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Islam and Muslims

Postby DoctorArvid » Tue May 30, 2006 8:46 pm

Question :


What is the difference between Islam religion and the Muslim religion? Or are they the same?

Answer :

Praise be to Allaah.

Islam means submitting to Allaah, worshipping Him alone and obeying Him, and shunning shirk (polytheism, associating others with Allaah) and those who believe in that. This is the religion which Allaah approves for His slaves. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Truly, the religion with Allaah is Islamâ€
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Allah-ology 101

Postby Amir » Tue May 30, 2006 11:04 pm

Question :


What is the difference between Islam religion and the Muslim religion? Or are they the same?


The same difference that exists between stupidity and the stupid.

Answer :

Praise be to Allaah.


Praise him indeed, for he has given us much to praise.

Islam means submitting to Allaah,


Funny, because according to my friend Liberator, Islam means “I’m Stupid, Look At Me.â€
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Postby IPC » Wed May 31, 2006 1:11 am

Dear Brother Dr. Dool-Little:

Please post in proper rooms. We had to move this post from "General Philosophy" to "Islam" room. You of all Scholars should know that this very important topic belongs in Islam room.

PS:
Can Brother Bache Kooni become a good Muslim (Slave to Allah)? Will you direct him into Submission to Allah? BK will make a good Muslim because he is already into S&M, so he is half way there!

Praise Allah and Dr. Dool-Little


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You mock yourself.

Postby DoctorArvid » Wed May 31, 2006 9:37 pm

You mock Islam but what is your answer?

"Some of them have lost you and have not found you; some of them have lost you and then have found you; some of them have found you and then have lost you. It is indeed incredible!" These are the words of Sulayman Kattani in his book 'Imam Ali A Beacon of Courage' on paying tribute to this great personality of the history of mankind.

A person studying Islamic history at the exclusion of the study of the Quran and the traditions of Prophet Muhammad (saww) is bound to face a number of dilemmas. He may be asking himself 'Was Imam Ali bin Abi Talib successful in politics?' Prior to answering this question, we will have to define what is meant by 'success' and what is meant by 'politics'. 'Success' is defined as, achievement in what one is trying to do. It is also defined as fulfilment in reaching one's goal or aim or purpose or objective. 'Politics' is defined as, ruling by the consent of the governed. It is also defined as, a means of finding solutions to administrative, social and economic problems.

The term 'politics' nowadays, is associated with deception, cunningness, double-crossing and lying on oath, in order to reach one's purpose. In Islam, if the objective is reached through deceptive approach, it is not considered a success; rather, it is considered a bad failure. The effect of such politics would soon manifest itself through negative repercussions. However, as 'politics' is akin to obtaining power and administering various aspects of material life, it has been abused throughout history. If viewed in the context of solving civil problems, no state or government could function without politics. At this stage, we have to consider another element which dictates the approach adopted in 'politics' and the ensuing success or failure.

The essence of Islamic Law is structured in such a way that it totally prohibits certain means to reach a defined end. Politics cannot be exempted from the dictates of Law. If there are politicians who are accustomed to abusing their occupation, it is not the fault of 'politics' as such. If certain builders use sub-standard material in their building work, it does not mean that their occupation is to be despised. If certain doctors are negligent towards their patients, it does not mean that medical profession is bad. If lazy and lethargic students do not achieve success, this does not mean that hard-working students should give up advanced studies.

In any occupation and profession there are users and there are abusers. In politics, the abusers have brought disrepute to the approach adopted by the honest politicians. Imagine what the world would be like, if the conscientious and responsible politicians had abandoned the field in favour of the abusers, who would go at any length to grab power for material gains. The latter type of politicians are prone to hold monopolistic attitude and preach that religion should be kept aloof from politics. If religion, religious law and religious morals are segregated from politics, then the greedy, selfish and opportunist politicians could easily achieve their objective of serving their own interest at the detriment of the society. But if religious morals are allowed to dictate politics, then the prospects of usurping the rights of others in the name of national interest would be doomed at the inception.

In Islam, if it was permitted to segregate religion from politics, then Prophet Muhammad (saww) himself would not have established the first Islamic State in Madina after his migration from Makkah. He ruled over the State for ten years and administered its affairs. He organised the army and laid down rules for restraints to be exercised in warfare. He guarded the social, economic and judicial affairs of the State in accordance to the Divine Law. He reached the zenith of success by governing the new State with justice and truth. Discipline was created by strict enforcement of the Law. Islam spread because of effectiveness of politics, without any need for lying or adopting deceptive and cunning tactics or repressive measures. Later on, when Muslim empires embraced these vile practices, it was the beginning of the end. Thereafter, Muslim empires began to disintegrate and decline. Muslim community became demoralised because it failed to choose honest, righteous and God-fearing leadership.

We have the best of examples in the life of the Prophet. Therefore, the criteria for success must also be sought in the system of government founded by the Prophet. Who could have understood this system in its entirety and acted upon it other than the disciple and dedicated follower of the Prophet, whom the Prophet had groomed for this responsibility. Imam Ali bin Abi Talib (a.s.) was brought from his father's house in early childhood and was raised by the Prophet and by Mother of the Believers, Khadijah, under their loving care. The Prophet himself was raised by Imam Ali's father, Abu Talib from the age of eight, when his grandfather died. Abu Talib remained the guardian of the Prophet and his staunch supporter and protector in the face of the fierce enmity of Quraish. Abu Talib passed on his dedication and love for the Prophet to his son Ali bin Abi Talib, who remained a selfless champion of Faith until he breathed his last. Imam Ali derived the depth of his knowledge and wisdom directly from the Prophet. The Prophet trained him, and he trained his gifted children with diligence, to implement the Rule of Law, according to the Divine Revelations.

There is not a single Muslim soul who believes that the Islamic State established by the Prophet did not achieve its intended goal. We are not talking about the belief of a few misfits who entertain Satanic mischief in their heads for the sake of fame and money. According to a widely narrated tradition, the Prophet said, "the best judge among you is Ali." This explains that the Prophet had absolute confidence that Imam Ali would follow his way in promoting justice in society, by virtue of his complete knowledge in the Quranic injunctions and the Sunnah (traditions) of the Messenger of Allah. Whenever the Muslim community got into trouble after the demise of the Prophet, it was Imam Ali who was consulted to save the day through his wise rulings and counsel.

Nevertheless, some historians allege that when Imam Ali assumed the reigns of the Caliphate, he proved to be a failure in politics. The reasons given by them speak of the extent of their knowledge into the realities of issues involved. It is alleged that Imam Ali was not successful because his Caliphate was filled with strives and battles. Wasn't the time of the Prophet too filled with strives and battles? Did this reason make the Prophet less successful? They also give another reason that there were conspiracies to kill Imam Ali, implying that many people did not like him. Weren't there conspiracies to kill the Prophet also, to the extent that he disclosed the names of those who conspired to kill him to his trusted friend, Hudayfah al-Yamani?

In any society, the presence of hypocrites cannot be ruled out. In Muslim society, their presence is a stark reality. The Quran issues adequate warning against them in Sura 'Al-Munafiqoon' ('The Hypocrites') and in Sura 'Al-Tawba' ('The Repentance'). In the times of the Prophet, Islam had spread in the whole of Arabian Peninsula. By the time of the Caliphate of Imam Ali, Islam had already conquered Byzantium, Roman and Persian empires. In the time of the Prophet, the mischief of the hypocrites was restricted. By the time of Imam Ali, their mischief expanded, as if they were competing with the size of the empire! But Imam Ali was elected unanimously by Muhajireen (the immigrants) and Ansaar (the helpers). All the companions of the Prophet swore allegiance to him. This is another matter that later on some of them broke their pledges, which is considered a major sin in Islam. The breach of solemn pledges and covenants was in direct violation to the rulings of the Quran, and this paved way for civil warfare.

When the third caliph was under seige, it was Imam Ali who risked the lives of his own sons to protect him. Madina was full of the companions of the holy Prophet. Why did they not show any interest to defend Uthman, when the seige had continued for several days? Yet, revenge for the blood of Uthman became a deceptive slogan used to promote selfish political goals of the opponents of Imam Ali. The governor of Syria, Mu'awiyah bin Abi Sufyan, took this opportunity to vent the ancient vendetta of tribal hatred of Banu Umayyah against Banu Hashim. Writes the famous Egyptian author Abbas Mahmood Al-Aqqad: "The blazing hatred within this rotten mind was only the hatred found in the characters of deformed and distorted men which could make him imagine that it was a hatred borne out of a desire to avenge the death of Uthman or against revolt by the people against the kingdom of Yazid." This is how the seeds of discord and enmity were sown in the heart of Muslim ummah. "The hatred was aimed against Ali bin Abi Talib and his descendants and supporters. Many of them became victims of that cruelty and greed in the Hijaz, in Yemen or in Iraq, where Ali, his descendants and supporters were violently repressed." (Sulayman Kattani, 'Imam Ali A Beacon of Courage', translated by I.K.A. Howard, Islamic Education Center.)

Immediately after the death of the Prophet, the tribes began deserting Islam to go back to their old ways of paganism. Imam Ali decided to bury the differences and insisted that all the resources of the State must be mobilised to face the new challenge threatening the very foundation of Islam. As he was the wasi (executor) of the Prophet and trustee of his knowledge and wisdom, he lived and died up to the expectation of the Prophet. Imam Ali later on took the reigns of the government to re-establish the golden era which existed in the days of the Prophet, without heirarchial discrimination and without giving a superiority to a Muslim over another. Amidst the treachery of trouble-mongers, he invited the believers towards the legislation of the Quran and the Sunnah. Allah had sent His Final Message as a distinguishing criterion between truth and falsehood. The Message built on the foundation of justice for all, was not to become a tool of plots at the hands of those who had amassed wealth from the booty of the conquests, and who were now raising private armies against the Islamic State. History of Islam is indebted to Imam Ali's success. Wherever and whenever, there was to be an attempt to mix truth with falsehood and to subdue justice at the hands of injustice, it was the blood of Imam Ali and his children and his descendants that acted as a forceful deterrent against the plots of the conspirators.

The policies of Imam Ali express the purity of intention, the purity of faith and the sincerity of implementation of the Rule of Allah on earth. Whoever did not and does not rule by that Rule, is condemned by the Quran as unbeliever, unjust and mischievous. One of the principles of Islam was to break the distinction between Arabs and non-Arabs, and to bind the believers in the bond of fraternity. The reign of the Umayyads was based on discrimination against non-Arabs. They started Arab Nationalism which acted as cancerous cells in the veins of Muslim community. Imam Ali's contribution to Islamic Justice was to liquidate the hierarchy and to give the poor, the downtrodden and the oppressed, the honour and respect that they deserved in society. He did not care the least that the influential overlords, self appointed to speak in the name of Islam, would resort to all the terror and pretences that they could muster. He did not care that later on, the mercenaries who would distort historical facts, would write that he was a failure in administering the affairs of the State.

Imam Ali envisaged the character assassination that was to follow against him. But he left a master- piece of chronicles identifying the principles of just government and human rights. He says in sermon 228 in Nahjul Balaghah, "I swear by Allah that I saw my own brother Aqeel suffering from extreme poverty and need. He requested me to spare him (cost of 3.5 seers) of wheat out of public treasury. Starvation had turned his children into living skeletons and had changed their colour to blue. Aqeel was persistent in his desire to acquire, in addition to his share, something from the public treasury. He tried to coax me and to appeal to my brotherly love. I wanted to help him out of my personal property, but his desire to get something (additional) from the public property was hateful to me. It was against all the canons of honesty and integrity and against the teachings of Islam." These were the marvellous principles of a ruler who did not misuse his position in favouritism or nepotism.

It is one of the extreme injustices of history that a straight forward man of upright faith and principles, who lived and died by his word, should at all be compared with a rebel. Mu'awiyah bin Abi Sufyan, treated public treasury as his ancestral inheritance, and misused it to buy favours and to sell governmental posts. Muslims have had the misfortune of getting stuck with the latter type of leadership because they came to accept that deceit and treachery is part of politics. As a result, they lost the vision of distinguishing a friend from an enemy. But the Divine Law is not left without its protectors. The trusteeship of the eternal Message of Allah is very much alive. Peace and Justice is the ultimate object, and the promise of God that His sincere and obedient servants will inhabit His earth will be fulfilled, whether the unbelievers and the hypocrites like it or not

The essential function of a government is to save human life and human rights. But do the present governments abide by this obligation? Whether the system of government is based on liberal democracy or autocracy or tyrannical communism or dictatorship, human rights are trampled upon without the least hesitation.

Islamic system of government is not dependent on self interest or party political allegiance. The objectives are clearly defined and the goals are geared towards serving these objectives. In the process, detailed guidance is laid down, taking into account the interest of everybody living in the Islamic State. Justice is available for all and not only for the privileged, who afford to pay the price. In Islam, government policies are not a collection of jargons that need expensive interpreters and lawyers. The concept of justice and human rights in Islam is not a means to fill one's coffers, as is the tendency in the modern world. When the Executive and Judiciary become corrupted, people lose confidence in the government. The decline in Muslim morale is not because of adherence to the Islamic system of government, but because of non-adherence to the Islamic system.

Imam Ali lays down the foundation of just government, which must recognise the fact that it is a trustee over the Divine Law. It is not the duty of the government to legislate but to abide by the revealed legislation. Fear of the Almighty Lord of the universe, and dealing with His creatures with justice and compassion, must take precedence. The pleasure of common men, the have-nots and the depressed people should over balance the approval of important and influential people. The latter, instead of contributing to the public purse, may prove to be making more than proportionate demands on the treasury. But the resources of the State must not be distributed on the basis of nepotism, favouritism or personal likes and dislikes. Abdullah bin al Kawwa' was a well known enemy of the Caliph among the residents of Kufa, which was the capital of the State at that time. He used to abuse Imam Ali openly, of which the Imam was aware. Yet, he used to send him his share of resources from Bait ul Maal (the treasury) to his house without fail and without penalising him.

Imam Ali's officials were ordered to appreciate the fact that everywhere people have weaknesses and failings; and it was the duty of the government to overlook minor shortcomings and to guide its subjects. The governors were advised to deal fairly, impartially and justly with all, individually and collectively, without any discrimination. The governors were to take due care not to trust and not to accept as advisors certain category of people, especially, the backbiters, scandal-mongers, misers and cowards. They were to avoid greedy and covetous persons as counsellors because they would be prone to exploiting others and usurping their wealth.

In the government of Imam Ali, ministerial positions were not distributed on the basis of wealth, relationship, tribalism or influence in society. They were distributed on the basis of merit. Ministers were expected to be God-fearing and men of principles. There was no scope for the double faced hypocrites to be placed at the helm of governmental responsibilities. The best ministers were classed as wise and learned men with no sinful or criminal mentality. When accepted as advisors, they would speak the bitter truth unreservedly and without fear of the status of government officials. Therefore, through this type of counsellors, Imam Ali sought to keep his own men of authority in check. Such measures of control were meant to isolate the officials if they could not command the confidence and trust of the wise men of the State.

Under the government of Imam Ali, there was a distribution of work and duties among various branches of Administration, and there was co-operation and co-ordination among government departments. Rules were laid down for controlling the civil servants and fighting corruption and oppression among officers of the State. In commercial activities, profiteering, hoarding and black marketing were prohibited. Importance was attached to equitable distribution of wealth, upbringing of orphans and maintenance of handicapped. Army was the vital organ of the State. Role of the army was defined and qualification of those entitled to join and those not entitled to join were specified. Rights of rulers over the ruled and rights of ruled over the rulers were pronounced.

Imam Ali's governors were guided to forget and forgive the shortcomings of their subjects. They were not to hurry over punishments. They were to refrain from being pleased and proud over their power to punish. They were advised not to get angry or lose temper over the mistakes and failures of their subjects. They were to be patient and sympathetic towards them. Imam Ali writes his instructions : "If you feel any pride or vanity on account of your sway and rule over your subjects, then think of the supreme sway of the Lord over the universe, the extent of His creations, the Supremacy of His Might and Glory, His Power to do things which you cannot ever dream of doing and His control over you, which is more dominating than that which you can ever achieve over anything around you." This is the message that the proud and arrogant politicians of today have to understand before they end up in a ditch and drag others with them. Another message that the unscrupulous politicians have to understand is that it is absolutely futile to flex their muscles in front of the suppressed people, who themselves are sick and tired of their despotic rulers.

Even today, history echoes the voice of Imam Ali, the pioneer of human rights, who advises his governor in the following words : "Let me remind you once again that you are made responsible to guard the rights of poor people and to look after their welfare. Take care that the conceit of your position and vanity of wealth may not deceive you to lose sight of such a grave and important responsibility. Yours is such an important post that you cannot claim immunity from the responsibility of even minor errors of commission and omission with an excuse that you were engrossed with the major problems of the State which you have carried out diligently. Therefore, be very careful of the welfare of poor people. Do not be arrogant and vain against them. Remember that you have to take particular care of those who cannot reach you, whose poverty-stricken and disease-ridden sight may be hateful to you, and whom society treats with disgust, detestation and contempt. You should be source of comfort, love and respect to them. ... You should pay more attention to young orphans and old cripples. They neither have any support nor can they conveniently come out begging. They cannot reach you, therefore, you must reach them." These are the words of the just ruler who, fourteen centuries ago, was laying the foundation of human rights.
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The Thesis Paper of Dr. Doodool-little

Postby Amir » Thu Jun 01, 2006 6:15 pm

Doctor Doodool-little:

That was quite a ramble! Damn! You really like to listen to the sound of your own voice, and frolic in the mish-mash of garbage you call an interpretation of history. If you want people to pay attention to what you say, keep it under 5000 words, and don’t repeat the same thing over and over again. I fell asleep every 500 words, but unfortunately Allah kept waking me up.

It’s funny how every two-bit jackass tyrant and murderer with a bubble-gum cult can be depicted in a favorable light by the members of that cult. Never mind history; never mind facts; never mind common sense. Just praise whomever, and paint a picture to suit the jack-ass’ needs.

It seems you enjoy writing big pieces of shit, calling it cake, putting whipped cream on top, and asking others to join you in eating it.

I wonder, is all of your time occupied with writing shit? Or do you have time to actually do some reading? If you have time to ever read between your long sermons, pay a visit here:

http://www.derafsh-kaviyani.com/english/ali666.html

It is a partial historical compilation of your buddy Ali’s hand in the downfall of Iran and the atrocities committed by him against our ancestors. This compilation is not exclusive of his savagery; it is only a sample.

I won’t bother transcribing the entire text over. I invite people to go there and read it directly. To get the full grasp, one has to also read the Farsi text provided at that link, and I can’t transcribe that over here. I would, however, like to transfer a few highlights:

“There have been many Islamists in power during our history and they have meticulously changed, deleted books in order to paint a false picture about Ali and his family for the Iranians. For instance there are bits and pieces of information left to suggest Ali himself's presence in invading Iran and destroying Tysfon.â€
I am Dariush the Great King, King of Kings, King of countries containing all kinds of men, King in this great earth far and wide, son of Hystaspes, an Achaemenian, a Persian, son of a Persian, an Aryan, having Aryan lineage

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Re: Islam and Muslims

Postby arslan1 » Sat Jan 03, 2015 12:02 pm

im proud em muslim ....
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Re: Islam and Muslims

Postby tortuous » Tue Nov 08, 2016 3:02 am

There is very pleasantly to find people who have the same passion. I greet you:)
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