HALALA and MUTA (contrat marriage) in ISLAM

Q. I came to know if someone has divorced his wife and wants to remarry her again, he cannot remarry her till she marries someone else and gets divorced by the second husband to remarry her first husband. This is called ‘Halala’. Is Halala really Halal? Is it quoted some where in Qur’an? In Indian sub continent the concept of Halala exists but not in the Middle East.
2. In Iran there is a concept of Muta (contract marriage). Was this acceptable at the time of the Prophet (Pbuh)? Since when is it not accepted in Sunnis? In Shias, it is accepted at present also? In both the conditions i.e.Halal or Muta, the intention of the marrying man is to give divorce to the woman. Is this acceptable in Islam? If this problem is mentioned in Qur’an, please give reference.
Dr.Riazul Abidin, New Delhi.


Answer by Allama Syed Abdullah Tariq:
 As you have pointed out, the intention of giving a divorce after some time, is common to both the distorted version of halala and Muta (the short term marriage). A Nikah with a prior intention of Talaq is not permitted and hence both the above are unlawful.

A Nikah in Islam is an Ibadat and is a contract of permanent nature till it is impossible for them to adjust later on for reasons unforeseen at the time of marriage. Describing the nature of permanency in a contract of Nikah, the Qur’an says: “They (the wives) have taken from you a solemn covenant.” (4:21)
This solemn covenant is not merely to satiate the sexual desire but its purpose is to achieve mental peace in life.
“And amongst his signs is this, that He created for you mates from among yourselves that you may dwell in tranquility with them and He has put love and mercy among you..” (30:21)
The husband and wife are like garments for each other. The garments act as adornment and provide protection, likewise the spouse are each other’s adornment and provide protection to each other.
“They are your garments and you are their garments..” (2:187)
“Nobody sows seeds in his land to abandon it afterwards. Wives are like tilth for men whom they care for and maintain. Your wives are your tilth..” (2:223)

The Prophet (Pbuh) pronounced a good wife a most prized possession and for Talaq he said it is most abhorrent of permitted acts in the eyes of Allah. Qur’an advised men to adjust with their wives even if they came to dislike them (4:19) and the Prophet (Pbuh) advised men not to divorce their wives for reasons other than their licentiousness. (Tabrani)
The above scenario has no relation with the concept of distorted Halala and Muta. Both these concepts are being discussed below separately.

Halala
The Holy Qur’an expounds: “So if a husband divorces his wife (for a third time), he cannot, after that remarry her until after she has married another husband and he has divorced her. In that case, there is no blame on either of them if they re-unite, provided they can keep the limits ordained by Allah. Such are the limits ordained by Allah which He makes plain to those who know”. (2:230).
A man is entitled to take his wife back twice after two respective Talaqs and for a third time also before the expiry of her Iddat after he gives her a Talaq for the third time. But after that the separation is irrevocable. She is then free to be married to any other person of her choice. If then in the normal course of life a dispute between them develops leading to first Talaq by the second husband, she is again free to be married to any person of her choice including the second husband (by whom she has got the first divorce) and also including the first husband as well. The relevant point here is that a Halala cannot be planned in advance, as a Nikah between her and the second husband with an understanding of a divorce afterwards will not be valid. If she does so, it will be an illegitimate relationship with the second husband and with the first husband also with whom she comes to live after a pre-planned Halala. The Prophet (Pbuh) has cursed both such men who perform Halala and for whom Halala is performed. The second Caliph Hazrat Umar ruled during his reign that he will punish with stoning to death, those who perform a pre-planned Halala. Imam Sufian Sauri says: “ If someone marries a woman to make her Halal (for her ex-husband) and then wants to keep her as wife, he is not permitted to do so unless he solemnises a Nikah afresh, as the previous Nikah was unlawful.” (Trimizi)

Muta Limited term marriage contract
The following comparison between a universally accepted Nikah and a Muta will be sufficient for even a layman to pronounce through common sense that muta is illegitimate sex.
* Two witnesses are a must (according to all Shia Scholars) for a normal Nikah to be solemnised. No witness is required for the contract of Muta.
* The husband is responsible for the maintenance of wife including her clothes and lodging.
* In a Muta, the man has no such responsibility.
* In special circumstances, and subject to some stiff conditions, a man can have more than one wife, but not exceeding four wives.
* In case of Muta, a man can keep as many women as he likes without any condition of equality between them.
* A wife has a share in her husband’s property after his death. The women of the Muta contract has no share in the man’s property in case of his death.
* According, to Shia scholars, the consent of the girl’s father is essential in a marriage if the girl is a virgin. The consent of the girl’s father is not necessary in Muta even if the girl is a virgin.
* The term of the normal Nikah is till the death of the spouse. The term of a Muta contract may be fixed at 15 minutes or 50 years as per agreement between them.
* Shia scholars decree that two just witnesses are necessary for a Talaq to be valid. No witness is required to terminate the contract of Muta.
* The Iddat or waiting period of the divorced woman is 3 months and 10 days. The waiting period of the divorced woman of a Muta is half of the above.
* Talaq of a normal marriage cannot be pronounced during the menstrual period of the wife. There is no such condition for terminating Muta contract.
* The wife is entitled to her maintenance during the Iddat of Talaq in a normal marriage. She has no right of maintenance during the Iddat of a Muta.
Shia scholars try to legitimise Muta by quoting the following Qur’anic verse: “Except for those (women described earlier) all other are lawful provided you seek them in marriage with gifts from your property desiring chastity, not fornication. Give them their Mehar for the “Istamta benefit you have of them as a duty..” (4:24).

From the Arabic word ‘Istamta’, the Shias of Imamia sect derive that the verse is about ‘Muta’ as both the words have the same root. But reading it with the specific instruction of the same verse, “desiring chastity, not fornication” makes it amply clear that the verse concerns a legitimate permanent Nikah instead of a short term ‘Muta’ which is nothing but fornication as is evident from the comparison given earlier. Fixed term marriage, that is the Nikah with prior intention of termination, is a sexual independence limited by only one condition that the woman in contract should not be a legitimate wife of someone at the time of contract. If this condition is met anyone can enter into Muta contract with her consent without having a witness at the time of contract, without taking her father’s consent even if she is a virgin and minor. There is no responsibility of the man to provide her maintenance and he is free to keep hundreds of such women together under one roof. If this is not fornication then what is it?

Allah Almighty declared in Qur’an: “We exalted the sons of Adam..” (17:70).
The Prophet(Pbuh) said: I have been raised for the completion of moral values.
How can there be a place for Muta in Islam whose scripture declares that successful are those believers “..who guard their modesty except with those joined to them in the marriage bond or (the captives) in your possession (whom you can marry). For (in the above two cases) they are free from blame. But those whose desires exceed those limits are transgressors.” (23:5.7)
Muta, in fact was a custom of the Arabs of the days of ignorance which remained in practice during the earlier days of the Prophet’s (Pbuh) era till on the day of Khaibar of the last Hajj, the Prophet (Pbuh) pronounced its total prohibition, in the same manner as wines were declared unlawful in a phased manner.
Those Shia scholars who claim that Muta was first banned by Hazrat Umar (pbuh) during his reign forget that Imam Ali (pbuh) maintained the prohibition of Muta during his rule of Caliph Dom and the actions of Imam Ali should be binding on all Shia Muslims.

Note: This answer was given by Tariq sahab in the magazine www.islamicvoice.com

What if you are not a Muslim? Does it mean you will go to hell?

Q. What if you are not a Muslim? Does it mean you will go to hell?  
S. John

Answer By Allama Syed Abdullah Tariq: It will not be hard for yourself to work out the answer if you knew what Islam is and who is a Muslim. Islam means total submission to the only God of the universe. A Muslim is that who tries to lead the life according to His will after he has taken vow of submission. You would surely want to know what are the requirements of submission but let me first answer your direct question i.e. what happens to those who do not submit.

Assume there is a person of exemplary good conduct and behaviour in your locality. All neighbours can swear to his kind heartedness and humane disposition. Then suddenly one day the police raid his house and it is found that he was the spy of an enemy nation. Can any of all his good works rescue him from being put behind bars forever or till his deportation? No, the faithfulness with the realm you live in is the first condition to let you live freely and happily in the state. All the good works come afterwards. On the other hand a criminal when caught is released after receiving the respective punishment. Loyalty towards the Sole Sovereign of the whole creation is the first condition for the right to live freely and happily forever. This loyalty is called Faith or ‘Imaan’ in Islamic terminology. There is no question of deportation even as there is no other God or Sovereign of any other universe. The sentence for rebels is hell.

There are three main requirements of Faith.
(1) Belief in Oneness of God. He is the sole Creator and Sustainer. He was neither born nor will end. He has no parallel, no equal and no family. He is neither begotten nor begets. He alone is Supreme and eternal. All else is creation. He alone is worthy of worship. Worshipping others besides Him is against loyalty and is considered unpardonable rebellion.

(2) Belief in the truthfulness of all His prophets. For the guidance of the mankind in this short worldly life of probation, he chose from amongst the mankind His prophets and revealed to them His guidance. Till the communication and means of travel were in primitive stage and the mankind had not become one place, He kept sending His revelation through prophets from time to time who were chosen form all nations and people. Whenever people lost the real message of the Lord after the departure of a prophet, he sent another prophet in some other people with the renewal of His guidance. When in the process of brain evolution of man, the world came at the verge of entering the scientific explosion, came the Last Prophet Muhammad (e) with the Final Message Qur’an. The world was about to become one place and with the development of means of safeguarding the records, the Last Message was not to be destroyed, distorted or interpolated for all times to come. The Last Prophet with the Last Word of God verified the truthfulness of all the earlier prophets and told that though all the previous Books of God were true but they could not remain safe from human interpolation. The expiation and redemption is now in believing in all the prophets and Books of God but it is only the Final and only safe Word of God, Qur’an, which is to be followed.

(3) Belief in the Life Hereafter, which is the eternal and real life after the test life of this world. All our actions are being recorded and a Day of Judgment will come when according to their loyalty (Faith/Imaan) and deeds all from the mankind will be judged and rewarded or punished.
These in short are the basic features of Faith and belief without which there is no submission. After the proclamation of Faith the next part (in priority) of submission is deeds according to the Will of God. Again as the events and teachings of the earlier prophets could not remain free from distortion and human interpolation, it is essential that the path of the Last Prophet be followed.

Last but not the least a Muslim is one who submits before the Sole God with Faith and in deeds with conscious mind. Only because someone is born in a Muslim family and says and does what his ancestors had been saying and doing, he is not a Muslim though he may be counted a Muslim in the government census.

Note: This answer was given by Tariq sahab in the magazine www.islamicvoice.com

Hazrat Ayesha was 17 at Nikah, Not 7

Q. I am a devout Muslim but I get deeply disturbed at the thought of 53 year old prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) marrying Hazrat Ayesha who was just nine years old. We are unable to explain this in the present society. Surely the reason for this marriage cannot be blatant sensuality. But please tell me how can we explain this to non-Muslims? The age difference defies all logic. It involves questions of pre-puberty alliance, question of psychological incompatibility.
(XXX ; Srinagar)

Answered by Allama Syed Abdullah Tariq: It is widely believed that Hazrat Ayesha’s age was seven years when she was married to the Prophet (Pbuh) and she was 9 when she came to live with him but this is wrong. The fact is that she was 17 when married and 19 at the time of her rukhsati (departure from her home to the husband’s house). There are too many indisputable evidences in favour of this. A few of those are listed below:
1. Imam Waliuddin Muhammad Abdullah Al-Khateeb, the author of famous work on Hadith, namely Mishkaat was also an acknowledged expert of Asma-ur-Rijal (the unique art of research on people). He registered the following about Hazrat Asma at the end of Mishkaat.
“She is Asma, the daughter of Abu Bakr Siddiq...She is the mother of Abdullah Bin Zubair...
She was 10 years older than her sister Ayesha..
.She died at the age of 100 in Makkah in 73AH...”(Mishkaat, Asma-ur-Rijal)

There is unanimity among all the scholars of Asma-ur-Rijal and historians on the above-mentioned facts.
It can be easily computed from above that being 100 years old in 73 AH, Hazrat Asma, daughter of Hazrat Abu Bak’r was at least 27 (100-73) years old at the time of Hijrah of the Prophet (Pbuh). If she died in the beginning of 73 AH, then her age was (100-72) 28 years at Hijrah. It is stated above that she was 10 years older than Hazrat Ayesha. It means Hazrat Ayesha was 18 years old at Hijrah. She came into the Nikah of the Prophet (Pbuh) one year before Hijrah and she shifted to the Prophet’s house two years later. Clearly, she was 17 at the time of nikah and 19 at her rukhsati.

2. The historians have placed Hazrat Ayesha between No. 17 and 20 in the list of those who were earliest to embrace Islam. Ibne Ishaq, the earliest authentic Islamic historian has placed her at No. 18. We also know that Hazrat Umar was the 40th person to embrace Islam and he entered into the faith in the first year of prophet hood. It means Hazrat Ayesha was among those few who embraced Islam almost immediately after the declaration of prophet hood. She must have been at least 5 years old to be categorized in the list of those who embraced Islam. Therefore her age was 18 when Hijrah came about 13 years later.
Examination of Hazrat Ayesha’s biography through accounts of Asma-ur-Rijal reveals that she was 17 when married to the Prophet and 19 when she came to live with him
Now imagine this. The saying goes that she was 7 at her nikah i.e. 8 at Hijrah that occurred 13 years after the declaration of prophethood. If it were true the declaration of prophethood occurred 5 years before her birth. Did she embrace Islam 5 years prior to her birth?

3. There are indications that she was among those who went to war of Badr’ but her presence in the battleground of Uhad is beyond doubt. It is in many authentic books of Hadiths and history that she was among those women in Uhad who were carrying water to the injured Sahaba. Now remember the incident of two young boys Rafe and Samra who were 13 and the Prophet (Pbuh) was not permitting them to join forces for their age but later agreed to their pleading as they were very enthusiastic. If Hazrat Ayesha was 10 when Uhad came about in 2 AH, was it possible that a new bride of 10 would have been permitted while the young boys of 13 were refused permission to go to battle ground of Uhad? On the contrary if she was 18 at Hijrah her age was 20 and fit to take care of the injured in the battlefield when Uhad took place.
There are quite a number of other irrefutable evidences of her age being 19 when she entered into the Prophet’s home 2 years after her Nikah to him.

The wrong notion of her being 7 at marriage is widely accepted (and many Fiqh deductions are erroneously made on its basis) as there is a false report narrated by Hashsham bin Urwah in all the six most authentic collections of Hadith i.e. Sihah-e-Sittah.

 Hashsham bin Urwah was a very reliable narrator according to all scholars but this fact skipped the scrutiny of the famous Muhaddiseen of Sihah-e-Sittah that Hashsham became forgetful and unbalanced at his old age when he shifted to Iraq. The said report was narrated by him while he was in Iraq.
 Hashsham was the teacher of Imam Malik and he has accepted a number of Hadiths narrated by him in his collection of Hadith, Muatta. It was none other than Imam Malik, Hahsham’s disciple who declared after Hashsham shifted to Iraq that none of his former teachers’ statements were reliable anymore because of his mental condition. The compilers of Sihah-e-Sittah, all being non-Arabs were not aware of it.

Now you know that when Hazrat Ayesha came to the Prophet’s house she was a major. The age difference is still considerable but no law of any land objects to the union of mutual willful consent of two majors. Remember also that the Prophet (pbuh) possessed exceptional health at 53 with all his hair black and he being stronger than most youngsters. Besides he was an ideal husband and the history testifies to his ideal care of his young wife with all the psychological considerations.

Note: This answer was given by Tariq sahab in the magazine www.islamicvoice.com

REBIRTH

Q. i). When a living creature dies, does it re-appear in any other shape?
Amanullah, Nimbahera, Rajasthan
Q.ii). I have come across many magazines (e.g. Sarita) in which, cases of rebirth have been published. I remember having read that a department was set up by the government a few years back to verify the cases of rebirth and the department concluded after studying about 700 cases that rebirth did exist. I keep coming across people who affirm re-birth (in this world). Kindly clarify.
Ahmed S., Belgaum.


A.1. We do not have any scientific means yet, to know of what happens to the soul (the living part of a creature) after death. Death is the name of separation of the soul from the material and lifeless body. After the soul is departed, the constituents of the body which are different elementary, mixture and compound forms. They may be utilised in shaping other bodies of different present or future living beings but there is no scientific proof of any soul which was once united with a body, coming back to exist in another body in this material world. The only source of information, we have is the Word of the Creator Himself who created and controls all souls. The latest and the safe and unaltered word of God, the holy Qur'an declares: "Every living being has to taste death. And We test you by evil and by good by way of trial and (then) to US you shall be recalled". (21:35) In the gospel, the Christ Isa (A.S.) is reported to have announced of the eternal life of bliss or punishment of the souls: "And these (evil ones) shall go away into everlasting punishment but the righteous into life eternal." (Mat. 25:46) Vedas are proclaimed as Word of God by Hindus. The Vedic Rishis knew of the only one eternal life of reward or punishment and they taught to pray for the life of bliss: "Make me immortal in that realm where happiness, transports, joys, felicities combine and longing wishes are fulfilled." (R.V. 9:113:11)

There is no truth in a government agency been set up which verified the rebirth. Such tales are spread to authenticate the myth of 'Avagaman'. Although a large number of reported incidents of rebirth are definitely cheating business, the occurrence cannot be altogether denied in the absence of a genuine and authentic study of such reported cases by scientific people. It is a fact that the theory of rebirth in this world (metempsychosis) does not stand before reason.

 In the ancient most holy books of Hindus, the Vedas, there is no trace of the theory and it is deduced by the researchers that the Pundits invented it to justify their exploitation of masses by telling that they (the Pundits) were prosperous because of good deeds of earlier lives and the deprived need not complain as their suffering was due to their own bad deeds in previous lives
Still the incidence of some children describing their earlier births with the mention of places, people and events unknown to them, is not impossible.

 To explain the mystery behind this phenomenon, let me analyse the prominent features common to all such cases.
(i) The frequency of such reported occurrences is less than 1-in-10 million births throughout the world. The percentage of genuine cases, if any, amongst these is anybody's guess. So let us assume that genuine cases of birth of such children who describe their past lives with verifiable places and events, are one in a billion.
(ii) Over 90% of this minuscule occurrence is reported from India.
(iii) All such children who narrate the events of their previous lives, forget those events before they reach adolescence. It is as if they were seeing a film which suddenly vanished from their memory screen before they entered into puberty.

Pondering over the above three features gives rise to the following questions:-
(i) A soul is an intelligent entity. After passing one life in this world, when it starts another stint in another body, why does it forget the previous happenings? After all it is the material body of a new born child which is shaped for the first time but the soul was not destroyed and recreated or reborn as a baby. Instead it has the experience of the years of the previous lives (according to the proclaimers of Avagaman) when it enters into a baby’s body.

(ii) Why it is that only 1-in-billion children remember their past lives while all the others forget? Even those who remember claim to recall a very few events of only the immediately preceding life and not all the past lives they lived.

(iii) Those very few who do claim to recall a few events, forget them after a few years. In other words, only a few immature children before the attainment of adolescence can describe these events. Why do they forget it when they grow? The defenders of the theory say that we all forget most of the events of our childhood. But this logic is not sustainable. Sure, we forget most of the events of our childhood but we all remember with photogenic details all the special and very important events of our childhood. Even the very old men who forget the things they heard or saw a few moments back, recall with minutes details, some important events of their past. When a child starts telling about his previous life, he becomes a celebrity overnight. Thousands of people flock around him and he has to repeat his story an innumerable times. It is an event of his life which he can never forget. He actually does not forget but the visions which he saw in his childhood stop coming to his mind anymore as he grows.

(iv) It is also strange that less than 10% of such cases are reported from the rest of the world other than India, the land of the believers of the transmigration of souls (Avagaman). I have been able to analyse the above phenomenon by comparing it with 'Haaziraat'. Very few people still possess the mystic knowledge of Haaziraat today although until 60s, there were plenty. Through Haaziraat, by looking into a small round shaped black box or over the flame of a 'Deepak' or sometimes on thumbnail tainted black by a Haaziraat expert, a small child of below 7 could tell and disclose many hidden and concealed things. I have myself witnessed Haaziraat performed on many children. My cousin, a couple of years younger to me used to relate unseen events by looking into the black box. For example he once told us the exact location of our expected guests who were delayed. Then he went on describing their features, their attires and their moment by moment location until he declared that they had reached our doorsteps and are about to knock. Exactly at that moment the knocking came and our guests were there wearing the same clothes which my 6 years old cousin had described and my cousin had never before seen our guests.

It seems a fairy tale today but a number of people from older generation have witnessed 'Haaziraat'. The main feature of Haaziraat was that it could be performed through a child only. The Haaziraat experts could communicate with unseen creatures through the medium of a child. Suffice it to conclude that the devilish powers can sometimes make a willing child their subject and make him see in a vision what is ordinarily hidden from normal eyes. Such devilish powers can, with the help of a Haaziraat expert, disclose to a child's mind the people, their homes and certain events associated with them which the child had no means to know otherwise. As the child grows, they can no more use him as his subject or medium.
Haaziraat experts still exist though a very few can be traced today. Infact I intend to demonstrate, with the help of one Haaziraat expert, in a few public functions the art and its use to unfold the mystery behind the children claiming to describe their past lives.
The near extinction of the possessors of Haaziraat, also explains the diminishing number of children narrating rebirth. It also explains why most of such cases had been appearing in India only.

Note: This answer was given by Tariq sahab in the magazine www.islamicvoice.com

Which is the True and Correct Religion?

Question: I am very scared and confused. I was brought up Christian believing Jesus is the saviour and we will all go to hell if we do not believe in Jesus. I personally do not know what to believe. Muslims on the other hand believe that Jesus is not the saviour and you should read the Quran and follow it and if you don't, you won't be saved. Both religions say they are the true and correct religion. I have prayed and prayed. I would hope that both are wrong and God will have mercy on all of us and save us all. What am I to believe??? About a year and 1/2 ago I began to be drawn to Islam and have done some research and the Bible is put down a lot. I do not know if it is right for Muslims to put down Christians and for Christians to put Muslims down. I am lost. Sometimes I begin to think that someone just made up the Bible and another made up the Quran. Can you offer any kind of suggestions or help on this? My friends and family say that the only reason that I was drawn to Islam was because I was abused as a child and Islamic women are abused. What in the world am I suppose to do or believe in????
Crystal L. Parks

Answered by Allama Syed Abdullah Tariq: You have said so many things and expressed so many doubts that it will be better to split your different confusions and give reply for each part separately instead of one long answer that may lose the threads.

True Saviour
1. The confusion: I am very scared and confused. I was brought up Christian believing Jesus is the saviour and we will all go to hell if we do not believe in Jesus. I personally do not know what to believe. Muslims on the other hand believe that Jesus is not the Saviour and you should read the Quran and follow it and if you don’t, you wont be saved.

The solution: Jesus surely was a saviour when he was on earth. The Quran relates: “When Isa (Jesus) peace be upon him, came with clear signs, he stated: I have brought you wisdom, and to clarify some of those things about which you have disputes: so fear Allah and obey me. Surely it is Allah Who is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him. This is the Right Way.”(43:63,64). It is not different from what Jesus reported to have said in the Bible. He said: “…Fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Mat. 10: 28),
“…Get thee hence Satan for it is written, Thou shall worship the Lord thy God and Him only shall thy serve”. (Mat. 4:10) “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love even as I have kept my father’s commandments and abide in His love”. (Jn. 15:10).
As you have rationally thought over and studied religion you must be aware that Father-son relationship of Jesus with God was not a physical relationship. It was an allegory as he made clear on numerous occasions. When he was being ascended unto God, he declared: “…go to my brethren and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father and your Father and to my God and to your God”. (Jn. 20:17).

So, Jesus was a Saviour. There is no dispute in this. There also is no dispute amongst a large majority of both Muslims and the Christians about his being a saviour on his second coming. He will be a savior and will lead people to the right path and salvation. Whoever will not follow him will go astray.
We may also say that he is a savior. Though he is not among us to lead us, his teachings are with us and we shall succeed by following them. Now what are his teachings for the present time?

Remember what he said before his ascension. He declared: “If you love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter (Saviour), that he may abide with you forever”. (Jn. 14:15,16). That is, Jesus declared that another Savior who will come to the world, his teachings will remain relevant and applicable till the Last Day. He said: These things have I spoken unto you being yet present with you. But the Comforter who is the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name (i.e. to fulfill the same mission), he shall teach you all things and bring all things to your rememberance, whatsoever I have said unto you”. (Jn 14:25,26). “And now I have told you before it has come to pass that when it is come to pass, ye might believe. Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the Prince of this world cometh and hath nothing in me”.(Jn 14:29,30). “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of Truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me. And ye also shall bear witness because ye have been with me from the beginning”. (Jn. 15:26,27)

“Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come to you: but if I depart, I will send him unto you”. (Jn. 16:7). These announcements of Jesus clearly imply that another comforter or Saviour was to come after his departure. His arrival was important, so Jesus had to depart. The new Saviour was to be the Prince of the World and the Spirit of Truth, proceeding from God to fulfill the same mission of which Jesus was a part. He was to testify of and verify that Jesus and his teachings will remain valid till the end of the world and thus he will be the last of the great Saviours who proceeded from God in the sense that no new Saviour will come after him. The followers of Jesus were required to believe in him.
The next and the Last Saviour came, testified of Jesus, asked his followers to believe in Jesus and gave guiding instructions to be followed till the end of the world. Jesus will come in his second coming and implement the teachings of the Last Saviour as they will be the teachings from the same God who sent Jesus and him. He will be the Prince of the world (Rahmatul-Lil-Aalameen i.e. Mercy unto all the worlds) and The Spirit of Truth (As-Saadiq, The Truthful). His name was Muhammad (Pbuh). Bear in mind that no other man in history claimed to be the same Saviour whom Jesus had foretold about and both, ‘The Message’ he brought from God and his own life stand witness to his being from God. So Jesus is a present Saviour also in the sense that the salvation is in obeying his order to obey the next and the Last Saviour.

The present day Christianity may require you to believe in Jesus only but Quran asks all its followers to believe in both Jesus and Muhammad and all the earlier prophets (peace be upon them), being the Saviours of mankind. It proclaimed: “Lo! those who disbelieve in Allah and (all) His messengers, and seek to make distinction between Allah and His messengers, and say: We believe in some and disbelieve in others, and seek to choose a way in between; Such are disbelievers in truth; and for disbelievers We prepare a shameful doom”. (4:150,151)
Indeed there is difference between Islam and the present Christianity in the nature of belief on Jesus. The present Christianity says that Jesus was a Son of God and His equal while Islam teaches that God has no (actual or physical) son. He is One without equal or parallel. One must bow to Him only and Muhammad and Jesus like all His earlier messengers (peace be upon them all) were His bondsmen and apostles to carry His message to the humanity. A messenger does not come on his own. He is sent by God. That who sends is greater than those who are sent. A messenger does not teach by his own will. He teaches what God has willed him to teach. He does not have power to show miracles. He shows miracles by the Will and help of God. He asks people to obey him, but not worship him. He himself obeys the commandments of God and prays to Him. Jesus declared and did exactly the same. “…The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord”. (Mk. 12:29). “Thou shall worship the Lord thy God and Him only shall thy serve”. (Mat. 4:10).

“And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? None is good save one, that is, God”. (Lk. 18:19). In his own context Jesus declared, “But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house”. (Mk. 6:4). Praying to God, Jesus said, “And this is life eternal that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou has sent”. (Jn. 17:3). “For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that Thou didst send me”. (Jn. 17:8). “Verily verily I say unto you, the servant (the slave in R.S.V. footnote) is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him”. (Jn 13:16). Jesus loudly prayed God while bringing Lazarus to life so that people could listen and have correct belief that Jesus had no power of his own to bring dead to life. “Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank Thee that Thou hast heard me. And I knew that Thou hearest me always; but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that Thou hast sent me”.

It must be clear to you by now that the Quran verifies Jesus (pbuh). They are in conformity. Islam asks its followers to believe in all the prophets including Jesus and Muhammad (peace be upon them). Whoever, be he called a Christian or a Muslim, does not believe in any one of Allah’s prophets is a disbeliever in Allah’s word preached by the prophets. Such a person should not expect Allah’s Mercy.

Correct Religion
2. The confusion: Both religions say they are the true and correct religion. I have prayed and prayed. I would hope that both are wrong and God will have mercy on all of us and save us all. What am I to believe???

The solution: Islam says that the Straight Path, the True Religion has always been one. When God is one, the Religion would be one and all the prophets of Allah preached the same religion. In Arabic it is called Islam, meaning submission before God. The Quran proclaimed: “He hath ordained for you that religion which He commended unto Noah, and that which We inspire in thee (Muhammad), and that which We commended unto Abraham and Moses and Jesus, saying: Establish the religion, and be not divided therein. ... And they (the people) were not divided until after the knowledge came unto them, through rivalry among themselves; and had it not been for a Word that had already gone forth from thy Lord for an appointed term, it surely had been judged between them. And those who were made to inherit the Scripture after them (the prophets) are verily in hopeless doubt concerning it”. (42:13,14). The religion preached by all the prophets was the same i.e. Islam or submission to God’s Will. Believe in Jesus and what he preached and foretold.
There is one good tiding for you in spite of your confusions. When you have prayed and prayed sincerely and surely you have strived hard to find out the Truth instead of just praying, you will without doubt be guided towards the Right Path by God. He Himself has assured of this in His Last Word: “As for those who strive in Our cause, We will surely guide them to Our ways; rest assured that Allah is with the righteous”. If you have strived hard besides praying, God will surely have Mercy on you about those should not expect of His Mercy who have made no sincere effort to find the Truth.

Judge each Religion Judiciously
3. The confusion: About a year and 1/2 ago I began to be drawn to Islam and have done some research and the Bible is put down a lot. I do not know if it is right for Muslims to put down Christians and for Christians to put Muslims down. I am lost. Sometimes I begin to think that someone just made up the Bible and another made up the Quran. Can you offer any kind of suggestions or help on this?
The solution: Quran asks its believers to believe in all the scriptures of God. One cannot remain a Muslim unless he believes in Injeel (the gospel) preached by Jesus. Quran poses a question to the earlier people who received the scriptures: “Ask them: O people of the Book! What makes you against us other than that we believe in Allah and in what has been revealed to us and what was revealed before (i.e. Injeel, Torah etc.)? The fact is that most of you are rebellious transgressors.” (5:59). We contest the Christian brethren because they believe in different gospels written at least 250 years after Jesus’ departure by different writers who were not even impartial narrators. Even Christian pastors accept this. In quest of truth you might have come across many a criticism by Christian researchers. Following are just a few brief references by a Bangalore (a south Indian city) based professor of scriptures: “For the N.T. we have some 5000 manuscripts some of them going back to the 2nd. Century. The first complete edition of the New Testament is only (!) 250 or 300 years later than the originals”. (Fr. Zacharias Mattam S.D.B., Opening the Bible, K.J.C. Publication, Bangalore, India, p.128). “Biblical authors are not detached observers whose aim is to present the facts exactly as they happened. They are ardent believers and when they write they give also the significance of events with the purpose of leading the reader to faith.”
The same holds good for the Gospels in the New Testament. The evangelists of course do not, invent anything, but they felt free to make modifications based on doctrinal, apologetical and liturgical considerations”. (ibid 91). “Clearly the Gospels are not some sort of photographic presentation of the life of Jesus Christ. The evangelists rearrange the Gospel material according to their plan and in presenting them freely make changes and adaptations”. (ibid 74). I must not forget to mention that the author of the above book, Fr. Zacharias, besides teaching in the seminary, is actively involved in pastoral ministry and in Biblical Apostolate.

Above is the condition of most recent books of the Bible. The condition of O.T. is worse. How can Muslims accept it as an unadulterated Word of God? In comparison, Quran is the Word of God in the purest form. Adulteration can only be sorted out with the help of unadulterated word of God. Only the Quran can become the touchstone while sorting the truth from the interpolation. It is not putting down the Christians. It is putting the cards face up. As for true teaching of Injeel, they are still there but mixed with human interpolations. The Quran asks the Christians to believe in those parts of the Gospels which it verifies, being the touchstone. It says: “Then in the footsteps of those Prophets, We sent Isa (Jesus) the son of Maryam (Mary) (peace be upon them) confirming whatever remained (intact) from the Taurat in his time, and gave him the Injeel (Gospel) wherein was guidance and light, corroborating what was revealed in the Taurat; a guidance and an admonition to those who fear Allah. Therefore, let the people who follow the Injeel (Gospel) judge by the Law which Allah has revealed therein; those who do not judge by the Law which Allah has revealed, they are the transgressors. To you, We have revealed this Book with the truth. It confirms whatever has remained (intact) in the scriptures which came before it and also to safeguard it. Therefore, judge between people according to Allah’s revelations and do not yield to their vain desires diverging from the truth which has come to you…” (5:46-48)

If two ideologies are contesting each other it does not mean that both are necessarily false. Judge each of them judiciously. One of them may be true.

Status of Muslim Women
4. The confusion: My friends and family say that the only reason that I was drawn to Islam was because I was abused as a child and Muslim Women are abused. What in the world am I suppose to do or believe in????

The solution: Islam stands against all sort of abuse and exploitation. There is abuse of women in some Muslims as there is in every community. Islam is not to be blamed if some so-called Muslims do not adhere to it. Islam grants to her protection and her rightful and respectable place. It does not approve of her exploitation in the name of liberation. You have to meet Muslim women and see for yourself the contentment and sense of security they have in contrast with the harassment of women in other societies. The Prophet (Pbuh) instructed to protect and take special care of fairer sex from her birth. Following are a few of his saying (Hadith): “Whoever faces hardship for their daughters while treating them nice, they will be barrier for them from the Fire (of hell).” (Bukhari, Muslim); “Whoever takes good care of two female children till they attain the age of taking their own care, he will be close to me on the Day of Resurrection like this. (He showed his two adjacent fingers). (Muslim). “On one occasion he declared: Whoever takes good care of three female children or three of his sisters who are (dependant for any reason) like them and train them in good manners and be compassionate with them, Allah will consider him worthy for paradise. A companion enquired about two girls or sisters. The Prophet (Pbuh) replied that the same (reward) is for two. The narrator (Ibne Abbas) observes that (it seemed) if anyone had asked about one, the Prophet (Pbuh) would have replied the same.”(Sharah-us-Sunnah)

Following is his famous Hadith about the status of mother: “A person asked, ‘O Prophet of God, who merits most of my good behavior’? He replied: ‘Your mother’. He asked, ‘Who comes next’? The Prophet (Pbuh) said, ‘Your mother’? ‘Who is next?’ He asked (for the third time)? ‘Your mother’, he answered. The man persisted, ‘Who is next’? The Prophet (Pbuh) then said, ‘Your father”.
In the 19th century none had heard of woman’s right of inheritance except in Islam which had conferred her this right in 7th century. The Prophet (Pbuh) gave specific instruction to husbands against beating them 14 centuries ago.

There is propaganda of abuse of Muslim women and few cases of bad Muslims are blown out of proportion. I advise you of a comprehensive study of rights of women in Islam. If you send me your postal address, I might arrange some good authentic books on the subject to be delivered to you.

Note: This answer was given by Tariq sahab in the magazine www.islamicvoice.com

Islamic Flag

Q. This is with reference to Islamic flag under the heading our dialogue dated April 1996 issue. You have mentioned that the biggest flag held by general in command was white in colour and other small flags of black colour were held by all the battalion commanders. The flag was plain with no inscription on it.
But for many years I have seen that on almost all occasions people use green colour flag showing moon and written in Urdu or Arabic, ‘Nara-e-Takbeer Allah-u-Akbar’. Even our Mosques, in all over India are painted green. Recently one of my non-Muslim friends had read this issue and asked me, ‘Why are you using green flag? Are you a pro-Pakistani? But actually we should follow the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (Pbuh). Then how did the green colour come?
Fatima Abdul Rehman, Bombay

Ans. Deen would become very difficult if we were forbidden to act anything, which was not acted upon by the Prophet (Pbuh). The accepted principle in this regard is that anything promoted by the Qur’an or Prophet (Pbuh) is forbidden. There is no harm in using any colour for any flag on any occasion even if it is an army flag. If Pakistan and all the Muslim majority countries used the plain white or black colour flags and Indian Muslims also used the same colour on any occasion in the footsteps of the Prophet (Pbuh) would not the same charge of being pro-Pakistani be labelled? The colour or inscription does not make any flag a pro-Pakistani flag unless it is exactly like a Pakistani flag. Many countries in their flags use the three colours used in our National flag. It does not make our flag pro-any country. To associate, imagined motives behind non-existent trifles is due to distance and mistrust between the two communities created by the interested hate mongers.

Green and white colours were the Prophet’s (pbuh) favourite colours and hence the Muslims, the world over often use these two colours for the things of religious significance. Mosques all over India are not painted green but if some Mosques bear green paint, it is to resemble the green dome of the Prophet’s (pbuh) Mosque in Madina.

Note: This answer was given by Tariq sahab in the magazine www.islamicvoice.com

Fundamentalism and Terrorism

Q. Apropos the stigma of fundamentalism and terrorism against Islam, some more clarifications are needed. If terrorism for a noble cause is a virtue, every Muslim will be allowed to use force for imposing his will on another. It is universally feared that the role of a police / judge, if delegated to every individual, would paralyse the entire system of judicature and a state of anarchy is bound to prevail.
With reference to Dr. Naik’s views on fundamentalism and Islam in I.V. Nov 98, I beg to know what are the fundamentals which can never be revised by any generation? If nothing can be changed, what is the intellectual stagnation, as has been described in the same paper?
Your kind reply is sought to clarify the stigma of fundamentalism against Islam. This will also prove helpful to counter a general belief that religions have lost capacity to cope with the needs of modern age.
Faiz Mohd. Khan; Rewa

Ans. Dr. Naik, in the said article, has clearly stated; “It is true that the word terrorist is generally used for a person who causes terror among the common people. But a true Muslim should only be a terrorist to selective people, that is anti-social elements and not to the common innocent people. In fact a Muslim should be a source of peace for innocent people”. I do not think that it should generate any misunderstanding. He does not mean that every individual Muslim should take law into his own hands. For example, if there were quite a few responsible Muslims in an office, anyone would think twice before offering or accepting bribe in their presence. Qur’an declares: “Whoever becomes a Kaafir to the devil, and believes in Allah, then he has grasped the most trustworthy handhold that will never break.” (2:256)

A Kaafir, in the traditional sense is a disbeliever in Allah, but in the above verse, it is clear that the word ‘Kaafir’ is used in a different sense to emphasize its true and literal meaning. The use of the word above does not create misunderstanding. Similarly, the use of the word ‘terrorist’ carries a different meaning other than its traditional meaning in the said sentence. It has been explained in the article that Islam means ‘peace’ and a Muslim terrorist should generate a sense of peace among masses.

There is no place for terrorism in Islam and the specific use of ‘terrorist’, in the write-up does not signify a La-Robinhood or a lawbreaker.
Dr. Naik has nowhere written that ‘nothing can be changed’. Only the fundamentals cannot be changed. If the fundamentals of any doctrine are changed, they loses their relevance. If the fundamentals of Islam are changed, they will no more be Islamic. If you deliberate upon the other article you have referred to namely. ‘Muslim intellectual Stagnation’, it is in consonance with, rather than contradictory to, Dr. Naik’s exposition. Sticking to fundamentals does not mean stagnation. Though the principle has been well explained in the two articles, let me elaborate further to remove the misgiving.

Islam is the Deen of Nature. The inherent principles of nature remain unchanged but the application of the principles change with time and surroundings. The fundamentals never change. The Creator of nature Himself declared thus; “And no change will you find in Allah’s Sunnah and no turning off will you find in Allah’s Sunnah.” (35:43)

Allah’s Sunnah, in nature, is the unchanged and inborn laws of nature. The earth was round even when all the people including Aristotle thought it was flat. The gravitation laws were there when no one knew about them. These fundamentals did not change with time. The fundamentals of Deen remained unchanged since the first man on earth. Deen remained one, that is Islam but the way of applying the Deen in different times changed with the change in Shariah of different Prophets. Islam has five basic fundamentals. The first of them is Faith or Imaan, the loyalty towards the Lord of creation. This part includes the faith in messengers of the Lord and His books. Since the teachings of only the last Prophet (Pbuh) and the last word is safe and secure from human interpolation, the strict adherence to their guidance is part of the fundamentals of Islam or peace for man in both the worlds. The next four fundamental pillars are Salat (the prayer) Zakat (the poor’s due), Saum (staying away from certain things on certain days) and Hajj (the pilgrimage). The inherent principles spelled out by the Qur’an and the Prophet (Pbuh) remain unchanged while if the application of those principles does not change with the situation and time, there will be stagnation and the Deen will become 1400 years old.

The Prophet (Pbuh) stressed upon using Miswak (the wooden toothbrush) many times a day. The principle he stressed upon was dental care and mouth hygiene. Though the particular Miswak of Peelu tree has its own distinct advantages, the insistence upon brushing the teeth by a wooden piece of a particular tree being his Sunnah, will make the Deen 1400 years old. Based on the Qur’an and Sunnah, the Islamic apparel can broadly be defined as one possessing the following properties;
1. It must cover the Sat’r (the part of body required to be concealed by Shariah)
2. It should not display Takabbur (the arrogance and haughtiness)
3. There should not be undue and wasteful excess in expenditure and
4. It should not be an imitation of religious identity of another religion. (The last point should not be confused with the area culture of any region). Any costume or attire conforming to the above principles is an Islamic dress. These fundamentals regarding clothes will never change. Naming a particular set of uniform as Islamic dress, is stagnation.

The Qur’an instructed us; “And make ready against them (the enemy) all you can of power and the strength of steeds...” (8:60) Though the horses still have their use in certain battlefields, they have lost relevance in the modern day electronic and nuclear warfare. Steeds may become outdated but the fundamentals spelled out by the word of God can never become irrelevant. The Qur’an has mentioned here a principle of war preparation. To limit it to the specific order of breeding good horses, would mean that word of God can no more cope with modern times. The Qur’an is a living book. It has amazingly used ‘the strength of steeds’ instead of just ‘steeds.’ Applied in certain times and situations, it would mean good horses but applied to some other battlefields, it means ‘horsepower’ behind the arsenal. Surprisingly, the word horsepower has been preferred by physics to describe the quantum of power. God knew it.

The word of God could have nominated a few heads of income and property for Zakat to be charged on. It did not, The Prophet (Pbuh) applied the principle of ‘Numu’ (growth) on the prevalent means of income and property and charged Zakat on certain heads. The present day business has a wider scope covering a large number of means of growth-oriented property and income. Is it fair that a poor mohalla shopkeeper pays the Zakat on his business goods worth fifty thousand while a successful surgeon earning millions per year goes Scott free, as his clinic, operation theatre and instruments are supposed to be exempt from Zakat. This is stagnation.

The Shariah provided a relief in prayer for the traveller by shortening the required number of Rak’ats. The rationale behind the order reveals the unchanged principle governing the order. It was a certain amount of hardship encountered by the traveller, which necessitated the shortening of prayer. As a commoner cannot gauge the amount of hardship, the scholars, by converting the hardship into mileage of journey, based upon the means of travel of a certain time and place codified the application of the law. By sticking to the application of a different time, we have come to a strange situation. A person travelling in air comfort from Delhi to Bangalore is asked to shorten his prayer as he has crossed the journey limit fixed by old scholars for their times. On the other hand a poor man dragging a bicycle in the heat of May-June from Delhi to Hapur (a distance of 60 km) is required to offer the full prayer. This is stagnation.

To sum it up, Islam will fade away if the principle or fundamentals are changed or compromised while if the application of the principles are made static, it will not seem to cope with the pace of time. It is for the sensible and competent scholars to segregate and define the two. As the range is too vide, only the specific problems can be sorted out in a short write-up.

Note: This answer was given by Tariq sahab in the magazine www.islamicvoice.com

SELF HYPNOSIS

Q. Recently a hypnotism expert came to our college and demonstrated various items that were remarkable. During his speech he said that a person who learns self-hypnotism and undergoes the same process can know in which form he was in his last birth. As we Muslims know there is no rebirth, what should we think of the hypnotist and his statement?
Irfan Ahmed. A. Mulla ; Bijapur

Ans. Muslims have been taught self-hypnosis and they are required to practice it five times a day. Nearly all religious meditations are self-hypnosis in which the meditator hypnotizes himself into believing something through a process called auto suggestions.
The most conspicuous example of self-hypnosis in religious meditations can be observed in the Rajyoga of Brahma Kumari sect. To the beginners, they start teaching meditation in congregation. There is a discourse before the meditation describing the theory of Brahma Kumari mission. After that all participants are required to concentrate on a red bulb which glows over a Shiva sign (an elliptical shape). In the background is a picture of the founder of the sect who is referred to by them as Brahma Baba. As the devotees concentrate, some soft music with songs in praise of Baba is played. After a while, the songs and music stop and the tutor starts speaking in an impressive echo-like sound, what he/she wants the devotees to believe. With eyes fixed on the bulb, they listen intently to the suggestions of the tutor whose voice goes on slowing down and down and finally stops. By now the devotees are in a kind of trance and the message conveyed by the tutor reverberates in their mind. After a suitable interval of time, the dim lights of the hall are replaced by full illumination and the end of the meditation is declared so that the meditators can come out of their trance. They feel an immense amount of peace and are very much impressed.

After a few such practice sessions where the suggestion come from outside i.e. the tutor, the devotees are taught to practice Rajyoga (the above meditation) on their own in their homes. They are given a set of suggestions that they go on repeating in their minds while they concentrate on some object (preferably a small bulb over the picture of Shiva Sign). Members of the mission are required to attend morning or evening session of about one hour of collective meditation in the nearby Brahma Kumari Ashram and practice in addition to it at least once in their seclusion. Soon they firmly start believing in whatever is being suggested to them by the tutor (Didi of the Ashram) and their own auto suggestions. The belief through this process is so rigidly engraved in their minds that even scientists among them do not question such ridiculous things as the birth of a peacock without mating of its parents and the whole life cycle on earth consisting of 5000 years.

Namaz in Islam is the same process. A person in Namaz is required to meditate in his mind that he is in the presence of God and then the voice of Imam in an impressive Qir’at (recitation) reverberates in his mind. If he has really started the prayer with the required meditation of God’s presence, the Namazi is in a trance, listening to the message of Qur’an and absorbing it. He goes from one posture to other mechanically with each sound of Allah-u-Akbar and he is trained to come out of trance with the pronouncement of Salam by the Imam. The tragedy is that Muslims do not know Arabic so that they could be completely benefited by Namaz. However even if they do not know Arabic, they can still learn the meaning of Allah-u-Akbar (Allah is Great), Sami-Allah-u-Liman-Hamidah (God heard him who praised Him) Subhaan-a-Rabbi Al-Azeem and Subhaan-a-Rabbi Al-Aala (Holy is my Lord the Great and Exalted). They can also learn the meaning of Attahiyaat, Durood and other prayers, which they daily recite in every Namaz. If they know the meaning then these will be engraved in their mind provided they are in a trance. The state of being in a trance can not be achieved unless the Namaz was started with the pre-requisite of meditating in the presence of Allah. Again, unfortunately a large number of Muslims are not told of and do not practice this meditation and hence they do not achieve all the objectives of Namaz. After the collective prayer, they have to offer their individual Sunnah and Nafil prayers in which they practice the same on their own. It was preferred by the Prophet (pbuh) that people should offer these individual prayers in the solitude of their homes, as then they would be able to concentrate more.

It must be mentioned that unlike in Brahma Kumari, the Muslims are advised to ponder over the Qur’an. The holy Qur’an itself told them that the preferred slaves of Allah are: “those who, when they are reminded of the Signs of their Lord, droop not down over them as deaf and blind (i.e. they believe with full cognizance and understanding instead of a blind faith)”. (25:73). When such a person listens to the Qur’an in prayer, he already has perception of what he is being led to believe during the trance of the meditation.
So now you must be reassured that a Muslim who is a regular Namazi will never encounter the assumed scenes of a previous birth as he is already accustomed to the process of self-hypnosis where his mind has already been trained not to believe in previous births. Those who already believe in the process of re-birth in this world without pondering over it and against all scientific reasoning, can witness the presumed scenes of re-birth. But to be a witness to this phenomenon, they will have to repeat and remind continuously to themselves during meditation that they had a re-birth. At first, with the help of an outsiders suggestions, during the trance and then by auto suggestions one can start seeing things for which his mind is being programmed. Even then all cannot achieve that state of self-programming. Staunch belief, weaker will powers and the levels of intelligence, all play their parts during the process and the results of all are not the same. Usually the ladies and persons of lesser will power and also those who have lesser intelligence are more susceptible to witness such visions. I personally know such persons who are extremely religious with an unshakable belief in rebirth and though they teach others to meditate, they have not been able to witness their presumed previous births despite years of meditational efforts.

This process of self-hypnosis bears more success in terms of witnessing previous births if during auto suggestions, the invocation of some invisible beings is also resorted to. Those beings (Jinns in the Qur’anic terminology), who normally cannot dominate or possess a human mind get empowered when a human being invokes them and as a result accepts their superiority over themselves. Qur’an hints at their capability of possessing the human mind when they are invoked: “True there are persons among mankind who took shelter with persons among the Jinns, but they increased them into further error and they (came to) think as you thought that Allah would not raise up any one (to Judgement)”. (72:6-7). They can then guide them as they like and make the person see things and scenes which sometimes exist and most of the time are non-existent. By mixing verifiable truth with falsehood, they mislead the human race.
There is an occult science called Haziraat in which, the Aamil (the person invoking the Jinns) can make a child up to 10 years of age and sometimes a woman or a mentally slow person his subject, capable of seeing Jinns who show and inform them of unseen things. Many of the witnessed things come true while on a large number of occasions the scenes witnessed by the Mamool (Whom the Aamil uses as his subject) are totally false. Haziraat is becoming extinct today but most of the older people of our generation know of it and have seen it happen. If during the self hypnosis process, invisible powers are also invoked, by adopting a certain procedure, a kind of Haziraat comes into effect and the person in trance is possessed by Jinns who can show them places which sometimes really exist. The meditator, in the course of self hypnotism becomes more than assured that he is seeing the places and people concerning his earlier births.

To avoid the confusion and to know the truth with certainty, we must analyse the belief of transmigration of souls scientifically instead of resorting to self-hypnosis, which in fact is a process of affirmation of the presumed thoughts rather than a correct procedure of comprehension of truth.
The moral of the above exposition is that we must reflect upon and ponder over our presumptions before going into meditations with them.

Note: This answer was given by Tariq sahab in the magazine www.islamicvoice.com

'Allah' as God

Q. Islamic Voice is continously publishing 'Allah' as God, even in the Quranic verses. I would like to say as a true Muslim that Allah is neither God, Bhagwan or Ishwar. God is a masculine word, having a feminine partner Goddess. It is same with the other two words Bhagwan - Bhagwati & Ishwar - Ishwari. If we equate Allah with God, Bhagwan & Ishwar, then it would be assumed that he is a male having a female partner. It may amount to shirk. If I call a human being an animal, will he like it? Allah would also not like someone calling the Supreme Being by the above-mentioned names. (M.Imtiaz Mallick, Culcutta).

Ans. God with a Capital 'G' is exclusively used for the Supreme Being. It has no feminine equivalent like Goddess. You seem to be confused between the two words starting with a Capital letter and a small letter. The word 'god' with a small "g" has its feminine equivalent goddess. It also has a plural i.e. "gods", while God has no plural. In Funk & Wagnalls English Dictionary, God is explained as: In monotheism, the rule of life and universe.
Similarly 'Nalanda Vishal Shaab'd Sagar', a very authentic Hindi dictionary explains the word Ishwar as: 1. Accroding to yoga shastra, "(who is beyond) sorrows, deeds, age and desires." Parmeshwara. 2. Lord, Owner.
The word has neither a feminine equivalent nor a plural.

Iswari is no word of either Sanskrit or Hindi language. If a woman is named as Ishwari at some place, it does not make it a proper word of the written or spoken language. We sometimes find the names like 'Allah Jaan' among the ignorant. It does not induce us to abandon the use of the word 'Allah'. If the name of a girl or woman is kept Ishwari, her father or she must be reasoned with to change her name. You can't do anything if she does not change it as you are not responsible if 'Allah jaan' is not prepared to change his name.
In fact the above two words, God and Ishwar are between than the Persian word 'Khuda' quite frequently used by Muslims in India. 'Khuda' is an equivalent of Arabic 'Ilah' and not 'Allah'. It's plural 'Khudaon' is used in Urdu language. Khuda, in a sense has more proximity to 'god' than 'God'. Still, whenever the word Khuda is spoken nobody in the world is ever in doubt that it is being used for some other being than Allah. Therefore whatever the sementics and etimological analysis, the use of the word 'Khuda' is also not improper it has come to be a synonymn of Allah and God.

Bhaqwan, indeed is not exlusively meant for Almighty and it cannot be used in a translation in place of Allah. However in those contexts where there is no room for confusion, it may be spoken as well as written for Allah. It is like an attribute. For example, when someone says, "I am well by the grace of Maalik", the use of the word 'Maalik' (Lord) is not improper although Maalik is an attribute which is also used for human being e.g. Maalik Makaan (Land Lord).
It may be argued that the differentiation between a capital 'G' and a small 'g' can only be made in a written language but in spoken language, both the words sound as same. The answer is that the context almost always decides the actual meaning.

Note: This answer was given by Tariq sahab in the magazine www.islamicvoice.com

How Shaitan Misleads Man?

Q. Shaitaan (Iblis) was thrown out by Almighty Allah on not obeying the orders. Thus Shaitaan is one entity, how can he be present at so many places at one given time to distort Muslims believers from doing their duties.
(Zakir Patel ; Baroda)

A. Adam was alone in the beginning and God created for him, his wife so that the human race could start and spread. Iblis is one person but being from Jinns, he may have his progeny. At which stage, Allah created his pair, is not known to us, as most other things about them are also unknown. We know that Iblis was the most learned and respectable of all Jinns before being expelled from the proximity of Allah. It does not necessarily mean that he was the lone person of his race when his expulsion came about. In one of the ayats, where his non-compliance is described, it is at the same time stated that he was from among (the race of Jinn), which indicates that there may have been others of his race at that time also, though not necessarily in high heavens. The relevant ayat is: “...they bowed down except Iblis. He was one of the Jinns and he broke the Command of his Lord.” (18:50)

Qur’an has used, the words ‘tribe of Shaitan, hosts of Shaitans, brothers of Shaitans and it informs us that the Shaitans are from both Jinns and humankind. See the ayaats 7:27, 26:95, 17:27, and 6:112 etc. So there are and have been innumerable number of devils from among Jinns and human beings from day one.
Besides the above, it is possible for a Shaitan from Jinns to tempt and mislead more than one person from human beings even if they are at different places. Shaitan has not to be physically present near a man to allure him. Being a person whose basic constituent of the body is heat energy instead of matter, he can penetrate and infiltrate from a distance in different directions. The Qur’an tells us that he misleads by sending thought waves (Waswasa). He did not allure Adam by physically sneaking into the heaven from where he had been expelled. There was no question of his approaching near a place where from none other than Allah had debarred him. He allured Adam and Hawwa by sending thought waves. “Then began Satan to whisper suggestions to them bringing openly before their minds all their shame that was hidden from them (before): he said “Your Lord only forbade you this tree lest ye should become angels or such beings as live for ever.” (7:20). We have been warned thus:
“O ye children of Adam! Let not Satan seduce you in the same manner as he got your parents out of the garden stripping them of their raiment to expose their shame: for he and his tribe watch you from a position where ye cannot see them: We made the devil the protecting friends of those without faith.” (7:27)

Note: This answer was given by Tariq sahab in the magazine www.islamicvoice.com

Reveliation of Qur'an and Miracles

Q.1. Our society group would be grateful to know:
i) Why this Holy Qur’an was not revealed to the Prophets before Holy Prophet Muhammad(Pbuh)?

ii) Did Holy Prophet Muhammad(Pbuh) performed miracles during his life time?
(J.H. Thacker; Ahmedabad)

Answered by Syed Abdullah Tariq:

All the earlier Prophets came when in the world there were great barriers of distance and communication between different lands. The activities of earlier Prophets, therefore were limited to the area of their possible reach. In other words, we can say that they were sent to reform their respective races. Although the basic message, the tenets of the belief and the human values preached by all of them was the same but the ‘Shariah’ (the rites and the civil & criminal law) part carried by each Prophet took into consideration, the particular habits culture and capabilities of their areas of operation.

 Hence although the religion of all the prophets (peace be upon them) was essentially the same (submission before God), the modes of rites and the legal part differed as per the needs of the respective area. The messages (the Word of God) delivered by those Prophets also underwent human interference some time after each Prophet had departed as the human society, although progressing gradually had no fool proof and reliable recording means which could not be tampered with. Prophet Muhammad (Pbuh) came in an era which was just before the explosion of scientific progress. The world was to become one place after a while, with the progress in communication and transport. The reliable means of recording were also to be developed, so that there was no danger of change in the message at last Prophet Muhammad (Pbuh) was the first Prophet through which the Word of God was to reach in every nook and corner of the world with such a degree of safety that not even a single letter of the message would be altered. He was therefore made the Last Prophet (Pbuh) as well, as the message would now remain safe forever and would reach to every part of the world.

For this reason, Qur’anic Shariah had to be complete in every respect to suit all people for all times. The Qur’an testified to it that the shariah part for each past nation was different: “ For each (people) we ordained a Divine Law and a traced out way” (5:48). But it also made clear that the essentials of the religion remained unaltered. “ He has ordained for you the faith which He enjoined on Nuh and which we have revealed to you and which we enjoined on Abraham, Musa and Isa, (saying): observe this faith and be not divided therein” (42:13).
As the basic message remained the same, the Qur’an has on one occasion named the earlier Divine Books also as Qur’an: “ And say I am indeed he that warns openly and without ambiguity, as We sent down on those who made division. Who made Qur’an into shreds.” (15:89-91)

Miracles
Ans. ii) Prophet Muhammad (Pbuh) performed such a large number of miracles that it will take a moderate sized book to compile them all. On several occasions, he fed a large number of people on the diet of one person, quenched the thirst of thousands of companions with one small pot full of water. He talked to the animals, trees and Jennies, foretold a large number of events, travelled to Jerusalem and heavens within a few moments time, divided and reunited the moon by pointing a finger and performed a lot of other miracles. Even when he was a child, a Christian saint recognized him as a future Prophet. The saint witnessed the trees bowing before him and a patch of cloud moving over his head as he walked.

I have not described in detail, anyone of the above as the Qur’an does not lay emphasis on such miracles of Prophet Muhammad (Pbuh), Although these are part of history and although the Qur’an describes the miracles of the earlier Prophets, it calls only one of his miracles as ‘The Miracle’ which overshadowed all these described above.
Before coming to that one Miracle, let me quote Jesus Christ from the Bible, who explained to his followers that they should not be misled by everyone who performs amazing things, as extraordinary powers could be developed by anyone by intense practice. He said: “ For there shall arise false Christs and false Prophets and shall show great signs and wonders in so much that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect”. (Mat. 24:24)
The whole of the Christ’s life was full of miracles right from his miraculous birth upto the amazing ascension. He cured the incurable and raised to life, the dead by God’s permission. But that did not satisfy the disbelievers and they still demanded signs. Although, he had already shown so many signs, he answered: “An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign and there shall no sign be given to it but the sign of the Prophet Jonas. For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” (Mat.12:39,40)
Jesus did not remind them of all those previous miracles, Instead, he said that only one sign would be given to them. It would be such a great sign as to eclipse all the previous ones. Similarly the Qur’an talks of only one sign of Prophet Muhammad (Pbuh) compared to which all the other miracles are not worth calling the miracles. The Qur’an quoted the disbelievers at many places asking for signs. Although he had already performed so many miracles, the Lord told the Prophet (Pbuh) to answer them that no sign would be given to them except one, for which they had to wait, to become manifest.

Following are few of the answers in reply to the disbelievers demand that "Why is not a sign sent down to Him from His Lord?
“Have they not been given sufficient proofs (of your Prophet hood) in the previous Books” (20:133)
“Your mission is (not showing them the miracles) but only to give warning (of the Hereafter)” (13:7)
“Say, Allah is well able to send down a sign but most of them do not know (what that sign would be)”.(6:37)
“Say, Allah alone has knowledge of what is hidden wait if you will: I too am one of those who wait”. (10:20)
Why is not Qur’an referring to the miracles, the Prophet (Pbuh) often performed in reply to the demand? Because, the Last Prophet (Pbuh) was not to be a guide for a certain period and certain people. The later men of the scientific age would believe in a living proof only. They would call fairy tales, the stories of the Prophet (Pbuh) conversing with trees and animals, if recorded in Qur’an. Besides, those who did not want to believe, always scoffed at the earlier Prophets (peace be upon them) when confronted with the signs, calling if sorcery, magic or trickster. The Qur’an says: “If thou camest unto them with a miracle, those who disbelieve would verliy exclaim: Ye are but tricksters”. (30:58)
“And if they behold a portent they turn away and say: Prolonged illusion! (54:2)
That is why the Almighty gave him a living sign, a final argument for the men of all ages to come. The sign is the ‘safe and Final Word of God’, The Quran.

Is it not a miracle that despite the descriptions of a large number of verses describing universe and its phenomena, not a single verse, sent down 1400 years ago can be contradicted by modern science? Is it not a miracle that the stages of creation of man, detailed by Qur’an cannot be challenged by medical science after 1400 years?
Is it not a miracle that a civilisation, not mentioned in any earlier scripture or historical record, was excavated in the desert of Oman after 5000 years in 1992 and the Qur’an had described its details at more than a dozen places!
The Qur’an had claimed 1400 years ago that its authenticity will increase with the passage of the universe.
“But it is plain miracles (hidden for the time) inside the hearts of those endowed with (scientific) knowledge. Only the wrong doers deny our signs. And (yet) they say, why are not portents sent down upon him from his Lord? Say: Portents are with Allah (to be made manifest in time) and my mission is only to give plain warning”. (29:49,50)
“We shall show them our portents on the horizons and within themselves until it will be manifest unto them that it (The Qur’an) is the Truth” (14:53)

Note: This answer was given by Tariq sahab in the magazine www.islamicvoice.com