Forum Directory / Religione e filosofia
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its almost daily now bridge collapse after bridge collapse sink holes floods you name it catastrophe after catastrophe and yet no one seems to care.... certainly not Congress they are doing their utmost best to squeeze every last nickel out of the poor people that they can .... the thing is now everyone knows that unless your making over $450(k) your poor lmao .... oh sure you might have it a little better than someone making 30 (k) but your not any different when it comes right down to it you can't survive without your pay check either ..... retirement has become a joke its not retirement anymore its a death sentence if your to old or to sick to add income to help support your self your fucked ....
what happened to the American dream it died it was killed back in 1980 and has been in its death throws ever since the republicans have done an excellent job of fucking up the economy on a world wide basis and the clock is ticking away toward the point of no re-turn at the mid-night hour
they are responsible for locking wages and benefits for the lack of jobs available for the cuts in all basic human services including but not limited to cutting veteran's benefits to the point that there is now a 125+ day waiting period for them once you apply what does that mean to the solider who lost his or her leg and now sufferers from gangrene in an infected wound ??? you tell me ??? on this memorial day we need to seriously thank those who were dumb enough to actually trust their government and sign up to serve their country that has now turned its back on them .... did you know that the unemployment rates for vets is 5 times higher than it is for the national average ?????
The party that claims to love this country is a scourge of blood sucking basterds bleeding it dry while they line their own pockets with you guessed it blood money from profiteering off of the multiple wars they've created .... sad and sick ...
People laugh when its suggested that Congress men/women wear uniforms with the logo's of their corporate sponcers clearly visible on them but its a nervous laugh now not a hardy chuckle that it would have once brought by the mere suggestion of it ....
The sleeper has awakened and when and if the people ever re-gain control you can bet your sweet azzes that the French revolution is going to look like a day in the park .... its going to be a blood bath and all I can say is I can't wait for it to happen ....
if a political party is going to profess that they love America then they had better dam well show it and that includes giving the people what they want and taking care of them ....
and what have we had for the last 30 years nothing but those who would rather line their own pockets with kick backs than to actually invest in America and see it survive and thrive ....
god bless America I doubt it its more like your on your own now kid good luck with that ...
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Shankara, respected farmer, loving husband and father, had taken his own life. Less than 24 hours earlier, facing the loss of his land due to debt, he drank a cupful of chemical insecticide.
Unable to pay back the equivalent of two years' earnings, he was in despair. He could see no way out.
There were still marks in the dust where he had writhed in agony. Other villagers looked on - they knew from experience that any intervention was pointless - as he lay doubled up on the ground, crying out in pain and vomiting.
Moaning, he crawled on to a bench outside his simple home 100 miles from Nagpur in central India. An hour later, he stopped making any noise. Then he stopped breathing. At 5pm on Sunday, the life of Shankara Mandaukar came to an end.
As neighbours gathered to pray outside the family home, Nirmala Mandaukar, 50, told how she rushed back from the fields to find her husband dead. 'He was a loving and caring man,' she said, weeping quietly.
When Prince Charles claimed thousands of Indian farmers were killing themselves after using GM crops, he was branded a scaremonger. In fact, as this chilling dispatch reveals, it's even WORSE than he feared.
The children were inconsolable. Mute with shock and fighting back tears, they huddled beside their mother as friends and neighbours prepared their father's body for cremation on a blazing bonfire built on the cracked, barren fields near their home.
As flames consumed the corpse, Ganjanan, 12, and Kalpana, 14, faced a grim future. While Shankara Mandaukar had hoped his son and daughter would have a better life under India's economic boom, they now face working as slave labour for a few pence a day. Landless and homeless, they will be the lowest of the low.
'But he couldn't take any more. The mental anguish was too much. We have lost everything.'Shankara's crop had failed - twice. Of course, famine and pestilence are part of India's ancient story.
But the death of this respected farmer has been blamed on something far more modern and sinister: genetically modified crops.Shankara, like millions of other Indian farmers, had been promised previously unheard of harvests and income if he switched from farming with traditional seeds to planting GM seeds instead.
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No, this is not about high ranking politicians or their wives, this is about a girl of limited education born into a working class family in western Sydney sixty years ago.
She always believed in an honest day's work for a fair day's pay and always seemed able to find employment somewhere. She was exposed to rubella while pregnant and gave birth to a profoundly deaf boy, and later a healthy daughter. After her husband left she mortgaged the house, paid out her husband and did night shift at a recycling centre sorting through other people's rubbish so she could pay off the house and give her children an established home. It wasn't long before she was just another "one of the boys" at the recycling centre and could hold her own with any of them in any quarter.
She was rough around the edges but a diamond inside, sometimes scolding, shouting and swearing, but always loving and caring. Her son was unemployable, or so everyone thought, but under her example he got odd jobs at the local hardware store, and now twenty years later he runs the place. It was around this time she met the love of her life, a self motivated man who later bought some acreage in the country about the size of a small town. Just about every weekend they would go to the farm and tend to the animals, where they both seemed suited to the hard lifestyle of farm life; with her dogs following her everywhere.
There was no letting up for her, she had paid off her house and left the recycling centre, getting a job caring for severely disabled people living at home. Again nothing was too hard for her, meningococcal victims with no arms or legs or severely retarded people, she never shirked a challenge and they all wanted only her to care for them, where her days now were full of caring for others. It was dirty work but she loved it and people who thought their lives were useless now found hope as she pushed them to help themselves. She had no need to work now, she had paid off her home, was self sufficient and needed a knee replacement herself, but still she continued helping others.
A loud mouthed uneducated "westie", yes, but also a diamond in the rough, a loving mother, wife and a caring human being. She was taken from us yesterday in a freakish accident. I am really going to miss my wife's sister.
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Augustine and HisTrinity: Modalistic Monarchianism and TritheismUnwittingly Embracing Two Contradictory Propositions Without Apology or Explanation
by: Dan Mages1. Introducing the Indictment
It is doubtful that Western Christian Trinitarian theology has been more influenced by
anyone other than the greatest of the Latin Fathers. The one who became post apostolos
ominium ecclesiarum magister, the leader ofthe church after all the apostles, Aurelius Augustinus,
usually referred to simply as Augustine, bishop of Hippo 1 (354-430).
2. Much of 21st centuryWestern Christian trinitarian argumentation, analogies and ways ofspeaking about the trinity
are typically unknowingly more or less a direct offspring of illustrations and discussions
found in Augustine’s famous treaties on the subject, De Trinitas. It is my contention, that
many of Augustine’s statements about the trinity in De Trinitas sadly vacillate between
tritheism (belief in three Gods) and modalistic monarchianism (God the Father, Jesus, and
the Holy Spirit are one person),3. leaving the reader with only a contradictory proposition. In order to hold two diametrically opposed propositions, that the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Sprit is God, and that there is only one God Augustine must defy logic, use incommunicable language, and distort Scripture.
The Big Picture
Augustine’s original contribution to trinitarian argumentation comes largely, but not exclusively from 15 books he composed over a span of 20 years(400-420) toward the end of his life, called De Trinitate.
4. Before delving into some of the specific argumentation of his 1 Regiusin Numidia in Roman North Africa
2 D.F. Wright, “Augustine of Hippo (354-430).” New Int treaties, let’s look at a simplified overview. Augustinian scholar Philip Cary outlines the genera lstructure of the book and then Augustine’s distinctive theme as follows:
1. Books 1-4 are concerned with the theophanies, i.e., the visible manifestations of God in the Bible. Augustine argues that no visible appearance can represent God adequately and hence that none of the biblical theophanies reveals the trinitarian structure of God. 2. Books 5-7 spell out the logic of Nicene doctrine. 3. Books 8-15 address the question: since the logic of the doctrine of the Trinity is so strange and none of the theophanies explain it, by what means are we to conceive of the trinitarian God? This is the most original (and distinctivelyAugustinian) part of the treatise. It focuses on:
1. Asthe soul was the clue to the incorporeal nature of God in Confessions 7,so here the soul isthe clue to the trinitarian structure of God.
2. Augustine’s key notion is that the human self is triadic in structure, in a way that reflectsthe trinitarian structure of God.
3. The triad of self-knowledge: Memory, Understanding, and Will. Each one of these is the mind, yet each distinct – like the Trinity.
4. The triad of self-love: Lover, Beloved, Love are one and yet distinct from one another.
5. For Augustine, the Holy Spirit islike the bond of love that unites Father and Son (the love between the Father and the Son is the Holy Spirit).5. Empty, Null and VoidTerminology
Augustine strived to be logical thinker; in fact, he did not accept the terminology handed down to him from the Greeks because it was contradictory in Latin. Augustine says: “But because with us the usage has already obtained, that by essence we understand the same thing which is understood by substance; we do not dare to say one essence, three substances, but one essence or substance and three persons….”
6. By switching terms,
he avoids the obvious contradiction of using language that would be blatantly incongruous, but does using the word ‘person’ help Augustine deflect the charge that the terminology then reflects three God’s? This is a question that Augustine seems not be bothered by, yet struggles to answer.Here is Augustine’s dilemma in his own words: Some persons, however, find a difficulty in this faith; when they hear that the Father is God, and the Son God, and the Holy Spirit God, and yet that this Trinity is not three Gods, but one God; and they ask how they are to understand this: especially when it is said that the Trinity works indivisibly in everything that God works, and yet that a certain voice of the Father spoke, which is not the voice of the Son; and that none expect the Son was born in the flesh, and suffered, and rose again, and ascended into heaven; and that none except the Holy Spirit came in the form of a dove.
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المصطلحات الدالة على الأقوال من حيث الاعتماد وعدمه
(مرتبة على حروف المعجم)
اتفقوا، لا خلاف فيه، هذا مجزوم به: هذا يشمل أهل المذهب فقط، لا غيرهم من المذاهب.
أصل الروضة، كأصلها، أو أصلها : المراد به عبارة النووي في الروضة التي لخصها واختصرها من لفظ الشرح الكبير للرافعي. وهذا يفيد رفع نسبة الحكم إلى الشيخين.
أقره فلان : لم يَرُدَّه، فهو كالجازم به.
الاختيار، والمختار : هو الذي استنبطه المختار بالاجتهاد من الأدلة الأصولية، وهو خارج عن المذهب، ولا يعوَّل عليه، فإذ كان في عبارة النووي في الروضة فهو بمعنى الأصح في المذهب، إلا فيما مَرَّ من مسألة الماء المشمس.
الأصح : يدل على كون الخلاف وجهًا لأصحاب الشافعي يستخرجونه من قواعد الإمام ونصوصه، ويجتهدون في بعضها، وأن هذا هو الراجح، وأن مقابله مرجوح وإن كان صحيحا لقوة الخلاف بقوة دليل المقابل.
الأصحاب المتأخرون : في اصطلاح الشيخين ونحوهما من جاء بعد المائة الرابعة للهجرة، ومن جاء بعد الرافعي والنووي فهم مَنْ بعد الشيخين.
الأصحاب المتقدمون : هم أمحاب الأوجه غالبا، وضبطوا بالزمن وهم من كان من المائة الرابعة للهجرة، ومن عداهم لا يسمون بالأقدمين ولا بالمتأخرين.
الأظهر : يدل على أن الخلاف في أقوال الشافعي، وأن هذا القول هو الأرجح، ومقابله وإن كان ظاهرا لقوة مدركه فهو مرجوح، فالمعتمد في الفتوى والحكم على الأظهر، فالخلاف هنا قوي لقوة المدرك.
الأقوال : يدل على أن الخلاف بين أقوال الشافعي، وأرجحية أحدها يعرف بترجيح الأصحاب له أو بالنص عليه.
الأوجه : يدل على أن الخلاف بين أكثر من وجه للأصحاب، وأن مقابل المرجوح منها الأصح أو الصحيح .
البحث، الإشكال، الاستحسان، النظر : لا يُرَدُّ به المنقول.
الجديد : هو أقوال الإمام الشافعي التي قالها بعد إقامته في مصر، سواء كانت تصنيفا أو إفتاء. وأشهر رواة قوله الجديد: البويطي والمزني والربيع المرادي والربيع الجيزي وحرملة ويونس بن عبد الأعلى وعبد الله بن الزبير المكي ومحمد بن عبد الله بن عبد الحكم وأبوه عبد الله. والثلاثة الأول هم الذين تصدوا لذلك وقاموا به، والباقون نقلت عنهم أشياء محصورة على تفاوت بينهم. وكتاب الأمالي والمبسوطة تصنيف حرملة من كتب الجديد .
والقول الجديد يدل على أن الخلاف بين قولي الشافعي الجديد والقديم، وأن الجديد هو الراجح والقديم هو المرجوح. هذا إذا اختلف القديم والجديد، أما إذا اتفقا فالأمر واضح، وإن تعرض للمسألة في الجديد دون القديم فظاهر أنه المذهب، أما إن تعرض للمسألة في القديم دون الجديد فالفتوى على القديم، لأن رجوعه عن القديم من حيث الإجمال، ولا يلزم من رجوعه من حيث الإجمال رجوعه في كل فردٍ فردٍ من المسائل، فالمرجوع عنه إنما هو من حيث المعظم أو فيما نص على الرجوع فيه، بخلاف ما لم يتعرض لذكره في الجديد.
الذي يظهر : هو بحث لهم، وهو ما يفهم فهما واضحا من الكلام العام للأصحاب المنقول عن صاحب المذهب بنقل عام.
الصحيح : يدل على كون الخلاف وجها لأصحاب الشافعي متخرج من كلام الإمام، وأن الخلاف غير قوي لعدم قوة دليل المقابل، وأن المقابل ضعيف وفاسد لا يعمل به لضعف مدركه، وإنما العمل بالصحيح. قال الرملي: والصحيح أقوى من الأصح .
الظاهر كذا : هو من بحث القائل لا ناقل له.
الفحوى : ما فُهم من الأحكام بطريق القطع.
القديم : هو أقوال الشافعي ببغداد أو بعد خروجه منها وقبل إقامته في مصر، وهي ما أفتى به قولا أو تصنيفا، ومنها كتاب الحجة.
ويفهم من القول القديم أن الخلاف بين قولي الشافعي القديم والجديد، وأن القديم مرجوح والراجح والذي يعمل به هو الجديد. وأشهر رواة القول القديم الإمام أحمد بن حنبل والزعفراني والكرابيسي وأبو ثور. وقد رجع الشافعي عن تلك الأقوال ومنع منها، وقال: لا أجعل في حل من رواه عني. أما ما قاله بعد خروجه من العراق وقبل استقراره في مصر فالمتأخر الجديد والمتقدم قديم. فإن كان في مسألة قولان جديدان فيكون العمل بآخرهما إن علم ذلك، فإن لم يعلم المتأخر منهما فيعتمد ما رجحه الشافعي، فإن قالهما في وقت واحد ثم عمل بأحدهما فهذا العمل ترجيح.
وقد رجح من أقوال الشافعي في القديم تسعة عشرة مسألة ووقعت الفتوى بها، وسبب ذلك أن جماعة من المجتهدين في المذهب الشافعي ظهر لهم أنها أظهر دليلا من الجديد، فأفتوا بها، لكن من غير نسبتها إلى الشافعي، لأن الشافعي قد رجع عنها، فهي في حكم المنسوخ في حقه، وإن كانوا قد قالوا إن هذه الأقوال القديمة التي رجحت يوجد للشافعي مثلها في قوله الجديد. أما القديم الذي لم يتعرض الشافعي له في الجديد لا بالموافقة ولا بالمخالفة فهو من مذهبه.
القولان : يدل على أن الخلاف بين قولين للشافعي والأرجح ما نص على أرجحيته منهما، والمرجوح ما نص على مرجوحيته.
المَدْرَك : هو دليلُ الحكم ومأخذُه، فمدارك الشرع مواضع طلب الأحكام من النصوص والاجتهاد.
المذهب : يدل على أن الخلاف بين أصحاب الشافعي في حكاية المذهب، فبعضهم يحكي الخلاف في المذهب كوجود قولين أو وجهين في المسألة،
وبعضهم يحكي عدم الخلاف، وبعضهم يحكي القطع بالمذكور، وبعضهم يحكي الخلاف أقوالا، ويحكي بعضهم وجوها وغيرها. وأن المذهب هو الراجح والمفتى به ومقابله مرجوح لا يُعمل به.
المشهور : يدل على أن الخلاف في أقوال الشافعي، وأن هذا القول هو الراجح، وأن مقابله مرجوح وخفي غريب غير مشهور، فهو ضعيف لضعف مدركه. قال الرملي: والمشهور أقوى من الأظهر، والخلاف هنا ضعيف لضعف المدرك.
والمشهور أقوى من الأظهر من جهة أن المشهور قريب من المقطوع به، لأنه يقابله الخفي وهو لا يجوز العمل به. لكن من جهة التصحيح فتصحيح الأظهر أقوى من تصحيح المشهور، لأنه يقابله الظاهر وهو يجوز العمل به. وكذلك الأمر في الأصح والصحيح.
المفهوم : لا يُرَدُّ به الصريح.
المنصوص : يدل أنه إما قولٌ للشافعي أو نصٌ له أو وجهٌ للأصحاب، وأنه الراجح من الخلاف، وأنَّ مقابله ضعيف لا يعمل به.
النص : يدل على أنه من أقوال الشافعي، وهو الراجح من الخلاف في المذهب، وأن مقابله وجه ضعيف جدا أو قول مخرج من نص في نظير مسألة، فلا يعمل به.
الوجهان : يدل على الخلاف بين وجهين للأصحاب، وأن أحدهما مرجوح ومقابله الأصح أو الصحيح.
إنْ صحَّ هذا فكذا : الظاهر عدم ارتضائه.
انتحله : ادعاه لنفسه، وهو لغيره.
تأمل : إشارة إلى دقة المقام مرة، والى خدش فيه أخرى، فهو إشارة إلى الجواب القوي.
تدبر : للسؤال في المقام.
تسامُحٌ : استعمال اللفظ في غير موضعه الأصلي.
تساهل : كلام لا خطأ فيه، ولكن يحتاج إلى نوع توجيه تحتمله العبارة.
تعسف : ارتكاب ما لا يجوز عند المحققين، وان جوَّزه بعضهم، ويطلق أيضا على ارتكاب ما لا ضرورة فيه والأصل عدم ذكره، أو حمل الكلام على معنى لا تكون دلالته عليه ظاهرة، وهو أخف من البطلان.
تمحل : احتيال.
حاصل الكلام : تفصيل بعد إجمال.
حاصله، محصله، تحريره، تنقيحه : إشارة إلى قصور في عبارة الأصل، أو اشتماله على حشوٍ.
ذكره الأذرعي : المراد أن ذلك من عند نفسه.
زعم فلان : بمعنى قال، إلا أنه أكثر ما يقال فيما يُشك فيه.
زوائد الروضة : المراد زيادة النووي في الروضة على ما في الشرح الكبير للرافعي. أما المَحَلِّي فقد قال من استقرأ كلامه أنه : متى أطلق لفظ الروضة فمراده زوائدها، ومتى قال أصل الروضة فهو ما تصرف فيه النووي من كلام الرافعي أو زاده بغير تمييز، ومتى قال الروضة وأصلها فهو ما اتفقا عليه معنى، أو كأصلها فهو ما اتفقا عليه لفظا.
سكت عليه : ارتضاه.
على الأوجه : عند ابن حجر يعني به الأصح من الوجهين أو الأوجه للأصحاب.
على المعتمد : عند ابن حجر يقصد به الأظهر من القولين أو الأقوال للشافعي.
على ما اقتضاه كلامهم : صيغة بَبَرٍّ.
على ما شمله كلامهم، ونحو ذلك : إشارة إلى التبرّي، أو أنه مشكل.
على ما قاله فلان : صيغة تَبَرٍّ، والمعتمد مقابله.
عليه العمل : في استعمال الشيخين هو صيغة ترجيح.
فتأمل : إشارة إلى الضعيف.
فتدبر : بمعنى التقرير والتحقيق لما بعده.
فليتأمل : إشارة إلى الأضعف.
في النفس منه شيء : صيغة رَدٍّ.
في صحته نظر، في حرمته نظر ، ونحوه : يدل على أنه لم يرد ولم يُرو في خصوصه نقل.
في قول أو في وجه : يدل على وجود الخلاف، وأنه متردد بين كونه من أقوال الشافعي أو من أوجه الأصحاب، وأن الوجه أو القول ضعيف وأن مقابله في القول الأظهر أو المشهور، وفي الوجه الأصح أو الصحيح.
في قول كذا : يدل على أن المسألة خلافية، وأن الخلاف في أقوال الشافعي، وأن هذا القول المذكور ضعيف، وأن مقابله الأظهر أو الشهور وهو الراجح والذي به العمل.
في وجه كذا : يدل على أن الخلاف بين الأصحاب، وأن الخلاف في ثلاثة أوجه فأكثر، وضعف هذا الوجه المذكور، ومقابله هو الأصح أو الصحيح الذي العمل به.
فيه بحث : يقال لما فيه قوة، سواء تحقق الجواب أم لا.
فيه نظر : يُستعمل في لزوم الفساد.
قال بعض العلماء : تستعمل إذا كان المنقول عنه حيَّا، لأنه ربما رجع عن قوله، فإذا مات صرحوا باسمه.
قيل ويقال ولا يبعد ويمكن : صيغ تمريض تدل على ضعف مدلولها، بحثا كان أو جوابا.
قيل : يدل على أن المسألة خلافية، وعلى ضعف هذا القول، وأن الخلاف بين الأصحاب، وأن الخلاف وجه من أوجه الأصحاب لا قولا من أقوال الشافعي، وأن مقابله الأصح أو الصحيح وهما ما يعبر بهما عن أوجه الأصحاب.
كذا أو وكذا : يدل على الخلاف فيما بعدها، فإن عبر بعدها بالأصح فمقابله الصحيح، أو بالصحيح فمقابله الضعيف، أو بالأظهر فمقابله الظاهر، أو بالمشهور فمقابله الخفي.
كذا قالوه : هو تَبَرٍّ أو مشكل.
لقائل : لما فيه ضعف أو ضعيف إذا كان السؤال أقوى.
لم أعثرْ عليه : صيغة استغراب.
لم نر فيه نقلا : يريدون نقلا خاصا.
لو قيل كذا، لم يبعد، ليس ببعيد، لكان قريبا أو أقرب : صيغ ترجيح.
ليس بشيء : تأكيدٌ للضعيف.
مجمع عليه : المقصود إجماع الأئمة.
محصل الكلام : يقال للإجمال بعد التفصيل.
مع ضعف فيه : قد يقال لما فيه ضعف شديد.
مقتضى كلامهم، قضية كلامهم : هو الحكم بالشيء، لا على وجه الصراحة.
نبه عليه الأذرعي : المراد أنه معلوم من كلام الأصحاب، وللأذرعي التنبيه عليه نقط.
هذا كلام فلان : صيغة تَبَرٍّ، والمعتمد مقابله.
هو المحتمل : إن ضُبط بفتح الميم الثانية فهو الراجح، لأنه بمعنى قريب، أما بكسرها فالمعنى ذو احتمال مرجوح، فإن لم يضبطوها يلزم مراجعة كتب المتأخرين، فإن وقع بعد أسباب التوجيه فهو بالفتح راجح، أو بعد أسباب التضعيف فهو بالكسر مرجوح.
وزَعْمُ كذا ممنوع : صيغة توجيه.
وقع لفلان كذا : هو ضعيفٌ، إلا إذا أُلحق بترجيح فيكون راجحًا.
يَرِدُ عليه كذا : وما اشتق من مادة الورود يقال لما لا يندفع بزعم المعترض.
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المصدر:
"الخزائن السّنية" للمديلي الاندونسي، ص ١٧٩-١٨٦ ، )
http://www.feqhweb.com/vb/t15766.html
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Here an article in English on the weak ahadith in al-Adab al-Mufrad acc. to al-Albani:
http://abdurrahman.org/sunnah/weakhadithsinAdaabalMufrad.html
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Here is a nice website on the Arba'un with audio and commentary by sidi Jamaal Diwaan:
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In the Name of Allah most merciful,
I know very well that there is a difference of opinion among scholars about this matter but as to be a true seeker of Allah's pleasure a true and sincere believer Always choice the best and save way for him or her self and also follow the sunnah of Prophet Mohammed pbuh ,and may be after reading this many of u come to this conclusion that we are not sure 100% that is Halal nor we are sure 100% it is Haram,so this is the thing which come on the category of subhat(not sure )so another Hadith guide us about such things to leave them if your want to save your faith...On the authority of Al-Numan bin Basheer, who said : I heard the messenger of Allah salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam say : "That which is lawful is plain and that which is unlawful is plain and between the two of them are doubtful matters about which many people do not know. Thus he who avoids doubtful matters clears himself in regard to his religion and his honor, but he who falls into doubtful matters falls into that which is unlawful, like the shepherd who pastures around a sanctuary, all but grazing therein. Truly every king has a sanctuary, and truly Allah's sanctuary is His prohibitions. Truly in the body there is a morsel of flesh which, if it be whole, all the body is whole and which, if it be diseased, all of it is diseased. Truly it is the heart." [Bukhari & Muslim]May Allah guide us to the way we can please Allah not our nafs etc And forgive our sins miner or major..Ameen
Question:What is the ruling concerning taking pictures using a mobile phone considering some people say that it is just capturing a shadow and there is no prohibition in that, so what is the ruling concerning that? Answer:
For HIM there is no prohibition in that, as for the Sunnah and the evidences then picture taking/making in general is Haraam (prohibited) and the picture maker is cursed. And he will receive from the most severest of punishments on the Day of Judgment. So what is it that takes the mobile phone out from this generality? The Messenger made picture making Haraam without exception by any means; (whether that be by way of ) a mobile phone, a camera, by hand(sculpting) or by drawing, he made it absolutely Haraam. So who is he that makes an exception from what the messenger sallallaahu alaihi wasallam said and attempts to redress the messenger. Apart from that the Muhaqqiqeen (verifiers) from the Scholars make an exception in the case of necessity, if a person is in need of taking a picture for a necessity then it is allowed due to this necessity due to His saying - the Most High: (وقَدْ فَصَّلَ لَكُم مَّا حَرَّمَ عَلَيْكُمْ إلاَّ مَا اضْطُرِرْتُمْ إلَيْهِ )
ýwhile He has explained to you in detail what is forbidden to you, except under compulsion of necessity? [Surah al-'An'aam:119]
As for picture taking as a hobby or as a form of art by the use of the camera or by hand or by any object then it is Haraam and it is not allowed except in case of necessity only. In accordance to the necessity it is a concession. It is a concession due to a necessity only.Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzaan Saudi Arabia Taken from the Shaykhs lecture series:(Tafseer of Surah al-Hujuraat to Surah an-Naas) Monday 15 Shawwal 1427H.
http://www.fatwaislam.com/fis/index.cfm?scn=fd&ID=1381
http://www.40hadithnawawi.com/index.php/the-hadiths/hadith-6
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Attached are the notes I used when I preached.
Attachment: Preparing for Your Potential.doc (30.0KB)
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What does it mean to lean not on your own understanding (Proverbs 3:5-6)?
Answer: Proverbs 3:5-6 is a familiar passage to many: "Trust in the LORD with all your heart; and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths." Verse 5 is a complementary pair of commands. We are told, positively, to trust the Lord and, negatively, not to trust our own understanding. Those two things are mutually exclusive. In other words, if we trust in the Lord, we cannot also depend upon our own ability to understand everything God is doing.
First Corinthians 13:12 says, "For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known." We only see part of the picture God is painting. If we are to truly trust Him, we have to let go of our pride, our programs, and our plans. Even the best-laid human plans cannot begin to approach the magnificent sagacity of God’s plan. “For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom” (1 Corinthians 1:25).
Most of us have a desperate desire to understand, but in so many areas we must acknowledge that we cannot understand. We must approve of God’s ways, even when we can’t comprehend them. Isaiah 55:8-9 tells us why we often don't understand what God is doing: "'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,' declares the Lord. 'For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.'" God sees the whole picture, while we only see our tiny corner of it. To trust in the Lord with all our heart means we can't place our own right to understand above His right to direct our lives the way He sees fit. When we insist on God always making sense to our finite minds, we are setting ourselves up for spiritual trouble.
Our limited understanding can easily lead us astray. Proverbs 16:25 says, "There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death." When we choose to direct our lives according to what seems right to us, we often reap disaster (Judges 21:25). Every culture has tried to get God to approve of its definition of right and wrong, but God never changes and His standards never change (Numbers 23:19; James 1:17; Romans 11:29). Every person must make a decision whether to live his or her life according to personal preference or according to the unchanging Word of God. We often will not understand how God is causing "all things to work together for good" (Romans 8:28), but when we trust Him with all our hearts, we know that He is. He will never fail us (Psalm 119:142; Philippians 2:13).
Recommended Resource: Logos Bible Software
From: www.gotquestions.org
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YASHUA/JESUS IS NOT YHWH/YAHWEH!These are some scriptures to prove that Yahweh and Yahshua are not one being: Rev. 1:1-2,5-6, Rev. 2:18,27. Rev. 3:5,12, Matt. 4:3,6-7,10 Matt. 6:8-13, Matt. 7:21, Matt. 10:32-33,40, Matt.11:25-27, Matt. 12:50 16:13-17,27, 18:19, 19:17,;20:23,24:36, 26:39,42,53, John2:16-18,4:34 John 5:19-47, 6:38-40,44-46, 8:19,28-29,38,42,49,54, John 10:17-28,25,29,32,36, (John 13:16 brings this point out even clearer, it states that one who is sent, is not greater than the one whom sent Him, Yahweh sent Yahshua) (John 13:20, John 14:1-2,11-16,20-24,28, shows that Yahweh is greater than Yahshua which proves even the more that Yahweh is the Father, and Yahshua is the Son, and not the Father), John 14:31,15:1,9-10,16,21, John 16:5,10,15-17,23,26-28, John17, John18:11, John 20:21, Matt. 10:32-33,40, 7:21, Matt. 12:50 Matt. 15:13, 16:17, 18:10,19,35, Matt. 20:23, Matt. 26:39,42,53, Matt. 28:19, Mark 8:38, 9:37, Psalms 2:7, 8:9,26-27, Luke 1:31-32, John 3:35-36.
These scriptures above are just a few examples of the many scriptures found in the Bible, to prove that Yahweh is the Father and Yahshua is the son ( we used the new king james version). On this site, we are using Yahweh's (god) True Name, and Yahshua's (jesus) true Name).
For the complete article: http://yahwehhop.com/id15.html
In addition to a few Scriptures identifying the Father and the Son as two separate entities:
Jn.1:2: "He was with God in the beginning." Jn.14:28: "...for the Father is greater than I." Jn.17:3: ...that they may know you, the only true God." Jn.17:5: "And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began." Confirming Pr.8:22-25: "The Lord brought me forth as the first of His works, before His deeds of old; I was appointed from eternity, from the beginning, before the world began. When there were no oceans I was given birth, when there were no springs abounding with water; before the mountains were settled in place, before the hills, I was given birth," Pr.8:30: "Then I was the craftsman at His side..." Confirming Col.1:15: " He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation." Heb.1:2: "...but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, and through whom He made the universe."
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YASHUA/JESUS IS NOT YHWH/YAHWEH!These are some scriptures to prove that Yahweh and Yahshua are not one being: Rev. 1:1-2,5-6, Rev. 2:18,27. Rev. 3:5,12, Matt. 4:3,6-7,10 Matt. 6:8-13, Matt. 7:21, Matt. 10:32-33,40, Matt.11:25-27, Matt. 12:50 16:13-17,27, 18:19, 19:17,;20:23,24:36, 26:39,42,53, John2:16-18,4:34 John 5:19-47, 6:38-40,44-46, 8:19,28-29,38,42,49,54, John 10:17-28,25,29,32,36, (John 13:16 brings this point out even clearer, it states that one who is sent, is not greater than the one whom sent Him, Yahweh sent Yahshua) (John 13:20, John 14:1-2,11-16,20-24,28, shows that Yahweh is greater than Yahshua which proves even the more that Yahweh is the Father, and Yahshua is the Son, and not the Father), John 14:31,15:1,9-10,16,21, John 16:5,10,15-17,23,26-28, John17, John18:11, John 20:21, Matt. 10:32-33,40, 7:21, Matt. 12:50 Matt. 15:13, 16:17, 18:10,19,35, Matt. 20:23, Matt. 26:39,42,53, Matt. 28:19, Mark 8:38, 9:37, Psalms 2:7, 8:9,26-27, Luke 1:31-32, John 3:35-36.
These scriptures above are just a few examples of the many scriptures found in the Bible, to prove that Yahweh is the Father and Yahshua is the son ( we used the new king james version). On this site, we are using Yahweh's (god) True Name, and Yahshua's (jesus) true Name).
For the complete article: http://yahwehhop.com/id15.html
In addition to a few Scriptures identifying the Father and the Son as two separate entities:
Jn.1:2: "He was with God in the beginning." Jn.14:28: "...for the Father is greater than I." Jn.17:3: ...that they may know you, the only true God." Jn.17:5: "And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began." Confirming Pr.8:22-25: "The Lord brought me forth as the first of His works, before His deeds of old; I was appointed from eternity, from the beginning, before the world began. When there were no oceans I was given birth, when there were no springs abounding with water; before the mountains were settled in place, before the hills, I was given birth," Pr.8:30: "Then I was the craftsman at His side..." Confirming Col.1:15: " He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation." Heb.1:2: "...but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, and through whom He made the universe."
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Proverbs 15:31-32 NIV
31. He who listens to a life-giving rebuke with be at home among the wise.32. He who ignores discipline despises himself, but whoever heeds correction gains understanding. -
A Heart of True Praise
Scripture Reading: John 12:1-8Key Verse: Psalm 68:4Sing to God, sing praises to His name;Extol Him who rides on the clouds,By His name Yah,And rejoice before Him.Pouring perfume on Jesus' feet may seem an awkward or overly emotional act to some of us today, but it was a pure expression of the love and worship in Mary's heart. Cultures and traditions may change through the years, but God always wants you to pour out your heart to Him in praise and adoration.True praise longs to give something of value. Have you ever had a close and intimate relationship with another person? It was the natural inclination of your emotions to want to give something of great personal worth to that individual. It didn't have to be something that cost a lot either. In the same way, God want you to give yourself to Him.True praise is not inhibited by the attitudes of others. Mary wasn't concerned about how many people were watching or what they thought. And some around her certainly had strongly negative opinions. Jesus recognized the purity of her gesture. If you're concerned about possible condemnation from others, ask God to help you focus on Him alone.True praise moves you to love God for who He is. The book of Psalm is filled with descriptions of God's eternal character and unchanging righteousness as the basis for praise. When you praise Him for His attributes, you put your attention on His worthiness, and that's the very purpose of your worship.God, I worship You for who You are. You are worthy of my praise.(Seeking His Face)From I Lift Up My Soul, by Charles F. Stanley -
Wearing Blindfolds to Please
If a ruler listens to lies, all his officials become wicked.--- Proverbs 29:12In Hans Christian Andersen's story The Emperor's New Clothes, a vain rule is convinced by unscrupulous tailors that the finest clothes could be made from special cloth invisible to anyone who is stupid or unworthy. Fearful of appearing stupid, the emperor's advisors rave about the beautiful (invisible) cloth. Not wishing to be thought stupid himself, the emperor dons the invisible clothes and parades himself before all the townspeople, who, in turn, pretend that nothing is amiss. It's not until a boy in the crowd cries out, "But he has nothing on," that the bubble of denial bursts. "The Emperor has no clothes" has become a metaphor used to describe any situation where observers feign ignorance in disclaiming the obvious, no matter how absurd.Today's proverb concisely states how evil is introduced when a king, CEO, politician, president, or church leader surrounds himself with "yes-men." When a leader prefers a glowing image over dubious reality, those who wish his favor must go along with the game. In time their pretense can no longer be justified as love covering a multitude of sins or well-intentioned naivete. Eventually some honest soul will blow the whistle on the entire farce. While many proverbs counsel the wisdom of having advisors, the unstated assumption is that those advisors will speak honestly and courageously. As many imprisoned leaders have realized too late, uncritical support for unethical conduct is not the hallmark of a loyal staff, but as an act of betrayal. Want to do your bosses---and yourself---a favor? Speak the truth in love, even if they are so self-deceived they prefer to hear lies.The compelling question is: Am I willing to speak the truth, no matter he risk of devastating consequences?The Daily Bible Devotional, by F. LaGard Smith
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you ain't gonna believe this bullshit but its for real .... mind you even dr.'s say they don't know the precise causes of miscarriage's and if you go to the site and read some of the comments you'll see several by Dr. attesting to just that.... the conservatives have gone off the deep end
Conservative Mississippi Seeks To Toss Women In Prison For Miscarriages
by Stephen D. Foster Jr. • May 23, 2013Women who miscarry a pregnancy could face imprisonment if Mississippi has its way. The state Supreme Court is set to rule on whether or not the state can arrest women for delivering a stillborn or losing a pregnancy any time throughout the nine-month period of time a fetus is developing.
According to Mother Jones, the current case involves a woman named Nina Buckhalter, who was arrested in 2009 for giving birth to a stillborn baby. Devastated, Nina named the baby Hayley and was arrested two months later for manslaughter. The grand jury found that the 29-year-old woman “willfully, unlawfully, feloniously” killed “a human being by culpable negligence” because she had a trace amount of methamphetamines in her system.
If the state Supreme Court rules that Nina can be prosecuted for having a stillbirth, it opens the door for Mississippi to charge any woman who has a miscarriage for murder. Mississippi is the one conservative state at the epicenter of the war against abortion. Anti-abortion activists and politicians have made effort upon effort to define a fetus as a human being so they can charge women who have abortions with murder, therefore making abortion illegal.Despite finding meth in her system, evidence proving that the drug caused the stillbirth is extremely thin. From the Mother Jones piece:
The cause of any given miscarriage or stillbirth is difficult to determine, and many experts believe there is no conclusive evidence that exposure to drugs in utero can cause a miscarriage or stillbirth. Because of this, prosecuting Buckhalter opens the door to investigating and prosecuting women for any number of other potential causes of a miscarriage or stillbirth, her lawyers argued in a filing to the state Supreme Court—”smoking, drinking alcohol, using drugs, exercising against doctor’s orders, or failing to follow advice regarding conditions such as obesity or hypertension.” Supreme Court Justice Leslie D. King also raised this question in the oral arguments last month: “Doctors say women should avoid herbal tea, things like unpasteurized cheese, lunch meats. Exactly what are the boundaries?”
And that’s precisely why this case must be dismissed. A ruling in favor of the prosecution allows state officials to invade the privacy of pregnant women. Are we going to investigate every pregnant woman to make sure they’re drinking herbal tea and eating lunch meat? Will they be arrested if they are? Will pregnant women now be forced to be under surveillance to make sure they do nothing that could complicate a pregnancy? Will a cop be assigned to each and every pregnant woman to watch them 24-hours a day for nine months?Worse yet, such a ruling could allow authorities in Mississippi to prosecute women who have had a legal abortion. Women who take the morning-after pill could also be subject to arrest, even though the drug is legal and approved for women as young as 15. This ruling may very well end up banning abortion in Mississippi: if a woman can be jailed for losing a wanted pregnancy, clearly she can be imprisoned for ending a pregnancy on purpose.
This kind of invasion of privacy is exactly what Republicans claim they oppose, yet they seem to have no problem being hypocrites when it comes to women. It’s outrageous and shreds the constitutional rights of actual human beings who are protected by law. This is why only “all persons born” have rights. Any woman could have a miscarriage or stillbirth. It happens every day. In fact, approximately 500,000 pregnancies result in a miscarriage every year in the US. Should we investigate and prosecute each woman who has one? Not only is such an idea ridiculous, it’s a violation of privacy and a waste of time and taxpayer dollars. Such actions also place more emotional and mental stress on women who just lost a pregnancy. That’s heartbreaking enough as it is; the last thing a woman needs is to be harassed by the state over it.
But the story gets worse. In Mississippi’s obsession with punishing women for losing pregnancies, they could literally be taking a mother away from her child. In the past four years since the case against her began, Buckhalter cleaned up her life, attended college, earned a degree, and gave birth to a child. In short, Mississippi is seeking to imprison Buckhalter for a stillbirth that may or may not have been due to meth, thereby depriving her living, breathing child of its mother. How heartless is that?
Last time I checked, inconclusive evidence does not land people in prison and we certainly should not jail women who lose pregnancies through no fault of their own. Miscarriages and stillbirths happen naturally all the time. We shouldn’t punish women for losing pregnancies. That’s the kind of thing that belongs in the Middle Ages, not 21st century America.
and Republicains wonder why people hate them.... ummm misogynistic pricks come to my mind ..... now I'm not saying all repubs are like that but you gotta wonder why anyone would want to be associated with a party that pulls this type of shit
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بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرحْمَنِ الرحِيْمِ
All praises are for Allah, whomsoever he guides no one can misguide and whomsoever he allows to be misguided no one can guide. Peace and salutations be on the Messenger of Haq our master Mohammed ibn Abdullah (salahu alayhi wasalam)
In the past few hours, Cordoba Academy has received numerous emails from noble colleagues in learning who have attempted to inform us about the disparaging comments, unfounded allegations and downright slander written on the net by people who do not have the decency to reveal their identities. Some students (may Allah reward them) have also exerted their efforts in trying to preserve my reputation and honour and to them I am thankful for their gheera (commendable jealousy).
It is my genuine desire, that you do not engage yourselves in arguing with these unfortunate people and instead engage yourself on committing verses of the Quran to memory or other actions that will prove beneficial to you in the hereafter.
خُذِ الْعَفْوَ وَأْمُرْ بِالْعُرْفِ وَأَعْرِضْ عَنِ الْجَاهِلِينَ
Show forgiveness, enjoin what is good, and turn away from the ignorant
THQ (7:199)
I had wanted to keep silent on this issue as I am engrossed in affairs that involve saving the lives of family members in Damascus, but the sanctity (حرمة) of a Muslim brother's honour is also very important, in fact, more valuable in the eyes of Allah then the Holy Kaa'ba as reported in authentic hadith. So in the same way that I cannot stand back and watch people destroy the Holy Kaa'ba, I can no longer stay back and accept that harm should come to those that have truly day in, day out, dedicated their lives to serving this deen and through their impeccable character and teachings have touched the lives of both Muslim and non-Muslims alike.
It is for this reason, that I humbly request the young Brother Zayd the founder/director of the Limited company al-Burujpress registered at (edited out as I received an email stating this may be his home address and I would not want to fall into the same hole as that for which I censure others even though the address is registered as a company address and available readily on the internet so it is not private and was not divulged by me) to cease from sending threatening and harassing messages to a scholar that teaches with us such as 'we will tarnish your reputation in the UK' and "I know exactly what you are doing and you will pay for it very soon" and to immediately remove the Facebook posting that seeks to bring great discomfort to the scholar by providing his personal phone number and an unethical rant inducing people to contact (harass) him. These despicable actions are completely uncalled for in what should be a tolerant respectful scholarly discussion on the subject.
My advice to the scholar in dealing with this abuse from these who harassed him throughout the night and continue to send messages is to hold on to the words of Imam al-Shafi'ee (RA) when he said:
قل بما شئت في مسبة عرضي *** فسكوتي عن اللئيم جواب
ما أنا عادم الجواب ولكن *** ما من الأسد أن تجيب الكلاب
‘Say what you wish in abuse of me,
For my silence towards the idiot is indeed an answer.
I am not at a loss for a response but rather,
It does not befit the lion to answer the dogs.'
(Diwaan Imam al-Shafi'ee RA)
Finally, it begs the question to the clear unbiased mind, is all this harassment and dishonoring/threatening a Muslim scholar in the spirit of reaching the position of Haq in this affair in which there is scholarly difference or has it now come down to other factors that are not as noble?[i]
The feeblest slave of Allah
Mohammed Daniel
Cordoba Academy
[i] For more detailed info on this subject one may refer to http://www.muftisays.com/blog/Muadh_Khan/3330_22-05-2013/sister-yasmin-mogahed-mujahid-amp-those-supporting-her.html
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Yesterday, while trekking through the rubble from Monday’s horrific tornado in Moore, Okla., CNN’s Wolf Blitzer stopped to interview a survivor holding her young child in her arms.
After the woman recounted the last-minute escape that saved her family’s life, Blitzer said, “I guess you got to thank the Lord, right?” The woman hedged and looked down at her baby.
“Do you thank the Lord? For that split-second decision?” Blitzer pressed. CNN cut to a close-up of the woman’s face.
“I’m actually an atheist,” the survivor said politely. There was a moment of silence, then the two laughed awkwardly.
This strikes so many essences of this "god" thing me thinks. What do you think?
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Salam Alaikum, Was there any particular methodology or frame work of writing a shar for Usool Hadith?
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What is the Day of the Lord and when does it begin?The following sources reveal the Day of the Lord to be the pre-trib rapture of the Church. Followed by the "he" who "confirms a covenant with many, in Dan.9:27; the man of lawlessness of 2 Thes;2:3-4 and 8 and Rev.6:2.
Who triggers the 70th Week of Dan.9:27 and Jesus Olivet Discourse in Mt.24:4-31; the seven year tribulation.
http://www.propheticbible.com/day.htmlhttp://bible.org/seriespage/correction-concerning-day-lord%E2%80%94part-1-2-thes-21-5
http://ad2004.com/prophecytruths/Articles/Prophecy/DayofLord.html
Confirmed by: The late Dr. John Walvoord, former President of Dallas Theological SeminaryAnd Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum
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Proverbs 15:29-30 NIV
29. The Lord is far from the wicked but he hears the prayer of the righteous.30. A cheerful look brings joy to the heart, and good news gives health to the bones. -
Free to Rejoice
Scripture Reading: John 15:13-15Key Verse: Psalm 139:13For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother's womb.How often do you stop to thank God for your freedom? Whether or not you live in a free country---even if you are reading this message from inside a jail cell---if you have trusted Jesus Christ as your Savior, you are the recipient of the greatest kind of freedom. It is freedom from eternal suffering and death.The Bible tells us that no one is worthy of this gift. We have all sinned and fallen short of God's likeness (Rom. 3:23). But Jesus' death on the cross removed our collective death penalty once and for all. Therefore, you are now secure in Him.Why did God give you this great gift? It is because He has something wonderful in mind for your life (Jer. 29:11). He wants you to accomplish great things for His kingdom and to share the joy of your faith with others (Matt. 28:18-20). God designed you for a purpose when He formed you in your mother's womb (Ps. 139:13).If you are struggling with feelings of doubt, regret, or depression surrounding something in your past, receive this message of hope today: God sent His Son to die for you so that you may have freedom from the bonds of sin. You are forgiven because of His great love.Before you end your quiet time today, read John 15:13-15. In it, Jesus explains that He made so great a sacrifice because He loves us so much. No longer are we slaves to sin, but we are instead free to rejoice in the love of our Savior and Friend, Jesus Christ.Lord, I have been created by design to walk in the way of freedom. I praise You for forgiving me and setting my feet free to follow You.(Pathways To His Presence)From I Lift Up My Soul, by Charles F. Stanley -
Securities and Trust
The wealth of the rich is their fortified city; they imagine it an unsalable wall.--- Proverbs 18:11Stocks and bonds are often called "securities." What irony that anyone takes security I something as unpredictable as the Dow Jones. Just as our featured proverb describes the rich imagining their wealth as a secure, unscalable wall, many of today's modern investors similarly imagine their portfolios as another unscalable wall...Wall Street! Need we be reminded of Jericho and all the other cities over the centuries whose walls---whether literal or figurative---have come tumbling down? Nobody foresaw the devastating financial losses suffered in Black Tuesday in the crash of '20. Up to the lasts minute, brokers were claiming that stocks had reached a permanently high plateau. With their trust woefully misplaced, millions of investors lost it all, in large part triggering the Great Depression.The depression was not just economic. It was also psychological, leading to high levels of suicide. Sadly, the crash was a breach of trust of a different kind. Although the words "In God We Trust" had appeared on coins from the late 1860s, it's clear that people's trust was in the money, not in God. When the money was gone, there was nothing left to trust and nothing left to live for. In the wake of the crash, a "depression generation" became notoriously cautious, saving every penny, every piece of string, and every brown paper bag. Mounds of string and paper bags, as high as walls. New walls, but still walls all thought to be unscalable. Even with the hard lessons learned about investments, the most important lesson of all seems as yet unlearned. Apart from utter trust in God, no form of "security" brings real security.The hard question is: If I'm being completely honest, in what seemingly unscalable walls do I trust for my security?The Daily Bible Devotional, by F. LaGard Smith -
...since its discovery real soon, so don't make any plans for that day!
Pluto was discovered in 1930, and has an orbit of 248 Earth years. Incredible to think of little Pluto, way out there in space, not even having completed a single orbit since we discovered it, while Earth has completed 83 orbits.
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Wednesday, May 22nd, 2013 | ISSN 1556-5696
In this week’s eSkeptic:
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Greatest TAM Ever!
South Point Casino, Las Vegas
July 11–14, 2013
Michael Shermer on The Amazing Meeting 2013
Once again the Skeptics Society is proud to be a sponsor of the greatest skeptical gathering in the galaxy…The Amazing Meeting (TAM), featuring a stellar line up of speakers including and especially, of course, the Amazing One himself, James Randi.
The lineup of speakers this year is the best I’ve ever seen and includes Susan Jacoby, Dan Ariely, Susan Blackmore, Jerry Coyne, Susan Haack, Marty Klein, Cara Santa Maria, Steven Novella, and around 50 others as well! I am thrilled to see that climate scientist Michael Mann will also be speaking about climate denial and how to answer the critics of climate science. For my talk I’ve got all new material that I’ve been working on for my next book on how morality can be grounded in science and how humans are being more moral.
Best of all, however, in addition to all this intellectual stimulation, TAM includes countless opportunities for socializing and connecting with like-minded people—those who prefer to live in a reality-based world, those who love science and reason, and especially those who celebrate the human spirit…sometimes enhanced by good food and adult beverages available throughout the host hotel in Las Vegas over the weekend of July 11–14. —Michael Shermer, the Publisher of Skeptic magazine, Director of the Skeptics Society, and the author of The Believing Brain.
What are you waiting for? Don’t be skeptical!
Dr. Michael Webber
What The Frak!?
This week on Skepticality, Derek spends some time talking to Dr. Michael Webber, an alternative energy expert and advocate, based out of Austin Texas. Webber describes some of the current issues he sees related to power generation and consumption. In a time when everyone seems interested in better ways to gather and produce energy for an increasingly power-hungry world, it is good to assess all potential energy solutions—weighing their pros and cons—in the search of the silver bullet that will keep the lights on in the future.
SKEPTICALITY EPISODE 208
Get the Skepticality App
Get the Skepticality App — the Official Podcast App of Skeptic Magazine and the Skeptics Society, so you can enjoy your science fix and engaging interviews on the go! Available for Android, iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. Skepticality was the 2007 Parsec Award winner for Best “Speculative Fiction News” Podcast.
World Trade Center 7 stands amid the rubble of the recently collapsed Twin Towers.
(Photograph by New York Office of Emergency Management)
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World Trade Center 7 Report Puts
Conspiracy theorists have long claimed that explosives downed World Trade Center 7, north of the Twin Towers. The long-awaited report from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) conclusively rebuts those claims. Fire alone brought down the building, the report concludes, pointing to thermal expansion of key structural members as the culprit. The report also raises concerns that other large buildings might be more vulnerable to fire-induced structural failure than previously thought. —Arianne Cohen, Popular Mechanics
9/11 Conspiracy Theory to Rest
About this week’s eSkeptic
On April 21, 2003, the day before her 17th birthday, Amanda Berry was kidnapped in Cleveland, Ohio. In 2004, on an episode of the Montel Williams show, “psychic” Sylvia Browne told Amanda’s mother that Amanda was dead. Sylvia Browne’s “psychic powers” failed miserably that day. Amanda Berry is alive today, having escaped from the house where she had been held for 10 years. In this week’s eSkeptic, in light of these recent events, Ingrid Hansen Smythe reviews Sylvia Browne’s latest book Past Lives of the Rich and Famous in order to glean some insight into the mind of the “great psychic.”
Ingrid Hansen Smythe (BMus, BA, MA) is a freelance writer, playwright, and the author of three books—Dwynwen’s Feast, Stories for Animals, and Poetry for Animals. Visit her at www.ihsmythe.ca.
Sylvia Browne Takes The Case!
by Ingrid Hansen Smythe
Spiritual teacher and psychic Sylvia Browne is in the news once again in the aftermath of yet another failed prediction. Poor Sylvia! It can’t be easy having a make-believe-super-power and knowing, surely, that you’re doomed to be wrong again and again, and that only when you’re wrong will you make the headlines, at which point everyone will hate you. This is a terrible job to have, and you have to be frankly amazed at the constitution of a woman who knows that repeated public humiliation on a grand scale just goes with the territory, but who puts up with the appalling working conditions nonetheless.
Thus it was in this spirit of generosity that I picked up Browne’s latest book—Past Lives of the Rich and Famous—in order to glean some insight into the mind and metaphysics of the great psychic. “Why should I not give Browne the benefit of the doubt?” I wondered. “Maybe her book is filled with tirelessly documented double-blind experiments, published in peer-reviewed scientific journals, for which the only possible explanation is reincarnation.” Anything’s not possible, obviously, but I was willing to believe her claims might be true. Willing, that is, for the first part of Browne’s book. I admit that after the first half of the first sentence things went downhill in the suspension-of-disbelief department. But I was determined and, like a lion tamer snapping his whip at the beast in his charge, I held my disbelief at bay. Besides, once the question had been raised, I found I wanted to know what, say, Steve Jobs had been doing before he was born. I imagined he might have been an apple vendor (“Get yer MacIntoshes here!”), or perhaps he wasn’t even human; perhaps he was a pea or a whale in one of their respective pods. But no. Steve Jobs was, in actual fact, Galileo, and Browne’s retelling of Galileo’s life story is as uplifting and inspiring as the picture book it paraphrases.
Case in point: Amanda Berry, who was kidnapped and held captive by a madman—a madman who, at the time of this writing, plans to plead not guilty, even though there were chains found embedded in the walls of his basement and dog collars hanging from the ceiling. On a 2004 episode of the Montel Williams show Sylvia Browne told Amanda’s mother that her daughter was “in heaven and on the other side” and that her predictably banal and maudlin final words were “goodbye, mom, I love you.”1 (My last words would have been the name of the killer.) Browne has since apologized for her error and is ever so happy she was wrong, but other people aren’t so happy and firmly believe that telling someone their child is dead when their child isn’t dead is a despicable thing to do and, really, there ought to be a law. Was Browne’s prediction a contributing factor in Amanda Berry’s mother’s death from heart failure a year later? Who’s to know, although I just have to say right up front that if it were me and my child was missing—and Sylvia Browne told me that my child’s body would be found in a field, and then it was found in that very field—I’m afraid I’d be not-at-all inclined to believe that Sylvia Browne was psychic, and far more inclined to believe that Sylvia Browne did it.
But am I really being fair? After all, a quick tour of YouTube videos featuring Browne clearly shows that, when she’s not being debunked by some sourpuss skeptic, she’s very often right. Of course the skeptic will say that the results are being cherry-picked to include only the hits and not the misses—but the believer can turn the tables and accuse the skeptic of the very same thing, counting only the misses and not the hits. It’s a confirmation-bias problem for both sides and so I wondered, what if we temporarily ignore the issue of hits and misses and focus instead on the knowledge and wisdom Browne has to impart? I began to think that if we just gave her a chance, maybe we’d find that Sylvia Browne isn’t so bad after all. Like the above-mentioned madman who assures us he’s not guilty, maybe, I thought, poor Sylvia Browne is just misunderstood.
Just in case your own skepticism has gotten in the way of spiritual enlightenment, allow me to sum up Browne’s position. I begin with a quote:
I have an explanation … and I will never understand why there’s such reluctance among so many to embrace and celebrate that explanation, because it confirms the promise God made to all of us at the moment our souls were created—very simply, that we are eternal. It doesn’t just mean that we always will be from now on. It means we always have been.2
Are you one of those reluctant people? If so, I suspect it’s because you’re just not mentally flexible enough to seriously believe two contradictory claims. You need to be the sort of person who’s agile enough to believe that you were created in a single moment, and also that you were not created in a single moment, as Browne claims in the very same sentence. If this sort of belief is beyond you, I’m afraid you’re in for a looooooong eternity. Browne’s book itself may also seem like an eternal slog, especially because the above quote is taken from page two and, believe it or not, the truth claims only get more fantastical from there.
For example, on page three we read that we’ve been living multiple, successive lives, both in our Home On The Other Side and here in the real world—but these lives of ours on Earth are no accident, my friend. No, while at Home, each of us designs “literally every aspect of our lives”3—our rapes, our hobbies, our weddings, our addictions—every aspect. We chart these labyrinthine details meticulously on parchment scrolls, and these charts are preserved in the magnificent Hall of Records, which, by the way, is “one of the first buildings we see when we return Home”.4 (Thanks, Google Street View!) Browne doesn’t go into detail about how this intricate dance between all seven billion of us could possibly be choreographed, and I’d wager there are some pretty fierce arguments back Home between, say, people who want to be cannibals and the people they want to eat (“Listen buddy, you got to eat me last time, right?”)—but like homosexuals who are encouraged to “Pray away the gay”, skeptics should be encouraged to “Pray away the nay.” It’s best to just accept that all seven billion of us have designed our staggeringly complicated lives to play out exactly as they are—which means that if you feel like killing your mother-in-law later today, you probably shouldn’t hesitate. Don’t worry! You designed yourself to be a murderer back Home, and the stupid old bitch decided to die slowly and painfully over a period of weeks barricaded behind a brick wall in your cellar. It’s all good!
There’s a lot of homespun metaphysics in Browne’s book, like the jolly old chestnut “God doesn’t give us anything we can’t handle.”5 That’s a good one and, perversely perhaps, I want to cup my hands around my mouth and shout this bit of wisdom at, say, the next hiker who finds himself alone, wedged in a 50 foot crevasse, dying from hypothermia and asphyxiation. “It’s okay!” I’ll yell, “God wouldn’t give you anything you can’t handle! Hey, buddy, you even charted it for yourself! I’ll bet you’re regretting that one now, aren’t you?! Ha! Ah well, better luck next life!” It sounds just a bit cruel to imagine kneeling on the cold kitchen tiles, putting your head next to the woman who’s about to get the shit kicked out of her by her drunken spouse, and yelling, “It’s fine! Everything happens for a reason! You chose it so you can handle it! Ouch! Oooh, that’s gotta hurt.” I think it’s glaringly obvious that there are lots of situations we can’t handle, which is why we have rescue squads, drugs, and suicide.
Other chestnuts abound, but adopting a more scientificky tone, Browne explains how it is that we carry the marks of our past lives into our current life. It’s all down to cell memory. Browne explains:
The cells that make up our physical bodies are living, thinking, feeling organisms, which react with literal precision to the information they receive from our subconscious minds, where our spirit minds live and hold every moment and every memory of every one of our past lives.6
Who was Browne’s high school biology teacher I wonder? I’m thinking Richard Dawkins might want a word. Maybe bio classes were different in Kansas City back in the 1950s—or maybe there’s a clue in Browne’s book that explains her tendency to disregard reality and slip off to Cloud Cuckooland.
I would often sit in my classes trying not to doze off and thinking, “What on earth do square roots, or the primary export of Brazil, or the number of teeth in the mouth of the average frog have to do with preparing me for my future?”7
In other words, What do math, solid information about objective reality, and actual knowledge of the natural world have to do with anything? Browne goes on to ask another truly unfortunate, leading question: “Am I psychic, or nuts, or both?”8 she wonders, and I think many of us are biting our tongues right now, desperate to hazard a guess. Browne answers her own question, saying that, “The answer, of course, [is] neither. My Spirit Guide, Francine, gave me the in-depth explanation….”9 This woman hands these gems to her critics on a silver platter, and I think it’s fair to say that Browne’s response only lends weight to the second answer (nuts)—but once again, am I really being fair?
Because, let’s face it: there are lots of questions that science just can’t answer. What’s the difference between a duck? Why are cakes? How is a raven like a writing desk?10 Browne herself wrestles science to the mat by asking some pretty pointed questions, like how do you explain a three-year-old child born and raised in Alaska (Alaska!!!) who develops a lifelong, passionate curiosity about the American Civil War? How is it that you were born with preferences? Why are you afraid of things? And perhaps most devastatingly of all, why would a six-year-old thank his mother for breakfast, saying, “You’re the best of all twelve moms I’ve ever had?”11
Browne tells us that if you pose these questions to scientists, theologians, psychologists, and other experts, “[t]hey’re likely to reply with either a blank stare, some double-talk that makes no sense at all, or that common, meaningless response, ‘It just happens.’” This is truly shocking, but one has to wonder what class of expert Browne is engaging, and if they majored in Sack of Hammers when they got their credentials from Lenny’s Half-Baked Drive-Through University And Lube. “Oh my god!” Browne is hoping we’ll say in response to her questions. “I can’t imagine any explanation other than reincarnation!” but I think I’ve got some alternative answers for Browne and I’m guessing you do too—and crazily enough, not even one of them involves postulating Life Charts written on parchment scrolls. (Scrolls? Parchment? They haven’t heard of computers in the Great Beyond? What’s Steve Jobs doing with his afterlife anyway?)
Now—rather than just being a skeptical wet blanket, I had intended to include some of Browne’s accounts of the past lives of the rich and famous. But as I read them, I noticed that all of the stories had a blandly sensational quality that made them sound like the plot summaries of a bunch of made-for-TV-movies. Anwar Sadat was chief advisor to King Tut, Katherine Hepburn was a dancer in King Solomon’s court, Steve McQueen was a Knight Templar, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Junior were brothers in 6th century China, Marilyn Monroe was sold to a travelling band of gypsies but rescued by her uncle who became her husband in her next life (Ew!), and so on. Plus, there were confusing plot holes in many of them—Lana Turner, for example, was born Mary Somebody-Or-Other (Francine doesn’t usually supply surnames)12 in about 1860 and lived to be 83—but the most recent Lana Turner was born in 1921, thereby creating an overlap of around 22 years. No wonder poor Lana was such a mess, marrying seven men and having one child when she meant to do it the other way around!13
The chapter on Joseph Campbell, who was Plato in a past life, was particularly rich with howlers. Like a grade 6 student asked to compose a social studies essay on an aspect of Ancient Greece, Browne writes: “Plato was opposed to the Athenian democracy of the time and was tried and convicted of religious heresy and the corruption of youth.” Whoops. Francine, who communicates via “high-pitched chirping”,14 seems to have chirped “Plato!” when she meant to chirp “Socrates!”. Browne’s unschooled, folksy, down-home approach is especially entertaining when she says, “Plato, of course, was one of this world’s earliest philosophers and the source of one of my favorite quotes: ‘We are nothing here but the shadows on the wall of the cave.’”15 Oh yeah, I love that one too. Her lack of sophistication is almost cute somehow, and certainly no one could accuse Browne of writing like an academic.
I admit that my reading became increasingly slipshod as the book progressed (“progressed” is too flattering a term really) but I’m fairly certain that not one of Browne’s subjects was gay or bisexual in a past life. You’d imagine that you might find greater variety, but the book is chock full of straight white Christians. This is very odd indeed, and after a few chapters it almost felt to me as if these stories were limited in scope by the imagination of a single person—as if they were being invented by a single mind—by a woman who could have found honest work in this life as a romance novelist or an obituary writer.
But she didn’t find honest work, did she, and this has to make you wonder. If Browne’s metaphysics is sound, and if she’s right about everything, and she really did design every aspect of her life—then why did she design herself to be such a wingnut? Seriously, she could have been someone who wasn’t convicted of investment fraud and grand theft in 1992, someone without three failed marriages, someone without a (predictably) long list of failed predictions—a list that would get any carnival guesser thrown out on his ass.
And she could have designed herself to be right about Amanda Berry.
After all the failed predictions and metaphysical mumbo jumbo, how is it that people still believe in Sylvia Browne? That’s the real mystery, but I’m guessing that any grownup who actually takes Browne’s stupefyingly harebrained superpowers seriously was very probably—and very cruelly—deprived of Scooby Doo as a child (as well as the Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, and Encyclopedia Brown.16) The original Scooby Gang made it crystal clear that the explanation to the mystery is never the supernatural. “Francine” never turns out to be a spiritual entity. She is always at the other end of the concealed speakers or a side effect of the medication. And she is always—without exception—a product of human imagination.
I’ll be sure to pick up Sylvia Browne’s next book just in case there are new developments in the labs and government facilities and particle accelerators of reincarnation scientists around the world. And I’ll continue to feel a bit sorry for a woman whose choice of career is bound to make her despised by millions. It’s a risk she takes every time she takes a case—but I suspect the fact that we’re talking about a case stuffed full of cash helps to ease the pain. You may wonder how this woman can sleep at night, but the truth is it’s a whole lot easier when a person can afford a top-of-the-line bed and has a mattress stuffed with millions.
References
- http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/may/07/sylvia-browne-amanda-berry-cleveland
- Sylvia Browne. Past Lives of the Rich and Famous. New York: HarperOne, 2012. Page 2.
- Ibid., p. 20
- Ibid., p. 21.
- Ibid., p. 21.
- Ibid., p. 12.
- Ibid., p. 22.
- Ibid., p. 18.
- Ibid., p. 18.
- Actually, “Why is a raven like a writing desk?” (Lewis Carroll’s famous question) does have a brilliant answer: “Because there’s a b in both and an n in neither.” (Aldous Huxley)
- Ibid., pp. 1–2.
- She’s kind of funny that way. Francine can know for certain that someone died in 1261 from, say, an undiagnosed ruptured large intestine, but the last name of the person is a total mystery. Who knows why?
- Ibid., pp. 73–75.
- Ibid., p. 30.
- Ibid., p. 146.
- No relation. Note that Sylvia Browne used to be Sylvia Brown. “She added the e following her 1992 felony conviction and divorce from Kenzil Dalzelle Brown.” Nickell, Joe. “Sylvia Browne’s Latest: Ghost-Written?” Skeptical Inquirer, Vol. 29, No. 5. September / October 2005. p. 53. See also: http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/swift-blog/2113-yet-another-sylvia-browne-fiasco.html
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Proverbs 15:27-28 NIV
27. A greedy man brings trouble to his family, but he who hates bribes will live.28. The heart of the righteous weighs its answers, but the mouth of the wicked gushes evil.
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Trusting God
Scripture Reading: Romans 4:16-21Key Verse: Hebrews 11:3By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.A young woman was babysitting her four-year-old niece. When the pair stepped outside to look at a backyard play-set, they managed to lock themselves out of the house. there was no spare keys hidden on the property, and the little girl's parents wouldn't be home for quite some time.After tying all the doors one more time and looking in vain for an open window, the young adult finally remembered to ask her heavenly Father for help.This story is simple and childlike. Did God answer? yes, and while He did not sen a miracle key to mysteriously open the door, He provided a lesson of faith. He showed the young woman and her niece that His provision sometimes comes in unexpected packages. How? God gave here peace about breaking a window to get inside."Well," you say, "that wasn't much of a provision." But it was! God provided something much more comforting than the material evidence of His power. He provided peace and the assurance that He was in control. We need a God like this, Someone who brings hope and calm to our storm-driven lives. Prayer may not always be the first thing we think of in times of emergency, but it is our strongest source of hope. Simply put, God hears when we call to Him.Trust Him and you will be amazed at the peace He brings to your heart and life.Help me to trust You, Lord. Give me faith in the face of difficult circumstances.(Into His Presence)From I Lift Up My Soul, by Charles F. Stanley -
A Better Way of Seeing the Light
The first to present his case seems right, till another comes forward and questions him.--- Proverbs 18:17You've just testified, Mr. Jones, that you saw my client turn through the intersection on a red light, is that right? "Yes." Any doubt about that?" "No." "Tell us again where you were and what you saw." "I was sitting in my car, stopped at the intersection opposite your client. I saw him approach the intersection and come to a halt. Moments later, he turned left and, in just about the middle of the intersection, collided with the other car." "Mr. Jones, how familiar are you with that particular intersection?" "Not very." "Did you happen to notice anything unusual about the size of the traffic signal?" "I can't recall." "Would it surprise you to learn that the signal had a separate green-arrow light for left turns?" "Well..." "So might it be possible that my client turned left on a green arrow and was hit by the other guy who was running a red light?" "I suppose so..." "Thank you, Mr. Jones!"Without cross-examination, even an honest witness might be telling the truth as he knows it, but perhaps not the whole truth---because he doesn't know it. The search for truth in any arena demands careful scrutiny and an open mind. You have to ask the right questions, and coming up with those questions requires thinking through all the possibilities. Is what you've learned about the Scriptures from your parents or preacher the whole truth? Have you accepted the doctrines you hold dear without ever really asking hard questions? When you study the Bible, do you dig behind the obvious, looking at the passage from every possible angle? For those with truly open minds, traditional red lights have a way of becoming enlightening green arrows.The question for honest searchers is: Is my truth really as true as I believe it to be?The Daily Bible Devotional, by F. LaGard Smith -
THE LAW OF SHARIA A Woman's Plight Early in December of 2001, a Sharia religious court of appeal in Muslim-dominated northwest Nigeria ordered a stay of execution for a woman who had been sentenced by a lower court to be stoned to death for having sex outside of marriage. The woman contended that she had been raped. The court granted the stay to allow Safiya Hussaini, 33, to appeal her sentence by a lower Sharia court in the state of Sokoto. The woman is a divorced mother with five children who would be orphaned and probably perish if the execution were carried out.
The court imposed the sentence after Hussaini asked it to compel a man to pay for her infant daughter's naming ceremony. She charged he had raped her three times and impregnated her. When she charged the man with rape, the court dismissed the charges against him, citing a lack of evidence because she was the sole witness. After dismissing the rape charge against the man, the lower Sharia court then charged the woman with adultery and sentenced her to death in mid-October. She was given thirty days to appeal. According to Sura 2:282 of the Qur'an, the testimony of a woman is equal to only half the testimony of a man, so Hussaini's appeal will automatically be trumped by the rapist's counter-charge. Hussaini was sentenced to death because she was divorced. Had she never been married, the sentence would only have been one hundred lashes. The fate of her five children, of course, was of no concern to the religious court. The Nigerian federal government has said it will not allow the sentence to be carried out, but officials in Sokoto indicated that the federal government had not contacted them about the up-coming stoning. is not yet "One Nation Under God," since Sharia has been imposed on less than a half of its 36 states. More than a thousand people have lost their lives in riots protesting the introduction of religious law. [source - AP] Scientific Note, a simple DNA test would clearly have shown his guilt. The court was following Sharia(h) Law concepts with respect the worth of a women; to wit, a women's testimony is only worth 1/2 that of a mans.
For many more details on similar cases and abuse of women, go to, http://iris89.conforums.com/index.cgi?board=SHARIA&action=display&num=1369173898
Now to know the truth, go to: 1) http://religioustruths.forumsland.com/ 2) http://www.network54.com/Forum/403209/ 3) http://religioustruths.lefora.com/ 4) http://religioustruths.boardhost.com/ 5) http://religious-truths.forums.com/ 6) http://religioustruthsbyiris.createmybb3.com/ 7) http://religioustruths.forumotion.com/ To enjoy an online Bible study called “Follow the Christ” go to, http://religioustruths.lefora.com/2012/0...ble-study/ Your Friend in Christ Iris89 Francis David said it long ago, "Neither the sword of popes...nor the image of death will halt the march of truth. "Francis David, 1579, written on the wall of his prison cell." Read the book, "What Does The Bible Really Teach" and the Bible today, and go tohttp://www.jw.org!
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I am not a logician. I am an existentialist. I believe in this meaningless, beautiful chaos of existence, and I am ready to go with it wherever it leads.
Osho -
I got blood test back from the dr. right and anyway my calcium levels good pretty high for a female actually but I'm vitamin d3 deficient ???? how the hell can that be
I drink milk all the time any of you know about this ??? someone explain it to me??? thanks I know its sunlight but why is my calcium level high if I don't have enough vitamin D in my system and yes I'm pale (ok fish belly white to be precise but I burn I don't tan, and I don't like sweating so I'm a house flower) I don't get it it says you need D3 to process calcium but those level are great that what the Dr. said now I have to take pills I hate taking pills
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Alhamfulillah today majlis for Khatam of musalsalat of shah waliulah was held in our jamiah
Teacher is Ml Shamshuddin sb Haf.(about 70 years old student of shaikh Zakariya) ,I also read some portion of it and alhamdulillah got ijazat by him
here is my sanad
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Proverbs 15:24-26 NIV
24. The path of life leads upward for the wise to keep him from going down to the grave.25. The Lord tears down the proud man's house but he keeps the widow's boundaries intact.26. The Lord detest the thoughts of the wicked, but those of pure are pleasing to him. -
Be Still and Listen
Scripture Reading: Galatians 5:16-23Key Verse: Galatians 5:16I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.Paul told us that if we walk by the Spirit, we will not carry out the deeds of the flesh(Gal. 5:16). Many times this is not an easy task. The only way you can walk in the Spirit is to be conscious of God's indwelling presence and your lack of ability.The moment you try to live like Christ is usually the time you face difficulty. This happens because you set your focus on becoming something instead of allowing Christ to live His life through you. There will be times of failure in your life. These times are the very moments God uses to instruct you in great ways.However, this can happen only if you are open to listening to the Spirit's voice. There can be no distraction inside you---no desire to get it right or work things out on your own. Let Jesus show you the way.Submitting yourself to God's will opens the way for spiritual discernment. So many people try this or that in an effort to grow spiritually when all they really need to do is to learn how to sit before the Lord and be still in their spirits. Today when irritating thoughts come or something goes awry, allow the new you---the part of you that is controlled by God's Spirit---to take control of the situation.Be still, if only for a moment, and listen for His voice. he will provide the wisdom, patience, guidance, and love you need to carry on in this life.Master, because You live inside me, I have new and glorious freedom. Remove the distractions. Still my restless heart. Let the new me emerge.(On Holy Ground)From I Lift Up My Soul, by Charles F. Stanley -
Bad Timing, or Blind Self?
If a man loudly blesses his neighbor early in the morning, it will be taken as a curse.--- Proverbs 27:14It is a picture worth a thousand words---a man enjoying the luxury of sleeping in longer than usual, only to be awakened by his eager-beaver neighbor loudly calling out some pious blessing at the break of dawn! But for the honor, our man in bed would rather have passed up the blessing, thank you very much! Even when it come to blessings, timing is everything. It's not what we do, but when and how we do it. Like courts ruling on inappropriate speech, the wise consider not simply the at, but the factors of time, place, and manner. The exact same words expressed under one set of circumstances might take on a completely different hue if expressed under other circumstances. As with so many things in life, it's context, context, context.The intriguing question is: Why didn't the eager-beaver neighbor consider the possibility that his blessing might not be appreciated at such an unearthly hour? Maybe he could be excused if the two neighbors regularly exchanged morning blessings at that early hour. But because the proverb seems not to cut him any slack, neither will we. More likely we are dealing with one of those people who genuinely believe that "others" is their motto, but are really thinking only of themselves. Whatever they want to do has funny way of turning out to be what we must want. The "favor" they do for us invariably furthers their own selfish interest. And if they are blessing us, it is only because there's some reward in it for them. When the context is always me, time, place, and manner rarely get the time of day.The question for do-gooders is: Have I developed a habit of fulfilling my own needs and desires by pretending it's really what others want?The Daily Bible Devotional, by F. LaGard Smith -
A response to Ustadh Shibli Zaman’s Wrongful Criticism
As salam mu alaikum wa rahmat Ullah
Further to my recent responses to the infamous rulings of Imam Suhaib Webb in which asserted that Sayyiduna Ali (RA) ate ice-cream with Persians in celebrating their New Year, it seems that a certain ‘scholar’ in the US who also contributed to Imam Webb's stance on the issue felt the need to disparage me and offer a facebook (now synonymous with non-academic) response to my article.
Before writing this, I must state that I had offered the brother an olive branch[i] in order for him to apologise for his wrongful comments regarding my person which were done behind my back, but that sadly only led to him increasing in his unfounded allegations against of me. Recognizing these traits, and realizing that there was no benefit in engaging this individual, I have decided to write this in order to defend my honour from being tainted by such aspersions.
The brother has repeatedly claimed that I am ‘desperate for attention’ so in one facebook post in his response to a brother posting my article he says. “That sounds more like a cry for attention than anything. Why does he think Imam Suhaib was addressing him at any point? Imam Suhaib was addressing people in this thread. Not some dude no one has ever heard of across the globe. See: http://www.facebook.com/suhaib.webb/posts/10151322437388080
Now, the student body at CA is well aware that despite numerous requests and much sincere advice, I remain adamant that Cordoba Academy and I will continue to boycott Facebook owing to their support and stance they showed when some cursed people mocked our Beloved (salahu alayhi wasalam). One does not have to be a genius to know that anyone seeking popularity or attention is at a severe handicap by not using Facebook and this should be enough proof to dispel such unfounded notions.
Ustadh Shibli Zaman’s criticism of my article
He writes:
“Because Ibn `Adi's words of censure for Isma`il bin Hammād are related by al-Dhahabi in Lisan al-Mizan as follows:إسماعيل بن حماد بن النعمان بن ثابت الكوفي: عن أبيه عن جده قال بن عدي ثلاثتهم ضعفاء
"Isma`il bin Hammād bin al-Nu`man bin Thabit al-Kufi: Regarding his father, regarding his grandfather (Abu Hanifa), Ibn `Adi said: All three of them are weak."So if you want to cite Ibn `Adi as a reference to weaken Isma`il bin Hammad, you can't back off from the SAME statement that says Abu Hanifa is also weak (Da`if).
Response
First of all, I must say that rather than addressing the many solid arguments that I provided in my response to Imam Webb, Brother Shibli starts his criticism by stating something that has no direct relation to the case in point and I will start by repeating what I said to Imam Webb:
I provided the ruling of five leading Muhaditheen in regards to his grandson Ismail ibn Hamad ibn Abu Hanifah. There was absolutely no need for me to discuss Imam Abu Hanifah (RA) because he was not one of the narrators in the sanad of the narration that Imam Webb vehemently claimed was authentic. I advise that we stay within the confines of the discussion at hand and not distract the laity with issues that are best left for the discussion of senior muhaditheen.
Now, let us concede hypothetically that Ibn Adi statement was motivated by ‘his hatred for Imam Abu Hanifah’ as stated by Brother Shibli[ii] and therefore discount it. What then should we make of the numerous statements of the other great Muhaditheen who did not have this ‘hatred’ for Imam Abu Hanifah (RA) and his family and who also deemed his grandson as weak?
Ustadh Shibli Zaman further writes:
With all due respect to the esteemed Shaykh Mohammed Daniel, his research (or at least the presentation of it) is lacking. What did those people you cite actually say? Who did they cite when they said it? It is very likely that he put it together in a hurry. Furthermore, regarding the alleged "Saqt" Shaykh Mohammed Daniel cites, we find even more lax research.
Well, as it stands and despite numerous requests from American scholars, I have yet to receive any credible academic response to the 'lacking research or presentation of my articles' and I continue to welcome this from my peers. What I have received though is a direct contradiction of Brother Shibli's comments by his close friend who was the cause of these articles; Imam Webb. On the 9th March, Imam Webb honorably admitted this by writing:
"Excellently written and well documented. Allah bless Sh. Mohammad for his sincere council. His research is well done and demands I ask my teachers a few questions. Barakallahu fikum"[iii]Shibli Zaman further writes:
"There is no Saqt between Imam al-Dhahabi and Mukaram bin Ahmad (whom he calls Mukaram al-Qadi)! The full Isnad is not cited in Siyar A`lam al-Nubala' but it is cited in Khatib al-Baghdadi's Tarikh Baghdad and that Isnad leads up to al-Hussayn bin Ali al-Saymari al-Hanafi who was a contemporary of Khatib al-Baghdadi! So this whole issue of Saqt is invalid."
Sadly, this is not correct. It was Brother Shibli's dear friend Imam Webb who claimed that the narration was ‘authentically narrated by Imam al-Dhahabi in his Siyar’ when he said:
"I'm sure you would not say Allhumust'an to 'Ali when he celebrated Naruz with the Persians as is authentically narrated by Imam al-Dhahabi in his Siyar."
And I showed that from Imam al-Dhahabi (RA) to Mukaram al-Qadhi there was a Saqt (break in chain) so it could not be authentically narrated by Imam al-Dhahabi. If Imam al-Dhahabi does narrate this statement through his Isnaad, but rather 'hangs it' (Hadith Mu'alaq) on Mukaram al-Qadhi then this narration is not 'authentically narrated' as the Mu'alaq narrations are regarded as weak by the muhaditheen. In laymen terms, Imam al-Dhahabi must have taken it from somewhere else, and if Imam Webb wants to reference something in order to establish a ruling upon it, he should go back to the source and check the isnaad from that source. Might I also ask, since when did the Fuqaha and Mujtahideen base their fatawa on the Siyaar of Imam al-Dhahabi? This all sadly leads to only one conclusion regarding scholarship in certain circles and I am sure that discerning readers can make their own conclusions.
Ustadh Shibli Zaman further writes:
"In addition to what was stated, the entire issue of authenticity becomes moot due to the narration Shaykh Mohammed Daniel references HIMSELF from Sunan al-Bayhaqi. That Hadith is not contended and, therefore, the narration from Isma`il bin Hammad has Shawahid! These are all basics of Mustalah al-Hadith that I am surprised escaped a scholar of Shaykh Mohammed Daniel's respected level. I say that with sincerity. He is a very knowledgable Shaykh. I feel, perhaps, some partisanship on his part blurred his objectivity. That is pure speculation my part and may Allah forgive me if its wrong. Allah knows best."
I say, Jazak Allah khairan, for the comments and concern regarding how I missed the basics of Mustalah al-Hadith. However the reality is that Brother Shibli's understanding of Mustalah requires some strengthening and I would be more than happy to offer him a free course at Cordoba Academy as I believe that American Imams should dedicate more time to this area of specialisation especially if they want to extract fatawa from hadith directly instead of following the relied upon position in their madhab.
First of all, he claims that the hadith has shawahid (corroborating narrations) but what are these shawahid confirming exactly? Well, we will find out shortly insha Allah.
Secondly, he claims that the hadith of Imam al-Bayhaqi (RA) is not contended which is also incorrect according to the conditions of the Muhaditheen as I will show below:
Lastly, what if find totally incongruous is that Brother Shibli Zaman should even make mention of the Bayhaqi narration to support his argument because his understanding of the hadith is completely contrary to the understanding of the compiler of the Hadith Imam al-Bayhaqi (RA) and other Muhaditheen, as stated in my first article.
Brother Shibli Zaman states:
Do you realize that "Nawruz Fayruz" is how Persians greet each other on Nawruz even today?! It was pronounced "Piruz" or "Payruz" in early Persian.`Ali (may God be pleased with him) wasn't twisting the name! He was greeting the Persians with THEIR greeting VERY SPECIFICALLY. He said "May every day be as Nawruz" and this is what Persians say even today on Nawruz. They say:
نوروز پیروز هر روز نوروز
"Nawruz Piruz, Har ruz Nawruz!"
meaning: "Nawruz Piruz. May every day be as Nawruz!"The scholars of Hadith did not know this. Their job is grading narrators and conditions of Hadith. They are not cultural sociologists!
The statement criticizing the muhaditheen is somewhat rudimentary as many of the greatest muhaditheen including Imam al-Bayhaqi (RA) who compiled this narration were from Persia and they would fully understand these words. Furthermore, Imam al-Bayhaqi (RA) was not just a 'Hadith scholar whose job was grading hadith', (which is no small task) but he was one of the greatest Fuqaha of the Shafi'ee madhab.Imam al-Dhahabi (RA) states that the famous Shafi scholar Imam al-Haramayn al-Juwayni said,ما من فقيه شافعي إلا وللشافعي عليه منة إلا أبا بكر البيهقي ، فإن المنة له على الشافعي لتصانيفه في نصرة مذهبه"There is no follower of the Shafi'ee madhab except that they are indebted to Imam al-Shafi'ee (RA) except Abu Bakr al-Bayhaqi, for indeed al-Shafi'ee is indebted to him for the works he contributed to support his madhab." Imam al-Dhahabi (RA) then adds: "This is correct. And if al-Bayhaqi desired to have his own madhab with which he would make ijtihad then he would have been capable of that because of the wide ranging understanding of sciences that he had as well as his knowledge of the differences…"
Now, Imam al-Bayhaqi (RA) also quoted Abu Usama (RA) as saying: He (Imam Ali) hated to say Nayrouz." This Abu Usama (RA) is none other than Hamad ibn Usuma ibn Zaid whose narrations appear in many of the famous hadith collections including the six canonical collections. He was very familiar with Persians and their customs as he was from Kufa and Imam Ahmed ibn Hanbal (RA) said about him:
"He was the most knowledgeable of all people regarding the affairs of the people and the happenings of the people of Kufa."
This clearly demonstrates that both of these great scholars should be given more credit for their knowledge of the Persian customs and language and that their judgment on the narration does carry weight contrary to what others may have us believe.
Now, let us return to Brother Shibli's claim that the initial Hadith of al-Khatib 'has shawahid' (corroborating narrations) and is 'not contended' –in other words- it can be used to support the premise that Sayyiduna Ali (May Allah be pleased with him) did eat ice-cream and join the greetings and celebrations of the Persians in their pagan holiday.
A reminder Brother Shibli said:
"In addition to what was stated, the entire issue of authenticity becomes moot due to the narration Shaykh Mohammed Daniel references HIMSELF from Sunan al-Bayhaqi. That Hadith is not contended and, therefore, the narration from Isma`il bin Hammad has Shawahid!The reality is that this narration is not accepted by the muhaditheen as authentic because the chain of narration is not Mutasil (lit: connected) but it is Munqati (lit: broken). Imam Mohammed Ibn Sireen (RA) did not directly hear it from Sayyiduna Ali (RA) and this is well known to scholars of Hadith. Therefore, this hadith lacks the first of the five conditions that are required for a narration to be regarded as authentic. How it is 'not contended' is clearly unfathomable!?
Again, for the benefit of the discussion, let us assume hypothetically that this narration is in fact 'not contended' can we then substantiate from it that Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) ate ice-cream and celebrated Persian New Year by greeting the Persians as Brother Shibli would like us to believe? Well, unfortunately we find that even that cannot be substantiated from this narration simply because absolutely no mention of it is in the narration of al-Bayhaqi (RA). Let us now produce and examine this narration:
Fayrouz (New Year’s) narration from Imam Bayhaqi’s Sunan al-Kubra
أخبرنا أبو عبد الله الحافظ ، ثنا أبو العباس محمد بن يعقوب ، ثنا الحسن بن علي بن عفان ، ثنا أبو أسامة ، عن حماد بن زيد ، عن هشام ، عن محمد بن سيرين قال : أتي علي - رضي الله عنه - بهدية النيروز ، فقال : ما هذه ؟ قالوا : يا أمير المؤمنين ، هذا يوم النيروز . قال : فاصنعوا كل يوم فيروز . قال أبو أسامة : كره أن يقول نيروز . ( قال الشيخ ) : وفي هذا كالكراهة لتخصيص يوم بذلك لم يجعله الشرع مخصوصا بهWith the chain of narration to Mohammed ibn Sireen who stated: Ali (RA) was given a gift for Nayrouz so he asked, “What is this?” They replied, “Oh, Leader of the Believers today is Nayrouz” so he said to them, Then make every day Fayrouz. Abu Usama (one of the narrators in the sanad) said, “Ali (RA) disliked to say Nayrouz.” The Shaykh (Imam Bayhaqi) said, “And in this we see the dislike to single out a day for this that was not set by the Shariah”What we can conclude from this narration?
Therefore from this specific narration we can conclude the following:
1. Contrary to what Brother Shibli Zaman/Imam Webb would have us believe Imam Ali (RA) did not celebrate the Persian New Year. In fact, Sayyiduna Ali (RA) did not initially know the occasion that warranted this gift.
2. This narration does not confirm that Sayyiduna Ali (RA) accepted the gift even if some contemporary scholars would like to prove it from this narration.
3. He never congratulated them on their day of Nayrouz, but said Fayrouz and what he meant by this as understood by Abu Usama (a narrator) was that he disliked to say Nayrouz and Imam Bayhaqi one of the greatest Shafi’ee Fuqaha states: “And in this we see the dislike to single out a day for this that was not set by the Shariah”4. He did not eat ice-cream because no mention of ice-cream is made in this narration whatsoever. On the contrary, there are numerous narrations that prove that Sayyiduna Ali (RA) did not consume faloowzaj in his life.
So, it is by the grace of Allah, that He has allowed me these moments to continue to defend the sacred and orthodox teachings of Islam and display that celebrating such pagan holidays or assuming that the Sahabah (we seek refuge in Allah) engaged in the same is a totally baseless assertion.
This and what I have had taufeeq in saying is from Allah alone, and what is from mistakes, oversights and forgetfulness is from me and Shaytaan the accursed; Allah and his Rasul are free from them. I seek refuge in Allah in being a bridge utilised by others to enter Jannah, and then being thrown into the fire; thereafter I seek refuge in Allah from reminding others of this and forgetting myself.
Servant of Allah
Mohammed Daniel
Cordoba Academy
Note: This article and everything that has been written by Shaykh Mohammed Daniel on this forum or anywhere else may be copied and used anywhere for educational and non commercial purposes only. Rather we encourage you to use all halaal means to spread the truth to everyone you can.[i] Posted to him through Twitter: "Peace be on you dear Brother. I’ll say this to directly to you as I do not have time for winning fans on facebook and am not afraid to speak the Haq for fear of ruffling feathers. I am disappointed & saddened by your backbiting of me. If you have any credible, academic response to my two articles on Imam Webb’s “Ali RA celebrated Persian New Year” then provide the proof for your statements and defend his arguments. Here is the latest article http://forum.cordobaacademy.com/2013/02/23/sh-mohammed-daniel-responds-to-sh-suhaib-webbs-all/0/ … By your continued & deplorable criticism of muhaditheen it's clear hadith is not your forte. So my advice to you is leave hadith for the scholars & continuing doing your good work with those who criticize islam.http://nessia.org/index.php?id=3 Was-salam MD[ii] See http://www.facebook.com/suhaib.webb/posts/10151322437388080 Brother Shibli states, “Ibn `Adi who is cited as the one who weakened Isma`il bin Hammād bin Abi Hanifa, said that ALL THREE, Ismail, his father Hammad, and his grandfather Abu Hanifa, are all weak. His hatred for Abu Hanifa is notorious and refuted in classical texts. He is accused of being Mut`assab against the Hanafis.” -
never have a sense of humor or are always distainful of pop culture:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130516063842.htm
Actor Johnny Depp Immortalized in Name of Fossilized Creature With 'Scissor Hand' Claws
May 16, 2013 — A scientist has discovered an ancient extinct creature with 'scissor hand-like' claws in fossil records and has named it in honour of his favourite movie star.
The 505-million-year-old fossil called Kooteninchela deppi (pronounced Koo-ten-ee-che-la depp-eye), which is a distant ancestor of lobsters and scorpions, was named after the actor Johnny Depp for his starring role as Edward Scissorhands -- a movie about an artificial man named Edward, an unfinished creation, who has scissors for hands.
Kooteninchela deppi is helping researchers to piece together more information about life on Earth during the Cambrian period when nearly all modern animal types emerged.
David Legg, who carried out the research as part of his PhD in the Department of Earth Science and Engineering at Imperial College London, says:
"When I first saw the pair of isolated claws in the fossil records of this species I could not help but think of Edward Scissorhands. Even the genus name, Kootenichela, includes the reference to this film as 'chela' is Latin for claws or scissors. In truth, I am also a bit of a Depp fan and so what better way to honour the man than to immortalise him as an ancient creature that once roamed the sea?" -
بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيم
إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ لِلَّهِ نَحْمَدُهُ وَنَسْتَعِينُهُ مَنْ يَهْدِهِ اللَّهُ فَلَا مُضِلَّ لَهُ وَمَنْ يُضْلِلْ فَلَا هَادِيَ لَهُ وَأَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ وَأَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ أَمَّا بَعْدُ
The Ummah seems to be split into two extremes in this issue: Some say that we need to reform the Ummah first and they underestimate the importance of Dawah to Non-Muslims, while others claim the opposite.
Allah says in the Quran:
3:104 (the meaning of which can be translated as):
Let there arise out of You a group of people inviting to All that is good (Islam), enjoining Al-Ma'rûf (i.e. Islamic Monotheism and All that Islam orders one to do) and forbidding Al-Munkar (polytheism and disbelief and All that Islam has forbidden). and it is they who are the successful.
3:110 (the meaning of which can be translated as):
You [true believers In Islamic Monotheism, and real followers of Prophet Muhammad and his Sunnah (legal ways, etc.)] are the best of peoples ever raised up for mankind; You Enjoin Al-Ma'rûf (i.e. Islamic Monotheism and All that Islam has ordained) and forbid Al-Munkar (polytheism, disbelief and All that Islam has forbidden), and You believe In Allah. and had the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) believed, it would have been better for them; among them are some who have Faith, but Most of them are Al-Fâsiqûn (disobedient to Allah - and rebellious against Allah's Command).Let it be known, that Al-Ma’roof includes all sorts of good deeds, the highest and greatest of which is proclamation of the Tawheed of Allah and Al-Munkar includes all sorts of evils, the gravest and most despicable of them being As-Shirk (associating partners with Allah).
So the command that Allah has given us, includes the responsibilities of Dawah and Islah collectively. The Madinan period of the Prophet’s life gives us various examples, that while he was reforming the Muslim society, he was also writing letters to kings inviting them to Islam.
When a governor complained to Umar ibn Abdul Azeez (May Allah have mercy on him) that due to large number of people accepting Islam, the Jizyah tax (tax paid by non-Muslims in an Islamic state) was constantly decreasing, the great Caliph replied: “Allah had sent down Muhammad as a guide, not as a tax collector” , implying that it was a happy thing to hear that people are embracing Islam.
So the Ummah today is greatly in need of people who carry out both responsibilities without underestimating the necessity and importance of either of them.
وصلى الله على نبينا محمد وعلى اله واصحابه اجمعينو الحمد لله رب العالم
Taken from my blog:http://message4mankind.wordpress.com/dawah-training/Who should do Dawah?
Islam is a religion that is built on firm knowledge and there can be no two views about it. The very first verses that were revealed to the Prophet (peace and blessings be on him) commanded him to read / recite. In chapter Muhammad (Chapter 47), Allah commanded the prophet (peace and blessings be on him) to know that there is none worthy of worship except Him, The All-Mighty. For any Muslim, male or female seeking knowledge has been made obligatory. For a daee (caller) it is even more essential, since he calls people to Islam, the chosen religion of Allah. It cannot be that a person calls others towards something which he doesn’t have knowledge about.
Allah mentions in Quran Chapter 47: Verse 19, the meaning which can be translated as: So know (O Muhammad Sal-Allahu ‘alayhe Wa Sallam) that Lâ ilâha ill-Allah (none has the Right to be worshipped but Allah).
Also in many verse of Qur'an and hadith show us the importanceof doing Dawah,
وَلۡتَكُن مِّنكُمۡ أُمَّةٌ۬ يَدۡعُونَ إِلَى ٱلۡخَيۡرِ وَيَأۡمُرُونَ بِٱلۡمَعۡرُوفِ وَيَنۡهَوۡنَ عَنِ ٱلۡمُنكَرِۚ وَأُوْلَـٰٓٮِٕكَ هُمُ ٱلۡمُفۡلِحُونَ .
Let there arise out of you a band of people inviting to all that is good, enjoining what is right, and forbidding what is wrong; they are the ones to attain felicity. (3:104) Also in
قُلۡ يَـٰٓأَهۡلَ ٱلۡكِتَـٰبِ تَعَالَوۡاْ إِلَىٰ ڪَلِمَةٍ۬ سَوَآءِۭ بَيۡنَنَا وَبَيۡنَكُمۡ أَلَّا نَعۡبُدَ إِلَّا ٱللَّهَ وَلَا نُشۡرِكَ بِهِۦ شَيۡـًٔ۬ا وَلَا يَتَّخِذَ بَعۡضُنَا بَعۡضًا أَرۡبَابً۬ا مِّن دُونِ ٱللَّهِۚ فَإِن تَوَلَّوۡاْ فَقُولُواْ ٱشۡهَدُواْ بِأَنَّا مُسۡلِمُون َ
Say: "O people of the Book! come to common terms as between us and you: that we worship none but Allah; that we associate no partners with Him; that we erect not from among ourselves Lords and patrons other than Allah." If then they turn back, say: ye! "Bear witness that we (at least) are Muslims (bowing to Allah's will)."(3:110)
Consequently, Allaah praises those who engage in this noble endeavor as being the best in speech...
وَمَنۡ أَحۡسَنُ قَوۡلاً۬ مِّمَّن دَعَآ إِلَى ٱللَّهِ وَعَمِلَ صَـٰلِحً۬ا وَقَالَ إِنَّنِى مِنَ ٱلۡمُسۡلِمِينَ
“Who is better in speech than one who calls to Allaah, does righteous deeds and says
indeed I am among the Muslims.” Soorah Fussilat, (41): 33
The best words that any human being can speak are words of guidance inviting people to the purpose of their creation; the worship of God..Prophet (pbuh) addressed the great reward for this righteous pursuit saying,
“Whoever directs someone to do good will gain the same reward as the one who does good.”
1.He was also reported to have said,
“Whoever calls to guidance will receive the same reward as the one who follows him without any decrease in the reward of [his follower].”
The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said to 'Ali (RA):
"If Allah guides a person through you, it is better for you than all that is on the earth."
(Bukhari No. 2783 & Muslim No. 2406)
the Prophet(pbuh) was also reported by Sahl ibn Sa‘d as saying: “For Allaah to guide someone by your hand is better for you than having red camels.”
Camels were considered the most valuable property in ancient Arabia and the red variety
was the most prized of all. This fact
Further reiterated in Chapter al-‘Asr where Allah declares humankind in a state of loss With the exception of “those who advise each other with truth.”
Allaah also hinged the label of honor, “best of humankind,” granted to the
Muslim nation on the fulfillment of their da‘wah-duty of calling humankind to righteousness and prohibiting sin among them.
In the hadith Sahih Al-Bukhari, vol. 4, p. 442, no. 667. of prophet mohammed pbuh”said “Convey from me, even if it be only a single verse.”9
whenever the Prophet (pbuh) addressed people, he used to say: “Let those present convey what they heard to those absent. For, perhaps he may inform one better able to understand it than him. ”
Allaah’s Curse
In order to stress the gravity of da‘wah as a duty on Muslims, Allaah warned those who did not fulfill their responsibility in this regard of His curse and the curse of all His creatures.
إِإِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ يَكۡتُمُونَ مَآ أَنزَلۡنَا مِنَ ٱلۡبَيِّنَـٰتِ وَٱلۡهُدَىٰ مِنۢ بَعۡدِ مَا بَيَّنَّـٰهُ لِلنَّاسِ فِى ٱلۡكِتَـٰبِۙ أُوْلَـٰٓٮِٕكَ يَلۡعَنُہُمُ ٱللَّهُ وَيَلۡعَنُہُمُ ٱللَّـٰعِنُون
“Indeed those who hide the clear messages and guidance that I have revealed after I Have made it clear to people in the scripture; those are cursed by Allah and cursed by all who curse.” Soorah al-Baqarah, (2):159
To have knowledge of Islaam but not convey it to others constitutes “hiding knowledge.” Hiding knowledge may be a deliberate act where in a person has the intention to keep the knowledge away from other people. This may occur in cases where people are asked about Islaam but refuse to reveal its teachings due to racial or tribal concerns…
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CALLER..
The individual who as accepted the duty of calling others to Allaah must possess certain characteristics to effectively convey the message. These attributes are mentioned in the Qur’aan and preserved in the record of the divinely guided lifestyle of the Prophet (r).
1.Knowledge. The foremost quality that the daa‘ee (caller) is One must have sound knowledge of what one is inviting others to. Allaah, Most Great and Glorious, instructed the Prophet (r) to inform others that his call to Islaam was based on knowledge
. قُلۡ هَـٰذِهِۦ سَبِيلِىٓ أَدۡعُوٓاْ إِلَى ٱللَّهِۚ عَلَىٰ بَصِيرَةٍ
“Say: This is my way and I invite to Allaah with certain knowledge ...”
(Soorah Yoosuf, 12: 108)
2. Kindness / Gentleness. It is essential that the daa‘ee be soft in conveying the message because harshness could Easily discourage people from listening to the truth. Allah addressed this issue with
regard to the Prophet himself saying:
وَلَوۡ كُنتَ فَظًّا غَلِيظَ ٱلۡقَلۡبِ لَٱنفَضُّواْ مِنۡ حَوۡلِكَۖ
“If you were harsh and hard hearted, they would have fled from around you.”
Soorah Aal ‘Imraan, (3): 159
The prophet (r) also prayed saying:
“O Allaah, be hard on whoever acquires control over the affairs of my nation and is hard on them. And be kind to whoever gains control over the affairs of my nation and is kind to them. Sahih Muslim, vol. 2, p. 1016, no. 4494.
Gentleness in da‘wah affects the hearts of those being invited and makes them want to listen to the message.
3.Wisdom. To convey the message of Islaam, the daa‘ee must adjust himself or herself to each situation and use the most appropriate material.
ٱدۡعُ إِلَىٰ سَبِيلِ رَبِّكَ بِٱلۡحِكۡمَةِ وَٱلۡمَوۡعِظَةِ ٱلۡحَسَنَةِۖ وَجَـٰدِلۡهُم بِٱلَّتِى هِىَ أَحۡسَن
ُۚ“Call to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good preaching. and reason with them in the better way. (Soorah an-Nahl, 16: 125)
Some scholars of tafseer explain that “wisdom” mentioned in this verse refers to the Qur’aan and the Sunnah due to the wisdom which they contain as well as the guidance to righteousness and happiness.(ibn kaseer)
4. Patience. Most people who come to Islaam do so after a faith-seeking journey. Consequently, only a very few begin their search and end it with the same person. When declarations of faith are given it is after many stops on the road. Someone may start the person off and many help on the way and someone else helps the person finally declare their faith. Therefore,the responsibility of the daa‘ee is to convey the message and not to put faith in peoples hearts. As Allaah informed His Messenger (r) and his followers:
فَإِنَّمَا عَلَيۡكَ ٱلۡبَلَـٰغُ وَعَلَيۡنَا ٱلۡحِسَابُ
“Your responsibility is only to convey [the message] and the accounting is on Me.”
(Soorah ar-Ra‘d, 13: 40)
. Morality. Great stress has been placed in Islaam on good moral character. Prophet Muhammad (r)summarized the essence of the Islamic message
“Indeed, I was only sent to complete the most noble of character traits.”And Allaah said in the Qur’aan, وَإِنَّكَ لَعَلَىٰ خُلُقٍ عَظِيمٍ۬
“Surely you (Muhammad) have a magnificent character.”
(Soorah al-Qalam, 68: 4)
The Prophet’s companion, Ibn ‘Abbaas explained that “character” here meant “religion”,
i.e., Islaam.7 By using the term “character” to refer to the religion of Islaam, Allaah stresses the importance of morality in relationship to the religion. It was also reported that when the Prophet’s wife ‘Aa’ishah was asked about the Prophet’s character, she replied,
“His character was that of the Qur’aan.”8 That is, his manners were according to Allaah’s instructions in the Qur’aan. Consequently, the development of good character depends on closely following the Qur’aan and the teachings of the Prophet (r). In this regard, Allaah also said in the Qur’aan:
لَّقَدۡ كَانَ لَكُمۡ فِى رَسُولِ ٱللَّهِ أُسۡوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ۬
“Indeed you have in the Messenger of Allaah a beautiful example (of
conduct)...” (Soorah al-Ahzaab, 33 :21)
Thus, the rites and rituals of Islaam cannot be separated from good manners. An-
Nawwaas ibn Sam‘aan quoted the Prophet (pbuh) as saying, “Righteousness is good character and sin is what itches in your heart and you dislike that
people would find out about it.( Sahih Muslim, vol. 4, pp. 1358-9, no. 6196.)
Aboo Hurayrah quoted the Prophet (r) as saying,
“The believer whose faith is most complete is he whose character is best. (Saheeh Sunan at-Tirmithee, vol. 1, p. 340, no. 928.)…
I Ask Allah to help us fulfilling our duties of Dawah and following the guidance of Allah and his messenger in Making dawah and each and every actions of our life,
وصلى الله على نبينا محمد وعلى اله واصحابه اجمعينو الحمد لله رب العالمTaken from my blog:http://message4mankind.wordpress.com/q-a/
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The Devil Is Tricky In Deceiving Mankind:
INTRODUCTION:
All should be considering the fact that Satan the Devil began deceiving mankind at the very start of human history. For example, he deceived Eve into believing that she was not subject to the laws of her Creator, Almighty God (YHWH) and that she could, per Genesis 3:1-5, "Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? 2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. 4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." (Authorized King James Bible; AV), that is, deciding for herself what was good and what was bad.
HOW MANY DECEIVE THEMSELVES:
Many feel that if one does not agree with their wrong ideas that are NOT in conformity with inspired word of Almighty God (YHWH), the Bible, truths – then one is not being compassionate. Of course this is an entirely wrong premise as clearly shown by the Apostle Paul at Acts 17:10-11, “But, the brethren, straightway, during the night, sent away both Paul and Silas unto Beroea, who, indeed, arriving, unto the synagogue of the Jews, went off; 11 and, these, were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they welcomed the word with all readiness of mind, daily, searching the Scriptures,––whether these things could be so.” (Rotherham Bible; RB).
Clearly he was showing that all should be checked against inspired word of Almighty God (YHWH), the Bible, as to whether they are correct; and clearly NOT against one thoughts and those of his friends. It is high-time that all give thought and investigate their cherished religious beliefs – which may have existed for centuries – perhaps having even been passed down from generation to generation. That, however, does NOT necessarily mean that they are true. Why not? Well, the inspired word of Almighty God (YHWH), the Bible, record shows that soon after the death of Christ’s apostles, deceitful men arose in the Christian congregation and taught per Acts 20:29-30, “I, know, that there will enter, after my departure, grievous wolves into your midst, not sparing the little flock; 30 and, from among your own selves, will arise men speaking distorted things, to draw away the disciples after themselves.” (RB). They very skillfully misled people as per Colossians 2:4 & 8, “This I say, in order that, no one, may be reasoning, you, aside with plausible discourse;” and “Be taking heed, lest there shall be anyone leading, you, off as a spoil, through means of their philosophy, and an empty deceit,––according to the instruction of men, according to the first principles of the world,––and not according to Christ:” (RB).
Now are things different today? Not really, for the Apostle Paul warned that things would only get worse in ‘the culmination of the end times.’ The time in which we are now living, as 2 Timothy 3:1-5 & 13, “But, of this, be taking note––that, in last days, there will set in perilous seasons; 2 For men will be––fond of themselves, fond of money, ostentatious, arrogant, defamers, to parents, unyielding, unthankful, unkind, 3 without natural affection, accepting no truce, given to intrigue, without self–control, uncivilized, unfriendly to good men, 4 traitors, reckless, beclouded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God, 5 having a form of godliness, but, the power thereof, denying! and, from these, turn away;” and “Whereas, wicked men and howling impostors, will force their way to the worse, deceiving and being deceived.” (RB).
We can see this today in California where workers of evil are trying to wrongly change the definition of marriage from that which Almighty God (YHWH) gave it in the Garden of Eden – clearly a wicked abomination.
We can see this today in California where workers of evil are trying to wrongly change the definition of marriage from that which Almighty God (YHWH) gave it in the Garden of Eden – clearly a wicked abomination.
Now to know the truth, go to:
1) http://religioustruths.forumsland.com/
2) http://www.network54.com/Forum/403209/
3) http://religioustruths.lefora.com/
4) http://religioustruths.boardhost.com/
5) http://religious-truths.forums.com/
6) http://religioustruthsbyiris.createmybb3.com/
7) http://religioustruths.forumotion.com/
To enjoy an online Bible study called “Follow the Christ” go to, http://religioustruths.lefora.com/2012/04/03/18-part-follow-christ-bible-study/
Your Friend in Christ Iris89
Francis David said it long ago, "Neither the sword of popes...nor the image of death will halt the march of truth. "Francis David, 1579, written on the wall of his prison cell." Read the book, "What Does The Bible Really Teach" and the Bible today, and go to www.jw.org! -
Proverbs 15:22-23 NIV
22. Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.23. a man finds joy in giving an apt reply--- and how good is a timely word! -
The Peace of God
Scripture Reading: Ephesians 2:14-16Key Verse: 1 Peter 5:7[Cast] all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.When we lose our perspective of God's overriding, unceasing care of us,we usually lose our sense of God's peace as well.Writing to a church under intense strain, Peter closed His first letter by telling them to give their troubles to God because "He cares for you."What a relief, of pressure! What troubles me and upsets my spiritual well-being, even the slightest irritant, matters to God. he is so concerned that He invites me to give Him every care.Cast your burdens on Him in prayer. Tell god what bothers you, what robs your joy and peace, and then really believe that He has heard you and will answer. If you truly trust Him to handle the problem then experiencing His peace is a supernatural result. The situation is in God's hands. He is in control despite appearances. he is able to bring about a solution, whenever and however He chooses.When you reach that point, the peace of god is yours. The storms may brew, but God is very concerned about you and has taken your cares upon Himself. When the pressure mounts, cast every burden on Him. All is in His care, and that will settle your soul as no other thought.Father, when the pressures mount today, help me remember that You have taken all my cares upon Yourself. I cast my burdens on You, knowing that everything is in Your care.(Into His Presence)From I Lift Up My Soul, by Charles F. Stanley -
The Virtue of Patience
A patient man has great understanding, but a quick-tempered man displays folly.--- Proverbs 14:29You know those people, don't you? People who fly off the handle when you least expect it? People who flare up when something goes wrong that needs putting right. Depending on who you are, some of those people are very much like...well you and me! Certainly you and I are not the worst offenders---not us people of faith who write and read daily devotionals. Must be those other folks! Actually, many of those other folks do have the same problem with impatience and quick tempers, but it does not excuse our own, or make us feel any better about it. Unlike some sins, a quick temper often surprises even ourselves. Where did that come from! And embarrasses even ourselves. I just hate it when I do that!Of course theses occasional flare-ups are really not our fault. The people on the other end deserve our raised voices and clinched fists. Idiots on the high-way. Robotic clerks who refuse to deviate from ludicrous regulations. Pestering telemarketers who dare to invade our privacy. Even religious zealots on our doorsteps who insult our intelligence with their programmed answers to any doorsteps who insult our intelligence with their programmed answers to any question. Since they all need instant correcting, who better than us? Solomon didn't have to put up with any of this outrageous nonsense, so why should we? Unless it is because we ourselves have been idiots on the highway and done all sorts of maddening things that have made others want to scream at us. With advancing age we ought to be more self-controlled, not less. More aware of our capacity to snap. More resolved to rise above the maddening crowd.The question for embarrassed idiots is: Even when someone truly deserves to be screamed at, might I not make a renewed effort to give them less than they deserve?The Daily Bible Devotional, by F. LaGard Smith -
freeman4:
The Stage Is Being Set and Has the Last Curtin
Call Been Given?
Has Time already run out on America? Are the elite hard at work on destroying our freedom every way they can? Piece by piece America is being dismantled by a very well planned unseen entity. It seems that the Obama Administration is beginning to be seen for what it really is and what it has been doing to America and the American people.
Could it be that Obama is now pushing forward to finish the agenda that he has been striving for? Is his system unraveling and is he in serious trouble or is this just a smoke screen before more of his agenda is revealed? I believe that we are now entering the “Last Curtain Call for America” and what we are about to witness is going to be just some of the political out cry before everything escalates to the final push on what they will accomplish .
Obama said that he did not realize that all of this was going on in the realms of the I.R.S. and that he is going to, as you say, clean house. It is like a game of Chess, pieces will just be moved somewhere else, because all of the pieces will be needed to accomplish the goal that is set for them. What is happening is a lot larger than many realize and will one way or the other involve just about everyone in our Nation.
We are surrounded by those individuals who want to conquer the American way of life and want to insert their own way of thinking and taking our freedoms away from us. Believe me; the whole political system is rotten to the core. One wants this accomplished and another group wants something else accomplished that could continue to destroy the American way of life.
If one is so caught up in their daily activities and can not see that there are those who would do anything to destroy the American family and all it stands for then something is not clicking right inside their mind. Yes, the stage is set but individuals are not interested in the story flow of the play.
The best performance in the history of mankind is about to begin and the actors are real. The plot was written many years ago and was written for a purpose. This play has been set up and described in the pages of the Bible in the way of Bible Prophecy and it will be played out to the finish.
But how do we know that this Final curtain call is to play now, in our Time? To individuals who do not have the mind set of God will not know that we are in that time frame. Prophecy after prophecy is given and those prophecies point directly to our time frame.
The truth is, if one does not have the mind set of God they will not be able see these things nor will they understand them. Let us take the 7 day week and break it down in reality. First, if there is only one God and His way are only one way, why are there so many ways that are being taught in the main stream Churches?
One minister may say one thing and another minister may say something else, but they claim to be going to the same place but they are all taking a different route in doing so. This is like confusion in the making. But what is the truth? God is the truth but no one wants to follow Him, they want their own way.
There is one God, one faith and one Baptism, not many. God said that His Sabbath, the Seventh day, was made for man, not the Jews only. But now comes Constantine and in 321 A.D., completely changed the true Sabbath of God and made Sunday the day for Christian observance and did away with Gods SABBATH DAY.
Now, here is how we can know how close we are for the final curtain call. The seven day week is a very special time frame for us to understand in our time. In Geneses it states that God created the Heavens and the Earth in six day and that he rested on the Seventh, not the first.
Now enters the seven day week. In Peter we are told that a day represents a thousand years and a thousand years represents a day. (2nd Peter 3: 8 ;) So we have a seven day week and six of those days represent the time that man is to work and to do his thing, but the Seventh day is a day of rest and rejuvenation. This is a day of refreshing.
Now, the Seven day week also represents a seven thousand year plan. Just as God is allowing man six days to do what ever he ( man) has to do, God is also allowing man six thousand years to do his thing in that time frame.
And just as God has set aside the Seventh day for man to rest He will set a side the seventh thousand year for His ( Gods) millennium reign for His 1000 years of His Kingdom on this Earth. Just as the Seventh day Sabbath, it will be a time of refreshing. Is this so hard to understand? Yes, if one does not have Gods Spirit and thought dwelling in and with him.
Every 2000 years there is a dispensation in time. From the time of Creation till the flood was 2000 years, from the time of the flood till the Birth and Death of Christ was another 2000 years and from the death and resurrection of Christ is another 2000 years, our timeframe. Yes, the stage is now set for the final curtain call and I hope that we may now see clearly where we may be in time. Think about.
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GeoGuessr - Let's Explore the World
Geographical nut that I am this is addictive. I've been scoring in the 15,000 - 20,000 range. Got to look for those subtle clues. Helps too to to understand landscapes, vegetation, languages, architecture, etc.
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Assalaamu 'alaykum
I hope you all are doing well inshaAllah. I'd first like to apologize for my complete ignorance on this subject. As a disclaimer, I actually feel a lot more inclined towards hadith studies than I do towards fiqh. However questions about the relevance and relative need for hadith studies compared to other sciences of deen have been badgering me a lot lately. I've struggled to come to a definitive and satisfying answer for myself. I would thus really appreciate it if Shaykh Muhammad Daniel or one of the other scholars could comment.
The world is constantly changing, new issues are arising, and hence there is a constant and continual need for people to specialize in fiqh to address these issues. Furthermore, fiqh is very practical, being largely about things that pertain to peoples' lives that affect them on a regular basis, like salah, sawm, business dealings, etc and how they need to conduct themselves therein. There is thus a constant need for trained scholars of fiqh to teach the masses how to follow the ahkaam of the shariah and live their lives according to deen.
In the field of uloom al hadith however it seems like much of the work has already been done. Narrators have already been documented in books of rijaal, ahadith have already been compiled in books, asaneed have already been analyzed and ahadith have been graded, etc. How much scope is there then for a modern day scholar to contribute in the field of hadith?
I would really appreciate it if one of the scholars could explicate the need for specialization in uloom al hadith.
Jazakallahu Khayran
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ʿUmar b. ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz was asked about a question and he replied, ❝I am not one who is bold about giving religious verdicts.❞He also wrote to one of his governors, ❝By Allāh I am not one who craves after giving religious verdicts, as long as I can find a way to avoid it.❞
Sufyān al-Thawrī said, ❝We reached the scholars and they used to hate answering questions and giving religious verdicts until they could find no way out except to give a verdict, but if they were relived of having to do so then that was more beloved to them.❞
(reported Ibn Rajab al-Ḥanbalī in his book: Sharḥ of the Ḥadīth: ❝Two hungry wolves…❞)
Ibn Yamīnah said, ❝This affair is not for those who love that the people should have need of them, rather this affair is only for those who love that someone can be found to take their place.❞
It also reported from him that he said, ❝The most knowledgeable of people concerning religious verdicts is the one who is most often silent, and the most ignorant of people about them is the one who speaks the most with regard to them.❞
(al-Khaṭīb, al-Faqīh wa ʾl-Mutafaqqih: 2/166)
