Revert Help Team www.reverthelp.com

Anonymous asked:

Can you explain the subject of the creation of good and evil by Allah and attributing of evil to the soul?

Allah’s creation of good and evil:

It is Allah Almighty who creates all deeds, whether good or evil, that man does with his will and volition. There is no creator other than Him and it is only for Him to create. However, man desires good and evil with his own will, and therefore he is responsible for his actions. Let us try to point out this reality with two examples:

It is Allah Almighty who gives the human spirit the ability to see, establishes a connection between the spirit and the eye, and allows light to enter the eye factory as a raw material to enable seeing. Human will and power have no effect on these actions. Therefore, it is only Allah (the Creator of everything) who creates the deed of seeing. However, Allah Almighty has made it permissible for a person to look at some things and forbidden at other things. Thus, man does a good deed by looking at the permissible things and does an evil deed by looking at what the forbidden things. So, it is Allah (swt) who creates the two deeds of seeing that result in good and evil.

Likewise, it is Allah Almighty who creates the deed of walking. When a person desires to go anywhere or any direction, the feet begin to move towards the place he chooses. This movement of man is an optional act. The difference between the optional act and an imperative act such as the rotation of the earth around the sun is obvious.

Allah Almighty did not give the sun the will to make the world move as it wished. For this reason, the world has been rotating in the orbit determined by Allah for billions of years. However, Almighty Allah left the determination of the direction of man’s act of walking to his will. Although Allah creates the act of walking, since man prefers the place to go based on his own will, the responsibility belongs to him, too. So, when a person goes to a place ordered by Allah with the deed of walking created by Allah Almighty, he does a good deed, and when he goes to a place Allah has forbidden, he does an evil deed. We can compare these two examples with other deeds of man.

Therefore, that good and evil come from Allah means that He creates all the deeds we do.

Guidance and Heresy:

Since good and evil are from Allah, it is only He who guides people to the true path and leads them to heresy. People only cause one another’s guidance and heresy. Some people who misunderstand the creation of guidance and heresy by Allah Almighty say, “Guidance is from Allah. Unless He gives guidance to someone, he cannot enter the right path.” Thus, they both block off the way of warning and guiding others and want to justify themselves for their faults.

Let us state the following first: It is possible for Allah Almighty to guide whomever He wills. He is the only one who makes people feel attain happiness and leads them to heresy. However, Allah, al-Khaaliq (the Creator) and the al-Hakeem (the All-Wise) creates heresy in a servant because that servant abuses his own partial will. Otherwise, Allah Almighty will not lead His servant to that path unless he directs his abilities to heresy. The same thing is also valid for guidance. A person expects the result from Allah after making all the necessary attempts for sustenance because only He is ar-Razzaaq (the Provider). We cannot guarantee obtaining sustenance by acting in accordance with causes perfectly because a person who conveys the commandments and prohibitions of Allah to some people in the best way cannot be sure that those people will be guided to the true path. For, it is Allah Almighty who is the only Haadi (the Guide). Allah’s guiding whom He wills means a person who follows and obeys the conditions of guidance will be guided by Allah if He wills.

Otherwise, it does not mean not to act in accordance with the causes of guidance. This way of thinking is like expecting crops without sowing seeds in the field.

At this point, an issue needs to be explained. It is certain that he who does not sow seeds in his field will not get crops.

However, a person who does everything properly to get crops will have a ninety-nine percent chance of getting the crops. There might be a disaster such as flood and drought with a chance of one percent. The reason for the possibility of not getting results, even if it is a small percentage, is based on the wisdom of a person’s need to take refuge in the Almighty Allah and to beg Him. This fact is also valid for the issue of guidance.

All Good Being from Allah And All Evil Being from the Soul

We will try to explain this reality with a simile based on the rule that examples serve as binoculars to watch the stars of reality:

Suppose that a sultan gave one of his officers a sufficient amount of gold and ordered him to print copies of the Quran and distribute them with some of that gold, to build a mosque like Suleymaniye for the worship of the people with some of it, a social complex like the Fatih complex for the people to progress in the field of science and knowledge with some of it, and a barracks like Selimiye to enable the soldiers to prepare in the best way against the enemy with the remaining part of it. Can this officer say, “I did all these by myself” for the good results that would arise if he followed the orders given by sultan? Can he say, “I printed all these copies of the Quran; this mosque, social complex and barracks are all my works”?

However, if that officer acted contrarily to the orders of the sultan and printed and distributed books that would deprave the creed and ethics of people instead of distributing copies of the Quran with those gold coins, built places of disgrace that would corrupt people instead of building a mosque and a complex and established camps that would make young people hostile to the state and the nation instead of a barracks and consequently if community life was turned upside down as a result of all these activities, could this man say, “The sultan did all these things because he gave me the gold coins to do them”?

In both cases, it is the sultan who gave the monetary fund. When this fund is used based on the orders of the sultan, all honor belongs to him. If it is used contrarily to the sultan’s orders, all the evil and destruction that will arise belongs to the person who used the fund in the wrong way.

Almighty Allah has also given wonderful faculties such as mind, memory and imagination to everybody and many feelings such as seeing, hearing, fear and love, each of which opens the door to a different world. He has created the size and field of vision of the eye with His will, and wisely determined what to look at and what not to look at, and left the choice to the partial will of man. In the same way, He has determined what man should listen to and not listen to, what he should say and what he should not say. He has also promised that if all these organs and faculties are used based on His command, He will bestow eternal bliss upon man in Paradise as a reward.

Thus, when man uses this great capital bestowed by Allah in accordance with His consent, he should attribute the worldly and otherworldly consequences to Allah and be grateful to Him. The benefits of delicious grape clusters are not sought in the dry peduncles of that grape; by taking the reality of this aphorism as a guide, one should not usurp the blessings bestowed upon him by Allah. Anyone who uses this great capital granted by Allah Almighty contrarily to His consent will definitely be fully responsible for the evil results he/she will obtain.

Anonymous asked:

What is the state of the previous sins and good deeds of a person who becomes a Muslim?

All sins of a person who becomes a Muslim are forgiven except the violation of other people’s rights. The good deeds of a person who becomes a believer do not go for nothing; besides, all of his previous sins are forgiven.

“Unless he repents, believes, and works righteous deeds, for Allah will change the evil of such persons into good, and Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” (al-Furqan, 25/70)

Repentance means a voluntary renunciation of all kinds of denial, rebellion and evil by a person after his regret as a result of heart-searching, and a determination not to commit them again. The Quran regards such a repentance as very valuable in many verses; the Quran states that if a person regrets for the evil deed he has committed and decides to give it up with a strong will and then abandons that evil deed without committing it again, that repentance is enough for all wrong beliefs, thoughts, bad feelings and behaviors, including the biggest sins such as denial and polytheism, and enough for the forgiveness of his sins due to that evil deed. As it is stated here, giving up denial becomes possible with belief and giving up evil deeds becomes possible with doing good and righteous deeds instead of them. However, since all these are possible if they are based on a psychological motivation, the Prophet (pbuh) states the following:

“Repentance means regretting a sin and asking for forgiveness.”

It is stated in verse 70 of the chapter of al-Furqan that Allah will convert the sins of someone who repents like that into good deeds. This last expression of the verse is generally interpreted in three ways in tafsir books:

a) Allah converts the sins of their bad deeds they commit before repenting into thawabs and He rewards those evil deeds as if they are good deeds on the Day of Judgment. According to this interpretation, not only are the sins forgiven but are also transformed into thawabs. This interpretation is considered excessive and the verse is also interpreted as follows, which we prefer too:

b) Allah turns their bad state before they repent to good states when they repent; and after that, they believe instead of denying; and they tend to obedience and piety instead of rebellion and sins. Although they were bad people before repenting, they become good people and good believers thanks to repentance and with the help of Allah.

c) Shawkani summarizes the views of some Companions and other scholars regarding that sentence of the verse as follows: The “change and converting” (tabdil) here means only “forgiveness”. That is, Allah will forgive their sins in question; He will not convert them into good deeds (IV, 103). However, there is no difference between the last two interpretations.

Anonymous asked:

How can the statement of Ghazali that some sins can cause man to die without belief be explained? What can be done to die as a believer?

First of all, we should say that the statements of Ghazali and similar scholars about bad ending and dying without belief aim to advise people to have a balance of fear and hope, with fear overweighing a bit. What they say expresses is a possibility, not certainty.  

It is wrong to regard the things that are possible to happen as things that are certain to happen. Therefore, if one side is overestimated while trying to maintain a balance of hope and fear, it can cause a chaos that is difficult to compensate.

There are serious warnings in the Quran that both those who are not afraid of Allah and those who abandon hope of His mercy may face the danger of going out of the boundaries of the religion.

1. Any sin, especially major sins, that shakes the belief of a person with continuity and persistence may lead man to a bad ending and dying as an unbeliever – if he does not repent. No matter what the sin is, if it is done thoughtlessly and recklessly, it damages man’s consciousness of belief, causes the love and respect of Allah in his conscience to be lost and he may face the risk of a bad ending if he dies immediately after that.

As a matter of fact, The following is stated in a hadith:

“A sin that is repented will get smaller even if it is big. On the other hand, a minor sin that is committed continuously will not remain as a minor sin and will get bigger.”

As it is understood from the statement above, what matters is not to lose one’s respect and love to Allah and to take refuge in His mercy immediately if he commits a sin by obeying his soul and Satan.  

It is understood from the explanations above that it is not possible to say “This or that sin leads man to unbelief” in principle. However, there is a way that leads man to unbelief in every sin. In that case, it is a requirement of belief to change one’s way without walking on that road very much.  

Imam Ghazali also points out that there are views stating that “those who claim that they are saints by lying can face such a danger.” (see Ihya, 1/130)

2. If a person who enters the grave without belief though he seems to have done good deeds, it is definitely because of his insincerity. It is definite that nobody will go to Hell if he has not deserved it.  Allah’s endless mercy and justice will not allow such injustice. Since there are definite statements in tens of verses that “Allah is never unjust in the least degree”, it will be a very bad thought about Allah – God forbid – and it is a mistake that does not comply with belief.

3. It is essential to strengthen belief a little more every day, to try to do good deeds regularly, to try to refrain with might and main from prohibitions, to repent and ask for forgiveness immediately if one happens to commit a sin in order to enter the grave with more confident steps.

As a matter of fact, according to Imam Ghazali, it is a very rare thing if a person who has obeyed the orders and prohibitions of the Islamic religion throughout his life goes to the grave as an unbeliever. This is probably because Allah has seen his insincerity. For Allah’s promise that “Allah will not be unfair to anybody” exists in several verses n the Quran. It does not fit Allah not to keep His promise and He does not need it at all.

Badiuzzaman Said Nursi states that there are two strong ways to enter the grave with belief as follows:

“First Sign: People of discovery and research have decreed that as investigative belief approaches from the knowledge of certainty to the reality of certainty, it will not be removed and state the following: At the time of death, Satan can cause delusions only in the mind by suggesting it some doubts and causing it to hesitate. This kind of investigative belief is not only in the mind. It spreads to the heart, spirit and the faculties so extensively that Satan cannot reach those places; the belief of such people is protected from being removed. It is a way that becomes a means of attaining investigative belief and means to attain the truth by discovering and witnessing through perfect sainthood.

This way is peculiar to the selected of the most selected people; it means witnessing belief.”

“The Second Way: To approve the realities of belief with the knowledge of certainty that is at the level of necessity and clarity with the harmony of the intellect and the heart in an evidential and Quranic way with the blessing of revelation in terms of belief in what is unseen…”

Anonymous asked:

Will you give information about conceit/pride that makes man exit belief and that does not?

Belief means to trust, to believe heartily in the news that is given, to approve the one that brings the news, to believe in something without hesitation, to believe that there is no god but Allah, that Hz. Muhammad (pbuh) is Allah’s slave and Messenger, to believe in Allah’s angels, books, the Day of Judgment, qadar and that Allah created the good and evil. (Bukhari, Iman, 37; Muslim, Iman, 1, 5, 7; Abu Dawud, Sunnah, 15)

As an Islamic term, “belief” means to believe without hesitation that the news, religious principles and decrees that are definitely known to be brought by the Prophet Hz. Muhammad from Allah are true and real and to approve and express all of them by understanding and accepting them. That is, to believe in and to accept Allah, that Hz. Muhammad is the last Prophet, in the Islamic principles, decrees and news that are known as “religious requirements”, and to express them by the tongue.

Religious requirements are the Islamic principles, decrees and news reported from the Prophet (pbuh) through tawatur and known without needing any rational evidence like the fact that the Quran is Allah’s speech, that resurrection after that and life in the hereafter are true, that deeds of worship like prayer, fasting, zakah and hajj are fard and that fornication, wine, interest, murder and telling lies are haram. It is necessary for every Muslim to believe without hesitation in such religious principles that are definite. Therefore, as a religious term, belief is more specific in terms of the things that it is related to but more general and comprehensive according to linguists.

In essence, belief is something related to the heart and conscience; therefore, what is essential according to linguists and in religious terminology is approving it, which is necessary to exist in the reality of belief. However, what is the source of this approving and expressing? What are the decrees that form the reality of belief? Is it only the heart? Is it only the tongue? Or, both of them? Or, the acts and righteous deeds done by the organs in addition to both of them? There are differences of opinion among Islamic scholars regarding the issue. Therefore, many madhhabs of creed emerged.

a) According to some scholars of Ahl as-Sunnah, religious belief means to approve with the heart and to express by the tongue that all of the things that are definitely known to be brought by the Prophet Hz. Muhammad from Allah are true and real. According to this definition, belief has two parts: one of them is approving, the other is expressing (stating). However, those parts are not essential parts that are at the same level. For, “approving by the heart” is the essential part that cannot be abandoned by any means, but expressing by the tongue is the “additional part” that can be abandoned due to obligatory states like dumbness and death risk. If approval by the heart, which is regarded as the essential part, is no longer present, that person exits belief and becomes an unbeliever. For, belief without approving by the heart is not possible by any means. However, a person who cannot express his belief due to threats of death does not exit belief and does not become an unbeliever since his heart is full of belief. (an-Nahl, 16/106) This madhhab, which is known as “Qawl al-Mashhur”, is adopted by some Ahl as-Sunnah kalam scholars, Shams al-Aimma as-Sarakhsi, Fakhr al-Islam Pazdawi, who are Hanafi imams, and other Hanafi fiqh scholars. It is even narrated that Abu Hanifa also preferred this view. (Fiqh al-Akbar Aliyyul-Qari Sharh, p. 76-77; Sharh al-Maqarad, II, 182, Sharh al-Aqaid an-Nasafiyya, p. 436438)

b) According to “the majority of the researchers” of Ahl as-Sunnah, belief consists of approving what is necessary to believe by the heart. In that case, the only part of belief is approving by the heart. A person who has such unhesitant approval in his heart is a believer in the eye of Allah Almighty. Expressing it with the tongue is not an essential or additional part of belief.

However, the approval in the heart can be known only if it is expressed with the tongue; otherwise, it is not possible to know whether a person is a believer or not; therefore, it is necessary to express belief with the tongue for the application of worldly and legal decrees. According to this principle, those who really approve belief in their hearts but do not express it with their tongues are not regarded as Muslims in the world and religious decrees are not applied to them but they are regarded as believers in the eye of Allah. Religious nass support this view:

“…For such He has written Faith in their hearts…” (al-Mujadala, 58/22);

“…For not yet has Faith entered your hearts…” (al-Hujurat, 49/14 and an-Nahl, 16/106, etc)

This is the preference of Imam Abu Mansur al-Maturidi. Imam Abul-Hasan al-Ash’ari, Imamul-Haramayn al-Juwayni and Imam Fakhruddin ar-Razi also hold this view. (Ali Arslan Aydın, İslâm İnançları, I, 164-165).

The Relationship Between Belief (Iman) and Deed (Amal):

According to what is understood from the information given and the explanations made above, both linguists and the majority of Ahl as-Sunnah scholars hold the view that “the reality of belief” consists of approving by the heart the existence and oneness of Allah, the prophethood of Hz. Muhammad (pbuh) and that he is honest about what he brought from Allah and conveyed to people. Many verses and sound hadiths show this decree clearly. As a matter of fact, the Quran always uses the word ”belief (faith)” related to the hearts of people:

“…For such He has written Faith in their hearts…” (al-Mujadala, 58/22)

“…For not yet has Faith entered your hearts.” (al-Hujurat, 49/14)

“… his heart remaining firm in Faith… ” (an-Nahl, 16/106).

When Hz. Usama killed a person thinking that he was an unbeliever though he said “La ilaha illallah (There is no god but Allah)”, the Prophet (pbuh) asked him, “Why did you kill him though he uttered ‘Kalima at-Tawhid’?” Usama said, “He uttered it in order to save himself.” The Prophet asked, “Did you rip his heart open and look (whether he had belief or not)?”(Tirmidhi, Qadar, 7; Ibn Majah, Muqaddima, 13; Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, II, 4).

According to the same scholars, “expressing with the tongue” is not a part of the reality of belief as it is stated above; it is a condition that is necessary to know whether a person is Muslim or not in order to apply the worldly decrees of Islam to him.

To act in accordance with Islamic decrees, that is, to practice the religious decrees that one believes is not included in the reality of belief according to the view of the majority of Ahl as-Sunnah imams and scholars. Along with the evidences mentioned above, the following muhkam (unambiguous) verses indicate it clearly and definitely:

“O ye who believe! Fasting is prescribed to you…” (al-Baqara, 2/183)

In the verse above and similar ones (see al-Baqara, 2/153, 187; Aal-i Imran 3/59; al-Anfal, 8/20, 27; an-Nur, 24/21; al-Ahzab, 33/70; al-Jumu'a, 62/9), the first address is “O those who believe”; after that, the orders and prohibitions that believers need to do and not to do are stated. In that case, deed that is positive or negative, is something separate and it is not included in the reality of belief.  

“But those who believe and do deeds of righteousness, We shall soon admit to Gardens…”(an-Nisa, 4/57)

Righteous deeds are attributed to belief in the verse above and similar ones (al-Baqara, 2/227; Yunus 10/9; Hud, 11/23; Luqman, 31/8; Fussilat 41/8; al-Buruj, 85/ 11; al-Bayyina, 98/7; al-Ankabut, 29/7, 9, 58; Fatir, 35/7; ash-Shura, 42/22); According to the Arabic grammar rule, only things whose meanings are different are attributed to one another. That is, attribution necessitates that the thing that is attributed and the thing to which something is attributed have different meanings. In that case, deed is different from belief and it is not part of it.

“But he who works deeds of righteousness, and has faith,…” (Taha, 20/ 112)

In the verse above, the acceptance of deeds is bound to the condition of having belief.

It is a known rule that what is conditioned (that is, deed) cannot be included in the condition (that is, belief). In that case, belief and deed are different things.

“If two parties among the Believers fall into a quarrel, make ye peace between them…” (al-Hujurat, 49/9)

Since the committers of the major sins who fight each other are mentioned as believers in the verse above, it is clearly stated that belief and the deed of killing a person, which is haram, can be present in a believer and hence that all kinds of deeds are different from belief and that they are elements that are separate from belief.

In addition to the clearness of the verse above and similar ones,  it is unanimously agreed by Islamic scholars that belief (the approval in the heart) is a prerequisite for the deeds of worshipping, each of which are righteous deeds, to be accepted by Allah. Therefore, a deed of worshipping done by an unbeliever has no value and thawab. For, it is necessary for him to become a believer first and to worship and do righteous deeds after belief. Deeds done without belief are not acceptable and valid in the eye of Allah. 

According to the definite religious evidence mentioned above and the consensus of scholars, it is clearly understood that deed is not a part of the reality and essence of belief. (For more information, see bk. Fiqh al-Akbar Aliyyul-Qari Sharh, p. 80; Tafsir Kabir, I/249; Sharhul-Maqasid, II/187; Sharhul-Mawaqif, III/248)

Although deed is not a part and principle of belief, there is a close relationship between deed and belief. For, worship and righteous deeds improve the belief of a person. They make man gain the eternal boons promised by Allah and informed by the Messenger of Allah (pbuh), and divine consent. In that case, it is necessary to worship Allah and to do good and righteous deeds in order to shine the light of belief in the heart, to strengthen and to make it perfect. For, a belief whose signs/traces are not seen in the external life and in community is like a tree without fruit. Both the religion and belief, which is the foundation of the religion, have an aim and purpose. This aim is high ethics, to be useful to people and to attain the consent of Allah. The consent of Allah is not attained only through belief, which is related to the heart and conscience, but with worshipping, righteous deeds and high ethics, which are the fruits of that belief. In fact, a belief that does not exit the field of heart can be of no practical and vital importance. For, it means to imprison belief in the heart and not to benefit from it.  

Real belief must be the driving power that leads its owner to what is good, true and righteous deeds; its works must be transferred to life and must enlighten the believer and what is around him. This can be possible only through practicing what one believes, that is, through worshipping Allah, doing good and right things called righteous deeds and attaining high ethics. In that case, since worshipping and deeds done without belief are not accepted (and are regarded as sign of hypocrisy), a belief that does not lead a person to deeds and worshipping is not sufficient.  

In that case, in order to improve belief and to make it perfect, it is necessary to adhere to Allah’s orders, to avoid His prohibitions; that is, righteous deeds are necessary. Only those who do so can attain the consent of Allah and eternal bliss. Therefore, deed is not included in the reality of belief but there is no doubt that it is included in the perfection of belief. Therefore, - as it is stated above – salaf scholars, hadith scholars and some madhhabs imams regard deed to be included in belief, that is, perfection of belief.

Anonymous asked:

Does a person who attributes space (place) to Allah become an unbeliever according to Abu Hanifa's book "Fiqhul-Akbar"?

Abu Hanifa’s book that explains principles of belief is called “al-Fiqhul-Akbar”. Abu Hanifa states that it is not possible to attribute space and place to Allah, who is free of space and place.

Various works were made on this book. One of them is the explanation (sharh) made by Aliyyul-Qari. Aliyyul-Qari explains the words of Abu Hanifa mentioned above as follows:

Allah states the following: «He is the Irresistible (watching) from above over his worshippers…» Allah’s superiority over His creatures is not in terms of space and place. On the contrary, it is in terms of being superior and lofty. As a matter of fact, the view adopted by Ahl as-Sunnah wal-Jama’ah is like that. In addition, Mutazila, Kharijites and other people of bid’ah also hold the same view. However, some people who attribute direction and side to Allah and the group of Mujassimah are excluded. Allah is free and away from what they say.

Some hadiths and verses indicating His attribute of loftiness and superiority are evidence that will prove Allah’s attribute of loftiness for the scholars of salaf. However, all of them are interpreted as the loftiness expressed by His attributes of ghalib (winner), qahir (supreme) and hakim (dominant).

The issue narrated from Abu Muti’ al-Balhi is like this: When he asked Abu Hanifa the state of a person who says, «I do not know whether my Lord is in the sky or on the earth», Abu Hanifa answered as follows: He becomes an unbeliever. For, Allah said, «(Allah) Most Gracious is firmly established on the Throne (of authority).» His Throne is over the seven skies.

Sheikh al-Imam Ibn Abdussalam states in his book called “Hall ar-Rumuz” that Abu Hanifa said, «A person who says I do not know whether my Lord is in the sky or on the earth» becomes an unbeliever. For, this statement gives a wrong idea that Allah Almighty is in a place. If a person holds a wrong view like this, he is from Mushabbiha. He likens Allah to His creatures, which can never be true. Abu Hanifa states that we need to avoid things that will mean attributing space and place to Allah.

Anonymous asked:

Does a person who believes have to utter kalima ash-shahada (say it in Arabic)?

Belief is something related to the heart. Therefore, a person who believes inthe existence and oneness of Allah, and the principles of belief, he is a believer even if he does not utter kalima ash-shahada.

Belief is a property belonging to the heart; therefore, it is not necessary for a person to express his belief by his tongue in order to be a believer. That is, he is a believer if he believes with his heart but does not utter it with his tongue. Therefore, he does not have to utter his belief by his tongue, and witnesses are not necessary.

If a person says by his tongue that he believes and practices all of the orders of Islam but does not believe by his heart, he is not regarded as a believer in the eye of Allah.  If a person whom we know as an unbeliever andhave buried in the cemetery of unbelievers has died as a believer, he is a believer in the eye of Allah though he is an unbeliever in our eye. That is, what is essential is what is in the heart.   

However, it is sunnah for a person who believes by the heart to utter it by the tongue. It will be appropriate for him to say that he is a believer and inform others about it so that other believers will have good thoughts about him, apply the decrees of Islam to him in his life and when he dies.

On the other hand, when a person does the things that are regarded as signs of being a believer and a Muslim, people will be witnesses for him. If a person who is not known to be a Muslim is seen while performing a prayer even once, Islamic decrees are applied to him and he is buried in the cemetery of Muslims when he dies. For, prayer (salah) is among the signs of Islam.

That is, the most important issue for a person is to believe by the heart. It is Sunnah for himto utter it by the tongue. The existence of witnesses is important in terms of applying Islamic principles. 

From this point of view, the belief and Islam of a person who conceals that he is a believer due to various reasons and who practices Islam secretly is valid.

Anonymous asked:

Will you answer the claims that the stories of the prophets are taken from other divine books?

In fact, that any news or beauty existing in a nation or culture also exists in one of the true religions does not show that this religion is influenced by that culture, but that its source is divine revelation. Over time, its relation with divine revelation may have been forgotten and it may have been regarded as the culture of that nation because Allah sent thousands of prophets to humanity. The first man is also the first prophet. In this respect, the fact that the news given by religions exists also in another culture shows that its origin is based on divine revelation. However, over time, the revelation may have been forgotten and it may have been regarded to belong to a culture or a person.

As for your question, since other heavenly books are also the books of Allah, it is quite natural that the same stories exist in all of them. It is not very difficult for those who do not believe in the Quran to regard them as excerpts.

However, another characteristic of the Quran is being muhaymin. It means to control, to supervise another. We also learn from the Quran that the Quran is a muhaymin/controller for the previous heavenly books:

“And We have sent down to you the previous books, both confirming and controlling, this book as the truth.” (al-Maida, 5/48)

Indeed, when the Quran deals with the same stories existing in the Bible, it both confirms and corrects them. It is normal for those who claim that the stories in the Bible were also borrowed from previous mythological epics and who cannot think of a deity who knows the past and the future to express those facts in divine books to slander the Quran too. Anyone with intelligence and conscience who does not miss this point will have no difficulty in understanding that this claim of excerpt is a product of imagination.

Thus, the fact that some of the stories in the Quran also exist in other divine books shows that they are related with the same divine source, not excerpts. If what is mentioned in other divine books is in accordance with the story in the Quran, it means that the Quran confirms it. If it is contrary, it means that the Quran corrects it.

Anonymous asked:

Why did Allah send the Quran as the last book?

The highest level of knowledge is given at university; can we say it should be given to elementary school children, too? Humanity is like an educational institution. Every era is like a department of this school. The teachers of those departments are prophets. Humanity has reached the level of university and has developed the ability to receive the perfect lessons of Islam by receiving lessons from the teachers of humanity since Adam. Therefore, the last and perfect religion came in the end. In elementary school, the essence of mathematics is present. However, it is taught according to the level of elementary school children and the teacher teaches them what they can understand not everything that he/she knows.

The other prophets taught humanity according to its level and educated it. When they attained the sufficient level, the religion of Islam and its lofty prophet was sent. There is no trial and error here. Books and shari'as were sent wisely based on the level of nations.

General Evaluation of the Books

None of the divine books that had been revealed before the Qur’an and that are present today are the original copies that Allah revealed to His prophets. The original copies of those books had been lost in the course of time and had been rewritten by people. For this reason, some superstitions and wrong beliefs had been added to them.

For example, it is among the historical facts that, the Torah, could not be protected by Jews, who had a captivity life along the centuries, and who also had fallen into idolatry by losing their faith after Hazrat Moses (peace be upon him); and the copy that is present today had been written by some clergymen long after Hazrat Moses; yet, it was accepted as a book of religion again as if it was the original copy of the Torah. It is apparent that a book which appeared after such a long and complex era cannot be the original copy that had been revealed to Hazrat Moses. Therefore, the present copy includes some accusations and slanders that do not befit prophets and judgments that are contrary to the spirit of the religion of oneness (tawhid).

The Psalms (Zabur),which had been revealed to Hazrath Davud (peace be upon him), underwent the same process as the Torah.

As for the Gospel,Hazrat Eesa (Jesus) (peace be upon him) had not dictated the verses that had been revealed to him because he became a prophet when he was 30 years old, and his task of prophethood ended when he was 33. During that short period of time, he tried to guide the people by wandering from one village to another and from one city to another. And during his last days, he was constantly being followed by Roman rulers because of the provocations of the Jews. Under those circumstances, he could find neither enough time to dictate the Gospel, nor a possibility for it. Thus, the Gospels which are present today are called by their writers’ names (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) and they look like siyar (a book in which the lives of prophets are told) books which include sermons and talks that Hazrat Eesa had given his apostles. Besides, those who had written them were not the first believers who were the apostles of Hazrat Eesa, but they were those who had seen the apostles and listened from them to the divine words that had been revealed to Hazrat Eesa.

There are some differences in terms of content and narration in the present Gospels.As a matter of fact, those Gospels had been accepted by a clerical council, consisting of one thousand people, which had gathered in Iznik (Nicaea) in 325 B.C. That council had searched hundreds of Bibles, and with the agreement of 318 members, they accepted the 4 Gospels in which it is claimed that Hazrat Eesa has the aspect of godhead. And they annihilated others by burning them.

As it is seen, the principle that Hazrat Eesa was the son of God (God forbid) was accepted by a council decision years after Hazrat Eesa died. Some Christian churches did not even obey that decision.

So, from this point of view, it is not possible to say that the present 4 Gospels are in accordance with the original Gospel which was revealed to Hazrat Eesa.

Since the divine books other than the Qur’an were distorted, why does the religion of Islam order us to have belief in for them?

As Muslims, we believe in Hz. Moses, Hz. Dawud and Hz. Isa (Jesus) and the divine books that were sent to them; the Torah, the Psalms and the Bible and we have no doubt that they have no ruling against the true religion of oneness. However, these books could not be protected and thus they were distorted.

Now, we cannot say that the books that the Jews and Christians have no parts related with the revelation that were sent to the prophets. However, there is also no doubt that these books contain superstitious and false beliefs. Thus, we always deal with these books cautiously. We accept that the rulings in them which are in compliance with the Qur’an are the products of revelation.We consider the rulings that are against the Qur’an as later additions. We remain silent when the information in them is neither in compliance with nor opposite the Qur’an. We will neither accept nor reject them in that case. For, there is a possibility that the information in these books can either be revelation or not.  

Abu Hurayrah (RA) said the following on this issue:

«The people of the book used to read the Torah in Hebrew language. And they used to translate it to Muslims in Arabic. On this issue, the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said to his companions the following:

Do not approve or reject the words of the People of the Book. Say ye:“We believe, in Allah and the revelation given to us and to Abraham Isma`il Isaac Jacob and the Tribes and that given to Moses and Jesus and that given to (all) Prophets from their Lord we make no difference between one and another of them and we bow to Allah (in Islam).” (al-Baqara, 2/136)

How has the Qur’an remained free from distortion?

The Qur’an, the last holy scripture of Allah and His Divine address to all the humankind, was revealed verse by verse and chapter by chapter in 23 years. The Prophet would recite the verses and the chapters that were revealed to him to his companions, and they would memorize them and some would write them down. Apart from that, the Prophet had scribes of revelation. They were especially responsible for writing the revealed verses and the chapters.

The Prophet was informed via the Archangel Gabriel about where the revealed verse and the chapter are to be placed, how they are to be ordered in the Qur’an, and The Prophet would then describe it to the scribes of revelation and get what is necessary done. The entire Qur’an was written in the lifetime of the Prophet and it was established what would be placed where. Moreover, Gabriel would come every Ramadan and would recite to the Prophet the verses and the chapters revealed up to that time from the beginning. In the last Ramadan before the Prophet passed away, Gabriel came again, and this time they recited the Qur’an twice. The first time, Gabriel recited, and the Prophet listened; and the next time, the Prophet recited and Gabriel listened. Thus, the Qur’an took its final form.

However, during the lifetime of the Prophet the Qur’an had not been arranged as a single volume yet. It was scattered among the companions as pages and was memorized by many companions. However, it was clearly and absolutely known what would be placed where.

Finally, out of necessity, at the time of Caliph Abu Bakr, a commission was set from scribes of revelation and vigorous memorizers headed by Zayd bin Thabit. This commission was appointed for the job of gathering the Qur’an as a single volume. Everybody from the companions came and handed in the pages of the Qur’an they had. As a result of the shared work of the memorizers and the scribes of revelation, the pages, chapters and the verses were ordered as described by the Prophet. Thus, the Qur’an was arranged as a single book called Mushaf.

As a result, the Qur’an has been free from being forgotten, lost, distorted or altered, since it was written down exactly as it was revealed to the Prophet.

Upon necessity, at the time of Caliph Uthman ibn Affan more copies were made from this book and were sent to various places. The copies of the Qur’an at the present time come from this Qur’an.

As result of the soundness in its determination, unlike the other Holy Scriptures, the Qur’an was established in its revealed form without any distortion or alteration, and it has come to us by preserving its authenticity for 1400 years. It is obvious that the rhetoric and eloquent style of the Qur’an, its conciseness, the ease of memorizing it, its resemblance to no human discourse, people’s inability to imitate it and to attain its level of eloquence, and the maximum care taken in its preservation played a great role in its authenticity. However, the real reason is that Allah took the Qur’an in His protection and that He promised to maintain it as a miracle until the Doomsday in form and meaning. As a matter of fact the following is stated in the Qur’an:

“Indeed it is We, We Who send down the Reminder in parts, and it is indeed We Who are its Guardian.”(the Qur’an, Al-Hijr, 15:9)

Today, all of the copies of the Qur’an in the world are the same; there is no difference or alteration.Besides, it is in the memory of millions of memorizers and is recited at each instant by millions of people. This quality is not possessed by any other book than the Qur’an, nor even by any of the other Divine scriptures. It is absolutely necessary that the Qur’an, which is Allah’s final scripture, the validity of which extends to the end of time, should possess this unprecedented status.

Anonymous asked:

How would you answer the claim that Islam is complicated but that Christianity is very easy?

- First of all, we should say that this missionary should first solve the nonsensical issue of the creed of trinity (son-father-holy spirit), which is the basis of the religion of Christianity and convince us of it. After that, he can speak about the religion of Islam.

- It is accepted that “there are many deeds of worship and they all have rules” but is said that it is complicated since there are rules. However, any sane person knows that there is a system and order in a place where there are rules and principles. Where there is a system and order, there is no confusion but a regular mechanism, transparency and clear information.

Complication is in question only related to the issues that remain ambiguous and whose details are not explained. A sane person will never use the word “complicated” to express the fact that deeds of worship such as prayer, fasting, zakah and hajj are explained in details.  

- The claim “there are so many details about a fiqh subject in Islam and there are even different views. People have difficulty in following them; they get confused; they cannot be sure they are doing things correctly” in the questionis not true. People’s different interpretation exist in all religions. The fiqh differences in the four madhhabs of Ahl as-Sunnah in Islam do not confuse the followers of that madhhab; they do not have difficulty in worshipping according to that madhhab either.  

To speak about this issue “is not like playing the flute from a distance”. The witnessing of those who do it is essential. Christians shed so much blood for centuries due to the deep conflicts about the Bibles, which are the religious resources of Christians, in religious wars. It is not possible to compare this religion, whose origin was changed, with Islam.

As Badiuzzaman Said Nursi expresses, apart from one occasion (the Incident of Jamal, Siffin), no religious/internal war took place in Islam. We will quote his statement here so that the missionary will learn his lesson:

“Thirdly: To compare Islam with Christianity is a false comparison and wrong. For when it was bigoted in its religion, Europe was not civilized; it became civilized on giving up its bigotry. Furthermore, religion caused three hundred years of war between them. And since it was the means of despotic tyrantscrushing the common people, the poor, and thinkers who were in their power, they all felt a temporary disgust at religion.”

“However, in Islam, history testifies that apart from one occasion, religion has not been the cause of internal war. Also, whenever the people of Islam have adhered in earnest to their religion, they have advanced proportionately, achieving significant progress. Witness to this is the greatest master of Europe, the Islamic state of Andalusia. But whenever the Islamic community has been slack in religion, it has sunk into wretchedness, and declined.”

- It should not be forgotten that nobody – even that missionary – can show that a Muslim cleric or scholar exited the religion of Islam and became a Jew or Christian based on reasoning and definite evidence throughout history. However, the number of people – including their clerics and scholars – in history and today is quite high. The following determination of Badiuzzaman Said Nursi regarding the issue is remarkable:

“History presents no evidence from the Era of Bliss up to the present day for any Muslims having preferred another religion to Islam and embraced another religion on the strength of reason. There are some Muslims who exit the religion of Islam but it is a different issue. Imitating them is unimportant.”   

“However, as a result of reasoned argument and definite proofs, the followers of other religions have embraced Islam in groups. If we were to display through our actions the perfections of the moral qualities of Islam and the truths of belief, the followers of other religions would enter Islam in groups.”

- The claim “those rules are open-ended” expressed for the rules of Islamic deeds of worship in the question is a lie consisting of slyness and misty ignorance.

- The claim “you can exit the religion if you do not follow these rules” is a big lie like the previous one.  

Anybody who knows the religion of Islam knows very well that the most distinguished principle of Ahl as-Sunnah creed is as follows: “A believer does not exit the religion of Islam due to any sin no matter how big it is unless he denies (the principles of belief).” (see al-Fiqhul-Akbar, 1/43)

- In the question, the deeds of worship left to people’s will and deeds like doing favors are compared to the deeds of worship ordered by Allah in Islam and the following statement is included: “…it does not have deeds of worship like zakah and prayer but you can read the Bible if you want to worship; there is no zakah, but if you want to help some people, you can help.”

That statement of the missionary is like confessing the truth; he expresses the truth unwillingly:

In the question, zakah, which is a compulsory duty Islam assigns to the rich as a humanitarian duty is compared to “optional” charities in Christianity. In fact, helping the poor in the human community, where there are always rich and poor people, is a very important thing and it cannot be optional. It is necessary to render a certain amount of financial help obligatory. It is a necessity of being a human.  

The following is stated: “There is no deed of worship similar to prayer but a person can read the Bible if he wants…”

However, the greatest purpose of religions is to worship Allah after belief. This duty of worshipping is determined by divine revelation and it cannot be left to the conscience of people.

Besides, the writers of the Bible are certain people. How can one worship by reading a book that is not divine revelation. In fact, as it is stated in the Quran, the worship of prayer with ruku’ and sajdah exists in the original religion of Hz. Isa (Jesus.

- The claim “grow a beard of this or that length; follow such and such rules when you worship; otherwise you will exit the religion…” is a baseless slander that is a product of ignorance.

As we have stated above, according to the creed of Ahl as-Sunnah in Islam, nobody exits the religion of Islam because he does not worship or because he commits a sin.

Besides, according to an important part of the Islamic scholars, it is sunnah to grow a beard. Abandoning a sunnah is not regarded as unbelief; it is not even regarded as a sin.

What is more, none of those who regard growing a beard wajib has claimed that“a person who does not grow a beard exits the religion.”

May Allah include us among those who know the last religion and the last prophet, Muhammad (pbuh) truly and who attain the honor of following the religion of Islam! Amin!

Anonymous asked:

Were divine books sent down after the previous book was distorted?

The divine books’ being sent down is not based on the distortion of the previous books. As a matter of fact, the Gospel, which was sent down to Hz. Isa (Jesus), did not include the decrees of the Torah. When Hz. Isa taught love, compassion and ethical values with the Gospel, he applied to the Torah for legal arrangements. The Psalms were like that too. There were almost no decrees of shari’ah in those two books. This shows that a divine book’s being sent down is not dependent upon the distortion of the previous book. On the contrary, they were sent down to teach the new principles that were necessary to be introduced based on the conditions of the time and place.

It is not appropriate to attribute the Quran’s being sent down to the distortion of the previous books. In that case, the following wrong decree would be deduced: If they had not been distorted, there would have been no need for the Quran. However, the truths of belief, which are the basic essentials of all religions, are always up-to-date. Nevertheless, the conditions of the time and place play an important role in the explanation, summarization and the detailing of the issue. This is the wisdom behind the coming of different shari’ahs. The Quran has some important issues that are also included in the previous books; they are the common ground for the divine religions.

However, almost all Islamic scholars agree that the Quran abrogated some decrees in the previous books. Nevertheless, we should say it again that the Quran’s being sent down is not based on the distortion of the previous books. For, it was necessary to change some decrees and abolish completely others in the previous books whether they were distorted or not.