Eating Pork

Both the Bible and the Qur’an prohibit the eating of pork. Muslims are aware of this prohibition and observe it strictly.
However, most readers of the Bible say they do not know where they can find this in the Bible.

In the book of Leviticus, chapter 11, v. 7, it is recorded that God declares the pig to be unclean for believers. Then, in
verse 8, God says: “You must not eat their meat or touch their carcasses; they are unclean for you”. This command is
repeated in Deuteronomy 14:7-8. Then, in Isaiah 65:2-4, and 66:17, God issues a stern warning against those who
eat pork.

Some people are aware of this prohibition from God, but they say that they can eat pork because St. Paul said that all
food is clean in his letter to the Romans 14:20. St. Paul said this because he believed (as he wrote in his letter to the
Ephesians 2:14-15) that Jesus had abolished the Law with all its commandments and regulations. He seems, however,
to have misunderstood what he heard about Jesus. In the Gospel According to Matthew 5:17-20, Jesus is reported to
have said quite the contrary, as follows: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law . . . ." Jesus then went on
in that passage (in verse 19) to denounce anyone who would break the smallest commandment and teach others
likewise. He also praised his true followers who will practice and teach even the smallest commandment. One of the
commandments, as we have seen, is to stay away from pork.

This is why the true followers of Jesus, holding on to his teachings, did not let unclean food such as pork enter their
mouths, so that Peter, the chief disciple, can say, “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean” (Acts of the
Apostles, ch. 10, v. 14)

Five chapters later in the Acts of the Apostles, 15:29, we find that the original disciples still differentiate between clean
and unclean foods, and this time Paul is in agreement with them. Six chapters later, in ch. 21, v. 25, their decision to
impose food regulations on believers is mentioned without regret, and this time Paul is challenged to prove that he is in
agreement with them; and he demonstrated his full agreement with them.

What remains, then, is that Jesus, on whom be peace, upheld the prohibition against pork. His disciples also upheld it,
and so must all his followers. Those who fail to uphold it need to be informed and reminded of this rule from God.
This is one reason why God sent His final messenger, on whom be peace. God says:

“O people of the Scripture ! Now has Our Messenger come unto you, expounding unto you much of that which you
used to hide in the Scripture, and forgiving much. Now has come unto you light from Allah and a plain Scripture.”
(The Meaning of the Glorious Qur’an 5:15).

Status of Women in Islam

"Why is it that so many women who have been born and brought in Europe and America are willing to reject their 'liberty' and 'independence' to embrace a religion that supposedly oppresses them and is widely assumed to be prejudicial to them?" This is a question that I found on one of the sites while surfing around, and I found it an interesting question and which I'd like to draw this article around.

Can Islam be prejudiced to women, and yet appeal to women? Can Islam lower the status of a woman and still have more women embracing it as their way of life than men? According to an article written by Lucy Berrington in the Times Magazine (London) dated 9th Nov. 1993: "It is even more ironic that most British converts should be women, given the widespread view in the west that Islam treats women poorly. In the United States, women converts outnumber men by four to one, and in Britain make up the bulk of the estimated 10, 000 to 20, 000 converts, forming part of a Muslim community of 1 to 1.5 million "

How can the case of those women be explained?! Well, I could say that there are only one of two choices that one can decide upon. Either all those women who choose Islam don't know what they are doing or that they discovered Islam is not prejudice to them as others have yet to discover. New convert to Islam since September 11, US Navy petty officer, Heather Ramaha. "Islam gives us Elevation; not Degradation"

In the Noble Quran Allah (Arabic word for God) says:
"Mankind! We have created you from a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know one another. Verily, the most honorable of you in the Sight of Allah is the believer who has Taqwa (i.e. piety and righteousness)and loves Allah most. Verily, Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware." The Holy Qur'an(49:13)

"I shall not lose sight of the labor of any of you who labors in My way, be it man or woman; each of you is equal to the other. The Holy Qur'an(3:195)"

On the light of those verses, Islam declares that it has not come to disadvantage women, but in fact has been revealed to elevate women ever since 1400 years ago, when women in many parts of the world and especially in the western societies were considered objects that are owned and with little to no rights in the society they live in.

Before any other religion or system in the world Islam gave a woman the right to inherit, the right to vote and voice her opinion, the right to trade invest and improve herself financially, the right to own - buy and sell, the right to seek knowledge and have a good education, the right to work and has even gone further to oblige the males in every stage of her life, whether it was a father, brother or husband ... It's their duty before God to take care of her, to spend on her, to provide her with the food , clothing and shelter that she needs, to provide her with a good education, to protect her from anything that can harm her and to never hesitate to put their lives in stake for her if the need calls them to do so. "As a modern westerner with a career, of course I had to look into Islam's attitude to women - I couldn't be oppressed all of a sudden. But I discovered that it is pro-women and pro-men; in Islam, women had the right to vote in the year 600. Men dress modestly, women dress modestly; neither should flirt with the eyes, but rather they should lower their gaze. I think it's unhealthy to flaunt your sexuality - it attracts the wrong energy back." (MTV Presenter Kristiane Backer after being a Muslim) "Since I called myself a feminist, my early reading centered around women in Islam. I thought Islam oppressed women. In my Women's Studies courses I had read about Muslim women who were not allowed to leave their homes and were forced to cover their heads. Of course I saw hijab as an oppressive tool imposed by men rather than as an expression of self-respect and dignity. What I discovered in my readings surprised me. Islam not only does not oppress women, but actually liberates them, having given them rights in the 6th century that we have only gained in this century in this country: the right to own property and wealth and to maintain that in her name after marriage; the right to vote; and the right to divorce." (Karima Slack, an American feminist from secular humanism to Islam)

Some Muslim societies today lack those values. Some people may rightly ask then, why do we see some Muslim societies lacking those values? There is a beautiful and very true example I heard from a lecture by an American Muslim called Khaled Yaseen, who said that every person can be a father; but if a father does not turn out to be a good father then it's not fatherhood that we would blame. Similarly, Islam is a rule and order. A Muslim who does not act according to that rule and order then by all means its not Islam that should carry the blame.

Karla, a young Blonde haired Blue eyed young American from Washington DC who is a recent convert to Islam said in an interview made with her: The main question people seem to ask, is "How could you, an educated American woman convert to Islam--a religion that oppresses women?" They are quick to try and equate the rights of women in Afghanistan with the rights of Muslim women everywhere. Basically, what I tell them, is that the Qur'an gives women more rights than the Bible does--in print. That was one of the things that first drew me to Islam. Unfortunately today, Islam is no longer the leader in women's rights. I had a choice--deny what I believe (i.e. that There is only one God, and that Muhammed is a Prophet of God)...or accept what I believe, but work to change the problems that exist within the Muslim community. I chose the latter.

In the world today, one could say that the Taliban government in Afghanistan have been considered as the top example of Women Oppression in Islam. But what's ironic is that even when a woman falls captive in the hands of those supposedly most hateful men in the world, Islam does not fail to win her heart.

Yvonne Ridley is an award-winning journalist of more than 25 years standing and author of two books, In The Hands of the Taliban and Ticket to Paradise. She has spent the last 10 years working for several prestigious Fleet Street newspapers including The Sunday Times, The Observer, The Independent on Sunday and The Sunday Express. She has also expanded into television and radio producing several documentaries from Iraq and Afghanistan. Yvonne hit the headlines in September 2001 when while working for the Daily Express she crossed illegally into Afghanistan and was subsequently held captive by the Taliban for 11 days. Following her release, she read the Qur'an as she had agreed to during her captivity, and converted to Islam in the summer of 2003.

Last but not least I would like to conclude by the blessed sayings of Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him:
"It is the generous (in character) who is good to women, and it is the wicked who insults them."
"The most perfect believers are the best in conduct and best of you are those who are best to their wives."
"Treat your women well and be kind to them for they are your partners and committed helpers."

By Noor Al Haqq

How to Pray 10 Jumah on one Friday

How many Jumah salat can we pray on a single Friday? Answer, no more than one. However, here is a way that will get you reward of praying more than one Jumah on any given Friday.

Prophet Muhammed (s.a.w) said:
Whoever invites towards (the path of) guidance shall receive a reward equal to the rewards of those who follow him without this decreasing anything from their rewards. (Sahih Muslim)

Using this formula, if you invite 9 of your friends to offer Jumah with you and they respond to your call then you will get the reward for your own Jumah plus nine additional Jumah prayers. You can increase the number by as many as you want!

How great is Almighty Allah who has made earning for the hereafter very easy.

"And whoever guides others towards good is equal to the doer of good." (Tirmidhi)

DID SAYYIDA AYESHA (ra) MARRY MUHAMMAD (P.B.U.H), THE PROPHET OF ISLAM, AT AGE 6?

Rev. Jerry Vines while speaking to the Pastors’ Conference of the Southern Baptist Convention, St. Louis, Missouri on June 10, 2002, called the Prophet of Islam, Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) a paedophile and demon-possessed.  The Muslims all over the world were deeply offended by his remarks, as were many people of other faiths.  While certainly both of these allegations about the person of the Prophet of Islam can be effectively refuted, the author of this article proposes to present the Qur’anic concept of marriageable age as well as an in-depth analysis of the issue of Sayyida Ayesha’s age at the time of her marriage with the Messenger of Allah (pbuh).  This critique is based on many historical reports as have reached us through the history books of Islam.

It is to be pointed at the very outset that a vast majority of the Muslims professes two sources of the Divine Guidance--the Qur’an and the Sunnah.  The Qur’an is the actual Word of Allah (God) revealed by the archangel Gabriel to Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) over a period of 23 years during the period 610-632 A.D in the Arabian Peninsula.  The Qur’an that was revealed as Guidance and Light (17:9) for all mankind was written and properly documented by some forty scribes during the lifetime of the Prophet.  There is historical, as well as internal evidence right from within the Qur’an to that effect (80:11-16 and 25:5).  Of prime importance is the fact that one does not fail to find God’s Personal guarantee against any possible corruption in the Scripture (15:9).  Furthermore, the Qur’an was not only written and documented but it was committed to memory in its entirety during the lifetime of the Prophet (pbuh).  This noble tradition of double preservation, namely, memorization and writing of the Qur’an, continues to this day.  For the last more than 1400 years, hundreds of thousands of individuals have always been around in the world who have known the entire Qur’an by heart.  It is noteworthy that although there are several sects in Islam, the Qur’an remains perfectly preserved to the letter in its pristine original Arabic language as it is recited, understood and referred to on a daily basis for explanations by all sects.  Thus, while the interpretations of some verses may vary, the original Arabic text has remained the same without sectarian bias.

The Author of the Qur’an, Allah, the Most High, enjoined Prophet Muhammad (and all believers) to strictly follow the Quran (6:106; 10:109; 33:2) and it stands witness to the fact that Muhammad (pbuh) and his followers did exactly that all their lives (7:203; 46:9; 6:50).  In fact, Muhammad (pbuh) himself was warned in rather stern terms not to go against the Qur’anic teachings (17:39, 10:94-95, 69:40-48).  Furthermore, the Qur’an declares the Prophet (pbuh) to be a man of highest moral standards (68:4; 33:21) and the best exemplar for humanity.  The Qur’an enjoins the believers in scores of verses to follow Prophet Muhammad’s teachings and accept him as a final authority in all their affairs.

The Second generally accepted source of Islamic faith is the Sunnah.  The Sunnah is the summation of Islamic teachings related to faith and code of conduct as personally practiced and perpetuated by Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).  TheSunnah remains the second source of guidance in Islam for all believers in their personal as well as collective and communal lives.  It also provides a framework of proper Islamic governance.  Many Sunnah protocols are related to articles of Islamic faith and rituals that are continuous from the day of the Prophet but a great many others are largely derived from a huge body of compilations of oral narrations transmitting reports of the sayings and actions of the Prophet collectively referred to as Hadith. The corpus of Hadith, also known as traditions of the Prophet, consists of narrations extracted from many compilations of reported accounts of Prophet Muhammad’s sayings, actions, and tacit approvals.  There are six books of Hadith (Sihah Sitta) that are generally considered authentic by the main stream Sunni Muslims.  There is also an entirely different set of four Hadith books, devoutly followed by the Shia Muslim community, that were also recorded at about the same time or even later.  Nevertheless, even though these chest-to-chest reports of the Prophet’s sayings and actions that were said to have undergone intense scrutiny for authenticity, a large body of narrations prevalent at the time was rejected by some notable original compilers of the Hadith as many of them failed one or more of the tests of ascertaining authenticity. Thus, these compilers of Hadith, who lived some 200-300 years after the passing away of the Prophet (pbuh), were believed to be able to finally separate wheat from chaff with the result that they committed to writing only  those ahadith that fitted their criteria of authenticity.  Thus, in essence, the process of oral transmission (word of mouth) made the basis of all these collections.  This process commonly known as‘Isnaad’ or ‘chain of narration’ typically comprised a chain of 4-6 narrators (including, of course, many of them who had been long dead at the time of writing) going back 200-300 years in time to the companions and to Prophet Muhammad himself.  These accounts also seek to portray a fair amount of Muslim history and culture during the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad. Nonetheless, it must be pointed out that the only true surviving book, call it Islamic history or Divine Guidance, that was memorized by thousands of Companions of the Prophet, and written in a completely and carefully documented form many times over, is none other than the Qur’an itself.  The most well-known earliest Islamic history books, ‘Seerat Rasool Allah’ (Seerah) by Ibn Ishaq (d. 767 A.D), and Tabaqaat by Ibn Sa’d (d 175 H) , was written more than 90 years after the death of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).  The Seerat Rasoolallah that gives the account of Prophet’s life and his involvement in defensive battles was also based on oral transmissions.  Ibn Ishaq was severely criticized by some contemporary notable scholars of Islam such as Malik bin Anas, the originator of the Maliki School of thought in Islamic jurisprudence, now mainly practiced in Africa .

The majority of Muslims considers two of the six Hadith books, those authored by Al-Bukhari (d. 870 A.D) and Al-Muslim (d. 875 A.D), most authentic after the Qur’an despite the fact that they were written 200-300 years after the passing away of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).  As mentioned earlier, these scholars of Islam exercised great caution in selecting what they called correct traditions and proceeded with purest of intentions but one must not lose sight of the fact that they still collected ‘narrations’ from living people who were not the primary or even secondary or tertiary sources of the accounts of the life and sayings of Muhammad (pbuh) and his companions.  Some Islamic historians (and/or exegetes of the Qur’an) whose books about early Islamic history are considered of high importance and who derive their history from the earliest works of Ibn Ishaq’s Seerah, or Ibn S’ad’s Tabaqaat include Ibn Hisham (d. 827 A.D), Tabari (d. 923 ), Ibn Katheer, and Ibn Hajar Al-asqalani, to name a few.

This introduction of the generally accepted two sources of Islam (the Qur’an and the Sunnah/Hadith), I believe, is necessary for the reader to understand the issue at hand---the age of Ayesha, the third wife of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) at the time of her marriage with him.

ROTATION OF SUN AND MOON

Today we know that the Moon revolves around the earth in approximately 29.5 days. The sun also revolves in its own orbit. To understand the sun’s orbit, Dr. Bucaille says that the position of the sun in our galaxy must be considered, and we must therefore call on modern scientific ideas (The Bible, the Quran and Science, p. 162).

Our galaxy, the milky way galaxy, includes one hundred billion stars situated in such a formation that the galaxy is shaped like a disc. This disc turns around its center like a gramophone record. Now, it is obvious that when a gramophone record turns, any point on the disc would move around and come back to its original position. Similarly, every star in the galaxy moves as the galaxy rotates on its axis. Therefore the stars that are away from the center of the galaxy orbit around the axis. The sun is one of those stars.

Dr. Bucaille explains that modern science has worked out the details of the sun’s orbit as follows:

“To complete one revolution on its own axis, the galaxy and the sun take roughly 250 million years. The sun travels roughly 150 miles per second in the completion of this” (The Bible, the Quran and Science, p. 162).

After describing this, Dr. Bucaille comments:

“The above is the orbital movement of the sun that was already referred to in the Quran fourteen centuries ago.” (The Bible, the Quran and Science, p. 162)

And yet this is a new finding. As Dr. Bucaille says, the knowledge of the sun’s orbit is an acquisition of modern astronomy (The Bible, the Quran and Science, p. 162).

Two verses in the Quran refer to the orbits of the sun and moon. After mentioning the sun and the moon, Allah says:

“Each one is traveling in an orbit with its own motion” (Quran, 21:33; 36:40).

Even after the Quran was revealed, early commentators could not conceive of the orbits of the sun and moon. The tenth century commentator Tabari could not explain this so he said, “It is our duty to keep silent when we do not know” (XVII, 15 quoted in The Bible, the Quran and Science, p. 161).

Dr. Bucaille comments:

“This shows just how incapable men were of understanding this concept of the sun’s and moon’s orbit.” (The Bible, the Quran and Science, p. 161).

From this it is clear that if the Quran was here expressing an idea already known to the people, the commentators would have easily understood it. But this, as Dr. Bucaille explains was “a new concept that was not to be explained until centuries later” (The Bible, the Quran and Science, p. 161)

This confirms what Allah said to his prophet, on whom be peace:

“This is of the tidings of the Unseen which we inspire in you (Muhammad). Neither you nor your people knew it before this” (Quran 11:49).

The above information was extracted from Islamic Information and Dawah Centre Website (islaminfo.com)