Surain Dhanoa <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Re: [DDN] Teachings of the Qur`aan: Al-Anfaal - Aayaat 36-40
Dear Sir I am a non Muslim.I have all respect for Kuran and the Prophet Muhammed but I do believe that just as the Prophet brought Allah's message to the Arabs, there have been others who brought Allah's message to their people. The position is recognised in the Kuran. Imho the commentary given of the Ayat 36-40 makes the Muslims intolerant of others.In the present global society it makes the position of Muslimsdifficult and it leads to their isolation in other societies. Does it not rquire a reconsideration by the Ulema? Surain Dhanoa Calgary Canada ___________________________________________________ Response from Ustaadz Ayub A. Hamid Dear Surain, Thanks for expressing your concern and sharing your views . Yes, there were other prophets and messengers who brought message to different people, but they all have been superseded by last of them, Prophet Muhammad, (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) who was sent for the whole mankind, not just the Arabs. After Prophet Muhammad's advent, (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), salvation is not possible without believing in him. But these verses or my comments on these verses are not implying that non-Muslims should not be tolerated or that they should be killed. Not at all. Please consider the following points to understand these verses in their proper perspective: § The verses are not talking about how the Muslims should behave after the Messenger of Allaah has accomplished the objectives assigned to him by Allaah. § The fate of those who were violently opposing the Prophet was not decided by the Messenger himself but mandated by the Creator, according to His way He had always done before the Prophet. § It was a specific situation mandated only for the Messenger's own mission and pertained only to his people and his particular locality where he was sent. § This was true for all messengers in the past. For example, that is why the people who rejected Noah were destroyed by flood; those who tried to stop Moses were drowned into the sea; those who tried to kill Jesus were destroyed by Roman invasion. That is the way of Allaah which Allaah has used consistently for all Messengers. § These verses pertain to the past. And the past cannot be reconstructed, just as we cannot reconstruct the killing of the disbelievers in the cases of Noah, Moses, etc. As for the idea of reconstructing Islamic teachings in general, please remember that Islam is based on the commands of Allaah and His Messenger, not on the ideas of people or scholars. Hence, no command of Allaah or His messenger can be changed or amended until the Day of Judgment. Had these verses been a command to Allaah to all Muslims of all times, we could not have changed them or "reconstructed." I hope these points will help you understand that there is no "intolerance" being taught here. Rather, these verses describe a very specific situation which was true for all messengers of the past. Kind regards, Ayub A. Hamid --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
