Re: Not Exhausted

[Rich Ater]

Rich: That's not quite true. You can do this by being critical of how Muslims have interpreted the Qur'an. Gilberto: I'm not sure what you are saying. What do you mean by "this"? Gilberto,     I think you probably have a good idea of what I mean by this, but for the sake of argument, I'll explain further. By the above I mean that one does not have to eventually criticize the Qur'an if one accepts a revelation beyond it. In the Qur'an it says that God gave a revelation to each of the Prophets and perfected their religion. If this is the case then in becoming a Muslim, and I mean a Muslim in the common accepted manner of understanding the term, not its universal definition, thyen you must end up criticizing Abraham, Moses, and Jesus, (God forbid). You can do this by criticizing what gets accepted these days for accepable Hadith, and you can do this by looking at what has happened tp fiqh and ijtihad in modern times. This criticisms are not just those of some Baha'is, but of some Muslims as well. Read Speaking inGod's Name by Khalid Abul Fadil. I'm not sure what you mean. I think you might be agreeing with me. Ultimately, whatever problems there are don't require leaving Islam. The fact that Khalid Abul Fadl is still Muslim, and hasn't become Bahai teands to prove that no? No. I do not agree with you. I merely point out that others are grappling with the unworkability of much of what passes for Shariah in the modern world. I mean no disrespect here to Islam. my daughter goes to a Muslim school, she is learning Arabic and I speak Arabic. We read the Qur'an together each night in Arabic, although her accent is much better than mine, she's six and soaks up the language like a sponge. What I am saying is that religion cannot be frozen to 7th century Arabia or to 19th century Iran. As the Qur'an says: Every nation has its appointed time, and when their appointed time comes they cannot keep it back an hour, nor can they bring it on. O sons of Adam! verily, there will come to you apostles from amongst you, narrating unto you my signs; then whoso fears God and does what is right, there is no fear for them, nor shall they grieve. But those who say my signs are lies, and who are too big with pride for them, these are the fellows of the Fire, they shall dwell therein for aye!     (The Qur'an (E.H. Palmer tr), Sura   7 - Al Aaraf)     Except for one verse in the 10th Sura, which I think is taken out of context, there is no proof in the Qur'an that wahy ended with Muhammad (PBUH). As to Hadith it's to facile to run to it. Even using isnad. So that's where we part company, but let's not stop dialogue or friendship with this disagreement. Let us instead, going back to the Qur'an, look at the following verses: Let there be no compulsion in religion. Truth stands out clear from error; whoever rejects evil and believes in Allah hath grasped the most trustworthy hand-hold, that never breaks. And Allah heareth and knoweth all things.     (The Qur'an (Yusuf Ali tr), Surah   2) To you be your religion; to me my religion.     (The Qur'an (Rodwell tr), Sura 109 - Unbelievers) Rich __________________________________________________ You are subscribed to Baha'i Studies as: mailto:archive@mail-archive.com To unsubscribe, send a blank email to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, use subscribe bahai-st in the message body to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Baha'i Studies is available through the following: Mail - mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Web - http://list.jccc.edu/read/?forum=bahai-st News - news://list.jccc.edu/bahai-st Public - http://www.escribe.com/religion/bahaist Old Public - http://www.mail-archive.com/bahai-st@list.jccc.net New Public - http://www.mail-archive.com/bahai-st@list.jccc.edu