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Message: <blockquote data-quote="sirajstc" data-source="post: 14081029" data-attributes="member: 91140">Q: Does Islām consider Christians and Jews as Believers? A:  Jews and Christians are  referred to in the Qur’ān as the ‘People of the  Book’ – meaning their  orgins lie in scripture revealed by God. However,  these scriptures have  not remained untouched by human insertions and  have been distorted.  When each prophet was sent, the people of that era  were obliged to  follow him and would be defined as people of the truth  or simply  ‘Muslims’ – so when Moses came – people were obliged to follow  him and  these Jews were Believers. When Jesus came, people were  obligated to  now accept him as the Prophet of God and not doing so would  remove them  from being defined as Believers – even though they may have  accepted  Moses as a prophet. These Christians were now the Believers  till the  time the Prophet Muhammad was sent. After which any person  claiming to  submit to the will of God would have to accept the  prophethood of  Muhammad and not doing so would excommunicate them from  being a true  Believer in God.   Q: If everything is pre-ordained and decided, where is the free will?A:  The question of ‘fate and  freewill’ has baffled people for many  centuries; but Islām has given a  clear answer. The first point to be  noted in this respect is that the  Islāmic concept of Qadar and Qadha’ is  quite different from fatalism,  determinism and predestination, as  understood by most people. In  Arabic, the words Qadar and Qadha are  often used for fate and destiny.  The word, Qadha means to decide; to  settle; to judge. A Qadhi is a  judge who decides a matter between  disputants. From the Islāmic view,  the events of the world take place  within God’s Knowledge and Will. Read the following verses: 1.  "And not an atom’s weight in  the earth or in the sky escapes your Lord,  nor what is less than that  or greater than that, but it is (written) in  a clear Book.” (Yunus  10:61) 2.  “No disaster strikes upon the  earth or among yourselves except that it  is in a register before We  bring it into being – indeed that, for God,  is easy – In order that you  not despair over what has eluded you and not  exalt [in pride] over  what He has given you. And God does not like  everyone self-deluded and  boastful.” (al-Hadid 57:22-23). The  above verses speak of God  Almighty’s power and control over His  creation, as well as of His will  and plan. This is one aspect of His  Qadar. There is also another aspect  of Qadar, which is concerned with  human freewill. B: On human freedom and responsibility read the following verses: 1.  “Corruption has appeared  throughout the land and sea by [reason of]  what the hands of people  have earned so He [i.e., God] may let them  taste part of [the  consequence of] what they have done that perhaps they  will return [to  righteousness].” (ar-Rum 30:41) 2. “…The truth is from your Lord, so whoever wills - let him believe; and whoever wills - let him disbelieve.” (al-Kahf 18:29) The  above verses speak of the  special status of humans as beings with a  role and mission. God’s power  over His creation and His fore-knowledge  of all our actions and their  results do not preclude that status. God’s  Qadar and Qadha – which  could be loosely rendered as ‘Divine decree and  human destiny’ –  include a certain amount of freedom for humans. We may  say that God  Almighty has willed that we must have the freedom to choose  between  good and bad and take the course of action we decide, i.e. to  the  extent we are permitted. It is God Who created us with all our  talents  and gifts and if we do not have the freedom to use them, what  would be  the meaning of those blessings? And remember that God gave us,  not  merely our intellectual faculties but also the power of moral  judgment.  And what is more, He sent us His Guidance through His chosen  Prophets  and Books, to help us make the right choices. So in Islām,  there is no  contradiction between belief in Divine Preordainment on the  one hand  and the freedom of man on the other.Q: Why do bad things happen?A:  First of all, God has not made  this a permanent world. This is a  temporary world and everything here  has a time limit. Neither the good  things of this world are forever,  nor the bad things eternal. We are  here for a short time and we are  being tested – those who pass the test  will find an eternal world that  is perfect and permanent.  “And  when We let the people taste mercy,  they rejoice therein, but if evil  afflicts them for what their hands  have put forth, immediately they  despair.” [ar-Rum 30:36]A number of reasons why bad things may happen:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">As a punishment where the laws of God have been violated as in the case of the people of Noah and Lot: “Has   there not reached them the news of those before them - the people of   Noah and [the tribes of] ‘Aad and Thamūd and the people of Abraham and   the companions [i.e., dwellers] of Madyan and the towns overturned?   Their messengers came to them with clear proofs. And God would never   have wronged them, but they were wronging themselves.” (sūrah at-Tawbah   9:70)</li> </ul><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Sometimes  God allows  people to be afflicted by the consequences of their actions  as a sign  and reminder in order that they have the opportunity to repent  and  reform themselves. “Corruption has appeared throughout the land and  sea  by [reason of] what the hands of people have earned so He [i.e.,  God]  may let them taste part of [the consequence of] what they have done   that perhaps they will return [to righteousness].” (ar-Rum 30:41)</li> </ul>“And whatever strikes you of disaster - it is for what your hands have earned; but He pardons much.” [ash-Shura 42:30]<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Suffering  can also be a  test and trial for some people. God allows some people to  suffer in  order to test their patience and steadfastness. Even God’s  Prophets and  Messengers were made to suffer. Prophet Job is mentioned in  the Qur’ān as a Prophet who was very patient. Through these trials and tribulations, one has the opportunity to draw closer to God. </li> </ul><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">God  sometimes allows some  people to suffer to test others, how they react  to them. When you see a  person who is sick, poor and needy, then you are  tested by God to test  your charity and faith. God says in a [hadith  qudsi], ‘Verily, Allah  will say to his slave when He will be taking  account of him on the Day  of Judgement, ‘O son of Adam, I was hungry and  you did not feed me.’ He  will answer: ‘How could I feed you? You are  the Lord of the worlds!’  He will say: ‘Did you not know that my slave so  and so who is the son  of so and so felt hunger, and you did not feed  him. Alas, had you fed  him you would have found that (i.e. reward) with  Me.’ ‘O son of Adam, I  was thirsty and you gave Me nothing to drink.’ He  will reply: ‘How  could I give You drink? You are the Lord of the  worlds!’ He will say:  ‘Did you not know that my slave so and so, the son  of so and so felt  thirsty and you did not give him drink. Alas, if you  had given him, you  would have found that (i.e. reward) with me.’ ‘O son  of Adam, I became  sick and you did not visit Me.’ He will answer: ‘How  can I visit You?  You are the Lord of the worlds!’ He will say: ‘Did you  not know that my  slave so and so, the son of so and so became sick and  you did not  visit him. Alas, had you visited him, you would have found  Me with  him.”</li> </ul>Q: How many Muslims are there?A:  There are currently 1.6 Billion  Muslims in the world, with about 2-3  million living in the United  Kingdom. Contrary to popular perception,  only 20% of Muslims are Arabs  and live in the Middle East. The countries  with the largest Muslim  populations are India and Indonesia with about  175 million Muslims  each.Q: Is it true that all Arabs are Muslims, and that all Muslims are Arabs?A:  No! Any person who reads,  writes and speaks the Arabic language is  called an Arab. There are  about 1.6 billion Muslims in the world. 20%  are considered Arabs while  the rest are non-Arabs. Among the Arab people  there are about 8% who  are non-Muslims, such as Christians, Jews,  Assyrians, Atheists,  Agnostics, etc. However, every Muslim has to study  and learn the Arabic  language so that he/she will be able to pray daily  and to read Qur’ān  and the Arabic language.Q: Are the Arabs superior to others?A: The Prophet said in his farewell pilgrimage, ‘All   mankind is from Adam and Eve, an Arab has no superiority over a   non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white   has no superiority over a black nor a black has any superiority over   white except by piety and good action.Learn that every Muslim is a brother to every Muslim and that the Muslims constitute one brotherhood.’ Q: What are the legal sources of Islām?A:  The sources of Islām are the  Qur’ān, the hadith (sayings of the  Prophet) and the Unanimous decisions  of the early Muslim scholars.Q: What is the difference between Hadith and Sunnah?A:  Hadith is the exact sayings of  the Prophet with quote and unquote. The  Sunnah of the Prophet are his  deeds, actions and his tacid approval,  i.e. actions done by others in  his presence which he did not comment.Q: What does Jihād mean – linguistically and practically? A:  Jihād linguistically means the  process of ‘exerting the best efforts,’  involving some form of  ‘struggle’ and ‘resistance’ to achieve a  particular goal. In the Qur’ān  this word has been used in different  connotations – entailing to  struggle in the way of God, verbally,  monetarily and physically. In the  context of war, the Qur’ān legislates  the performance of Jihād in  order to make His word the highest in the  land, defend or establish the  religion, remove oppression from weak men,  women and children and to  remove turmoil and corruption. A point to  note – there are strict laws  governing the engagement of the enemy and  the treatment of prisoners of  war – all of which was laid down by God  and demonstrated by His  Prophet. Q: What is a Fatwa?A: A Fatwa is a religious ruling to a question based on Islāmic law and issued by Islāmic scholars.Q: In secular countries, the Pledge of Allegiance is to the flag of the country. How do Muslims look at such a pledge?A:  Any person who makes his Pledge  of Allegiance to the flag of his  country, is legally responsible to  defend that country according to what  the political leaders decide. The  leaders may decide to invade other  countries and commit all types of  injustices, atrocities, and crime. A  Muslim’s loyalty is to God. He  will never obey political leaders unless  they themselves obey God.  Invading other countries and killing other  people are among the biggest  crimes. Therefore, the masses as well as  the leaders should make a  Pledge of Allegiance to God, the Creator of  the whole universe.Q: Since the Pledge of Allegiance of Muslims is only to God, what is that Pledge, and what does it mean?A:Yes,  the Pledge of Allegiance of  Muslims is only to God, the Creator of the  Universe. Muslims have to  say daily the Pledge in the language of the  Qur’ān, i.e., Arabic. They  have to recite it vocally individually and  collectively. They may  pronounce it verbally, privately, and silently  too.The Pledge goes as follows:"Ashhadu Anla ilaha Illa Allah...Wa Ashhadu Anna Muhammadan RasooluAllah.""I  bear witness that there is no  one worthy of worship except God  (Allah)... And I bear witness that  Prophet Muhammad is the Messenger of  God."Q: Can you explain the Shariah and secularism in Islām?A:  Islām teaches that the Believer  cannot make any agreement with any  person or government to displease  God; they cannot make any deal with  any group to decide any matter  against what God has already decided. In  Islām, State and Religion are  to abide their total life according to the  teachings of God. No one has  the right to separate the state from  religion - otherwise, we are  creating two gods: One god for our daily  life and one god for the  spiritual life. This type of approach is  totally rejected and  unacceptable. In Islām, God created the whole  universe. He is the Real  Legislator of all systems of life for us and He  knows exactly what we  need. He legislated the Shariah (Islāmic Law) -  that we should abide  by. Then and only then we will live in peace and  harmony in this life  and the hereafter.Q: I heard that there is something called Seerah. Would you kindly tell me what it is?A:  Generally speaking, Seerah  means the life history of someone. Any time  Muslims talk about the  Seerah, they mean the biography of Prophet  Muhammad. Muslims are to  study the Seerah of the </blockquote>

Verification: Awruddata maasa keeyada?

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