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1

Questions/Comments on the Quran / Question about sura AlRahmaan

« on: February 08, 2013, 04:57:38 PM »

Salaam,

I have a question about Sura AlRahmaan. InshaAllah someone can help me out.
Please take a looki at the next verses.

55:62  وَمِن دُونِهِمَا جَنَّتَانِ
55:63  فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ
55:64  مُدْهَامَّتَانِ
55:65  فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ
55:66  فِيهِمَا عَيْنَانِ نَضَّاخَتَانِ
55:67  فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ
55:68  فِيهِمَا فَاكِهَةٌ وَنَخْلٌ وَرُمَّانٌ
55:69  فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ
55:70 فِيهِنَّ خَيْرَاتٌ حِسَانٌ

The question is, why this switch 
Anyone any ideas.

Salaam and thanks!!!
Bender

btw did you notice 55:64 is a one-word verse.

2

General Issues / Questions / Al-Ssabiqoona

« on: December 26, 2012, 06:16:30 PM »

Salaam,

There are 3 groups mentioned in chapter 56.
All translations are from FM, sometime with some changes.

56:7 And you will be in three groupings.
56:8 Faashabu almaymanati ma ashabu almaymanati (So those on the right, who will be from those on the right)?
56:9 Waashabu almashamati ma ashabu almashamati And those on the left, who will be from those on the left?
56:10 Waalssabiqoona alssabiqoona (And those foremost, who will be from those foremost)?
56:11 They will be the ones who are brought near.
56:12 In gardens of bliss.
56:13 Many from the first generations.
56:14 And a few from the later generations.


Of Course the most interesting of those groups are called Al-Ssabiqoon.
Who are these people and how can we be one of them?

I believe the general rule to be one of them can found in:
23:57 As for those who are, from the concern of their Lord, worried.
23:58 And they believe in the revelations of their Lord.
23:59 And they do not set up anything with their Lord.
23:60 And they give of what they were given, and their hearts are full of reverence that they will return to their Lord.
23:61 These are the ones who race in doing good, and they are sabiqoona.


Are there examples in The Quran?
Ofcourse there are a lot of examples.

RED: People of the left
GREEN: People of the right
BLUE: Al-Ssabiqoona

2:271 If you openly give charities, then it is acceptable; but if you conceal them and give them to the poor, then that is better for you. And He cancels some of your sins; and God is Expert to all that you do.
-- who are the people of the left?

2:280 If the person is facing insolvency, then you shall wait until he becomes able. And if you relinquish it as a charity it is better for you if only you knew.
-- I wonder what people of the left do in such situation 

4:86 And if you are greeted with a greeting, then return an even better greeting or return the same. God is Reckoning over all things.
-- looks like a small thing to do 

2:249 So when Saul set out with the soldiers, he said: "God will test you with a river, whoever drinks from it is not with me,  thus who ever therefore drinks there of he is not of me, and whosoever taste it not he is of me, save him who takes (thereof) in the hollow of his hand." They all drank from it, except for a few of them. So when he and those who believed with him crossed it, they said: "We have no power today against Goliath and his soldiers!" But the ones who understood that they would meet God said: "How many a time has a small group beaten a large group with the permission of God, and God is with the patient ones!"

4:95 Not equal are those who stayed behind from the believers; except those disabled; with those who strived in the cause of God with their money and lives. God has preferred those who strive with their money and lives over those who stayed behind by a grade; and to both God has promised goodness; and God has preferred those who strived over those who stayed behind by a great reward.
-- it looks obvious to me who the people of the left are 

2:237 And if you divorce them before having sexual intercourse with them, but you have already set the dowry for them; then you must give half of what you have agreed, unless they forgive or the guardian over the marriage contract forgives. And if you forgive, it is closer to righteousness. And do not forget the favor between you; God is Seer of what you do.
-- also looks obvious what people of the left do 

2:184 A few number of days; however, if any of you is ill or traveling, then the same number from different days; and as for those who can do so but with difficulty, they may redeem by feeding the needy. And whoever does good voluntarily, then it is better for him (A). And if you fast it is better for you if only you knew (B).
-- actually there are double points to score here if you do the combo A AND B 

Here is a last one to understand better inshaAllah:
35:32 Then We inherited the Book to those whom We selected from Our servants. Subsequently, some of them wronged themselves, and some minimize, while others were sabiqun to work righteousness in accordance with the will of God; such is the great benefit.


Ofcourse this is my current personal understanding, I might be wrong.

There are more examples, if you have some verses I did not mention please share if you like.
And ofcourse any comment or correction is welcome 

Salaam and may we be the ones who will be brought near, Al-Ssabiqoona 
Bender

3

Off-Topic / Best kept secret of all time!

« on: December 10, 2012, 07:48:29 AM »

Salaam,

I read in many post speculations on the gender of SoA, so I decided to dedicate a thread to it.
Here you can speculate on the gender of Student of Allah.
If you choose option 5 then please let us know what you think it is.

Salaam,
Bender

InshaAllah someday it will take of that burka and reveal itself to us.

4

Off-Topic / Apps

« on: August 28, 2012, 04:53:01 AM »

Salaam,

InshaAllah tonight I will get my first android phone 
So I am pretty new in the android appmarket.
Can you please give me names of cool apps and if they are not for free how much they costs, and if you like small review with the pluses and the minuses.

People who have iphone's can also use this thread to exchange cool iphone apps.

Thanks in advance,
Bender

5

Forum Suggestions / Advanced search function

« on: August 13, 2012, 02:44:49 PM »

Salaam,

Is it possible to add an advanced search function?
I was thinking of:
- category
- topic
- date "="  ,  ">"  ,  "<"
- member
- words only in title

Thank you,
Bender

6

General Issues / Questions / How much time per week do you study/read Quran?

« on: February 02, 2012, 10:01:41 AM »

Salaam,

First time I noticed the "poll" button  So I thought lets make use of it 

I hope you all will vote. Feel free to add a comment on your choise (if you want to).

Thanks in advance,
Bender

7

Questions/Comments on the Quran / 44:49

« on: January 31, 2012, 08:03:03 AM »

I don't understand 44:49

44:43 Surely, the tree of Bitterness,
44:44 Will be the food for the sinful.
44:45 Like hot oil, it will boil in the bellies.
44:46 Like the boiling of liquid.
44:47 �Take him and throw him into the midst of Hell.�
44:48 �Then pour upon his head the retribution of boiling liquid.�
44:49 �Taste this; surely you are the noble, the generous!�
44:50 Surely, this is what you used to doubt!

who is the noble, the generous (Al-Aziez Al-Kariem)?
I don't know how to understand this.
Anyone any thoughts?

8

Prophets and Messengers / difference between rasoel and nabi

« on: January 02, 2012, 04:05:56 PM »

Salaam all,
 
With this thread I hope to get some more understanding on messengers and prophets. IshaAllah in the end we will all get a little wiser.
 
A big part of the Quran is about messengers and prophets and their stories. As Muslims we have to believe in them and take lesson from their stories and we have to obey the messengers. But I believe, to understand and learn from their stories, and what we have to obey from the messengers, we first have to determine what exactly does the "title" they are given means. The Quran not only makes a difference between these 2 “groups” but there is also some distinction/differences within these groups, which we can discuss later inshaAllah, such as (AlNabiyeen, AlAnbiya, AlRoessoel, AlMursaleen etc).
 
Let first take a look at the roots of the words.

According to the people who derived the roots, the root for what we call prophet in Arabic is: nūn bā hamza (ن ب أ) which I believe means in the most general form something like “informing”. Thus I believe that the definition of “prophet” is not the same as the Bible were a prophet is someone who makes a prophecy, while in the Quran it’s someone who informs.
For the people who rely only on translations, the word that we most of times translate as prophet is called nabi in The Quran.

And for messenger the root is:  root is rā sīn lām (ر س ل). Which I believe means in the most general form something like “messaging/sending”.
For the people who rely only on translations, the word that we most of times translate as messenger is called rasoel in The Quran.

If we examine The Quran verses we see that these two groups are not the same, there are differences between them but we see also some similarities.

A nice example where we can learn that one group is not by default included in the other group is the next verse:
22:52 And We did not send before you any rasoelin OR nabiyeen, without having the devil interfere with his wishes. God then overrides what the devil has cast, and God secures His revelations. And God is Knower, Wise.


Ok let’s now take a deeper look to what a rasoel is.
16:35 And those who were polytheists said: "If God had wished, we would not have served a thing other than Him; neither us nor our fathers; nor would we have made unlawful anything other than from Him." Those before them did exactly the same thing; so are Al Roesoel required to do anything except deliver with clarity?
 
So the duty of AlRoesoel is only the clear delivery. Does this always mean the delivery of The Book? No I don’t think so, Well it can be, but not always. We have in The Quran a couple of examples from AlRoesoels whom job was not to deliver The Book.
Lets take a look at some of these examples.

19:19 He said: "I am the messenger of your Lord, to grant you the gift of a pure son."
19:20 She said: "How can I have a son when no human being has been with me, nor have I desired such?"
19:21 He said: "It is such that your Lord has said, it is easy for Me. And We shall make him a sign for the people and a mercy from Us. It is a matter already ordained."

Did this messenger bring a Book? No this messenger brought the news of a son not more not less. Ok but maybe this is not a fair example as this messenger was not a human being. Is there a other example? Yes there is.

26:16"So both of you go to Pharaoh and say: 'We are rasoelu of the Lord of the worlds'
26:17 'So send with us the Children of Israel'"

This was the message for Musa and Haroen to Firaun. No book, no hikma, this was the only thing that Firaun had to do, releasing Bani Israel.
Did they deliver the message? Yes they did:

7:104 And Moses said: "O Pharaoh, I am a rasoelun from the Lord of the worlds."
7:105 "It is not proper for me to say about God except the truth; I have come to you with a proof from your Lord. So send with me the Children of Israel."

Please note that he says rasoel not nabi. Am I sure that this was the only message that Musa had to deliver to Firaun? Yes, I am pretty sure. Yes Musa and Haroen had a conversation with Firaun but that conversation was not part of the message they had to deliver. Please also note this verse:

28:43 We had given Moses the Book AFTER We had destroyed the earlier generations; as an example for the people and a guidance and a mercy, perhaps they will take heed.
 
But was Musa not a messenger to Bani Israel? Yes he was, from my knowledge Musa was 2 times a messenger in his life. First time a messenger to Firaun, second time to his people (after the 40 nights on the mountain were he was given the book).

14:5 And We sent Moses with Our signs: "You shall bring your people out of the darkness and into the light, and remind them of the days of God." In this are signs for everyone patient and thankful.

Please note that 14:5 it says that Musa was sent to HIS people thus NOT Firaun.

There other examples of roesoels who bring not The Book. Please read for example the stories of Salih and Hoed what their exact message was to Aad and Thamoed or the roesoels sent to Ibrahim and the people of Lut.

Thus from my understanding a rasoel who is sent by the authority of Allah is someone who is sent with a proof somewhere with a task/message. As this message/task is from Allah, the messenger has to be obeyed, because not obeying the messenger is thus directly not obeying a command from Allah. Obeying the messenger can be "release of Bani israel" for the case of Firaun or it can be something different. please read 7:59-93 for some messengers and the message they had to deliver.

Sorry for the long read, and I am not finished yet  . inshaAllah Wednesday I will post my understanding on what a nabi is and I believe that I can also give a clear example of a nabi who was not a rasoel and what I think what is the key difference with a rasoel. I believe the verse mentioned above (14:5) already gives a nice hint what the difference is. In the meantime please correct me where you think I might be wrong.

Sallaam,
Bender

ps sorry for my bad english

9

General Issues / Questions / The Quran Quiz

« on: November 10, 2011, 08:59:57 AM »

Salaam,

I don’t know if something like this was done before.
I think this will be fun and also instructive.

The rules are simple. The one who answers the question must give a clear proof for his answer from The Quran and only The Quran. Then he/she can put on his/her question which he/she himself/herself can proof from the Quran. Thus questions like: “what is the color of my car?” are not allowed unless of course the questioner can proof from The Quran what the color of his/her car is.

Only the one who gives the correct answer first, may ask the next question, thus it's never possible to have more then 1 question at a time.
Of course the  one who gives a correct answer gets 
I will try to keep track of the questions that stands most time unanswered.

Because I am the topic starter I have the privilege to ask the first question 

I will begin with a very simple question
Question: What is the name of the son of Zachariah (Zakariya)?

Ps. Answers like “his name is X and the proof is written somewhere in The Quran” are not allowed, thus please be a little specific with your answer, thus quote the verse(s) or at least give the number of the verse(s). If you feel that you have the correct answer, then please put in the same message your question for us.

10

Introduce Yourself / my story

« on: August 10, 2011, 07:44:04 AM »

Salaam brothers and sisters,

First of all, I’m very bad in English so please excuse me if I make to many mistakes.
I’m a Moroccan and live in The Netherlands and I come from a sunni family.

Last year a good friend of mine advised me to do a Quran course, the study would take 2 years, one evening per week. In the end I would be able to read the Quran without translations and I would know al the tafsirs of every verse in The Quran and a lot more things, like grammar and tazjweed. It was this “study” that really opened my eyes, I’ve never heard so much nonsense as in those evenings. The teacher a graduate imam is a very nice man but he was contradicting himself 100 times every lesson and he didn’t even notice. The sad thing is that the other students believed everything he said, he was after all the teacher. It was just shocking how he used The Quran and after a couple of weeks I began to understand what is meant in 25:30 it was as if Allah took a veil from my eyes. It’s just unbelievable how blind I was for years and years.

It took me another half year to convince myself, because I thought I was the only one who said goodbye to the hadiths. I’ve heard earlier about quranists but I thought they were just another sect thus every time I saw an article by a quranist I didn’t even bother to read it. One day on a dutch forum there was a conservation between 1 “quranist” and a lot of sunni’s, it was about the headscarf. It was a very interesting debate, the quranist threw at them with quran verses and the sunnis threw at him with hadiths. It was this discussion that I wanted to learn more about the quranists. First I landed on the submission website, it was a real eye opener and I thought that I finally found what I was looking for, but after a couple of days I saw that they rejected 2 verses of sura 9. I thought nooooooooooooo not again, it’s true that sunni’s reject maybe hundred of verses and two verses is much less then hundred but still it were two verses. After analyzing some subjects on the submissionsite deeper I found that the 19-ers of rashad khalifa had also a lot of conjecture in their views, thus I rejected them and went further on my path. Then after a couple of days I found free-minds, after two weeks of reading I knew that this is the place were I belong, the place were people seek for the truth.

I hope that I can learn here from you and I hope that I can also contribute a little.

My first contibution    : I don't really like the term quranists, muslims sounds much better