A Mutazilla Responds To The Hindu Scholar

Another incident that you can only dig up from our history books and no one wants to dig from our own history to try to learn from our own experiences. There is a religious group of people in what is today India. In Islamic books of history it's called As Simniya. Now your humble brother here did not have the time to see whether that has some type of other name in the English/Latin/Orientalist literature. So this, (whatever), sect/religious persuasion it was in India at the time and this was during the third Islamic century. We go from the first Islamic century to the third during the Abbasid time when the King of the Muslims was Harun Ar Rashid. We know that some people get offended because we're conditioned to use certain words. Let's be brave and say the truth. So there was one of these scholars/intellectuals in this religious persuasion in India who told his ruler "these Muslims can only rule by the sword/ brute force. They have no intellectual content to them. They don't think." He said/advised his ruler "if you want to ascertain the truth of what I am telling you correspond with their King Harun Ar Rashid in Baghdad and have the Muslims and we sit together and discuss/debate the issues/differences." So this ruler liked the idea and he sent to the ruler of the Muslims at that time requesting an encounter between the intellectuals of both societies. The ruler in Baghdad sent to this land in what is called Bilad As Sind the High Judge of Baghdad to debate/discuss the issues. So here comes the Simni scholar and sits down with what is supposed to be the intellectual of the Muslims of that time. There's two sides. There are some individuals/thinkers on this side and others on that side. So the Simni asks a question: "is the deity that you conform to/worship able to create another deity like Him." This scholar/Qadhi Qudhat Baghdadi said "your question borders on what we call ilm al kalaam." During that time there was a phrase called a couple of words ilm ul kalaam which in today's language means philosophy. So the Muslim judge's response to this Indian, (whatever his religion was), was "your question is a philosophical question and this type of philosophy we consider to be bid'ah- what is called a negative innovation." He said "and who of your scholars have defined this type of conversation/question as a negative innovation?" He said "Abu Hanifa and two of his students." It ended there. The Muslim scholar could not answer a simple question like that and this reverberates. The Muslim scholars return to Baghdad and the King hears about this and he says "don't we, the Muslims, have any people who can address these types of intellectuals? Where have the Muslim intellectuals gone, (in other words)?" He is told by his advisors/consultants and these types who are around him "but we do have those types of people but they are in prison." That reminds us of today's world- intellectuals in prison! People who want to think they are guilty of thought crimes. Throw them in prison. At that time they may have been in the hundreds now we have them in the hundreds of thousands who are behind bars because they want to think about what Allah and His Prophet are saying to us. So he says "OK- bring me one of them." So they release some of these Mu'tazila. They are called in Islamic history Al Mu'tazila/the rational school of thought in Islam. They present the same question to them. He says "what if someone asks you: you say Allah is Almighty, Allah can do everything etc. Can he create another God/divinity like Him?" One of these bright individuals said

"the question in itself carries a contradiction because Allah is infinite. He is before time and He is after time. He is not time and place limited and when you speak about creating you are speaking about bringing something into existence within the dimensions of time and place and Allah, a deity, does not exist in the dimensions of time and space. So it cannot happen."

A person who was locked up in prison had an answer for other people who were outside the Islamic realm who have questions. Muslims, brothers and sisters: we live in a world that thinks. It is a natural thing that comes to all human beings and we cannot go on practising our rituals/Islam in the absence of our mind/intellect/thinking capabilities/endowment.

A Response to Sikhs on Prophet Muhammad's (sawas) marriage with Bibi Ayesha (ra)

Its seems like many Sikhs have allied themselves with the secular nations when it comes to area Prophet Muhammad's (sawas) marriage with Bibi Ayesha. Sikhs have always been hearing stories in their Guruwaras about how some Muslims rulers tortured their Gurus 3-400 years ago, so in retaliation they believe it is ethical to attack Prophet Muhammad's (sawas) marriage decisions. What Sikhs need to realize is the Mugal's injustice in India had nothing to do with Islam. The Mugal's ancestors came from Mongolia and under Genghis Khan they invaded Iraq. During their invasion they killed 2.2 million Sunni Muslims and later they accepted Islam. When these Mongols accepted Islam they still were not considered Islamic rulers. If we look at Sikh history the Sikhs Guru disagreed with many of Islam's concept which is fine. However, never in history have these Sikh Gurus attacked Islam for Prophet Muhammad's (sawas) decision to marry to Bibi Ayesha(ra). To those Sikhs who believe it is appropriate to attack Islam in this area what do they have to say to historical information regarding similar incidences ? What do they have to say about Guru Nanak's sister's marriage ? Are they are aware of her age when she got married ? Let us refer to the Sikhi wiki for more information.

Bibi Nanaki ji (1464-1518) was the elder sister of Guru Nanak and the daughter of Kalyan Chand Mehta(Mehta Kalu) and Mata Tripta. She was born in 1464 in her mother's home at the village of Chahal, now in Lahore district of Pakistan Punjab. The Guru's love for his sister is referred to in most touching terms in some of the Sakhis. A sister's love for her brother is a perennial theme of Punjabi folklore. There are many stories of Nanaki's deep and devoted affection for her brother, Nanak.

Bibi Nanaki was five years older then Guru Nanak, she was the first to recognize his spiritual eminence and to become his devotee. She is often credited as becoming the first Sikh. She protected Nanak from their father's wrath, when repeatedly he disappointed and angered him. She was with him throughout the early years of his childhood. When Guru Nanak Dev was only six years old in 1475, Nanaki was married to Bhai Jai Ram, a revenue official of very good reputation, at Sultanpur, which is in the present-day native state of Kapurthala, and was then the capital of the Jalandhar Doab. Nanak continued to live at home. He rebelled against Hindu ritual customs and rites that were imposed without reason.(SikhiWiki)

http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Nanaki

Now we do our calculation Bibi Nanaki was born 1464 and she was married in the year 1475. This makes her 11 years old at the age of marriage.

Let us take another example. Guru Nanak wife Mata Sulakhni married him when she was 14.

Mata Sulakhni (1473-1545) was the wife of Guru Nanak the founder of Sikhism. Sulakhani was married to Guru Nanak at Batala on 8 July 1487 (Harh 24, 1544) but this auspicious day is traditionally celebrated in Batala during late August each year. Two sons were born to her - Sri Chand in 1494 and Lakhmi Das in 1497. She survived Guru Nanak and expired at Kartarpur, an habitation the Guru had founded on the right bank of the river Ravi and where she had spent the last years of her life. (Sikhi Wiki)

http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Mata_Sulakhni


Next the Second Guru his wife was 13 when he married her.

Mata Khivi (1506 - 1582) was born in 1506 to Karan Devi and Bhai Devi Chand Khatri in a small town called Sanghar which is now located in the province of Sindh in Pakistan. Her father was a shopkeeper and trader, and was a popular man in the neighbourhood. His daughter inherited all his finest attributes of generosity and congenial spirit. She was married in 1519, when she was 13 years old. Khivi was married to Lahina for 20 years before he became the second Guru of the Sikhs. (SikhiWiki)

http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Mata_Khivi

From the limited sources I have I managed to find information on Sikh marriages which would also be considered inappropriate according to secular standards. What Sikhs to realize is Prophet Muhammad (sawas) did not marry Ayesha (ra) until she reached the age of puberty. Women can reach the age of the puberty as early as the age of 8. If they attacking Prophet Muhammad for this decision then they are also attacking Holy Sikh figures who married women who just reached puberty.

Fear of God Not Found In Sikhism ?

I came across many Sikhs who pointed out that Islam teaches a man to fear God, but Sikhism only focuses on the love of God. What these Sikhs have failed to realize is that fear of God in Islam is not aimed toward God's friends, but it is aimed toward tyrants.

Behold! verily on the friends of Allah there is no fear, nor shall they grieve; (Quran 10:62)


If Sikhs believe one does not fear of God should not exist then what is the point of discussing the history of Guru Arjan's martyrdom ? Is this just a historical event for the Sikhs to express their emotional feeling against the Muslims ? Or this an event to understand the injustice that occurs in our daily lives ? Have these Sikhs failed to realize that what the emperor Jahangir did to Guru Arjan was totally un-islamic ? Nowhere does the Quran tell us to torture an enemy to death. Also, what the emperor Jahangir did to Guru Arjan did was wrong even though Guru Arjan was a non Muslim. Jahangir failed to realize that Guru Arjan was a still a creation of God, and he not right to boil him in a pot. Since this method of torture was totally un-Islamic, Jahangir should have feared God. However, he didn't, and as a result he will to face Allah's wrath.




Above is a portrait of the Muslim Saint Miyan Mir. If Jahangir had given Guru Arjan a fair trail, Hadrat Miyan Mir would have supported the emporer. However, Guru Arjan was unjustly punished, and Miyan Mir stood by him till the end.


As for the fear of God, here are some passages from the Guru Granth Sahib which orders Gursikhs to fear god.

nwnk nwim ivswirAY dir gieAw ikAw hoie ]4]8] (17-9, isrIrwgu, mÚ 1)

naanak naam visaari-ai dar ga-i-aa ki-aa ho-ay. ||4||8||

O Nanak, those who forget the Naam-what will happen when they go to the Court of the Lord? ||4||8||

BY ibnu inrBau ikau QIAY gurmuiK sbid smwie ]1] rhwau ] (18-6, isrIrwgu, mÚ 1)



bhai bin nirbha-o ki-o thee-ai gurmukh sabad samaa-ay. ||1|| rahaa-o.

Without the Fear of God, how can anyone become fearless? Become Gurmukh, and immerse yourself in the Shabad. ||1||Pause||



mrxw mulw mrxw ] (24-8, isrIrwgu, mÚ 1)

marnaa mulaa marnaa.

Death, O Mullah-death will come,



BI krqwrhu frxw ]1] rhwau ] (24-9, isrIrwgu, mÚ 1)

bhee kartaarahu darnaa. ||1|| rahaa-o.

so live in the Fear of God the Creator. ||1||Pause||

Kojq Kojq pwieAw fru kir imlY imlwie ] (57-17, isrIrwgu, mÚ 1)

khojat khojat paa-i-aa dar kar milai milaa-ay.

I searched and searched, and found God. In the Fear of God, I have been united in His Union.



iqQY loA loA Awkwr ] (8-6, jpu, mÚ 1)

tithai lo-a lo-a aakaar.

There are worlds upon worlds of His Creation.



ijv ijv hukmu iqvY iqv kwr ] (8-7, jpu, mÚ 1)

jiv jiv hukam tivai tiv kaar.

As He commands, so they exist.



vyKY ivgsY kir vIcwru ] (8-7, jpu, mÚ 1)

vaykhai vigsai kar veechaar.

He watches over all, and contemplating the creation, He rejoices.

Also here is clip where a Qadri Sufi Shaykh explain who should fear Allah. If the viewers understand urdu, I strongly advise them watch the clip.

A Former Sikh Tells His Story

I did not start this blog to convert Sikhs into Muslims. The Sikhs are free to remain as Sikhs. However, from my research on Sikhism, the Sikhs tend to have a lot of negative views about Islam. The reason for this is due to Sikh history which encouters with Muslims rulers who were tyrants.

Mohammed Yayha was former Sikh who convered into Islam a few years ago. He decided one day to study on Islam, in detail and wondered why it is such a hated religion. So, the first thing he did is take the main source of Islam which is the Quran. After reading the Quran he finally said took Shahad. Here is his article below

First of all I want to comment on why there is so much hatred between Hindus/Sikhs and Muslims.





The main reason stems from when the Mughals killed and tortured many innocent sikhs and hindus, many young sikhs in particular are reminded again and again on how the 'muslims' used to force sikhs to convert, how they cut the hair of a sardar, how they killed babies and tore of the limbs and made necklaces out of them.







At the Gurudwara they are reminded of when Guru Arjun Dev was burnt on the hot plate. These all may be true and no doubt they unfortuneatly happened to your ancestors and also mine. But one point must emphasised, that all this was waged in the name of the Mughal Empire, and not Islam. Because of this many muslims hate what they done, the Mughals will be accountable on the Day of Judgemnent for what they done, and what they done never complies with any teachings of Islam and of the teachings that every faithful muslim holds dear to their heart.




I would like to emphasise that there is no such thing as 'forced conversion' to Islam and I'll explain why. In order for one to embrace Islam one must say the statement of faith (Shahadha) 'La ilaha il Allah, Muhammuedur RasulAllah' meaning, there is no god but one Allah, and that Muhammed (peace be upon him) is the last messenger Of Allah. When a non-muslim says this with at least two muslim witnesses present they enter the fold of Islam. However there is a condition on this, that when this is said the person must say it with full conviction truly believing in it, if not then this will be invalid. Therefore if someone is being forced to convert and by force says the shahadha then this would be invalid and the person is not considered a muslim.

In the Qu'ran it says,

Quote:



'Let there be no compulsion in religion', meaning that you can't be forced in religion. Therefore anyone who tries to force someone to convert is no true muslim as he is directly going against the teachings of Islam and more so the direct commands of God.





I know you hear a lot on the media about Islam especially at this time on the media, about terrorism etc. but one of the miracles of Allah is that the Holy Qu'ran is there for the world to see, no page left unturned, no word changed..and in the Qu'ran Allah tells us,






'If a man takes an innocent mans life, then in my eyes it is as if he has killed the whole of mankind. But if a man saves another mans life, then in my eyes it is as if he has saved the whole of mankind.







Islam and Sikhism should not be at war together, Islam is more similar to Sikhism than any other religion in the world. They both believe in monetheism, the oneness of Allah (ek on akaar), being tolerant to all faiths is a very integral part of both faiths. Even Christianity don't believe that there is 1 supreme God above everything, they believe in 3 Gods, and hindu's believe in a recorded over 30million Gods. Sadly todays Sikhs don't realise about their own religion, they criticise me because I have embraced Islam but yet know so little about their own religion, I very often hear some Sikh say that they thought that in Sikhism there are 10 Gods, they don't realise that there were 10 Guru's and Guru Nanak who was a muslim who preached the oneness of Allah (ek on akaar), he performed Hajj and Umrah and many ocassions, his clothes are still to be found on display in a museum in Pakistan. But what happened after Guru Nanak died was that in punjab as there were many hindus at the time and a lot of hindu influence, that Sikhs adopted re-incarnation as their after life and neglected the Islamic teachings of a Day of Judgement whereby you shall either go to Hell or Paradise depending on the deeds you done in your life, and whichever place you go then this is for eternity.

You see one of the significant differences between Sikhism and Hinduism apart from monotheism is the fact that Hindu's worship idols and this is very big sin in Sikhism and also Islam.



I know as Sikhs many of you will be thinking how could he embrace islam just as my friends thought. I was a typical jatt sikh boy who used to session all the time and get into fights, but I realised that theres more to life than just this,and asked myself, 'surely God has got a greater purpose for us than just putting us into an animal?'

Do you not know that Islamic shariah law is the only law in the world whereby a non-muslim can live with his wealth and family protected? You say you want democracy? so you still want all the perverts to roam the streets, look at how much crime there is in this country, this country cannot sell a thing without a woman with a sexual nuendo with it! and to call us barbaric and oppresses of women, I'm sorry but you don't have the right, muslim women are meant to wear a hijab (body cover), not to oppress but to maintain the dignity and self-respect of a woman.....under shariah law if you steal your hand is chopped off, in Saudi Arabia people don't even lock their shops up because they know no one will steal anything.....let me ask you, is it not better to have a nation with a handfull of criminals with their hands missing, than a nation of criminals.....here in this country when you go into prison the criminals don't repent or show remorse, rather they talk about how much next time they wont get caught and how they will do the crime better.




I am not saying to embrace Islam, but what I am saying is to learn about your own religion more and as a result you will learn more about yourself and this will only bring peace. Then on your own ask God to guide you to the truth...'No one can guide whom Allah has set astray, and no one can set astray whom Allah has guided.'



Peace, Yahya

Kunwar Mahendra Singh Bedi Sahar Praises Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)

Guru Nanak in Mecca Part 2

Another story, which is circulated around the Sikhs, is how Guru Nanak had to disguise himself as a Muslim to enter Mecca. What do the Sikhs mean by this ? In Mecca, the only time, you have to wear certain clothes is when you are performing Hajj. So, what I don't understand is why the Sikhs claim Guru Nanak had to disguise himself a Hajji ? You only need to dress like a Hajji if you are performing Hajj. On the contrary, if you don't need to perform hajj, or its not hajj season then you don't have to dress like a hajji. As for Guru Nanak's clothes, the turban and Kurta was no different then how a Sufi saint dresses. The reality is Guru Nanak did not need a disguise. He just had to prove himself to be a Muslim, in order to go to Mecca. It is only if he performs Hajj, that's when he needs to change his clothes. From the various stories, it seems like Guru Nanak did go to Mecca, and this was not only for a visit, but it was also perform Hajj.

Here is a portrait of a famous Sufi saint Baba Farid.



Compare this portrait with Guru Nanak's painting.



In fact, when I went to Mecca I was able to go there with my jeans and T shirt. It is only when I had to perform ummarah or Hajj, I was required to dress as a Hajji.

Guru Nanak In Mecca Part 1

According, to Sikhs all religions are equal. However, there are times, when the Sikhs try prove the another's religion to be inferior. A famous story circulated around Sikhism is how Guru Nanak went to Mecca and told pointed his feet at the Kaaba to teach the Muslims, that God is everywhere. The story takes places where a guard tells the Guru to not place his feet toward the direction of the Kaaba, yet the Guru replies by saying God is everywhere. However, what Sikhs fail to realize is that Muslims do not believe that God lives in Mecca. If we have such beliefs then we are not even Muslims. Just like how if a Sikh claims that the Gurus are 10 Gods, then they are not proper Sikhs.




The reason why Muslims, face the Kaaba is not because we believe God lives there. On the contrary, the reason is the Kaaba unifies the Muslims to face direction when they are praying. Also, the Kaaba was build by our first Prophet, Prophet Adam (as) as a place of worship. Then after that is built by Prophet Abraham (as).




Also it is ironic that Sikhs point out that Muslims should not face the Kaaba, when they worship God. If this is the case, then why don't the Sikhs point their feet to their grant Sahib as a tribute to Guru Nanak's teachings. Have you ever heard of a Sikh doing that ? What if I sat in a Guruwara with my feet pointing toward the Adi Granth ? Won't I get reprimanded by the Sikhs who see me doing this ? Maybe when Sikhs bow they should bow to a direction which is opposite to the Guru Granth Sahib? Anyway, I am not asking the Sikhs to go against their religion. They are free to do what their religion asks them. However, what I wanted to clear is their misconception about Islam's believe in Allah.

As for the Islamic belief on Allah, we do not restrict Allah (swt) to any direction. In fact Islam states, that Allah is not even restricted to a place, and that a space is not capable to hold God.
The Islamic belief about Allah (swt) is that:

There is nothing like Him. He is the All-Hearing, All-Seeing. He is neither body nor spirit. He does not have corporeal form or shape, or flesh or blood. He is not substance or accident. He does not have a colour or taste, smell or tactility, heat, cold, wetness, dryness, height width, or depth. He does not have joining or separation, movement or stillness. He has no parts or components, or limbs or members. He has no directions: no right or left, front or back, above or below. He is not circumscribed by place nor is He subject to time. He cannot be incarnate in any place. He is not described with any of the attributes of creation which involve contingency nor is He described as being finite or as being limited. He does not beget and is not begotten. No quantity can encompass Him; no veil conceal Him; no sense perceive Him. He cannot be compared to mankind nor does His resemble creation in any way. He was First before events in time and before contingent things, and existed before all creatures. He is Knowing, Powerful, Living and will always remain so. Eyes cannot see Him; sight cannot perceive Him; imagination cannot encompass Him. He is Knowing, Powerful, Living, in a way dissimilar to all others who are knowing, powerful, living. He alone is timeless and there is nothing timeless but Him, no god but Him and He has no partner in His kingdom. (Maqalat al-Islamiyyin)

Islamic Scholar teaching people that Allah exists without a place.