MUSLIM PERSPECTIVE
Bulletin of the UNITED ISLAMIC NATION
Published Monthly by Masjid Tucson
FEBRUARY 1985
Editor: Rashad Khalifa, Ph.D.
WHO ARE WE?
During the past fourteen centuries, traditions, customs, superstitions, and innovations have crept into Islam. Gradually, these innovations came to be vested with religious solemnity to such an extent that anyone who questions them fins himself regarded as the dangerous innovator and heretic.
Islam today is like a precious jewel that is burried under piles upon piles of man-made innovations. Our aim is to purge out the innovations, and present the jewel of Islam to the world.
To Save The Muslim Ummah
We must return to obeying the prophet
"Anyone who disobeys God and His messenger has deserved the retribution of hell, wherein they abide forever." (72:23)
Despite server differences that plague the Muslim Ummah – sectarian, tribal, political and economic differences – even military conflicts and vicious wars – there is one thing that the Muslims unanimously agree upon:
THAT THE QUR’AN IS THE WORD OF GOD THAT WAS
UTTERED BY THE FINAL PROPHET MUHAMMAD.
Every Muslim on earth, regardless of sect, race, color, and language, believes that Qur’an was uttered by the honorable messenger, upon Inspiration from God, and that God has guaranteed its preservation and protection from the slightest distortion, addition, or loss.
"Surely, we have sent down this message, and surely, we will preserve it." (15:9)
This fact – 5that the glorious Qur’an is God’s message to the world which was uttered by the Prophet Muhammad – is affirmed in Qur’an by the strongest oath:
"I swear by everthing you see, and everyghing you do not see, this is the utterance of an honorable messenger.
It is not the utterance of a poet, rarely do you believe.
Nor is it the utterance of a soothsayer, rarely do you take heed.
A revelation from the Lord of the Universe.
And, if he ever uttered any other words (i.e. religious Instructions other that the Qur’an), We would have punished him severly. We would have stopped the revelation to him. None of you could have protected him from retribution." (69:38-47)
The Qur’an affirms that disobeying God and His messenger incurs humiliation, defeat, misery, and shame both in this life and in the Hereafter.
"Anyone who disregards my message shall suffer a miserable life. Then, on the Day of Resurrection, we resurrect him blind. He will say, ‘My Lord, why did you resurrect me blind, when I used to be a seer?’ He will be told, ‘When our revelations came to you, you disregarded them. Consequently, you are now disregarded.’ We thus punish whoever transgresses, and refuses to believe the revelations of his Lord. Additionally, the retribution in the Hereafter is far worse and everlasting." (20:124-127)
"Whoever obeys the messenger is obeying God. As for those who turn away, we did not send you to be their guardian." (4:80)
"Anyone who opposes the messenger, after guidance had been pointed out for him, and follows other that the path of believers, we direct him in the direction he chose. He ends up in Hell; a miserable destiny." (4:115)
If we can rid out minds of the traditions, innovations, superstitions, and inherited ideas that were injected into our religion, and return to God and His messenger, we would realize that the present decline of the Muslim Ummah is the direct result of disobeying the Prophet.
What helped Satan in misleading the Muslims is that the blatant disobedience of the Prophet takes the shape of LOVING THE PROPHET VERY MUCH. As a rule, anything that exceeds its limits, becomes the exact opposite. When love exceeds the limits, it becomes hatred. Our love of the Prophet has exceeded the limits, until it turned into real hatred in the form of love. This is of course what Satan did to the Christians; they love Jesus so much that he disowns them on the Day of Judgement (5:117 and the Gospel of Matthews &: 21-23).
One of the most flagrant examples of our excessive love of the Prophet, which turned into direct disobedience, can be illustrated by studying Verse 285 of Sura 2.
Before I cite this verse, I wish to remind the reader that these words came out of the Prophet’s mouth.
"THE MESSENTER BELIEVES IN WHAT WAS SENT DOWN TO HIM FROM HIS LORD, AND SO DO THE BELIEVERS. ALL OF THEM BELIEVE IN GOD, AND HIS ANGELS, AND HIS SCRIPTURES, AND HIS MESSENGERS; ‘WE DO NOT MAKE ANY DISTINCTION AMONG HIS MESSENGERS,’ AND THEY SAY, ‘WE HEAR AND WE OBEY. FORGIVE US, OUR LORD. TO YOU IS OUR ULTIMATE RETURN.’"
Is this what the Muslims sayt or do today?
Do the Muslims obey this powerful Injunction that "We shall not make any distinction among God’s messengers" and that "We hear and we obey"?
**(to be continued in the next issue InShaaAllah)**
THE MUSLIM PRISONER
Blessing in disguise?
"You may dislike something which is actually good for you, and you may like something which is actually bad for you." (Qur’an 2:216)
What appears to be a real disaster may actually be a great blessing in disguise. Our incarcerated brothers may provide a perfect example.
Discovering God and joining his kingdom is the greatest achievement any human being can achieve. If incarceration is what it takes for anyone to attain this precious goal, it is a small price indeed for such a great treasure.
The Qur’an teaches us that if a disbeliever possesses all the treasures of the world, even twice as much, he would readily give it all up in exchange for a believer’s achievement. (10:54, 13:18, & 39:47)
If you are a prisoner who discovered the true path to God, and have decided to follow god’s true religion, you are far more fortunate that a billionaire who has failed to discover God.
If you discovered Islam in prison, then incarceration was the greatest blessing that ever happened to you.
It is established that this life is insignificant, when compared to the real life of the eternal Hereafter. Mathematically, when you divide any number by infinity, the product is ZERO. So, even a thousand years in this world equal a ZERO when compared to the infinite Hereafter.
With this Qur’anic understanding, we realize that it doesn’t really matter whether we are poor or rich in this world, fat or thin, tall or short, black or white, male or female, beautiful or ugly.
This life, no matter how long, passes like the blink of an eye. (16:77)
When God loves someone, He may afflict him or her with a temporary problem just to get his or her attention. This is what Qur’an teaches in Sura 5, Verse 42 and in 7:94.
Incarceration may be God’s way of blessing you, and getting your attention. It means that God CARES about you. If you respond positively to God’s card, and decide to join His kingdom, then he makes it up to you manifold. He will appoint you a KING ON EARTH. This is god’s inviolable promise as we see in Qur’an 24:55.
There is one important catch: You must be absolutely positive that you have found the pure Islam, not the Islam that is distorted by traditions and superstitions.
**(More details in this in future issues InShaaAllah)**
