:86] The black clay bubbles and boils like a pot when it boils furiously.’”Qur’an 18:83 “They ask you about Dhu’l-Qarnain [Alexander the Great]. Say, ‘I will cite something of his story. We gave him authority in the land and means of accomplishing his goals. So he followed a path until he reached the setting place of the sun. He saw that it set in black, muddy, hot water. Near it he found people.” Tabari I:236 “‘When the sun rises upon its chariot from one of those springs it is accompanied by 360 angels with outspread wings…. When Allah wishes to test the sun and the moon, showing His servants a sign and thereby getting them to obey, the sun tumbles from the chariot and falls into the deep end of that ocean. When Allah wants to increase the significance of the sign and frighten His servants severely, all of the sun falls and nothing of it remains in the chariot. That is a total eclipse of the sun. It is a misfortune for the sun.’” Tabari I:235 “Allah’s Apostle said, ‘Allah created an ocean three farakhs (918 kilometers) removed from heaven. Waves contained, it stands in the air by the command of Allah. No drop of it is spilled. All the oceans are motionless, but that ocean flows at the speed of an arrow. The sun, moon and retrograde stars [planets] by which Allah swears in the Qur’an [81:15], run like the sun and moon and race. All of the other stars are suspended from heaven as lamps are from mosques, and circulate together praising Allah. The Prophet said, ‘If you wish to have this made clear, look to the circulation of the sphere alternately here and there.’” Tabari I:236 “Allah created two cities out in space, each with ten thousand gates, each 6 kilometers distant from the other. By Allah, were those people not so many and so noisy, all the inhabitants of this world would hear the loud crash made by the sun falling when it rises and when it sets. Gabriel took me to them during my Night Journey from the Sacred Mosque [the Ka’aba] to the Farthest Mosque [the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem]. I told the people of these cities to worship Allah but they refused to listen to me.” Bukhari:V4B54N421 “I walked hand in hand with the Prophet when the sun was about to set. We did not stop looking at it. The Prophet asked, ‘Do you know where the sun goes at sunset?’ I replied, ‘Allah and His Apostle know better.’ He said, ‘It travels until it falls down and prostrates Itself underneath the Throne. The angels who are in charge of the sun prostrate themselves, also. The sun asks permission to rise again. It is permitted. Then it will prostrate itself again but this prostration will not be accepted. The sun then says, “My Lord, where do You command me to rise, from where I set or from where I rose?” Allah will order the sun to return whence it has come and so the sun will rise in the west. And that is the interpretation of the statement of Allah in the Qur’an.’” Qur’an 36:38 “The sun keeps revolving in its orbit at the dispensation of the All-Knowing. And the Moon, We have measured for her mansions till she returns like dried date stalks. It is not permitted for the Sun to overtake the Moon, nor can the Night outstrip the Day. Each (just) swims along, floating in (its own) orbit as a Sign as in a race. And we made similar vessels [chariots] for them to ride. But we could have drowned them if we pleased.” Tabari I:332 “The sun and the moon were in eclipse for seven days and nights.”Qur’an 67:3 “We created seven heavens, one above the other. Muhammad, can you see any fault in Ar-Rahman’s creation? Look again: Can you see any rifts or fissures? Then look again and yet again. Your gaze turns back dazed and tired. We have adorned the lowest skies with lamps, and We have made them missiles to drive away the devils and against the stone Satans, and for them We have prepared the doom of Hell and the penalty of torment in the most intense Blazing Fire.”Qur’an 38:27 “We have not created the heavens and earth and all that lies between for nothing.”Qur’an 21:26 “Don’t the unbelievers see that the heavens and earth were joined together in one piece before we clove them asunder? ...Will they not believe? And We have set on the earth mountains as stabilizers, lest the earth should convulse without them. And We have made therein broad highways for them to pass through, that they may be guided. We have made the heaven a roof well guarded. Yet they turn away from its Signs! All (the celestial bodies) swim along, on a course, floating.” Qur’an 2:189 “They ask you about the New Moons. Say: They are but signs to mark fixed seasons in (the affairs of) men, and for Hajj Pilgrimage.” Tabari I:204 “I asked the Prophet, ‘Where was Allah before His creation?’ Muhammad replied: ‘He was in a cloud with no air underneath or above it.’” Tabari I:219 “When Allah wanted to create the creation, He brought forth smoke from the water. The smoke hovered loftily over it. He called it ‘heaven.’ Then He dried out the water and made it earth. He split it and made it seven earths on Sunday. He created the earth upon a big fish, that being the fish mentioned in the Qur’an. By the Pen, the fish was in the water. The water was upon the back of a small rock. The rock was on the back of an angel. The angel was on a big rock. The big rock was in the wind. The fish became agitated. As a result, the earth quaked, so Allah anchored the mountains and made it stable. This is why the Qur’an says, ‘Allah made for the earth firmly anchored mountains, lest it shake you up.’” [top] [toc] [quotes main]
Prophet of Doom provides a comprehensive, contextual, and chronological review of the Islamic scriptures starting with the religion’s rendition of creation and ending with the terror it inspired. The book brings Islam’s five earliest and most trusted sources together, putting their words and deeds into the context of time and place to expose what the dogma’s founder had to say about himself, his ambition, religion, and god. There is no better way to understand Muhammad, Allah, or Islam—or to evaluate their legacy. When reviewing the primary papers of any dogma we must be mindful that context comes in three forms. There is the context of historical chronology—that of circumstance, place, people, and time. There is the context of adjacency —the proximity of related words and thoughts within the writings themselves. And context can be topical; in this case similar themes can be brought together and organized by subject. All forms of context provide clarity. Unfortunately, the Qur’an fails its faithful on all three counts. The book lacks any semblance of chronology. It is deficient when it comes to providing the required context of place, people, and time. Adjacent verses are usually unrelated and often contradictory. In the Meccan surahs there is a preoccupation with railing against Muhammad’s mockers and with describing Allah’s torments, but the rejections and condemnations are strewn haphazardly through the text. This is also true of the Medina surahs and their fixation on submit and obey, perform and pay, fight or burn. Yes these are themes, and they are repetitive, but they are not presented in cohesive groupings. The Qur’an’s failures in this regard dictate Prophet of Doom’s length, order, and format. The narrative and chronological Hadith compiled by Ishaq and Tabari were required to provide the Qur’an with the context of circumstance, time, and place that it otherwise lacked. Bukhari’s and Muslim’s topical Hadith were used to amplify important Islamic themes. Therefore, Muhammad’s message has never been as clear as it is in these pages. Unfortunately for humankind, unmasked, his message is repulsive, even terrorizing. But that is precisely what makes this study important. The “Muhammad’s Own Words” appendix isn’t the best way to learn about Muhammad or to understand his Qur’an. But its topical structure may be the most effective means to evaluate his religion. This format facilitates the study of important issues from various perspectives. Their relative significance can be evaluated based upon the volume of material relegated to them. So for your edification and convenience, this appendix collates nearly 3,000 quotes from the Qur’an, Sira, Ta’rikh, and Hadith under subject headings like Fighting, War, Jihad, Murder, Thievery, and Intolerance. In contrast to the book, “Muhammad’s Own Words” ends with Islamic creation and begins by focusing on the tools of tyranny and terror. They represent the dogma’s least understood and most lethal pronouncements. I trust you'll find this endeavor as sobering as it is enlightening. Every passage in this appendix is recorded in one of Islam’s prime sources: the Sira (biography), Ta’rikh (history), Hadith (report), or Qur’an (recital). They are all documented. Each quote fell from Muhammad’s lips, no matter how it was inspired. Every recital, whether surah or hadith was passed along to us by the same group of men and by the same means—hearsay. As you will discover, the message does not differ from source to source because the author was always the same. Ishaq’s Sirat Rasul Allah, provides the sole account of Muhammad’s life and the formation of Islam written within 200 years of the prophet’s death. It is a Hadith collection, comprised of oral reports from Muhammad and his companions. There is no earlier or more accurate source. While the character, message, and deeds portrayed within its pages are the antithesis of Christ’s and his disciples, the Sira’s chronological presentation is as indispensable to Muslims as are the Gospels to Christians. The Qur’an can’t be understood or followed without it. The Ta’rikh is the oldest, most trusted, and comprehensive history of Islam’s formation and Muhammad’s example, called Sunnah. It was compiled by Tabari. His History of al-Tabari is formatted like the Bible. It begins with Islamic creation and ends with the acts of Muhammad’s companions. Tabari also composed Islam’s most revered Ta’fir, or commentary, on the Qur’an. He was the dogma’s first scholar. His history serves to explain Allah’s Recital and Muhammad’s Sunnah by way of his compilation’s Hadith. The most revered topical collections of early Islamic Traditions were compiled by Bukhari and Muslim. They, like this appendix, assort Hadith under important Islamic themes, such as Jihad, Islamic Raids, Knowledge, Creation, Fear, Taxes, Money, Witnesses, Punishment, and Predestination. To confirm the validity and nature of the Islamic scriptures quoted herein, read what Muslim scholars wrote in the preface of the Hadith and Qur’an: “Bukhari is a Collection of sayings and deeds of Prophet Muhammad, also known as the Sunnah. The reports of the Prophet’s sayings and deeds are called Hadith. Bukhari lived a couple of centuries after the Prophet’s death and collected his Hadith. Each report was checked for compatibility with the Qur’an, and the veracity of the chain of reporters had to be established.” “The Qur’an is one leg of two which form the basis of Islam. The second is the Sunnah of the Prophet. What makes the Qur’an different from the Sunnah is its form. The Qur’an is quite literally the Word of Allah, whereas the Sunnah [which is comprised of Hadith] was inspired by Allah but the wording and actions are the Prophet’s.” When quoting from the Qur’an and Hadith, I have elected to use a blended translation. No language transfers perfectly—one word to another. Five of my twelve translations of the Qur’an were combined to create the most accurate conveyance of the message possible. For clarity and readability, I have trimmed unruly word patterns and meaningless repetitions, being careful not to alter the meaning or message of any passage. Insertions within parenthesis (like this) were added by the Arabic translators to fill in missing words or to clarify the text. Insertions within brackets [like this] represent my observations. There are many reasons Islamic clerics are sensitive about having the Qur’an translated into a contemporary language. The most important are that they don’t want anyone to know what it actually says or how poorly it’s written, but we’ll get to that in a moment. Muslims claim that Arabic was Allah’s original tongue and that translations are simply paraphrases. But that would make Allah younger than man because Arabic is one of man’s most recent dialects. Its written form didn’t emerge until the 7th century. And most every important religious word, concept, and name used in the Qur’an was derived from Syriac, the language of Syrian Christians in the 6th century. Muslims invest a quarter of their school day learning to recite the Qur’an —not reading it or understanding it. They simply learn to mouth its sounds in the arcane, inadequate, and odd dialect of Religious Arabic. That way they can be fooled into believing that it’s “God’s Book,” and that it’s written intelligently. Ignorant, they can be indoctrinated and thus manipulated by clerics and kings. Even turned into human bombs when it serves Islam’s interests. If Muslims were to shed their yoke of ignorance, they would discover that the real reason those who indoctrinate them, control them, suppress them, fleece them, and abuse them want them deceived is that the actual message contained in Allah’s Book is horrendous. It is more intolerant, racist, punitive, and violent than Hitler’s Mein Kampf. There are one hundred vicious verses for every nice one. The book inspires infinitely more terror than peace. They would also discover that the Qur’an is poorly written. There are countless meaningless words, foreign words, and missing words which is why translations differ so significantly—everyone is guessing as to what Muhammad thought Allah was trying to say. This is why Gerd Puin, the world’s leading specialist in Arabic calligraphy and Qur’anic paleography, studying the oldest manuscripts, speaks with disdain about the willingness of Muslims and non-Muslims alike, to accept Islamic dogma. He says: “The Qur’an claims for itself that it is ‘mubeen,’ or clear, but if you just look at it, you will see that every fifth sentence or so simply doesn’t make sense. Many Muslims will tell you otherwise, but the fact is that a fifth of the Qur’an is just incomprehensible. This is what has caused the traditional anxiety regarding translation. If the Qur’an is not comprehensible, if it can’t even be understood in Arabic, then it’s not translatable into any language. That is why Muslims are afraid.” By reading the Qur’an in a language they actually understand, Muslims would find that there is no semblance of order in the central book of Islam either. The Qur’an is a jumbled mess without context, chronology, or rational transitions. It is only by rearranging the Qur’an in the order it was revealed and infusing it with the context of the chronological Hadith narratives, that the book begins to make sense. But by so doing, it becomes obvious that the Qur’an was simply a reflection of Muhammad’s demented character and of his misplaced ambition. The more you know, the more you will come to despise the fraud Muhammad perpetrated on his fellow Arabs and they on human kind. To know the Qur’an is to reject Islam. The documented references in “Muhammad’s Own Words” were derived from English translations of ancient Islamic manuscripts. The Sirat Rasul Allah by Ibn Ishaq, circa 750 A.D., was edited and abridged by Ibn Hisham in 830 and translated by Alfred Guillaume under the title, The Life of Muhammad in 1955 by Oxford Press. The History of al-Tabari was written by Muhammad bin al-Tabari between 870 and 920 A.D. His work was translated and published in 1987-97 by S.U.N.Y. Press. I quote from volumes I, II, VI, VII, VIII, and IX. Al-Bukhari’s Hadith, titled: Sahih Al-Bukhari—The True Traditions was collected by Imam Bukhari in 850 A.D. I have used the collector’s original nomenclature. The following Qur’an translations were blended and amplified: Ahmed Ali, Pikthal, Noble by Muhsin Khan, Yusuf Ali, and Shakir. This appendix is not designed to replace the book. It is an aid for those who have read the book. Every quotation is presented chronologically in Prophet of Doom within the context of Muhammad’s life. They are reviewed in juxtaposition to their adjacent passages. Finding the page upon which a Hadith from Ishaq or Tabari is covered is thus relatively simple since their authors observed a strict chronology. The higher the page number or volume, the later you’ll find the reference in Prophet of Doom. But the Qur’an isn’t as logical. So if you want to review its surahs within the context of chronology, place, circumstance, and adjacency, you’ll have to use the Index and turn to the chapter in which the specific surah is presented. Some of these quotes have been abridged so that non-topical material doesn't clutter the subject. Most of my explanatory comments have been removed and thus I strongly encourage you to read Prophet of Doom prior to using the appendix.
http://www.prophetofdoom.net/quotes5.html
CHRISTIANS: Qur’an 5:17 “Verily they are disbelievers and infidels who say, ‘The Messiah, son of Mary, is God.’”Qur’an 5:51 “Believers, take not Jews and Christians for your friends. They are but friends and protectors to each other.” Qur’an 5:72 “They are surely infidels who blaspheme and say: ‘God is Christ, the Messiah, the son of Mary.’ But the Messiah only said: ‘O Children of Israel! Worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord.’”Qur’an 74:31 “We have appointed nineteen angels to be the wardens of the Hell Fire. We made a stumbling-block for those who disbelieve and We have fixed their number as a trial for unbelievers in order that the People of the Book may arrive with certainty, and that no doubts may be left for the People of the Book, those in whose hearts is a disease.”Ishaq:180 “According to my information, the Apostle often sat by a young Christian slave named Jabr. The Meccans said, ‘He is the one who teaches Muhammad most of what he brings.’ Then Allah revealed, Qur’an 16:103 ‘We know what they (pagans) say: “It is only a mortal man who teaches him (Muhammad). But the tongue of the man they wickedly point to is notably foreign, while this (Qur’an) is pure Arabic.’” Qur’an 72:15 “But the Qasitun (disbelievers) are the firewood of hell.”Qur’an 88:1 “Has the narration reached you of the overwhelming (calamity)? Some faces (Jews and Christians) that Day, will be humiliated, downcast, scorched by the burning fire, while they are made to drink from a boiling hot spring.”Qur’an 9:29 “Fight those who do not believe in Allah or the Last Day, who do not forbid that which has been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, or acknowledge the Religion of Truth (Islam), (even if they are) People of the Book (Christians and Jews), until they pay the Jizyah tribute tax in submission, feeling themselves subdued and brought low.” [Another translation says:] “pay the tax in acknowledgment of our superiority and their state of subjection.”Ishaq:552 “The Quraysh had put pictures in the Ka’aba including two of Jesus and one of Mary. Muhammad ordered that the pictures should be erased.”Qur’an 5:14 “From those, too, who call themselves Christians, We made a covenant, but they forgot and abandoned a good part of the message that was sent them: so we estranged them, stirred up enmity and hatred among them to the Day of Doom. Soon will Allah show them the handiwork they have done.”Qur’an 5:15 “O People of the Book! There has come to you Our Apostle, revealing to you much that you used to hide in your Scripture, suppressing and passing over much. There has come to you from Allah a (new) light (Muhammad) and a clear Book [the Qur’an].”Qur’an 5:17 “...Say (Muhammad): ‘Who then has the least power against Allah, if His will were to destroy Christ, the Messiah, the son of Mary, his mother, and everyone else on earth?”Qur’an 5:18 “The Jews and the Christians say: ‘We are sons of Allah, and his beloved.’ Say: ‘Why then does He punish you for your sins? Nay, you are but men. He forgives whom He wishes and punishes whom He pleases.’”Qur’an 5:35 “Believers, fear Allah and seek the way to approach Him, striving hard, fighting Jihad with all your might in His Cause that you may be successful. As for the disbelievers [previously defined as Christians], if they had everything on earth, two times over, to give as ransom for the penalty of the Day of Doom, it would never be accepted from them. Theirs will be a painful torment. They will desire to get out of the fire, but they shall not be released from it. They shall have an everlasting torture.”Qur’an 5:47 “Let the people of the Gospel judge by what Allah has revealed therein. If any fail to judge by what Allah has revealed, they are (no better than) those who rebel.”Qur’an 5:48 “To you [Christians] We sent the Scripture in truth, confirming the scripture that came before it, and guarding it in safety: so judge between them by what Allah has revealed.”Qur’an 5:49 “And this (He commands): Judge between them by what Allah has revealed and follow not their [Christian] desires, but beware of them lest they beguile you, seducing you away from any of that which Allah hath sent down to you. And if they turn you away [from being Muslims], be assured that for their crime it is Allah’s purpose to smite them. Truly most men are rebellious.”Qur’an 5:57 “Believers, take not for friends those who take your religion for a mockery or sport, a joke, whether among those who received the Scripture before you or among those who reject Faith; but fear Allah.”Qur’an 5:68 “Say: ‘People of the Scripture Book! You have no ground to stand upon unless you observe the Taurat [Torah], the Injeel [Gospel], and all the Revelation that has come to you from your Lord.’ It is certain to increase their rebellion and blasphemy. But grieve you not over unbelieving people.”Qur’an 5:72 “...Lo! Whoever joins other gods with Allah or says He has a partner, Allah has forbidden Paradise, and the Hell Fire will be his abode. There will for the wrong-doers be no one to help.” Qur’an 5:73 “They are surely disbelievers who blaspheme and say: ‘God is one of three in the Trinity for there is no Ilah (God) except One, Allah. If they desist not from saying this (blasphemy), verily a grievous penalty will befall them—the disbelievers will suffer a painful doom.” Qur’an 5:75 “The Messiah, Christ, the son of Mary, was no more than a messenger; many were the messengers that passed away before him. His mother was a woman of truth. They had to eat their food. See how Allah does make His signs clear to them; yet see in what ways they are deluded!” Qur’an 4:157 “‘We [Jews] killed the Messiah, Jesus,’ but they killed him not, nor crucified him. It appeared so to them (as the resemblance of Jesus was put over another man and they killed that man). Nay, Allah raised him up unto Himself. Those who differ with this version are full of doubts. They have no knowledge and follow nothing but conjecture. For surely they killed him not.” Qur’an 4:171 “O People of the Book! Do not exaggerate in your religion; nor speak lies of Allah. The Messiah, Christ Jesus, the son of Mary was (no more than) a messenger of Allah, and His Word, which He bestowed on Mary, and a Spirit proceeding from Him. So believe in Allah and His messengers. Say not ‘Trinity.’ Cease and Desist: (it is) better for you: for Allah is one Ilah (God). (Far it is removed from him of) having a son. To Him belong all things in the heavens and on earth. And enough is Allah as a Disposer of affairs. The Messiah is proud to be a slave of Allah, as are the angels, those nearest. Those who disdain His worship and are arrogant. He will gather them all together unto Himself to (answer)…. He will punish with a painful doom; Nor will they find, besides Allah, any to protect or save them.” Qur’an 4:159 “And there is none of the People of the Book but will believe in him (Jesus as only a messenger of Allah and a human being) before his (Jesus’) death. He will be a witness against them.”Qur’an 5:77 “Say (Muhammad): ‘People of the Book, do not overstep the bounds in your religion, or follow the people who erred and led many astray. Cursed are the unbelievers among the Children of Israel by David and Jesus.... They do vile things, allying themselves with the infidels so that Allah’s indignation is upon them and in torment they will suffer for all eternity.” [Another translation reads:] “Curses were pronounced on the unbelievers, the Children of Israel who rejected Islam, by the tongues of David and of Jesus because they disobeyed and rebelled.” Qur’an 5:80 “You see many of them allying themselves with the unbelieving infidels. Vile indeed are their souls. Allah’s wrath is on them, and in torment will they abide.” Qur’an 5:81 “If only they had believed in Allah, in the Prophet, and in what had been revealed to him.” Qur’an 5:82 “You will find the Jews and disbelievers [defined as Christians in 5:73] the most vehement in hatred for the Muslims.” Qur’an 5:110 “And God will say: ‘O Jesus! Recount My favor to you and to your mother. Behold! I strengthened you with the Holy Spirit so that you spoke to the people in the cradle and in the prime of life. Behold! I taught you the law and the judgment, the Torah and the Gospel. And behold, you made out of clay, as it were, the figure of a bird and you breathed into it and it became a bird by My permission. And you healed those born blind by My permission and the lepers by My permission. And behold! You raised forth the dead by My permission. And behold! I did restrain the Jews from harming you when you came with clear proofs. And the unbelievers among the Jews said: ‘This is nothing but magic.’”Qur’an 5:111 “Behold! I inspired the [Christian] disciples to have faith in Me and My Messenger. They said, ‘We are believers, and bear witness that we prostrate ourselves to Allah as Muslims.’” Qur’an 5:112 “Behold! The disciples, said: ‘O Jesus, can your Lord send down to us a table well laid out from heaven?’ Said Jesus: ‘Fear Allah, if you have faith.’ When the disciples said: ‘O Jesus, son of Mary, is your Lord able to send down for us a table spread with food from heaven?’ He said: “Observe your duty to Allah, if you are true believers.’” Qur’an 5:113 “They said: ‘We only wish to eat thereof to satisfy our hearts, and to know that you have told us the truth. We want to witnesses a miracle.’ Said Jesus, the son of Mary: ‘O Allah our Lord! Send us from heaven a table well laid out, that there may be for us a feast, a Sign from you.” Qur’an 5:115 “Allah said: ‘I am going to send it down unto you, but if any of you after that disbelieves, resisting Faith [Islam], I will punish him with a torment such as I have not inflicted on any one of my creatures, man or jinn. I will punish them with a torment such as I have not inflicted on any one of my creatures.”Qur’an 5:116 “And behold! Allah will say: ‘O Jesus, the son of Mary! Did you say unto men, worship me and my mother as two gods besides Allah?’ He will say: ‘Glory to You! Never could I utter what I had no right.” Qur’an 5:117 “I only said what You (Allah) commanded me to say: Worship Allah, my lord and your Lord. I was a witness over them while I dwelt amongst them but you took me up. (This is a great admonition and warning to the Christians of the whole world.)”Tabari IX:15 “One of the Ansari who was plundering the slain came upon a Thaqif boy. He discovered that he was an uncircumcised Christian. He uncovered others and then yelled out at the top of his voice, ‘Allah knows that the Thaqif are uncircumcised.”Tabari IX:86 “Don’t seduce the Jews or Christians for incumbent on them is to pay the jizyah protection tax.”Bukhari:V2B23N414 “The Prophet in his fatal illness said, “Allah cursed Jews and Christians because they took their Prophets’ graves as places for praying.’”Bukhari:V5B59N727 “When Allah’s Apostle became seriously sick, he started covering his face with a woolen sheet. When he felt short of breath, he removed it, and said, ‘That is so! Allah’s curse be on Jews and Christians.’”Bukhari:V4B55N607 “Allah’s Apostle said, ‘On the night of my Ascension to Heaven, I saw Jesus with a red face as if he had just come out of a bathroom. And I resemble Abraham more than any of his offspring.’”Qur’an 2:111 “They say: ‘None shall enter Paradise unless he be a Jew or a Christian.’ Those are their (vain) desires. Say: ‘Produce your proof if you are truthful.’ Nay, whoever submits His face to Allah and surrenders, he will get his reward; on such shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve. The Jews say: ‘The Christians follow nothing; and the Christians say: ‘the Jews follow nothing (true);’ Yet they (profess to) recite the (same) Scripture Book. But Allah will judge between them in their quarrel.” Qur’an 9:30 “The Jews call Uzair the son of Allah, and the Christians say that the Messiah is the son of Allah. That is their saying from their mouths; they but imitate what the unbelievers of old used to say. Allah’s (Himself) fights against them, cursing them, damning and destroying them. How perverse are they!”Qur’an 9:31 “They (Jews and Christians) consider their rabbis and monks to be gods besides Allah. They also took their Lord Messiah to be a god but they were commanded (in the Taurat and Injeel) to worship only One Ilah (God). There is no ilah (god) but He. Too holy is He for the partners they associate (with Him).”Qur’an 9:34 “Believers, there are many (Christian) monks and (Jewish) rabbis who in falsehood devour the wealth of mankind and hinder (men) from the way of Allah. And there are those who bury gold and silver and spend it not in Allah’s Cause. (Muhammad) announce unto them tidings of a painful torture. On the Day [of Doom] heat will be produced out of that (wealth) in the Fire of Hell. It will be branded on their foreheads, their flanks, and their backs. ‘This is the (treasure) which you hoarded for yourselves: now taste it!’”Qur’an 2:116 “They say: ‘Allah hath begotten a son: glory be to Him.’ Nay, to Him belongs all that is in heavens and on earth: All are subservient and obedient to Him.”Qur’an 2:145 “Even if you were to bring to the people of the Scripture Book all the Signs, they would not follow Your Qiblah; nor are you going to follow their Qiblah; nor indeed will they follow each other’s Qiblah.” Qur’an 2:146 “The People of the Book, unto whom We gave the Scripture, know/recognize this revelation/him as they know/recognize their own sons; But lo! a party of them knowingly conceals truth.”Qur’an 2:71 “The semblance of the infidels is one who shouts to one who cannot hear. They are deaf, dumb, and blind. They make no sense.” Qur’an 2:174 “Those who conceal Allah’s revelations in the [Bible] Scripture Book, and thus make a miserable profit thereby [selling it to Muhammad], swallow Fire into themselves; Allah will not address them. Grievous will be their doom.” Qur’an 2:175 “They are the ones who bartered away guidance for error and Torment in place of Forgiveness. Ah, what boldness (they show) for the Fire! (Their doom is) because Allah sent down the Book in truth but those who seek causes of dispute in the Book are in a schism of great opposition.” Tabari VIII:98 “Between the truce of Hudaybiyah and his death, the Messenger dispersed his Companions with letters. ‘I have been sent as a mercy and for all. Therefore, convey the message from me, and Allah shall have mercy on you. Do not become disobedient to me as the Disciples became disobedient to Jesus. He called them to the like of what I called you to. Those whom he sent close by were pleased and accepted; those whom he sent far off were refused. Jesus complained of their behavior to Allah, and when they awoke the next morning, each could speak the language of the people to whom he had been sent. Then Jesus said, ‘This is an affair that Allah has determined for you; so go forth!’”Qur’an 8:50 “If you could have seen the infidels when the angels drew away their souls, striking their faces and smiting their backs. The angels said: ‘Taste the penalty of the blazing Fire.’” Qur’an 8:52 “They brought this on themselves. Their case is like that of Pharaoh and of those before them. They denied and rejected the revelations of Allah, and Allah destroyed them, punishing them for their crimes: for Allah is strict, severe in punishment.”Qur’an 61:6 “And Jesus, the son of Mary, said: ‘Children of Israel, I am the Messenger of Allah (sent) to you, confirming that (which was revealed) before me in the Torah, and giving Glad Tidings of a Messenger to come after me, whose name shall be Ahmad, the Praised One.’ But when he came to them with Clear Signs, they said, ‘this is sorcery!’”Qur’an 61:14 “O Muslims! Be helpers of Allah: As Jesus the son of Mary said to the Disciples, ‘Who will be my helpers (in the Cause) of Allah?’ Said the disciples, ‘We are Allah’s helpers!’ Then a portion of the Children of Israel believed, and a portion disbelieved: But We gave power to those who believed against their enemies, and they became the victorious.”Qur’an 3:37 “Mariam was given into the care of Zacharyah. Whenever he came to see her in her chamber he found her provided with food, and he asked, ‘Where has this come from Mary?’ She said, ‘From Allah who gives in abundance to whomsoever He will. Zacharyah prayed, ‘Bestow on me offspring that is good [i.e., not a girl]. As he stood in the chamber the angels said, ‘Allah sends you tidings of Yahya (John) who will confirm a thing from Allah (the creation of Isa (Jesus), the Word of Allah) and be a noble prophet, one who is upright and does good [a Muslim].” Qur’an 3:42Qur’an 3:44 “Behold! the angels said: ‘Mariam! Allah has chosen you and purified you above the women of all nations and creation (including jinn). Mary! submit with obedience to your Lord (Allah). Prostrate yourself, and bow down with those [Muslims] who bow down.” “This is part of the tidings of the things unseen, which you have no knowledge and We reveal unto you (Messenger!) by inspiration. You were not with them when they cast lots with arrows, as to which of them should be charged with the care of Mariam. Nor were you with them when they disputed.”Qur’an 3:45 “Behold, the angels said: ‘O Mariam! Allah gives you glad tidings of a Word from Him: his name will be the Messiah, Isa (Jesus), the son of Mariam, held in honor in this world and the Hereafter and of those nearest to Allah.”Qur’an 4.171 “O people of the Book (Christians), do not be fanatical in your faith, and say nothing but the truth about Allah. The Messiah who is Isa (Jesus), son of Mariam, was only a messenger of Allah, nothing more. He bestowed His Word on Mariam and His Spirit. So believe in Allah and say not Trinity for Allah is one Ilah (God)…far be it from His Glory to beget a son.” Qur’an 3:46 “And he shall speak to the people when in the cradle and when of old age, and shall be one of the good ones.”Bukhari:V4B55N645 “The Prophet said, ‘None spoke in cradle but three: The first was Jesus, the second was an Israeli called Juraij. While he was offering his prayers, his mother called him. He said, “Shall I answer her or keep on praying?” He went on praying and did not answer her. His mother said, “O Allah! Do not let him die till he sees the faces of prostitutes.” Qur’an 3:47 “Mary said: ‘O my Lord! How shall I have a son when no man has touched me?’ He said: ‘Even so: Allah creates what He wills: When He has decreed a plan, He but says to it, ‘Be,’ and it is!” Qur’an 3:48 “And Allah will teach him the Scripture Book and Wisdom, the Torah and the Gospel, and appoint him a messenger to the Children of Israel, with this message: ‘Lo! I come unto you with a Sign from your Lord. Lo! I fashion for you out of clay the likeness of a bird, and I breathe into it and it is a bird, by Allah’s leave. I heal him who was born blind, and the leper, and I raise the dead, by Allah’s leave.” [As if reading a different Arabic text, the Ali translation says:] “He will teach him the Law and the Judgment, the Torah and the Gospel, and he will be Apostle to the children of Israel, (saying) ‘I have come to you with a prodigy from your Lord that I will fashion the state of destiny out of the mire for you and breathe (a new spirit) into it, and (you) will rise by the will of Allah.”Bukhari:V4B55N657 “Allah’s Messenger said, ‘Isa (Jesus), the son of Mariam, will shortly descend amongst you Muslims and will judge mankind by the law of the Qur’an. He will break the cross and kill the swine [Jews] and there will be no Jizyah tax taken from non-Muslims. Money will be so abundant no one will accept it. So you may recite this Holy Verse: “Isa (Jesus) was just a human being before his death. On the Day of Resurrection he (Jesus) will be a witness against the Christians.”’”Bukhari:V4B55N658 “Allah’s Apostle said ‘How will you be when the son of Mary (i.e. Jesus) descends amongst you and he will judge people by the Law of the Qur’an and not by the law of Gospel.’” Bukhari:V4B55N651-2 “I heard Allah’s Apostle saying, ‘I am the nearest of all the people to Jesus. There has been no prophet between me and Jesus. All the prophets are paternal brothers; their mothers are different, but their religion is one.’”Qur’an 3:50 “(I [Isa/Jesus] have come) to attest the Torah which was before me. And to make lawful to you part of what was forbidden; I have come to you with a Sign from your Lord. So fear Allah, and obey me. Lo! Allah is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him. That is a straight path.”Bukhari:V4B56N814 “There was a Christian who embraced Islam and he used to write the revelations for the Prophet. Later on he returned to Christianity again he used to say: ‘Muhammad knows nothing but what I have written for him.’”Qur’an 3:52 “But when Jesus became conscious of their disbelief, he cried: ‘Who will be my helpers in the Allah’s Cause? The disciples said: We will be Allah’s helpers. We believe in Allah, and do you bear witness that we are Muslims.” Qur’an 3:54 “And they (the disciples from the previous verse) schemed, and Allah schemed and plotted (against them): and Allah is the best of schemers.” [Another translation reads:] Qur’an 3:54 “‘Lord, we believe in Your revelations [the Torah and Gospels] and follow this Apostle [Jesus]. Enroll us among the witnesses.’ But the Christians contrived a plot and Allah did the same; but Allah’s plot was the best.” [A third translation says that “they” refers to “disbelievers,” not the disciples and they plotted to kill Jesus.] “And they (disbelievers) plotted (to kill Isa [Jesus]) and Allah plotted too.”Qur’an 3:55 “Allah said, ‘Jesus, I will take you and raise you to Myself and rid you of the infidels (who have forged the lie that you are My son).… Those who are infidels will surely receive severe torment both in this world and the next; and none will they have as a savior for them.” [Interesting, considering...] Qur’an 5:72 “They are surely infidels who say; ‘God is the Christ, the Messiah, the son of Mary.” [Another translation reads:] Qur’an 3:55 “Behold! Allah said: ‘O Jesus! I will take you and raise you to Myself and clear you (of the falsehoods) of those who blaspheme; I will make those who follow you superior to those who reject faith. Then shall you all return unto me, and I will judge between you on the matters wherein you dispute.” [Another:] “(Remember) when Allah said: ‘Jesus! Lo! I am gathering you and causing you to ascend unto Me. I am cleansing you of those who disbelieve.” [A fourth reads:] “When Allah said: ‘Jesus, I am going to terminate the period of your stay (on earth) and cause you to ascend unto Me and purify you of those who disbelieve.... I will decide between you concerning that which you differed.”Qur’an 3:56 “As for those disbelieving infidels, I will punish them with a terrible agony in this world and the next. They have no one to help or save them.” Qur’an 3:58 “This is what We rehearse to you of the Signs and Message, a wise reminder. The similitude (likeness) of Jesus before Allah is as that of Adam; He created him from dust, then said to him: ‘Be.’ And he was.” Qur’an 3:60 “The Truth (comes) from Allah alone. So be not of those who doubt, waver or dispute. If any one disputes in this matter with you, now after knowledge has come to you, say: ‘Come! Let us gather together our sons and women among ourselves. Then let us earnestly pray, and invoke the curse of Allah on those who lie!’”Qur’an 3:61 “If anyone disputes with you about Jesus being divine, flee them and pray that Allah will curse them.” Qur’an 3:62 “This is the true account, the true explanation: There is no Ilah (God) except Allah; and Allah—He is the Mighty, the Wise. And if they turn away, then lo! Allah is aware of the corrupters, the mischief-makers. Say: ‘O People of the Book, come to common terms as an agreement between us and you: That we all shall worship none but Allah; that we associate no partners with him; and that none of us shall take others for lords beside Allah.’ If then they turn back, say you: ‘Bear witness that we (at least) are Muslims surrendered.”Qur’an 3:67 “Abraham was not a Jew nor yet a Christian; but he was a true Muslim, surrendered to Allah (which is Islam), and he joined not gods with Allah.” Qur’an 3:69 “It is the wish of the followers of the People of the Book to lead you astray. But they make none to go astray except themselves, but they perceive not. You People of the Book! Why reject you the signs, proofs, and verses of Allah, of which you are witnesses? You People of the Book! Why do you clothe Truth with falsehood, and conceal the Truth?”Qur’an 3:118 “O you who believe! Take not into your intimacy those outside your religion (pagans, Jews, and Christians). They will not fail to corrupt you. They only desire your ruin. Rank hatred has already appeared from their mouths. What their hearts conceal is far worse. When they are alone, they bite off the very tips of their fingers at you in their rage. Say unto them: ‘Perish in your rage.’”Qur’an 4:48 “Allah forgives not that partners [Christ as God] should be set up with Him; but He forgives anything else, to whom He please; to set up partners with Allah is to devise a sin most heinous.” Qur’an 4:50 “Behold! how they invent lies against Allah! That is flagrant sin.” Qur’an 4:51 “Have you not seen those to whom a portion of the Book has been given? They believe in sorcery and false deities and say of those who disbelieve: these are better guided than those who believe. They are (men) whom Allah has cursed: And those whom Allah has cursed, you will find that they have no savior.” Qur’an 4:54 “Are they jealous and envious what Allah has given them of his bounty? But We had already given the house of Abraham the Book, and conferred upon them a grand kingdom. Some of them believed, and some of them averted their faces from him. And Hell is sufficient for their burning. Those who reject our Signs, We shall soon cast into the Fire. As often as their skin is burnt and singed, roasted through, We shall change it for fresh skin, so that they may go on tasting the torment.” [top] [toc] [quotes main]RACISM: Ishaq:243 “I heard the Apostle say: ‘Whoever wants to see Satan should look at Nabtal!’ He was a black man with long flowing hair, inflamed eyes, and dark ruddy cheeks…. Allah sent down concerning him: ‘To those who annoy the Prophet there is a painful doom.” [9:61] “Gabriel came to Muhammad and said, ‘If a black man comes to you his heart is more gross than a donkey’s.’” Ishaq:144 “A rock was put on a slave’s chest. When Abu Bakr complained, they said, ‘You are the one who corrupted him, so save him from his plight.’ I will do so,’ said Bakr. ‘I have a black slave, tougher and stronger than Bilal, who is a heathen. I will exchange him. The transaction was carried out.”Qur’an 9:97 “The Arabs of the desert are the worst in unbelief and hypocrisy, and most fitted to be in ignorance of the command which Allah hath sent down to His Messenger.” Tabari II:11 “Shem, the son of Noah was the father of the Arabs, the Persians, and the Greeks; Ham was the father of the Black Africans; and Japheth was the father of the Turks and of Gog and Magog who were cousins of the Turks. Noah prayed that the prophets and apostles would be descended from Shem and kings would be from Japheth. He prayed that the African’s color would change so that their descendants would be slaves to the Arabs and Turks.” Tabari II:21 “Ham [Africans] begat all those who are black and curly-haired, while Japheth [Turks] begat all those who are full-faced with small eyes, and Shem [Arabs] begat everyone who is handsome of face with beautiful hair. Noah prayed that the hair of Ham’s descendants would not grow beyond their ears, and that whenever his descendants met Shem’s, the latter would enslave them.”Tabari IX:69 “Arabs are the most noble people in lineage, the most prominent, and the best in deeds. We were the first to respond to the call of the Prophet. We are Allah’s helpers and the viziers of His Messenger. We fight people until they believe in Allah. He who believes in Allah and His Messenger has protected his life and possessions from us. As for one who disbelieves, we will fight him forever in Allah’s Cause. Killing him is a small matter to us.”Bukhari: V9B89N256 “Allah’s Apostle said, ‘You should listen to and obey your ruler even if he is a black African slave whose head looks like a raisin.’” Ishaq:405 “It is your folly to fight the Apostle, for Allah’s army is bound to disgrace you. We brought them to the pit. Hell was their meeting place. We collected them there, black slaves, men of no descent. Ishaq:374 “The black troops and slaves of the Meccans cried out and the Muslims replied, ‘Allah destroy your sight, you impious rascals.’”Bukhari:V4B52N137 “The Prophet said, ‘Let the negro slave of Dinar perish. And if he is pierced with a thorn, let him not find anyone to take it out for him.... If he [the black slave] asks for anything it shall not be granted, and if he needs intercession [to get into paradise], his intercession will be denied.’” [top] [toc] [quotes main]WOMEN IN ISLAM: Tabari IX:113 “Allah permits you to shut them in separate rooms and to beat them, but not severely. If they abstain, they have the right to food and clothing. Treat women well for they are like domestic animals and they possess nothing themselves. Allah has made the enjoyment of their bodies lawful in his Qur’an.”Tabari I:280 “Allah said, ‘It is My obligation to make Eve bleed once every month as she made this tree bleed. I must also make Eve stupid, although I created her intelligent.’ Because Allah afflicted Eve, all of the women of this world menstruate and are stupid.” Qur’an 4:3 “If you fear that you shall not be able to deal justly with orphans, marry women of your choice who seem good to you, two or three or four; but if you fear that you shall not be able to do justice (to so many), then only one, or (a slave) that you possess, that will be more suitable. And give the women their dower as a free gift; but if they, of their own good pleasure, remit any part of it to you, eat it with enjoyment, take it with right good cheer and absorb it (in your wealth).”Qur’an 4:11 “Allah directs you in regard of your Children’s (inheritance): to the male, a portion equal to that of two females…. These are settled portions ordained by Allah.”Bukhari:V1B22N28 “The Prophet said: ‘I was shown the Hell Fire and the majority of its dwellers were women who are disbelievers or ungrateful.’ When asked what they were ungrateful for, the Prophet answered, ‘All the favors done for them by their husbands.’” Muslim:B1N142 “‘O womenfolk, you should ask for forgiveness for I saw you in bulk amongst the dwellers of Hell.’ A wise lady said: Why is it, Allah’s Apostle, that women comprise the bulk of the inhabitants of Hell? The Prophet observed: ‘You curse too much and are ungrateful to your spouses. You lack common sense, fail in religion and rob the wisdom of the wise.’ Upon this the woman remarked: What is wrong with our common sense? The Prophet replied, ‘Your lack of common sense can be determined from the fact that the evidence of two women is equal to one man. That is a proof.’”Qur’an 4:43 “Believers, approach not prayers with a mind befogged or intoxicated until you understand what you utter. Nor when you are polluted, until after you have bathed. If you are ill, or on a journey, or come from answering the call of nature, or you have touched a woman, and you find no water, then take for yourselves clean dirt, and rub your faces and hands. Lo! Allah is Benign, Forgiving.” [The Qur’an claims women are unclean and polluted—worse than dirt.]Bukhari:V4B55N547 “The Prophet said, ‘But for the Israelis, meat would not decay, and if it were not for Eve, wives would never betray their husbands.’” Qur’an 33:59 “Prophet! Tell your wives and daughters and all Muslim women to draw cloaks and veils all over their bodies (screening themselves completely except for one or two eyes to see the way). That will be better.”Qur’an 4:15 “If any of your women are guilty of lewdness, take the evidence of four witnesses from amongst you against them; if they testify, confine them to houses until death [by starvation] claims them.”Bukhari:V4B52N143/V5B59N523 “When we reached Khaybar, Muhammad said that Allah had enabled him to conquer them. It was then that the beauty of Safiyah was described to him. Her husband had been killed, so Allah’s Apostle selected her for himself. He took her along with him till we reached a place called Sad where her menses were over and he took her for his wife, consummating his marriage to her, and forcing her to wear the veil.’” Bukhari:V5B59N524 “The Muslims said among themselves, ‘Will Safiyah be one of the Prophet’s wives or just a lady captive and one of his possessions?’”Ishaq:593 “From the captives of Hunayn, Allah’s Messenger gave [his son-in-law] Ali a slave girl called Baytab and he gave [future Caliph] Uthman a slave girl called Zaynab and [future Caliph] Umar another.”Bukhari:V3B48N826 “The Prophet said, ‘Isn’t the witness of a woman equal to half of that of a man?’ The women said, ‘Yes.’ He said, ‘This is because of the deficiency of a woman’s mind.’” Ishaq:584 “Tell the men with you who have wives: never trust a woman.”Ishaq:185 “In hell I saw women hanging by their breasts. They had fathered bastards.”Qur’an 24:31 “Say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty except what (must) appear; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms and not display them except to their husbands...”Qur’an 24:34 “Force not your slave-girls to whoredom (prostitution) if they desire chastity, that you may seek enjoyment of this life. [And here’s the freedom-to-pimp card:] But if anyone forces them, then after such compulsion, Allah is oft-forgiving.”Ishaq:469 “The Apostle said, ‘Every wailing woman lies except those who wept for Sa’d.’”Tabari VIII:62/Ishaq:496 “Ali [Muhammad’s adopted son, son-in-law, and future Caliph] said, ‘Prophet, women are plentiful. You can get a replacement, easily changing one for another.’”Ishaq:496 “Ask the slave girl; she will tell you the truth.’ So the Apostle called Burayra to ask her. Ali got up and gave her a violent beating first, saying, ‘Tell the Apostle the truth.’”Qur’an 24:1 “(This is) a surah which We have revealed and made obligatory and in which We have revealed clear communications that you may be mindful. For the woman and the man guilty of adultery or fornication, flog each of them with a hundred stripes. Let not compassion move you in their case, in a matter prescribed by Allah. And let a party of the Believers witness their punishment.” Qur’an 24:6 “And for those who launch a charge against their wives, accusing them, but have no witnesses or evidence, except themselves; let the testimony of one of them be four testimonies, (swearing four times) by Allah that he is the one speaking the truth.” [top] [toc] [quotes main]STUPIDITY: Bukhari:V6B61N550 “The Prophet said, ‘It is a bad thing some of you say, “I have forgotten such-and-such verse of the Qur’an.” For truly, I have been caused by Allah to forget it. So you must keep on reciting the Qur’an because it escapes faster than a runaway camel.’” Tabari I:299 “Scholars of the nation of our Prophet say, ‘The tree which Allah forbade Adam and his spouse to eat was wheat.’” Tabari I:321 “When Eve became heavy with her first pregnancy, Satan came to her before she gave birth and said, ‘Eve, what is that in your womb?’ She said, ‘I do not know.’ He asked, ‘Where will it come out from-your nose, your eye, or your ear?’ She replied, ‘I do not know.’” Tabari I:299 “It was the cover of fingernails that had kept their secret parts concealed.” Tabari I:275 “Satan wanted to meet them in Paradise, but the keepers prevented him from entering. He went to a snake, an animal with four feet like a camel. Satan tried to persuade it to let him enter its mouth and take him to Adam. The snake agreed, passed by the keepers, and entered without their knowledge, because that was Allah’s plan.” Tabari I:278 “Adam went inside the tree to hide. Eve cut the tree and it bled. Then feather that covered Adam and Eve dropped off. So Allah said, ‘Now Eve, as you caused the tree to bleed, you will bleed every new moon, and you, snake, I will cut off your feet and you will walk slithering on your face.’” Tabari I:279 “It was a tree which made whoever ate from it defecate. But there must be no faeces in Paradise.” Tabari I:281 “I heard him swear by Allah unequivocally, ‘As long as Adam was in his right mind, he would never have eaten from the tree. Eve gave him wine and got him drunk. She led him to the tree.” Tabari I:267 “And Allah taught Adam all the names as follows: He taught him the name of everything, down to fart and little fart.” Bukhari:V1B4N137 “Allah’s Apostle said, ‘The prayer of a person who does Hadath (passes urine, stool or wind) is not accepted till he performs ablution.’” Bukhari:V1B4N139 “I asked Allah’s Apostle about a person who imagined they passed wind during prayer. He replied: ‘He should not leave his prayer unless he hears sound or smells something.’”Bukhari:V1B4N156 “The Prophet said, ‘Whenever anyone makes water he should not hold his penis or clean his private parts with his right hand. While drinking, one should not breathe in the utensil.’” Bukhari:V1B4N163 “The Prophet said, ‘Whoever cleans his private parts with stones should do it with an odd number of stones. And whoever wakes up should wash his hands before putting them in the water for ablution. Nobody knows where his hands were during sleep.’” Bukhari:V1B4N174 “During the lifetime of Allah’s Apostle dogs used to urinate and pass through the mosque. Nevertheless they never used to sprinkle water on it.” Tabari I:367 “The Apostles said to Jesus, ‘Would you send us a man who saw the ark and could tell us about it.’ He took a handful of the earth in his palm and asked, ‘Do you know what this is?’ ‘Allah and His prophet know best!’ they replied. Jesus said, ‘This is the grave of Noah’s son, Ham.’ He struck the hill with his staff and said, ‘Rise with Allah’s permission!’ And behold there was Ham, with gray hair, shaking the earth from his head. Jesus asked him whether he had perished in that state with gray hair. Ham replied, ‘No when I died, I was a young man, but I thought the Day of Doom had come, and my hair turned gray.’ Jesus said, ‘Tell us about Noah’s ark.’ He said, ‘It was 1,200 cubits long [nearly 4,000 feet] and 600 cubits wide. It had three stories, one for domestic and wild animals, another for human beings, and a third for birds. When the dung of the animals became excessive, Allah inspired Noah to tickle the elephant’s tail. He did, and a male and female hog fell down and attacked the dung. When the rat fell down into the seams of the planks of the ark and gnawed at them, Allah inspired Noah to strike the lion between its eyes and a male and female cat came out from its nose and attacked the rat.’” Tabari I:360 “The first animal to be put aboard was the ant, and the last the donkey. When Noah brought the donkey in, Lucifer attached himself to its tail, so that it could not lift its legs. Noah started to say, ‘Woe to you. Go in.’ The donkey rose but was unable to move. Noah said, ‘Woe to you. Go in even if Satan is with you.’ It was a slip of the tongue, but when Noah said it, Satan let the donkey proceed. It went in, and Satan went in with it. Noah said, ‘How did you get in here with me?’ Satan replied, ‘You cannot escape from having me on board. Satan stayed in the rear of the boat. Noah also carried along Adam’s corpse, making it a barrier between the women and men.” Tabari II:106 “Allah sent gnats against the Babylonians, and they ate their flesh and drank their blood, and nothing but their bones were left. But Allah gave Nimrod a single gnat which entered his nostril and went on beating the inside of his head with hammers for four hundred years. The most merciful of his friends was he who bunched up his hands and beat Nimrod’s head with them.” Tabari II:107 “Nimrod vowed to seek out Abraham’s God. So he took four eagle fledglings and nurtured them on meat and wine so that they grew up tough and strong. Then he tied them to a chest and sat in it. He suspended a piece of meat over them and they flew up trying to reach it. When they had risen high in the sky, Nimrod looked down and beheld the earth. He saw the mountains crawling below like creeping ants. When they had risen still higher he looked and saw the earth with a sea surrounding it. After climbing still higher, he came into a region of darkness and could not see what was above him nor what was below him. He became frightened and threw the meat down. The eagles followed it, darting downward. When the mountains saw them coming near and heard their noise, they became afraid and almost moved from their places, but did not do so. As Allah says in the Qur’an, ‘Verily they have plotted their plot, and their plot is with Allah, even if their plot were one whereby the mountains should be moved.’” Tabari II:78 “And everything that heard him-stones, trees, hills, and dust said, ‘Here I am, my Allah, here I am.’” Tabari II:99 “Abraham was tested with ten Islamic practices: rinsing the mouth, cleansing nostrils with water, trimming the mustache, using a toothstick, plucking the armpit, paring nails, washing finger joints, circumcision, shaving pubic hair, and washing the rear and vulva.” Qur’an 2:138 “(Our religion is) the Baptism of Allah: And who can baptize better than Allah?” Tabari VI:21 “Qusayy purchased the custodianship of the Ka’aba for a skin full of wine and a lute.” Bukhari:V4B55N585 “‘O Allah’s Apostle! Which mosque was first built on the surface of the earth?’ He said, ‘The mosque Haram in Mecca.’ ‘Which was built next?’ He replied ‘The mosque of Al-Aqsa in Jerusalem.’ ‘What was the period of construction between the two?’ He said, ‘Forty years.’”Tabari VI:66 “Umar said, ‘By Allah I was by one of the idols of the Jahiliyyah. An Arab sacrificed a calf to it, and we were waiting for it to be divided up in order to receive a share. I heard coming from the belly of the calf a voice which was more penetrating than any I’ve heard. The dead calf’s belly said, ‘There is no ilah but Allah.’” Ishaq:85 “The people were afraid to demolish the temple and withdrew in terror from it. Al-Walid said, ‘I will begin the demolition.’ He took up his pickaxe and walked up to Allah’s House saying, ‘O Ka’aba, do not be afraid. O Allah we intend nothing but good.’ The he demolished part of it near the two corners.” Bukhari:V4B54N52 “The Prophet said, ‘Kill the snake with two white lines on its back, for it blinds the onlooker and causes abortion.’” Tabari VI:75 “‘Messenger, how did you first know with absolute certainty that you were a prophet?’ He replied, ‘Two angels came to me while I was somewhere in Mecca…. One angel said, “Open his breast and take out his heart.” He opened my chest and heart, removing the pollution of Satan and a clot of blood, and threw them away. Then one said, “Wash his breast as you would a receptacle.” He summoned the Sakinah, which looked like the face of a white cat, and it was placed in my heart. Then one said, “Sew up his breast.” So they sewed up my chest and placed the seal between my shoulders.’” Qur’an 33:69 “Believers, be not like those who annoyed Moses. Allah proved his innocence of that which they alleged.” Bukhari:V4B55N616 “Allah’s Apostle said, ‘The Prophet Moses was a shy person and used to cover his body. An Israeli insulted him, saying, “He covers it because of some defect like leprosy or scrotal hernia.” Allah wished to clear Moses of this allegation, so one day he took off his clothes, put them on a stone and started taking a bath. When he moved towards his clothes the stone took them and fled. Moses picked up his staff and ran after the stone saying, “O stone! Give me back my clothes!” He reached some Israelis who saw him naked, and found him to be the best of what Allah had created. The stone stopped there and Moses took his garments and started hitting the stone with his stick. By Allah, the stone still has some traces of the hitting, three, four or five marks. This was what Allah meant when he revealed the surah saying: “Believers! Be you not like those who annoyed Moses. Allah proved his innocence of that which they alleged.”’”Bukhari:V7B71N643 “I heard the Prophet saying, ‘If anyone of you dreams something he dislikes, when you get up, blow thrice on your left.’” Bukhari:V9B87N115 “If you spit on the left side of your bed the bad dream will not harm you.”Bukhari:V6B60N373 “The Prophet explained, ‘Paradise and Hell argued…. Allah said to the Hell Fire, “You are my (means of) punishment by which I torment whoever I wish of my slaves. You will have your fill. As for the Fire, it will not be filled until I put My Foot over it.’”Bukhari:V7B71N590 “The climate of Medina did not suit some people so the Prophet ordered them to drink camel urine as a medicine.” Bukhari:V7B71N592 “I heard Allah’s Apostle saying, ‘There is healing in black cumin for all diseases except death.’” Bukhari:V7B71N673 “Allah’s Apostle said, ‘If a fly falls in your drink, dip all of it into the cup and then throw it away, for in one of its wings there is a disease and in the other there is healing, an antidote or treatment for that disease.’”Qur’an 49:12 “Spy not behind the backs of others. Would any of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother?”Ishaq:565 “The Apostle sent Khalid to destroy the idol Al-Uzza in the lowland of Nakhlah. The Quraysh used to venerate her temple. When Sulami heard of Khalid’s approach, he hung his sword on Al-Uzza, climbed a mountain, and shouted: ‘O Uzza, make an annihilating attack on Khalid. Throw aside your veil and gird up your train. O Uzza, if you do not kill Khalid then bear a swift punishment or become a Christian.’ When Khalid arrived he destroyed her and returned to the Apostle.” Tabari VIII:187 “‘I have destroyed it,’ he said to Muhammad. ‘Did you see anything?’ ‘No.’ ‘Then,’ Muhammad said, ‘go back and kill her.’ So Khalid returned to the idol. He destroyed her temple and broke her graven image. The shrine’s keeper began saying, ‘Rage, O Uzza, display one of your fits of rage!’ Whereupon a naked, wailing Ethiopian woman came out before him. Khalid killed her and took the jewels that were on her. Then he went back to Allah’s Messenger and gave him a report. ‘That was Al-Uzza,’ Muhammad said. ‘Al-Uzza will never be worshiped again.’” Bukhari:V1B3N68 “Muhammad used to take care of us in preaching by selecting a suitable time, so that we might not get bored. He abstained from pestering us with sermons and knowledge.”Muslim:B40N6837 “Allah’s Messenger delivered an address, mentioning a camel and a bad person who cut off its hind legs, reciting: ‘When the basest of them broke forth with mischief.’ He then delivered instruction saying: ‘There are amongst you those who beat their women. They flog them like slave girls. Then after flogging them like slaves they comfort them in their beds as a result at the end of the day.’ He then advised in regard to people laughing at the breaking of wind and said: ‘You laugh at that which you yourself do.’”Bukhari:V3B33N254 “Satan circulates in human beings as blood flows in our bodies.” Tabari II:121 “Gabriel spread out his wings and gouged out their eyes. Gabriel seized Sodom’s girdle, snatching it up so high into the sky the angels could hear their dogs. He threw rocks at the laggards, one after the other. There were three towns called Sodom that lay between Medina and Syria. It has been mentioned that there were four million people in the town.” Qur’an 79:1 “I swear by those (angels) who violently tear out (the souls), and drag them forth to destruction, by those who gently take out, by those meteors rushing by, swimming along (angels or planets), and by those who press forward as in a race (the angels, or stars, or horses [the translators added, clueless as to what “god” was trying to say]), and by those who regulate the affair.”Bukhari:V7B71N665 “The Prophet said, ‘No contagious disease is conveyed without Allah’s permission.’” Bukhari:V4B54N484 “I heard the Prophet saying, ‘Fever is from the heat of the Hell Fire.’” Bukhari:V8B77N616 “Allah’s Apostle said, ‘Plague is a means of torture which Allah sends upon whom-so-ever He wishes.’”Qur’an 38:17 “We endued Our slave David with power. It was We who subdued the hills to sing Our praises with him at nightfall. And the birds were assembled, all obedient to him.” Qur’an 89:6 “Saw you not how your Lord dealt with [the mythical] Ad, possessors of lofty buildings, the likes of which were not produced in all the land?” Qur’an 91:11 “Thamud rejected (their prophet) through inordinate wrong-doing. Behold, the most-wicked wretch among them broke forth but the Messenger said: ‘Be cautious. It is a She-camel of Allah! And bar her not from having her drink!’ But they rejected him as a false prophet and hamstrung her. So Allah on account of their crime, obliterated their traces, doomed them, desolated their dwellings, leveling them to the ground for their sin.”Qur’an 78:37 “The Lord with Whom they cannot dare to speak, none can converse with Him, none are able to address Him.” Qur’an 86:13 “Lo this (Qur’an) is a conclusive Word; it is not a thing for amusement. It is no pleasantry. And it is no joke.” [top] [toc] [quotes main]ISLAMIC SCIENCE: Bukhari:V4B55N546 “Allah’s Apostle said, ‘Gabriel has just now told me of the answer. If a man has sexual intercourse with his wife and gets discharge first, the child will resemble him, and if the woman gets discharge first, the child will resemble her.’” Tabari I:258/Qur’an 15:26 “Allah created Adam from sticky clay, meaning viscous and sweet smelling slime, being stinking. It became stinking slime after having been compact soil.”Qur’an 80:17 “Be cursed man! He has self-destructed. From what stuff did He create him? From nutfa (male and female semen drops) He created him and set him in due proportion.”Tabari I:258 “Allah sent Gabriel to the earth to bring Him some clay. The earth said, ‘I take refuge in Allah against you mutilating me. Then He sent the angel of death. He took some soil from the earth and made a mixture. He did not take it from a single place but took red, white, and black soil. Therefore, the children of Adam came out different.” Bukhari:V4B54N430 “Allah’s Apostle, the true and truly inspired said, ‘Regarding the matter of the creation of a human being: humans are put together in the womb of the mother in forty days. Then he becomes a clot of thick blood for a similar period. He becomes a piece of flesh for forty days. Then Allah sends an angel who is ordered to write four things: the new creature’s deeds, livelihood, date of death, and whether he will be blessed or wretched. He will do whatever is written for him.’” Tabari I:293 “When Allah cast Adam down from Paradise, Adam’s feet were on earth while his head was in heaven. He became too familiar with the angels and they were in awe of him so much so that they complained to Allah in their various prayers. Allah, therefore, lowered Adam. But Adam missed what he used to hear from the angels and felt lonely. He complained to Allah and was sent to Mecca. On the way every place where he set foot became a village, and the interval between his steps became a desert until he reached Mecca.”Bukhari:V4B54N482 “Allah’s Apostle said, ‘The Hell Fire complained to its Lord saying, “O my Lord! My different parts are eating each other up.” So, He allowed it to take two breaths, one in winter, the other in summer. This is the reason for the severe heat and bitter cold you find in weather.’” Bukhari:V1B10N510 “Allah’s Apostle said, ‘If it is very hot, the severity of the heat is from the raging of the Hell Fire.’” Qur’an 56:58 “Then tell Me the semen that you emit, throwing out. Is it you who create it, or are We the Creators? [It’s only natural—the god of lust is the god of semen.] We have decreed/predestined/ordained Death for you all, and We are not to be frustrated from replacing you with others in (forms) that you know not.”Ishaq:255 “Jewish rabbis came to the Apostle and asked him to answer four questions saying, ‘If you do so we will follow you, testify to your truth, and believe in you.’ They began, ‘Why does a boy resemble his mother when the semen comes from the father?’ Muhammad replied, ‘Do you not know that a man’s semen is white and thick and a woman’s is yellow and thin? The likeness goes with that which comes to the top.’ ‘Agreed,’ the rabbis proclaimed. ‘Tell us about your sleep.’ ‘Do you not know that a sleep which you allege I do not have is when the eye sleeps but the heart is awake?’ ‘Tell us about what Israel [Jacob] voluntarily forbade himself.’ ‘Do you not know that the food he loved best was the flesh and milk of camels or perhaps two lobes of liver, kidneys, and fat?’ ‘Tell us about the spirit.’ ‘‘Do you not know that it is Gabriel, he who comes to me?’ ‘Agreed,’ the rabbis said. ‘But Muhammad, your spirit is an enemy to us, an angel who comes only with violence and the shedding of blood, and were it not for that we would follow you.”Qur’an 33:72 “We did indeed offer the opportunity to the Heavens, the Earth, the Mountains, but they refused to take it, being afraid (of Allah’s torment). But man undertook it. He was unjust and foolish. Lo, he has proved a tyrant and fool, ignorant. Allah has to punish the Hypocrites, men and women, and the Unbelievers.” [top] [toc] [quotes main]ALLAH’S ASTRONOMY: Tabari I:232 “Gabriel brings to the sun a garment of luminosity from the light of Allah’s Throne according to the measure of the hours of the day. The garment is longer in the summer and shorter in the winter, and of intermediate length in autumn and spring. The sun puts on that garment as one of you here puts on his clothes.” Tabari I:233 “When the Messenger was asked about that, he replied, ‘When Allah was done with His creation He created two suns from the light of His Throne. His foreknowledge told Him that He would efface one and change it to a moon; so the moon is smaller in size.” Tabari I:234 “Allah thus sent Gabriel to drag his wing three times over the face of the moon, which at the time was a sun. He effaced its luminosity and left the light in it. This is what Allah means: [in Qur’an 17:12] ‘We have blotted out the sign of the night, and We have made the sign of the day something to see by.’ The blackness you can see as lines on the moon is a trace of the blotting.” Tabari I:244 “Allah then created for the sun a chariot with 360 handholds from the luminosity of the light of the Throne and entrusted 360 of the angels inhabiting the lower heaven with the sun and its chariot, each of them gripping one of those handholds. Allah also entrusted 360 angels with the moon.” Tabari I:234 “Then the Prophet said: ‘For the sun and the moon, Allah created easts and wests on the two sides of the earth and the two rims of heaven. There are 180 springs in the west of black clay-this is why Allah’s word says: “He found the sun setting in a muddy spring.” [18:86] The black clay bubbles and boils like a pot when it boils furiously.’”Qur’an 18:83 “They ask you about Dhu’l-Qarnain [Alexander the Great]. Say, ‘I will cite something of his story. We gave him authority in the land and means of accomplishing his goals. So he followed a path until he reached the setting place of the sun. He saw that it set in black, muddy, hot water. Near it he found people.” Tabari I:236 “‘When the sun rises upon its chariot from one of those springs it is accompanied by 360 angels with outspread wings…. When Allah wishes to test the sun and the moon, showing His servants a sign and thereby getting them to obey, the sun tumbles from the chariot and falls into the deep end of that ocean. When Allah wants to increase the significance of the sign and frighten His servants severely, all of the sun falls and nothing of it remains in the chariot. That is a total eclipse of the sun. It is a misfortune for the sun.’” Tabari I:235 “Allah’s Apostle said, ‘Allah created an ocean three farakhs (918 kilometers) removed from heaven. Waves contained, it stands in the air by the command of Allah. No drop of it is spilled. All the oceans are motionless, but that ocean flows at the speed of an arrow. The sun, moon and retrograde stars [planets] by which Allah swears in the Qur’an [81:15], run like the sun and moon and race. All of the other stars are suspended from heaven as lamps are from mosques, and circulate together praising Allah. The Prophet said, ‘If you wish to have this made clear, look to the circulation of the sphere alternately here and there.’” Tabari I:236 “Allah created two cities out in space, each with ten thousand gates, each 6 kilometers distant from the other. By Allah, were those people not so many and so noisy, all the inhabitants of this world would hear the loud crash made by the sun falling when it rises and when it sets. Gabriel took me to them during my Night Journey from the Sacred Mosque [the Ka’aba] to the Farthest Mosque [the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem]. I told the people of these cities to worship Allah but they refused to listen to me.” Bukhari:V4B54N421 “I walked hand in hand with the Prophet when the sun was about to set. We did not stop looking at it. The Prophet asked, ‘Do you know where the sun goes at sunset?’ I replied, ‘Allah and His Apostle know better.’ He said, ‘It travels until it falls down and prostrates Itself underneath the Throne. The angels who are in charge of the sun prostrate themselves, also. The sun asks permission to rise again. It is permitted. Then it will prostrate itself again but this prostration will not be accepted. The sun then says, “My Lord, where do You command me to rise, from where I set or from where I rose?” Allah will order the sun to return whence it has come and so the sun will rise in the west. And that is the interpretation of the statement of Allah in the Qur’an.’” Qur’an 36:38 “The sun keeps revolving in its orbit at the dispensation of the All-Knowing. And the Moon, We have measured for her mansions till she returns like dried date stalks. It is not permitted for the Sun to overtake the Moon, nor can the Night outstrip the Day. Each (just) swims along, floating in (its own) orbit as a Sign as in a race. And we made similar vessels [chariots] for them to ride. But we could have drowned them if we pleased.” Tabari I:332 “The sun and the moon were in eclipse for seven days and nights.”Qur’an 67:3 “We created seven heavens, one above the other. Muhammad, can you see any fault in Ar-Rahman’s creation? Look again: Can you see any rifts or fissures? Then look again and yet again. Your gaze turns back dazed and tired. We have adorned the lowest skies with lamps, and We have made them missiles to drive away the devils and against the stone Satans, and for them We have prepared the doom of Hell and the penalty of torment in the most intense Blazing Fire.”Qur’an 38:27 “We have not created the heavens and earth and all that lies between for nothing.”Qur’an 21:26 “Don’t the unbelievers see that the heavens and earth were joined together in one piece before we clove them asunder? ...Will they not believe? And We have set on the earth mountains as stabilizers, lest the earth should convulse without them. And We have made therein broad highways for them to pass through, that they may be guided. We have made the heaven a roof well guarded. Yet they turn away from its Signs! All (the celestial bodies) swim along, on a course, floating.” Qur’an 2:189 “They ask you about the New Moons. Say: They are but signs to mark fixed seasons in (the affairs of) men, and for Hajj Pilgrimage.” Tabari I:204 “I asked the Prophet, ‘Where was Allah before His creation?’ Muhammad replied: ‘He was in a cloud with no air underneath or above it.’” Tabari I:219 “When Allah wanted to create the creation, He brought forth smoke from the water. The smoke hovered loftily over it. He called it ‘heaven.’ Then He dried out the water and made it earth. He split it and made it seven earths on Sunday. He created the earth upon a big fish, that being the fish mentioned in the Qur’an. By the Pen, the fish was in the water. The water was upon the back of a small rock. The rock was on the back of an angel. The angel was on a big rock. The big rock was in the wind. The fish became agitated. As a result, the earth quaked, so Allah anchored the mountains and made it stable. This is why the Qur’an says, ‘Allah made for the earth firmly anchored mountains, lest it shake you up.’” [top] [toc] [quotes main]
Prophet of Doom provides a comprehensive, contextual, and chronological review of the Islamic scriptures starting with the religion’s rendition of creation and ending with the terror it inspired. The book brings Islam’s five earliest and most trusted sources together, putting their words and deeds into the context of time and place to expose what the dogma’s founder had to say about himself, his ambition, religion, and god. There is no better way to understand Muhammad, Allah, or Islam—or to evaluate their legacy. When reviewing the primary papers of any dogma we must be mindful that context comes in three forms. There is the context of historical chronology—that of circumstance, place, people, and time. There is the context of adjacency —the proximity of related words and thoughts within the writings themselves. And context can be topical; in this case similar themes can be brought together and organized by subject. All forms of context provide clarity. Unfortunately, the Qur’an fails its faithful on all three counts. The book lacks any semblance of chronology. It is deficient when it comes to providing the required context of place, people, and time. Adjacent verses are usually unrelated and often contradictory. In the Meccan surahs there is a preoccupation with railing against Muhammad’s mockers and with describing Allah’s torments, but the rejections and condemnations are strewn haphazardly through the text. This is also true of the Medina surahs and their fixation on submit and obey, perform and pay, fight or burn. Yes these are themes, and they are repetitive, but they are not presented in cohesive groupings. The Qur’an’s failures in this regard dictate Prophet of Doom’s length, order, and format. The narrative and chronological Hadith compiled by Ishaq and Tabari were required to provide the Qur’an with the context of circumstance, time, and place that it otherwise lacked. Bukhari’s and Muslim’s topical Hadith were used to amplify important Islamic themes. Therefore, Muhammad’s message has never been as clear as it is in these pages. Unfortunately for humankind, unmasked, his message is repulsive, even terrorizing. But that is precisely what makes this study important. The “Muhammad’s Own Words” appendix isn’t the best way to learn about Muhammad or to understand his Qur’an. But its topical structure may be the most effective means to evaluate his religion. This format facilitates the study of important issues from various perspectives. Their relative significance can be evaluated based upon the volume of material relegated to them. So for your edification and convenience, this appendix collates nearly 3,000 quotes from the Qur’an, Sira, Ta’rikh, and Hadith under subject headings like Fighting, War, Jihad, Murder, Thievery, and Intolerance. In contrast to the book, “Muhammad’s Own Words” ends with Islamic creation and begins by focusing on the tools of tyranny and terror. They represent the dogma’s least understood and most lethal pronouncements. I trust you'll find this endeavor as sobering as it is enlightening. Every passage in this appendix is recorded in one of Islam’s prime sources: the Sira (biography), Ta’rikh (history), Hadith (report), or Qur’an (recital). They are all documented. Each quote fell from Muhammad’s lips, no matter how it was inspired. Every recital, whether surah or hadith was passed along to us by the same group of men and by the same means—hearsay. As you will discover, the message does not differ from source to source because the author was always the same. Ishaq’s Sirat Rasul Allah, provides the sole account of Muhammad’s life and the formation of Islam written within 200 years of the prophet’s death. It is a Hadith collection, comprised of oral reports from Muhammad and his companions. There is no earlier or more accurate source. While the character, message, and deeds portrayed within its pages are the antithesis of Christ’s and his disciples, the Sira’s chronological presentation is as indispensable to Muslims as are the Gospels to Christians. The Qur’an can’t be understood or followed without it. The Ta’rikh is the oldest, most trusted, and comprehensive history of Islam’s formation and Muhammad’s example, called Sunnah. It was compiled by Tabari. His History of al-Tabari is formatted like the Bible. It begins with Islamic creation and ends with the acts of Muhammad’s companions. Tabari also composed Islam’s most revered Ta’fir, or commentary, on the Qur’an. He was the dogma’s first scholar. His history serves to explain Allah’s Recital and Muhammad’s Sunnah by way of his compilation’s Hadith. The most revered topical collections of early Islamic Traditions were compiled by Bukhari and Muslim. They, like this appendix, assort Hadith under important Islamic themes, such as Jihad, Islamic Raids, Knowledge, Creation, Fear, Taxes, Money, Witnesses, Punishment, and Predestination. To confirm the validity and nature of the Islamic scriptures quoted herein, read what Muslim scholars wrote in the preface of the Hadith and Qur’an: “Bukhari is a Collection of sayings and deeds of Prophet Muhammad, also known as the Sunnah. The reports of the Prophet’s sayings and deeds are called Hadith. Bukhari lived a couple of centuries after the Prophet’s death and collected his Hadith. Each report was checked for compatibility with the Qur’an, and the veracity of the chain of reporters had to be established.” “The Qur’an is one leg of two which form the basis of Islam. The second is the Sunnah of the Prophet. What makes the Qur’an different from the Sunnah is its form. The Qur’an is quite literally the Word of Allah, whereas the Sunnah [which is comprised of Hadith] was inspired by Allah but the wording and actions are the Prophet’s.” When quoting from the Qur’an and Hadith, I have elected to use a blended translation. No language transfers perfectly—one word to another. Five of my twelve translations of the Qur’an were combined to create the most accurate conveyance of the message possible. For clarity and readability, I have trimmed unruly word patterns and meaningless repetitions, being careful not to alter the meaning or message of any passage. Insertions within parenthesis (like this) were added by the Arabic translators to fill in missing words or to clarify the text. Insertions within brackets [like this] represent my observations. There are many reasons Islamic clerics are sensitive about having the Qur’an translated into a contemporary language. The most important are that they don’t want anyone to know what it actually says or how poorly it’s written, but we’ll get to that in a moment. Muslims claim that Arabic was Allah’s original tongue and that translations are simply paraphrases. But that would make Allah younger than man because Arabic is one of man’s most recent dialects. Its written form didn’t emerge until the 7th century. And most every important religious word, concept, and name used in the Qur’an was derived from Syriac, the language of Syrian Christians in the 6th century. Muslims invest a quarter of their school day learning to recite the Qur’an —not reading it or understanding it. They simply learn to mouth its sounds in the arcane, inadequate, and odd dialect of Religious Arabic. That way they can be fooled into believing that it’s “God’s Book,” and that it’s written intelligently. Ignorant, they can be indoctrinated and thus manipulated by clerics and kings. Even turned into human bombs when it serves Islam’s interests. If Muslims were to shed their yoke of ignorance, they would discover that the real reason those who indoctrinate them, control them, suppress them, fleece them, and abuse them want them deceived is that the actual message contained in Allah’s Book is horrendous. It is more intolerant, racist, punitive, and violent than Hitler’s Mein Kampf. There are one hundred vicious verses for every nice one. The book inspires infinitely more terror than peace. They would also discover that the Qur’an is poorly written. There are countless meaningless words, foreign words, and missing words which is why translations differ so significantly—everyone is guessing as to what Muhammad thought Allah was trying to say. This is why Gerd Puin, the world’s leading specialist in Arabic calligraphy and Qur’anic paleography, studying the oldest manuscripts, speaks with disdain about the willingness of Muslims and non-Muslims alike, to accept Islamic dogma. He says: “The Qur’an claims for itself that it is ‘mubeen,’ or clear, but if you just look at it, you will see that every fifth sentence or so simply doesn’t make sense. Many Muslims will tell you otherwise, but the fact is that a fifth of the Qur’an is just incomprehensible. This is what has caused the traditional anxiety regarding translation. If the Qur’an is not comprehensible, if it can’t even be understood in Arabic, then it’s not translatable into any language. That is why Muslims are afraid.” By reading the Qur’an in a language they actually understand, Muslims would find that there is no semblance of order in the central book of Islam either. The Qur’an is a jumbled mess without context, chronology, or rational transitions. It is only by rearranging the Qur’an in the order it was revealed and infusing it with the context of the chronological Hadith narratives, that the book begins to make sense. But by so doing, it becomes obvious that the Qur’an was simply a reflection of Muhammad’s demented character and of his misplaced ambition. The more you know, the more you will come to despise the fraud Muhammad perpetrated on his fellow Arabs and they on human kind. To know the Qur’an is to reject Islam. The documented references in “Muhammad’s Own Words” were derived from English translations of ancient Islamic manuscripts. The Sirat Rasul Allah by Ibn Ishaq, circa 750 A.D., was edited and abridged by Ibn Hisham in 830 and translated by Alfred Guillaume under the title, The Life of Muhammad in 1955 by Oxford Press. The History of al-Tabari was written by Muhammad bin al-Tabari between 870 and 920 A.D. His work was translated and published in 1987-97 by S.U.N.Y. Press. I quote from volumes I, II, VI, VII, VIII, and IX. Al-Bukhari’s Hadith, titled: Sahih Al-Bukhari—The True Traditions was collected by Imam Bukhari in 850 A.D. I have used the collector’s original nomenclature. The following Qur’an translations were blended and amplified: Ahmed Ali, Pikthal, Noble by Muhsin Khan, Yusuf Ali, and Shakir. This appendix is not designed to replace the book. It is an aid for those who have read the book. Every quotation is presented chronologically in Prophet of Doom within the context of Muhammad’s life. They are reviewed in juxtaposition to their adjacent passages. Finding the page upon which a Hadith from Ishaq or Tabari is covered is thus relatively simple since their authors observed a strict chronology. The higher the page number or volume, the later you’ll find the reference in Prophet of Doom. But the Qur’an isn’t as logical. So if you want to review its surahs within the context of chronology, place, circumstance, and adjacency, you’ll have to use the Index and turn to the chapter in which the specific surah is presented. Some of these quotes have been abridged so that non-topical material doesn't clutter the subject. Most of my explanatory comments have been removed and thus I strongly encourage you to read Prophet of Doom prior to using the appendix.
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posted by Cultfree at 2:26 PM
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