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[Chapter 105 - the Elephant (al-Fil) - Quran]

Chapter 105 - the Elephant (al-Fil) - Quran

Verse 1
Pickthall - Hast thou not seen how thy Lord dealt with the owners of the Elephant?
Yusuf Ali - Seest thou not how thy Lord dealt with the Companions of the Elephant? Hilali-Khan Have you (O Muhammad (Peace be upon him)) not seen how your Lord dealt with the Owners of the Elephant? [The elephant army which came from Yemen under the command of Abrahah Al-Ashram intending to destroy the Ka'bah at Makkah].
Shakir - Have you not considered how your Lord dealt with the possessors of the elephant?
Sher Ali - Knowest thou not how thy Lord dealt with the Owners of the Elephant? Khalifa Have you noted what your Lord did to the people of the elephant?
Arberry - Hast thou not seen how thy Lord did with the Men of the Elephant?
Palmer - Hast thou not seen what thy Lord did with the fellows of the elephant? Rodwell HAST thou not seen how thy Lord dealt with the army of the ELEPHANT? Sale Hast thou not seen how thy Lord dealt with the masters of the elephant? Transliterated Arabic Alam tara kayfa faAAala rabbuka bi-as-habi alfeeli


War elephants were important, although not widespread, weapons in ancient military history. Their main use was in charges, to trample the enemy and/or break their ranks. They were probably first employed in India, where the elephant corps served as one of the four classical wings of the Indian Army.

(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_elephants)

Verse 2
Pickthall Did He not bring their stratagem to naught,
Yusuf Ali Did He not make their treacherous plan go astray?
Hilali-Khan Did He not make their plot go astray?
Shakir Did He not cause their war to end in confusion,
Sher Ali Did HE not cause their design to miscarry?
Khalifa Did He not cause their schemes to backfire?
Arberry Did He not make their guile to go astray?
Palmer Did He not make their stratagem lead them astray,
Rodwell Did he not cause their stratagem to miscarry?
Sale Did he not make their treacherous design an occasion of drawing them into error;
Transliterated Arabic Alam yajAAal kaydahum fee tadleelin

Verse 3
Pickthall And send against them swarms of flying creatures,
Yusuf Ali And He sent against them Flights of Birds,
Hilali-Khan And sent against them birds, in flocks,
Shakir And send down (to prey) upon them birds in flocks,
Sher Ali And HE sent against them swarm of birds,
Khalifa He sent upon them swarms of birds.
Arberry And He loosed upon them birds in flights,
Palmer and send down on them birds in flocks,
Rodwell And he sent against them birds in flocks (ababils),
Sale and send against them flocks of birds,
Transliterated Arabic Waarsala AAalayhim tayran ababeela

Comment:
I believe that 'waarsala' is derived from the word 'rasila' which means 'to send a messenger'. 'Arsala' means 'he sent', 'arsalu'= 'they sent', 'arsalat' = 'she sent', 'arsalna' = 'we sent', 'mursal?n'='those who were sent'.
'Tayran' is also a word that I believe to also have been mistranslated in the above verse. It's true that 'tayran' can mean 'birds', but it also has other meanings, such as 'to fly, flee, hasten to do a thing'.
B?bil = Babel, Babylon; City on the bank of the Euphrates founded by Nimr?d(?)

My personal interpretation of the verse:
Waarsala - We and/or I have sent...
Aalayhim - to them, on them
Tayran - hastenly
Ababeela - the people of Babylon/Babel

(Source: Dictionary of the Holy Quran by Abdul Mannan Omar)

Verse 4
Pickthall Which pelted them with stones of baked clay,
Yusuf Ali Striking them with stones of baked clay.
Hilali-Khan Striking them with stones of Sijjil.
Shakir Casting against them stones of baked clay,
Sher Ali ..., striking them against stones of clay.
Khalifa That showered them with hard stones.
Arberry hurling against them stones of baked clay
Palmer to throw down on them stones of baked clay,
Rodwell Claystones did they hurl down upon them,
Sale which cast down upon them stones of baked clay;
Transliterated Arabic Tarmeehim bihijaratin min sijjeelin

Sijjeelin is derived from the word 'sajala' and means 'to pour out, spill (liquid), write a paper or a scrol, decide judicially'. So it was basically a law.


Stoning, or lapidation, refers to a form of capital punishment whereby an organized group throws stones at the convicted individual until the person dies.
Stoning has been used throughout history in a number of places, both in the form of community justice and also as a judicial form of capital punishment. The practice is referred to in Greek history, as well as Christian, Jewish, and Islamic texts.

(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stoning)

Pickthall And made them like green crops devoured (by cattle)?
Yusuf Ali Then did He make them like an empty field of stalks and straw, (of which the corn) has been eaten up.
Hilali-Khan And made them like an empty field of stalks (of which the corn has been eaten up by cattle).
Shakir So He rendered them like straw eaten up?
Sher Ali And thus made them like broken straw, eaten up.
Khalifa He made them like chewed up hay.
Arberry and He made them like green blades devoured.
Palmer and make them like blades of herbage eaten down?
Rodwell And he made them like stubble eaten down!
Sale and render them like the leaves of corn eaten [by cattle]?
Transliterated Arabic FajaAAalahum kaAAasfin ma/koolin

What is your opinion on my above findings? Could someone also help me discover what tribe is referred to in the above verse? And what year/period?

Thanks in advance.



Latifah

Peace,

Could someone please translate this clip? What is it about? Women forced to veil theirselves???

http://nl.youtube.com/watch?v=J7aA_V1X1YM

AMSTERDAM/TEHRAN (BosNewsLife)-- The son of Dutch-Iranian human rights activist Abdullah al-Mansouri on Monday, October 29, urged the Netherlands to safe his father's life amid reports he may be executed in Iran within 48 hours. 

"If a Belgian citizen is imprisoned in Iran, Belgians know how to get him back to Belgium within four weeks," said Adnan al-Mansouri in an interview with Dutch television. "One and a half year is long enough to wait till the Netherlands is doing something like that for its citizens," he added in the Dutch current affairs program ?NOVA?.

His father, who was detained in Syria in May 2006 before being transferred to Iran, has never been visited by diplomats from the Dutch embassy Tehran he claimed.

"Nobody saw him," complained Adnan al-Mansouri. He said the Dutch government was ill informed about the fate of his father, who he claimed had been tortured in Iran. His appeal came after he earlier told Dutch media that Iran has offered to postpone the execution for a payment of roughly 80 billion Rial (IRR), about $100,000. 

ROYAL AWARD

The 61-year-old Abdullah al-Mansouri, who received a Dutch royal award for his involvement in human rights, has been accused by Iran of "involvement in terrorism."

Pressured by parliament, Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen recently discussed the issue with Iranian officials after former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan urged the UN and Iranian authorities to clarify Al-Mansouri's situation.Al-Mansouri's son said he hopes the Netherlands with the European Union and Sweden and Norway will put pressure on Iran. Besides Al-Mansouri, two Norwegians and one Swedish citizen were detained in Syria and transferred to Iran for their involvement in human rights.       

Al-Mansouri had a lawyer, but he along with his wife and daughter, have been imprisoned by Iranian authorities, the Netherlands National News Agency (ANP) reported. The lawyer is reportedly facing a three-year prison term on yet unknown charges. The case was expected to be closely monitored by Christians in Iran, as Al-Mansouri was known for his involvement in defending the human rights of minorities in countries like Syria and Iran. Christians are facing persecution, several have been detained and some executed, rights groups and churches say. 

POLITICAL REFUGEE

Al-Mansouri arrived in the Netherlands in 1988 as a political refugee. He lived in the Netherlands with his family in the Dutch town of Maastricht, where he was active for left-leaning political group 'GroenLinks' (GreenLeft) and human rights watchdog Amnesty International.

In Brussels, Dutch Liberal European parliamentarian Jules Maaten said he was concerned that "apparently the promised European pressure through diplomatic channels in Syria, Iran and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) had not the intended affect."

He stressed that the  "[death' sentence is barbaric. Abdullah al-Mansouri is a Dutchman and a European citizen. The European Union has to use all necessary pressure to protect him." (With reporting by BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos).

Islamic Riots in Amsterdam
Tue, Oct 16, 2007 at 9:35:22 pm PST

Following the death of a Muslim who burst into a police station and stabbed two officers, Moroccan ?youths? are rioting and setting cars on fire in Amsterdam.

Moroccan-Dutch youths rioted in Amsterdam overnight Tuesday.

A group of dozens of youths in the Slotervaart neighbourhood in western Amsterdam set cars on fire, damaged several other cars and threw stones through the windows of a police station.

The riots followed the death of 22-year old Dutch-born Bilal Bakaja, of Moroccan descent.

On Sunday, Bakaja entered the police station of Slotervaart, stabbing two police officers with a knife. Although having sustained serious injuries, one of the officers, a policewoman, shot and killed her alleged attacker on the spot. The two police officers were later brought to the hospital where their condition was described as ?serious but stable.?

The police and Amsterdam municipality officials announced at a press conference Monday that a national investigation had been launched into the incident. The police also added that Bajaka had a criminal record.

From the age of 13 up to his death on Sunday, the police said, Bakaja had been involved in several major criminal incidents, including armed robberies and a series of violent incidents. He was allegedly part of a criminal gang.

In addition, police said he was personally acquainted with Mohammed Bouyeri, the convicted killer of the late film director Theo van Gogh, as well as with other Moroccan-Dutch terrorist suspects.

Moroccan-Dutch residents of Slotervaart complained to reporters they were ?sick and tired? of continuous ?negative news reports? about fellow Moroccan-Dutch, adding they felt increasingly stigmatized. [And what better way to counter those negative news reports than to riot and burn stuff? ? ed.]

Several television reporters who came to report on the fatal incident at the police station were threatened by Moroccan-Dutch youths.

Ehsan Jami, the chairman of the committee for ex-Muslims, will be given extra security. The national anti-terrorism coordinator's office, the public prosecution department and the police decided during a meeting on Monday that "additional measures" are necessary for the protection of the 22-year-old Labour PvdA council member in Leidschendam-Voorburg.

A spokesperson for the office of the national anti-terrorism coordinator (NCTb) reported this on Monday when asked. The extra measures are being implemented because Jami was attacked and beaten in Voorburg last weekend. No further details about the extra security measures are being released.   


Jami did not want to say much about the attack earlier in the day on Monday. "I'm too emotional for that," the politician said. His adviser, academic and writer Afshin Ellian, says that three men of ethnic background were waiting to attack Jami after he left a supermarket.

He was struck twice and sworn at. Ellian says it is the third time that Jami has been ambushed like this recently. The attack has been reported to police.

Jami said in an interview previously that Mohammed was "a terrible man." He hopes his committee can help Muslims who turn away from Islam and put taboos in the Muslim world like domestic violence and human rights violations on the agenda.

Harry Oldersma, faction chairman of the PvdA in Leidschendam-Voorburg, was "shocked and angry" at the abuse suffered by his fellow party member. "It just isn't acceptable that you are beaten up for having an opinion. That crosses all boundaries."

The parliamentary factions of the PvdA and the Freedom Party PVV have asked for clarification on Jami's security from the ministers of justice and home affairs.

[Peaceful One]

Peace be upon you all,

My vote: Peaceful One

Curious to know how you guys label yourselves when someone asks you to what belief you belong to.
I myself got that question from a lady and said 'muslimah'. Her reaction:'But you don't wear a headscarf and don't pray 5x a day... You sure don't look like one!'

To avoid a long explanation I just tell them that I belong to God/Allah as an individual and soul. I don't belong to any religious group, just Allah, the Almighty.

What's your take on that? And please don't forget to vote. If none of the descriptions fits you, please explain why not and what you consider yourself to be.

This subject might already have been discussed, but I would like to bring it up again. Hope that you guys don't mind.



Latifah

[Effects of Group Practice of the Transcendental Meditation Program on Preventing Violent Crime in Washington, DC: Results of the National Demonstration Project, June-July 1993]

Effects of Group Practice of the Transcendental Meditation Program on Preventing Violent Crime in Washington, DC: Results of the National Demonstration Project, June-July 1993

This study presents the final results of a two-month prospective experiment to reduce violent crime in Washington, DC. On the basis of previous research it was hypothesized that the level of violent crime in the District of Columbia would drop significantly with the creation of a large group of participants in the Transcendental Meditation? and TM-Sidhi? programs to increase coherence and reduce stress in the District.

This National Demonstration Project to Reduce Violent Crime and Improve Governmental Effectiveness brought approximately 4,000 participants in the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi programs to the United States national capital from June 7 to July 30, 1993. A 27-member independent Project Review Board consisting of sociologists and criminologists from leading universities, representatives from the police department and government of the District of Columbia, and civic leaders approved in advance the research protocol for the project and monitored its progress.

The dependent variable in the research was weekly violent crime, as measured by the Uniform Crime Report program of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; violent crimes include homicide, rape, aggravated assault, and robbery. This data was obtained from the District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Department for 1993 as well as for the preceding five years (1988-1992). Additional data used for control purposes included weather variables (temperature, precipitation, humidity), daylight hours, changes in police and community anti-crime activities, prior crime trends in the District of Columbia, and concurrent crime trends in neighboring cities. Average weekly temperature was significantly correlated with homicides, rapes and assaults (HRA crimes), as has also been found in previous research; therefore temperature was used as a control variable in the main analysis of HRA crimes. Using time series analysis, violent crimes were analyzed separately in terms of HRA crimes (crimes against the person) and robbery (monetary crimes), as well as together.



Analysis of 1993 data, controlling for temperature, revealed that there was a highly significant decrease in HRA crimes associated with increases in the size of the group during the Demonstration Project. The maximum decrease was 23.3% when the size of the group was largest during the final week of the project. The statistical probability that this result could reflect chance variation in crime levels was less than 2 in 1 billion (p < .000000002). When a longer baseline is used (1988-1993 data), the maximum decrease was 24.6% during this period (p < .00003). When analyzed as a separate variable, robberies did not decrease significantly, but a joint analysis of both HRA crimes and robberies indicated that violent crimes as a whole decreased significantly to a maximum amount of 15.6% during the final week of the project (p = .0008). Analysis of 1993 data, controlling for temperature, revealed that there was a highly significant decrease in HRA crimes associated with increases in the size of the group during the Demonstration Project.

Several additional analyses were performed on HRA crimes to further assess the strength of the main findings. These indicated that the reduction of HRA crimes associated with the group of participants in the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi programs could not be attributed to changes in police staffing. These secondary analyses also found that the reduction of HRA crimes was highly robust to alternative specifications of the statistical model-that is, the effect is independent of the isolated details of the models used to assess seasonal cycles and trends. No significant decrease was found in any of the prior five years during this period of time, indicating that this effect was not due to the specific time of year. Furthermore, the intervention parameters for the group size revealed that the effect of the group was not only cumulative with the increase in group size, but also continued for some time after the end of the project.

Based on the results of the study, the steady state gain (long-term effect) associated with a permanent group of 4,000 participants in the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi programs was calculated as a 48% reduction in HRA crimes in the District of Columbia.

Given the strength of these results, their consistency with the positive results of previous research, the grave human and financial costs of violent crime, and the lack of other effective and scientific methods to reduce crime, policy makers are urged to apply this approach on a large scale for the benefit of society.

Source: http://istpp.org/crime_prevention/

How about saying a prayer to reduce the crime rates in the whole wide world... Do you think that would make a difference? If the above study shows that the crime rates did decrease would you then take time to say a little prayer for worldpeace? We seem to only pray for ourselves, why shouldn't we think about the whole wide world instead of being a little egotistic and pray only for ourselves (and/or loved ones)?

I wish and pray to God/Allah to reduce the crime rates. I wish and pray for justice.

Say your prayer and let's see if it will reduce the crime rates. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Du%E2%80%99a_Khalil_Aswad 

The execution of 18-year-old Sina Paymard, which was planned to take place on 17 July, has been postponed. Sina Paymard was sentenced to death in Iran for a crime committed when he was just 16 years old.

According to reports, Sina Paymard had been moved from Reja'i Shahr prison in Karaj to Tehran's Evin prison for his execution to be carried out on 17 July.

Sina Paymard's lawyer, human rights defender Nasrin Sotudeh, has reported that he was not executed, and his family have been given 10 days to reach a financial settlement with the victim's kin. If the money (blood money) is not raised, then Sina is likely to be executed.

Sina Paymard, a musician, was originally due to be executed in September last year for murder. On the gallows, Sina's last request was to play the ney (a Middle Eastern flute) just one more time.

The family of the victim were so moved by his playing that they granted him a last-minute reprieve. They asked for 150 million toumans (over US$160,000) as compensation instead. Sina's family have, so far, been unable to raise the full amount.
This temporary reprieve gives activists more time to campaign for Sina Paymard's life to be saved - take action to stop the execution (on Amnesty International's UK Section's website).

For further information, please see:
Iran: Execution of child offender imminent (Press Release, 17 July 2007)

Link to the petition: http://www.amnesty.org.uk/actions_details.asp?ActionID=301

Salam all,

As a starting filmmaker I was curious to know if it's dangerous to use an actor to characterize prophet Muhammad in a spiritual/religious movie. How do you think most of the sectarian "muslims" would react to such a movie wherein prophet Muhammad is being played by an actor?

Peace/Salam/Shalom/Vrede,

There are humans out there who are communicating with something or someone out "there" that we humans can't see with our bare eyes. It's something "hidden" and many of those humans who communicate with it/them call it/them 'angels'/'spirits' etc. What does Allah/the Great Force have to say about this in the Last Testament/Quran?

[created]

Peace/salam/shalom/harmony/love/unity to all humans all over the world who is reading this! 

The first time that I visited this website/forum I was glad to see so many likeminded people, because my nafs/spirit was prisoned the whole time into a sectarian beliefsystem that I was raised in and still live in. This sect had mentally prisoned me into believing in their own view of the Last Testament, also known as Quran/the Recitation, and that view did not fit my own view on Allah/the Great Force, because their image of this Great Force was a frightening image of a tyranic, vengeful, angry, forcing Force who absolutely isn't peaceloving, understanding and caring if you don't follow It's rules.
You were/are basically forced into believing in a created image of a "God" that that group believes in and if you reject/-ed their view then you're basically rejecting Allah/the Great Force, according to that group/sect. Rejecting the Great Force, means punishment, and punishment means LITERALLY 'burning in Hell', a world of FIRE. But if you fear getting thrown into this world of FIRE, called 'Hell', and if you decide to follow and believe in the beliefsystem of that group (sect) then you'll receive the reward of eternal life in another "world" called 'Heaven'!!! That scary tale mentally forces you into joining that group/sect out of fear and not out of love for our Creator who claims to be Merciful and Forgiving. So the fear drives you to do and be "good" just because you don't want to be thrown into a painful 'world' and this group/sect can therefore "mold" you into their own beliefsystem and their own worldly image of how they were taught and/or "learned" to perceive "God"/the Great Force/Allah. I think that it all started when these humans began collecting information from other humans (most of the time through research of historical/ancient figures/humans) and with that information they started (re)shaping their view/opinion based on that information on how to perceive "God"/the Great Force/Allah. Thereby they consciously or unconsciously influence(d) other human minds into absorbing their opinion of how to perceive this Great Force/Allah and the majority most of the time blindly follows these "scholars"/"knowledgeable teachers" opinion/information without fully examining/studying/understanding the Scriptures for themselves.

It's most of the time quite simple to understandwhat these group asks (or mentally and/or physically forces) you to believe in: that is the BELIEF in ALLAH/THE GREAT FORCE/THE SUPREME BEING. Although this "Being" never forced/forces us into believing in It's existense like a lot of sects/religious groups do. It did however ask us to be respectful, peaceful, loving and especially tolerant (although tolerance has it's limit when it goes against all the summed up things I mentioned!) and so with other words it asks us to believe in It's SYSTEM for our own wellbeing and the wellbeing of our community (worldwide). What this Great Force basically is asking us to do is to stay positive and repress the negativity in ourselves and our environment in a peaceful, respectful and loving way, so that we can all live in a safe Community/World and so that we can all get a taste of Heaven on planet Earth before we move on to the Next Life (whatever and where ever that may be  ).

To make a long story short: I'm getting tired of people forcing each other into believing in a selfcreated beliefsystem from what they have understood from the "Letter" to mankind (yes, I know that humans have written this "Letter" with the help of our Creator/the Great Force/Allah/the Supreme "Being"/"God"). Many translators of the Testaments (especially the Quran/the Recitation - a.k.a. the Last Testament - ), can give very "twisted" interpretations and frighten/shock humans with their understanding of some verses/sentences, that most of the time are meant metaphorical/allegorical/"imaginative", which aren't always to be taken literally as how it's being read, although I can understand the fear of rejecting some of the Great Force's words consciously or unconsciously! I don't think that this Force would punish you for that, since the most important thing of It's system is to be/act righteouss towards yourself and other living beings around you spread all over the world. I don't think that the Great Force would take your rejection of some of It's words too seriously. We're not Allknowing and are therefore ignorant people that still have a lot to learn from the lessons that the Great Master has to teach us in this Earthly life.

4:17 : Repentance is only for those who commit sin out of ignorance and then repent soon after; these will be forgiven by God, God is Knowledgeable, Wise.

But that's just my personal opinion. Everybody is free to believe in whatever and however they want... aslong as they're being righteouss and tolerant to everybody in the whole wide world (do not limit yourself to only your little community on a little piece of "rented" land), because I believe that that is what ISLAM a.k.a. SUBMISSION TO 'PEACE' mostly is about!

We're still evolving!



Peace & love,

Latifah

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSM7BUmx6hY

Interesting and entertaining.

Salam,

I'm in search of (skilled) dream interpretators. Are here any good dream interpretators?



Latifah

Salam all,

I'm a little confused about a message that I just received from an African-American sister. She's muslim, but she practices voodoo and tells me that it's the original religion of Africans.

I quote:

'We Africans were the first people on the planet it was us who taught the world about God. The Europeans,and Arabs that once enslaved us physically and who still have my people mentally colonized want to believe that they came and taught us "heathens" civilization but they were and are wrong. As for Islam,it is also called the "natural religion" or din al-fitrah. Well that in a nut shell is what African Traditional religion is. It is not like those Horror films portray it. We are not cannibals or ignorant pagans or idol worshippers. We are monotheists,always have been. The Original monotheists. But yes we do honor(not worship) our ancestors and various elementals or spirits. It is in the name of self knowledge,and finding out ones purpose in life and fulfilling it. I am vodou but my religion is Islam'

So in closing,there is no doubt in my mind that there is only one God,and that God sent many prophets to to many lands. But I am also of a powerful African spirit that to ignore it would be disastrious and possibly death and disease at worst.To honor it,means prosperity. I know everybody won't agree or understand but this is MY natural religion.

However,to say that race doesn't matter when blacks are generally found at the lower rungs of society and are continually oppressed in everyway,then yes call me a racist dear. Because race matters when you have dark skin and look like an African and yes we do exist. Only white people can pretend that race doesn't exist because for them it doesn't since they are the dominate group. But when I turn on my television,when I look at a magazine,when I see that my people are largely unemployed,uneducated and makeup the largest portioned incarcerated,addicted to drugs and alcohol and have serious self-hatred issues,when i see that my people in subsaharan africa don't have enough food,money or provisions to take care of themselves or their families,yes racism is alive and well and it is a tool that has helped to keep us continually enslaved. My people were forced to give up our language and culture,and the world today is all about globalism which is the same thing as colonialism. You want a world where everyone is the same. Okay so what language,culture,religion are these people going to be? Who are going to be on the bottom and on the top? I guess we will just have to agree to disagree on this one.

She sounds very hurt because of the oppression of black people in the past (and that still occurs in the present time). But she justifies voodoo as a monotheistic religion and the worshipping of ancestors and spirits as something they honor. She has studied anthropology and claims to know all about evolution, but the claim that Africans were the first people on earth and that their original religion was voodoo doesn't seem logical to me.

Does any one know any websites where I can find more about this subject? Or any books? I'm intrigued to read and learn more about this subject.

Thanks in advance.



Latifah