GOD'S STANCE ON BLASPHEMY 12th December 2019

A few days back, an incident in Norway sparked the sentiments of Muslims around the world. A person was seen burning a copy of the Qur’an in public. A young Muslim, out of emotions and love of God and the Prophet Muhammad, attacked the person. 

Over the years, we have witnessed the burning of the Quran, cartoons of God's Messenger Muhammad (peace be upon him), and blasphemous acts sparking outrage and protests from Muslims.  

Pakistan's famous incident based on retribution by a Muslim named Ilm Deen against a blasphemous act by a non-Muslim Mahashe Rajpal was ninety years ago. The recent famous incident is associated with the assassination of the governor of Punjab, Mr. Salman Taseer, who was murdered by Mumtaz Qadri, his bodyguard, in 2011. 

We must examine what blasphemy is and how it is addressed by God in His Scripture. The word blasphemy means the act or offense of speaking sacrilegiously about God or sacred things. It comes under profane talk, addressing God and His prophets or people revered by the masses in a derogatory manner. Basic human etiquette and morality entail not harming other people's sentiments in any way. Yet we see such incidents surface now and then. 

I would like to present verses from the Qur’an to see how God addressed these issues during the time of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). 

The first addressees of the Qur’an, then, the Jews, used to misconstrue the word in a derogatory sense. God asked the Believers to change the word to another, which meant in simple English, 'We beg your pardon':

Qur’an says (2:104): “Believers, do not address the Prophet as ra'ina (whereby the Jews, in their own accent, meant: Would that you would never hear, but call him unzurna) (meaning: Please speak to us slowly so that we understand), and then listen. The unbelievers will face a painful torment.”

God is stopping the Believers from staying away from those who mock God (His Messengers, Divine Book, and Religion): 

Qur’an (4:140): “God has told you (believers) in the Book that when you hear people disbelieving and mocking God's revelations, do not sit with them unless they change the subject. You will become like them. God will gather all the hypocrites and the disbelievers together in hellfire.”

Qur’an (5:57-58): “As to those who turn (for friendship) to Allah, His Messenger, and the (fellowship of) believers, it is the fellowship of Allah that must certainly triumph. O ye who believe! take not for friends and protectors those who take your religion for a mockery or sport, whether among those who received the Scripture before you or among those who reject Faith; but fear ye Allah, if ye have faith (indeed).”

The hypocrites of Madinah during the Messenger Muhammad announced that on their return to their city, they would expel the Messenger Muhammad and His believers:

Qur’an (63:8): They (hypocrites) say: "If we return to Al-Madinah, indeed the more honourable ('Abdullah bin Ubai bin Salul, the chief of hypocrites at Al­-Madinah) will expel therefrom the meaner (i.e., Allah's Messenger SAW)." But honour, power, and glory belong to Allah, His Messenger (Muhammad SAW), and the believers, but the hypocrites know not.”

The first addressees of the Quran, the Tribal Chieftains of the Quraish, used to openly declare Messenger Muhammad as a magician and a liar:

Qur’an (38:4): “And they (Arab pagans) wonder that a warner (Prophet Muhammad SAW) has come to them from among themselves! And the disbelievers say: "This (Prophet Muhammad SAW) is a sorcerer, a liar!"

Some used to openly protest and get enraged with the Messenger:

Qur’an (9:58): “And of them are some who accuse you (O Muhammad SAW) in the matter of (the distribution of) the alms. If they are given part thereof, they are pleased, but if they are not given thereof, behold! They are enraged!”

Some used to call him someone who listens to everyone (without listening attentively):

Qur’an (9:61): “And among them are men who hurt the Prophet (Muhammad SAW) and say: "He is (lending his) ear (to every news)." Say: "He listens to what is best for you; he believes in Allah; has faith in the believers; and is a mercy to those of you who believe." But those who hurt Allah's Messenger (Muhammad SAW) will have a painful torment.”

Analysis: Not in a single verse within the Qur’an has God asked the Messenger or his companions to respond harshly to the ones who make a mockery of God, His Messengers, His Book, and His religion. Nowhere has God expressed His desire to exercise retribution against such perpetrators. On the contrary, God has asked to exercise complete restraint at all levels. 

God has declared the Qur’an as His Rope, as His expectations from us. Meaning whoever holds onto His Rope steadfastly shall not go astray. Qur’an (3:103).  God wants us to exercise complete restraint whenever and wherever God's verses, His Messenger, or His religion is being mocked at or, ridiculed.  

How do we respond then? Qur’an most succinctly guides us (16:125): “Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good instruction and argue with them in a way that is best. Indeed, your Lord is most knowing of who has strayed from His way, and He is most knowing of who is [rightly] guided.”

Aamir Yazdani

 

 

 

 

Human Intellect and the Free Will 30th June 2019

The manifestation of enjoying free will. 

(Reading Time: 5 minutes)

God announced to the Angels when He created Adam and Eve: Qur'an (2:30): "When your Lord said to the angels: ‘I am placing on the earth one that shall rule as My deputy,’ they replied: ‘Will You put there one that will do evil and shed blood when we have for so long sung Your praises and sanctified Your name”. God shared with Adam the names of the people to come who shall fare, as the Qur'an (4:69) puts it: “...prophets, the truthful, the ones who testify the truth and the righteous men” exercising their will freely without coercion. Who shall not do evil and shed blood.

The 'free will' that we enjoy has been coupled with the definitive sense of morality from what is wrong from right: Qur’an (91:7-8): “We created the souls and we proportioned it. Then He showed him what is wrong for him and what is right for him”. Through these facets which constitute this species as a homosapien, literally meaning a wise man, God tests us to reach the Truth. It follows that the only manner one is expected to reach the Truth is through the employment of one’s intellect.

For this world to be a testing place, it only makes sense to reach some conclusions based on employing our intellect. Human beings, when deciphering and treading on the path of discovering the realities of the universe as a 'Traveller in the Quest for Truth', in effect do so at one’s level of intellect! Religion or seeking God or seeking the 'Truth' shall remain replete with differences of opinion.

What an exhilarating ride then!

Here again, the Qur’an (7:42) gives a fair account of this 'quest for truth': "But those who believed and did righteous deeds - We charge no soul except [within] its capacity. Those are the companions of Paradise; they will abide therein eternally". This 'testing place' becomes a great, glorious journey of life! One needs to employ one's intellect and faculties to see what is beyond. That is when God appears in His full Glory and Majesty.

Let there be differences of opinion in this quest for truth!

Let the pursuit be sincere, without prejudice, rising above an arrogant demeanour, revisiting our tenets of faith based on intellect at a conscious level. This is exactly what was meant by God when He declared that He intends each human being to have free will.

The question then arises: How do we see the importance of God granting each of us this FREE WILL within OUR lives?

Aamir Yazdani

 

Dr. Zakir Naik's Reply to a Hindu on the Criterion of Entering God's Paradise 15th June 2019

Respected Dr. Zakir Naik, addressing a young Hindu woman in a YouTube clip, said that being a Muslim is the key to entering Jannat. 

At the end of the answer, the Muslims sitting there clapped. The clapping showed the Muslims considered themselves heaven-bound and the Hindus (non-Muslims) hell-bound. This is very demeaning to other religions. This is sad! How can Muslims be complacent about their being chosen to enter God's chosen Paradise? Had Dr. Zakir Naik been born a Hindu, I think he would have declared that being a Hindu is the key to entering Bhagwan's (God's) paradise!

God is most fair. He has laid down simple criteria to enter His chosen Paradise: Qur'an (2:62): "Surely those who believe, and those who are Jews, and the Christians, and the Sabians, whoever believes in Allah and the Last day and does good, they shall have their reward from their Lord, and there is no fear for them, nor shall they grieve". Likewise in the Qur'an (5:69): "Surely those who believe and those who are Jews and the Sabians and the Christians whoever believes in Allah and the last day and does good-they shall have no fear nor shall they grieve". 

Further, the Qur'an (2:111-113): "And they say, 'None will enter Paradise except one who is a Jew or a Christian." That is [merely] their wishful thinking. Say, "Produce your proof, if you should be truthful." Yes, on the contrary, whoever submits his face to God while being a doer of good will have his reward with his Lord. And no fear will there be concerning them, nor will they grieve". 

The birth of a soul in any faith DOES NOT make one heaven or hell-bound. Only the 'conscious' relationship with God, based on one's capability, determines one's salvation: Qur'an (7:42): "But those who believed and did righteous deeds - We charge no soul except [within] its capacity. Those are the companions of Paradise; they will abide therein eternally". 

God is (most) fair!

Aamir Yazdani

The Sherlock Holmes Principle to See Beyond: Our Intellect as Gateway to Faith 30th April 2019

The Power to See Beyond: Our Intellect as Gateway to Faith

Epigraph (Reading Time: 7-9 minutes)

Only homo sapiens possess fully operative, fully functional intellect. This intellect has enabled us to transcend our biological habitat and exhibit capabilities unknown in the animal kingdom. We enjoy a distinct moral reasoning. And an aesthetic appreciation. And, more importantly, we can see beyond and infer correctly by evaluating the unseen through the lens of intellect. We are a species that does not (should not) insist on empirical evidence to believe, but rather through the power of correlating empirical evidence with faith.

"[This is] a blessed Book which We have revealed to you, [O Muhammad], that they might reflect upon its verses and that those of understanding would be reminded." – Qur'an 38:29

Reading time: 5-7 minutes

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In response to an atheist who presented the Bible in a humorous light, I was struck by what may be humanity's most myopic declaration: "I believe what I see." This approach fundamentally contradicts the very essence of homo sapiens— "wise man"—and abandons the intellectual prowess that defines our species.

The Gift of Intellect: Humanity's Unique Domain

The singular differentiating factor between the animal kingdom and humanity is our possession of intellect. This faculty is uniquely human. Can we dismiss it as a fluke, a one-in-a-trillion chance occurrence that mysteriously emerged eons ago?

If human intellect were purely a product of random evolutionary processes, it may seem surprising that such advanced cognitive ability is so uniquely developed in one species among millions. One might expect that similar levels of intelligence would emerge independently in other species as well. However, while many species exhibit forms of intelligence, none appear to match the complexity and abstraction of human cognition. This raises an important question: is human intellect merely a result of chance, or does its distinctiveness point to a more purposeful origin?

At least one other species, a monkey, should have been competing with us in morality or intellect, or formed a housing colony on our lines, or would have been a university graduate. But this is not reality. All other creatures live strictly within their spheres of innate abilities—their habitats. Not an iota more, not an iota less.

Only homo sapiens possess fully operative, fully functional intellect. This intellect has enabled us to transcend our biological habitat and exhibit capabilities unknown in the animal kingdom. We enjoy a distinct moral reasoning. And an aesthetic appreciation. And, more importantly, we can see beyond and infer correctly by evaluating the unseen through the lens of intellect. We are a species that does not (should not) insist on empirical evidence to believe, but rather through the power of correlating empirical evidence with faith.

This last faculty defines the very foundation of faith—faith in God's existence, belief in the certainty of the Hereafter, faith in divine revelation to His intellectual servants.

The Sherlock Holmes Principle

Consider the world's most celebrated fictional detective, Sherlock Holmes. We admire his intellectual acumen in solving crimes through reading signs, employing argument, rationale, and logic. Holmes never insists on witnessing the crime itself to apprehend the culprit. His beauty lies in his concluding remark to Dr. Watson: "It's quite elementary, my dear Watson!"

The phrase "It's quite elementary, my dear Watson!" reflects Sherlock Holmes's emphasis on logic and observation, highlighting how reason makes complex truths appear simple. It symbolizes Holmes’s belief that truth becomes clear when approached with a rational mind, much like the Qur’anic call to use intellect in faith. What seems profound often becomes obvious when seen through the lens of reason.

Science Points Beyond Itself

The domain of science relishes empirical evidence. The pondering mind does entertain the question and possibility of ‘who’ arranges these occurrences? The Qur'an guides the pondering intellect towards the element of "WHO". It says He is God, the Creator, the Sustainer, the Provider for us all, and the universe.

‘All that is in the heavens and the earth has glorified God, and He is the Mighty, the Wise. It is He Who has sovereignty over the heavens and the earth. He alone ordains life and death and has power over all things. It is He Who is the First and the Last as well, the Apparent and the Hidden too, and He has knowledge of all things.” Qur’an (57:1-3)

Divine Providence and Accountability

Has God created this magnificent universe and then left it on its own? This view is called Deism. The Divine Scriptures stand contrary to claims of "I believe what I see." They declare that God has not created us in vain, for He is above creating anything without purpose. This points to God being a fantastic Provider—Providence itself.

The Qur'an's main thrust in its message is the reminder of the Hereafter. It tells us that all living beings shall encounter the inevitable "knock" of death on their doors. When the door shall open, the Angel of Death will escort us from this ephemeral world.

[O People!] How can you deny God, whereas you were dead, then He gave you life? Then it is He who gives death to you; then after this He only shall give life; then towards Him shall you be returned. Qur’an (2:28)

Life does not end there. An eternal existence begins, directly proportional to our attitudes and actions here.

"(God) inspired it to understand what was right and wrong for it." (Qur'an 91:8)

In reality, whoever comes before his Lord as a wrongdoer, for him is Hell. He shall neither die nor live in it. Contrary to this, those who come before Him as believers, who have done righteous deeds, then it is such people for whom there are high ranks, orchards of eternal residence beneath which streams flow. They shall live in them forever. And this is the reward of those who adopt purity. Qur’an (20:74-76)

Such verses affirm our intellectual capacity through employing the voice of conscience to discern right from wrong, to perceive beauty, and to believe in the unseen through reasoning.

Universal Testimony: The Beatitudes

The Sermon on the Mount in Matthew's Gospel opens with beatitudes—blessings rooted in Hereafter consciousness:

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven... Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God... Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven." Gospel of Matthew (5:3-12)

These teachings mirror the Qur'anic emphasis on accountability and eternal reward.

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!“ (Deuteronomy 6:4)

“Acknowledge and take to heart this day that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other.” (Deuteronomy 4:39)

Jesus answered, 'It is written: 'Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’ Luke: (4:8)

 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’” Mark (12:29-30)

Signs of God - the Provider

The Qur'an reminds us of the prowess of employing our intellect in reading the signs that surround us.

"[They should behold:] Have We not made the earth a cradle

and the mountains [its] pegs?

And not created you in pairs?

And not made your sleep a means of comfort for you?

And not made the night a clothing 

and the day a time for livelihood?

And not built above you seven sturdy skies? 

And not made in them a glowing lamp?

And not sent down abundant water from dripping clouds

that We may bring forth from it grain and vegetation

and gardens of luxurious growth?

All this is proclaiming that surely the Day of Judgement has an appointed time." Qur’an (78:6-17)

The Balanced Path

God calls us to use our intellect to recognize Him. He does not endorse the extremes of 'seeing is believing' or blind adherence to inherited narratives. Neither does He approve of faith driven solely by emotion or rhetorical fervor. God does not guide a person who refuses to entertain and employ the intellect in matters of faith, and places defilement on him.

“And God casts the filth of misguidance on those who do not use their intellect.” Qur’an (10:100)

This is why whoever reads the Qur'an discovers that God presents His signs and bases His belief on our intellectual faculty. His address is for those who employ their intellect - those who reflect, ponder, and use the gift that makes us truly human.

The path to faith is not about abandoning reason but rather employing it fully. When we do, we discover that believing in the unseen is not a leap into darkness but a logical conclusion drawn from the evidence surrounding us—a conclusion as elementary as Holmes' greatest deductions. Presenting the main theme of the Qur’an in advocating the certainty of the advent of the Hereafter, God puts a simple yet logical observation for the pondering mind.

Our intellect, far from being faith's enemy, is its greatest ally in recognizing the Designer behind the design, the Provider behind the provision, and the Purpose behind our existence.

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Aamir Yazdani
MPhil Islamic Thought and Civilization (Pakistan)
MSc Irrigation Engineering (UK)

 

Tribute to my Father - 29th April, 2012

Seven years since my beloved father passed away peacefully in his sleep in the early hours. My mother was made to go into deep slumber by the angels when they came to take my father along around 7:30am. My mother used to wake up now and then and check on him. But at that time she slept like a log for half an hour. When she woke up her universe had turned upside down. She can never get over that sleep! That particular night I arrived late night from Lahore at 2:30am in the morning. I peeped inside the door of my parents and saw my parents sleeping. It was the last time I saw my father breathing.

I can only thank God Almighty for having my father with me for so many years, where we spent countless hours together, talking, laughing, enjoying his grandchildren (my kids), having myself being corrected by him in my late forties, going to the local mosque where people knew me because of him. Thank you, God for having my father's influence on me and my children for so many years.

Yes, we all have to go. I realized this especially so when I had my father left us seven years back. But the biggest consolation and guarantee is we shall be meeting again. It is but a matter of time. My father's passing away has further firmed my belief in the Hereafter. No one can at least tell me, 'There ain't no life after death'. How can I not meet my father who gave me all the goodness that I have in me? I pray God Almighty keeps him comfortable till we meet again after life and make us enter His paradise together - hands in hand.

The storylines are not over yet. I have yet to tell my father about his favourite grandchildren and what they are doing now. When Waleed got married to our dear Anoop! What Khalid and Ahmed are doing? He would be so so yearning to hear about them! Also about his beloved wife, my dear fragile and old mother! I have to tell him my dear Hureen is looking after her and taking good care. I at times don't see my mother and she asks me where I've been? I just reply inaudibly with a sheepish grin, but Hureen is there with her to exchange the happenings of the day. I have to tell my father that when Hureen takes my mother to the hospital for check-ups the nurses inquire if she is her daughter? When they come to know she is her daughter-in-law they smile admiringly. Why wouldn't they? They are young and find these relationships amusing! There is so much to talk about with my father.

Anon!

Allahummagh firlahu warrhamhu, Allahumma adkhilhul jannata maa al abrar.

Ameen!

Aamir Yazdani