{"id":346,"date":"2015-02-26T02:26:37","date_gmt":"2015-02-26T02:26:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/azmi.co\/cust\/ngba-wp\/?page_id=346"},"modified":"2021-08-28T16:06:07","modified_gmt":"2021-08-28T16:06:07","slug":"islam-shariah","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/nogodbutallah.org\/?page_id=346","title":{"rendered":"Islam-Shari’ah"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the name of All\u0101h,<\/span>
\nthe Beneficent, the Merciful.<\/span>
\nPeace and Blessings of All\u0101h on Mohammad.<\/span>
\nDEDICATED TO<\/span>
\nAll\u0101h\u2013the Glorious and the High,<\/span>
\nLord of the worlds<\/span>
\nAND TO<\/span>
\nMohammad\u2013who brought the world<\/span>
\nto our feet and eternity to our arms
\n<\/span>*<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

This letter was sent to the Toronto Star<\/i>. It was not published.
\n<\/span>Re: Often hard to see peaceful side of Islam<\/i> (Star<\/i>, Saturday, September 24, 2011).<\/span><\/p>\n

Contrary to Joe Killoran\u2019s claim, the Qur\u2019an\/Islam abolished slavery and put the scepter of regality into the hands of the slave, as evidenced in the history of Afghanistan \u2013Kutubuddin, Shamshuddin Altamash, and Subuktagin were former prisoners-of-war\/slaves who rose to high ranks.<\/span>
\nRather than \u201cdevalues women\u201d the Qur\u2019an liberates women and gives her equality with man from the cradle to paradise:<\/span>
\n-\u201cAnd women have rights similar to those against them in a just manner\u2013(Qur\u2019an 2:228);<\/span>
\n-\u201c\u201cSurely the men who submit and the women who submit, and the believing men and the believing women, and the obeying men and the obeying women, and the truthful men and the truthful women, and the patient men and the patient women, and the humble men and the humble women, and the almsgiving men and the almsgiving women, and the fasting men and the fasting women, and the men who guard their private parts and the women who guard, and the men who remember Allah much and the women who remember\u00ad\u2013Allah has prepared for them forgiveness and a mighty reward\u201d\u2013(Qur\u2019an 33:35).<\/span>
\n-The Muslim woman can earn; inherit and own property.<\/span>
\nIt is ignorance of Islam to say that the Qur\u2019an endorses \u201cmisogyny.\u201d Islam esteems womanhood as the symbol of purity and motherhood as the gateway to paradise! Neither Joe Killoran nor anyone else can prove that the Qur\u2019an \u201chas caused and continues to inspire countless acts of savage violence and cruelty.\u201d<\/span>
\n(For slavery see<\/span> Islam-slaves\/slavery.\u00a0<\/a><\/span>For women see<\/span>\u00a0Islam-liberated women<\/span>).<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Anthony Morris wrote: \u201cNever in my life have I been called a Christianophobe\u2026But criticizing Islam immediately conjoins one to this moniker.\u201d<\/span>
\nWhile truth is not Islamophobia or Christianophobia, to compare the truths expressed against the Pope and Christianity to using verses of the Qur\u2019an out of context to vilify Islam is thoughtless if not dishonest. Any serious student of the Qur\u2019an knows that Islam is \u201crational critical thinking\u201d: \u201cCall to the way of thy Lord with wisdom and goodly exhortation, and argue with them in the best manner\u2013(Qur\u2019an 16:125).<\/span><\/span>
\nIslam is blessed with the Divine allure of reason! There is no charge against Islam that is not refutable.<\/span><\/p>\n

Donald Joshua wrote: \u201cIt is hard for the ordinary person to see the peaceful side of Islam if all we are confronted with in the name of that religion, through the media, is warfare, suicide bombings and honour killings.\u201d<\/span>
\n(Joshua\u2019s letter is a classic example of one who, rather than go to the source for knowledge, relies on the media, which can be brutally biased).<\/span>
\nIslam has only one \u201cside,\u201d Peaceful! Islam prohibits oppression, aggression, transgression, and exploitation; Islam prohibits using our hatred as a reason to transgress or be unjust; in fact Islam requires that we give justice even it be against one\u2019s self. Islam only allows a defensive fighting against those who first take up arms against Muslims; and requires the making of peace with the enemy, even in the face of possible deception by the enemy; (that Islam says to slay the disbelievers wherever you find them refers to the soldiers of war who would regroup against Muslims. And this is what America and entourage have done\/are doing, as they claim, in Iraq and Afghanistan and Pakistan; though Iraq and the Talibans did not take up arms against America and entourage). There is no \u201chonour killings\u201d in Islam!<\/span>
\n(That Islam is\u00a0 peaceful see<\/span> Atheist-Muslim debate, Is Islam peaceful<\/span>)<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Joshua continues: \u201cThe man in the street is uncomfortable with the hijab, sharia law and jihadis.\u201d<\/span>
\n(The nudist might also be uncomfortable with our\u00a0clothing, including the bikini and thong!)<\/span> Will you stop wearing garments you\u2019re \u201ccomfortable\u201d with because the \u201cman (and woman) in the street is \u201cuncomfortable\u201d with them?<\/span>
\nThere is no law more equitable and just than Shari\u2019ah! (While there is no terrorism in Islam and this is not in support of terrorism) before Palestine was stolen and given to Jews and the West began to try to run Muslim countries and control their oil\/resource there was no \u201csuicide bombings\u201d no \u201cwarfare\u201d and \u201cjihadis\u201d against the West.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0SHARI\u2019AH\u2013SUPREME SYSTEM
\n<\/span>(If Muslims want to institute Shari’ah in America, as one party on the Internet\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>claims, though he seems to have forgotten to point out that America wants to institute her brand of “democracy” in Muslim lands, then Muslims would be giving to America the best system in the world). \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

*<\/span><\/p>\n

CONTENTS<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Amputation\/Dismemberment<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Apostasy<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. Blasphemy<\/span><\/li>\n
  4. Capital punishment<\/span><\/li>\n
  5. Flogging<\/span><\/li>\n
  6. Honor killing<\/span><\/li>\n
  7. Stoning and adultery<\/span><\/li>\n
  8. Child custody<\/span><\/li>\n
  9. Adoption<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    *<\/span><\/p>\n

    The Qur\u2019an was revealed over a period of twenty-three years; during this long period, unless he received Divine Revelation in the matter, the Prophet followed the teachings of the Bible, which requires death to the adulterer, the unchaste bride, the apostate the blasphemer and the homosexuals; which Biblical laws were annulled by subsequent Qur\u2019anic revelations\u2013(Qur\u2019an 2:106; 16:101. See Muhammad Ali\u2019s comm. His translation of the Qur\u2019an can be viewed online: www.muslim.org<\/a><\/span>).
    \nHadith are to be understood as to the time frame they were given and the background. After revelation on the matter there was no going back to the old order. <\/span>Prophet Mohammad taught according to the Qur\u2019an\u2013(Qur\u2019an 10:15; 21:45; 46:9; 53:3-4). Whatever contradicts with the Qur\u2019an is to be discarded; the Qur\u2019an supersedes all other sources of guidance.\u00a0<\/span>
    \n<\/span><\/p>\n

    Who is it that can decide what the normal mode of dress is? If the bikini is normal then nudity\u2013which is the state in which we are created and is therefore the natural state\u2013 is normal. And if the bikini and nudity are normal then the Muslims\u2019 hijab<\/i> and jalaba <\/i>is normal.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Interestingly, while the Muslim woman is scoffed at and even ridiculed for wearing the hijab<\/i> and jalaba <\/i>(and the burqa <\/i>which is not an Islamic requirement) the Western wear of suit and tie has the man hog-tied from neck to toes (and even head, of those who wear hats), which may reasonably be compared to the Muslim woman\u2019s wear.<\/span><\/p>\n

    If baring the body to the public can be considered enlightenment by one society, then shielding of the body from the public can be considered enlightenment by another society. <\/span><\/p>\n

    It is blatant arrogance for one nation to dictate to another nation what mode of apparel constitutes enlightenment. Is the nun\u2019s had-cover a symbol of her \u201cservitude\u201d? The nudist might view all clothing, including the bikini and thong, as a symbol of \u201cservitude\u201d or repression).<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 As nudity does not cause a \u201crisk of harm\u201d and is not a criminal act.\u201d Wonder what the flap was about over Janet Jackson\u2019s malfunctioned \u201cnipple\u201d cover on the television show in 2004. <\/span>And why is prostitution outlawed? Is it acceptable to legislate what consenting adults do with their bodies in the privacy of their bedrooms and not acceptable to legislate what they put on their bodies in public?<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    Since consensual sex does not \u201ccause a risk of harm\u201d either \u201cand is not a criminal act,\u201d heterosexuals and homosexuals can now engage in public. <\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 To women who are of the view that it is discrimination against them, in that men are not required to cover their heads: men have to shave their heads at the hajj, women do not; men are required to be circumcised, women are not; men are required to give women dowry, even though she may possess greater wealth than him; men are required to maintain women, whereas women are free to do whatever with their finances. And men also have a dress code\u2013to cover the area from, and including, the navel to the knees and half of the chest. <\/span><\/p>\n

    Even without comprehending the excellence of the hijab, covering the head when required is no price to pay for Allah\u2019s everlasting beauty.<\/span><\/p>\n

    These garments\u2013overcoats (jalaba)<\/i> and head-cover (hijab)<\/i>\u2013are to distinguish the Muslim woman from other women, a mark of devotion and of distinction: of being the exalted nation\u2013(Qur\u2019an 33:59; 24:31; 2:143; 3:110). <\/span><\/p>\n

    Women who are wearing jeans under their over-garment in revolt against Islam must know that they are dressing themselves for the Fire. There is nothing in Islam to protest against\u2013Islam regards womanhood as the symbol of purity; and motherhood as the gateway to Paradise. <\/span><\/p>\n

    Whereas choosing to not wear the hijab [and jalaba] is one matter, why would the Muslim woman desirous of All\u0101h\u2019s everlasting grandeur revile the hijab? Revolt against the hijab is revolt against Islam; revolt against Islam is revolt against All\u0101h; revolt against All\u0101h is the Sureway to Hell-fire.<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 Significantly, whereas the critics of Islam charge that Islam discriminates against women and that the hijab<\/i> is a symbol of the Muslim woman\u2019s subservience; Islam, as stated, requires that men give a gift to their brides even though she may be wealthier than he is; men maintain their wives even though she may have a mountain of money; men be circumcised and women not; men shave their heads at the Hajj and women not; yet no critic of Islam has charged that Islam discriminates against men; or that Islam teaches hatred of men; or that Islam favors women over men; or that these are symbols of the Muslim man\u2019s subservience to women.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Interestingly, whereas All\u0101h reveals in His Qur\u2019an 2:228 that women have rights similar to those against her He did not say that men have rights similar as those against him; thus, arguably, women would seem to have more rights on men than men have on women.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Allah is a Just God. He will not discriminate against Woman because of her form and physiology \u2013a form and physiology of which she had no choice; a form and physiology He gave her. In fact, if form and physiology is the measure of superiority, Woman is superior to Man \u2013she having carried man, gave birth to him and nursed him. Three degrees of excellence and superiority that Man have yet to acquire. Women even have a fourth degree of excellence over men\u2013cloning! Whereas the male sperm can be dispensed with in duplicating the being, the female\u2019s ovum is necessary to develop the clone.<\/span><\/p>\n

    *<\/span><\/p>\n

    There is much confusion among people \u2013Muslims and non-Muslims\u2013<\/span> as to the verdict of Shari\u2019ah regarding adultery, dishonor, apostasy, and blasphemy. Some arguing, and citing hadith, that Islam requires the penalty of death for these infractions. What is to be kept in focus is that the Qur\u2019an was revealed over a period of twenty-three years. The question is: was the \u201cdeath\u201d penalty for such infractions given before or after Divine Qur\u2019anic Revelation on the subject? <\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 As the Prophet Mohammad could not change a practice of society until and unless he received Divine Revelation in the matter, the Prophet followed the teachings of the Bible, which requires death to the adulterer, the unchaste bride, the apostate, the blasphemer, and the homosexuals. The Prophet\u2019s practice of following these Biblical laws was annulled by subsequent Qur\u2019anic revelations. These are some of the Biblical laws that the Qur\u2019an has abrogated\u2013(Qur\u2019an 2:106; 16:101). The Prophet Mohammad taught according to the Qur\u2019an\u2013(Qur\u2019an 21:45; 46:9; 53:3-4). Whatever contradicts the Qur\u2019an is to be discarded<\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    Much flak has been dumped on Shari\u2019ah<\/i> for flogging the sexual transgressor, and for dismembering the thief. And there have been calls on Muslim nations to end capital punishment. <\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0 In (some) secular societies, murderers, rapists, thieves etc; sometimes return to society and kill and rape and steal again; yet the government does not give up on imprisoning them. Does this mean that their \u201csystem of government\u201d is unsuitable for a \u201cmodern state\u201d and therefore should abolish their penal system?<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 To a \u201cWesterner,\u201d flogging seems to be \u201cbrutal and savage.\u201d Yet it does not seem \u201cbrutal and savage\u201d to cut the throat of the dumb, innocent animal and bird to satisfy his mouth and belly.
    \n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Man has a sense of right and wrong. Animals do not.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    Islam
    \n<\/i><\/strong>\u00a0 –<\/span>allows freedom of belief, movement, thought, and expression\u2013(Qur\u2019an 2:256; 9:107-108; 4:140; 6:68, 108; 29:52);<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 -pursuit of knowledge, acquisition of wealth and property\u2013(2:274-275, 276-282; 35:12; 53:48; 62:10); <\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 -to choose those worthy of power, exercise justice\u2013(4:58); <\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 -to govern by consultation\u2013(3:158; 5:38; 42:38); <\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 -teaches <\/span>to deal justly with men\u2013(2:279, 5:8); <\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 -not to rob men of their dues\u2013(26:183); <\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 -to give justice even if it be against one\u2019s self or parents or kins or whether he be poor or rich\u2013(4:135; 4:58; 5:8), <\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 -encourages feeding of the needy and the poor, to free the captives, to help those in debt, to care for the orphans, the wayfarer, and to free the slaves\u2013(9:60, 2:177), <\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 -not to act corruptly in the earth or make mischief\u2013(26:183); <\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 -not to be transgressors, nor aid in sin and aggression\u2013(2:190; 5:2); <\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 -to fight on behalf of the oppressed\u2013(4:75); <\/span><\/p>\n

    because All\u0101h loves those who are just, and because He commands justice and the doing of good and forbids injustice\u2013(60:8, 16:90); <\/span><\/p>\n

    Islam
    \n<\/i><\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0-liberated woman\u2013(2:187; 4:19 -22); <\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 -exalts her\u2013(4:1; 9:71-72); <\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 -gives her equality with man in financial, property, moral and spiritual matters\u2013(4:32, 7-10, 176-177; 3:195; 33:35; 4:124; 16:97; 43:70); <\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 -honors her\u2013(4:1); <\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 -made her a garment to man and he is her garment (and garments protect, beautify, comfort, and conceal faults)\u2013(2:187); <\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 -given her rights similar to those against her\u2013(2:228); <\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 -made her a protector of man as he is hers\u2013(9:71); <\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 -and established her as a source of peace, comfort, love and compassion\u2013(7:189; 30:21); <\/span><\/p>\n

    Islam
    \n<\/i><\/strong>\u00a0-enjoins the fulfilling of covenants, keeping of oaths and to not be deceptive\u2013(16:91-92); <\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 -to speak justly\u2013(6:153); <\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 -to be righteous\u2013(2:277-278; 6:152-154); <\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 -to render back trusts to whom they are due, and to judge justly\u2013(4:58); <\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 -admonishes against dealing unjustly and not to rob men of their dues\u2013(2:279; 5:8; 26: 183); <\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 -not to take a greater recompense than the injury suffered\u2013(2:194; 16:126; 42:40); <\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 -instead of retaliation, to make reconciliation, and show patience and forgiveness\u2013(16:126; 42: 39-43); <\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 -to be merciful and forgiving\u2013(3:133); to fight only as long as there is oppression\u2013(2:193); <\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 -to make peace, even in the face of deception\u2013(4:90, 8:61); <\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 -that all men are created equal, and made into different tribes and nations that we may know one another\u2013(95:4; 49:13), <\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 -that we are to be judged not by our race, color or nationality but by deeds\u2013(6:133); <\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 -to preserve the environment: all creatures live in communities as man (6:38); <\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 -and to conserve\u2013(6:141; 7:31). <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Thus, every principled individual\u2019s \u201cbasic objectives\u201d is to strive to live under Shari\u2019ah <\/i>\u2013Islamic law. <\/span><\/p>\n

    Whereas Secularism has given us prostitution, narcotics, pornography, gambling and drunkenness \u2013all of which they are now trying to eradicate or minimize\u2013 people held without charge or trial; and people judged without seeing the evidence against him or without him ever facing his accuser: <\/span><\/p>\n

    Islamic Shari\u2019ah gives us freedom of sobriety, chastity, and society \u2013freedom from<\/i> drunkenness; promiscuity; narcotics; pimping and prostitution; pornography; unwed mothers and fathers and abandoned children and even traumatized individuals; AIDS; syphilis; gonorrhea; robbers; rapists; murderers; gambling; child pornography; and sexually-diseased children. (Maybe the list is longer. Marathon-long).<\/span><\/p>\n

    Secularism or secular democracy lives off the misery of the people \u2013drowning them in alcoholism and its related maladies\u2013 collecting millions if not billions in revenues.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Secularism or secular democracy feeds off the gullibility (desperation?) of the people \u2013legitimizing gambling (casinos) and lotteries\u2013 collecting millions if not billions in revenues (money which some may have deprived themselves and\/or families to gamble and\/or buy tickets).<\/span><\/p>\n

    Secularism or secular democracy allow prostitution, promiscuity, and concubinage (destroying families and homes; producing unwanted parents and children and \u201cbastard\u201d children), but outlaws the sensible polygamy.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Islamic Shari\u2019ah gives us:<\/strong>
    \n-freedom of government<\/span>\u2013(Qur\u2019an 4:58; 3:158; 5:38; 42:38. <\/span>Here\u2019s democracy for you; and 1400 years ago, while Europe was yet running around with flint tools and torches) <\/span><\/i>Muhammad Ali notes to 42:38: \u201cIn this, Islam has laid the basis of Government by parliaments, and the idea found a clear practical expression in the early days of the Caliphate, when the Khalifah had to refer every important affair to counsel. It is strange indeed that Government by parliament is now looked upon by Europeans as an institution which is quite foreign to Islam and unsuited for the Muslim people\u201d<\/span> This must be \u201cEuropeans\u201d arrogance or ignorance of Islam; or both).<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    -freedom of belief<\/i>\u2013(Qur\u2019an 2:256; 3: 20; 9:107-108; 10: 99-100; 16:125; 24:54; 50: 45; 76:3; 109:1-6); <\/span><\/p>\n

    -freedom of movement, thought, and expression\u2013(Qur\u2019an 4:140; 6:68, 108; 29:52); <\/span><\/p>\n

    -freedom in pursuit of knowledge, acquisition of wealth and property\u2013(Qur\u2019an 2:274-275, 276-282; 20: 114; 35:12; 53:48; 62:10); <\/span><\/p>\n

    -the exercise of justice\u2013(Qur\u2019an 4:58, <\/span>105, 135; 7:29; 16: 90; 57:25).<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    And whereas Islamic Shari\u2019ah has one law for everyone \u2013from King to peasant\u2013 secularism has two laws, one for the elite \u2013diplomatic immunity\u2013 and one for the masses. <\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 Then, whereas in Islam the divorced wife is awarded a settlement, irrespective of her financial status\u2013(Qur\u2019an 4:32), and adjudged according to the length of marriage and the man\u2019s financial status\u2013(Qur\u2019an 2:236-2237), and after which time, if financially straitened, she becomes zakaatable on the State\u2013(Qur\u2019an 9:60), there is in Secularism the obscene divorce law that can penalize the man to support his wife for the rest of her unmarried life; even though she may have a legion of bed-mates. <\/span><\/p>\n

    Marriage is a contract of rights and obligations between a man and a woman. There is no \u201ctill death do us part.\u201d If the contract is terminated so are the obligations. To tie the man indefinitely to this severed agreement by having him bankroll the woman\u2019s lifestyle \u2013even though she may have a legion of bed-mates\u2013 is not only gruesome injustice, it is a monumental and grotesque obscenity.<\/span><\/p>\n

    There is no system \u2013secular or religious\u2013 on the face of this earth that is superior to Islamic Shari\u2019ah. The \u201cperfected\u201d system designed by All\u0101h God the Omniscient cannot be surpassed. <\/span><\/p>\n

    Amputation\/Dismemberment<\/span>
    \n<\/span><\/i><\/span>(The Bible\u2013Judaism and Christianity\u2013also requires dismemberment:<\/i> \u201cWhen men strive together one with another, and the wife of the one draweth near for to deliver her husband out of the hand of him that smiteth him, and putteth forth her hand, and taketh him by the secrets: Then thou shalt cut off her hand<\/i>, thine eye shall not pity her\u201d \u2013(Deut. 25:11-12). <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    Islamic dismemberment is said to be ineffective as a deterrent to theft. However, almost all societies imprison murderers and rapists and thieves and other criminals. Yet these imprisonments do not deter others from becoming murderers and rapists and thieves; nor does it, in some cases, deter criminals from repeating their crimes. Must societies then refrain from incarcerating its criminals because incarceration is no deterrent to crimes? Most, if not all, secular laws imprison the thief, who may yet return to menace society. Islam puts an end to their thievery permanently.<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 All\u0101h, God, enjoins charity. Muslim society is to be charitable; and the hungry are to ask assistance so that there should be no need for theft because of hunger.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 The punishment for theft is the cutting off of the hand of the thief\u2013(Qur\u2019an 5:38). Allah also says: \u201cBut whoever repents after his wrongdoing and reforms, Allah will turn to him (mercifully). Surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful\u201d\u2013(Qur\u2019an 5:39. Also 5:33-34).<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 Cutting off of the hand is dependent upon whether theft was because of hunger, for profit, or mischief. In the case of hunger there is to be no cutting off of the hand. In the case of the latter two, compensation or restitution may be effected before apprehended by the law. Muhammad Ali states, \u201ccutting off of the hand is the maximum punishment.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 Muhammad Ali has noted an incident whereby a slave was not dismembered because the slave\u2019s master evidenced that he heard the Prophet say that \u201cthere was to be no cutting off of the hand in the case of theft of fruit\u201d\u2013(The Religion of Islam<\/i>, p. 729). <\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 Those who condemn this law of Islam should consider:<\/span><\/p>\n

    -if it is better for a man to dismember his \u201coffensive\u201d limb (as Christ says\u2013Matt. 18:8) to preserve the health of his other parts, how much more appropriate it is that the cancer of society be excised to maintain the moral health of society<\/span><\/p>\n

    -what individual is there who would not amputate a limb of his body that is afflicted with cancer so as to prevent the cancer from infecting his or her entire body<\/span><\/p>\n

    -what law-abiding citizens, men and women are there, toiling honestly and tiringly for their livelihood would take kindly to thieves to come and plunder their belongings; how many such men and women are there who, after a day of toiling, would prefer to keep vigil at night against thieves, in sympathy for them, to spare their hands from being chopped off<\/span><\/p>\n

    -what honest person is there who would not like to sleep with windows open on sweltering summer nights, without having to fear about thieves and robbers coming into their homes.<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 It would seem to be \u201ctorture\u201d to have victims and\/or their family circles live with the mental torture of fear, dreading if or when the murderer, rapist, or thief might return to plague them.
    \n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Man is not more merciful than God!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    Apostasy
    \n<\/span><\/span>There is no penalty of \u201cdeath\u201d for the apostates. This is made clear by the following Qur\u2019anic statements:<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u201cAnd whoever of you turns back from his religion,<\/span>
    \nthen he dies while an unbeliever
    \n<\/i>\u2013these it is whose works go for nothing in this<\/span>
    \nworld and the Hereafter\u201d<\/span>
    \n\u201cHow shall Allah guide a people who disbelieved<\/span>
    \nafter their believing,<\/span>
    \nand (after) they had borne witness that<\/span>
    \nthe Messenger was true and clear<\/span>
    \narguments had come to them?\u201d<\/span>
    \n(Qur\u2019an 2:217; 3:85).<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u201cThose who believe then disbelieve,<\/span>
    \nagain believe and again disbelieve,<\/span>
    \nthen increase in disbelief,<\/span>
    \nAllah will never forgive them nor<\/span>
    \nguide them in the (right) way.\u201d<\/span>
    \n(Qur\u2019an 4:137)<\/span>
    \n(If apostates were to be killed there would be no question of them \u201cbelieving\u201d then \u201cdisbelieving\u201d then \u201cbelieving again\u201d as 4:137 says\u201d).<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u201cWhoso disbelieves in All\u0101h<\/span>
    \nafter his belief\u2013not he who is<\/span>
    \ncompelled while his heart is content with<\/span>
    \nfaith, but he who opens (his) breast for disbelief<\/span>
    \n\u2013on them is the wrath of All\u0101h<\/span>
    \nand for them is a grievous chastisement.\u201d<\/span>
    \n(Qur\u2019an 16:106).<\/span>
    \n(The wrath of All\u0101h is on them; not that they are to be killed).<\/span><\/p>\n

    The Prophet governed by the Qur\u2019an\u2013(10:15; 21:45; 53:3-4).\u00a0Prior to Qur\u2019anic revelation on a subject the prophet was required to govern according to the Torah. Killing of apostates would have been prior to the above noted Qur\u2019anic injunctions, in which event the Prophet was following the Bible which requires death to apostates:<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u201cAnd that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death;<\/i> because he hath spoken to turn you away from the Lord your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt\u2026.If thy brother\u2026entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou has t not known, thou, nor thy fathers\u2026thou shalt surely kill him<\/i>\u2026..\u201d (Deuteronomy 13:5-16).<\/span>
    \n\u201cIf there be found among you\u2026man or woman\u2026.And hath gone and served other gods, and worshiped them, either the sun or moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded\u2026..Then thou shalt bring forth that man or that woman \u2026and shalt stone them with stones, till they die<\/i>.\u201d (Deuteronomy 17:2-5). (This is one of the Biblical laws that the Qur\u2019an has abrogated\u2013(Qur\u2019an 2:106 16:101. See\u00a0    QUR\u2019AN-ABROGATION & COLLECTING<\/a><\/span>).<\/span><\/p>\n

    Regarding the report about the Prophet Mohammad ordering the death of the men of Ukl who had accepted Islam and who later killed the camel-herders and stole the camels. These thieves\/killers were not necessarily apostates. Muslims of today seem to be killing Muslims for less than camels; and they are not apostates. Even if these killers of the camel-herders were apostates from Islam and if initially apostates were given the death penalty (as per the Torah), the revelation of the above Qur\u2019anic verses would have put an end to such a practice. The Qur\u2019an supersedes all other sources of guidance.<\/span><\/p>\n

    There is no compulsion in religion-(Qur\u2019an 2:256; 6:107; 9:6; 10:99-100; 17:7; 18:6, 29; 50:45; 76:3; 109:1-6).<\/span><\/p>\n

    Blasphemy
    \n<\/span><\/i><\/span>There is no Qur\u2019anic order to kill blasphemers. All\u0101h reveals in His Qur\u2019an that: \u201cwhen you hear the Signs of God being denied and mocked at, sit not with them until they enter into some other talk\u201d\u2013(4:140. Also 6:68). And, \u201cRevile not those whom they call upon besides Allah, lest they out of spite revile Allah in their ignorance\u201d\u2013(6:109). Clearly, there is no order to kill the deniers\/mockers\/revilers<\/i> of Allah. <\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 All\u0101h says: \u201cThey do blaspheme who say: \u201cGod is Christ the son of Mary.\u201d \u201cThey do blaspheme who say: God is one of three in a Trinity \u2026\u201d\u2013(Qur\u2019an 5:75, 76). If there was a law against blasphemy in Islam, according to these two verses there probably would have been no Christians in the dominion of the Prophet Mohammad during his reign; neither would there have been any Christians in the countries ruled by Muslims: they would either have had to revert to Islam, flee, or face imprisonment or death.<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 All\u0101h says that Muslims will face \u201cmuch abuse\u201d from the People of the Book and the Idolaters; but Muslims must be \u201cpatient and keep your duty\u201d (there is no order to kill)\u2013(Qur\u2019an 3:185).<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 Allah says: \u201cAnd those who molest the Messenger of Allah, for them is a painful chastisement\u201d (this is a Madinan chapter revealed \u201cin the ninth year\u201d of the Hijrah, near the end of the Prophet\u2019s mission. And there is no order to kill\u2013(Qur\u2019an 9:61). Even in the early Madinan chapter, there is no order to kill those who \u201cannoy\u201d the Prophet: they are \u201ccursed\u201d and would receive \u201can abasing chastisement\u201d\u2013(Qur\u2019an 33:57). <\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 If there was an order to kill denigrators, the Prophet would not have forgiven anyone. Mohammad\u2019s justice was so pronounced that even if his beloved daughter, Fatima, was to steal he would have dismembered her\u2013(Bokhari Vol. 4, # 681. Vol. 5 # 597). The king who would tell his cherished child to go and pray to All\u0101h instead of granting her a servant, to alleviate her suffering at the hand-mill, could hardly be unjust\u2013(Bokhari Vol. 4, # 344). <\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 Regarding the instances where the Prophet is said to have ordered death to those who denigrated him.
    \nFrom the beginning of his ministry the Prophet was a target of annihilation attempts. There was tacit warfare by his opponents. By intriguing against his life and openly reviling the Prophet these opponents identified themselves as \u201cenemy combatants\u201d and were subjected to reprisals \u2013even today and in \u201ccivilized\u201d society during times of tension \u201cfree speech,\u201d which may even express the truth, may be viewed as an incitement to unrest against the State, and be subjected to reprisals. People are targeted for opposing authority.
    \nUnlike rogue leaders, the Prophet Mohammad was no tyrant, occupier, oppressor or exploiter. This state of warfare was also true during the reign of the Caliphs, who were fighting wars with the enemies devoted to destroying the fledging Islamic State. (These executions were only to curb mischief, which carries the maximum penalty of death or crucifixion\u2013Qur\u2019an.5:33. If the enemies had not become physical, Mohammad would not have retaliated. As noted later, the Prophet never took revenge for himself).<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 The Prophet himself is reported to have sanctioned the lampooning of the pagans\u2013(Bokhari Vol. 4, #\u2019s 434-435, 731). This seems to show that there are different ways to respond to attacks on the Prophet, according to the prevailing atmosphere. In the absence of war, Muslims are to respond to the denigrators of Islam intellectually. <\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 While there is no Qur\u2019anic law against blasphemy, there is, however, a law against slander\u2013(Qur\u2019an 24:4; 33:58); and against mischief\u2013(Qur\u2019an 5:33).
    \n<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0 There is a law against blasphemy in Judaism and in Christianity:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    \u201cAnd the Israelitish woman\u2019s son blasphemed the name of the Lord, and cursed\u2026.let all that heard him lay their hands upon his head, and let all the congregation stone him. \u2026. And he that blasphemeth the name of the Lord, he shall surely be put to death\u2026.And Moses spake to the children of Israel, that they should bring forth him that had cursed out of the camp, and stone him with stones. And the children of Israel did as the Lord commanded Moses\u201d\u2013(Lev. 24:11-16, 23). <\/span>(This is one of the Biblical laws that the Qur\u2019an has abrogated\u2013(2:106; 16:101).<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    Capital Punishment
    \n<\/span><\/i><\/span>Some secular laws allow murderers to return to society where they may again commit murder and perhaps other crimes, and where in prison they may be supported by the families of their victims (through their taxes; and criminals are given such facilities as gym, computers, study material; etc, that some tax-payers and members of some victims may not be able to afford for themselves or families; and they are probably better fed than some of the taxpayers that shoulder their bills). Islam rids society of them permanently\u2013(In the case of unintentional murder compensation may be effected\u2013Qur\u2019an 2:178; 4:92).<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

    All\u0101h the Wise tells us:\u00a0\u201cAnd there is life for you in retaliation,\u00a0O men of understanding,\u00a0That you guard yourselves\u201d-(Qur\u2019an 2:179).
    \n<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0 Citizens cannot be safe unless the murderer is permanently removed from society. One who has deliberately killed once would likely not hesitate to kill again. And again. Especially in a system that only imprisons. While there are cases where an innocent has been incarcerated, those who are guilty without doubt are to be executed. Forgiveness to incorrigible offenders is not mercy; it is stupidity.<\/span><\/p>\n

    There is capital punishment in Judaism and Christianity: “He that smiteth\u00a0 a man, so that he die, shall be surely put to death” -Exodus 21:12, 14-15).\u00a0<\/span>Also, those who deal in people-trafficking, which would include abducting and selling girls\/women into sex-slavery are to be executed:<\/span> “And he that stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death”-(Exodus 21:16).<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    Flogging
    \n<\/span><\/i><\/span>Most, if not all, secular laws do nothing to those guilty of adultery (and fornication) which could not only \u201cruin families, destroys household peace\u201d, and deprives children of their need for parental togetherness, and contribute to the moral decay of society; but which could multiply sexually transmitted diseases, genital warts, gonorrhea, syphilis, AIDS \u2013which may even become epidemic and even threaten chaste individuals (we\u2019ve heard of people contracting AIDS through tainted blood and infected needles), diseases which may affect the unborn who doubtlessly has the right to protection from diseases\u2013<\/span> may create unwed moms and dads; and perhaps abandoned children; traumatized individuals (traumatized by not knowing the identity of their biological parents); and which could perhaps cost millions of dollars to society to stem these diseases and to provide for pre and post-natal care for unwed mothers and children, and to provide for the welfare of these hapless children and even the unwed mothers; and if the fornicating couples have multiple sex-partners they may end up not knowing whose baby they are having, or who is having their baby, and if such babies are given up for adoption or abandoned then, depending on the age of these couples, a mother may end up having sex with her son, and a father with his daughter when these children are grown. <\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 Thus, adultery and fornication, seemingly a personal affair, can and do have far-reaching effects in society. Should fornication and adultery then not be forcibly deterred? Islam allows that such persons be disgraced and identified. <\/span><\/p>\n

    (Recently, I came upon a television show by chance and learnt one of the fallouts of adultery. A man denied his son for twenty-three years, believing that his wife had cheated on him, resulting in the birth of the son [who was raised by his sister]. It was unsettling to listen to the son\u2019s hurt at the rejection [even though in such a situation the child is blameless]. As it turned out, DNA evidence showed that the man was the boy\u2019s father. I do not recall if it was stated that the mother was alive or not; but imagine her heartaches at her innocence and her son being denied love by his father. This father and son [and sister and mother] might have gone to their graves with bitterness and pain and hurt and anguish if there was no DNA science or if no DNA test was done. <\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Islam is very strict where chastity of women is concerned; requiring four witness to the act; and those who bear false witnesses are to be flogged and their testimony not to be accepted again, unless they repent and act uprightly\u2013(Qur\u2019an 24:4-5): thus requirement of provides \u201can effectual restraint against slander and gossip, which so often bring disaster upon the heads of innocent women. Unless there is the clearest evidence of adultery against a woman, the slanderer is himself to be punished.\u201d\u2013(Muhammad Ali, Qur\u2019anic comm. 1738 (Qur\u2019an 24:4).<\/span><\/p>\n

    These laws of Islam\u2013dismemberment and flogging\u2013are not \u201ctorture.\u201d
    \nIf the taking of painful injections for the containment of rabies, and suffering radiation for the treatment of cancer, and suffering deprivation to free oneself from addiction, are not torture \u2013but rather are the remedies for the diseases afflicting the individual\u2013 then flogging the adulterer and fornicator, dismembering the thief, and executing the murderer\u2013which are remedies for the diseases afflicting not only the individual but the society\u2013could not be deemed as \u201ctorture.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 Society is not to be hostaged (with cost and disease) by loose sexuality; and overrun by criminals because man considers himself more humane than God. If individuals are brazen enough to transgress the law, be it religious or secular, they must suffer the consequences.<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 In Saudi Arabia, as noted by Ibn Warraq in his book\u00a0Why I am not a Muslim<\/a><\/em><\/span>\u00a0(p. 31), \u201cLovers\u2019 heads and robbers\u2019 hands are falling.\u201d
    \n\u00a0 \u00a0And in the West robbers are sent to prison; and most likely end up robbing again and may even commit acts of murder and rape; and lovers run the risk of contracting herpes, gonorrhea, syphilis and AIDS which they may in turn infect others. It is doubtful that a decent law-abiding citizen would not prefer a society where thieves are permanently removed from thievery, and promiscuity discouraged, but would prefer a society overwrought with the \u201cdead weight\u201d of robbers, rapists, murderers, drunkenness, gambling, drug-dealing, drug addiction, pimping and prostitution, pornography and child pornography, and sexually-diseased children.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    (The Toronto Star Tuesday, January 11, 2000, in its article \u201cAIDS crisis called major world threat\u201d, by Kathleen Kenna of the Washington Bureau, reports U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Anan as saying, \u201cNowhere else has AIDS yet become a threat to economic, social and political stability on the scale that it now is in southern and eastern Africa;\u201d that \u201cLast year, AIDS killed about 10 times more people in Africa than did armed conflict,\u201d he said. If people were following Divine injunctions to avoid illicit carnal relations, AIDS may not now be a \u201cmajor world threat.\u201d In fact there may not be AIDS).\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 Flogging is \u201caimed more at disgracing the culprit than at torturing him. In the time of the Prophet, and even for some time after him, there was no whip, and flogging was carried out by beating with a stick or with the hand or with shoes. The culprit was not stripped naked, but he was required to take off thick clothes.\u201d (M. Ali, Qur\u2019anic comm. # 1736). Stripes are to be given \u201con different parts of the body so that no harm should result to any one part, but the face and the private parts must be avoided.\u201d(M. Ali, The Religion of Islam<\/i>, p. 731).<\/span><\/p>\n

    Public floggings serves to identify the guilty individuals so that chaste men\/women would avoid them as marriage partners: \u201cThe adulterer cannot have sexual relations with any but an adulteress or an idolatress, and the adulteress, none can have sexual relations with her but an adulterer or an idolater; and it is forbidden to believers\u201d\u2013(Qur\u2019an 24:3). (This verse shows that there is no<\/span><\/strong> \u201chonor killing\u201d in Islam; then. those guilty of illegal sexual intercourse would not be left to have relations among themselves or with idolaters).<\/span><\/p>\n

    Islam does not support oppression or sin. All\u0101h enjoins Muslims to fight oppression\u2013(Qur\u2019an 2:191, 193; 8:39; 42:42); and to \u201chelp not<\/span><\/i> <\/strong>one another in sin and aggression\u201d\u2013(Qur\u2019an 5:2; 58:9).<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 The believer in God who does not apply the law of God, thinking himself to be more humane than God or in trying to avoid the heat of popular opinion, is simply throwing the Book of God behind his back.
    \n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u201cHell is hotter.\u201d And inescapable.<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/span><\/i>Honor killing
    \n<\/span><\/i><\/span>All\u0101h reveals in His Qur\u2019an: \u201cThe adulterer cannot have sexual relations with any but an adulteress or an idolatress, and the adulteress, none can have sexual relations with her but an adulterer or an idolater; and it is forbidden to believers\u201d\u2013(Qur\u2019an 24:3. M. Ali). <\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 Zinaa<\/i> means sexual intercourse between people who are not married to each other\u2013i.e. adultery and fornication<\/i>. Thus, according to the verse a woman, whether she is married or single, who had sexual relations with a married man or a single man then she can only marry a married man or a single man (or an idolater) who also had illegal sex; and a man, whether he is single or married, who had sexual relations with a married woman or a single woman then he can only marry a married woman or a single woman (or an idolatress) who also had illegal sex. <\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 Yusuf Ali translates the verse: \u201cLet no man guilty of adultery or fornication marry<\/i> any but a woman similarly guilty, or an Unbeliever: Nor let any but such a man or Unbeliever marry such a woman. To the Believers such a thing is forbidden\u201d
    \n\u00a0 \u00a0The verse shows that there is <\/span>no<\/span><\/i><\/strong> \u201chonor killing\u201d in Islam; adulterers\/fornicators could not be left to have sex or to marry <\/span>their kind<\/i> if Islam had required honor killings. The punishment is lashes\u2013(Qur\u2019an 24:2; 4:25).\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 Honor killing is the Jewish and Christian law: \u201cBut if this thing be true, and the tokens of virginity <\/i><\/span>be not found for the damsel: Then they shall bring out the damsel to the door of her father\u2019s house, and the men of her city shall stone her with stones that she die: because she hath wrought folly in Israel, to play the whore in her father\u2019s house: so shalt thou put evil away from among you\u201d\u2013(Deut. 22:20-21). <\/span><\/p>\n

    (Hinduism teaches: \u201cShould a wife out of her family pride desert her husband and misconduct herself, let the king condemn her to be devoured by dogs before all men and women. Similarly should a husband forsake his wife and misconduct himself with other women, let the king cause that sinner to be burnt alive publicly on a red hot iron-bed\u201d\u2013(Swami Dayananda Saraswati, Light Of Truth,<\/span><\/i> p. 199; quoting \u201cManu <\/span>VII<\/span>, 371. 372, 406, 419, 420\u201d).
    \n<\/span>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 And:
    \n<\/span>\u201cA woman who has been unchaste should worship Siva in his calm aspect, Siva who is Kama. Then she should summon a Brahmin and give herself to him, thinking, \u2018This is Kama who has come for the sake of sexual pleasure.\u2019 And whatever the Brahmin wishes, the sensuous woman should do. For thirteen months she should honour in this way any Brahmin who comes to the house for the sake of sexual pleasures, and there is no immorality in this for noble ladies or prostitutes.\u201d
    \n\u201cThe Brahmin guest represents \u015aiva\/K\u0101ma, who purifies the woman whom he seduces, for extreme sexual licence may remove sexual stigma, just as extreme<\/span> tapas<\/i> (austerity) does\u201d (Cited in Wendy Doniger O\u2019Flaherty, <\/span>\u015aiva The Erotic Ascetic<\/i>, p. 256).<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    Stoning and death is the Jewish and Christian law. Married damsel without the \u201ctoken of virginity\u201d is to be stoned to death: \u201cBut if this thing be true, and the tokens of virginity <\/i>be not found for the damsel:<\/span> Then they shall bring out the damsel to the door of her father\u2019s house, and the men of her city shall<\/span> stone her with stones that she die:<\/i> because she hath wrought folly in Israel, to play the whore in her father\u2019s house: so shalt thou put evil away from among you\u201d\u2013(Deut. 22:20-21).<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 A virginal damsel who lies with a man other than her \u201cbetrothed,\u201d both are to be stoned to death\u2013(Deut. 22:23-24).<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 Punishment for adultery is death\u2013(Lev. 20:10-12; Deut. 22:22).<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 A man who takes a \u201cwife and her mother,\u201d both shall be burnt with fire\u2013(Lev. 20:14).<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 The adulteress is to be stoned\u2013(John 8:3-5).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Stoning and Adultery
    \n<\/span><\/i><\/span>\u201cChastity, as a virtue, is not given the first place in modern civilized society, and hence adultery is not considered a sufficiently serious offence to subject the guilty party to any punishment except the payment of damages to the injured husband. The breach of the greatest trust which can be imposed in a man or a woman, the breach which ruins families, destroys household peace, and deprives innocent children of their loving mothers, is not looked upon even as seriously as the breach of trust of a few pounds. Hence the Islamic law seems to be too severe to a Westerner.\u201d\u2013(Muhammad Ali, Qur\u2019anic comm. 1736 (Qur\u2019an 24:2).<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    There is no stoning <\/i>or sentence of death<\/i> in the Qur\u2019an for the sin of adultery. The Arabic word Zinaa<\/i> means sexual intercourse between people who are not married to each other \u2013i.e. adultery and fornication.<\/i> The punishment for adultery and fornication is lashes: \u201cThe adulteress and the adulterer, flog each of them (with) a hundred stripes\u201d\u2013(Qur\u2019an 24:2). That flogging for the sin of adultery is the required punishment is verified in 4:25, where the punishment to married slave-girls guilty of adultery is stated that \u201c\u2026if they are guilty of adultery when they are taken in marriage, they shall suffer half<\/span> <\/i>the punishment for free married women\u201d\u2013(Qur\u2019an 4:25). Stoning to death \u201ccould not be halved;\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/i>but flogging can be \u201chalved.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 The reasons for the Prophet Mohammad\u2019s orders to stone the adulterer\/adulteress were two-fold: (1) it was carried out against the Jews, who were to be judged according to the Torah; (2) prior to the Qur\u2019anic revelations on this subject, the Prophet was required to follow the Torah. <\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 The Prophet Mohammad taught us according to Divine Revelation: he did not speak out of desire\u2013(Qur\u2019an 10:15; 21:45; 53:3-4). It is inconceivable that the Prophet would act against the clear injunction(s) of the Qur\u2019an and \u201cstone to death\u201d when All\u0101h ordered \u201cflogging.\u201d It is clear that the Prophet\u2019s \u201cstoning\u201d to death was limited to Jews.
    \nIn the case of Muslims, if any, \u201cstoning\u201d would have been carried out before<\/i> the revelation of the above Qur\u2019anic verses. (These are some of the teachings that the Qur\u2019an has abrogated\u2013Qur\u2019an 2:106; 16:101). That the early Caliphs carried out stoning, Muhammad Ali:<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u201cIt is generally thought that while the Qur\u2019an prescribes flogging as a punishment for fornication, i.e<\/i>. when the guilty person is not married, stoning to death is the punishment for adultery, and that this is allegedly based on the Prophet\u2019s practice. But the Qur\u2019an plainly speaks of the punishment for adultery in the case of married slave-girls as being half the punishment of adultery in the case of free married women (muhsanat)<\/i>, and therefore death or stoning to death cannot be conceived of as possible punishment in case of adultery as it cannot be halved, while imprisonment or flogging may be. Thus the Qur\u2019an not only speaks of flogging and not death, as punishment for adultery, but it positively excludes death or stoning to death.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

    \u201c\u2026stoning was the punishment of adultery in the Jewish law, and that it was in the case of Jewish offenders that this punishment was first resorted to by the Prophet when he came to Madinah. There are other reports which show that the same punishment was given in certain cases when the offenders were Muslims, but apparently this was before the revelation of the verse (24:2) which speaks of flogging as the punishment for both the adulterer and the adulteress, it being the practice of the Prophet to follow the earlier revealed law until he received a definite revelation on a point. A suggestion to that effect is contained in a tradition: \u201cShaibani says, I asked \u2018Abd Allah ibn Abi Aufa, Did the Holy Prophet stone to death? He said, Yes. I said, Was it before the chapter entitled the Light<\/i> (ch. 24) was revealed or after it? The reply was, I do not know\u201d (Bu. 86:21. [Vol. 8 # 804]). The chapter referred to is that which speaks of flogging as a punishment for adultery, and the question shows clearly that the practice of stoning for adultery was recognized as being against the plain injunction contained in that chapter. It is likely that some misunderstanding arose from the incidents which happened before the Qur\u2019anic revelation on the point, and that that practice was taken as the Sunnah of the Prophet. The Khwarij, the earliest Muslim sect, entirely rejected stoning to death (rajm)<\/i> as a punishment in Islam (RM. VI, p. 6.)\u00a0<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

    The question seems to have arisen early as to how an adulterer could be stoned, when the Qur\u2019an prescribed flogging as the only punishment for adultery. \u2018Umar is reported to have said that \u201cthere are people who say, What about stoning, for the punishment prescribed in the Book of Allah is flogging\u201d (Ah. I, p. 50.) To such objector\u2019s \u2018Umar\u2019s reply was: \u201cIn what Allah revealed, there was the verse of rajm<\/i> (stoning); we read it and we understood it and we guarded it; the Prophet did stone (adulterers to death) and we also stoned after him, but I fear that when more time passes away, a sayer would say, We do not find the verse of rajm<\/i> in the Book of Allah\u201d (Bu. 86:31 [Vol. 8 # 816]). According to another version he is reported to have added: \u201cWere it not that people would say that \u2018Umar has added in the Book of Allah that which is not in it, I would have written it\u201d (AD. 37:23). The argument attributed to \u2018Umar is very unsound. He admitted that the Qur\u2019an did not contain any verse prescribing the punishment of stoning for adulterers, and at the same time he is reported as stating that there was such a verse in what Allah revealed. In all probability what \u2018Umar meant, if he ever spoke those words, was that the verse of stoning was to be found in the Jewish sacred book, the Torah, which was undoubtedly a Divine revelation, and that the Prophet stoned adulterers to death. The use of the words \u201cBook of God\u201d (Kitab Allah)<\/i> for the Torah is common in the Qur\u2019an itself, the Torah being again and again spoken of as Kitab Allah<\/i> or the Book of God, or al-Kitab, i.e<\/i>., the Book (Qur\u2019an 2:213, etc.). In all likelihood \u2018Umar only spoke of rajm<\/i> as the punishment of adultery in the Mosaic law and he was misunderstood. At any rate he could not have spoken the words attributed to him. Had there been such a verse of the Qur\u2019an, he would have brought it to the notice of other Companions of the Prophet, when a complete written copy was first prepared in the time of Abu Bakr at his own suggestion. The words, as attributed to him in some of these reports, are simply meaningless. How could he say that there was a verse of the Qur\u2019an which he would have written down in the Qur\u2019an, but he feared that people would say that he had made an addition to the Qur\u2019an, that is to say, added to it what was not part of it? A verse could not be said to be a part of the Qur\u2019an and not a part of the Qur\u2019an at one and the same time.<\/span><\/p>\n

    There is further evidence in tradition itself that \u2018Umar himself, at least in one reported case (and it is a reliable report), punished adultery with flogging as laid down in the Qur\u2019an in 24:2, and not with stoning to death.\u201d\u201d\u2013(The Religion of Islam<\/i>, pp. 730, 731, 733, 734, 735).
    \n\u00a0 \u00a0The Qur\u2019an supersedes all other sources of guidance.\u00a0<\/span><\/i>(Muhammad Ali\u2019s translation of the Qur\u2019an can be viewed online:     www.muslim.org<\/a>)<\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    As noted above, stoning and death is the Jewish and Christian law: punishment for adultery is death\u2013(Lev. 20: 10-12; Deut. 22:22); the adulteress is to be stoned\u2013(John 8:3-5).<\/span><\/p>\n

    Child Custody
    \n<\/span><\/i><\/span>All\u0101h tells us to call children by the names of their fathers\u2013(Qur\u2019an 33:4-5). <\/span><\/p>\n

    That men are the maintainers of women\u2013(Qur\u2019an 4:34) seems to be the basis for the father having custody of a child, though a mother also can be financially capable of providing for herself and child. In fact, some women are higher wage-earners than some men. Also, her new husband, in the event of remarriage, could also be her (and her children\u2019s) maintainer. Aside from these exceptions, in Islam the burden of support lies on the father. <\/span><\/p>\n

    While the father, seemingly, has first right to custody\u2013(Qur\u2019an 2:233), it does not seem mandatory that he take this position. Three compelling reasons for this are: <\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 (i) As the home-maker,<\/i> whereas a step-mother might be partial to another woman\u2019s children, it is doubtful a mother would be partial to her own children, even though they may be from many fathers. (True, a stepfather might be partial, but, generally, it is the mother who has more time with the children).
    \n<\/i>\u00a0 \u00a0(ii) We are to honor the womb that bore us\u2013(Qur\u2019an 4:1), and paradise lies at the feet of mothers. While one can honor his mother mentally in her absence, physically he cannot honor her and his paradise cannot lie at her feet if he is estranged from her; more so if geographic borders separate them.
    \n<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0 (iii) A mother is not to be separated from her child\u2013(Tirmidhi #979). <\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 One report in the Tradition notes the Prophet giving the mother custody of the child so long as she does not remarry\u2013(Abu Dawud Vol. 2, p. 616, # 2269).
    \nAnother reports the Prophet giving the child <\/i>the right to choose which parent he wants to be with\u2013(Abu Dawud Vol. 2, p. 617, # 2270).
    \n\u00a0 \u00a0These two reports seem to convey that a young child be in the care of the mother and a child who can decide for himself has the option of choosing the parent he\/she wishes to be with. This also seems to show that the child\u2019s welfare is to be given first consideration.
    \n<\/span>\u00a0 As the child\u2019s welfare is to be given first consideration, and as a divorce in Islam is expected to be an amicable affair\u2013(Qur\u2019an 2:229, 231) the mother and father are to be considerate to the other and both are to be given equal participation in the child\u2019s life. This seems to be the requirement as expressed in Qur\u2019an 2:233 which states in part: \u201cNeither shall a mother be made to suffer harm on account of her child, nor a father on account of his child.\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 Significantly, after worship of All\u0101h service to parents is next in line\u2013(Qur\u2019an 17:23; 31:14) and our mother deserves our service three times over before service to our father \u2013she having carried us, gave birth, and nursed us. (Bokhari Vol. 8, # 2).<\/span> But a child cannot serve his or her parents if he or she is alienated from either one.<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 As Shari\u2019ah<\/i> is based on the teachings of the Qur\u2019an and Sunnah <\/i>and as the Sunnah<\/i> is based on the teachings of the Qur\u2019an, and as there is no discrimination or injustice in the Qur\u2019an whatever in Shari\u2019ah<\/i> that is the opinion of the Jurist(s) that discriminates is to be removed.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Adoption\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/span>\u201cCall them by (the names of) their fathers;\u00a0<\/span>this is more equitable with All\u0101h;\u00a0<\/span>but if you know not their fathers,\u00a0<\/span>then they are your brethren in faith\u00a0<\/span>and your friends.\u00a0<\/span>And there is no blame on you in that\u00a0<\/span>wherein you make a mistake,\u00a0<\/span>but (you are answerable for) that which\u00a0<\/span>your hearts purpose.\u00a0<\/span>And All\u0101h is ever Forgiving, Merciful\u201d-<\/span>(Qur\u2019an 33:5.Bokhari Vol. 5, #335). <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    That adopted children be called by the names of their fathers has merit. Children have the right to know their biological parents in which event they may be entitled to inheritance. Not knowing their parents they may end up marrying their brother\/sister. Also, depending on the age of their parents when they were given up, children may end up marrying their father or mother. <\/span><\/p>\n

    Islam requires honoring mothers and holding to family ties\u2013(Qur\u2019an 4:1); this can only be so if children know their biological mothers. Even in societies that have \u201cclosed file\u201d adoption, adoptive parents tell children they were adopted; and there are children who try to find their birth parents, and vice versa. The Islamic value system makes this process easy. In fact, regardless of the reason they were placed for adoption, adopted children may be more at ease at having two \u201cknown\u201d sets of parents. <\/span><\/p>\n

    Keeping an adopted child ignorant of his parentage could have a devastating effect on the child and even on adoptive parents in the event the child should find out from outside source(s) he (she) was adopted. He might go through the rest of his life resentful of his adoptive parents for not being told, and aching to know his biological parents and the reason he (she) was given for adoption. <\/span><\/p>\n

    Since Islam requires the State to provide for the poor and needy, etc;\u2013(Qur\u2019an 9:60), placing a child for adoption would have to be under extreme situation. Thus there would be no shame on parent(s) and children being in contact after adoption. And adoptive parents rather than be \u201cexclusive\u201d should be joyed to share with the birth parents.
    \n*\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

    NOTES<\/span><\/p>\n

    1. Abu Dawud Vol. 3, # 4087. The Prophet \u201ccursed\u201d the cross-dressers; not lashed them or ordered that they be lashed. (This reference was not in the letter).<\/span><\/p>\n

    2. There is said to be a weak [inauthentic: lacking a chain of narrators) hadith of the Prophet is which he is reported to have said May All\u0101h have mercy on the women who wear trousers.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Firstly, since the Muslim women of the Prophet\u2019s time would most certainly be following the injunctions of the Qur\u2019an and instructions of the Prophet and therefore would not have been wearing trousers if trousers were forbidden then this saying could only have been directed against the disbelieving (pagan) women. Secondly, mercy of All\u0101h does not only mean forgiveness of sins from All\u0101h but also guidance from All\u0101h. Thus, it may be that in this alleged saying the Prophet was expecting that All\u0101h would open the hearts of the pagan women to faith\/Islam.<\/span><\/p>\n

    In any event it would hardly seem to matter what the Muslim woman wears in public if she is covered with an over-garment \u2013jalaba.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Also, in cold temperatures such \u201ctrouser\u201d-like garments\u2013such as long johns and sweat pants\u2013 would benefit the woman to keep her warm. Even if there was such a saying by the Prophet, compromise can be made under this condition.<\/span><\/p>\n

    The gravest of all sins is the denial of All\u0101h. And as Muslims can deny All\u0101h under compulsion\u2013(Qur\u2019an 16:106) it stands to reason that he can compromise any other teaching when under compulsion.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Says the noble Messenger of All\u0101h, Islam is an easy religion whoever overburdens himself will not be able to continue\u2013(Bokhari Vol, 1, # 38, 69, 90). And All\u0101h reveals in the case of Fasting\u2013and which is true in all other matters, that He \u201cdesires ease for you, and He desires not hardship for you\u201d\u2013(Qur\u2019an 2:185). And having to unnecessarily endure frigid temperatures in a dress when wearing \u2018garments having legs\u2019 is available is a hardship.<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0Also the hours of fasting can be shortened\u2013(AD 36:13; M. Ali comm. to Qur\u2019an 2:187).<\/span>
    \nA minimum of 10-12 hours fast is required to obtain the medical\/physiological benefit of fasting. According to one source this regulating\/shortening of the hours of fasting is only for areas where there is no night, such as the north pole.<\/span>
    \nHowever, this concession would also seem to be allowable to the elderly and those having a medical condition and cannot endure the long hours of summer; rather than to shut them out from the rewards of this blessed and gifted month from All\u0101h. And All\u0101h knows best; and is The Most Merciful.<\/span><\/p>\n

    3. Matt. 5:17-18<\/span><\/p>\n

    4. Matt. 23:2-3<\/span><\/p>\n

    5. Luke 6:29.<\/span><\/p>\n

    6. Exodus 21:24.<\/span><\/p>\n

    7. Lev. 20:10\/John 8:5.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    In the name of All\u0101h, the Beneficent, the Merciful. Peace and Blessings of All\u0101h on Mohammad. DEDICATED TO All\u0101h\u2013the Glorious and the High, Lord of the worlds AND TO Mohammad\u2013who brought the world to our feet and eternity to our arms * This letter was sent to the Toronto Star. It was not published. Re: […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-346","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nogodbutallah.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/346","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nogodbutallah.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nogodbutallah.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nogodbutallah.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nogodbutallah.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=346"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/nogodbutallah.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/346\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5251,"href":"https:\/\/nogodbutallah.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/346\/revisions\/5251"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nogodbutallah.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=346"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}