MUSLIM PERSPECTIVE
Bulletin of the UNITED ISLAMIC NATION
Published Monthly by Masjid Tucson
JUNE 1987 Shawwal 1407
Editor: Rashad Khalifa, Ph.D.
SHAIKH METWALLY EL-SHA’RAWY
Leading Millions of Muslims to Hell
Indisputable Qur’anic Evidence Points Out The Right Course
For All Muslims
Sheikh Metwally E1-Sha’rawy, former minister of religious affairs in Egypt, is the most respected religious authority in the Arab World today.
With full understanding that every human being is a potential believer, I write this critic with the sincerest hope that Sheikh Sha’rawy and his millions of admirers may see Satan’s tricks, and flee to God for their own salvation. This critic is an act of love, not hate.
I need not refer to any detailed doctrines of Sheikh Sha’rawy; all I need is to discuss his famous opening statement.
Shaikh Sha’rawy opens all his speeches like this:
"Pmise be to God, Lord of the universe, and peace and blessings upon the most honorable messenger, our master, Muhammad, and upon his family and all his companions."
We learn from the Qur’an, the word of God that came to us through Muhammad, that when Shaikh Sha’rawy utters this statement, he is immediately dismissed from God’s grace for breaking God’s laws and disobeying God and His final Prophet Muhammad. The Qur’an orders us, repeatedly, that we must never give any distinction to any one of God’s messengers (see 2:136, 2:285, 3:84, rind 4:152). In 2:285, our Creator describes the true believers as saying, "We hear and we obey," immediately after the commandment to give no distinction to any particular messenger. This crucial word: "obey," illustrates the grossness of disobeying God and His Prophet by giving distinction to any one of God’s messengers.
Disobeying God and His messenger is punishable by eternal Hell: "Anyone who disobeys God and His messenger has incurred the fire of Hell, wherein they abide forever." (72:23)
My dear readers: When Shaikh Sha’rawy calls Prophet Muhammad "the most honorable messenger," and "our master," is he not violating God’s commandments? Is he not disobeying God and His messenger? Is he not idolizing the Prophet Muhammad against his will?
Needless to say, unless Shaikh Sha’rawy repents, he will lead his millions of followers to one place: Hell.
My experience with similar individuals tells me that Sheikh Sha’rawy will probably justify his actions by referring to the statements in the Qur’an (2:253 and 17:55) that God has distinguished certain messengers. Specifically, the Qur’an informs us that God has honored Moses by speaking with him, distinguished Jesus by allowing him to revive the dead, and David by granting him the Psalms. But we must remember that God, not us, makes such distinctions; God does whatever He wills (see 21:23). It is a statement of fact that God has distinguished His messengers in various ways. We are clearly commanded "never to make any distinction among God’s messengers."
THE CORRECT SHAHADAH
Those who worship Muhammad against his will cannot get over the powerful Qur’anic assertions that the correct Shahadah is "LAA ELAAHA ELLA ALLAH (there is no god except Allah)" without the hypocritical statement "Muhammad rasool Allah (Muhammad is a messenger of God)" (see 63:1). Some traditional "Muslims" have been attacking me for advocating "LAA ELAAHA ELLA ALLAH’ (see the last issue of M.P.)!!!
In this short comment, I just wish to present the correct shaliadah as stated by our Creator Himself, and practiced by the angels and those who possess knowledge. Verse 18 of Sure 3 tells us precisely what the correct Shahadah is:
"God bears witness that there is no god except He, and so do the angels and those who possess knowledge." This is the correct Shahadah as stated by God Almighty and uttered by the Prophet Muhammad.
THE WOMAN’S HAIR
Up to Their Eyebrows in Idolatry
But Worried About The Woman’s Hair
We learn from the Qur’an that God has put in His message to us, 3:7, straightforward verses (Muhkamat) and multi-meaning verses (Mutashabehat )The straightforward verses are described as "the essence of the book." Thus, they constitute the essential teachings of the Qur’an.
The Qur’an further points out a sure way to recognize those with doubt in their hearts; they will dwell on the multi-meaning verses (Mutashabehat), seeking to assign one particular meaning to them, while neglecting the essential verses (Muhkamat ).
One of the multi-meaning verses of Qur’an deals with the "woman’s beauty" (Zeenah ). What constitutes "beauty" of the woman? Is it her eyes, her cheeks, her hair, her nose, what?
It has turned out to be an obsession of many Muslim men to demand that a Muslim woman must cover her hair, while these particular men themselves are up to their eyebrows in idol-worship (see the main article on Page 1). The tragedy is heightened by the Qur’anic fact that idol worship is the absolute worst sin; worse than murder (except the premeditated killing of a believer adultery and corruption. "Idol-worship is the ONLY unforgivable sin", when maintained until death.
Nowhere in the Qur’an do we find the requirement that a woman must cover her hair. The Qur’an orders the Muslim men and women to dress modestly and subdue their eyes, and tells the Muslim women specifically to lengthen their dresses and cover their chests (24:31 & 33:59). Many of these men, totally drowning in 1idol-worship, distort the Arabic word "Khemar ," which simply means "cover": any kind of cover, over anything (Khamr or intoxicants, for example, cover the mind). They vehemently insist that it is a cover that must come from above, after covering the woman’s hair. They even dig up some Arabic dictionaries, written by equally oppressive men, that advocates the same absurdity.
However, since it is God’s law that those with doubt in their hearts will always dwell on the multi-meaning verses, we have to thank God for exposing them and keeping us informed about them.