#Tabary means one who remembers

[rin1sakami]

Sam is also Waiting for the day she can tell the family that she is a girl. Reincarnation does Not Change your gender after all.

4/5 months in, Friday, at a Family dinner

For once everyone was there for Family dinner; Bruce, Barbara, Dick, (Jason), Tim, Stephanie, and Damian. Samian decided it was the best time as ever so they set down their cutlery and turned to Father.

"Father, I have a... Confession to make."

The Others, a little startled, turned to them and waited.

"Living here and going to school has given me several different perspectives on life. I have discovered I do not like being a boy. I wish to continue as a girl from now on."

Father looked them over silently. Obviously trying to find the right words but he didn't look mad or disgusted so Samian assumed Father took it well.

"If this is your genuine wish, I will support you in your endeavor in any matter I can. Can I ask what made you realize?"

"Yeah, how did living here help you? Did you already have 'signs' back in Nanda Parbat looking Back?", their oldest brother exclaimed. A big smile on his face, apparently overjoyed they are willing to share their realization.

"I suppose it started when I questioned Tabary (Tucker) to explain the meaning of a flag sticker on one of our classmate's phones. He told me it was the 'trans flag' and explained what being trans meant. That was when I remembered always being mesmerized by Mother in her dresses. I remember wanting to try them on myself but was dismissed. I felt... Jealousy overseeing the women's Training and not being with them. I did not have the words then and I am not sure I have them now but best described; there was a different Energy between the women than between the men. I wished to be part of it.

"After my conversation with Tabary, I used his phone to gather more information about the 'community'. Part with the stronger divide between Males and females in the US I came to realize that I simply feel. Displaced among the men."

Brown squealed.

"Awwwww, that's so cute! I'm soooo going shopping with you the next week. We'll get you the Cutest Outfits Damian!"

Pennyworth nodded along and soon their other siblings agreed to come with them. Father eventually cut through with a question.

"Have you already considered a new name we should call you? I also assume you want this to stay between Family for now, don't you?"

"Indeed Father. Although I have shared the news with Tabary already this morning. As for my new name... To speak the truth I wish for You to name me."

The room was silent. Father's eyes opened wide, they heard Drake choke on his water and Gordon let out a little gasp.

"You want, Me? To give you your name?"

"You never had the chance to weigh in the first time, did you?"

"I... Would be honored. Any specifications? Do you want it to stay one that exists in both languages?" Father asks tentatively.

"I actually would appreciate for it to be completely Arabic. And I am inclined to names starting with an S." It wasn't a lie. There were many beautiful Arabic girl names with S. They would also like to have one more link to their old Times.

"I hope to impress, Daughter."

Their eyes widened a bit. A little smile was on its way to their cheeks so it was hastily hidden with a bite of Pennyworth's tasty Lasagne.

It was seen regardless. And the room seemed to shine just this tiny bit brighter.

-------------------------

Monday at school

"Samien! Tell me! How did it go?"

"Good morning to you too, Tab. I guess, you may call me Shamara Saiba Wayne", Shamara smiled.

(Shamara = ready for Battle, Saiba = one with great strength)

Dcxdp #26

 Sam reincarnated as Damien. I think I've only seen this once and I love the idea. they have a lot of the same core personality traits so I don't think it'd be that hard to have them be reincarnated.

Sam/Damien meets Tucker's newest reincarnation at school. Tucker's reincarnation has their memories due to timeline shenanigans/ plot convenience. Tucker recognizes Sam and ends giving their memories Back. Sam/Damian refuses to tell their family about this till they're more comfortable with them because this would be very early on from when they've moved to the manor.  The family's very happy that Damian is making friends but when Sam and Tucker are together it freaks them out. They keep mentioning this third friend Danny that no one has ever seen.

Damien getting Sam's Memories Back makes them even more of a menace because they can't change their outward personality due to the shift would make the family paranoid but Sam's memories give them the one thing they could be before. knowledgeable to be a Menace. they didn't know what they were doing wrong before due to being raised with League but now they do and now it's on purpose.

[julaibib]

Selam Aleykum I really don't understand what the nafs is

وعليكم السلام

Nafs (pl. Anfus or Nufus) lexically means soul, the psyche, the ego, self, life, person, heart or mind. (Mu'jam, Kassis)

Although some scholars have classified the Nafs up to 7 stages, there is agreement among Ulama' that in the Qur'an, Allah  has described at least 3 main types of the Nafs. And these are in rank from the worse to better: Nafs al-Ammara Bissu' (the Nafs that urges evil), Nafs al-Lawwama (the Nafs that Blames) and Nafs al-Mutma`inna (the Nafs at Peace).

(Chapter 12 v. 53 in the Tafsir of al-Tabari: Jami' al-Bayan fi Tafsir al-Qur'an, 30 vols., Bulaq 1323 & also in Imam Baghawi's Tafsir: Lubab al-Ta'wil fi Ma'alam at-Tanzil, 8 vols. Cairo, 1308)

A summary of these states of the Nafs are given by Imam Tabari in his Tafsir of Surah Yusuf verse 53:

1. Nafs al-Ammara Bissu' (The Soul which Commands):

This is the Nafs that brings punishment itself. By its very nature it directs its owner towards every wrong action. No one can get rid of its evil without the help from Allah. As Allah refers to this Nafs in the story of the wife of al-Aziz (Zulaikha) and Prophet Yusuf (s):

"The (human) soul is certainly prone to evil" (12:53).

Allah also says:

"And had it not been for the grace of Allah and His Mercy on you, not one of you would ever have been pure; but Allah purifies whomever He wishes, and Allah is Hearing, Knowing." (24:21)

This Nafs resides in the world of the senses and is dominated by earthly desires (Shahwat) and passions….

Evil lies hidden in the Nafs and it is this that leads it on to do wrong. If Allah were to leave the servant alone with his self, the servant would be destroyed between its evil and the evil that it craves; but if Allah grants him success and help, then he will survive. We seek refuge in Allah the Almighty, both from the evil in ourselves and from the evil of our actions.

2. Nafs al-Lawwama (the Soul that Blames):

Allah refers to this Nafs,

"And I do call to witness the Nafs that blames" (75:2).

This Nafs is conscious of its own imperfections.

Hasan al-Basri said, "You always see the believer blaming himself and saying things like 'Did I want this? Why did I do that? Was this better than that?"….

3. Nafs al-Mutma`inna (the Soul at Peace):

Allah refers to this Nafs,

"O Self, in complete rest and satisfaction!" (89:27).

This Nafs is tranquil as it rests on the certitude of Allah.

Ibn al-Qayyim also mentioned the states of Nafs:

"The Nafs is a single entity, although its  state may change: from the Nafs al-Ammara, to the Nafs al-Lawwama, to the Nafs  al-Mutma`inna, which is the final aim of perfection….

It has been said that the Nafs al-Lawwama is the  one, which cannot rest in any one state. It often changes, remembers and forgets, submits  and evades, loves and hates, rejoices and become sad, accepts and rejects, obeys and  rebels.

Nafs al-Lawwama is also the Nafs of the  believer….It has also been mentioned that the Nafs blames itself on the Day of  Qiyamah - for every one blames himself for his actions, either his bad deeds, if he was  one who had many wrong actions, or for his shortcomings, if he was one who did good deeds.  All of this is accurate.

(Madarij as-Salikin fi Manazili Iyyaka Na'budu wa Iyyaka Nasta'in, vol. 1 pg. 308)

[dailytafsirofquran]

Tafsir Ibn Kathir: Surah Al-Baqarah Ayah 126-128

Part 1

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

126. And (remember) when Ibrahim said, "My Lord, make this city (Makkah) a place of security and provide its people with fruits, such of them as believe in Allah and the Last Day.''

He (Allah) answered: "As for him who disbelieves, I shall leave him in contentment for a while, then I shall compel him to the torment of the Fire, and worst indeed is that destination!''

127. And (remember) when Ibrahim and (his son) Ismail were raising the foundations of the House (the Ka`bah at Makkah), (saying), "Our Lord! Accept (this service) from us. Verily, You are the Hearer, the Knower.''

128. "Our Lord! And make us submissive unto You and of our offspring a nation submissive unto You, and show us our Manasik, and accept our repentance. Truly, You are the One Who accepts repentance, the Most Merciful.

Makkah is a Sacred Area

Allah said,

And (remember) when Ibrahim said, 

"My Lord, make this city (Makkah) a place of security and provide its people with fruits, such of them as believe in Allah and the Last Day.''

Imam Abu Jafar bin Jarir At-Tabari narrated that Jabir bin Abdullah said that the Messenger of Allah said, Ibrahim made Allah's House a Sacred Area and a safe refuge. I have made what is between the two sides of Al-Madinah a Sacred Area. Therefore, its game should not be hunted, and its trees should not be cut.

An-Nasa'i and Muslim also recorded this Hadith. There are several other Hadiths that indicate that Allah made Makkah a sacred area before He created the heavens and earth.

The Two Sahihs recorded Abdullah bin Abbas saying that the Messenger of Allah said, Allah has made this city a sanctuary (sacred place) the Day He created the heavens and earth.

Therefore, it is a sanctuary until the Day of Resurrection because Allah made it a sanctuary.

It was not legal for anyone to fight in it before me, and it was legal for me for a few hours of one day. Therefore, it is a sanctuary until the Day of Resurrection, because Allah made it a sanctuary. None is allowed to uproot its thorny shrubs, or to chase its game, or to pick up something that has fallen, except by a person who announces it publicly, nor should any of its trees be cut.

Al-Abbas said, O Messenger of Allah! Except the lemon-grass, for our goldsmiths and for our graves.'

The Prophet added, Except lemon-grass. This is the wording of Muslim.

The Two Sahihs also recorded Abu Hurayrah narrating a similar Hadith, while Al-Bukhari recorded a similar Hadith from Safiyyah bint Shaybah who narrated it from the Prophet. Abu Shurayh Al-Adawi said that he said to `Amr bin Sa`id while he was sending armies to Makkah, "O Commander! Let me narrate a Hadith that the Messenger of Allah said the day that followed the victory of Makkah. My ears heard the Hadith, my heart comprehended it, and my eyes saw the Prophet when he said it.

He thanked Allah and praised Him and then said, Allah, not the people, made Makkah a sanctuary, so any person who has belief in Allah and the Last Day, should neither shed blood in it nor should he cut down its trees. If anybody argues that fighting in it is permissible on the basis that Allah's Messenger fought in Makkah, say to him, `Allah allowed His Messenger and did not allow you.'

Allah allowed me only for a few hours on that day (of the Conquest), and today its sanctity is valid as it was before. So, those who are present should inform those who are absent (concerning this fact).

Abu Shurayh was asked, `What did `Amr reply?'

He said, (Amr said) `O Abu Shurayh! I know better than you about this, the Sacred House does not give protection to a sinner, a murderer or a thief.'

This Hadith was collected by Al-Bukhari and Muslim.

After this, there is no contradiction between the Hadiths that stated that Allah made Makkah a sanctuary when He created the heavens and earth and the Hadiths that Ibrahim made it a sanctuary, since Ibrahim conveyed Allah's decree that Makkah is a sanctuary, before he built the House.

Similarly, the Messenger of Allah was written as the Final Prophet when Adam was still clay. 

Yet, Ibrahim said, (Our Lord! Send amongst them a Messenger of their own), (2: 129).

Allah accepted Ibrahim's supplication, although He had full knowledge beforehand that it will occur by His decree.

To further elaborate on this subject, we should mention the Hadith about what the Messenger of Allah said when he was asked, "O Messenger of Allah! Tell us about how your Prophethood started.''

He said, I am the supplication of my father Ibrahim, the good news of Jesus, the son of Mary, and my mother saw a light that radiated from her which illuminated the castles of Ash-Sham (Syria).

In this Hadith, the Companions asked the Messenger about the beginning of his Prophethood. We will explain this matter later, if Allah wills.

Ibrahim invokes Allah to make Makkah an Area of Safety and Sustenance

Allah tells;

And (remember) when Ibrahim said, My Lord, make this city (Makkah) a place of security, from terror, so that its people do not suffer from fear.

Allah accepted Ibrahim's supplication. Allah said, Whosoever enters it, he attains security, (3:97)

and,

Have they not seen that We have made (Makkah) a secure sanctuary, while men are being snatched away from all around them. (29:67)

We have already mentioned the Hadiths that prohibit fighting in the Sacred Area.

Muslim recorded that Jabir said that the Messenger of Allah said,

No one is allowed to carry weapons in Makkah.

Allah mentioned that Ibrahim said, (My Lord, make this city (Makkah) a place of security) meaning, make this a safe city.

This occurred before the Ka`bah was built.

Allah said in Surah Ibrahim, And (remember) when Ibrahim said, "My Lord!

Make this city (Makkah) one of peace and security...'' (14:35) as here, Ibrahim supplicated a second time after the House was built and its people lived around it, after Ishaq who was thirteen years Ismail's junior was born.

This is why at the end of his supplication, Ibrahim said here,

All the praises and thanks be to Allah, Who has given me in old age Ismail (Ishmael) and Ishaq (Isaac). Verily, my Lord is indeed the Hearer of invocations. (14:39)

Allah said next,

"...and provide its people with fruits, such of them as believe in Allah and the Last Day.''

He (Allah) answered: 

"As for him who disbelieves, I shall leave him in contentment for a while, then I shall compel him to the torment of the Fire, and worst indeed is that destination!''

Ibn Jarir said that Ubayy bin Ka`b commented on, "(He answered: "As for him who disbelieves, I shall leave him in contentment for a while, then I shall compel him to the torment of the Fire, and worst indeed is that destination!'')

"These are Allah's Words (meaning not Ibrahim's)''

This is also the Tafsir of Mujahid and Ikrimah.

Furthermore, Ibn Abi Hatim narrated that Ibn Abbas commented on Allah's statement, (My Lord, make this city (Makkah) a place of security and provide its people with fruits, such of them as believe in Allah and the Last Day.)

"Ibrahim asked Allah to grant sustenance for the believers only. However, Allah revealed, `I will also provide for the disbelievers, just as I shall provide for the believers. Would I create something and not sustain and provide for I shall allow the disbelievers little delight, and then force them to the torment of the Fire, and what an evil destination.'' 

Ibn `Abbas then recited,

On each these as well as those We bestow from the bounties of your Lord. And the bounties of your Lord can never be forbidden. (17:20)

This was recorded by Ibn Marduwyah, who also recorded similar statements from Ikrimah and Mujahid.

Similarly, Allah said,

Verily, those who invent a lie against Allah will never be successful. (A brief) enjoyment in this world! And then unto Us will be their return, then We shall make them taste the severest torment because they used to disbelieve. (10:69-70)

And whoever disbelieves, let not his disbelief grieve you (O Muhammad). To Us is their return, and We shall inform them what they have done. Verily, Allah is the Knower of what is in the breasts (of men). We let them enjoy for a little while, then in the end We shall oblige them to (enter) a great torment. (31:23-24)

and,

And were it not that mankind would have become of one community (all disbelievers desiring worldly life only), We would have provided for those who disbelieve in the Most Gracious (Allah), silver roofs for their houses, and elevators whereby they ascend. And for their houses, doors (of silver), and thrones (of silver) on which they could recline. And adornments of gold. Yet all this would have been nothing but an enjoyment of this world. And the Hereafter with your Lord is (only) for the Muttaqin (the pious). (43:33-35)

Allah said next,

Then I shall compel him to the torment of the Fire, and worst indeed is that destination!

meaning, "After the delight that the disbeliever enjoyed in this life, I will make his destination torment in the Fire, and what an evil destination.''

This Ayah indicates that Allah gives the disbelievers respite and then seizes them in a manner compatible to His greatness and ability.

This Ayah is similar to Allah's statement,

And many a township did I give respite while it was given to wrongdoing. Then (in the end) I seized it (with punishment). And to Me is the (final) return (of all). (22:48)

Also, the Two Sahihs recorded,

No one is more patient than Allah when hearing abuse. They attribute a son to Him, while He grants them sustenance and health.

The Sahih also recorded,

Allah gives respite to the unjust person, until when He seizes him; He never lets go of him.

He then recited Allah's statement, Such is the punishment of your Lord when He punishes the (population of) towns while they are doing wrong. Verily, His punishment is painful (and) severe. (11:102)

[thephilosopheroftheboudoir]

Grim History

The Satanic Verses: Mohammad’s Pagan Call to Prayer

    “God is the Greatest/I acknowledge that there is no God but Allah.” So says the first two lines of the adhat, the Muslim call to prayer when translated into English. In some Islamic traditions, however, Mohammad once offered a prayer to three Pagan deities in what has come to be called “Qissat al-Gharaniq”, “The Story Of the Cranes”, or most often, “The Satanic Verses.” What these three lines, as recited by the Islamic prophet, mean is obscure and has been a matter of debate for centuries.

    Not only the meaning of “The Satanic Verses” is elusive; their roots remain a matter of unknown origin as well. The earliest know reference to the words in question are attributed to the oral historian Mohammad Ibn Ka’b who transmitted the story to Ibn Ishaq a full two generations after the prophet Mohammad’s death. It is likely that the story was circulating socially before Ibn Ka’b incorporated it into his biographical account which was later recited to Abu Ja’far  Muhammad ibn Jarir ibn al-Tabari who wrote an early biographical book about the prophet’s life.

    According to al-Tabari’s narrative, Mohammad was overcome by a strong desire to convert the Qurayshi tribes-people of Mecca to his newly founded religion. When he initiated the adhat with the intention of reciting the “Surat an-Najm”, a voice whispered in his ear “Have you thought of al-Lat and al-Uzza/and Manat, the third, the other?” Believing the voice to have come from the archangel Jibreel, the messenger from Allah that communicated with Mohammad on that god’s behalf, the prophet then announced to the people, “These are the exalted cranes whose intercession is hoped for.” Al-Lat, al-Uzza, and Manat were three Pagan goddesses that were worshiped by the Qurayshi people in the ancient city of Mecca and Mohammad appeared to be giving them his honors.

    As the story goes, the archangel Jibreel later approached Mohammad and informed him that the voice he had heard at that time did not come from him; it had, in actuality, been the voice of the Shaytan, the Islamic equivakent of Satan. Feeling deceived and dejected, Mohammad went into a state of despair and was later forgiven by Allah for having made a mistake.

    “The Story Of the Cranes” circulated widely throughout the Islamic community for many years. Muslim scholars commented extensively on its significance in the tafsirs, a collection of explanations on Islamic doctrine written by the earliest authorities of the religious movement. The story was, however, never officially accepted as one of the hadiths. Then, after being passed down from generation to generation for so many years, experts on Islam began to question the veracity of “The Satanic Verses” during the medieval era. Some simply dismissed the story as nonsense and slander that originated with enemies of the Muslim community in an attempt to sow doubt in the minds of the pious. Others claimed that some Qurayshis, in league with the Shaytan, had infiltrated the crowd of Muslims who had gathered to pray and, disguising their voices to mimic Mohammad, praised the Pagan deities in an effort to humiliate the early Muslims by making them look hypocritical. Still others dismissed it as misinformation since it contradicted the ideas written in the Qur’an, and since the Qur’an is, according to dogma, the perfect word of Allah, anything that contradicted it must be inherently false and heretical. And so “The Story Of the Cranes” faded from the minds of the Islamic community, rarely ever mentioned, and if remembered at all, thought of as little more than a footnote for lovers of obscure and trivial information.

    But then, repressed ideas of evil have a way of resurfacing once they have been dismissed as irrelevant. In the modern world, particularly as a result of colonialism, a handful of researchers, now derisively labeled “Orientalists”, started taking a stab at explaining the authenticity, origins, and meaning of “The Satanic Verses”. The revival of interest in this subject enraged the wrath of modern Islamic intellectuals, most of which invoked the concept of Allah’s power to discount the legend as heresy; their claim was that Allah chose Mohammad as his prophet so Allah would have protected him from being influenced by the Shaytan and therefore it would have been impossible for Mohammad to take instructions from the god’s biggest existential adversary. Another Islamist objection was that the story was an adaptation of Christ being tempted by Satan; a story that proved the necessity of keeping Muslims and Christians separate since the mingling of the two faiths would cause the theological pollution and degeneration of pure Islamic thought. Even so, the matter remained little more than an item of curiosity. That is, an item of curiosity until the publication of Salman Rushdie’s notorious novel The Satanic Verses in the mid-1980s, an event that caused a massive outcry around the world because of its unflattering depiction of Mohammad and his wives. The outcry led to the Iranian dictator Ayatollah Khomeini issuing a death threat against Rushdie due to his blasphemous satirical book.

    So what does it all mean? From the context of Ibn Tabari’s original biographical writing, it appears to be a parable teaching the lesson that Mohammad was a man, not a god, who was prone to making mistakes like all people and because of his devotion to Allah his mistakes would be forgiven. While this interpretation sound heretical to modern fundamentalists, an anthropologist would be quick to point out that concepts of heresy are products of the times that produce them; what is considered blasphemy to one generation may not be blasphemy to another generation. Actually it is traditional for Muslims to believe Mohammad was a man and not a divine incarnation, hence the reason that Muslims are forbidden from worshiping Mohammad in his tomb in Mecca. The idea that their prophet was perfect is a relatively modern and fundamentalist theological dogma.

    Of course, there is still one big question that needs to be asked. What if Mohammad was not the prophet of Allah at all? What then? Is this a question that only the Shaytan would encourage one to ask?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satanic_Verses

https://grimhistory.blogspot.com/

[quranreadalong]

#166, Surah 33

THE QURAN READ-ALONG: DAY 166

Last time, Mohammed’s wives were told to obey him and stay in their houses. The Feminist Power Hour continues today, with an added dose of scandal.

Before we get into that, there’s one ayah that doesn’t really fit in either yesterday’s section or today’s section. 33:35 is basically a good Muslims go to jannah ayah (so it’s good), but it is phrased differently than the ones we’ve seen up til now:

Lo! men who surrender unto Allah, and women who surrender, and men who believe and women who believe, and men who obey and women who obey, and men who speak the truth and women who speak the truth ... Allah hath prepared for them forgiveness and a vast reward.

The Quran very rarely addresses female Muslims, if you hadn’t noticed. When “Allah” is talking about women, it’s typically in the form of “your wives”, “your women”, etc, if you recall the fourth surah--meaning he is talking to men. Here, though, Mohammed went through the trouble of specifically mentioning women.

According to various ahadith, this is because a woman pointed out--with dissatisfaction--that the Quran was addressed only to men. Sometimes the woman in question is said to have been Ali’s sister-in-law; other times it’s Umm Salama, Mo’s wife; other times another woman. Take your pick as none are sahih accounts, but the general idea that women noticed that “Allah” talked to men and only addressed women in relation to men is consistent. Kind of weird how “Allah” needed that pointed out for him, but he can be a bit dense, as we’ve seen.

Anyway, the bulk of today’s section is introduced in the next ayah:

And it becometh not a believing man or a believing woman, when Allah and His messenger have decided an affair (for them), that they should (after that) claim any say in their affair; and whoso is rebellious to Allah and His messenger, he verily goeth astray in error manifest.

This is bad, as it’s telling people that they have to do what Mohammed tells them to do. It’s even worse when you realize what he’s talking about here.

If you recall from the history lesson, Mohammed's son Zayd was a former slave whom he and Khadija had adopted. According to Ibn Saad, Zayd had previously been married to one of the daughters of Abu Lahab, Mohammed's uncle, but this was broken off after Mo got pissed at his uncle (more on that in a later surah); Zayd was then married to another freed slave.

But as (for the time being) his only male heir, Mohammed wanted more for his adopted son. So he approached his cousin Zaynab, or rather her brother and male guardian Abdallah--that’s the guy who killed the very first Meccan merchant, if you recall--and asked if she would marry Zayd. Neither Zaynab nor Abdallah was enthusiastic about the match. In volume 39 of his history series, al-Tabari says:

When the Prophet arrived at Medina he asked that [Zaynab] be given to [his adopted son] Zayd ibn Haritha in marriage, [she] said "O Messenger of Allah, I cannot give my consent, for I am the widow of the Quraysh [ie, socially above Zayd, a former slave]. The Prophet replied, “But I give my consent that you should [marry him].” So [Zayd] married her.

It didn’t matter that Zaynab herself wanted nothing to do with Zayd, because Mohammed’s word was law, as 33:36 says. The ahadith make it clear that the marriage was, unsurprisingly, an unhappy one, and Zayd complained about Zaynab’s behavior towards him. Mohammed initially told him to stop complaining and stick it out, which brings us back to the Quran. The next ayah:

And when thou saidst unto him on whom Allah hath conferred favour and thou hast conferred favour: Keep thy wife to thyself, and fear Allah. And thou didst hide in thy mind that which Allah was to bring to light, and thou didst fear mankind whereas Allah hath a better right that thou shouldst fear Him. So when Zeyd had performed that necessary formality (of divorce) from her, We gave her unto thee in marriage, so that (henceforth) there may be no sin for believers in respect of wives of their adopted sons, when the latter have performed the necessary formality (of release) from them. The commandment of Allah must be fulfilled.

Let’s see. Zayd came to Mohammed and said he wanted to divorce Zaynab. Mohammed told him not to do it, but he was hiding something. What was he hiding? You are going to regret asking tbh! Al-Tabari:

One day the Messenger of God went out looking for Zayd. Now there was a covering of haircloth over the doorway, but the wind had lifted the covering so that the doorway was uncovered. Zaynab was in her chamber, undressed, and admiration for her entered the heart of the Prophet. After that happened, she was made unattractive to [Zayd].

Mo goes looking for Zayd and happens to catch sight of an unveiled Zaynab, who is REALLY hot, but he says nothing about this because she’s married to his son. Allah sees that Mo wants to 🍆💦 in her and makes Zayd stop finding his own wife attractive so that Mo can have her. When Zayd divorces her, she is married to Mohammed...................... so Allah could let everyone know that it’s totally okay to marry your adopted son’s former wife (which was previously considered nasty) because adopted children aren’t really your children.

Yes, this is really a thing that happened that is recorded in The Greatest Book Of All Time.

Can’t make this shit up, folx. Honestly I have absolutely no fucking clue how to classify this, I guess neutral? It’s clear from the ahadith that Zaynab was way happier being Mo’s wife than Zayd’s anyway, so... uh...

Anyway, if you read that story and thought “this is such utter horseshit!”, Mohammed has the following to say:

There is no reproach for the Prophet in that which Allah maketh his due.

No one is allowed to criticize Mohammed for being a horny old man because this was Allah’s doing. Any further questions can be directed at his ass. (I feel this is so cult-y it has to be bad.) He is but a humble servant of Allah so stop whining.

To tie all of this back to the subject of the surah’s first few lines, Mohammed adds:

Muhammad is not the father of any man among you

Poor Zayd. His father stole his wife then said he wasn’t even his father. I mean, damn. That’s cold (and bad).

Fun fact about this one, though: a bunch of ahadith state that one of the variant manuscripts of the Quran, the one recorded by Ubayy ibn Ka’b--who was noted for keeping “abrogated” lines within the Quran--added “...he is a father to them” to 33:6 (making it read “[Mohammed] is (as) a father to them, and his wives are (as) their mothers”). I always figured Mohammed abrogated that line because it really breaks the theme of the surah and kinda conflicts with this line, which is like... two pages after that one. Nice self-editing, Mo!

Let’s see, what else... remember Allah, praise Allah, Allah is the one who gives blessings, Muslims will be rewarded, Mo is a prophet who calls people to Allah and they will be rewarded if they follow him, blah blah blah neutral. At least I’m not imagining Mohammed’s sexual adventures anymore. We end the day with a bad reminder to never listen to disbelievers or munafiqun.

Well! That was uncomfortable.

NEXT TIME: More rules and regulations for womenfolk!!!

The Quran Read-Along: Day 166

Ayat: 14

Good: 1 (33:35)

Neutral: 9 (33:37, 33:39, 33:41-47)

Bad: 4 (33:36, 33:38, 33:40, 33:48)

Kuffar hell counter: 0

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[basicsofislam]

PROPHET MUHAMMAD (PBUH)’s BIOGRAPHY : The Battle of Uhud.Part4

Islamic Army in Uhud

Toward the morning, the Prophet and his army left Shaykhan and headed toward Uhud. At that point, both armies could notice each other.

The enemy seemed over there. Among the ranks of the mujahids, the sound of the adhan of the morning prayer went up to the sky in waves. The Muslims prayed behind the Messenger of God in ranks without taking off their arms before the eyes of the enemy.

Meanwhile, the Prophet put on armor on his armor and a helmet on his cap as a precaution.[ Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 2, p. 39. ]

Munafiqs Leave the Army

In the end, the two armies faced each other. Both armies were busy with the war order.

Meanwhile, Abdullah b. Ubay b. Salul, who came up to that place hesitantly and in fear, came forward and said, “Muhammad listened to the young people who had no right to express their views but he did not listen to me. O people! I cannot understand it. Why should we die here?”[ Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 68; Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 2, p. 39. ]Then, he returned with about three hundreds soldiers from his own tribes and munafiqs (hypocrites).

When munafiqs left, the number of the Islamic army was reduced to seven hundred; which was about one-fourth of the Qurayshi army.

Abdullah b. Ubay not only left the Islamic army with a group of munafiqs, he also tried to affect other Muslims. When Sons of Salima of the Khazraj tribe and Sons of Haritha of the Aws tribe saw that Abdullah b. Ubay was returning, they wanted to return, too. However, God’s help arrived and freed them from hesitation.

The following is stated in the Quran regarding the issue:

“Remember two of your parties meditated cowardice; but God was their Protector, and in God should the Faithful (ever) put their trust.”[ Aal-i Imran, 122. ]

The Verse Sent down about Munafiqs

When the munafiqs left the Islamic army in the battle field and returned to Madinah, the following verses were sent down:

“What ye suffered on the day the two armies met, was with the leave of God, in order that He might test the Believers. And the Hypocrites also. They were told: "Come, fight in the way of God, or (at least) drive (the foe from your city)." They say, "Had we known there would be a fight, we should certainly have followed you. They were that day nearer to Unbelief than to Faith, saying with their lips what was not in their hearts. But God hath full knowledge of all they conceal!”[ Aal-i Imran, 166-167. ]

Mukhayriq Joins the Islamic Army

Mukhayriq was a great Jewish scholar. He had a great wealth in Madinah.

He knew the Messenger of God through his properties in holy books. However, he did not reveal those properties because he was afraid of his nation and because he could not free himself from the effects of his religion. He continued to act like this until the Battle of Uhud.[ Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 2, p. 164-165. ]

It was when the Messenger of God set out for the Battle of Uhud with the mujahids.

Mukhayriq, who did not reveal what he knew up to that time, said, “O People of Jews! I swear by God, you know that it is your duty and right to accept that Muhammad is a prophet and that you have to help him!”

The Jews said, “It is Saturday! We will not do anything.”

Thereupon, Mukhayriq took his sword and some money with him. He said to one his relatives, “If I am killed today, all of my possessions will belong to Muhammad! He can do whatever he wants with my property.” Then, he joined the Islamic army. He fought against polytheists until he was martyred.

Thereupon, the Messenger of God said, “Mukhayriq is a good person of the Jewish nation.”[ Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 2, p. 165. ]

The property of Mukhayriq that was transferred to the Prophet based on the will of Mukhayriq was the seven gardens called Bisab, Safiya, Dalal, Husna, Awaf, Burqa and Mashraba.[ Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 1, p. 502-503. ]

Having received the property of Mukhayriq, the Prophet endowed all of them. His foundations in Madinah were mostly of the property of Mukhayriq.[ Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 2, p. 165. ]

Headquarters of the Islamic Army

It was Saturday.

The Prophet dismounted from his horse and arranged the ranks of the army, whose number was few but whose belief and courage were great,  himself by walking. He arranged the right and left wing. Mount Uhud was behind the Islamic army. The army faced toward Madinah .[ Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 69; Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 2, p. 39. ]

The Messenger of God appointed fifty fighters as archers on Aynayn Hill, which was a very important place.

He appointed Abdullah b. Jubayr as their leader. Their duty was to watch the strait between Uhud and Aynayn Hill and not to allow the enemy to surround the Islamic army from behind.[ Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 70. ]

The Messenger of God gave the archers the following order: :

“Even if you see that we have defeated the enemy, do not leave your position unless I inform you or I send you someone. Even if you see that the enemy has defeated us, do not leave your position in order to help us.”[ Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 70; Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 2, p. 40. ]

After repeating this order and instruction twice, the Prophet said to the archers, “Even if you see that birds pull our bodies to pieces, do not leave your position unless I send you someone.”[ Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 2, p. 40. ]

The order and instruction of the Messenger of God were so clear.

Two Armies Confront

Both armies had been deployed and were waiting.

In the Islamic army, Zubayr b. Awwam was the commander of the armored soldiers and Hazrat Ham­za the unarmored soldiers.

The right and left wing commander of the polytheist army was Khalid b. Walid and the left branch commander was Ikrima, son of Abu Jahl. Safwan b. Umayya was the commander of the cavalrymen and Abdullah b. Abi Rabia was the commander of the archers.[ Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 70-71; Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 2. p. 40. ]

There was a lot of noise and entertainment in the ranks of the polytheist army. Their hearts were full of the feeling of vengeance. The women were trying to encourage the polytheists by singing songs and playing the tambourine.

In the ranks of the Islamic army, prayers, supplications, takbirs and amins were heard. People asked help and victory from God. The Messenger of God addressed them and called them to jihad, to fight in the way of God, to show patience and perseverance and hard work despite everything.  The mujahids whose hearts were full of belief and whose eyes sparkled with courage were waiting for the order to assault with excitement. They could not stand waiting; they wanted to be martyrs and go to the presence of God or to eliminate the polytheists.

One on One Fight

Two armies approached each other.

Meanwhile, the standard-bearer of the Qurayshi army, Talha b. Abi Talha came forward and called out confidently and arrogantly,

“Who will come to fight me?”

Hazrat Ali, nicknamed “Asadullah” (Lion of God) came forward and said, “I swear by God, in whose hand is my existence, I will not let you go unless I send you to Hell with my sword or unless I go to Paradise through your sword!” He hit his opponent severely with his sword. He split the head of his enemy into two down to his chin. When Talha fell down, Hazrat Ali returned. The mujahids asked him, “Why did you not cut off his head?”

Hazrat Ali said, “When he fell down, his private parts were opened. I turned my face away. I know very well that God will not let him live; God will kill him.”

When the standard-bearer of the Quraysh was hit, the Prophet and mujahids became very happy; they showed their happiness by calling out takbirs.

Hazrat Hamza Beats the Second Standard-bearer

When Talha fell down, Osman b. Abi Talha, his brother, took the standard of the Qurayshi polytheists. Hazrat Hamza was his opponent. Hamza hit his shoulder with his sword and cut off his arm.

This time, Abu Sa’d b. Abi Talha from Sons of Abduddar took the standard. The Messenger of God sent Hazrat Ali to fight Abu Sa’d. Hazrat Ali defeated him. Abu Sa’d died as he received the blows of “Asadullah”.

When Sa’d was killed, Musafi’ b. Talha b. Abi Talha took the standard of the Qurayshis. Asim b. Thabit killed him with the arrow he shot. Then, Harith b. Abi Talha took the standard of the Qurayshi polytheists. Asim b. Thabit killed him with an arrow, too.[ Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 2, p. 41. ]

After Harith, Kilab b. Talha took the standard. Zubayr b. Awwam killed him with one blow.

This time, Julas b. Talha took the standard. Talha b. Ubay­dul­lah killed him.

Seven people, including a father, sons, brothers, and an uncle, from Sons of Abduddar were killed by the heroic mujahids while they were under the standard of the Qurayshi polytheists.

After that, Artat b. Shurahbil, from Sons of Abduddar, took the standard. He was killed by the harsh blows of Hazrat Ali.  Then, Shurayh b. Qariz took the standard. He was killed by one of the Companions.

When the Qurayshi polytheists saw that their standard-bearers were killed one by one, they were frightened and terrified. Nobody dared to approach the standard. In the end, Amra, the daughter of Alqama, picked it up and gave it to the Qurayshis.[ Tabari, Tarikh, Vol. 3, p. 17. ]There was nobody left from Sons of Abduddar to carry the standard; so, Suwab, one of their slaves, carried the standard. Quzman cut off his right hand. Then, Suwab held the standard with his left hand. Quzman cut off his left hand, too. Thereupon, Suwab tried to hold it with his arms but he could not bear it anymore and fell down on his back.

Both parties could not wait any longer. A clash started suddenly. Clangor of swords, swishing of arrows and bellowing of camels were heard everywhere. The mujahids who looked forward to fighting in the way of God started to fight heroically.

Abu Dujana Receives the Sword of the Prophet

The Messenger of God had a sword in his hand. A couplet meaning, “There is shame in cowardice and honor in courage. Man cannot get rid of his destiny through cowardice” was inscribed on it.

He asked, “Who wants to receive this sword?”

Many Companions came forward. They reached out by saying, “I do. O Messenger of God!”

Then the Messenger of God said, “Who wants to receive this sword and deserve it?”

Many people wanted it enthusiastically. Hazrat Abu Bakr, Umar, Zubayr b. Awwant to give it yet.

Meanwhile a very brave person came forward. It was Abu Dujana. He asked, “What should one do to deserve it, o Messenger of God?”

The Messenger of God said, “You should swing it against the enemy until you fall down!”

Thereupon, Abu Dujana said, “O Messenger of God! I want to receive it and to deserve it!” He took the sword from the Messenger of God.

With the sword of the Prophet in his hand and the red turban on his head, Abu Dujana started to walk toward the polytheists proudly. Thereupon, the Messenger of God said to his Companions,

“This is such a walk that God never likes except in the battle field!”[ Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 71. ]

Abu Dujana rushed into the ranks of the enemy like lightning; he started to swing his sword to deserve it. He knocked many people down with his blows. He did not notice but he approached the place where the women who encouraged the polytheists to fight were standing. One of them was yelling furiously and encouraging the polytheists to fight. He approached that person. Just as he was going to swing his sword, he heard a scream. It was the scream of Hind, the wife of Abu Sufyan. Abu Dujana avoided swinging his sword. Hazrat Zubayr, who saw him like that, asked him later why he had not hit her. Abu Dujana said,

“I did not want the sword of the Messenger of God to be polluted with her blood!”[ Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 73; Tabari, Tarikh, Vol. 3, p. 15. ]

On the other hand, Hazrat Hamza had two swings, one in his right hand and one in his left hand. He swung them and said, “I am the lion of God”, swinging them and attacking the polytheists bravely.

All of the Mujahids fought the enemy bravely and vehemently.

The Enemy is Defeated

The army of the polytheists could not resist the heroic fight of the mujahids any longer. They were terrified. They started to run away. The polytheist women played the tambourine and sang songs, calling the soldiers who panicked and ran away. However, the tambourines, songs and poems were of no use for the hearts that were deprived of belief, which was the source of bravery; the polytheist soldiers left all of their possessions and ran away in order to save their lives.

The first phase of the battle ended in favor of Muslims thanks to the heroic fights of the mujahids and the help of God.

First Martyr of Uhud

The Islamic Army was still superior. Meanwhile, Ab­dullah b. Amr b. Haram was martyred by an arrow shot by a polytheist. He became the first martyr of Uhud.

His son, Hazrat Jabir narrated:

“While my father was getting ready for the expedition of Uhud, he called me at night and said, ‘O my son! God knows; I may be the first martyr in Uhud tomorrow. I advise you to treat your sisters well. I owe some money. Pay my debts!’ It turned out to be as he said. He became the first martyr.”[ Ibn Kathir, Sirah, Vol. 3, p. 87; Ibn Athir, Usdu’l-Ghaba, Vol. 3, p. 232. ]

The Event that Changed the Course of the Battle

When the enemy was divided into two and started to run away from the battlefield, the mujahids started to collect the booty that was left behind. The archers that were placed on Aynayn Hill were watching what was happening in the battlefield of Uhud.

Meanwhile, the archers wanted to leave their place and join the other mujahids. They thought the battle had finished and their duty had ended. Most of the archers wanted to leave but Abdullah b. Jubayr, their commander, reminded them the order they were given: “Did you forget about what the  Messenger of God told you and the order he gave you?” However, all of the archers, except a few of them who stayed with their commander, left Aynayn Hill and joined the mujahids in the battlefield. They started to collect the booty.

Khalid b. Walid Makes Use of the Opportunity

When most of the archers left their place, the back side of the Islamic army remained defenseless. Khalid b. Walid, who was a war genius and the commander of the Qurayshi cavalrymen, was looking for such an opportunity. He had wanted to pass through that pass during the hottest time of the battle but he had been fought off by the archers.

After martyring the ten Muslims on the hill with his soldiers, Khalid bin Walid attacked the ranks of Muslims. It was a sudden, unexpected attack. Everything changed suddenly. The mujahids were quite easy because they thought the enemy was defeated and left. Some of the mujahids had even left their arms.

When the Qurayshi forces saw the situation, they returned.

Thus, the mujahids remained between two fires. They were surprised when they were attacked suddenly. They lost their strength when they were surrounded from two directions.

An unexpected attack at an unexpected time brought about an unexpected result.

The Islamic Army Disperses!

The mujahids who were attacked from the front and the back, and trapped could not pull themselves together and had to disperse. Only 10-15 Companions remained around the Prophet despite everything. That handful of mujahids struggled very hard and resisted the arrows, spears and sword blows of the polytheists; they tried to use their bodies as a shield to protect the Messenger of God. Meanwhile, one of the stones thrown by the army of the polytheists broke one of the teeth in the right lower jaw of the Prophet; another stone injured the Prophet’s forehead and lower lip. The sword stroke of an unbeliever called Abdullah Ibn Kamia injured his cheekbone. Due to the severity of the blow, his helmet was ripped and two links of the helmet pricked his face.[ Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. p. 84; Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 410. ]

When Abu Ubayda b. Jarrah saw that two links of the helmet pricked the Prophet’s face, he jumped in front of him and said to Hazrat Abu Bakr, who never left the Prophet, “O Abu Bakr! For God’s sake, do not stand between the Prophet and me. Let me remove the links from his face!” He removed the links with his teeth. Meanwhile, two of the teeth of Abu Ubayda were broken.[ Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 85; Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 410. ]

On the other hand, Malik b. Sinan cleaned the blood on the face of the Prophet with his tongue. Thereupon, the Prophet said, “Hell torture will not touch a person whose blood is mixed with my blood.”[ Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 85. ]

There was a hole dug by a polytheist in order to make Muslims fall into it. When the Islamic army started to disperse, the Messenger of God did not notice it due to the severity of the battle and fell into the hole. The hole was surrounded by the mujahids and the enemy soldiers were not allowed to approach the hole.

The Messenger of God managed to get out of the hole but his face was bleeding. He wiped his hand over the blood on his face and said, “While their Prophet calls them to their Lord, how can a nation that wounds the face of their Prophet be saved?”

It was a complaint.

God Almighty sent down the following verses upon the complaint of His beloved ProphetHis beloved:

“Not for thee, (but for God) is the decision: whether He turn in mercy to them or punish them; for they are indeed wrong-doers.

To God belongeth all that is in the heavens and on earth. He forgiveth whom He pleaseth and punisheth whom He pleaseth: but God is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”[ Aal-i Imran, 128-129.]

[tasbih-wa-istighfar]

Who is al-Yasa‘ (peace be upon him) اليسع عليه السلام

al-Yasa‘ (peace be upon him) was one of the Prophets of the Children of Israel; he was descended from Yoosuf ibn Ya‘qoob ibn Is-haaq ibn Ibraaheem al-Khaleel (peace be upon them all).

Allah mentions him twice in His Book, where He, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):

وَإِسْمَاعِيلَ وَالْيَسَعَ وَيُونُسَ وَلُوطًا ۚ وَكُلًّا فَضَّلْنَا عَلَى الْعَالَمِينَ ﴿٨٦﴾ “And Isma‘eel (Ishmael) and Al-Yasa‘ (Elisha), and Yoonus (Jonah) and Lout (Lot), and each one of them We preferred above the Alameen (mankind and jinns) (of their times)” [al-An‘aam 6:86]

وَاذْكُرْ إِسْمَاعِيلَ وَالْيَسَعَ وَذَا الْكِفْلِ ۖ وَكُلٌّ مِّنَ الْأَخْيَارِ ﴿٤٨﴾ “And remember Isma‘il (Ishmael), Al-Yasa‘ (Elisha), and Dhul-Kifl (Isaiah), all are among the best” [Saad 38:48].

It was said that he grew up under the care of Ilyaas (peace be upon him), and he hid with him in Jabal Qasiyoon. When Ilyaas was taken up to heaven, he left al-Yasa‘ as his successor among his people, and Allah appointed him as a Prophet after him.

It was narrated from Qataadah that al-Hasan said: After Ilyaas came al-Yasa‘ (peace be upon them both), and he remained among his people for as long as Allah willed, calling them to Allah, and adhering to the path and teachings of Ilyaas, until Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, took his soul in death. End quote. Narrated by Ibn Katheer in Qasas al-Anbiya’ (2/252)

See also: Tareekh at-Tabari (1/462-464) and al-Muntazam by Ibn al-Jawzi (1/385).

And it was said that one of the miracles by means of which Allah supported al-Yasa‘ was that he brought the dead back to life and healed the one born blind and the leper, and the river Jordan was dried up for him so that he walked across it, as is mentioned in Jewish sources. Allah knows best how sound that is. See: al-Jawaab as-Saheeh by Ibn Taymiyah (4/451-452)

[joyfulfartwombat]

http://www.recitequran.com/es/tafsir/en.ibn-kathir/12:1

LEER

Tafsir

12

Yusuf

José

Ibn Kathir – Inglés

CAPÍTULO

SÍGANOS

Versículo

1

Página 235

Which was revealed in Makkah

﴿ بِسۡمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ ﴾

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

﴿ الٓر‌ۚ تِلۡكَ ءَايَـٰتُ ٱلۡكِتَـٰبِ ٱلۡمُبِينِ • إِنَّآ أَنزَلۡنَـٰهُ قُرۡءَٲنًا عَرَبِيًّ۬ا لَّعَلَّكُمۡ تَعۡقِلُونَ • نَحۡنُ نَقُصُّ عَلَيۡكَ أَحۡسَنَ ٱلۡقَصَصِ بِمَآ أَوۡحَيۡنَآ إِلَيۡكَ هَـٰذَا ٱلۡقُرۡءَانَ وَإِن ڪُنتَ مِن قَبۡلِهِۦ لَمِنَ ٱلۡغَـٰفِلِينَ ﴾

(1. Alif-Lam-Ra. These are the verses of the Book that is clear.) (2. Verily, We have sent it down as an Arabic Qur’an in order that you may understand.) (3. We relate unto you the best of stories through Our revelations unto you, of this Qur’an. And before this, you were among those who knew nothing about it.)

Qualities of the Qur’an

In the beginning of Surat Al-Baqarah we talked about the separate letters, Allah said,

﴿ تِلۡكَ ءَايَـٰتُ ٱلۡكِتَـٰبِ ﴾

(These are the verses of the Book) in reference to the Clear Qur’an that is plain and apparent, and explains, clarifies and makes known the unclear matters. Allah said next,

﴿ إِنَّآ أَنزَلۡنَـٰهُ قُرۡءَٲنًا عَرَبِيًّ۬ا لَّعَلَّكُمۡ تَعۡقِلُونَ ﴾

(Verily, We have sent it down as an Arabic Qur’an in order that you may understand.) The Arabic language is the most eloquent, plain, deep and expressive of the meanings that might arise in one’s mind. Therefore, the most honorable Book, was revealed in the most honorable language, to the most honorable Prophet and Messenger, delivered by the most honorable angel, in the most honorable land on earth, and its revelation started during the most honorable month of the year, Ramadan. Therefore, the Qur’an is perfect in every respect. So Allah said,

﴿ نَحۡنُ نَقُصُّ عَلَيۡكَ أَحۡسَنَ ٱلۡقَصَصِ بِمَآ أَوۡحَيۡنَآ إِلَيۡكَ هَـٰذَا ٱلۡقُرۡءَانَ ﴾

(We relate unto you the best of stories through Our revelations unto you, of this Qur’an.)

Reason behind revealing Ayah (12:3)

On the reason behind revealing Ayah (12:3), Ibn Jarir At-Tabari recorded that `Abdullah bin `Abbas said, “They said, `O, Allah’s Messenger! Why not narrate to us stories’ Later on, this Ayah was revealed,

﴿ نَحۡنُ نَقُصُّ عَلَيۡكَ أَحۡسَنَ ٱلۡقَصَصِ ﴾

(We relate unto you the best of stories…)” There is a Hadith that is relevant upon mentioning this honorable Ayah, which praises the Qur’an and demonstrates that it is sufficient from needing all books besides it. Imam Ahmad recorded a narration from Jabir bin `Abdullah that `Umar bin Al-Khattab came to the Prophet with a book that he took from some of the People of the Book. `Umar began reading it to the Prophet who became angry. He said,

« أَمُتَهَوِّكُونَ فِيهَا يَا ابْنَ الْخَطَّابِ؟ وَالَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ، لَقَدْ جِئْتُكُمْ بِهَا بَيْضَاءَ نَقِيَّةً، لَا تَسْأَلُوهُمْ عَنْ شَيْءٍ فَيُخْبِرُوكُمْ بِحَقَ فَتُكَذِّبُونَهُ، أَوْ بِبَاطِلٍ فَتُصَدِّقُونَهُ، وَالَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ، لَوْ أَنَّ مُوسَى كَانَ حَيًّا مَا وَسِعَهُ إِلَّا أَنْ يَتَّبِعَنِي »

(Are you uncertain about it Ibn Al-Khattab By the One in Whose Hand is my soul! I have come to you with it white and pure. Do not ask them about anything, for they might tell you something true and you reject it, or they might tell you something false and you believe it. By the One in Whose Hand is my soul! If Musa were living, he would have no choice but to follow me.) Imam Ahmad also recorded a narration from `Abdullah bin Thabit who said, “`Umar came to Allah’s Messenger and said; `O Messenger of Allah! I passed by a brother of mine from ﴿the tribe of﴾ Qurayzah, so he wrote some comprehensive statements from the Tawrah for me, should I read them to you’ The face of Allah’s Messenger changed (with anger). So I said to him, `Don’t you see the face of Allah’s Messenger” `Umar said, `We are pleased with Allah as our Lord, Islam as our religion, and Muhammad as our Messenger.’ So the anger of the Prophet subsided, and he said,

« وَالَّذِي نَفْسُ مُحَمَّدٍ بِيَدِهِ، لَوْ أَصْبَحَ فِيكُمْ مُوسَى ثُمَّ اتَّبَعْتُمُوهُ وَتَرَكْتُمُونِي لَضَلَلْتُمْ، إِنَّكُمْ حَظِّي مِنَ الْأُمَمِ، وَأَنَا حَظُّكُمْ مِنَ النَّبِيِّين »

(By the One in Whose Hand is Muhammad’s soul, if Musa appeared among you and you were to follow him, abandoning me, then you would have strayed. Indeed you are my share of the nations, and I am your share of the Prophets.)”

﴿ إِذۡ قَالَ يُوسُفُ لِأَبِيهِ يَـٰٓأَبَتِ إِنِّى رَأَيۡتُ أَحَدَ عَشَرَ كَوۡكَبً۬ا وَٱلشَّمۡسَ وَٱلۡقَمَرَ رَأَيۡتُہُمۡ لِى سَـٰجِدِينَ ﴾

(4. (Remember) when Yusuf said to his father: “O my father! Verily, I saw (in a dream) eleven stars and the sun and the moon – I saw them prostrating themselves to me.”)

http://www.recitequran.com/es/tafsir/en.ibn-kathir/12:1 LEER Tafsir 12 Yusuf José Ibn Kathir - Inglés CAPÍTULO SÍGANOS Versículo 1 Página 235…

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Proud to be Exmuslim Atheist! Here's my story + Islamic facts via /r/atheism

Submitted April 06, 2017 at 07:32PM by Havtho (Via reddit http://ift.tt/2oIZ9s8) Proud to be Exmuslim Atheist! Here's my story + Islamic facts

Hey r/Atheism! I posted on here yesterday and boy am I surprised to see how much upvotes my post got! I posted a picture

http://ift.tt/2ncf9mi

"Birds born in a cage think flying is an illness" - Alexander Jodorowsky.

I thought i'd share my story and the research I found that let me to leave Islam.

First of all, I was born Muslim. My family is very religious. I went into a religious phase in 7th grade. I isolated myself from friends, family, and stayed at the mosque all day. I memorized the entire Quran, thousands of ahadith, and studied under many prestigious Imams.

I was an Imam in training, and because I had the Quran memorized I was able to lead the adults in prayer a few times for practice. When Ramadan came, I was even given chances to read the Quran from memory for an entire night of bonus prayer.

As i grew up, I started to think more rationally. I had learned Quran and Hadith but did not understand their meaning. They did not teach us exegesis (tafseer). Thankfully, I have a really good memory so what I learned always stuck with me. In highschool and through University, i kept on questioning the verses and hadiths that were seared into my mind. And I read every tafseer book there is in Arabic and English.

I decided to research Islam more deeply and answer the burning questions I had. All imams told me to ignore my questions and that it was the Devil. But a burning voice inside me told me that no, the solution to cognitive dissonance is not suppressing but acknowledging and solving the dissonance. So I spent another couple years doing in depth reading into the exegesis and revisited the Seerah (Biography) of Muhammad and Asbab Al Nuzool (reasons behind revelation), and started putting all the puzzle pieces together...

Well once I went down the rabbit hole, I was reminded of all the things I learnt, but instead was looking at it from a perspective of doubt. I felt very guilty at first, and even cried. But I kept going, and sooner or later BAM. It hit me like a ton of bricks.

Immediately, time stopped. I was outside the matrix. Looking back in from a 3rd eye perspective, I realized how man made it all was. I was so blinded, so brain washed I saw everything through a holy light. And all the violence made sense when I saw it as coming from a loving God all those years...but after compiling all the pieces on my own, I saw the complete picture...(which is hidden from the masses).

Either way I wanted to share what I realized with you guys.

Muhammad was the original Gangster. He was the original Hitler.

Fascism started with Muhammad and Islam

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not speaking about the majority of Muslims. They do not know their religion at all. ISIS are the modern followers of Muhammad, and if he were here today he would be their leader.

Its pretty long but here goes:

Sahih Bukhari (52:177) - Allah's Apostle said, "The Hour will not be established until you fight with the Jews, and the stone behind which a Jew will be hiding will say. "O Muslim! There is a Jew hiding behind me, so kill him."

Sahih Bukhari (52:256) - The Prophet... was asked whether it was permissible to attack the pagan warriors at night with the probability of exposing their women and children to danger. The Prophet replied, "They (i.e. women and children) are from them (i.e. pagans)." In this command, Muhammad establishes that it is permissible to kill non-combatants in the process of killing a perceived enemy. This provides justification for the many Islamic terror bombings.

Sahih Bukhari (52:44) - A man came to Allah's Apostle and said, "Instruct me as to such a deed as equals Jihad (in reward)." He replied, "I do not find such a deed."

Sahih Bukhari (52:73) - "Allah's Apostle said, 'Know that Paradise is under the shades of swords'."

Sahih Bukhari (11:626) - [Muhammad said:] "I almost decided to order a man to lead the prayer and then take a flame to burn all those, who had not left their houses for the prayer, burning them alive inside their homes."

Sahih Muslim (20:4696) - "the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: 'One who died but did not fight in the way of Allah nor did he express any desire (or determination) for Jihad died the death of a hypocrite.'"

Sahih Muslim (31:5917) - "Ali went a bit and then halted and did not look about and then said in a loud voice: 'Allah's Messenger, on what issue should I fight with the people?' Thereupon he (the Prophet) said: 'Fight with them until they bear testimony to the fact that there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his Messenger'." The pretext for attacking the peaceful farming community of Khaibar was not obvious to the Muslims. Muhammad's son-in-law Ali asked the prophet of Islam to clarify the reason for their mission to kill, loot and enslave. Muhammad's reply was straightforward. The people should be fought because they are not Muslim.

Ibn Ishaq/Hisham 990: Cutting off someone's head while shouting 'Allahu Akbar' is not a 'perverison of Islam', but a tradition of Islam that began with Muhammad. In this passage, a companion recounts an episode in which he staged a surprise ambush on a settlement: "I leapt upon him and cut off his head and ran in the direction of the camp shouting 'Allah akbar' and my two companions did likewise".

Saifur Rahman, The Sealed Nectar p.227-228 - "Embrace Islam... If you two accept Islam, you will remain in command of your country; but if your refuse my Call, you’ve got to remember that all of your possessions are perishable. My horsemen will appropriate your land, and my Prophethood will assume preponderance over your kingship." One of several letters from Muhammad to rulers of other countries. The significance is that the recipients were not making war or threatening Muslims. Their subsequent defeat and subjugation by Muhammad's armies was justified merely on the basis of their unbelief.

Tabari 9:69 "Killing Unbelievers is a small matter to us" The words of Muhammad, prophet of Islam.

Tabari 7:97 The morning after the murder of Ashraf, the Prophet declared, "Kill any Jew who falls under your power." Ashraf was a poet, killed by Muhammad's men because he insulted Islam. Here, Muhammad widens the scope of his orders to kill. An innocent Jewish businessman was then slain by his Muslim partner, merely for being non-Muslim.

Sahih Bukhari 2:35 "The person who participates in (Holy Battles) in Allah’s cause and nothing compels him do so except belief in Allah and His Apostle, will be recompensed by Allah either with a reward, or booty ( if he survives) or will be admitted to Paradise ( if he is killed)."

Verses from the Quran:

Quran (2:191-193) - kill them wherever you find them

Quran (2:216) - fighting is prescribed and you dislike it...

Quran (3:56) - punish with agony in this world rejectors of faith

Quran (3:151) - cast terror in the hearts of unbelievers

Quran (4:74) - sell this life for the next life in battle

Quran (4:89) - take no helpers from them, slaughter them

Quran (5:33) - crucified, hands and feet cut from opposite sides

Quran (8:12) - cast terror, strike off their heads and fingertips

Quran (8:39) - fight until there is no fitnah and Islam is absolute

Quran (8:67) - order for moe to make slaughter and take brides

Quran (8:59-60) - prepare for war against disbelievers, as much as possible, according to affordability and availability.

Quran (8:65) - convince/manipulate the believers to fight

Quran (9:5) - when holy months are over, then slay the idolaters wherever you find them, and take them captive and besiege them and lie in wait for them in every ambush

Quran (9:14) - victory over unbelievers to heal believers

Quran (9:20) - financially assisting in Jihad (wahhabi money)

Quran (9:29) - protection tax while feeling subdued

Quran (5:60) - people of Saturday, punishment towards Jews and Christians turning them into monkeys and pigs

Quran (9:41) - go forth heavy armed and with money

Quran (9:73) - be unyielding to kuffar, their abode is hell

Quran (9:111) - Allah purchased from believers their money and souls, they have jannah in exchange for fighting for my sake Then there are the hundreds of verses where the Quran gives examples and threatens people with punishment, hell, etc. Indirect inspiration for ISIS:

Quran (17:16) - utter destruction against moral transgression. Allah wanted to destroy a town so he made them sin & killed them.

Quran (18:65-81) - story of Musa and Khidr and justification for killing young children if one fears from them disbelief in the future **Note: This parable along with verse 58:22 is a major reason that honor killing is sanctioned by Sharia. Reliance of the Traveler (Umdat al-Saliq) says that punishment for murder is not applicable when a parent or grandparent kills their offspring.

[dailytafsirofquran]

Tafsir Ibn Kathir: Surah Al-Baqarah Ayah 38-41

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

38. We said: "Get down all of you from this place (the Paradise), then whenever there comes to you Hudan (guidance) from Me, and whoever follows My guidance, there shall be no fear on them, nor shall they grieve.

39. But those who disbelieve and belie Our Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) _ such are the dwellers of the Fire. They shall abide therein forever.''

Allah tells;

We said: "Get down all of you from this place (the Paradise), then whenever there comes to you Hudan (guidance) from Me, Allah stated that when He sent Adam, Hawwa, and Shaytan to earth from Paradise, He warned

them that He will reveal Books and send Prophets and Messengers to them, i.e., to their offspring.

Abu Al-Aliyah said,

"Al-Huda, refers to the Prophets, Messengers, the clear signs and plain explanation.''

And whoever follows My guidance, meaning, whoever accepts what is contained in My Books and what I send the Messengers with.

There shall be no fear on them, regarding the Hereafter, nor shall they grieve. regarding the life of this world.

Similarly, in Surah Ta Ha, Allah said,

He (Allah) said: "Get you down (from the Paradise to the earth), both of you, together, some of you are an enemy to some others. Then if there comes to you guidance from Me, then whoever follows My guidance, he shall neither go astray, nor shall he be distressed. (20:123)

Ibn Abbas commented,

"He will not be misguided in this life or miserable in the Hereafter.''

The Ayah, (But whosoever turns away from My Reminder (i.e. neither believes in this Qur'an nor acts on its teachings) verily, for him is a life of hardship, and We shall raise him up blind on the Day of Resurrection), (20:124) is similar to what Allah stated here, But those who disbelieve and belie Our Ayat _ such are the dwellers of the Fire. They shall abide therein forever, meaning, they will remain in Hell for eternity and will not find a way out of it.

40. O Children of Israel! Remember My favor which I bestowed upon you, and fulfill (your obligations to) My covenant (with you) so that I fulfill (My obligations to) your covenant (with Me), and fear none but Me.

41. And believe in what I have sent down (this Qur'an), confirming that which is with you (the Tawrah and the Injil), and be not the first to disbelieve therein, and buy not with My verses (the Tawrah and the Injil) a small price (i.e. getting a small gain by selling My verses), and fear Me and Me alone.

Encouraging the Children of Israel to embrace Islam

Allah says; O Children of Israel!

Allah commanded the Children of Israel to embrace Islam and to follow Muhammad. He also reminded them with the example of their father Israel, Allah's Prophet Yaqub, as if saying, "O children of the pious, righteous servant of Allah who obeyed Allah! Be like your father, following the truth.''

This statement is similar to one's saying, "O you son of that generous man! Do this or that,'' or, "O son of the brave man, engage the strong fighters,'' or "O son of the scholar, seek the knowledge,'' and so forth. Similarly,

Allah said,

O offspring of those whom We carried (in the ship) with Nuh (Noah)! Verily, he was a grateful servant. (17:3)

Israel is Prophet Yaqub (Jacob)

Israel is Prophet Yaqub, for Abu Dawud At-Tayalisi recorded that Abdullah Ibn Abbas said,

"A group of Jews came to the Prophet and he said to them, Do you know that Israel is Jacob?

They said, "Yes, by Allah.''

He said, O Allah! Be witness.''

At-Tabari recorded that Abdullah Ibn Abbas said that; `Israel' means, `the servant of Allah.'

Allah's Blessings for the Children of Israel

Allah said,

Remember My favor which I bestowed upon you. Mujahid commented,

"Allah's favor that;

* He granted the Jews is that He made water gush from stones,

* sent down manna and quails for them,

* and saved them from being enslaved by Pharaoh.''

Abu Al-Aliyah also said,

"Allah's favor mentioned here is His sending Prophets and Messengers among them, and revealing Books to them.''

I - Ibn Kathir - say that this Ayah is similar to what Musa said to the Children of Israel, O my people! Remember the favor of Allah to you: when He made Prophets among you, made you kings, and gave you what He had not given to any other among the nations (of their time. (5:20), meaning, during their time.

Also, Muhammad bin Ishaq said that Ibn Abbas said, (Remember My favor which I bestowed upon you), means, "My support for you and your fathers,'' that is saving them from Pharaoh and his people.

Reminding the Children of Israel of Allah's Covenant with Them

Allah's statement,

And fulfill (your obligations to) My covenant (with you) so that I fulfill (My obligations to) your covenant (with Me), means, `My covenant that I took from you concerning Prophet Muhammad, when he is sent to you, so that I grant you what I promised you if you believe in him and follow him. I will then remove the chains and restrictions that were placed around your necks, because of the errors that you committed.'

Also, Al-Hasan Al-Basri said,

"The `covenant' is in reference to Allah's statement, Indeed, Allah took the covenant from the Children of Israel (Jews), and We appointed twelve leaders among them. And Allah said: "I am with you if you perform As-Salah and give Zakah and believe in My Messengers; honor and assist them, and lend a good loan to Allah, verily, I will expiate your sins and admit you to Gardens under which rivers flow (in Paradise).'' (5:12)

Other scholars said,

"The covenant is what Allah took from them in the Tawrah, in that, He will send a great Prophet - meaning Muhammad - from among the offspring of Ismail, who will be obeyed by all peoples. Therefore, whoever obeys him, then Allah will forgive his sins, enter him into Paradise and award him two rewards.''

We should mention here that Ar-Razi mentioned several cases of information brought by the earlier Prophets regarding the coming of Muhammad. Further, Abu Al-Aliyah said that, (And fulfill (your obligations to) My covenant (with you)) means, "His covenant with His servants is to embrace Islam and to adhere to it.''

Ad-Dahhak said that Ibn Abbas said,

"`I fulfill My obligations to you' means, `I (Allah) will be pleased with you and admit you into Paradise.'''

As-Suddi, Ad-Dahhak, Abu Al-Aliyah and Ar-Rabi bin Anas said similarly.

Allah's statement, And fear Me and Me alone.

Ibn Abbas said that it means,

"Fear the torment that I might exert on you, just as I did with your fathers, like the mutation, etc.''

This Ayah contains encouragement, followed by warning. Allah first called the Children of Israel, using encouragement, then He warned them, so that they might return to the Truth, follow the Messenger, heed the Qur'an's prohibitions and commands and believe in its content. Surely, Allah guides whom He wills to the straight path.

Allah said next, And believe in what I have sent down, confirming that which is with you (the Tawrah and the Injil), meaning, the Qur'an that Allah sent down to Muhammad, the unlettered Arab Prophet, as bringer of glad tidings, a warner and a light. The Qur'an contains the Truth from Allah and affirms what was revealed beforehand in the Tawrah and the Injil (the Gospel).

Abu Al-Aliyah said that Allah's statement, "means, `O People of the Book! Believe in what I sent down that conforms to what you have.' This is because they find the description of Muhammad recorded in the Tawrah and the Injil.''

Similar statements were attributed to Mujahid, Ar-Rabi bin Anas and Qatadah.

Allah said, and be not the first to disbelieve therein.

Ibn Abbas commented,

"Do not become the first to disbelieve in the Qur'an (or Muhammad), while you have more knowledge in it than other people.''

Abu Al-Aliyah commented, "`Do not become the first to disbelieve in Muhammad,' meaning from among the People of the Book, `after you hear that he was sent as a Prophet.'''

Similar statements were attributed to Al-Hasan, As-Suddi and Ar-Rabi bin Anas.

Ibn Jarir stated that; the Ayah (disbelieve therein 2:41) refers to the Qur'an, mentioned earlier in the Ayah, (in what I have sent down (this Qur'an).

Both statements are correct because they are interrelated. For instance, whoever disbelieves in the Qur'an will have disbelieved in Muhammad, and whoever disbelieves in Muhammad will have disbelieved in the Qur'an.

Allah's statement, (the first to disbelieve therein) means, do not become the first among the Children of Israel to disbelieve in it, for there were people from Quraysh and the Arabs in general who rejected Muhammad before the People of the Book disbelieved in him.

We should state here that the Ayah is talking about the Children of Israel in specific, because the Jews in Al-Madinah were the first among the Children of Israel to be addressed by the Qur'an. Hence, their disbelief in the Qur'an means that they were the first among the People of the Book to disbelieve in it.

Allah's statement, and buy not with My verses a small price, means, "Do not substitute faith in My Ayat and belief in My Prophet with the life of this world and its lusts which are minute and bound to end.''

Allah said, and have Taqwa of Me and Me alone.

Ibn Abi Hatim reported that Talq bin Habib said, "Taqwa is to work in Allah's obedience, on a light from Allah, hoping in Allah's mercy, and to avoid Allah's disobedience, on a light from Allah, fearing Allah's punishment.''

Allah's statement, (and fear Me and Me alone) means, that Allah warns the People of the Book against intentionally hiding the truth and spreading the opposite of it, as well as, against defying the Messenger.

[dailytafsirofquran]

Daily Tafsir of Ibn Kathir

The Regret of the Disbelievers after They enter Hell

Allah tells us that the disbelievers will feel regret on the Day of Resurrection, when they enter Hell and sink in the agonizing depth of fire. When they actually experience the unbearable punishment of Allah, they will hate themselves with the utmost hatred, because of the sins they committed in the past, which were the cause of their entering the Fire. At that point the angels will tell them in a loud voice that Allah's hatred towards them in this world, when Faith was offered to them and they rejected it, is greater than their hatred towards themselves in this situation. Qatadah said, concerning the Ayah:

(Indeed, Allah's aversion was greater towards you than your aversion toward yourselves, when you were called to the Faith but you used to refuse.) "Allah's hatred for the people of misguidance -- when Faith is presented to them in this world, and they turn away from it and refuse to accept it -- is greater than their hatred for themselves when they see the punishment of Allah with their own eyes on the Day of Resurrection.'' This was also the view of Al-Hasan Al-Basri, Mujahid, As-Suddi, Dharr bin `Ubaydullah Al-Hamdani, `Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam and Ibn Jarir At-Tabari, may Allah have mercy on them all.

(They will say: "Our Lord! You have made us to die twice, and You have given us life twice!...'') Ath-Thawri narrated from Abu Ishaq from Abu Al-Ahwas from Ibn Mas`ud, may Allah be pleased with him: "This Ayah is like the Ayah:

(How can you disbelieve in Allah Seeing that you were dead and He gave you life. Then He will give you death, then again will bring you to life and then unto Him you will return.)''(2:28) This was also the view of Ibn `Abbas, Ad-Dahhak, Qatadah and Abu Malik. This is undoubtedly the correct view. What is meant by all of this is that when they are standing before Allah in the arena of Resurrection, the disbelievers will ask to go back, as Allah says:

(And if you only could see when the criminals shall hang their heads before their Lord (saying): "Our Lord! We have now seen and heard, so send us back, that we will do righteous good deeds. Verily, we now believe with certainty.'') (32:12), However, they will get no response. Then when they see the Fire and they are held over it and they look at the punishments therein, they will ask even more fervently than before to go back, but they will get no response. Allah says:

(If you could but see when they will be held over the (Hell) Fire! They will say: "Would that we were but sent back (to the world)! Then we would not deny the Ayat of our Lord, and we would be of the believers!'' Nay, it has become manifest to them what they had been concealing before. But if they were returned, they would certainly revert to that which they were forbidden. And indeed they are liars.) (6:27-28). When they actually enter Hell and have a taste of its heat, hooked rods of iron and chains, their plea to go back will be at its most desperate and fervent:

(Therein they will cry: "Our Lord! Bring us out, we shall do righteous good deeds, not that we used do.'' (Allah will reply): "Did We not give you lives long enough, so that whosoever would receive admonition could receive it And the warner came to you. So taste you. For the wrongdoers there is no helper.'') (35:37)

(Our Lord! Bring us out of this. If ever we return (to evil), then indeed we shall be wrongdoers.'' He (Allah) will say: "Remain you in it with ignominy! And speak you not to Me!) (23:108). According to this Ayah, they will speak more eloquently, and they will introduce their plea with the words:

(Our Lord! You have made us to die twice, and You have given us life twice!) meaning, `by Your almighty power, You have brought us to life after we were dead, then You caused us to die after we were alive; You are able to do whatever You will. We confess our sins and admit that we wronged ourselves in the world,'

(then is there any way to get out) means, `will You answer our prayer to send us back to the world, for You are able to do that, so that we might do deeds different from those which we used to do Then if we go back to our former ways, we will indeed be wrongdoers.' The response will be: `There is no way for you to go back to the world.' Then the reason for that will be given: `Your nature will not accept the truth and be governed by it, you would reject it and ignore it.' Allah says:

((It will be said): "This is because, when Allah Alone was invoked (in worship), you disbelieved; but when partners were joined to Him, you believed!'') meaning, `if you were to go back, this is how you would be.' This is like the Ayah:

(But if they were returned (to the world), they would certainly revert to that when they were forbidden. And indeed they are liars) (6:28).

(So the judgement is only with Allah, the Most High, the Most Great!) means, He is the Judge of His creation, the Just Who is never unjust. He guides whomsoever He wills and sends astray whomsoever He wills; He has mercy on whomsoever He wills and punishes whomsoever He wills; there is no God except Him.

(It is He Who shows you His Ayat) means, He demonstrates His power to His servants through the mighty signs which they see in His creation, above and below, which indicate the perfection of its Creator and Originator.

(and sends down provision for you from the sky.) this refers to rain, through which crops and fruits are brought forth, which with their different colors, tastes, fragrances and forms are a sign of the Creator. It is one kind of water, but by His great power He makes all these things different.

(And none remembers) means, no one learns a lesson or is reminded by these things, or takes them as a sign of the might of the Creator,

(but those who turn in repentance.) which means, those who have insight and turn to Allah, may He be blessed and exalted.

[dailytafsirofquran]

Tafsir Ibn Kathir: Surah Al-Anfal Ayah 9-10

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

8:9 (Remember) when you sought help of your Lord and He answered you (saying): "I will help you with a thousand of the angels Murdifin.''

8:10 Allah made it only as glad tidings, and that your hearts be at rest therewith.

And there is no victory except from Allah. Verily, Allah is Almighty, All-Wise.

Muslims invoke Allah for Help, Allah sends the Angels to help Them

Allah said;

(Remember) when you sought help of your Lord and He answered you (saying): "I will help you with a thousand of the angels Murdifin.''

Al-Bukhari wrote in the book of battles (in his Sahih),under "Chapter; Allah's statement ((Remember) when you sought help of your Lord and Heanswered you)until, (then verily Allah is severe in punishment)'' (8:9-13) that Ibn Mas`ud said,

"I was a witness to something that Al-Miqdad bin Al-Aswad did, that I would like more than almost anything else to have been the one who did it. Al- Miqdad came to the Prophet while he was invoking Allah against the idolators and proclaimed, `We will not say as the people of Musa said, "So go you and your Lord and fight you two.''

Rather, we will fight to your right, to your left, before you and behind you.' I saw the Prophet's face beaming with pleasure because of what Al- Miqdad said to him.''

Al-Bukhari next narrated from Ibn Abbas that on the day of Badr, the Prophet said,

O Allah! I invoke You for Your covenant and promise (victory). O Allah! If You decide so (cause our defeat), You will not be worshipped.

Abu Bakr held the Prophet's hand and said, "Enough.''

The Prophet went out proclaiming,

Their multitude will be put to flight, and they will show their backs.

An-Nasa'i also collected this Hadith. Allah'sstatement, (withathousand of the angels Murdifin),

means, they follow each other in succession, according to Harun bin Hubayrah who narrated this from Ibn Abbas,

about, (Murdifin), meaning each behind the other in succession.

Ali bin Abi Talhah Al-Walibi reported that Ibn Abbas said,

"Allah supported His Prophet and the believers with a thousand angels, five hundred under the leadership of Jibril on one side and five hundred under the leadership of Mika'il on another side.''

Imams Abu Jafar bin Jarir At-Tabari and Muslim recorded that Ibn Abbas said that Umar said,

"While a Muslim man was pursuing an idolator (during the battle of Badr), he heard the sound of a whip above him and a rider saying, `Come, O Hayzum!' Then he looked at the idolator, who fell to the ground. When he investigated, he found that the idolator's nose had wound and his face torn apart, just as if he received a strike from a whip on it, and the entire face had turned green. The Ansari man came to the Messenger of Allah and told him what had happened and the Messenger replied,

You have said the truth that was from the reinforcements from the third heaven.

The Muslims killed seventy (pagans) in that battle and captured another seventy.

Al-Bukhari also wrote a chapter in his Sahih about the participation of the angels in Badr. He collected a Hadith from Rifa`h bin Rafi Az-Zuraqi, who participated in Badr,

Jibril came to the Prophet and asked him, "How honored are those who participated in Badr among you?''

The Prophet said,

Among the best Muslims.

Jibril said, "This is the case with the angels who participated in Badr.''

Al-Bukhari recorded this Hadith.

At-Tabarani also collected it in Al-Mu`jam Al- Kabir, but from Rafi` bin Khadij, which is an apparent mistake. The correct narration is from Rifa`h, as Al-Bukhari recorded it.

In the Two Sahihs, it is recorded that;

the Messenger of Allah said to Umar, when Umar suggested that the Prophet have Hatib bin Abi Balta`ah executed,

He (Hatib) participated in Badr. How do you know that Allah has not looked at the people of Badr and proclaimed, `Do whatever you want, for I have forgiven you.'

Allah said next,

Allah made it only as glad tidings. ..

Allah made sending down the angels and informing you of this fact as glad tidings,

and that your hearts be at rest therewith.

Surely, Allah is able to give you (O Muslims) victory over your enemies, and victory only comes from Him, without need to send the angels,

And there is no victory except from Allah.

Allah said in another Ayah,  

So, when you meet (in fight in Allah's cause) those who disbelieve, smite (their) necks till when you have killed and wounded many of them, then bind a bond firmly (on them, take them as captives). Thereafter (is the time) either for generosity (free them without ransom), or ransom (according to what benefits Islam), until war lays down its burden. Thus, but if it had been Allah's will, He Himself could certainly have punished them (without you). But (He lets you fight) in order to test some of you with others.

But those who are killed in the way of Allah, He will never let their deeds be lost. He will guide them and set right their state. And admit them to Paradise which He has made known to them. )47:4-6(

And so are the days (good and not so good), that We give to men by turns, that Allah may test those who believe, and that He may take martyrs from among you. And Allah likes not the wrongdoers.

And that Allah may test (or purify) the believers (from sins) and destroy the disbelievers. (3:140- )141

These are points of wisdom for which Allah has legislated performing Jihad, by the hands of the believers against the disbelievers. Allah used to destroy the previous nations that denied the Prophets, using various disasters that encompassed these rebellious nations. For instance, Allah destroyed the people of Nuh with the flood, `Ad with the wind, Thamud with the scream, the people of Lut with an earthquake and the people of Shu`ayb by the Day of the Shadow. After Allah sent Musa and destroyed his enemy Fir`awn and his soldiers by drowning, He sent down the Tawrah to him in which He legislated fighting against the disbelievers, and this legislation remained in the successive Laws.

Allah said,

And indeed We gave Musa -- after We had destroyed the generations of old -- the Scripture as an enlightenment. (28:43)

It is more humiliating for the disbeliever and more comforting to the hearts of the faithful that the believers kill the disbelievers by their own hands. Allah said to the believers of this Ummah,

Fight against them so that Allah will punish them by your hands, and disgrace them, and give you victory over them, and heal the breasts of a believing people. (9:14)

This is why killing the disbelievers of Quraysh by the hand of their enemies, whom they used to despise, was more humiliating to the disbelievers and comforting to the hearts of the party of faith.

Abu Jahl, for instance, was killed in battle and this was more humiliating for him than dying in his bed, or from lightening, wind, or similar afflictions. Also, Abu Lahab died from a terrible disease (that caused him to stink) and none of his relatives could bear approaching him. They had to wash him with water by sprinkling it from a distance, then threw stones over his corpse, until it was buried under them!

Allah said next,

Verily, Allah is All-Mighty,

the might is His, His Messengers and the believers, both in this life and the Hereafter. Allah said in another Ayah,

We will indeed make victorious Our Messengers and those who believe, in this world's life and on the Day when the witnesses will stand forth (Day of Resurrection). (40:51)

Allah said next,

All-Wise.

in that He legislated fighting the disbeliever, even though He is able to destroy them and bring their demise by His will and power, all praise and honor is due to Him.

[quranreadalong]

#159, Surah 31

THE QURAN READ-ALONG: DAY 159

Welcome, everyone, to Luqman, named after the guy with the same name. It’s a nice, short little surah, most of which is from the Mecca days. Who is Luqman? Where and when did he live? Where did this story come from and why haven’t we heard of him until right now? Those are the questions that... we will not be answering! But we will at least try to figure it out.

The surah starts typically, with the letters ALM and a declaration that the Quran is a guide for believers. We then come to a mildly good pair of ayat, which declares that faithful Muslims who pay zakat will be “successful” in Allah’s eyes. (That’s also repeated in 31:8 in typical good-Muslims-go-to-jannah form.) Naturally that is followed by two bad ayat, in which we are told that people who mock Islam will be doomed. The next ayah complains that such doomed people are those who refuse to listen to the Quran. Gonna have to put that down as a kuffar hell counter (1) hit, I’m afraid, since it’s specified that the hellbound people’s only crime is not believing in the religion and not taking it seriously.

The next ayah says that those who go to heaven will dwell there forever, then we have a standard Allah sends the rain, Allah puts mountains in the ground to stop earthquakes (??? as always) etc ayat. Therefore, Mohammed concludes, Allah is god and the disbelievers’ gods are fake. Fair enough!

Now then. Luqman. Even by the Quran’s standards, his story is thin--more Idris than al-Khidr. We’re introduced to him in 31:12, which says that Allah gave him wisdom. Then the main framing device of this mini-story is introduced: Luqman is talking to his unnamed son--and telling him, of course, not to be a polytheist or follow polytheists, because polytheism is Very Bad and polytheists lack knowledge. He also gives his son some other advice: give thanks to your parents (that’s good!), remember that Allah knows all, do right and don’t be arrogant or loud. Wow!!! When’s the last time we had so many good ayat in one section? I’m impressed, Luqman.

The not-so-good parts about polytheism may not have even been part of his speech--it’s really unclear when Luqman is talking and when Mohammed Allah is talking. He’s addressing his son in 31:13 and 31:16, but in between those, in 31:15, is an ayah nearly identical to one we know was “revealed” concerning a certain Muslim, so...? I dunno. But Luqman doesn’t seem too bad, all in all.

Er... who is he, again?

There are no written pre-Islamic references to any “Luqman”, so we have to rely upon early Islamic sources to figure out who the hell he’s supposed to be. This time, we don’t even have anything to go on in terms of reputable ahadith or Jewish/Christian stories, so we’ve gotta really dig in order to find some details. Ibn Ishaq’s sira mentions Luqman in passing in this odd passage, which is quoted both the works of al-Tabari (volume 6) and Ibn Hisham:

When [Mohammed] heard about [Suwayd bin al-Samit, a poet from Medina], the apostle sought him out and invited him to Islam. [Suwayd] said, "Perhaps you've got something like that which I have."

"And what is that?" asked the apostle.

"The roll of Luqman," meaning the wisdom of Luqman, he answered.

"Hand it to me," said the apostle, and [Suwayd] handed it over and [Mohammed] said, "This discourse is fine, but that which I have is better still, a Quran which God has revealed to me, which is a guidance and a light."

The “roll of Luqman”, eh. The “wisdom” that Allah gave Luqman was in written form, apparently. So Luqman, whoever he was, was known as a wise man and his sayings were collected and preserved. Pre-Islamic Arabs obviously didn’t see him as a prophet, but Islam’s appropriation of him raises the question of whether Mohammed intended Luqman to be a prophet or not. That question has remained unanswered--most Islamic scholars say he was a wise man gifted with Allah’s wisdom but not a prophet, though others say he was a prophet and this collected wisdom of his was a holy book. Hard to say which argument is correct.

And that’s not the only confusion over the strange life and times of Luqman the Possibly-Non-Prophet. No one can even agree on when or where he lived. Some stories put Luqman somewhere in Africa or Israel and make him a slave. Most other sources indicate that he was an Arab, living somewhere between Yemen and Oman. Sometimes he is made a part of the Ad tribe, as in Hud’s people.

The fact that no one can agree on anything about Luqman’s life tells us a couple of things. Firstly, it seems as though the pre-Islamic Luqman wasn’t known from a particular story the way that, say, Joseph or Moses is. Instead, it seems that Luqman was a figure to whom pre-Islamic Arabs attributed proverbs, like Aesop. And in fact one line of his speech in the Quran sounds suspiciously proverb-y: “the harshest of all voices is the voice of the ass” (as in a donkey!! It means don’t be obnoxiously loud). Secondly, if Ibn Ishaq’s story is even slightly on the right track, “Luqman’s” proverbs were popular among Arabs in the seventh century.

So the most obvious explanation here is that Mohammed took this well-known pre-Islamic figure, threw some anti-polytheist diatribes in with his proverbs, and claimed him for Team Islam. But he’s never mentioned again. So there you go, that’s the best we can do in identifying him.

NEXT TIME: We leave Luqman and go back to Mohammed :(

The Quran Read-Along: Day 159

Ayat: 20

Good: 6 (31:4-5, 31:8, 31:14, 31:17-18)

Neutral: 12 (31:1-3, 31:9-13, 31:15-16, 31:19-20)

Bad: 2 (31:6-7)

Kuffar hell counter: 1 (31:6-7)

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[quranreadalong]

#176, Surah 36

THE QURAN READ-ALONG: DAY 176

Brothers and sisters, you have rejoined me and we may, inshallah, increase our iman this day. Previously we had discussed the town that rejected those three messengers sent to them. How will this tale end is what you ask. I will tell.

In 36:19, the messengers call the disbelieving people of the town transgressors. You are wondering what happens next, correct? Well my brother the answer is a plot twist (invented by Islam--source: Islamic Inventions Ignored by the West by Sheikh Saif al-Islam al-Dimashqi p 404-405), for suddenly! a man runs into the crowd. Follow the messengers!, he tells them, upon which he launches into a rant about polytheism. God created me, the faithful man declares, and all other gods are false. It would be wrong to be a polytheist. This is what he says, confirming his belief.

Because he believed in his lord, we are told in 36:26--neutral, all of this, please note--he is told he will “enter paradise”. The man is elated and wishes only that the rest of his people felt the same! But human beings are weak creatures, and therefore they did not feel the same. And so they were made to face the consequences of their actions, consequences that did not necessitate an attack by angels (God has no need for these tricks, unless we are talking about the army of the Prophet SAW fighting a few hundred men from Mecca), but rather a “Shout”. This “Shout” killed everyone besides one assumes the man and the messengers, for we are told: “lo! they were extinct”.

Now my mind must go back to the brother who yesterday asked us if Allah is not cruel. Is this not bad, he might say to me. But the answer is that it is neutral still, because as you see it does not say God killed them because they were disbelievers. Only is it heavily implied. Perhaps they also enjoyed Marvel’s Inhumans and this is why God destroyed them.

[So three things here. First of all, the verse where some unidentified person tells the believing guy “enter paradise” is sometimes interpreted as him dying and angels telling him he’s going to jannah. The Quran never says the guy actually died, though, so it’s equally likely that the unnamed prophets just told him he would go to heaven for his faith or whatever. Take your pick.

Regarding the three prophets, it’s never said who these people are, where they are, or when this is happening. It’s really vague: three people are sent to some city as prophets, no one believes them beyond this one guy, Allah kills everyone. We don’t have anything to work with here, and the ahadith won’t help us.

But Islamic historians almost always placed the story in the formerly Byzantine city of Antioch, now in southern Turkey. The fact that so many of them named this one city may indicate this story is some now-lost pre-Islamic tale, possibly a Christian one (since Antioch is mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles and it’s said that Christian prophets visited the city, sometimes predicting impending doom). Most Islamic scholars placed this tale in the Christian era, as in during or shortly after Jesus’ lifetime. A number of traditions say the three prophets were Jesus’ apostles, often naming John, Peter, and Paul.

That leads us to another issue: if these three guys were Jesus’ apostles or disciples, as many scholars believed, then does that mean Jesus’ followers were prophets? Can a prophet have prophets of his own? Uh... al-Tabari rather tortuously tries to make sense of it:

They were not God's messengers, but rather the messengers of Jesus. But as the mission by Jesus was upon the command of the Almighty, the mission was an extension of God's mission

It’s entirely possible that this is a Christian story and the three guys are supposed to be Jesus’ followers, who are described as prophets because that’s what they’re called in the Bible. But since that line of thought leads to uncomfortable theological questions in Islam, let us explore some alternate explanations.

Ibn Ishaq gives us this, courtesy of Ibn Kathir:

Ibn Ishaq reported that it was the city of Antioch, in which there was a king called Antiochus the son of Antiochus the son of Antiochus, who used to worship idols. Allah sent to him three Messengers, whose names were Sadiq, Saduq (other sources also call him “Masduq”) and Shalum, and he disbelieved in them. It was also narrated from Buraydah bin Al-Husayb, `Ikrimah, Qatadah and Az-Zuhri that it was Antioch.

Antiochus is a Seleucid name--if you remember from our history lessons, the Seleucids were the Macedonian Greek dynasty that Alexander the Great had left in charge of Persia. And their empire did include Antioch, thus the name. So, hey, let’s try to figure this out. Plenty of Antiochuses (Antiochii?) had fathers and grandfathers of the same name, ranging from V (170 BC) to XIII (60 BC). Any of them would put this story solidly in the pre-Christian era, so the apostles thing can’t work here.

The prophets seem to be Jewish in this version--Shalum is the Hebrew word “Shalom”, and Sadiq/Tzadik and Saduq/Zadok are also presumably Arabized versions of Hebrew names. So at least it all kinda goes together: three Jewish prophets were sent to the disbelieving people of Antioch, who rejected them at some point around 200-100 BC, according to this version of the story. But I can’t find any Jewish stories about Sadiq, Saduq, and Shalum or Antiochus or Antioch, so if it was a Jewish story, it’s not one that’s been recorded.

Ibn Kathir continues:

The people of the city resolved to kill their Messengers, then a man came running to them from the farthest part of the town, i.e., to help them against his people. They said, his name was Habib, and he used to work with ropes. He was a sickly man who suffered from leprosy, and he was very charitable, giving half of his earnings in charity, and his Fitrah (natural inclination) was sound.'' Shabib bin Bishr said, narrating from `Ikrimah, from Ibn `Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, that the name of the man mentioned in Ya Sin was Habib An-Najjar, and he was killed by his people.

An-Najjar means “the carpenter”, and Habib here features in both the Jewish and Christian-oriented versions of the story. Ibn Kathir’s description of his death has a distinctly Christian feel, in addition to the mention of leprosy above:

They started to stone him while he was saying, `O Allah, guide my people for they do not know, and they kept stoning him until he died a violent death, and he was still praying for them

Ibn Kathir seems skeptical of the whole matter, noting correctly that “it is not known that [Antioch] was destroyed, either during Christian times or before”.

Are either of these stories what Mohammed was talking about? It’s possible, and it’s also possible that there were two stories sharing the same theme, but we just don’t have enough to go by here to say anything for sure. I’d say it’s likelier that it’s an old Christian story than an old Jewish one, and the guys are just called “prophets” because that’s the word Christians used for them.]

But God knows best, brothers and sisters.

NEXT TIME: Let us discuss things that are round, much like my head of extreme roundness.

The Quran Read-Along: Day 176

Ayat: 11

Good: 0

Neutral: 11 (36:19-29)

Bad: 0

Kuffar hell counter: 0

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[quranreadalong]

#52, Surah 7

THE QURAN READ-ALONG: DAY 52

It’s time for some more Moses, and this time a lot of it is copied and pasted from the second surah, with the same Jews Suck commentary. Try to contain your excitement.

When we left our Hebrew Heroes, we had just finished the Ten Commandments/Idol Calf incident. There is still some tension in HebrewLand as our story resumes in 7:159. Some of Moses’ people are fine, and Allah divides them into twelve tribes and Moses does the twelve springs from a rock thing that we saw in surah 2 already. Mohammed seems to have conflated two separate incidents here, one the water-from-a-rock miracle and two the twelve regular, non-miraculous springs. But anyway, Allah lets the Jews stay in a town to rest up if they say a prayer, again as we’ve already seen. Sure, neutral. But then the dastardly Jews have to spit in Allah’s face by...! By...?

But those of them who did wrong changed the word which had been told them for another saying, and We sent down upon them wrath from heaven for their wrongdoing.

By... uh, saying the prayer wrong (involving wordplay shenanigans, apparently).

they were commanded to say “hittah” [there is no deity except Allah; or as in the other meaning: forgive our sins] but instead said “hintah” [wheat]

That’s just one explanation for what’s going on here; others have them saying “hibba” (seed) or something else. All the stories come down to the same theme, though, which is that the Jews made a game of it instead of praising Allah. So he smote them. Bad. Always recite your prayers properly, kids! I can’t find this in any Jewish or Christian sources, so idk if it’s from a lost text or if Mohammed made it up himself. It very well might be the latter, since he did accuse (Arab) Jews of wordplay games more than once.

Then Allah pulls some more bullshit, reminiscent of the whole sending furry animals to people on pilgrimage in Mecca thing. This starts in 7:163 and is the backstory of the “Jews turned into apes/pigs” thing that we’ve seen many times thus far. It is even dumber than you are imagining. (This whole part seems to assume that Jews are listening to him talk, which has prompted some scholars to say these verses came from the Medina days, and they were just stuck here because they naturally followed the other Wrongdoing Jewz story.)

While the Jews are in the seaside town, Allah sends fish right to the top of the water on the Sabbath day, when they can’t fish. Then on the other days, when they can fish, he takes the fish away.

Ask them (O Muhammad) of the township that was by the sea, how they did break the Sabbath, how their big fish came unto them visibly upon their Sabbath day and on a day when they did not keep Sabbath came they not unto them. Thus did We try them for that they were evil-livers.

Lo! Starvation is indeed a trial from your Lord. Stop being a bad dick, Allah. (Again, this is not in any Jewish sources I can find. It may have been some tradition lost to history, or something Mohammed pulled out of his ass.)

The Jews, tired of Allah’s weird-ass mind games, fish on the Sabbath. They are warned by the more pious Jews that Allah will now destroy them. A third group of Jews asks the pious ones what the point of this is, exactly: “Why preach ye to a folk whom Allah is about to destroy or punish with an awful doom”?

The answer was “to make ourselves feel less guilty bout the ass whoopin they bout to get LOL”, apparently. Is this... neutral? I have no idea. But 7:165 is bad and concludes this little vignette:

We rescued those who forbade wrong, and visited those who did wrong with dreadful punishment because they were evil-livers. So when they took pride in that which they had been forbidden, We said unto them: Be ye apes despised and loathed!

The Sabbath-breaking Jews are turned into apes. Again, this is meant literally. What happened to the poor things is a matter of debate; some tafsir authors say they lived for three days, unable to eat or drink, before perishing. Jesus. Others say they survived and had kids, so modern-day Jews are descended from animals. Pretty fucking terrible either way!

Then we get the following curious ayah, which is also bad but hmm-esque:

And (remember) when thy Lord proclaimed that He would raise against them till the Day of Resurrection those who would lay on them a cruel torment. Lo! verily thy Lord is swift in prosecution and lo! verily He is Forgiving, Merciful. 

Allah will send people to torment the Jews forever because some Hebrews fished on a Saturday. Lo! How forgiving of him. Hey, if this part is from the Medina days, I wonder if Mohammed considered himself one such tormentor. (His followers did.)

Moving on! In 7:168, Allah talks about how he scattered the twelve tribes of Israel, some of which were good and some of which are not, and “tried them with good things and evil things that haply they might return” to the true religion (Islam). But they didn’t; in fact, the descendants of the scattered Jews were mostly greedy and bad people, though there were some good ones who kept to the Torah.

All that besides the last one is bad. I will do a very long post about this topic in surah nine, but please remember for now that after leaving Mecca, Mohammed was genuinely shocked by the Jews of Medina refusing to convert to Islam. Cannot imagine why they weren’t impressed by his revelations!

Back to the Biblical stories. Allah picks up a mountain and sticks it over the heads of the Jews. They are understandably terrified of being crushed to death, but Allah is just doing it to demonstrate a point and doesn’t actually kill them so it’s neutral I guess. That Allah, such a joker.

Then we have this in 7:172:

And (remember) when thy Lord brought forth from the Children of Adam, from their reins, their seed, and made them testify of themselves, (saying): Am I not your Lord? They said: Yea, verily. We testify. (That was) lest ye should say at the Day of Resurrection: Lo! of this we were unaware

Mohammed elaborated upon this in a hadith:

Allah created Adam, then passed His right hand over his back, and brought forth from it his offspring, saying: I have these for Paradise and these will do the deeds of those who go to Paradise. He then passed His hand over his back and brought forth from it his offspring, saying: I have created these for Hell, and they will do the deeds of those who go to Hell. ... When Allah creates a servant for Paradise, He employs him in doing the deeds of those who will go to Paradise, so that his final action before death is one of the deeds of those who go to Paradise, for which He will bring him into Paradise. But when He creates a servant for Hell, He employs him in doing the deeds of those who will go to Hell, so that his final action before death is one of the deeds of those who go to Hell, for which He will bring him into Hell.

So Allah dragged people out of Adam, decided their fates, and made them declare him god. But who, exactly, is Allah forcing to declare him their god? Adam and Eve’s kids... before they were born? All human beings to ever exist, briefly granted form/consciousness solely for this reason before being put back in the Soul Box in the sky? The latter interpretation is the most common one, believe it or not. Mainstream Islamic thought teaches that all people declared their belief in Allah and Islam at this point, so everyone is already Muslim the second they’re born, which is why converts to Islam are called “reverts”. Yeah.......

I’ll say it’s neutral just due to the vagueness of it all, but from a legal point of view, “you said you believed in the right religion when you didn’t even exist yet, so you have no excuse to be a disbeliever, even if you were just following your ancestors’ religions!” does not seem like a strong argument. There are also serious free will issues in that hadith, but o well...

The next ayah is similarly mysterious and no one knows who Mohammed was talking about. Take your pick of any of the people mentioned in that tafsir. But the most common version is that Allah gave a non-Jewish guy in Moses’ time named Balaam some prophetic knowledge, but he was a disbeliever anyway. The Quran doesn’t actually mention this Balaam individual, but the “histories” say he cursed Moses and the Hebrews, so Allah made his tongue fall out. This ayah gets a bad label due to the last two sentences:

Therefore his likeness is as the likeness of a dog: if thou attackest him he panteth with his tongue out, and if thou leavest him he panteth with his tongue out. Such is the likeness of the people who deny Our revelations. Evil as an example are the folk who denied Our revelations, and were wont to wrong themselves.

That isn’t a Biblical story, by the way, and al-Tabari offers several different versions of Balaam’s fate. All end with his tongue falling out, though.

We end the day with some oldies but bad goodies: Allah leads people astray and created disbelieving people (who are like cows...?) so they could go to hell. Hey, there’s our first kuffar hell counter (1) entry in a long-ass while! Also, don’t sit near people who are blaspheming. Allah will deal with them later. I’ll put that one as neutral just to be nice.

Lots of weird stories this section, but we’re almost done.

NEXT TIME: Surah seven ends, praise Allah.

The Quran Read-Along: Day 52

Ayat: 22

Good: 0

Neutral: 11 (7:159-61, 7:164, 7:170-75, 7:180)

Bad: 11 (7:162-63, 7:165-69, 7:176-79)

Kuffar hell counter: 1 (7:178-79)

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