Monthly Archives: July 2020

Some Questions by Wequar Azeem

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Can any of our knowledgable intellectuals point out the following, as I get conflicting information, that too, not from authentic sources.

1. When did the first Al-Foussha version of the holy Quran came out in print (Not hand written) on paper like a book?

2. When did Al-Foussha version of the holy Quran come out as a manuscript, and where?

3. How many oldest manuscripts of the holy Quran are in existence and where? Their ages?

4. Do all the manuscripts described in #3 above, carry the same number of Suras and Aya, or have different numbers? Do they have any variance in their texts?

5. What was the method of recording or preserving the revelations when Prophet Muhammad SAW announced the arrival of a Vahee? Are there any authentic samples of how any Ayet was recorded?

6. What were the alphabets in Arabic language when individual Vahee was written down during the life of Prophet Muhammad SAW. Is there a chart showing those letters.

Intellectuals like Azeem Farooki, Mirza Ashraf and others who have more knowledge of these historical facts are earnestly requested to offer their guidance.

Thanks. Wequar

SHARI’AH LAW-Brief Thought By Mirza Ashraf

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ON SHARI’AH LAW: The term Shari’ah appears only once in the Qur’an, where God states, “We have set you on a Shari’ah of command, so follow it” (Q. 45:18). In Islam, the Qur’an and Sunnah (the precepts and traditions of the Prophet) are the basis of a uniform and codified version of Shari’ah, or “Islamic law.” The Shari’ah is a complex ethico-legal religious tradition, whose meanings and application, given today’s demand for liberal democracy and the separation of religion and state, have emerged as a hot subject of discussion. Though the word Shari’ah is generally defined as Islamic law, and it indeed contains law, it also embraces elements and aspects that are not, strictly speaking, limited to law. Shari’ah is a total discourse, one in which all kinds of institutions—religious, legal, moral, political, and economic—find simultaneous directives for all those who are the citizens of an Islamic state. It offers prescriptions on everything from prayers, diet, and dress to commerce, taxation, and warfare. Rather than definitive law, Shari’ah is best understood as God’s commanding guidance for an Islamic way of life. Muslim scholars from the early period concluded that the Shari’ah lies at the heart of God’s revelation and that it is, in some sense, all-encompassing. Gen Zia-ul-Haqq the with full dictatorial power in his hand failed to implement Shariah law. Major problem was how to impose Shariah law in modern times. As we can understand from Imam Malik’s famous interpretation which I quote here below:

Abu Jaffer Al Mansoor, a great Muslim ruler, who was in power for over twenty years in the beginning of the Abbasid regime, once requested Imam Malik to write a comprehensive book on Shariah Law outlining Islamic verdicts on matters that occurred to people in daily life. He wanted that book to be the standard by which all matters are resolved. Imam Malik, the founder of one of the four major schools of thought, counseled Al Mansoor not to do so. He argued: “The Prophet’s companions settled in different provinces with each of them having his share of knowledge about Islam. If you were now to enforce a single opinion on them all, this will inevitably lead to a great deal of chaos and trouble.” ~

 MIRZA ASHRAF

Has science made religion useless?

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  • Science and religion (fact versus faith) are often seen as two incongruous groups. When you consider the purpose of each and the questions that they seek to answer, the comparison becomes less black and white.
  • This video features religious scholars, a primatologist, a neuroendocrinologist, a comedian, and other brilliant minds considering, among other things, the evolutionary function that religion serves, the power of symbols, and the human need to learn, explore, and know the world around us so that it becomes a less scary place.
  • “I think most people are actually kind of comfortable with the idea that science is a reliable way to learn about nature, but it’s not the whole story and there’s a place also for religion, for faith, for theology, for philosophy,” says Francis Collins, American geneticist and director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). “But that harmony perspective doesn’t get as much attention. Nobody is as interested in harmony as they are in conflict.”

FRANS DE WAAL: Well, religion is an interesting topic because religion is universal. All human societies believe in the supernatural. All human societies have a religion one way or another.

REZA ASLAN: Religion has been a part of the human experience from the beginning. In fact, we can trace the origin of religious experience to before homo sapiens. We can trace it with some measure of confidence to Neanderthals. We can measure it with a little less confidence all the way to homo erectus. So we’re talking hundreds of thousands of years before our species even existed.

ROBERT SAPOLSKY: Essentially there has been no culture on Earth that has not invented some form of what could be termed meta-magical thinking, attributing things that cannot be seen, faith-based belief systems, things of that sort. It’s universal.

ASLAN: Religious thinking is embedded in our cognitive processes. It is a mode of knowing. We’re born with it. It’s part of our DNA. The question then becomes why. There must be some evolutionary reason for it. There must be a reason, some adaptive advantage to having religious experience or faith experience. Otherwise it wouldn’t exist.

SAPOLSKY: It makes perfect sense why they’ve evolved because they’re wonderful mechanisms for reducing stress. It is an awful, terrifying world out there where bad things happen and we’re all going to die eventually. And believing that there is something, someone responsible for it at least gives some stress reducing attributes built around understanding causality.

Full article

posted by f.sheikh