Why Didn’t God Preserve The Previous Books?

 

Muslims’ Belief About Divine Revelations

Muslims accept the original unaltered Torah (as revealed to Prophet Moses, peace be upon him). Muslims also accept the original unaltered Bible (as revealed to Prophet Jesus, peace be upon him). These original scriptures were revealed by God (Allah).

Muslims believe that none of these scriptures exist today in their original form or in their entirety.

Muslims believe that The Quran is the final preserved Word of God. Muslims do not believe that the Quran was written by Muhammad (peace be upon him); rather it was revealed to him through the Archangel Gabriel over a period of 23 years.

Muslims believe that the Quran we have today is the same Quran revealed to Prophet Muhammad more than 1400 years. It was neither altered nor corrupted. The Quran contains no mistakes or contradictions.

Time-Bound Revelations

Previous prophets were sent to a particular group of people and their message was supposed to be followed for a particular time period.

Jesus said to his people:

*{And [make him] a messenger to the Children of Israel…}* (Quran 3:49)

In the Bible, we read:

“These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:

But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.” (Mathew 10:5-8, King James Version)

Elsewhere we read:

“But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (Mathew 15:24, King James Version)

Since previous revelations were time-bound, God did not preserve them Himself.

Final Revelation

Muslims believe that since Prophet Muhammad is the final prophet, he was not sent to Muslims nor the Arabs only, but he was sent to the whole of mankind. Indeed, there is no Prophet that will come after him.

We read in the Quran what gives the meaning of:

*{And We have not sent you, [O Muhammad], except as a mercy to the worlds.}* (Quran 21:107)

Therefore, God preserved the Quran Himself and did not leave the preservation process to the Arabs or Muslims as He entrusted the rabbis and the scholars of the previous nations to preserve their scriptures.

The Quran and Previous Books

Muslims believe that the Quran cannot be compared with the previous Scriptures. The Quran is unique in many aspects. It is the final revelation to mankind. Previous scriptures were sent to their respective people only. The Quran is universal.

The previous scriptures did not contain everything as the Quran does. The Quran is miraculous, and God challenged the Arabs to produce the like of it, but they could not.   

The Bible the Christians have today is not the complete word of God. Christian scholars maintain that the Bible is a mixture. It contains the word of God and the word of the Prophets. It also contains history and it contains even pornography.  There are many contradictions in the Bible and there are many scientific errors in it. Therefore, Muslims accept only that part of the Bible which is in consistency with the teachings of the Quran.

Preservation of The Previous Revelations

We read in the Quran what means:

*{Indeed, We sent down the Torah, in which was guidance and light. The prophets who submitted [to Allah ] judged by it for the Jews, as did the rabbis and scholars by that with which they were entrusted of the Scripture of Allah, and they were witnesses thereto. So, do not fear the people but fear Me, and do not exchange My verses for a small price. And whoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed – then it is those who are the disbelievers.}* (Quran 5:44)

Muhammad Asad comments on this verse saying:

“The Law of Moses (the Torah) was intended only for the Children of Israel, and was never meant to have universal validity. The expression “some of God’s writ (kitab)” implies that the Torah did not exhaust the whole of God’s revelation, and that more was yet to be revealed. The “messages” referred to in this verse relate to the Qur’an as well as to the Biblical prophecies concerning the advent of Muhammad.” (Message of the Qur’an, 221)

The people of the previous nations were tested with preserving their scriptures, but they failed the test. We read in the Quran what means:

*{So woe to those who write the “scripture” with their own hands, then say, “This is from Allah,” in order to exchange it for a small price. Woe to them for what their hands have written and woe to them for what they earn.}* (Quran 2:79)

Previous books were corrected and fixed by later prophets and books. But as Islam is the final revelation, its book, the Quran, was not followed by other books. There is no religion after Islam and there is no revelation after the Quran.

Preservation of The Quran

Therefore, it is normal that God himself shouldered the responsibility of the preservation process of the Quran.

We read in the Quran:

*{Indeed, it is We who sent down the Qur’an and indeed, We will be its guardian.}* (Quran 15:9}*

*{And We have revealed to you, [O Muhammad], the Book in truth, confirming that which preceded it of the Scripture and as a criterion over it. So, judge between them by what Allah has revealed and do not follow their inclinations away from what has come to you of the truth. To each of you We prescribed a law and a method. Had Allah willed, He would have made you one nation [united in religion], but [He intended] to test you in what He has given you; so race to [all that is] good. To Allah is your return all together, and He will [then] inform you concerning that over which you used to differ.}* (Quran 5:48)

Based on the above, there was no need for the previous Books to be preserved, especially since the time of the Quran was close to the time of the Gospel, and there were only six hundred years between them. 

The Muslims themselves were very keen on preserving their final book through oral and written transmission. Indeed, the Quran is so easy to be memorized that children learn it by heart and even non-Arabs find it easy to memorize.

And Allah knows best.

- aboutislam.net

About Dr. Mohsen Haredy

Dr. Mohsen Haredy holds a PhD in Hadith literature from Leiden University, the Netherlands. He is the former Executive Manager and Editor-in-Chief of E-Da`wah Committee in Kuwait, and a contributing writer and counselor of Reading Islam. He graduated from Al-Azhar University and earned his MA in Hadith literature from Leiden University.

Can My Thoughts Heal Me?

 

• Our thoughts and emotions can affect our physical health.
• Chemical messengers called neuropeptides connect our systems, organs, and cells.
• Chronic stress can down-regulate our immune system’s ability to fight invaders and infections.

Mental state and thought patterns are reflected in our physical health. Our thoughts are stored somehow in all our cells. They dictate cells’ actions and reactions; they relate happiness and health or condemn misery and disease.

Dr. Candice Pert, the internationally recognized pharmacologist who discovered the Opiate Receptor in the brain, spent years researching and exploring neuropeptides. She calls them ‘molecules of emotions’.

These are chemical messengers circulating in our body, connecting our systems, organs, and cells. They have receptors on all body cells. The receptors for neuropeptides that signal brain happiness, elevated mood, or motivation, for instance, can also be found in our white blood cells, stomach, intestine lining, and gonads.

Does this mean that our immune cells, our stomach, and all our organs feel and understand our mood and emotions, as well as our brain, can perceive them? Dr. Pert surely believes so.

When you are sad, every cell in your body feels sad: your stomach is sad, your immune cells are sad, your liver is sad, your gallbladder is sad…when you are depressed, angry, frustrated, motivated, joyful, hopeful, grateful… all these emotions are converted into ‘molecules of emotions’ that deliver the message all over your body to every cell of your being.

Whenever you feel a physical symptom creeping in, look for the mental pattern that triggered it, teaches Dr. Deepack Chopra. For every illness, there is a mental pattern. Why don’t all people fall ill in epidemics, or catch cold in the flu season?

Why don’t identical twins show the same pattern of cancer, allergies, hypertension, diabetes, or heart problems if these, as we use to think, are gene-related?

The vulnerability is there in the genes and the viruses and bacteria could surely be there in the air, but they need a fertile land to grow and manifest their symptoms.

Stress: Ailment of Our Modern Society

When we are under stress or in emotional distress, when we hold anger, envy, fear or grudge, these feelings are translated in our body into chemical reactions led by a series of hormones, neuropeptides, and neurotransmitters.

Our brains don’t differentiate between real or hypothetical danger. Whether you are attacked by a tiger or by the stock market index, the same stress hormones are released in your system: A blast of adrenaline that activates a fight or flight response. It raises your blood pressure, pumps sugar into your blood, speeds up your heartbeat’s rate and slows down your digestion.

The difference here is that in case of an attacking tiger, your running, fighting or fleeing dissipate the excess sugar in your blood and use up the extra energy, and as you retreat away from the danger, your whole system can rest and restore its natural state.

On the other hand, when the attacking agent is an unfair boss, a global economic crisis, a disturbing teenager or an abusing spouse, you do not run for your life, you just sit on your sofa fretting.

The triggered fight and flight response is thus here to stay and your adrenal glands keep pumping more hormones into your system; you stay alarmed, your cortisol level rises and with it comes further an increase in blood sugar levels and reduction of the immune response.

Chronic stress down-regulates our immune system’s ability to fight invaders and infections. It suppresses immune cell proliferation, hinders antibodies production, and suppresses the function of natural killer cells, the cells responsible for attacking tumor (including cancer cells), viruses and abnormal growth.

Mind/Body Connection

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  Noradrenaline is a neurotransmitter that increases in our body when we are happy and fulfilled. (Image: Neurotransmitter – Chemical Synapse).

Science is increasingly proving the connection between mind and body. Reovirus, for instance, the causative agent for the common cold, is thought to use the receptor of noradrenaline to enter into the body cells.

Noradrenaline is a neurotransmitter that increases in our body when we are happy and fulfilled. When the level of this neurotransmitter is elevated, it occupies its receptors, making them unavailable for viral use. That’s why we rarely catch a cold when we are in a good mood, satisfied and cheerful.

The idea of mind/body connection is as old as the famous Pavlov dogs of the 1920s that were conditioned to salivate upon hearing the bell without even seeing the food.

Later, In the 30s Russian scientists proved that not only our digestive system but our immune system could also be voluntarily conditioned. They injected rabbits and Guinea pigs with a mild bacterial shot to boost their immune system and coupled this immune-boosting function with a physical stimulus such as trumpet blast.

By the time, experimented animals have been able to boost their immunity upon hearing the trumpet sound alone.

Researches show that a mere dummy pill (placebo) can reduce pain, adjust blood pressure, and even dissolve tumors if the patient really believes in its effect.

Scientists now know that the placebo pill actually achieves its effect through triggering the body to release its ‘endogenous pharmaceutics’.

Our body has an amazing internal pharmacy with a cure for every condition and malfunction. It secretes it in the precisely needed dose, and in the perfect time and location. It has the power to reduce hypertension, alleviate pain, prevent platelet aggregation that blocks arteries, and the list goes on.

Psychoneuroimmunology: Healing Power of Mind

Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) is a relatively new, yet rapidly growing field of science. The name PNI was coined in 1975, by Dr. Robert Ader, the Director of the Division of Behavioral and Psychosocial Medicine at New York’s University of Rochester, to denote the relation between the psyche (our feelings, moods, and emotions), the nervous system (our thoughts and perceptions), and our physical health (immune system and hormonal production).

In the 70s, Ader studied the unconscious ability to condition our immune system. Laboratory animals were given an immune-suppressive drug in saccharin sweetened solutions. Later, when the drug wasn’t administered, it only took the sweet taste to reduce their immunity.

It wasn’t until the 90s thought that science could finally prove that we could actually control our immune functions consciously. Self-hypnosis, guided imagery, biofeedback, and visualization have been shown, without doubt, to boost immune system performance, increase white blood cell count, decrease plaque formation, and reduce hypertension.

After years of denial, our world is starting to acknowledge this amazing fact. Today, we know that tiny cancerous growths are continuously formed in our body and it is the job of a healthy immune system with its natural killer cells to surround and eliminate these tumors.

Since our emotions can be physiologically regarded as body releases of specific chemicals (molecules of emotions), thus, depression, chronic stress or suppression of emotions result in massive disturbance of these chemicals’ natural flow. And, this, in turn, affects the performance of our immune system. Could this trigger cancer formation? Many physicians and naturopaths believe so, but we are yet to prove it scientifically.

Let’s Get Practical with Our Subconscious Mind

• 

  Our analytical logical understanding is a function of our conscious mind, yet for the change to actually occur, we need to reach the unconscious mind.

All honest emotions are healthy emotions. There are no good or bad emotions. How we express them and act upon them is what matters.

The first step in dealing with stress, releasing negative emotions and/or changing a belief pattern is acknowledgment. We need to acknowledge our human needs and weaknesses; we need to acknowledge our right to feel angry, hurt, frustrated, anxious, or disappointed.

Next, we need to take control of our own actions, assume responsibility for our life, and choose the appropriate way of reaction. Learn and heed the lesson then let it go. Only then we can genuinely replace our distorted feelings with a positive image of love and care and achieve our true healing be it physical, emotional or spiritual.

You can read a book or attend a lecture about health and healing, understand and memorize every word, be totally convinced and committed, but will the required changes automatically appear in your life and become easily reflected on your state of health.

Unfortunately, the answer is No. Our analytical logical understanding is a function of our conscious mind, yet for the change to actually occur, we need to reach the unconscious mind. The unconscious mind is the one that actually controls our behaviors, reflexes, and stores our beliefs. It’s the one that holds the key to actual changes and healing and it is “millions of times more powerful than the conscious mind” according to Dr. Bruce Lipton.

But, how can I reach it? You might wonder. Lipton explains that the unconscious mind is a habit mind, it understands by repetition. Sincerely repeat, repeat and repeat the same action, belief and thought pattern over and over again until it becomes a habit, only then your unconscious mind will ‘get it’ and you will start to see some changes.

Ask anyone who tried to change his eating habits, exercise pattern, or lifestyle… it is never easy. In general, it is a “6, 6, 36 rule”. We need 6 weeks to abort a bad habit, 6 weeks to adopt a new one, and 36 weeks for it to become part of our new lifestyle.

- aboutislam.net

About Amira Ayad

Amira Ayad is a natural health consultant and a holistic nutritionist. She holds a Master Degree in Pharmaceutics; and a PhD in natural health. She is a Board Certified Holistic Health practitioner by the American Association of Drugless Practitioners (AADP) and a Registered Orthomolecular Health Practitioner by the International organization of Nutrition Consultants (IONC). She published 2 books: Healing Body & Soul, in 2008; and, The True Secret, in 2011. Amira teaches Biochemistry & Body Metabolism at The Institute of Holistic Nutrition in Toronto, Canada.

Why Much Emphasis on Using Heart Instead of Brain?

 

From the point of view of neuroscience it is the brain that controls the body and not the heart, though the heart has its own role in the functioning of the body.

In the context, there is a confusion that arises from the way we use words like “heart” and “head” (in the sense of brain) in language.

A Linguistic Introduction

We need to understand that the use of words varies from language to language. There cannot be an exact translation of words in one language to another language unless they refer to concrete objects or things that are easily recognized.

But in language, we use symbols and metaphors as well as idioms which defy easy translation or understanding by the speaker of a different language.

Because each language is the medium of expression of a particular community and of its culture derived from their specific experience, we often cannot find exact equivalents in one language for concepts expressed in another language.

For example, the Eskimos have several words to depict subtle changes in the snow, which the Arabic language doesn’t have; so the people of Arabia cannot properly understand the shades of meaning expressed by those words.

Now about the use of the word, qalb (meaning ‘heart’) in the Quran:

In several languages including the English language, the word “heart” is understood to be the seat of emotions, and the word “head” the seat of intellect. Incidentally this has nothing to do with the latest findings of scientific investigations into the working of the heart or the brain.

Remember no heart surgeon has so far discovered any trace of any emotion – say sorrow or happiness – in any heart they have cut open. And science tells us that the brain controls the functions of the body; but no neurosurgeon so far has been able to discover any proof for the presence of intelligence in any brain they have operated upon.

Feelings & Consciousness

As conscious beings, we have a feeling that our consciousness or mind is somewhere in the region of our heart. This has been the feeling of humans from the very beginning, and we use expressions like: “I speak from the bottom of my heart”, “a heart to heart talk”, “heart has its reasons, which reason doesn’t know”, etc.

The Holy Quran comes in the language of humans; otherwise it wouldn’t be understood by humans. And so we do not have any difficulty in understanding verses like the following:

{In their hearts is disease, so Allah has increased their disease; and for them is a painful punishment because they [habitually] used to lie.} (Quran 2:10)

{Then your hearts became hardened after that, being like stones or even harder.} (Quran 2:74)

The word “heart” in the above verses does not actually mean the organ that we call the heart in our chest, but it stands metaphorically for our mental disposition or behavior.

There are several verses, where “heart” (qalb) is used for reason or power of understanding and judgment, such as the following:

{Will they not, then, ponder over this Qur’an? – or are there locks upon their hearts?} (Quran 47:24)

{So, have they not traveled through the earth and have hearts by which to reason and ears by which to hear? For indeed, it is not eyes that are blinded, but blinded are the hearts which are within the breasts.} (Quran 22:46)

The Ability to Understand

In the two verses quoted above, the word “hearts” stands for the ability to understand, to analyze, and to apply logic and reason. Here too the Quranic use of the word “heart” does not signify the physical organ in our chest.

It stands for reasoning power, analytical acumen, logical faculty, and such other capabilities usually associated with the “mind”.

The function of the brain and the heart as discovered by medical science is concerned with the human body and it has little relevance to the hearts mentioned by the Quran.

But it is also noteworthy that recent researches in the relevant fields show that even our heart contains neurons similar to those in the brain, and the brain and the heart work in close connection creating a symbiotic whole.

David Paterson, Professor at Oxford University, is the head of a team of researchers in the field of cardiac neurobiology that covers the two areas of the brain and the heart.

His work shows that our heart also contains thousands of specialized neurons, predominantly located around the right ventricle surface, forming a complex network.

Neurons are what allow our brain to form thoughts. While much about the neurons in our heart is still unknown, one thing is sure — the ‘brain’ in our heart communicates back and forth with the brain in head. It’s a two-way street.

The above finding of science gives a support to the Quranic use of the word “heart” to depict both the emotional and the intellectual capacity of humankind.

And Allah knows best. 

- aboutislam.net

About Professor Shahul Hameed

Professor Shahul Hameed is an Islamic consultant. He also held the position of the President of the Kerala Islamic Mission, Calicut, India. He is the author of three books on Islam published in the Malayalam language. His books are on comparative religion, the status of women, and science and human values.

Is Blepharoplasty Permissible in Islam?

 

Blepharoplasty, or eyelid surgery, is only permissible in Islam when performed to correct a deformity or medical condition. Cosmetic surgery for beautification alone is considered altering Allah’s creation unnecessarily and is not allowed.

You are allowed to resort to such a procedure only if it is considered an abnormality. If it is not by a condition of people of some ethnic background, then it is not allowed.

According to the teachings of Islam, our body–including all of our physical faculties– is a trust from God in our hands, which we are required to protect and preserve according to the best of our ability.

Consequently, we are not allowed to alter or tamper with them unnecessarily; we are only permitted to interfere with them to correct a natural deformity or repair or remedy an ailment. Any other form of interference or tampering with our body is akin to altering Allah’s creation, which has been condemned in the Quran.

We read in the Quran that Satan, the accursed one, has pledged to Allah that he will be tirelessly working to lead humans unto ways of perdition and self-destruction: {And I will surely lead them astray, and arouse desires in them, and command them, and they will cut the cattle’s ears, and I will surely command them, and they will change Allah’s creation.” Whoever chooses the Devil for a friend instead of Allah is assuredly a loser, and his loss is manifest.} (An-Nisa 4:119)

While reflecting on the above verse, we must also read the following statements of Allah in the Quran: {There is no altering Allah’s creation.} (Ar-Rum 30:30); {Do not cast yourselves into destruction by your own hands.} (Al-Baqarah 2:195)

In light of the above, body piercing, tattooing, branding, etc., all fall in the category of unnecessary interference, alteration, and mutilation of Allah’s creation. Therefore, no Muslim who is conscious of his religion should ever contemplate such activities.

Neither are such procedures harmless physical refinements as they are often imagined to be. Rather, the truth is that these procedures have often been associated with numerous health hazards. Sensitive body parts, such as tongues, lips, eyelids, etc., are more prone to being easily infected and thus becoming carriers of diseases, some of which may even be fatal. There is nothing at all surprising about all of these, for every unnecessary tampering with Allah’s creation is bound to produce adverse repercussions.

Almighty Allah knows best.

- aboutislam.net

About Sheikh Ahmad Kutty

Sheikh Ahmad Kutty is a Senior Lecturer and an Islamic Scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Grains of Prophet Muhammed (PBUH)

It’s reported by Abu Hurairah that, “Allah never inflicts a disease unless he makes a cure for it…” (Sahih Bukhari).

Some of us may assume that this cure is always medical or herbal, but the hadith doesn’t state that. Two of the greatest cures Allah has given us for heart disease are foods that the Prophet (SAW) ate: whole wheat and barley.

Both of them provide multiple benefits in the fight against heart disease. They both lower cholesterol and increase proper elimination of wastes by the body. Moreover, they facilitate proper blood clotting and improve general circulation and cellular health.

When Sahl bin Sad was asked, “Did Allah’s Apostle ever eat white flour?” he replied, “Allah’s Apostle never saw white flour [from the time] Allah sent him as an Apostle till He took him unto Him.” (Sahih Al-Bukhari)

Modern science has long been against processed bread, even when they are supposedly “enriched.”

Cheraskin’s book “Diet and Disease” compares enriching white flour with “robbing someone in a dark alley of their clothes and wallet. And then giving them back their underclothes and bus money to get home.”

White flour has no nutritional value. Furthermore, it can leech vitamins and minerals from the body as well.

This is because nutrient-void foods don’t supply all of the nutrients necessary for their digestion; hence, they must take the nutrients that are lacking from the body.

White flour can even mimic white sugar, creating problems for the hypoglycemic or diabetic person (Pritchard, Healing with Whole Foods).

Whole Grain Wheat

According to nutritionists Jean Anderson and Barbara Deskin, whole-wheat flour, high in protein and fiber, is far superior in nutrition. Whole grain wheat contains a large amount of Vitamin E, mostly concentrated in its germ layer.

Research on the Vitamin E found in wheat discovered that of 31,000 people studied; those who ate whole wheat bread had a much lower risk of heart disease than those who ate white bread.

Michael H. Davidson, MD, president of the Chicago Center for Clinical Research, says that this is because the Vitamin E in wheat causes the liver to produce less cholesterol.

He found that subjects in his study who consumed ½-cup of wheat germ daily for 14 weeks saw their cholesterol levels drop by 7%.

Although wheat has undeniable health benefits, we need to be aware of the dangers of its overuse. Eaten daily, whole wheat can be detrimental to the health as it causes bloating. Also, it often encourages the growth of unfriendly candida albicanus bacteria in the colon. It can also encourage weight gain and cause allergic reactions in many people when overeaten.

It’s revealing that Prophet Muhammad (SAW) didn’t indulge in regular wheat consumption. Instead, he ate mostly barley and bread made from barley flour.

Abu Hazim narrated (in Sahih Bukhari) that he asked Sahl bin Saad: “How could you eat barely unsifted? He answered, “But we used grind it and then blow off its husk (of the barley).”

Barley is so easily digested that the Prophet even recommended that barley soup (talbinah) be used for all stomach ailments (Sahih Bukhari).

Possessing even more health benefits than wheat, barley is extremely high in calcium and protein, and is far less allergenic. It doesn’t encourage bloating or unhealthy bacterial growth; therefore, while wheat is healthful, barley is better for daily consumption.

Nutritional Blessings

It’s one of the richest sources of tocotrienols. These are powerful antioxidants that reduce damage to the body from dangerous oxygen molecules called free radicals. Additionally, barley reduces the body’s production of cholesterol in the liver.

David Jenkins, MD, professor of nutritional sciences at the University of Toronto says, “Tocotrienols are potentially more powerful antioxidants than other chemical versions of vitamin E.” Barley is also a lot more affordable than most vitamin E supplements on the market.

Furthermore, it contains lignana, found to prevent tiny blood clots from forming – perhaps providing a similar benefit to the popular “daily dose of aspirin” against heart disease.

Just one-half cup of barley contains half the daily requirement for selenium in the diet and almost twenty-percent of the USRDA (Recommended Daily Allowance) of Vitamin E.

Both of these are powerful allies in the fight against cancer. Barley also contains beta-glucan, a type of soluble fiber that forms a gel in the small intestine to which cholesterol binds. And it’s then excreted from the body. This gel-forming action also prevents constipation and colon cancer.

To get barley’s healing benefits, doctors recommend eating it in the same way that the Prophet (SAW) did.

Hulled barley (the husk loosely intact or “blown off”) is superior to processed barley which has been cleaned and scrubbed more than five times to create a quicker-cooking version that lacks most of the barley’s healthful fiber, minerals, and thiamin.

- aboutislam.net

About Dr. Karima Burns

Dr. Karima Burns has been counseling as a Home-path for over 9 years. From the U.S. she is a doctor in Naturopathy, a Master Herbalist, and teaches with inspiration from the Waldorf school. She uses art, health and education to heal others.

Should We Have Many Children?

 

God’s Provision

People often forget it is not up to them to allow or prevent children from coming into the world. All they can do is try, but it is God alone who decides whether we have children or not, and how many and of which sex.

He also created the world in perfect balance; and He knows best how to allocate His gifts. When we interfere with that balance, we end up with a crisis situation.

Such is the situation in China, where the country is experiencing serious sex-ratio imbalance, to the extent of being called a “geopolitical time bomb”.

This resulted from laws limiting one child per family in fear of poverty, in a culture which favors sons, causing a trend of selective pregnancy, abortion, and even female infanticide. (Reference: China Grapples With Legacy of Its ‘Missing Girls’, China’s Surplus of Sons: A Geopolitical Time Bomb)

All those practices are prohibited in Islam in respect to human life and to preserve natural balance. God prohibits killing children, and promises to provide for them because He created them.

Allah’s promise to provide for every born child

In the Quran, He addresses the two main concerns: anticipated poverty, and suffering actual poverty; and He promises to provide for every child born in either case:

{Kill not your children for fear of want: We shall provide sustenance for them as well as for you. Verily the killing of them is a great sin.} (Al-Israa’ 17:31)

{Kill not your children on a plea of want – We provide sustenance for you and for them} (Al-An`am 6:151)

Prophet Muhammad actually promised that marriage and having children warranted God’s provisions and bounty, and he encouraged people to get married and to have children and raise them well.

Consequently, we should view poverty in densely populated nations as a problem of mismanagement of resources and disturbing the natural balance—often because of injustices done by the very wealthy and powerful—rather than a result of the number of children born into each family.

The Value of Humans

God describes children in the Quran as a “gift” from Him and not a burden, and mentions them in conjunction with material wealth, stressing their value:

{Wealth and children are the ornament of this worldly life} (Al-Kahf, 18:46)

We never see anyone complaining of a “surplus” of money. How can we complain of a surplus of children then?

Money cannot substitute good children, and good children can make money and also do good deeds, and evidently, limiting the number of children doesn’t result in happier or wealthier conditions in the long run.

So, why are people refraining from having children after all the above reassurance from the Creator Himself? It is a shame that people are regarded as a useless surplus when human capital is a valuable economic resource.

Children & Poverty

Many people today are complaining of the lack of food due to increasing food prices. Some wealthy nations actually destroy huge amounts of food to keep the prices up. They also produce bio-fuel from crops such as corn, making more people unable to feed their children.

The German Chancellor Angela Merkel, said in a public speech:

If you travel to India these days, people are eating twice a day, and if 300 million people in India do that and suddenly consume twice as much food as before; and if 100 million Chinese start drinking milk too, then of course our milk quotas become skewed, and much else too.

Germany is the world’s largest bio-fuel producer; it also has the lowest birthrate in Europe with 8.18 births per thousand people per year. (Reference: Bad policy, not biofuel, drive food prices: Merkel, Demographics of the European Union)

The Brazilian President told reporters:

Food is expensive because the world was not prepared to see millions of Chinese people, millions of Indians, and Africans eating three times a day.

Brazil is the world’s largest sugarcane producer, bought by Germany for bio-fuel production.

It is sad this is happening, when there is a ground-breaking invention of Muslims in India to produce energy from plain air! (Reference: Muslims Invent Engine That Runs on Air) 

This irresponsible and supremacist exploitation of human resources affects human and animal food resources all over the planet, and causes unhappiness for billions of people.

If we really believed this world to be one unit, we will be able to see a world of opportunities and creative solutions; we will be one big family collectively responsible for finding solutions to our problems.

Prophet Muhammad made a brilliant analogy about this concept: We are all in the same boat.

The disintegration of family values in favor of individual freedoms, the materialistic and consumerist values propagated by the media for commercial interests, in addition to lack of proper education about life skills and God’s religion, all of these are the true reasons for poverty of soul and mind, which is the most dangerous type of poverty.

- aboutislam.net

About Sahar El-Nadi

Sahar El-Nadi is an Egyptian freelance journalist who traveled to 25 countries around the world and currently based in Cairo. Sahar also worked in many people-related careers in parallel, including presenting public events and TV programs; instructing training courses in communication skills; cross cultural issues; image consulting for public speakers; orientation for first-time visitors to the Middle East; and localization consulting for international educational projects.

How Can a Muslim Avoid Sins When Alone?

 

In recognizing the gravity of the sin and expressing the desire to improve oneself.

Feeling remorse over one’s sins, however, is only the first and foremost step toward repentance; it must be followed up by further measures, which are equally essential steps towards repentance.

Without such steps, repentance is mistaken simply for uttering words such as O Allah, forgive me, or I ask forgiveness of Allah. Unless a person sincerely and earnestly tries to change himself for the better and make amends, it is merely wishful thinking.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “A wise person is he who subdues his passions and strives for the life after death, whereas a foolish person follows his passions and yet vainly hopes for God’s mercy.” (At-Tirmidhi)

Sincere repentance involves, besides feeling genuine remorse over one’s sins, refraining from the sin and from all associations, activities, or circumstances that led a person to such sins in the first place. It should include shunning bad company or friends, watching movies, pornographic scenes, or literature, mingling and mixing with members of the opposite sex, etc.

The next important step towards repentance is to make a firm resolution never to return to sins again. That is possible only if a person immediately becomes preoccupied with what is good and beneficial.

Imam Ash-Shafi`i rightly said, “If a person does not focus his mind on good thoughts and deeds, he will inevitably be preoccupied with bad thoughts and bad deeds.”

So, find some beneficial project or work you can occupy yourself with so that your mind does not wander to unlawful diversions.

Once we have repented earnestly and sincerely, Allah will forgive us. Allah says, {O My servants who have wronged their souls, do not despair of Allah’s mercy, for most certainly, Allah forgives all sins.} (Az-Zumar 39:53)

While describing the conditions for receiving God’s mercy, Allah says, {Except those who repent, and cherish true faith, and do good works, for such are the ones whose bad deeds will be transformed into good deeds, and verily, God is all-Forgiving and all-Merciful.” (Al-Furqan 25:70)

In other words, repentance is granted to those who follow the requisite conditions of repentance.

Almighty Allah knows best.

- aboutislam.net

About Sheikh Ahmad Kutty

Sheikh Ahmad Kutty is a Senior Lecturer and an Islamic Scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Can an Adopted Child Take the Adoptive Father’s Name in Islam?

 

It is allowed to do so if you do not conceal his true identity and do not mistake his biological father for his adopted ‘father’- to facilitate legal requirements.

In other words, it is permissible to give the adopted child only the family name of his foster family, which guarantees loyalty of the adopted child to his new home without claiming biological ties with the adopted child, which is prohibited in Islamic law.

Adding names of persons of different biological origins to a family or clan, signifying their attachments with them, was a common practice among the Arabs before Islam. Islam did not abolish such customs; the prohibition adoption practice confused such affiliation with biological affiliation; such a practice is forbidden as it affects the rules of inheritance and lineage and Mahram relations.

Therefore, when there are genuine safeguards against such consequences, there is no harm for an adopted son to take on the surname of the adoptive ‘father.’

Ibn Kathir, the famous Mufassir of the Quran, says, explaining the verse, {Call them by [the names of] their fathers; it is more just in the sight of Allah. But if you do not know their fathers – then they are [still] your brothers in religion and those entrusted to you.} (Al-Ahzab 33:5), ‘calling the adopted child “son” out of love and kindness is not prohibited and he used the prophetic tradition (reported by Muslim) in which the Prophet called his servant “Anas” as “son.”

There is no shortage of precedents for giving a family name to someone who is not biologically related for various reasons; thus, a formerly enslaved person takes on the name of the person who freed him; likewise, people from one clan take on the name of another clan they have joined in an alliance.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) referred to Umm Ayman, “She is my mother after my mother,” as she was the one who took care of him after his mother passed away.

Imam Ibn As-Salah, the renowned Hadith scholar, says that a person joining his name with that of a tribe he does not biologically relate to was also a common practice.

In light of these, it is OK for an adopted person to add his adopted father’s name as long as there is no confusion about his biological parentage or identity and as long as there is no tampering with the Islamic rules of inheritance.

Almighty Allah knows best.

- aboutislam.net

About Sheikh Ahmad Kutty

Sheikh Ahmad Kutty is a Senior Lecturer and an Islamic Scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada