THE DISCIPLES OF JESUS (PART 2 OF 2): SIMILARITY WITH THE COMPANIONS

Islam holds the disciples of Jesus, Al-Hawariyoon, in high esteem.  Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, mentions Jesus and his disciples in his traditions.  The Quran mentions their faith and their status as the helpers of Jesus, highlights their faith and sacrifice, and calls on the Companions of Prophet Muhammad to be like them.   

"O believers! Be supporters of God, as when Jesus, son of Mary, asked the disciples, ‘Who are my supporters for God?’ The disciples replied, ‘We are supporters of God.’ Some of the Children of Israel believed and some disbelieved.  We then supported the believers against their enemies, so they prevailed." (Quran 61:14)

This verse tells us that some of the Children of Israel heard Jesus’ message and believed him, while others disbelieved.  Six hundred years later some people believed Prophet Muhammad while others turned their back and actively fought against Islam.  Prophet Jesus and Prophet Muhammad both needed strong people around them.  They needed helpers; they needed trustworthy people with conviction of faith.  Al-Hawariyoon were the people of the inner circle, the ones Prophet Jesus could depend on, and the Companions were the ones who stood by and supported Prophet Muhammad.

Prophet Muhammad said, "There is no Prophet who was sent by God to a nation before me except that he had hawariyoon and companions."[1]  During the campaign of al-Ahzab, the Prophet asked his Companions three times which of them would scout the disbeliever’s camp, and al-Zubayr volunteered each time.  The Prophet said, "Every Prophet has a disciple (hawari), and my disciple is al-Zubayr."[2]  This story reflects a narration in Ibn Kathir’s commentary on the above verse, Quran 61:14, in which a young disciple volunteered three times to take the place of Jesus when Jesus and Al-Hawariyoon knew that harassment and arrest were probable.

Some groups of Prophet Muhammad’s Companions can be directly likened to the disciples of Jesus.  When the fledgling Muslim community migrated to Medina, they were met and taken in by the residents of Medina, who came to be known as the Helpers, or the Ansar.  They played a pivotal role in the establishment of the Islamic community.  They embraced the emigrants as if they were family; they shared their homes, their food, their businesses and their wealth—all for the sake of God, and out of respect for Prophet Muhammad and his message. 

The leaders of the Children of Israel harassed Jesus and tried to make it very difficult for him to spread his message.   While his followers understood that he was calling them back to the teachings of the Torah, the Jewish government of the time accused him of blasphemy.  Jesus needed helpers to keep him safe, and he needed them to have a deep understanding of the message. 

Some of the Companions of Prophet Muhammad were given glad tidings of Paradise long before their deaths.  They can also, in some respects, be compared to Al-Hawariyoon.

Prophet Muhammad said "Abu Bakr will be in Paradise, Umar will be in Paradise, Uthman will be in Paradise, Ali will be in Paradise, Talhah will be in Paradise, al-Zubayr will be in Paradise, ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn ‘Awf will be in Paradise, Sa’d will be in Paradise, Sa’eed will be in Paradise, and Abu ‘Ubaydah ibn al-Jarrah will be in Paradise." (Sa’d is Sa’d ibn Abi Waqas and Sa’eed  is Sa’eed ibn Zayd)

God chose Prophet Muhammad as a mercy to humankind and thus to spread the message of Islam.   He also chose the people that would be close to him.  In part one we mentioned that God Himself chose the Al-Hawariyoon.  He knew which people would be the best supporters of Prophet Jesus.  God also knew who the best supporters of Prophet Muhammad would be.  If we examine their lives, we will notice that there was something about the close Companions of Prophet Muhammad that made them different from all other men at the time, and this is why God chose them; they were trustworthy, honest and truthful men.  They were men with strong characters, and they shared all these qualities with their Prophet. 

We are blessed to know a great deal about Prophet Muhammad’s Companions however we do not know as much about Al-Hawariyoon.  What we do know is limited to what is in the Quran and the traditions of Prophet Muhammad.  We do know that they possessed the same qualities as the Companions and were also chosen by God.   From the freely available Christian texts we can glean very little.  The Gospels can be interpreted in many ways and are colored by their contributors' and editors' reflections on events that had happened 60 or more years before they were written.   

Peter (Cephas) the man formerly known as Simon was very close to Jesus.  Jesus changed his name; this was also one of Prophet Muhammad’s practices.  If the name of a Companion had a bad meaning or a meaning in conflict with Islamic principles, Prophet Muhammad gave that person a better name.  Jesus changed Simon’s name to one that was full of meaning.  Peter (Cephas) means stone or rock, and scholars of the Gospels generally agree that Peter was a man of strong, unmovable conviction.

Prophet Muhammad mentions Jesus in some of his sayings and from his words we are able to deduce a little more about Jesus and his disciples.  Prophet Muhammad considered Jesus to be like a brother. 

"Both in this world and in the Hereafter, I am the nearest of all people to Jesus, the son of Mary.  The Prophets are paternal brothers; their mothers are different, but their religion is one."[3]

Both Prophet Muhammad and Prophet Jesus shared a mission and were both surrounded and protected by men who shared their devotion to God and His cause.  - islamreligion.com

READ PART 1 - THE DISCIPLES OF JESUS (PART 1 OF 2): WHO WERE AL-HAWARIYOON ?

FOOTNOTES:

[1]Saheeh Muslim

[2]At-Tirmidhi

[3]Saheeh Al-Bukhari

THE DISCIPLES OF JESUS (PART 1 OF 2): WHO WERE AL-HAWARIYOON?

The disciples of Jesus are known in the Quran and the traditions of Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, as Al-Hawariyoon.  This is an Arabic word meaning simply, the disciples of Jesus.  However, hawariyoon, like many words in the Arabic language, has specific and general meanings, and in some cases, particularly in Islamic words, there are layers of meanings.

Hawari is derived from the root Arabic word hawr that means to whiten, to bleach, to purify, to clean, to change, to transform, to amend and to alter.  Hawari is a singular word and literally means, he who whitens clothes, he who has been appointed, chosen, and purified from all kinds of defects, and a companion or a helper.  The plural is hawariyoon.   

Prophet Jesus’ companions were also known as apostles.  The words apostles or disciples were used to differentiate Jesus’ close companions from followers whose numbers were steadily growing.   Islamic scholars have pondered and discussed the reason for calling the disciples Al-Hawariyoon throughout Islamic history.  Renowned Islamic Quran scholar Ibn Kathir states that the disciples were so named because of their white clothes and he also mentions the meaning of a helper or supporter. 

It is interesting to note that the majority of Jesus’ disciples were fishermen and their clothes would have been white due to their daily toil.  The whiteness could then be extrapolated to include the whitening of people’s hearts through the teachings of Prophet Jesus.   Other scholars have stated that hawari implies one who is capable of being a leader, and almost all scholars agree that a hawari is a sincere person or friend. 

The scholars of Christianity and Islam agree that Prophet Jesus was surrounded by twelve supporters, who were his close friends, companions.   Quran has addressed Jesus’ companions as Al-Hawariyoon five times in four different verses.  The first time they are mentioned is in Chapter three of the Quran, entitled The Family of Imran.  This family includes many people well known to Christians including, Jesus and his mother Mary, and John, known as the Baptist.   

At the time Jesus began his mission many Israelites were so far astray from the truth that Jesus considered it to be disbelief.  He called them back to the worship of the One True God, yet most of those around him rejected his call and failed to heed his message.  After revealing and clarifying that he is a Messenger from God, Jesus asks those listening to his message, who among them would be his helpers in God’s cause.

"Then when Jesus came to know of their disbelief, he said, ‘Who will be my helpers in God’s cause?’ Al-Hawariyoon (the disciples) replied, ‘We are the helpers of God; we believe in God, so bear witness that we submit to God.’" (Quran 3:52)

They continued to pledge their allegiance to God and His Messenger Jesus.

"‘Our Lord! We believe in what You have sent down and we follow the Messenger (Jesus); so write us down among those who bear witness (to the truth).’" (Quran 3:53)

The disciples were submitted to God; they followed the teachings of Jesus and were his companions and supporters.  They helped him call the Israelites back to the worship of One God.  Jesus never called himself God and the disciples were fully aware that they worshipped God and followed a man.  It is the man known as the apostle Paul who called people to worship Jesus.  It is wrong to assume that Paul was a disciple—he never met Jesus nor did he hear him speak or teach.   

Paul was a Pharisee, a Jewish sect that Dictionary.com defines as strict in its observance of religious ceremonies and practices, and adherence to oral laws and traditions.  Remarkably the secondary definition is a sanctimonious, self-righteous, or hypocritical person.  Many thinkers and scholars believe that Paul almost singlehandedly destroyed the teachings of Jesus. 

The scholars of Islam reflect that there are two reasons why Paul would have joined the disciples after Jesus’ death.  Either, in his role as a Pharisee, he was sent to undermine and sabotage the new movement, or the experience[1]  he had on the road to Damascus was a trick from Satan, designed to undermine and sabotage Jesus’ teachings.  Quran is silent about Paul and also does not mention or imply that any of Jesus’ companions, Al-Hawariyoon, ever betrayed him.

Chapter five of the Quran is named The Table Spread with Food.  It refers to Al-Hawariyoon asking Jesus if God could send down a table spread with food.  What exactly they meant has been discussed often, and it seems most likely that they were asking Jesus either playfully or seriously if God would supply them with a feast rather than asking if He could do such a thing.  Jesus warned them not to speak so flippantly but nevertheless asked God to perform a miracle.

"(Remember) when Al-Hawariyoon said, ‘O Jesus, son of Mary! Can your Lord send down to us a table spread with food from heaven?’ Jesus replied, ‘Fear God, if you are indeed believers.’ They said: ‘We wish to eat thereof and to satisfy our hearts (to be stronger in Faith), and to know that you have indeed told us the truth and that we ourselves be its witnesses.’ Jesus, son of Mary, prayed, ‘O God, our Lord! Send us from the heaven a table spread with food that there may be for us—for the first and the last of us—a festival and a sign from You; and provide us sustenance, for You are the Best of sustainers.’ God answered, ‘I will send it down to you, but if any of you after that disbelieves, then I will punish him with a torment such as I have not inflicted on anyone among all humankind and jinn.’" (Quran 5:112-115)

Among the reasons for their request was that the disciples wanted to be witnesses before all of humankind.   They wanted to spread the message of Jesus by proclaiming the miracles they witnessed with their own eyes.  The disciples followed the teaching of Jesus even after his death.  Unfortunately, as Christianity spread, the true message of Jesus, and the faith of the disciples, was discarded and forgotten. 

In the next part, we will learn what Prophet Muhammad said about Jesus and his disciples and compare Al-Hawariyoon to the companions of Prophet Muhammad. -islamreligion.com

FOOTNOTES:

[1]In his own correspondence Paul (formerly known as Saul) describes having a vision while on a journey to Damascus.  He was surrounded by a heavenly light and either saw or heard Jesus.  This convinced him to stop persecuting the followers of Jesus and join them.

CHAPTER 70, AL-MA’ARIJ (THE WAYS OF ASCENT)

Introduction

This forty-four verse chapter is named for the different paths and ways in which the angels ascend to God.   These are mentioned in verses three and four.  The Ways of Ascent was revealed in Mecca and thus discusses the fundamentals of faith.  In this particular case, God describes the Day of Judgment.  Many of these shorter chapters describe different aspect of the Day of Judgement and the Resurrection.  Particularly because the disbelievers of Mecca refused to accept as true that a Day of Judgment was possible, and they mocked Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, asking him to hasten the punishment if it was a real threat.

In the previous chapter, the terrifying upheaval that will take place in the universe on the Day of Judgement was described.  This chapter aims more at the psychology of the Day; the human soul rather than the universe is the setting.  Fear takes hold of the human soul and induces an inner panic.

Verses 1 – 18 The truth about the Hereafter

A questioner asks about the punishment of the Hereafter.  He was one of many of the disbelievers that continuously challenged Prophet Muhammad to bring on the punishment he was trying to warn them about.  The truth is that it will fall on the disbelievers and no one way to prevent it or delay it.  It is inevitable because it is from God Himself, the Lord of the ways of ascent.  This is an expression of God’s loftiness.  Throughout the Quran, He is mentioned as The Most High.

Having established the inevitability of the punishment, the chapter then describes the length of the Day of Judgment.  We must remember that God does not measure time in the same way that we measure it.  The duration of the Day of Judgment is equivalent to fifty thousand years of this world.  All the angels and the Spirit will ascend to God on that Day.  The majority of scholars agree that the Spirit refers to the angel Gabriel because he is mentioned in this way in other places of the Quran.  It is an image that points to their ascent being very important and happening on a very significant Day.

Prophet Muhammad is told to be patient with their constant questioning and demands.  They (the disbelievers) see the punishment and the Day of Judgment as being a long time away, but God on the other hand sees it as being something that will happen soon.  If one day, according to God’s judgment is fifty thousand years long, then the Day of Judgment is certainly quite near, almost upon us. 

This is the Day when many celestial events will take place; some of them were mentioned in the previous chapter.  The sky will be like molten metal and the mountains like tufts of wool.  No person will ask about his friend even when they are within sight of one another.  What is happening is so momentous that nothing else is worth thinking about it, all pales into insignificance. 

To save themselves from the punishment the wicked will wish to ransom themselves by their children, their spouses, their siblings, their relatives, or even everyone on earth altogether.  But no! There is nothing that can be a ransom.  There is no escape.   The punishment is the blazing fire.  It will burn all those who turned away from the truth and hoarded wealth, not spending it the way of God. 

Verses 19 – 35 Qualities of the righteous

Indeed humankind was created anxious.  Whenever misfortune or evil touch him he is fretful, despondent and impatient.  And when good fortune comes his way, he is tight-fisted and stingy, withholding his good fortune from everyone else.  However, this is not the behavior of the righteous—those who are constant in their prayers.  They give what is required of them in the form of obligatory charity to the beggars and the deprived.  They also fear the Day of Judgment and the punishment knowing that no one is secure from it.  They guard their chastity (or their private parts) from all except those who are lawful to them.  They keep their trusts, honor their pledges and promises, give honest testimonies when required to do so, and carefully maintain their prayers. Those with these attributes will be honored in the gardens of Paradise.   

Verses 36 – 44 The unbelievers’ attitude

God asks, what is the matter with these disbelievers? They rush towards you (Prophet Muhammad) from the right and the left and even in crowds.   They hurry to sit close enough to hear but far enough to mock and oppose your words.  Do they seriously think they will enter Paradise before the believers? Do they all aspire to enter the Garden of pleasure? No! They know they have been created from an insignificant sperm-drop and this should be enough for them to understand that God has complete authority over their affairs, and He has the power to resurrect them.  How can they expect to enter Paradise except by the will of God? 

God swears an oath by Himself that indeed He has the power to replace them with others better than them.  Nothing is able to prevent Him from doing this.  Leave them (Prophet Muhammad) to wallow in their vain talk and blunder about until they face the promised Day.  That Day they will rush out of their graves as if they are rushing towards some goal with their eyes downcast and bodies humbled and ashamed. - islamreligion.com

CHAPTER 43, AZ-ZUKHRUF (GOLDEN ORNAMENTS)

Introduction

This eighty-nine verse chapter was named after the golden ornaments mentioned in verses thirty-five and fifty-three.  It was revealed in Mecca and thus addresses the fundamentals of the faith.  God refutes some of the claims made by the disbelievers including the notion that a true prophet would be wealthy and that God had taken some of the angels as His daughters.  The Meccan disbelievers were steeped in superstitions, and God exposes and refutes them. 

Verses 1 – 25 The errors of the disbelieving Meccans

The first verse consists of two disconnected Arabic letters.  Ha Mim.  God has not conveyed any particular meaning to these letters; however, they have been the subject of much scholarly debate.  Usually after these letters we are taught something about the Quran.  God swears by the glorious Book (the Quran) that makes things clear.   He has made it an Arabic Quran for ease of understanding for those to whom it was first revealed.[1]  It is from the original book, The Preserved Tablet that is kept with God and in which all the revelations are written. 

Should God turn this revelation away from the Meccan disbelievers because they are insolent? There have been many transgressors before them, each rejecting and mocking their prophets, and many were stronger and wealthier than the disbelievers of Mecca.  God destroyed them. 

It is God who made the world a habitable place, added rivers and highways, and sent down rain from the sky to revive barren lands.  He created all things in pairs and gave humankind ships and livestock to enable them to move from place to place.  All things were created for the use of humankind, yet they do not remember or are thankful; rather they attribute partners to Him.

The disbelieving Meccans believe that Allah took angels as His daughters, yet they are dismissive of their own daughters and pray only for sons.  If one of them is told of the birth of a daughter, he becomes sad.  They believe the angels are female, but they were not witnesses at their creation.  They claim that if God had not wanted them to worship angels, they would not have done so.   But God asks sardonically if perhaps they were given another book He does not know about.  Following their ancestors is their excuse, and many before them have claimed the same thing.  The prophets brought better guidance than what their people found their forefathers upon, but many disbelieved them.  In the end those who disbelieved were punished.

Verses 26 – 45 There is only One God

Abraham renounced what his father and people worshipped.  He worshipped God alone, and he bequeathed those words to his descendants so that they could always return to the truth.  As time passed the people of Mecca forgot and then God sent Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him.  They accused him of being a sorcerer and wondered aloud why the Quran was not sent to a greater, more distinguished man.  God gives the honor of prophethood to whomever He wills.   

Worldly riches and possessions have no significance in the sight of God; had there been no danger of people being inclined towards unbelief in pursuit of this world, He would have filled every disbeliever's house with riches.  These things are nothing more than comforts of this worldly life.  God reserves the bounties of the Hereafter for the righteous.

Those who turn away from the revelations are assigned a devil as a companion.  They think they are guided to the right path, but on the Day of Judgment, they will wish the devilish companion had never come near them.  Those companions cannot save them from punishment.   And having companions in the punishment will not console them. 

Prophet Muhammad is told that he cannot make the deaf hear or the blind see.  If they choose not to listen to the message, he cannot force them to change their minds.  They will be punished whether he lives to see the punishment or not.  Just spread the message, he is told, because he is on the straight path, and he and the believers will be questioned. 

Verses 45 – 78 Moses and Jesus

Moses was sent to Pharaoh, and his people were afflicted with scourge after scourge.  They expected Moses to pray to God to lift the afflictions in return for their following the guidance, but they broke their promise time after time.  Pharaoh claimed he was better than Moses and questioned why Moses did not wear gold ornaments or come with angels.  The Egyptians were defiantly disobedient; God drowned them and made them an example for the nations that followed.

When Jesus, the son of Mary, was mentioned as an example of a person being worshipped with God, the disbelievers laughed between themselves as to who is better, the son of God or the daughters of God.  They argued trying to provoke and challenge the believers.  Jesus was a servant of God and an example of God’s infinite power (by creating him without a father) for the Children of Israel.   He is a sign of the coming of the Hour, so do not let Satan mislead you from the straight path.  He brought wisdom to the Children of Israel saying God is my Lord and your Lord so worship Him alone, yet the factions among them disagreed, and they will suffer a grievous punishment. 

The Day of Judgement will come all of a sudden without warning, and then even friends will become enemies.  There will be no fear for God’s righteous servants on that Day.  They will be delighted to be entering Paradise and will be given everything their hearts desire and their eyes delight in.  The evildoers however will remain in the punishment from which there will be no relief.

Verses 79 – 89 God devises a plan

The disbelievers devise a plan to ruin Prophet Muhammad, but God devises a plan too.  He hears their private conversations so too do the angels who are recording their every word or action.  God tells Muhammad to say that if the Lord of Mercy had offspring, he (Muhammad) would be the first to worship them but He does not.  He is far above what they say.  So they blunder along and play until they face the promised doom. 

God is far above their false descriptions and Exalted is He who has control of the heavens and the earth and everything in between them.  He knows the Hour when all will be returned to Him.  Those deities invoked besides God have no power of intercession.  And if you ask the disbelievers who created them, they will definitely say God.  So how is it that they are so deluded when it comes to worshipping Him alone?  God is aware of Prophet Muhammad cry that his people persist in disbelief, but God advises him to bear with them and respond with peace, because in the end they will come to know and understand. -islamreligion.com

FOOTNOTES:

[1]The final revelation, the Quran, was revealed in Arabic because Prophet Muhammad was an Arab and his first audience were Arabs.  The miraculous nature of the Quran also has to do with Arabic.   The Arabs had a keen appreciation for language and its structure and recognized upon hearing the Quran that it must be from the divine.  The Quran’s literary challenge still stands today.

The use of the Internet to propagate Islam -III

It is sad to note that when a researcher looks through some of the international libraries available on the Internet in order to find information and references regarding any type of data he requires, he finds what he is looking for indexed in a very accurate manner, but, at the same time, we as Muslims do not have a single library about Islam that would serve as an encyclopaedia on the Internet for researchers to find any data they require about Islam, save it to their personal computers, and print it out. Are we not the ones with the superior system of life? Are we not the ones referred to in the saying of Allah (which means): “You will be superior if you are [true] believers.” [Quran 3: 139] If we are the ones upon the truth and our religion is superior, then we must realistically establish this loftiness and superiority. If are unable to conquer the disbelievers by means of weaponry, then the least we can do is conquer them by spreading this religion via the Internet.

When one takes a look at some international radio stations, he finds the likes of Monte Carlo, which spreads Christianity day and night and is upon falsehood with claims such as Allah is one of three (i.e., the concept of trinity) and that Allah is ‘Eesaa the son of Maryam, or that he is the son of Allah. They utilise titanic resources to broadcast such deceitful information to the world. On the other hand, we Muslims do not exert any effort to propagate our faith - even amongst the workers who live among us such as our drivers and maids. Indeed, this is a great shortcoming which Allah will hold us accountable for.  

We must exert all efforts and utilise all means within reach to teach our religion and spread it, because Allah Says (what means): “You are the best nation produced [as an example] for mankind.” [Quran 3: 110]

Why are we the best nation? Allah tells us in another verse of the same chapter where He says (what means): “[Due to your] inviting to [all that is] good.” [Quran 3: 104]

Where is our invitation of people to goodness? Where are our students of knowledge? What happened to the duty of conveying the message of Allah? Where is the duty of conveying on behalf of the Prophet ? Anyone can convey what he knows about Islam; we are not suggesting that people without knowledge should shoulder the responsibility of propagating Islam, but one may know something and can convey that to others. What effort are we exerting to convey Islam?  

The disbelievers are working day and night, as are the innovators who spread their ideology that Allah is the sum total of everything in the universe - and that therefore, even pigs contain Allah, Glorified and Praised is Allah above what they claim; these sects have many sites on the Internet translated into various languages. Some of their websites contain clear infidelity, and they have their homepages in many languages such as Arabic, English, Spanish, French, Chinese, Japanese …etc. while on the other hand, the Muslims, who are the followers of Islamic Monotheism, are still lagging behind in this regard. There are websites for all the different deviant sects, such as the Ismaa’eelis, Qaadyaanies (who claim that Ghulam Ahmad Mirza Qadyaan was a Prophet after Muhammad ), Bahaa’ies and Satan worshippers. When one searches for the word 'Islam' with the major search engines on the Internet, the first website that is listed is that of Louis Farrakhan's Nation of Islam – the group that has destroyed the image of Islam. Moreover, the search will also list other websites that call to and encourage evils such as committing suicide. 

We must present the pure Islam to mankind – the Islam which is based on the Quran and the Sunnah with the understanding of our righteous Salaf . We must present it in place of the misguided rationalists who claim to be intellectuals and twist the texts of the Quran and Sunnah in order to fit their desires and please the disbelievers - some of them by rejecting the texts in the Sunnah. There are others amongst them who claim that the Jews and Christians are our brothers, and that it is permissible to exchange gifts with them during their religious holidays. They pass odd Fataawaa in order to please the disbelievers; They make statements under pressure such as that it is permissible for women to take charge of ministries and the judiciary, thereby rejecting the statement of the Prophet  in the book of Imaam Al-Bukhari  in which he  said: “Never will a group of people succeed if they make a woman in charge of their affairs.” These people spread their garbage via their websites and their Islamic rulings spread misguidance, just as they do on some of the satellite television channels. 

Misguidance after misguidance, where is the Jihaad by means of the tongue? We must spread sound belief and faith, we must spread the pure understanding of Islam according to the understanding of our righteous Salaf  we must propagate the real Islam in place of what is being done by these misguided people who spread their falsehood in the name of Islam, and who collect millions for their websites so as to enable themselves to publish and broadcast their garbage. 

Jihaad is of different types which Muslims must carry out. Establishing websites to propagate Islam and call the disbelievers towards Islam, which gives them the chance to ask questions and have them answered is an obligation that we must fulfil, It is also an obligation to call the Muslims to Islam when they stray away whilst living in disbelieving countries, dissolving into western communities and thereby regressing into becoming Muslims in name only - them and their children. These people need help and instruction, and experience has shown that the method of using Islamic Propagation via the internet is a highly successful one. - islamweb.net

READ PART 1 - The use of the Internet to propagate Islam -I

READ PART 2 - The use of the Internet to propagate Islam -II 

The use of the Internet to propagate Islam - II

Another matter regarding the Internet which is associated with the preconditions of the Hour is the saying of the Prophet  as in the book of Imaam Ibn Hibbaan : “Lying will spread.” A liar will be punished in his grave by having his face ripped down to his rectum, because of how his lies spread among people. Nowadays, one can lie and publish this on the Internet, and it would spread from the east to the west in an instant.

A recent survey states that the number of users on the internet  are more than billion people, and the number is increasing extremely rapidly. 77% of the Americans say that they have benefited from it, 44% say they cannot live without it, and 87% use it to call and contact their relatives. The Internet has entered the Arab and Islamic world, but there are two obstacles which obstruct it from being used freely in these countries:

1.     The lack of technical knowledge on an individual level.

2.     The lack of knowledge of the English language.

On the other hand, the Internet is potentially very beneficial; I am not trying to market the use of the Internet here, but I am simply displaying its benefits as well as its dangers. There are many benefits such as:

·        It facilitates purchasing and brings within reach the display of any item one desires to buy or order, such as books etc.

·        It facilitates running a business.

·        It is inexpensive to make calls via it.

·        It makes contacting international research centres an easy task.

·        It enables the swift sending of mail.

·        It enables people to listen to the radio, watch medical programs and participate in discussions.

·        It contains many means that one can take advantage of in the propagation of Islam and calling people to Allah.

A question arises: how can we benefit from the Internet in the field of propagating Islam? Our presence on the internet is very weak, which is a shame for a Nation that is supposed to be the best nation ever sent out to mankind. I am addressing here those people who have a real concern for spreading Islam, and not just anyone.

There is no doubt that there is a spiritual vacuum in the west as well as the east, and that people lack a system which can establish justice. The world is full of injustice and oppression; it is also filled with corruption and enmity. People live the law of the jungle where the strong eat the weak; this is a world whose evil knows no limit. This world is full of people who commit suicide, have nervous breakdowns and many other disorders which reflect the vacuum we mentioned earlier, and people will never live in justice and peace except through Islam.

Islam is a religion which is a mercy to mankind; it is the only religion which Allah accepts from people as Allah Says (what means): “Whoever desires other than Islam as religion - never will it be accepted from him.” [Quran 3: 85]

If we acknowledge that Islam must become the international religion which all people should adopt, we must convey it to mankind using all available means and methods. We will not reign supreme if we fail to utilize all means to make this religion dominate, or else we will be forsaking Islam and not supporting it. We are commanded by Allah to explain Islam to the masses and we must have the sense of responsibility to spread this religion worldwide, to the best of our ability.

Spreading and propagating Islam via the Internet is something which cannot escape us. Even with simple planning and limited resources we can establish projects to propagate Islam and present them to people, which will have very beneficial results. Thus, we must have the eagerness to address the hearts of people and try to convey to them the light of Islam.

With regards to spreading Islamic knowledge:

First: We need a huge amount of resources and careful planning and entities to adopt mammoth projects and see their successful completion.

Second: We need to establish huge databases for the different Islamic sciences, in addition to advanced search engines in Arabic, because what is available on the Internet now is insufficient as well as substandard.

Third: We need to connect the masses to the lectures of scholars via the Internet.

Fourth: We need specific channels for academic lectures, where the scholar delivers them and people can instantly see him from their home - worldwide, because despite the fact that some of us are blessed to be around scholars and be able to attend their lectures, there are many others who are deprived of this bounty as they do not have either scholars or students of knowledge living in their area; this would open a way for people to seek knowledge, the reward for which is, as the Prophet  said, Allah opening a way towards Paradise for the one who does so.

Fifth: we need to make the Fataawa of the scholars reach the masses people and enable them to inquire about matters directly via the Internet by setting aside certain times for them.

Sixth: Islamic universities should teach students around the world via the Internet for a small fee to cover the expenses of such a project, as is already the case with universities in the United States and Europe that teach worldly subjects … we must join the caravan.

Seventh: Another idea is to publish on the Internet Masters and PhD degree theses in Islamic studies and organise them with efficient indices, which would facilitate searching by Muslims and even non-Muslims who may thereby benefit greatly; there is a yearning to learn about Islam nowadays among the non-believers worldwide. The era that we live in has seen a revolution in the field of data and communications, and we must take advantage of this to spread Islamic information which will benefit those who search the Internet. There are many out there who compare the world's religions. There are people who would like to read the Quran, or the translation of its meaning, as well as prophetic narrations in order to know the nature of Islam, its economic, political and religious system, as well as all other things related to this religion. -islamweb.net

READ PART 1 - The use of the Internet to propagate Islam -I

The use of the Internet to propagate Islam - I

In the beginning of the year 1969 CE, in the state of California, people were able to transfer data between two personal computers which were few metres apart via a telephone line, and this was the first such connection to be established anywhere.

Before this incident, such a link was only a concept which was to be implemented in the computer laboratories of the United States Department of Defence as part of their Star Wars program. The aim was to have a network fit for military use.

The number of people who connected to this initial network increased rapidly and developed at a very rapid rate, such that the number has reached more than billion people today, who are connected through millions of personal computers globally, and this, in the opinion of many, was the most important invention of the twentieth century. Allah Says (what means): “[Allah] Taught man that which he knew not.” [Quran 68: 5]

Allah has made mankind a successive authority upon the earth, wherein man lives and worships Allah; He has granted man great ability of mind and has created for him upon the earth things which he can invest in and utilize in the obedience of Allah; so glad tidings for the one who utilizes the earth's resources in the obedience of Allah and woe to those who utilize them in His disobedience.

One cannot help but be surprised when he witnesses the development of the Internet in light of the Hadeeth of the Prophet  which was narrated by Abu Hurayrah  in the book of Imam Ahmad and others ; he  said: “The Hour will not come until trials appear in large numbers, lying becomes widespread, markets converge and time shortens.” In another narration, he  said: “Until time shortens and Harj increases.” So a companion of his asked: “What is Harj?” and he  replied: “Countless killing.”

In the past, the scholars such as Ibn Al-Khattab, Al-Khattabi, Ath-Thawri & Ibn Hajar  have interpreted the shortness of time to mean that time will lose its value and people will feel that there is not enough of it to do anything. Contemporary scholars like Shaykh ibn Baaz  said commenting on the book Fath Al-Bari of Imam ibn Hajar : “This can be interpreted to be the contraction of distance and the time required to travel it due to aircraft and cars, as well as the closeness that people feel regarding events due to radio (which broadcasts these events).”

However, if we take a look at the invention of the Internet, we will see that it best fits as an interpretation for this narration, because the Internet has made everything seem closer and turned the entire world into a global village. As for the closeness of markets, Shaykh Mas’ood Ad-Dakheeli said: “It seems that this is referring to how the distance between places has shortened during our time due to the various means of transportation via air and land, and due to the electronic devices, like radios and televisions, which transmit sound and images and have made the markets in different parts of earth seem near to each other, so that traders know about any changes in price anywhere in the world, and consequently raise their prices in their own locations accordingly, or decrease them if they drop elsewhere.”

Therefore, the closeness of markets is in three ways: firstly, the speed of transfer of market data, secondly, the physical proximity due to modern transportation methods, and thirdly, the similarity in prices between markets.

Anyone who is well acquainted with the Internet will realise just how closely it fits the abovementioned prophetic narration.

There is one website, for example, that has three million items and runs an international auction on a number of these items. One can buy anything via such websites, and there are very many of these on the internet. Also, one can also display on such websites what items he himself has to sell, and this is an indication that we are living at the end of time, close to the Hour, as in the aforementioned narration, and that the minor preconditions of the Hour are taking place and that there are about three of them still left to occur. After these, the ten major preconditions will start occurring. It is worth mentioning that there is nothing to prevent a major sign from occurring concurrently with some of the minor signs of the Hour, as some of the scholars noted.

The point here is the closeness of markets and the shortness of time, which is fulfilled by the Internet, and is another proof of the prophethood of the Prophet  who informed us fourteen hundred years ago about things that are taking place during our time.

Other narrations related to the preconditions of the Hour include the saying of the Prophet : “Before the Hour, dealing in trade will become widespread.” Electronic trade has overwhelmed the markets and is in the billions of dollars. He  also informed us that of these signs will be: “…the spread of adultery and fornication” as in the narration in the book of Imam Bukhari . In the narration of Imam Al-Hakim  he  said: “Immorality will spread…” - In excess of four hundred thousand pornographic websites are present on the Internet which spread immorality worldwide.

Another relationship between the Internet and the preconditions of the Hour is highlighted in the narration in the book of Imam At-Tabarani  where the Prophet  said: “Before the Hour, dealing in Riba (i.e., interest and usury) will become widespread.” It is well known that on the Internet, dealing in Riba is widespread and many banks have established websites and set the cost of a customer transaction via the Internet as only ten cents, whereas the cost of a live transaction inside a bank building costs one dollar and seven cents; this is an indication that as time passes, dealings inside bank buildings will become obsolete and all banking transactions will be done via the Internet by people who are at home or in their offices. These banks are institutions that have been established on Riba and their proliferation on the Internet has become evident. Additionally, the use of credit cards on the Internet is also widespread. The prohibited use of cards like Visa, MasterCard and American Express, all of which entail dealing in Riba, causes the wrath of Allah to befall the one using them. -islamweb.net