the hope bulletin - march 2015

8/9/2019 The HOPE Bulletin - March 2015

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March 2015 Editor: Nasir Ahmad B.A. LL.B.

IN MEMORY OF JALAL-UD-DIN AKBAR IBN-I ABDULLAH, SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA

Vol. No. 7, Issue No. 25

PageCONTENTS

Al-Azhar views on the posion of Shia School of Thought in Islam 2

Brief report from the Berlin Mosque 3 Amir Aziz Al-Azhari

Should sermons be delivered in German only?

Interview of Mr. Amir Aziz by an Austrian Correspondent 4

Conversaon with a Danish Priest

Report by Mr. Ahmed Saadat 6

“Long Night of Religions” at the Berlin Mosque 10

The life of Prophet Muhammad and his importance in Islam 11Faizaan Ahmad

Islam on Ridiculous Cartoons 16Rafque Ali


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ALAZHAR VIEWS ON THE POSITION OF SHIA SCHOOL

OF THOUGHT IN ISLAMTRANSLATION BY F. M. MAHDAVIMY OF AN INTERVIEW TO THE EGYPTIAN TV CHANNEL

“ALNEEL” WITH SHEIKH ALAZHAR, DR. AHMAD ALTAYYIB

Q. In your opinion, isn’t there any problem in Shia Beliefs?

A. Never, 50 years ago Shaikh Mahmood Shaltoot, the then Chancellor of Al Azhar, had issued a

fatwa that Shia School is the h Islamic School and are like as the other schools.

Q. Our children are embracing Shia Islam, what should we do?

A. Let them convert and to embrace Shia School. If someone leaves Maliki or Hana Sect, do we

cricize him? These children are just leaving fourth school and join the h.

Q. The Shias are becoming relaves with us and they are geng married with our children!

A. What is wrong with this, marriage between religions is allowed.

Q. It is said that the Shias have a dierent Quran!

A. These are the myths and supersons of the elderly women. Shia Quran has no any dierence

with ours, and even the script of their Quran is like our alphabet.

Q. 23 clerics of a country (Saudi Arabia) issued a fatwa that the Shia are indels, herecs (Kars)!!

A. Al-Azhar is the only authority to issue fatwa for Muslims; therefore the above said fatwa is invalid

and unreliable.

Q. So what does the dierence – being raised between the Shia and the Sunni – mean?A. These dierences are the part of the policies of foreign powers who seek conict between The

Shia and the Sunni.

Q. I have a very serious queson that “the Shia do not accept Abu Bakr and Umar, how you can say

they are Muslims?”

A. Yes, they do not accept them. But is the belief in Abu Bakr and Umar a part of the principles of

Islam? The story of Abu Bakr and Umar is historic and history has nothing to do with fundamentals

of the beliefs.

Q. (The reporter surprised by the response, asks) Shia has a fundamental problem and that is “theysay that their Imam the me ( م ”!) is sll alive aer 1,000 yearsرصعل

A. He may be alive, why is it not possible? But there is no reason that we – as Sunni – should believe

just like them.

Q. (Referring to Imam Mohammad Taqi al-Jawad AS, (the 9th Imam of Shias) the reporter asked) The

Shias believe that one of their Imams was just eight-year old when he became Imam; is it possible

that an eight-year-old child be the Imam?

A. If an infant in a cradle can be a prophet (Issa AS), then why an eight-year-old child can not be the

Imam? It is not strange. Although we may not accept this belief as we are Sunni. However, this

belief does not harm their Islam, and they are Muslims.


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BRIEF REPORT FROM THE BERLIN MOSQUE

AMIR AZIZ ALAZHARI

27 February 2015

With the blessings of Allah, I reached Berlin safely on 21 February 2015. Therst Friday sermon was delivered on 27 February.

The same evening, Dr Gerdien Jonker, a University research scholar and a

very good ‘Friend of the Mosque’, came with a group of students who be-

longed to various faiths. She gave a talk to them in the Mosque for half an

hour about the history of the Mosque and the Imams. Later on, I was asked

to explain the dierence between Ahmadiyya and non-Ahmadiyya beliefs.

I explained the dierence and also narrated the whole situaon regarding

our Jama‘at from the me of Hazrat Mirza Sahib’s death ll the year 1994,

when extremely discriminatory laws were passed against both secons of theAhmadiyya Movement. The programme lasted for an hour. I am pleased that

Dr Jonker got claricaon on the Ahmadiyya viewpoint. It may be noted that Dr Jonker is deeply in -

volved in the history and impact of the Ahmadiyya Movement during the inter-war period in Europe.

“Berlin TV”.

TV Berlin interviewed me last Thursday. The theme of the interview was the visit of the Grand Mui

of Jerusalem to our Mosque in 1942. One day before the interview I had researched the Mui’s visit

and read all informaon from the website and from our own literature. I explained the historical

background of his visit to our Mosque. I claried the point that the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement

did not agree with his point of view and disapproved of his polical agenda. He was allowed to visitthe Mosque and deliver a speech because at that me there was no other mosque in Berlin and

during the crical me of World War II this was the only one catering to the Muslim community

in Berlin.

Interview for channel i24news

On 4 March, Polina Garaev, an Austrian correspondent in Berlin for the channel, recorded a one-hour

detailed interview. She asked about the problems Muslims are facing and also about the posion of

Ahmadiyya thoughts about extremist views. It was a detailed interview.

[The relevant poron of the interview is reproduced in this issue of the Bullen. – Ed .]

Selecon for recitaon in ‘Berlin Poetry Programme’

With Allah’s blessings, my recitaon of the Qur’an has been selected to parcipate as part of the

Poetry Programme, the theme of which is ‘Religion this Year’. My recitaon has been recorded and

has been sent for nal approval.

5 March 2015

A group of 15 teachers visited the Mosque and had discussions for one and half hours. It was a very

signicant meeng and the group was much impressed by our presentaon of the teachings of Islam

Mr. Amir Aziz studying

in the new oce set

up in the side room of

the Mosque.


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and the eorts of the Mosque. They promised to visit us in future, as well. Free literature was given

to them.

* * *

SHOULD SERMONS BE DELIVERED IN GERMAN ONLY?

CAN IT BE AN EFFECTIVE MEASURE TO PREVENT EXTREMISM IN GERMANY?AUSTRIAN LAW REQUIRING MUSLIM CLERICS TO PREACH IN GERMAN GETS

MIXED REACTIONS

An extract relevant to the Berlin Mosque is being reproduced below. The arclewas done by Ms Polina Garaev under the tle “Ahmadiyya Mosque”.

Mr Amir Aziz came to Berlin less than two weeks ago, aer he was appointed Imam

of the oldest mosque in Germany. In preparaon for his new posion, he stud-

ied German in his homeland, Pakistan, but sll struggles with the language.

Nevertheless, he insists on giving his sermons, at least parally, in German,

believing that “addressing the public in the local language is the best way to

convey a message.”

This conciliatory atude towards the use of German language in mosques diers greatly from thesharp cricism incurred by a recent Austrian decision to demand that all Imams learn the local

tongue. Last week, the German Bundestag President, Norbert Lammert, added fuel to the re by

suggesng that Germany should adopt a similar law. Mr Aziz isn’t worried by that possibility: “The

main dierence is that now I need to look at my pages when I give a sermon. If I don’t understand

something, I can always ask someone in the crowd to translate for me.”

But some policians in Germany believe he shouldn’t have to. Lammert’s interview over the week -

end with the German newspaper Die Welt – in which he argued that the Austrian legislaon “is

an interesng aempt to bring clarity, for which there is demand in Germany” – has caused much

German and French translaons of the Qur'an by

Maulana Muhammad Displayed.

Mr. Amir Aziz, the new Imam.

Ms. Poline Garvear,

Austrian Correspondent,

for i24 News Channel.


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controversy, with several policians from the le-wing of the polical map warning of the onset of

a “language police.”

The Austrian legislaon, which bans Islamic cultural organizaons from receiving foreign funding, also

compels Imams to be able to speak German under the law, in the hope of making their comments

more accessible and transparent, while also facilitang the absorpon of Muslims into Austrian so -ciety. Lammert suggested to do the same in Germany, and was backed by Andreas Scheuer, the chair

of the conservave CSU party, who said the demand was a precondion for “successful integraon.”

Yet other policians were outraged. The co-chairperson of Germany’s Green party, Katrin Göring-

Eckardt, rejected the noon of cemenng this requirement in law, saying: “We do not prohibit Jews

from speaking Hebrew in synagogues.” Cem Özdemir, another Green party leader, has also warned

that enforcing a law of this sort might only be the beginning. “We want no language police, which

might also intervene in the use of Lan, Hebrew or Arabic,” he told the Welt am Sonntag.

Mr Aziz, on his part, doesn’t see the harm in government intervenon. “This law should apply toall communies; all religions should give sermons in the nave language of the country where they

reside,” he stated. His Mosque is aended by many nave German speakers, but also immigrants

from Turkey and Sudan and foreign diplomats working in Germany. Like him, they are also not always

uent in German. Sll, he is convinced in the eecveness of the local language.

Instead of focusing on the suggested invasion of personal and religious space, he called on his col-

leagues to acknowledge the law’s movaon. “I understand the purpose of the Austrian law, which

comes in light of recent events in Europe,” added Aziz. “The government fears that when I speak

Arabic I might be trying to convince people to become fundamentalists, and they are trying to make

sure that no part of the service is harmful to society.”

However, even he stressed that not everything can be translated. “The parts of the prayer which are

in Arabic, must remain so. This is how it’s been done since the me of the Prophet Muhammad. If

the government wants to know what we are saying, they can ask for the translaon and check, in

order to eliminate all misunderstandings. But the main ritual recitaons are something which cannot

be replaced by its translaon.”

* * *

Signs of the End

In the name of Allah, the Benecent, the Merciful. 1. The calamity! 2. What is the

calamity? 3. And what will make you know how terrible is the calamity? 4. The day

when people will be as scattered moths, 5. and the mountains will be as akes of

wool. 6. Then as for him whose good deeds are heavy, 7. he will live a pleasant

life. 8. And as for him whose good deeds are light, 9. the abyss is a mother (or

abode) to him.

10.

And what will make you know what that is?

11.

A burning Fire.

(Al-Qariah 101:1-7)


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CONVERSATION WITH A DANISH PRIEST

JESPER THOBOCARLSEN

(The following is an edited English version of a report published in a Danish paper about a conver-

saon between Mr Ahmed Saadat, then acng Imam of the Berlin Mosque, and a Danish priest Ms.

Iben Vinther Nordestgaard, at the Berlin Mosque. The Danish church (Brienner Strasse 12) is within

walking distance from the Berlin Mosque. The Priest and the sta of the Church are very helpful

and supporve, even somemes bringing visitors to the Mosque. The report was published on 17

January 2015. – Ed.)

A Pakistani Imam and a Danish priest aend each other’s sermons in Berlin. The Imam believes that

terrorists, like those from Paris, should be hanged on the street as a warning.

One by one, the small congregaon pops up in the worn, old Berliner Mosque, a lile pompously

also called “Wilmersdorfs Taj Mahal”. It is Germany’s oldest funconing mosque, but not known by

very many Berliners. It’s Friday. Two days aer the terrorist aack on the sarical magazine Charlie

Hebdo in Paris, which the whole world is talking about. Imam Ahmed Saadat has chosen freedom

and peace as the theme for his sermon, and he quickly gets on to the tragedy in Paris.

“It is a very sad moment in history. We condemn – as a Muslim and as a human being. At the sameme, we must not give juscaon or excuses and say it was this or that. They are not Muslims. I do

not regard them as human beings,” says Ahmed Saadat to the congregaon, which gradually grows

to a few dozen men and three women.

The Mosque belongs to the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement, which preaches peace, tolerance and

women’s right to self-determinaon. According to Ahmed Saadat, the Koran’s message is of peace

and respect. He says there may be a hundred reasons why the killers in Paris did … “It has nothing to

do with Islam. I do not even consider them as human beings. But sll, I feel as a Muslim the pressure

of this gruesome incident. I’m sorry. Ulmately, I speak only of what God tells us, and it’s all about

peace, love and respect. On the other hand, we see so-called Muslims who kill. They are extremists.


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I feel the pain it has caused to the cause of religion, especially Islam. But I am 100 percent sure that

those people who do not know the message of Islam will get a wrong message,” he told Berlingske.

What is Islam’s response to radical propaganda?

“No, if you hear me, Islam has the opposite message. If you kill a man, you kill the whole of human-

ity. If you save a person, you save all of humanity. So I try to tell other Muslims that they should notfeel guilty, even though it is dicult because of TV and media coverage,” says Ahmed Saadat.

Also, the large Muslim associaons in Germany have sharply condemned the killings. The peaceful

tone of the Imam disappears when the talk is about the killers. The authories should act harder

than that, he believes. Much harder. “I would personally wish that terrorists – whether they are

from any Muslim country; whether they call themselves Muslims or Chrisans – should be hanged

to death in front of people. Something that should deter such cruel people. I can only speak about

peace and love. My approach will never be aggressive. But, for example, police and policians in

all countries – Denmark, Germany, Pakistan – they must punish them, maybe in the street where

everyone can see it, as a deterrent,” he said.

Some terrorists are suicide bombers. It does not seem they are scared of death?

“I’m not sure what to say about the theme. Who are they and what are their intenons? What

movates them? As a student of religion, I know that religion never movates this kind of brutality.

So I will never blame religion. Religion only gives direcon and promotes virtuous deeds,” he said.

One of the women sing at the back of the Mosque during the sermon is the pastor Iben Vinther

Nordestgaard from Chrisanskirken, the Chrisan Danish congregaon in Berlin. Her church is locat-

ed diagonally across the street, and she somemes comes to Ahmed Saadat’s Friday sermon, as he

goes to her services. The German Church’s relaonship with Islam is good, she says. It makes greateort for dialogue and focuses on a common concept rather than Chrisans “ für sich,” she says. “The

relaonship between Muslims and the rest of Germany at some places is more problemac,” she

says. “The Muslims I know try wherever possible to integrate. But it is clear that depending on which

Islamic line you go for there is a problem with accepng the values in German society. It is clear that

when you walk in a burka, you signal something dierent from German values,” she says.

How widespread is it?

“I do not see so many in burka. I see a lot in scarves, and I also think I see an increasing number of

scarves just in the eight years we’ve been here.”

Do you feel it in the schools?

“Actually, it’s a problem in some schools where bullying from Turks is a big issue. I also know from

my colleagues in the clergy who have classes at schools with a large number of Muslims that it is a

problem for them to teach about Chrisanity ….”

Every Monday in Dresden, self-proclaimed ‘patriots’ go to the streets to protest against what they

claim is an ongoing ‘Islamizaon’ of Germany and Western Europe. Iben Vinther Nordestgaard can -

not see the Islamizaon of Germany. But more young Muslims become radicalised.


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Is there a problem between unreformed Islam and democracy?

“My answer is that there is only one Islam. I belong to the Lahore Movement. We may dier in

the concept and nature of certain beliefs but we all believe in the fundamentals. God is One and

Universal and the message and guidance brought by the Holy Prophet Muhammad is complete and

nal. There is no dierence on fundamentals. In this regard, no group or school of thought diers.

This is Islam; simple and pure. You surrender to God. I do my best to follow the fundamentals,”he said.

There are dierent schools of thought in Islam. It is a basic fact.

“I do not deny their existence. Similarly, there are good and evil. The only thing I say is that we must

promote and enjoy what is good and forbid what is evil,” says Ahmed Saadat, who also says he has

never heard hate sermons in Berlin.

For the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement jihad means that one must control oneself, he explains. “If

someone wants to kill me, then I must defend myself. And if someone dies in self-defence, I will

appreciate his courage. But there are other Islamic rules: do not kill civilians; do not take their prop -erty by force or by illegal means. As the US Military ruthlessly aacked Afghanistan aer September

11, many innocent women, children and old people died. For instance, if 1,000 people died on

September 11, so perhaps 10,000 people died in Afghanistan. I see it as nonsense. That’s the kind I

see that incites more radicalisaon. Such unjused and uncalled for acts of aggression are set up

as Chrisans-and-Muslims, or Muslims-Jews conicts. When in such unprovoked acts of aggression

innocent people die, it’s very sad and deplorable. It creates sympathy for those killed and hatred

against the aggressors. I have seen that since September 11 things have become more aggressive;

uglier. We have lost peace. Perhaps you know that in my country we also have suicide bomb aacks

every other week. Children are dying. I have never seen before such things happening in Pakistan as

is the case in the last 10-15 years,” said the Imam.

Imam: “Some Germans see Islam as a threat.”

The Danish Priest, Vinther Nordestgaard, says she does not think so. But she adds: “Our laws are

not condioned by the Lord. We make them ourselves, but, of course, with our neighbour in mind.

Our policians, of course, should keep this in mind. It’s also why we have an opening service for the

Parliament, so that they should know the limits of their authority. If you always operate with ‘your

neighbour’ in mind, you can take stock of what country or what me you are in. That, I do not think,

Islam does,” she says.

A study by the Bertelsmann Foundaon shows that Germany’s Muslims overwhelmingly share

democrac values. Nine out of ten ‘religious’ Muslims think, for example, that democracy is

good governance.


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Why is this democrac orientaon not taken seriously by many Germans?

“I think it is because the minority of Muslims talk really loud. And then it’s easy to get scared – even

about the smallest things. The element of fear breeds hatred and lls a lot in many people,” says

the Priest.

[Translaon: Die Berliner Zeitung (Lange Nacht des Religions).]

* * *

“LONG NIGHT OF RELIGIONS” AT THE BERLIN MOSQUE

“GREEN IS THE COLOUR OF ISLAM”

(“Long Night of Religions” is the day xed by the Germany Government when all places of prayer andworship are required to be kept open for visitors. For the convenience of the visitors, these places

are open from morning ll late in the evening. As compared to other countries, our experience is that

people in Germany, and especially in Berlin, take a keen interest in vising religious centres. On some

occasions, the turnout at the Berlin Mosque is about 600 to 700 people in a day. During the me of

Mr Muhammad Ali, a green light was installed at the main entrance of the Mosque. It not only looksfascinang to the visitors but it is also visible from a long distance away. Green is the favourite colour

of Muslims, as it is the colour of the dome of the mausoleum of the Holy Prophet ( saw ). The news

clipping (below) is taken from Berliner Zeitung (a newspaper of Berlin). The photo of the entrance has

also been taken from the same issue of the newspaper – Ed .)

Green is the colour of Islam. The Ahmadiyya Mosque was lit green on the “Long Night of Religions”

to welcome guests.

20.15. The Ahmadiyya Lahore Mosque in the deserted Briennerstraße in Wilmersdorf is the oldest

mosque in Germany, dang back to the 1920s. It is a beauful white building with minarets. For


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the evening, it is bathed in green light. The members of the community have made it their goal to

pracce Islam in its original, true form. At least, that is what’s wrien in the programme. Ahmed

Saadat is a handsome man with a broad smile. The Pakistani has been in charge of the mosque for

three years. “Most of the other Muslims perceive us as indels,” he says. “We are not.”

There are few people there; nearly all of them are men. Most of them seem to be in communicaonwith the community. Hardly a few minutes there, there are already deep theological discussions.

The individual details are only dicult to grasp for a layman. It is about the non-recognion of the

Prophet to the return of Jesus Christ and, in another conversaon, certain details from the biography

of Muhammad. The atmosphere is friendly, but not laidback. You do not want to be misrepresented,

especially not in the press.

* * *

THE LIFE OF PROPHET MUHAMMAD

AND ITS IMPORTANCE IN ISLAM

FAIZAAN AHMAD, AYLESBURY, UK

(Talk delivered at the monthly meeng of the UK Ahmadiyya Jama‘at at Wembley, London.)

Dear respected elders, brothers and sisters, Assalamo alaikum.

“Surely, a Messenger has come unto you from among yourselves; grievous to him is that

you should fall into trouble; he is ardently desirous of your welfare; and to the believers

he is compassionate, merciful” (9:128).

Yesterday marked the twelh day of Rabi’ al-Awwal according to the Hijri calendar. On this day in

571 AD, Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) was born.

Today, I will talk about the life of Prophet Muhammad (saw ), and his importance in Islam.

The Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw ) was born among a people of no established religion, consisngof dierent tribes who worshipped tribal idols and other objects. Knowledge and learning were very

limited, and no system of jusce, rights, or law existed in the land, apart from tribal customs and

codes. Exploitaon of the weak, slaves, and women prevailed. Arabia had largely been untouched

by the great civilisaons and cultures that passed to its north. It was a desolate me with a total

absence of any form of polical organisaon. It was a completely male-dominated society where

drinking, gambling, and polygamy were the norm. Prophet Muhammad (saw ) was able to bring

about a new mind-set, freed from the root-, blind-following of ancestral tradions. He made the

people aware of the falsehood of their former customs, so this awareness could protect them from

lapsing back into such modes of thought.


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Unl the age of forty nothing had actually been revealed to Prophet Muhammad ( saw ) by Allah. At

an early age he was renowned for his honesty, integrity, trustworthiness, and service to the poor,

and that is why he was commonly known as Al-Amin, meaning The Faithful, and this not only implied

his honesty in maers of money but it denoted his righteousness in every form. He felt more and

more grieved at the fallen state of society around him, and shortly before he reached the age of

forty he began to retreat to a cave in Mount Hira, a few miles outside Makkah, for solitary prayer,contemplaon, and fasng. He pondered on the meaning of life and how people could be reformed.

One night in the month of Ramadan, the angel Gabriel appeared in front of Prophet Muhammad

(saw ) and said: “Iqra’!” (Read). “I do not know how to read,” was the Holy Prophet’s reply. Then the

angel hugged him close to his chest and asked him to read again. Three mes the angel repeated

the request to read, and as many mes the Holy Prophet (saw ) pleaded his inability to do so. Then

the angel Gabriel commanded Prophet Muhammad (saw ) to read the following verses (96:1-5), the

English translaon of which is as follows:

Read in the name of thy Lord who creates,Creates man from a clot.

Read, and thy Lord is the most Generous,

Who taught by the pen,

Taught man that what he knew not.

This was the rst day the heavy responsibility of prophethood was placed on the Prophet’s shoul-

ders. The right path in the quest of which he had been so long engaged was at last revealed to him.

The light for which he had been eagerly searching came to him. It was, however, made known to him

at the same me that the stupendous charge of human reformaon was to rest on his shoulders.

The Holy Qur’an was revealed in a period of twenty-three years, and when Prophet Muhammad

(saw ) delivered the last sermon in the eld of Arafat during the Pilgrimage, there were approximate -

ly 124 to 144 thousand Muslims present. There was no other me in the past two millenniums that

one person has changed the lives and minds of so many people in such a short me! And, amazingly,

the impact of our Holy Prophet (saw ) sll aects millions of lives every day. … Can you imagine

anyone in our modern mes that has achieved this much inuence to such an extent?

Aer receiving the support of Hazrat Khadija – the Prophet’s rst believer and main supporter –

and addional angelic visits, the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw ) felt strengthened, and he became

condent to shoulder the grand responsibility as the Messenger of God and he began to preach, ashe had been commanded.

The Holy Prophet Muhammad’s message to his countrymen was to convert from pagan polytheism,

immorality and materialism, and to repent from evil and to worship Allah, the only true God. He

was always careful to clarify his role in God’s work: he was only a prophet; he was not an angel, he

did not know the mind of God, he did not work miracles. He simply preached what he had received.

In the rst three years of his ministry, the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw ) gained only 40 followers,

and as his teachings threatened the Meccan way of life – both moral and economic – he and his

followers experienced heavy persecuon. It rst took the form of mockery, but soon turned into


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open violence. Members of the small movement were stoned, covered in dirt as they prayed, beaten

with scks, thrown into prison, and refused service by merchants.

Persecuon connued to increase unl the Holy Prophet (saw ) received some welcome news: he

had gained followers in the city of Yathrib, 280 miles north of Mecca. The city was in need of a strong

leader, and a delegaon from Yathrib proposed that Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw ) take the job.In return, they pledged to worship Allah only, obey the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw ) and defend

him and his followers to the death. Allah revealed His approval of this arrangement, and the Holy

Prophet Muhammad (saw ) made plans to escape to Yathrib.

The leaders in Mecca got an inkling of the planned escape, and aempted to prevent it. But the Holy

Prophet (saw ) and his close friend, Abu Bakr, managed to make a narrow escape to the north of the

city, evading a Meccan search party and arriving safely in Yathrib. Yathrib was renamed Medinat

al-Nabi (the City of the Prophet) and is now known simply as Medina (the City).

In Medina, the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw ) proved himself an able polician and statesman aswell as a versale prophet.

Exercising superb statecra, he welded the ve heterogeneous and conicng tribes of the city,

three of which were Jewish, into an orderly confederaon.... His reputaon spread and people be -

gan to ock from every part of Arabia to see him.

Aer the Prophet (saw ) had established himself in Medina and accomplished the job he had been in-

vited to do, the people of Medina began several years of bale with Mecca. In 624, the Muslims won

their rst bale against the Meccans. As the laer had a much larger army, the Muslims took the

victory as a sign that Allah was on their side. However, a subsequent bale was not victorious, andHoly Prophet Muhammad (saw ) himself was wounded. But in 627, the Meccans aacked Medina

with the support of all major opponents of Islam, and aer a tense and crical bale in Medina, the

Holy Prophet (saw ) came out on top.

In 630, the Meccans breached the condions of the Truce of Hudaibiyya and the Holy Prophet

Muhammad (saw ) and his forces marched to Mecca where they won a bloodless victory. The Prophet

(saw ) rededicated the Ka‘bah temple to Allah, and shortly thereaer witnessed the conversion to

Islam of nearly the enre Meccan populaon.

Mr William Montgomery Wa, a professor of Islamic and Arabic Studies at Edinburgh University,wrote a biography of the Prophet (saw ) called Muhammad at Mecca, Muhammad at Medina in two

volumes. He says: “One thing baes me. I cannot understand how one man, who has no formal

educaon, could lead a community who behaved like animals, and transform them into men the

world had never seen before.”

Now that I have given you a brief overview of Prophet Muhammad’s life, I will look at how the

revelaon of the Holy Qur’an and the Holy Prophet’s acons changed the world.


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Gi of reading

Firstly, the Holy Prophet (saw ) gave the world the gi of reading. In the world before Prophet

Muhammad (saw ), reading generally used to be the prerogave of the royal family, of the families of

the nobles and aristocrats, and of the clerical and priestly classes.

Others were oen discouraged or even prevented from learning to read and write. In some instances,they were punished. That situaon changed completely aer the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw ).

The very rst word that he brought from God in the Qur’an commanded everyone everywhere,

male, as well as female, to read. “Read! Iqra’!” was the message given in the middle of the seventh

century. Today, in the twenty-rst century, learning to read and write is one of the most pressing and

common priories throughout the world, no maer what one’s race, religion, class, age or gender.

So, the gi of universal literacy, across gender, races and classes, is one of the most profound ways

in which the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw ) changed the world.

Female liberaonSecondly, the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw ) gave women freedom and dignity. Before him, wom-

en everywhere lacked rights. Europeans wondered if women had a soul. They called women the

Instruments of the Devil and Gateways to Hell. They denied women the right to inherit their parents’

or husbands’ property. In Arabia, fathers buried their own daughters alive. The Qur’an put an end

to this. It taught the principle of male-female parity in reward and punishment – worldly and oth-

er-worldly, and it made women partners of males in the inheritance process. The Qur’an doesn’t

have a chapter called “The Men,” even though the whole world sang the praises of men all the me.

It has, however, a chapter called “The Women” ( An-Nisa’ ), going back 1400 years. An-Nisa’ or “The

Women” is the fourth chapter of the Qur’an and it is also one of the longest chapters of the Qur’an.

This is the kind of glorious revoluon that the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw ) brought about in thestatus of women in the world, through the implementaon and preaching of the Qur’an.

Before Muhammad (saw ), humanity was in chains. The world belonged to the kings and to the

rich, and ordinary human beings were their property. The broad mass of humanity was called serfs,

rira, villains, peasants, and a lot else. The Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw ) set human beings free

and gave them the most honoured tle of “The People.” America ought to be proud, and rightly so,

for having used in their Constuon the words “We, the People.” That expression, “the People,” is

a direct reference to the Qur’an. I am providing below the words of the Constuon of the United

States of America. But I want to know if anyone, Muslim or non-Muslim, American or otherwise,

ever wondered how closely related these words are with the spirit of the teachings of the HolyProphet Muhammad (saw ) from the middle of the seventh century.

Constuon of the United States of America

It says: “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Jusce,

insure domesc Tranquillity, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and se-

cure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constuon

for the United States of America.”

These are simply the teachings given in the Qur’an on equality, just with a dierent order of words.

And this message was given to the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw ) in the seventh century! A special


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thing to note is An-Nas, meaning “The People”, is menoned over 200 mes to show the importance

of this message of humanity and equality.

As I menoned earlier, governments before the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw ) were absolute mon-

archies, dictatorships, and tyrannies, and no true form of organisaon existed within polics. All the

rights belonged to the rich and the powerful, and none to the common people. Most kings claimedto have the power of God behind their throne, and the claim of the kings to rule by Divine Right was

never quesoned. The Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw ) put an end to that. He taught the world the

lesson of Liberty and Human Equality. “O People,” he said in Chapter 4 (The Women), “fear your God,

Who created you all from one soul, and then from that one soul He created its mate, and then from

the two of them He caused to spring forth many, many men and women” (4:1). Can you imagine

a more revoluonary message of human equality across race, class, gender, and all other kinds of

boundaries and barriers, and all this in the middle of the seventh century? Everyone knows what

kind of a world it was in terms of race, class and gender disparity, discriminaon and oppression.

And yet this is the message the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw ) gave to the world, with the guidance

of Allah. This was also the Divine blueprint on the basis of which the Holy Prophet (saw ) then setabout building the most egalitarian society the world has ever known.

“Government of the People by the People”

These words are aributed to Abraham Lincoln, a ghter for naonal unity and human liberty and

equality, and, rightly so, as they are taken directly from his Geysburg address.

Lincoln began his address by saying: “… our fathers brought forth on this connent a new naon,

conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposion that all men are created equal.”

How are these words not a reecon of, and a commentary upon, the words of the Qur’an and ofthe Hadith, the sayings of Prophet Muhammad (saw ): “Surely, this naon of yours is one naon, and

I am your Lord, so worship Me” (Holy Qur’an, 21:92).

Lincoln then goes on to end his address with the following words: “… that this naon, under God,

shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the

people, shall not perish from the earth.”

In many ways, these words capture the essence of the teachings of the Holy Prophet Muhammad

(saw ) in this world. They encapsulate his dealings with the people – his followers – whom he referred

to as his Companions ( Ashab).

Finally, the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw ) was ordered by Allah to give the message (to para-

phrase): “All I am is a human being just like you, even though I receive revelaon from God.”

Can anyone provide or point to a more solid foundaon of egalitarian democracy, than this?

So, this is what the Prophet Muhammad (saw ) gave the world in the realm of polics and government.


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From superson to raonality

Before the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw ), the world was steeped in superson of every kind

and descripon. Prophet Muhammad (saw ) was the one who put an end to all that with a singular

phrase: “Laa ilaaha illallaah.” (There is no god but Allah.)

Prophet Abraham taught that same message; as did Prophet Moses in the Old Testament; as didProphet Jesus (peace be upon them all), and then the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw ) changed the

enre world using those same four words: “Laa ilaaha illallah.”

He also made religion common sense and simple raonality, and not blind faith.

The Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw ) thus tried to abolish all religious tyrannies and priestly hierar-

chies, and idolaters, and through the message of the Qur’an and Allah, he tried to bring not only the

country of Arabia, but the world, into a state of peace and harmony, which could have only been

achieved through Islam.

These are just a few examples of the impact Prophet Muhammad (saw ) had on the world. It is, of

course, obvious to state that all his messages came from Allah, and he was the messenger. However,

due to his honesty, integrity, and trustworthiness among many other beauful aributes, he truly

lived up to his name Al-Amin (The Faithful), and he truly was the only one who could have delivered

such a life-giving message.

It would take thousands of pages to cover all the posive eects he had on society. I hope, though, that

I have given a sucient overview of how the messages within the Qur’an and Prophet Muhammad’s

life can shaped modern society on egalitarian bases.

* * *

ISLAM ON RIDICULOUS CARTOONS

RAFFIQUE ALI

(Khutbah delivered at the Wajidali Memorial Mosque, California, Trinidad, on 27 February 2015)

“Verily, those who annoy Allah and His Messenger, Allah has cursed them in this world

and in the Hereaer, and has prepared for them a humiliang torment” (33:57).

Brothers and Sisters, the verse I have just read is taken from Surah Al-Ahzab of the Holy Qur’an.

You will recall that someme recently two masked gunmen, shoung “ Allahu Akbar ”, entered the

oces of a French magazine called Charlie Hebdo in Paris, France. They opened re using automac

weapons and killed at least twelve people, including the publisher of the magazine, and even some

innocent people who had nothing to do with the magazine. We were told that the magazine had

published cartoons depicng the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw ), which were insulng to the Holy

Founder of Islam and the Muslim Ummah.


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was unable to nd any verse in the Qur’an which supports blasphemy against the Holy Prophet (saw )

as a crime punishable by death.

In Surah Al-An‘am, Allah says: “When you see them engaged in vain discourse about our signs, turn

away from them unless they engage in a dierent subject. If Satan ever makes you forget [i.e. if your

mind gets engrossed in their discourse], then as soon as you recollect, no longer sit in the companyof the people who confound the truth with falsehood” (6:8).

So, Allah is telling us that instead of persecung people who mock Islam, we should withdraw from

any acvity associated with such mockery. What this means to me is that we are not supposed to

harbour ill feelings or enmity towards them, much less kill them.

In Surah Al-Qasas, we are again instructed: “Whenever they [the believers] hear vain talk of ridicule,

they withdraw from it decently and say, To us our deeds and to you yours. Peace be upon you, we do

not seek to join the ignorant” (28:55).

Have you noced how a Bad John (bully) operates? His answer to everything is violence and ag-

gression. As soon as you try to have dialogue with him or aempt to engage him in discussion, he

becomes very confused and is put on the defensive. In the same way, force is the preferred way

when people are frustrated and there is no raonal answer to oer. So when someone depicts the

Holy Prophet (saw ) as a war-monger and a paedophile and we respond by persecung them, all we

do is perhaps reinforce the percepon that ours is a religion of tyrants.

It seems very clear to me that we should devote more me to studying the faith that we are willing

to kill to defend, and learn from it.

In addion, our beloved Messenger was not the only messenger of Allah to be mocked and ridiculed.

Read the story of Prophet Abraham, Prophet Moses, Prophet Noah, and Prophet Jesus (may Allah be

pleased with them) and you will see that they were mocked, ridiculed and physically harmed when

they aempted to carry out their ministry.

Surah Ya Sin tells us: “Alas for My servants! There comes not a messenger to them but they mock

him” (36:30).

It is interesng to note that although the Holy Qur’an clearly states that all the prophets were sub-

jected to aacks by others, there is no evidence that the aackers were ever ordered to be punishedfor blasphemy or even persecuon.

I believe that some Muslims in their ignorance of the Holy Qur’an and, in their extreme love per-

haps, try to outdo their reverence for the Prophet Muhammad (saw ) and to prove to the world that

they love him more because they consider him the best among the Prophets. Showing respect and

reverence in such a violent manner does not in any way impress others; rather, they entertain more

enmity against him.

It could be that Muslims use this to establish their identy as the followers of Muhammad ( saw )

and that some people, whom the media may describe as fanacs, use this to rally support for their


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cause. In my humble opinion, this is a situaon when the Muslims should behave in a more raonal

and unied manner so that it may send a posive message to the world at large.

Strangely, this also happened during the lifeme of the Holy Prophet (saw ). His message of “La ilaha

illal-lah” – a message of social jusce, demanding radical changes in the society at that me – made

him a target for his enemies. They used his social reforms as a rallying point to unite against him andto use violence against him and to accuse him of being a madman.

Another point I would like to make is that mockery of the Prophet Muhammad (saw ) is not new.

He was called insane and a sorcerer and all sorts of insults and verbal abuse were thrown at him

throughout his lifeme. I cannot recall any one instance when the Holy Prophet ( saw ) persecuted

anyone for it, even when he gained power in his later years and acquired the power and authority

to do so. Why? Because he lived according to the words of Allah, as stated in the Qur’an: “The good

deed and the evil deed cannot be equal. Repel the evil with that which is beer, then verily he,

between whom and you there was enmity, will become as though he was a close friend” (41:34).

Do you remember the story of the Holy Prophet (saw ) and the old woman? It is reported that when-

ever he went to the masjid , the Holy Prophet (saw ) used to pass by an elderly woman’s home.

Because of her hatred of the Prophet, she used to throw garbage in his path and on him, which

caused him physical harm and injury. However, he used to paently walk by her and never once did

he respond to her insults with violence. (Don’t you think her acons were far more insulng than

drawing silly cartoons of him?) One day, she stopped doing it. Instead of outwardly showing relief

and happiness, he actually showed concern and went to enquire about her and discovered that

she was very ill. He cared for her needs and helped her to recover. It is said that he and the woman

became friends. So! Even when he was insulted and aacked, the Messenger obeyed his Creator

and repelled evil with what was beer.

Paence and forgiveness enjoined

There are several other examples of this type of behaviour from the Messenger of Allah (saw ). In

another instance, when Makkah fell to the Holy Prophet (saw ), he pardoned all those who had op-

posed him. He forgave Abu Sufyan and Abu Sufyan’s wife Hinda, who were among the Holy Prophet’s

sworn enemies, for killing his family. He pardoned Habbar, who killed the camel carrying his daugh-

ter, Hadhrat Zainab, and caused her to lose her baby and endure much suering before she passed

away. In the Bale of Uhud, he took no acon against the hypocrites who had deserted him.

It is also reported in Salih Bukhari (5749) that at one me the Holy Prophet Muhammad was cri-cised and insulted by one of the men from Medina when he was distribung charity. When he was

informed of this, it was reported that anger was seen on his face, yet his response was, “Moses was

hurt by more than this, yet he remained paent.”

We claim to follow the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (saw ). How is it then that Muslims are so quick to

take up arms and murder people in the name of a religion which he came to spread among mankind

and which means peace?

Similarly, in Salih Bukhari (6530), Ibn Mas’ud is reported to have said that he saw the Messenger of

Allah tell a story of a prophet who was beaten by his people and who wiped blood from his face,


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saying. “My Lord, forgive my people, for they do not know.” He did not ask the Creator to punish

the people.

When I see Muslims killing others for mere childish insults and thoughtless remarks, it pains me to

know that we share the same faith.

Why do we need to kill when throughout the Qur’an Allah assures us that He is sucient to protect

us from such acons?

Let us study the following verses of the Qur’an:

“We will surely suce thee against those who mock” (15:95).

“Follow not the disbelievers and hypocrites, and leave alone their annoyance, and put

thy trust in Allah; for Allah is sucient as a Guardian” (33:48).

“Have paence with what they say, and leave them with noble dignity” (73:10).

“Allah is with those who restrain themselves” (16:128).

In the Holy Qur’an, sixty-four verses can be idened which have a direct bearing on the subject of

blasphemy and the way it should be handled by the Muslim Ummah, and more than two hundred

and y more which emphasise forgiveness, forbearance and compassion.

Punishment for blasphemy?

It is up to Allah to punish the oenders in this world or in the Hereaer. This authority has not been

delegated to anyone, not even the Holy Prophet (saw ). So! Why do we need to operate and behave

contrary to the teachings of Allah?

Aer reading about the behaviour of certain Muslims, I feel that if the Holy Prophet (saw ) were alive

today, those people who kill others in the name of Islam would have aacked him for preaching

restraint, paence and peaceful co-existence among men.

* * *

CONTACT INFORMATION

The HOPE Bulletin

E-mail address: [email protected]

ISLAM stands for: I SHALL LOVE ALL MANKIND

Photographs : Mr. Mudassar Aziz and Mr. Ahmed Saadat.

Design & Formang : Erwan Hamdani, Jakarta, Indonesia

the hope bulletin - march 2015

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