Dear Mr. Stevenson
You wrote “How would you suggest for me (or anyone) to "KNOW" what Islam is about if he/she does not study the book by which the faith is defined!”
There are five pillars of Islam. Faith, prayer, zakah (paying a percentage of one’s wealth), fasting, and pilgrimage to Makkah if one can. Some are more important than others (http://www.iad.org) The Holy Quran challenged the Arabs in their language at the time and documented some of the significant events in previous religions… like Moses Parting the sea, and the Israelites arguing with God and getting lost in the Sinai desert for 40 years (I think)… so, I do not think that you can learn about Islam by only reading the Holy Qur’an. But I could be wrong in that.
For a Muslim or a non-Muslim to understand Islam, he / she needs to learn about the five pillars of Islam. Then try to understand the Holy Qur’an and not the other way around, but that is what I think.
You wrote “I appreciate that very much. Believe me I am not out there to get you or other Moslems, I am just trying to point out what Quran says (which is the ultimate authority in understanding Islam), and then ask why Quran states matters that do not make sense in this day and age, and why people are following what Quran says if it provides a framework to (for example) inflict pain on one's wife (simply because a man feels she is not following Islam the way he wants her to do, without giving the same right to the wife! Or why Moslems are allowed to kill and destroy non-Moslems simply because they do not believe in Allah, or how Islam views God to be, etc.). Once again as honest as I can possibly be I am just trying to find out and understand why Quran says the things I have pointed out. Your help - as a Moslem - who believes in Quran (and therefore must understand it well) is greatly appreciated beyond I can possibly express. “
Mr. Stevenson, the assumption that I understand Qur’an well is not correct. Believe you me, I wish that was, but it is not correct. Hence, I am unable to provide explanations to some of the questions that you and others post. I simply elect to believe that there must be some wisdom in it that I do not know at this time.
You wrote “Shouldn’t Moslems practice what Quran tells them to do? Or is it that some verses meant to be practiced and some others need to just be ignored? Are you implying a Moslem should use his/her judgment in selectively following certain verses and ignoring others? If so I have 2 problems with this, a) If Quran is the word of God, then how can one ignore some of his words, and follow others, and b) Terrorists such as the Talibans, or Osaman’s network will continue to exist justifying their actions on specific verses of Quran and claiming them to be words from God.”
I am not implying that we can or should ignore verses of the Qur’an. What I am saying is that the Qur’an ordered Muslims to pray and fast and so on, however, the verse of beating one’s wife can be viewed as a guide and not necessarily an order. What I mean is, the verse did not state for example that the husband should discuss the matter with the wife, so, are we to assume that the husband and wife do not talk to each other…! And that the husband should immediately act according to the verse in Qur’an ! or, is the verse the last option the husband can utilize if he wishes to after all else fails ?
You wrote “If it is meant to be a ”general guild line for Moslems as the other alternative might be as you have indicated, then that is also the exact point and question I am trying to understand? Why does Quran provide a framework for a man to beat his wife (wives), and not providing the same right for the woman? What type of a guideline is this that a man can beat his wife if he feels she is not obeying him (in terms of his interpretation of Islam and Quran)? I am sure people like you would not take advantage of this guideline, but can you see how Moslem men can abuse their wives under the umbrella of this specific Islamic guideline?”
I do not know why is that. But as a believing Muslim, I accept that God must have His own wisdom in it.
You wrote “With all due respect, that is exactly the logic used by the types of Taliban, and Osaman Bin Laden, and other terrorists. They are simply saying that "...yes we know that these things that we are doing maybe bad and may not make sense to the rest of the world, but according to Quran which is the word of God, we are following what it is telling us to do, and we do not question Quran's wisdom for which it is the word of God". You are not implying that what the Taliban, and other Islamic terrorists are doing is correct, are you? Because if you selectively take the verses on killing and destruction of non-Moslems from Quran, they are following what Quran is telling them to do!”
No, I am not implying that the Taliban is doing is correct. To the contrary, what I am saying is that what they are doing is totally un-Islamic. And the argument should be for example, where in Islam does it say that women should not be educated ? or work ? where in Islam does it say that a Muslim can initiate a war against another nation and kill innocent people ? my understanding of the Islamic wars in history is that they were for the purpose of carrying the message of Islam to nations that have not heard of it… or to defend or restore lands of Muslims…
You wrote “I did look up your response to IGIT regarding those verses………….”
Mr. Stevenson, I felt that IGIT is not being sincere in his claim for the desire to know about Islam… when I posted the reasons I found for the a verse he referenced in the AL-Tawbah, he simply did not accept them… furthermore, he accused me in a post that was not addressed to me of wanting to change the God’s word… what do you call this behavior ?
It is not my ego, nor is it that I just want to hear what I want or desire to hear… there is a lot more to Islam than few out of context verses … and when someone dwells on such verses, I have to question the reasons…
Regards
Amein |
