The Importance of Peace in Islam, Islamic Ideology, NewAgeIslam.com

Islamic Ideology

The Importance of Peace in Islam

By Maulana Waris Mazhari

(Translated from Urdu by Yoginder Sikand)

Islam is a peaceful religion. It stands for peace and desires peace. The basis of Islam is peace. The word ‘Islam’ is derived from the root silm, which means ‘peace’. In this sense, a true Muslim, one who truly follows Islam, is someone who is at perfect peace, with himself and with others, a person who is a means for the welfare of others. He is someone from whom others can expect goodness, not problems or evil. The Prophet Muhammad is said to have declared, as mentioned in the Hadith collections of Tirmidhi and Nasai: ‘A true believer (mu‘min) is he from whom people’s lives and wealth are safe.’ A true Muslim is one who lives in society, rather than cut off from it, and is impelled with the overwhelming desire to bring peace to humankind. He seeks to bring others close to him, not to drive them away from him. This is why the Prophet declared, in a hadith report contained in the Sahih al-Bukhari: ‘In him there is no merit who is not familiar with others and with whom others are not familiar’.

According to a saying of the Prophet, Islam is welfare (ad-din an-nasiha). The Prophet is also quoted as having said: ‘All creatures are [members of] the family of God’ (al-khalqo ayalullah). Accordingly, a Muslim must behave with all others, fellow creatures of God, in the same way as he behaves with members of his own family. Furthermore, as a hadith report in the Sahih al-Bukhari explains, the Prophet stressed that a Muslim is one who desires for others what he desires for himself.

http://newageislam.com/the-importance-of-peace-in-islam-/islamic-ideology/d/2758

Islam’s emphasis on equal respect to all prophets and all religions, Letter to the Editor, NewAgeIslam.com

Islam and Spiritualism

Islam’s emphasis on equal respect to all prophets and all religions

By Asma Uddin

February 19, 2010

Scholar and author Omid Safi is best known to many Muslim Americans as being at the forefront of the Progressive Muslims movement, which finds in Islamic spirituality a powerful voice for social justice and pluralism. In his latest book, "Memories of Muhammad: Why the Prophet Matters" (Harper Collins), Safi explores the origins of that spirituality: the character and being of the Prophet Muhammad.

For Muslims, the book is a refreshing call to return to our spiritual roots, an element of faith that these days seems to be lost in the constant social commentary we are forced to engage in about Islam. For non-Muslims, Safi's explanation of Muhammad as the bridge between humanity and the Divine, insofar as emulating him brings one closer to God, helps explain the connection Muslims have to their Prophet. It helps others feel as devout Muslims feel. In a time when the Prophet is so deeply misunderstood, such an emotional bond can go a long way in healing inter-religious wounds.

What makes Safi's prose ingenious - indeed, what makes it especially relevant - is the way it moves back and forth between biographical details of the Prophet to the ways these historical points have been interpreted and emulated by Muslims. For instance, the Prophet's journey from Mecca to Jerusalem and his journey from Jerusalem to the Heavens to meet his Maker - considered by some to be a physical journey in one night and others to be a dream or vision - signifies first his connection to Jesus' and Moses' message and then his ultimate communion with the Divine.

The first part of this journey, along with the Prophet's meeting with Adam, Jesus, John the Baptist, Joseph, Enoch, Aaron, Moses and Abraham during the latter part, underscores the commonality of the Abrahamic faiths and the sanctity of each. Some Muslims reject this reading of Scripture, choosing instead to believe that the Qur'an supersedes rather than affirms previous revelations. While it may be true that there are theological details that the three monotheistic faiths cannot ever agree on, there is ample Qur'anic proof of the essential connection among Islam, Judaism, Christianity and a wide scope of spiritual traditions.

http://newageislam.com/islam%E2%80%99s-emphasis-on-equal-respect-to-all-prophets-and-all-religions/islam-and-spiritualism/d/2494

Suicide is totally prohibited in Islam: Ahl-e-Hadith Fanatic Maulana Sajid Mir is a deviant, Islamic Ideology, NewAgeIslam.com

Islamic Ideology

Suicide is totally prohibited in Islam: Ahl-e-Hadith Fanatic Maulana Sajid Mir is a deviant

Why Allama Sajid Mir Is Wrong? Suicide is completely

forbidden In Quran and Hadith

His/her disbelief [Kufr - Denial] makes him/her to do that! Suicide Attack and Suicide is tantamount to denying Allah, Quran and Judgment Day. No Paradise [Jannah], Virgin [Houri] or any other such blessings from Allah for those Muslims who are indulged in Suicide Bombing and Suicide Attack. It is Haraam [Unlawful Act] of the worst kind. The confusion on what is suicide and who may be targeted in war. A small minority of Muslims (who are not in the category of those who have nullified their Islam*) misunderstand the word shaheed (martyr) when it comes to war and the act of suicide. Muslims may engage in defensive wars and if they happen to die in this way, doing it for the sake of Allah, insha'Allah they die shaheed, and as we know, a shaheed may attain paradise. Some Muslims incorrectly think that suicidal bombings during war is not suicide but an act of defensive war. They see it the same as fighting with guns or swords in a war. However, shooting in a war, one goes in with the intention NOT to die. Using oneself as a walking or flying bomb, one goes in with the intention of killing oneself (and the perceived enemy).

Sometimes a Muslim may have enough knowledge to quote the hadith in which it was said that the companions of Prophet Muhammad [PBUH] would throw their bodies on top of the Prophet and were willing to take a hit for him. However, this does not mean they were intending to kill themselves! This means they were willing to perhaps take an attack to an arm or leg to prevent death to the Prophet saaws. Or that they would shield him and escort him to safety and by shielding him, preventing the enemy from striking at that moment since the Prophet couldn't be clearly seen in the crowd. Putting oneself at risk is not the same thing as intending to do an act that would surely kill oneself!

http://newageislam.com/suicide-is-totally-prohibited-in-islam--ahl-e-hadith-fanatic-maulana-sajid-mir-is-a-deviant/islamic-ideology/d/2064

Islam in America: Dangers of Excess, Extremism among Muslims, Islam and Sectarianism, NewAgeIslam.com

Islam and Sectarianism

Islam in America: Dangers of Excess, Extremism among Muslims

Unfortunately this "traditional baggage" has now entered into the ethos of the Islamic growth in America, where we find innocent Muslims being caught up in the negligence and excesses of the worldwide 'Ummah" following them in their schisms, ranging from claims of "sacred" cultural mores to disputes of the interpretation of the Sunnah (and ahâdîth) of the Prophet (saaw), to claims of the supremacy of ahâdîth over the Quran. Allah, Forbid! Then we now have claims of supremacy of one "School of Thought" over the others. And again claims of supremacy of one community over the other in the knowledge of Quran and Sunnah. How are we caught up in this? Allah forbid.

We fear that we stand in great danger of going the way of societies before us unless we pause and take heed to Allah's command:

"hold fast all together, by the rope which Allah stretches to you, and be not divided among yourselves..." (Quran 3:103)

Allah has warned: "And obey Allah and His Messenger; and fall not into disputes, lest you lose heart and your power departs..." (Quran 8:47) Allah warns in another ayah: "(their doom is) because Allah sent down the Book in truth but those who seek cause of dispute in the Book are in schism, far (from the purpose)." (Quran 2:176). As He said of the People of the Book: "there is among them a section who distorts the book with their tongues. You think that it is a part of the book, but it is no part of the book, and they say, "This is from Allah, but it is not from Allah. It is they who tell a lie against Allah." (Quran 3:48)

http://newageislam.com/islam-in-america--dangers-of-excess,-extremism-among-muslims/islam-and-sectarianism/d/1762

The History of Karbala, Islamic History, NewAgeIslam.com

Islamic History

The History of Karbala

In the name of Allah Most High, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. All Praise be to Allah Most High, the Creator, the Provider. He has no Partners, and is in no need of any. He is Alone, He made the Heavens and the Earth, and He knows what was before time, what is present and what is after. He shows the straight path to whosoever He wishes, and whoever He chooses to bless, He makes them the best among the best. O Allah, send salutations on our Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace), who is the last and final Messenger. After him there will be no Prophets to come until the Day of Judgement. Allah Most High has given him the highest excellence. On the Day of Judgement when every individual will be present, our Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) will intercede on the behalf of the Muslims. Peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace), his family, his companions and all his followers.

I bear witness that there is no one worthy of worship except Allah Most High and Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace) is His servant and His Messenger. I thank Allah Most High for giving me the strength and courage to write about Sayyiduna Imam Husain (Allah be well pleased with him).

http://newageislam.com/the-history-of-karbala-/islamic-history/d/1105

The problem of caste among Indian Muslims, Islamic Society, NewAgeIslam.com

Islamic Society

The problem of caste among Indian Muslims

Ayesha reported that the Holy Prophet used to mend his shoes, sew his clothes and work in his household just as one of you works in his own house. She also reported that he was a man among men who used to patch his clothes, milk his goats and engage himself in work. [Tirmidhi]

Zubari-b-Awam reported that the Messenger of Allah said: That one of you takes his rope and then comes with a load of wood upon his back and sells it, and that thereby Allah guards his face, is better for him than that he should beg of men whether they give him or refuse him. [Bukhari]

Meqdam-b-Ma’de Yakrab reported that the Messenger of Allah said: Never has any one eaten a better food than what he has eaten out of the labour of his own hands; and David, the Prophet of Allah, used to eat out of the labour of his own hands. [Bukhari]

Utbah-b-Munzir reported. We were near the Messenger of Allah when he recited – ‘Twa, Sin, Mim’, till he reached the story of Moses. He said: verily Moses engaged himself as a labourer for nine or ten years on condition of keeping his private parts chaste and of food for his belly. [Musnad Ahmed Bin Hanbal and Ibn Majah]

Ayesha reported that the Holy Prophet said: The purest of what you eat come from your own earnings, and your children come from your own earnings. [Tirmidhi, Nas'ai and Ibn Majah]

Abu Zarr reported that the Messenger of Allah said; O Abu Zarr! There is no wisdom like efforts, no piety like self-denial and no goodness like good conduct. [Bukhari]

http://newageislam.com/the-problem-of-caste-among-indian-muslims---/islamic-society/d/1108

Opening the Book of Islam, seeking to understand terms like kafir, mushrik, jihad and qital, Islamic Ideology, NewAgeIslam.com

Islamic Ideology

Opening the Book of Islam, seeking to understand terms like kafir, mushrik, jihad and qital

By Renuka Narayanan, Hindustan Times

October 10, 2008

Qital: The Holy Quran has Makkah Verses, spanning the first 13 years of the Messenger of Allah’s prophecy and Medina Verses spanning the next ten years, after the Hegira (departure to Medina in 622 CE). Many of the so-called jihad verses cited are from the Medina section. But, says Qasmi, such verses are about qital (literally fighting only in the course of war, moreover, war between two rulers/States/establishments) and not about jihad (which is ‘struggle’, an evolutionary journey that even incudes qital when required).

However, no individual or private group is authorised by the Quran to commit acts of violence or war even against those who have harmed them directly or indirectly. Yes, Surah Tauba 9:13 says:Ala tuqatiluna qauman nakasu Aimaanahum… (Will ye not fight people Who violated their oaths…) Says part of footnote 1261 in a Mecca edition of the Quran:

‘An appeal is made to the Muslims on various grounds: 1. The shameless disregard of treaties by the enemy.

2. The underhand plots to discredit the Holy Prophet, and turn him out of Medina as he had been turned out of Makkah. 3. The aggressive taken by the Quraish and their confederates in Medina after the Treaty of Hudaibia (February 628 CE).’ 9:14 says next: But fight them, And Allah will punish them By your hands And disgrace them, Help you to victory over them and Heal the breasts of Believers. Footnote 1262 says: “Heal the breasts of Believers: wounds that they may have sustained from the assaults, taunts and cruelty of the enemy.”

http://newageislam.com/opening-the-book-of-islam,-seeking-to-understand-terms-like-kafir,-mushrik,-jihad-and-qital-/islamic-ideology/d/867

A Quick Introduction to Islam: Not a new religion, Islamic Ideology, NewAgeIslam.com

Islamic Ideology

A Quick Introduction to Islam: Not a new religion

Daniel Masters, Isma'il Kaka and AbdurRahman R. Squires

Oct 19, 2008

Islam is not a new religion because "submission to the will of God", i.e. Islam, has always been the only acceptable religion in the sight of God. For this reason, Islam is the true "natural religion", and it is the same eternal message revealed through the ages to all of God's prophets and messengers. Muslims believe that all of God's prophets, which include Abraham, Noah, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad, brought the same message of Pure Monotheism. For this reason, the Prophet Muhammad was not the founder of a new religion, as many people mistakenly think, but he was the Final Prophet of Islam. By revealing His final message to Muhammad, which is an eternal and universal message for all of mankind, God finally fulfilled the covenant that He made with Abraham, who was one of the earliest and greatest prophets. Suffice it to say that the way of Islam is the same as the way of the prophet Abraham, because both the Bible and the Qur'an portray Abraham as a towering example of someone who submitted himself completely to God and worshipped Him without intermediaries. Once this is realized, it should be clear that Islam has the most continuous and universal message of any religion, because all prophets and messengers were "Muslims", i.e. those who submitted to God's will, and they preached "Islam", i.e. submission to the will of Almighty God.

http://newageislam.com/a-quick-introduction-to-islam--not-a-new-religion/islamic-ideology/d/902

A tribute to the Prophet’s feminist leanings becomes the target of religious and academic outrage, Islam and the Media, NewAgeIslam.com

Islam and the Media

A tribute to the Prophet’s feminist leanings becomes the target of religious and academic outrage

The Jewel of Medina was written as a tribute to the Prophet’s feminist leanings but now it’s the target of religious and academic outrage

LA Times -Washington Post

Posted online: Monday, September 01, 2008

Jones and her novel, The Jewel of Medina, are subjects of debate from Egypt to Italy to Serbia, where 1,000 Serbian-language copies were printed before the publisher backed out, too. Ironically, Jones began with a pro-Islamic mind-set when she began writing in 2002. After the September 11 attacks, she began to research the status of women under Islam. And she came to a conclusion: the Prophet supported more rights for women than do many of his modern followers.

“I wanted to tell the story of the women around Muhammad, and to honour them and him as well,” Jones said who otherwise writes on environmental issues for the Bureau of National Affairs.

She started writing a fictionalized story of Aisha, a young and much-beloved wife of the prophet. In April 2007, Random House gave Jones a $100,000 contract for the book and a sequel. Jones gave Random House a list of people who might review the book or write blurbs for it. One suggested reviewer hit the alarm switch. Denise Spellberg, who teaches Middle Eastern studies at the University of Texas and has written about Aisha, said the book was inflammatory and problematic. Spellberg then contacted several Muslim Web sites and told them to oppose the book’s publication. Spellberg also wrote in a letter to the Wall Street Journal that the book was “provocative”.

http://newageislam.com/a-tribute-to-the-prophet%E2%80%99s-feminist-leanings-becomes-the-target-of-religious-and-academic-outrage/islam-and-the-media/d/687

‘Animated’ depiction of Prophet’s life, Islamic Culture, NewAgeIslam.com

Islamic Culture

‘Animated’ depiction of Prophet’s life

Arab News

The film is set in 610 A.D, in Makkah where the Prophet (pbuh) was born into the Quraish tribe, which controlled and ruled the city. The Prophet (pbuh) is not personified; light is used to depict him instead — a feature perhaps borrowed from Mustafa Akkad’s 1977 film “The Message.” The story shows how his uncle Abu Talib, who — even though dying as a non-Muslim — remained one of Islam’s greatest supporters and cared for the Prophet (pbuh), being an orphan.

The film’s narration starts before the divine revelation and depicts the turning point of Islam when the Angel Gabriel appeared to the Prophet (pbuh) asking him to “read,” which was the first word in the Holy Qur’an. He then entrusted him the task of spreading the word of God and honoring the one God.

http://newageislam.com/%E2%80%98animated%E2%80%99-depiction-of-prophet%E2%80%99s-life/islamic-culture/d/718

Taliban threat on rise in Karachi: MQM chief Altaf, Islam,Terrorism and Jihad, NewAgeIslam.com

Islam,Terrorism and Jihad

Taliban threat on rise in Karachi: MQM chief Altaf

Altaf said, “We will not bow our heads before Taliban terrorists, rather we will face them. The conspiracy of Talibanisation is on the rise in Karachi and MQM activists should remain mentally and physically prepared to face hard times ahead.” Altaf was addressing a Workers Convention at Lal Qila Ground, Azizabad. During his telephone address, the MQM chief said that Islam espouses a message of peace and brotherhood and does not support terrorism in any form. On the contrary, the ‘religion of peace’ condemns acts of cruelty and brutality, said Altaf, who lives in London in self-imposed exile.

Ignorance: The MQM leader said: “Terrorists strangle innocent men and women, old and young and burn down female educational institutions in the name of Islam. This is ignorance. The Holy Prophet (PBUH) said that ‘it is obligatory for every man and woman to get education’.” He urged intellectuals and writers to tell the masses about ‘conspiracies of Talibanisation’. The country is going through a crisis, he said, adding that its sovereignty will be threatened if the ‘menace of Talibanisation’ was not curbed. The MQM has fulfilled it duty by informing people about the impending threat time and again, he said. “The people here [in Pakistan] were Muslims and are Muslims. What kind of Muslims do they [the Taliban] want to make us? Actually, they [the Taliban] want to bring the shariah of the Kalashnikov into force but people will not tolerate such a forced shariah,” Altaf said.

http://newageislam.com/taliban-threat-on-rise-in-karachi--mqm-chief-altaf/islam,terrorism-and-jihad/d/429

Could the Prophet call the wife ‘a utility’? And even if he did, can we treat our wives today as utilities?, Debate, NewAgeIslam.com

Debate

Could the Prophet call the wife ‘a utility’? And even if he did, can we treat our wives today as utilities?

4. Serving her husband. First of all by carrying out what is required in his house, such as bringing up and educating the children, preparing meals and housework, etc.

As the Ayah quoted above (Al-Nisa:34) shows that it is obligatory upon her to serve her husband unrestrictedly, including: serving him, travelling along with him, making herself available to him, and so on – just as it is obligatory to obey the parents, since the obedience due from her to the parents transfers to the husband.

5. Keeping the husband’s secrets, particularly what occurs between him and her in their private life. Disclosing the husband’s secrets will hurt him and anger him and this contradicts obedience to him and seeking to please him. Furthermore, preserving his secrets is one of the duties of the righteous and obedient woman, as Allah Almighty says, “Guarding that which (Allah has commanded to guard) in the absence of their husbands.” Part of guarding what they are to guard in the absence of their husbands is that they should not broadcast their secrets.

http://newageislam.com/could-the-prophet-call-the-wife-%E2%80%98a-utility%E2%80%99?-and-even-if-he-did,-can-we-treat-our-wives-today-as-utilities?/debate/d/444