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Yemen's unfathomable pain and suffering

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UN special envoy wants to restart talks as humanitarian chief warns that seven million are ‘on the cusp of famine’.

United Nations officials have warned that the conflict in the Arab world’s poorest nation, Yemen, is intensifying daily, with armed groups expanding, thousands facing a cholera epidemic, and seven million “on the cusp of famine”.

Speaking before the UN Security Council on Wednesday, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, UN special envoy to Yemen, called on all parties “to act for the sake of peace,” saying “excuses are unacceptable…especially when the solutions are in plain sight.”

“The opportunity to reach peace is not yet lost,” he said, urging political leaders to recognise that “the continuation of the war can only lead to more human and physical loss”.

In the same meeting, UN humanitarian chief Stephen O’Brien said the warring parties and their outside backers should feel “deeply guilty” at driving a worsening conflict that has exposed millions of Yemeni civilians “to unfathomable pain and suffering”, including seven million people now “on the cusp of famine.”

He urged the Security Council to “lean much more heavily and effectively on the parties, and those outside Yemen who are leading this policy and action.”

O’Brien said suspected cholera cases have been reported in nearly all the country’s districts and at least 1,740 people have already died.

The $2.1bn humanitarian appeal for Yemen is only 33 percent funded, and the response to the cholera epidemic requires an additional $250m, of which just $47m has been received, he said.

“This cholera scandal is entirely man-made by the conflicting parties and those beyond Yemen’s borders who are leading, supplying, fighting and perpetuating the fear and fighting,” O’Brien said.

On Tuesday, the International Committee of the Red Cross reported that suspected cholera cases have now surpassed 300,000.

The lack of access to clean drinking water has contributed to the cholera epidemic in Yemen [AP]

Restarting talks

Yemen has been engulfed in civil war since September 2014, when Houthi rebels swept into the capital, Sanaa, and overthrew the internationally recognised government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

In March 2015, a Saudi-led coalition, which is supporting the Hadi government, began a campaign against Houthi forces allied with ousted President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Cholera infects 300,000 people in Yemen

Since then, the Houthis have been dislodged from most of the south, but remain in control of Sanaa and much of the north.

In the southern part of the country the United Arab Emirates, which is part of the Saudi-led coalition, has set up its own security forces, running virtually a state-within-a-state and heightening the south’s independence movement.

Cheikh Ahmed said he plans to invite the parties to restart discussions “as soon as possible” on agreements he proposed several months ago.

The proposal calls for continuing the flow of commercial and humanitarian supplies through the Red Sea port of Hodeida, where there has been a threat of fighting, and ending the diversion of customs revenues and taxes.

Those funds would be used to pay the salaries of government workers who have not been paid for many months and to preserve essential government services in all areas of the country.

Cheikh Ahmed also said the Hadi government “has reacted positively and has agreed to negotiate” on the basis of his proposals.

He said China played “an instrumental role” over the past few days in putting him in direct contact with the Houthis, who had refused to meet him on his last trip to Sanaa. He said this is “cause for optimism.”

 

Source: Al Jazeera and news agencies

The reason Abu Bakr used strong words about a pagan deity

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By Funsho Animashaun @ knowislam.com.ng

 

 بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم الحمد لله وحده و الصلاة و السلام على من لا نبي بعده و على آله و أصحابه أجمعين

Abu Bakr responded to the representative of pagans of Makkah with strong wording. Missionary critics of Islam like Sam Shamoun and David Wood ignore the context and use it to convey that Muslims attacked religious beliefs of others for no reason. Here is a detailed exclusive response to the misleading propaganda. Yes, Abu Bakr did say what is reported but he was perfectly justified in doing so.

 

1- Introduction 

Sam Shamoun, the well-known Islamophobe, wrote a long article in which he expressed concern about Muslims’ condemnation of Pagans. This individual has been trying to make an issue of a reply of the Prophet’s companion Abu Bakr -may Allah bless them both- to Urwah bin Mas’ud when he represented the Pagans on the eve of the Truce of Hudaybiya.

Sam and his friends quote part of a longer narration from History of al-Tabari. As it appears on their pages, it reads:

“Then ‘Urwah said: “Muhammad, tell me: if you extirpate your tribesmen, have you ever heard of any of the Arabs who destroyed his own race before you? And if the contrary comes to pass, by God I see both prominent people and rabble who are likely to flee and leave you.” Abu Bakr said, “Go suck the clitoris of al-Lat!” – al-Lat was the idol of Thaqif, which they used to worship – “Would we flee and leave him?” … (The History of al-Tabari – The Victory of Islam, translated by Michael Fishbein [State University of New York Press (SUNY), Albany 1997], Volume VIII (8), p. 76; bold and underline emphasis ours)”[1]

David Wood quotes the same and says:

“Notice that Abu Bakr responds to Urwah’s reasonable comment with an extraordinarily offensive insult against Urwah’s religious beliefs.”[2]

2- Background 

In the sixth year after Hijra the Holy Prophet -peace and blessings of Allah be upon him- along with some 1400 companions, left for Makkah to perform the lesser pilgrimage (Umrah) to the Holy Ka’ba. The Muslims reached close to Makkah and camped at a place called Hudaybiya. While Muslims stayed there, a series of events took place and a number of emissaries of the people of Makkah came to the Holy Prophet. Urwah too came and assuming that Prophet had actually come to make a fight, he said:

“O Muhammad! Won’t you feel any scruple in extirpating your relations? Have you ever heard of anyone amongst the Arabs extirpating his relatives before you? On the other hand, if the reverse should happen, (nobody will aid you, for) by Allah, I do not see (with you) dignified people, but people from various tribes who would run away leaving you alone.”[3]

Hearing this Abu Bakr – May Allah be pleased with him- could not contain his anger and said:

امصص ببظر اللات، أنحن نفر عنه وندعه؟

Muhsin Khan (whose translation of Sahih Bukhari is widely used) renders it as:

“Abu Bakr abused him and said, ‘Do you say we would run and leave the Prophet alone?’”[4]

Ustadha Aisha Bewley puts it as:

“Suck al-Lat’s nipples! Would we flee from him and desert him!”[5]

Alfred Guillaume translated it likewise in his translation of Sirat Ibn Ishaq:

“Suck al-Lat’s nipples! Should we desert him?”[6]

Others who translated it literally have put it somewhat differently; Michael Fishbein in his translation of the relevant section of History of al-Tabari gives it as:

Go suck the clitoris of al-Lat! (…) Would we flee and leave him?”[7]

  1. The Point Explained

As evident, missionaries assert, the first part of Abu Bakr’s reply was actually an insult to the religion Urwah then professed. David Wood even goes on to say that this was a response to a rather “reasonable comment”[8] of Urwah.

Before looking at the implication of Urwah’s words and their merit as trigger for Abu Bakr’s flamboyant response, let’s first make a literary analysis of Abu Bakr’s words.

3.1 A proverb

The words that are literally translated as ‘suck the clitoris of so and so’ are actually a proverb. Edward William Lane writes:

(أمصص بظر فلانة): a prov. of the Arabs. (TA.)[9]

Al-‘Ayni (d. 855 A.H.) writes;

وقال ابن التين: هي كلمة تقولها العرب عند الذم والمشاتمة، لكن تقول: بظر أمه، واستعار أبو بكر، رضي الله تعالى عنه، ذلك في اللات لتعظيمهم إياها

“And Ibn al-Teen said: This is the phrase Arabs use for condemnation and vilification, but they say: ‘Clitoris of his mother’. And Abu Bakr used it with reference al-Lat due to their [i.e. pagans’] respect for her.”[10]

We shall see the meaning of the shift from the regular use of the idiom in the contextual explanation and a related example in the following lines.

3.2 Contextual Explanation- What Trigged this Response?

It might be easy for David Wood to see Urwah’s remarks that invited Abu Bakr’s response as “reasonable”; however, a diligent student of history would have no choice but to strongly differ with him. On this point one needs to understand Abu Bakr’s position before making an assessment.

Muslims came out of Madinah without any intention for war and therefore without any preparation. However, the pagans of Makkah decided not to let the Muslims enter the city and venerate the Holy Ka’ba. When the Muslims set on this journey, they received disturbing news about the plans of the Quraysh of Makkah. It was for this reason that the Prophet – peace and blessings of Allah be upon him- had to take an unconventional route so as to ensure that he could reach the holy precincts of Makkah and proceed with the rituals.[11]

 

Yet the Pagans were not ready to give Muslims an easy passage to the holy sanctuary, and being unarmed they were in a vulnerable state. The severity of the situation can further be known by the fact that later, when some incidents lead to the pledge under the tree (i.e. Bayt al-Ridwan), the attendees were promised abundant reward and blessings. This was only proportional to the danger Muslims were then exposed to in that particular condition of being unarmed and unprotected in a hostile territory.

In this backdrop, basing his argument on a baseless assumption of Muslims coming to Makkah with hostile designs, Urwah actually threatened the Muslims. He did not just stop at that; he even went on to attribute cowardice and infidelity to the Prophet’s companions. This was more than just a mere comment. It was an attempt to make the Prophet feel skeptical of his companions. It was, therefore, natural for the companions to take exception to it and respond with strong words. The Qur’an in Surah 8:15-16 defines fleeing from an encounter with enemies as a major sin. Further, deserting a prophet in person was even more serious. Therefore, any suggestion to it was a direct attack on the persons and beliefs of the noble companions of the Holy Prophet –may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon them all.

In this context, it is easy to understand why Abu Bakr verbally attacked Urwah, using the name of his deity. He was actually telling him that a believer in a pagan deity should have never have misgivings about the faithful companions of the Prophet – peace and blessings of Allah be upon him-, whose conviction rested on the belief in the All-Powerful One True God.

With reference to a classical scholar Ibn Hajr points to rhetoric significance of these words.

وقال بن المنير في قول أبي بكر تخسيس للعدو وتكذيبهم وتعريض بإلزامهم من قولهم إن اللات بنت الله تعالى الله عن ذلك علوا كبيرا بأنها لو كانت بنتا لكان لها ما يكون للإناث

“Ibn al-Munir said, in the words of Abu Bakr there is condemnation and rejection of the adversaries and a response to their allegation that al-Lat is the daughter of Allah –Allah is exalted above this- for if it were a daughter [of Allah] it would have what the females do.”[12]

  1. More on the usage of these words

With reference to Lane’s lexicon we have seen that the words used are actually a proverb of the Arabs used for condemnation and to express one’s strong reaction.

Here are a couple of examples that help us understand the true sense of these words.

Ibn Abd Rabbih (d. 328 A.H.) writes;

ومن أعزّ الناس نفسا وأشرفهم همما: الأنصار، وهم الأوس والخزرج ابنا قيلة، لم يؤدّوا إتاوة قطّ في الجاهلية إلى أحد من الملوك، وكتب إليهم تبّع يدعوهم إلى طاعته ويتوعّدهم إن لم يفعلوا؛ فكتبوا إليه:

العبد تبّع كم يروم قتالنا … ومكانه بالمنزل المتذلّل

إنّا أناس لا ينام بأرضنا … عض الرسول ببظر أمّ المرسل

فغزاهم تبّع أبو كرب، فكانوا يقاتلونه نهارا ويخرجون إليه القرى ليلا، فتذمّم من قتالهم ورحل عنهم.

“Al-Ansar were among the most high-spirited and honorable people, and they were descendants of al-Aws and al-Khazraj, the sons of Qayla. They never paid tribute to any king in the Jahiliyya. [King] Tubba’ wrote to them, calling upon them to obey him and threatening them if they did not. They wrote back to him saying:

How eagerly the slave, Tubba’, yearns to fight us!

Yet his place is ever a home of ignominy.

We are a people in whose land no [enemy] dares sleep.

May the messenger bite the clitoris of the sender’s mother.

So Tubba’ Abu Karib attacked them, and they used to fight him by day and send him a guest’s meal by night. He finally got weary of fighting them and left.[13]

This is a good parallel to what is at hand. The context is almost the same related to sovereignty and chivalry. When an Arab’s chivalry is put to doubt by someone he lashes out with these words at the one who does it.

Also note another point of comparison; that messenger from King Tubba asked the Ansar to subdue to an alien authority so they used the proverb making the mother of the sender the object, “May the messenger bite the clitoris of the sender’s mother.” Likewise, when Urwah attacked the belief of the companions by making an attempt to cast aspersions on their fidelity to the Prophet – peace and blessings of Allah be upon him- and their chivalry at a certain stage in the long religious conflict, Abu Bakr responded by bringing in his deity for whose sake he and his people were troubling the Muslims. 

.
In fact, the proverbial phrase is not meant as real abuse. It is a way to strongly condemn or point out to worthlessness of something. Consider the following line by renowned classical Arabic literary critic, Ibn Rashiq al-Qayrawani (d. 463 A.H.);

إن الشعراء ثلاثة: شاعر، وشويعر، و ماص بظر أمه

Literally it would be translated as:

“Verily the poets are of three categories: An excellent poet, an ordinary poet and the one who bites the clitoris of his mother.”[14]

The meaning here is that the third category is of third-class poets who produce valueless work in literary terms. This is the ultimate proof that original sense of the words is not meant as an obscene comment, but it is an expression used for forceful condemnation.

‘Amr bin Bahr al-Jahiz (d. 255 A.H.) referring to this narration, along with a few more, says;

وإنما وُضعت هذه الألفاظ ليستعملها أهل اللغة، ولو كان الرأي ألاّ يُلفظ بها ما كان لأوّلِ كونها معنىً، ولكان في التَّحريم والصَّون للُغة العرب أن تُرفع هذه الأسماء والألفاظ منها.

وقد أصاب كلَّ الصَّواب من قال: “لكلِّ مقامٍ مقال”

“These words were created to be used by all Arabic-speaking people, and to hold that they ought never to be uttered would be to make nonsense of their creation; in that case it would be more logical and better for the purity of the Arabic language if these words were to be withdrawn from it. Verily he uttered the total truth who said, ‘Every single audience and situation has a talk to it.’”[15]

This indeed is the truth; every audience has a talk to it! In this given situation Abu Bakr -may Allah be pleased with him- felt absolutely justified in using the words we have shown with reference to Arabic literature to be nothing but a tool for expressing contempt. Urwah, at that time a Pagan, attacked Abu Bakr and received a befitting response.

  1. Summary and Conclusion

1- It was Urwah who first hurt the religious feelings of Abu Bakr and other Muslims. Therefore, anyone learning of the incident cannot reasonably object to Abu Bakr’s words, who represented Muslims in this reaction- may Allah be pleased with him.

2- Abu Bakr used a well-known and then current Arabic proverb that was used for condemnation in different contexts. When used in general description or ordinary personal disagreements, it was related to addressee’s mother (cf. Ibn Rashiq)

When, for instance, the people of Madinah used it speaking about a messenger of a man who wanted them to submit to his authority they made a reference to sender’s mother as it had to be a female anyway. (cf. Ibn ‘Abd Rabbih)

When used in a religious context to respond to an attack by a believer in idols, a goddess became the object of the scorn invited by one of its devotees. This scorn even had rhetoric against the false belief.

3- ‘Urwa practically asked for and got a befitting response.

by Waqar Akbar Cheema

[1] Sam Shamoun, Muhammad the Antagonist still!, Answering-Islam.org. Accessed April 25, 2013. http://www.answering-islam.org/authors/shamoun/rebuttals/zawadi/mo_antagonizer.html

[2] David Wood, Why do Muslims get to Insult Other Religions?, Answeringmuslims.com, 2010.

Accessed April 25, 2013. http://www.answeringmuslims.com/2010/05/why-do-muslims-get-to-insult-other.html

[3] Muhammad  al-Bukhari, Sahih Bukhari, trans. Muhsin Khan

[4]Muhammad al-Bukhari, Sahih Bukhari, Book 50, Hadith 891

[5] Muhammad al-Bukhari, Sahih Bukhari, Book of Conditions, Chapter 15, Hadith 2581-, trans. Aisha Bewley. Sunnipath.com. Accessed on May 3, 2013

[6]Alfred Guillaume, The Life of Muhammad, A Translation of Ibn Ishaq’s Sirat Rasul Allah (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997), 502

Note that in Sirat Ibn Hisham, the original wording for the second part of the sentence is slightly different.

[7]The History of al-Tabari – The Victory of Islam, trans. Michael Fishbein, (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1997) Volume 8, 76

[8] Wood, Why do Muslims get to Insult Other Religions?

[9]Arabic-English Lexicon, Book 1, 222

[10] Al- ‘Ayni, Badr al-Din, Umdat al-Qari (Beirut: Dar al-Ahya al-Turath al-‘Arabi), Vol.14, 10

[11]Guillaume, The Life of Muhammad, A Translation of Ibn Ishaq’s Sirat Rasul Allah, 500-501

[12]ibn Hajr, Fath al-Bari, Vol.5, 340

[13] Ibn Abd Rabbih, Al-‘Iqd al-Farid– The Unique Necklace, trans. Issa J. Boullata (Reading, Garnet Publishing, 2009) Vol. 2, 54

[14] Hasan Ibn Rashiq Al-Qayrawani, Al-Umdah fi Mahasin al-Shi’r wa Adabihi (Beirut: Dar al-Jeel, 1981) Vol.2, 116

[15] Amr Bin Bahr Al-Jahiz, Rasa’il al-Jahiz (Risalah: Mufakhara al-Jawari wal Ghilman), (Cairo: Maktaba al-Khaniji, 1964) Vol.2, 93

[16] ICRAA.org

Palestinians hope UN ruling will improve life in hebron

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West Bank residents welcome decision to recognise Hebron’s Old City as World Heritage Site.

The city of Hebron is home to more than 200,000 Palestinians [Nigel Wilson/Al Jazeera]

Hebron, occupied West Bank – Abed Abu Eisha was watching the news on Friday evening when he learned that the United Nations’ cultural arm had recognised his home city, the Old City of Hebron, as a Palestinian World Heritage Site.

The next afternoon, perched on a chair outside a clothing store on the edge of the Old City, the 22-year-old broke into a broad grin as he discussed the historic decision.

“Of course, I’m happy,” Abu Eisha said. “When you see your culture being recognised by the whole world, it means a lot.

“We are so small, a small people,” he added. “Nobody sees our lives or culture; nobody sees how we live here, so to have this global recognition is special.”

Hebron’s Old City includes an ancient holy site that Muslims refer to as the Ibrahimi Mosque and Jews call the Tomb of the Patriarchs. Believed to be the burial place of Abraham, the site has a special significance both for Jews and for Muslims, who constructed the mosque in the 14th century.

The Ibrahimi Mosque is one of the most tightly controlled locations in the Old City [Nigel Wilson/Al Jazeera]

 

The UNESCO ruling also placed Hebron’s Old City on the list of World Heritage Sites in danger, meaning that it will be eligible for extra funding and a UN team will be sent to evaluate it annually.

The largest city in the occupied West Bank, Hebron is home to more than 200,000 Palestinians. Its Old City is home to a few thousand Palestinians and also a few hundred religiously motivated Jewish settlers living under the protection of the Israeli military.

Palestinians who live, work or worship in the Old City face harsh conditions as a result of the Israeli military presence, including restrictions on freedom of movement and harassment by settlers.

The Ibrahimi Mosque is one of the most tightly controlled locations in the Old City, with Israeli military checkpoints installed throughout the area. The building itself was partitioned by Israel into a mosque and synagogue in the mid-1990s after the Jewish settler Baruch Goldstein shot dead 29 Palestinians during prayers at the mosque.

Today, there are separate entrances for Jews and Muslims, each guarded by a cluster of Israeli soldiers, who inquire about visitors’ religions and prevent Muslims or Jews from visiting each other’s half of the building.

 

On a street adjacent to the holy site, Khaled Mohammed’s ceramics business is located between two Israeli military checkpoints. He told Al Jazeera that his father had moved to the building in 1964, three years before the Israeli military occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Khaled Mohammed paints a ceramic dish at his family’s pottery workshop in Hebron’s Old City [Nigel Wilson/Al Jazeera]

 

“Business is bad in Hebron,” he said, pointing to a row of long-shuttered shops on the street. “I’m happy with the UNESCO heritage decision. Will it change anything? I’m not so sure. Since when did Israel listen to the UN? They don’t care.

“But it’s good – I feel like it is recognition for us,” he added hopefully. “Maybe with the UNESCO decision – just maybe – more tourists will come to visit the city.”

Twelve states on UNESCO’s World Heritage committee voted in favour of the Palestinian proposal to name the city a heritage site, while three countries voted against the move and six abstained. The proposal was accepted despite intense lobbying from Israel and the United States to prevent the resolution from passing.

Israel reacted furiously to the decision and announced it would cut $1m in funding to the UN that would be diverted to Israeli cultural projects in Hebron. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it “another delusional decision by UNESCO” and charged that by naming it a Palestinian heritage site, UNESCO had denied Jewish ties to the site.

Imad Mohammed uses a potting wheel to create small vessels that will later be glazed and hand-painted, a traditional Hebronite craft [Nigel Wilson/Al Jazeera]

 

In a statement accompanying the decision, UNESCO noted that the Ibrahimi Mosque compound was “built in the first century CE to protect the tombs of the patriarch Abraham/Ibrahim and his family. This place has become a site of pilgrimage for the three monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.”

Alaa Shahin, who led the team behind the Palestinian submission, told Al Jazeera that “the Ibrahimi Mosque is universally important, not just for Palestinians”.

“Palestinians believe that our mission is to preserve it,” he said. “We are happy to have this responsibility to preserve human culture on our land.”

Shahin said the resolution was necessary to preserve Hebron’s Old City, where Israeli military control has led to the closure of more than 500 shops and the installation of dozens of blockades that restrict freedom of movement.

“It is affecting the quality of life, economic life, the ability to provide public services and it is affecting our ability to preserve heritage,” he added. “Now, UNESCO is our partner in having responsibility to preserve the Old City. We hope they will be active on the ground to remove the checkpoints, to open the closed shops and the closed roads.”

The Old City market is home to makers of traditional food and crafts. Here, two Hebronites prepare boxes of Turkish delight for sale in the market [Nigel Wilson/Al Jazeera]

 

Sourcece: Al Jazeera

Was Mahdi to appear after the year 1200 A.H.?

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By: Funsho Animashaun @ knowislam.com.ng

Failing to come up with any positive argument in favor of countless claims of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani, Ahmadis resort to raise issues that prove nothing. In fact a deep look invariably proves their being a cult.

They use a narration from Sunan Ibn Majah to contend that Mahdi was to appear after the year 1200 A.H. and the point they try to make is that MGAQ was Mahdi as he was born after the year 1200 A.H.

Let’s have a look at the narration and its merits.

The Narration:

عن أبي قتادة قال قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم الآيات بعد المائتين

Abu Qatada narrates that the Holy Prophet (PBUH) said: “Signs will appear after two hundred years.” (Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 4057)

Authenticity of this narration:

Ahmadis will be in a haste to tell us that Hakim in his Mustadrak (H. 8437) quoted this narration and said,‘This narration is Sahih on the standards of Bukhari and Muslim.’

But the fact is, to anyone who knows the science of classification of Ahadith and their narrators it is clear that Al-Hakim was too lax in his approach and many times authenticated weak narrations.

Al-Sakhawi, recognized as Mujaddid by Ahmadis, has said the same about Al-Hakim. See Al-‘ilan bi l-Taubih li man zamm al-Tarikh p. 168. Also see Abdul Hayy Lakhnawi’s Al-Rafa wal Takmil 1/291

Dr. G.F. Haddad has briefly given the opinions of scholars about his leniency HERE.

Al-Dhahbi:

The most prominent scholar to comment about the narrations of Hakim’s Mustadrak is Imam al-Dhahbi. He writes in his comment to this narration:

أحسبه موضوعا

“I deem it to be Mawdhu i.e. fabricated. (See Mustadrak Al-Hakim ma’ Taliqat al-Dhahbi fil Takhlis, Hadith 8319)

Al-Bukhari:

Imam Bukhari also criticized this narration. He said;

هذا حديث منكر

“This is a rejected narration.” (Faidh Al-Qadir 3/206 Hadith 3029)

Ibn Jawzi:

Ibn Jawzi writes in his al-Mawdhu’at 3/198

هذا حديث موضوع على رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم

“This Hadith is fabricated [and ascribed] to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him.”

Ibn Jawzi has been recognized as Mujaddid by Ahmadis.

Ibn Kathir:

Hafiz Suyuti writes in his commentary to Sunan Ibn Majah;

قَالَ بن كثير هَذَا الحَدِيث لَا يَصح

“Ibn Kathir said this Hadith is not Sahih.” (Sharah Sunan Ibn Majah 1/294)

Al-‘Ajluni:

Al-‘Ajluni in his Kashaf al-Khafa writes:

باب ظهور الآيات بعد المائتين لم يثبت فيه شئ

“Chapter on the appearance of signs after two hundred years: There is nothing proved in it.” (Kashaf al-Khafa 2/423)

Others early scholars:

Al-Manawi in his Taysir bi-Sharah al-Jami’ al-Saghir writes;

صَححهُ الْحَاكِم فأنكروا عَلَيْهِ وَقَالُوا واه جدا بل قيل بِوَضْعِهِ

“Hakim authenticated it, while many have rejected it and called it extremely absurd. Nay! They spoke of its being fabricated.” (Taysir bi-Sharah al-Jami’ al-Saghir 1/420)

Albani:

Among recent scholars Shaykh Nasiruddin Albani has classified it as Mawdhu’ (fabricated) in his Sahih wa Da’if Sunan Ibn Majah (H. 4057) and Silsala Ahadith Da’ifa wa Mawdhu’a (H. 1966)

What does the Hadith mean?

Having clarified the actual value of this narration, let’s analyze its text;

1- Is Mahdi mentioned in this narration?

Can you, the reader, please find any reference to Mahdi in this narration? You can find it only if you are a die-hard, closed-eyed and brain-locked Ahmadi.

2- Mulla Ali Qari’s commentary:

Actually Ahmadis base their whole case on the commentary, rather a part of Mulla Ali Qari’s commentary to this, otherwise, false narration. He writes;

” بَعْدَ الْمِائَتَيْنِ ” أَيْ: مِنَ الْهِجْرَةِ، أَوْ مِنْ دَوْلَةِ الْإِسْلَامِ، أَوْ مِنْ وَفَاتِهِ – عَلَيْهِ الصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ – وَيُحْتَمَلُ أَنْ يَكُونَ اللَّامُ فِي الْمِائَتَيْنِ لِلْعَهْدِ، أَيْ: بَعْدَ الْمِائَتَيْنِ بَعْدَ الْأَلْفِ، وَهُوَ وَقْتُ ظُهُورِ الْمَهْدِيِّ، وَخُرُوجِ الدَّجَّالِ، وَنُزُولِ عِيسَى – عَلَيْهِ الصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ

‘After two hundred years’ i.e. :

1) From Hijrah.

2) Or from [establishment of] the Islamic state.

3) Or from the death of the Prophet –on whom be peace and blessings.

4) And it is possible that the article ‘al’ (equivalent to ‘the’) in ‘al-mi’atayn’ makes it a reference to a period of time. That is to say: [it means] two hundred years after the millennium and that is the time of appearance of Mahdi, and that of Dajjal and descent of ‘Eisa –on whom be the peace and blessings.’ (Mirqaat Al-Mafatih Sharah Mishkat Al-Masabih 8/3446 Hadith 5460 Broken down for understanding by the author of this post)

Firstly this commentary shows that Mulla Ali Qari believed Mahdi and Eisa (RA) to be two different fellows. This goes directly in contrast to Ahmadiyya religion’s dogma. If this has to be made the basis of a whole theory, why not accept it in full?

Concerning the issue at hand, he gives four possibilities in his opinion and one of them is picked up by Ahmadiyya and their faith hinges on it. Mulla Ali Qari, though a great scholar, is no evidence when it comes to his conjecture. Ahmadiyya are only aboard the ship of his conjecture sailing in the wild ocean. But this cannot lead them to any destination for the anchor to port this ship, i.e. the narration commented to, is a hoax. So Ahmadiyya please wake up and do not be eager to get drowned!

3- Imam Bukhari’s comments:

هذا حديث منكر. لقد مضى مائتان ولم يكن من الآيات شئ

“This is a rejected narration. Verily two hundred years have passed and nothing of the signs has appeared.” (Faidh Al-Qadir 3/206 Hadith 3029)

4- Hafiz Ibn Kathir’s saying:

Hafiz Suyuti writes:

وَقَالَ بن كثير هَذَا الحَدِيث لَا يَصح وَلَو صَحَّ فَمَحْمُول على مَا وَقع فِي الْفِتْنَة بِسَبَب القَوْل بِخلق الْقُرْآن للامام أَحْمد بن حَنْبَل وَأَصْحَابه من أَئِمَّة الحَدِيث

“Ibn Kathir said this Hadith is not Sahih and [even] if it Sahih it would be taken as a reference to the tribulation caused by the word about Qur’an being a creation at the time of Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal and his companions from amongst the scholars of Hadith.” (Sharah Sunan Ibn Majah 1/294)

This seems quite reasonable if at all the narration is to be accepted.

Conclusion:

Ahmadiyya have absolutely no evidence for their claim. The Hadith does not even mention Mahdi, nor does it ask to count two hundred years after the millennium. To run to races with one of the four possibilities according to one single scholar suits only a cult. Ahmadiyya do it while their own ‘prophet’ had said that such statements are no evidence. Not to forget that the same statement of Mulla Ali Qari rejects Ahmadi belief of Mahdi and ‘Eisa (AS) being the same.

And before Ahmadis built their whole case on just a single possibility mentioned by a single scholar they ought to read the following statement of their ‘prophet’;

“Having been put to shame, our opponents resort to the excuse that their elders have said like that only. They do not realize that those elders were not innocent. Infact just as the Jewish elders fell into error concerning prophecies so did they.” (Zamimam Braheen Ahmadiyya part 5 p. 124 included in Rohani Khazain vol. 21 p. 290)

In wake of all of the above mentioned facts, I wonder if it suits Ahmadiyya to use the narration and statement of Mulla Ali Qari for any reason.

Is there not among you a single man of reason?

Source:  ICRAA.org .

 

Afghan girls robostic team given US Visa after outrage

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Girls whose visa applications were twice rejected finally given green light to travel to international robotics contest

Members of the Afghan robotics girls team twice travelled 800 kilometres in vain to the US embassy to apply for visas [Mohammad Shoib/Reuters]
Members of the Afghan robotics girls team twice travelled 800 kilometres in vain to the US embassy to apply for visas [Mohammad Shoib/Reuters]

US officials have decided to allow a group of Afghan girls – whose visa applications had been twice rejected – to travel to the country and participate in an international robotics competition, ending a saga that had sparked international backlash.

Homeland Security Department spokesman David Lapan said the US Citizenship and Immigration Services approved a State Department request for six girls from the war-torn country to be allowed in, along with their chaperone, so they can participate in the competition.

The non-profit organising the competition celebrated the reversal in a statement on Wednesday.

“I truly believe our greatest power is the power to convene nations, to bring people together in the pursuit of a common goal and prove that our similarities greatly outweigh our differences,” said Joe Sestak, the president of First Global.

 

He credited “the professional leadership of the US State Department” for ensuring that all 163 teams from 157 countries, including a team of Syrian refugees, would be able to participate.

The US State Department had declined to comment on why the Afghan team’s visa applications were initially denied, saying that “all visa applications are adjudicated on a case-by-case basis in accordance with US law.”

A senior administration official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that Trump raised the issue with his national security adviser, HR General McMaster, during his trip to Germany last week for the Group of 20 summit, and had asked for additional options.

Without the reversal, the girls would have had to watch via video link from their hometown in western Afghanistan.

‘We want to show the world our talents’

The girls wanted to show the world that Afghans could also construct a hand-made robot and they had been deeply disappointed by the initial rejections.

Afghan girls defy challenges to attend school

“When we heard that we were rejected we lost hope,” said 14-year-old Sumaya Farooqi, according to the AP news agency. “We applied again for the US visa and we were rejected again.”

Farooqi and her teammates faced seemingly insurmountable obstacles to even get to a point where they could seek permission to attend. It took them six months to prepare, often working seven days a week, as they constructed a robot that sorts balls, has the ability to recognise orange and blue colors, and can move objects to put them in their correct places.

In an interview with Al Jazeera before the turnaround, team member Rodaba Noori said: “We wanted to show our talents to the world so they would know that we do have skills.”

The girls traveled from their homes in Herat, making the 800-kilometre (500-mile) journey to the US Embassy in Kabul twice because their applications were denied the first time.

“Afghanistan is a country at war and doesn’t have a lot of resources at hand,” team member Fatima Qadari told Al Jazeera. “Other countries should consider this, they shouldn’t be so strict with us.”

Afghanistan has faced a series of large-scale attacks as the Taliban stepped up its war against the Kabul government in this year’s summer offensive.

In addition, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group affiliate in Afghanistan has tried to increase its footprint with attacks in urban areas.

Afghanistan is not part of Trump’s order to temporarily ban travel from six Muslim-majority countries. Teams from Syria, Iran and Sudan – which are on that list – were granted visas to compete. Members of the team from The Gambia were also granted visas after initially being denied.

Source: Al Jazeera and news agencies

Misgoded Reading : Continuation of the contd.

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Continued from here 

… gnostic theosophy, the schism between the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches and, later still, the eruption
of the Protestant Reformation in the sixteenth century. From the metaphysical seeds planted by Martin Luther, John Calvin, the Anabaptists and the Anglican reformers, a myriad theologies grew, persisting to the present day in such a plethora of sects as to require religious encyclopedias to catalog the variants.
With such tremendous diversity, how should the term Christianity be defined? If used to identify those who claim to adhere to the teachings of Jesus Christ, then Muslims deserve inclusion. If used to define any specific system of beliefs in order to ideologically separate Christianity from Islam, these same tenets of faith divide the world of
Christianity itself.
Hence, any attempt to define a term of such uncertain origin and meaning, and
one that has defied definition by billions of people over two thousand years, would seem futile at this point.
Consequently, for the purposes of this book, the term Christian is applied in the colloquial sense of the word, to all who identify with the label, whatever
the beliefs of their particular Christian sect may be.

Reading continues tomorrow, In shaa Allah. Subscribe to our free email alerts and newsletter or send your email address to [email protected].

Knowislam.com.ng : Know Islam, Know paradise

 

 

 

… Telling the Muslim story

 

Misgoded reading (Christianity continued)

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Previous reading here 

 

Hence, the world of Christianity has been divided since the time of Jesus. History
chronicles an initial two hundred years, during which the disciples and their followers split from Paul and his divergent theology. This early period is crucial to an understanding of Christianity, for one can reasonably expect the purity of Christology
(doctrines of Christ) and Christian creed to have been best represented among those closest to the teachings of Jesus.
However, our knowledge of this period is vague, with disappointingly little verifiable information surviving to the present day. What is clear is that opinions differed wildly. Some early Christians believed God manifested His message on earth through inspiration, others through incarnation. Some believed the message was conveyed through direct transmission and interpretation by the prophet himself, others spoke of spiritual enlightenment, as claimed by Paul.
 Some followed the Old Testament Law taught by Jesus; others negated the laws in favor of Paul’s “Justification by Faith.” Some (such as the disciples) believed God’s law was to be interpreted literally. Others (such as Paul) felt the law was to be interpreted allegorically.  Whether or not the apostles ever agreed upon a creed is unclear.
 What is commonly known as the Apostles’ Creed is not, in fact, the creed of the apostles, but rather a baptismal formula that evolved over an indefinite period. Encyclopaedia Britannica states that the Apostles’ Creed “did not achieve its present form until quite late; just how late is a matter of controversy.”
 So how late is “quite late”? According to
Ehrman, the Apostles’ Creed was derived from credal formulas conceived in the fourth century. That dates its origin, at the very earliest, three hundred years from the time of the apostles, and many would say considerably later.
Just as different understandings of Christology evolved over centuries, so too has the creed of Christianity remained in debate to the present day. Some seek answers in the New Testament and early Christian documents; others question the integrity of the New Testament in the first place—a discussion deferred to the final chapters of this book.
From these murky origins, the third century saw the many and varied Unitarian schools thrown into conflict with the newly conceived Trinitarian formula. This came to a head when Emperor Constantine sought to unify his empire under one Christian theology,
and imperially summoned the Council of Nicaea, the First Ecumenical Council, in 325 CE.
Convened to address the Unitarian theology of Arius, a prominent priest of
Alexandria, seven ecumenical councils followed in well­spaced sequence over the next six centuries. A further thirteen councils (considered ecumenical by the Roman Catholic Church, but not by the Orthodox) followed, the most recent being the Second Vatican Council of 1962­65, to make a total of twenty­one. And yet, debate continues to rage over
issues which have failed to achieve unanimous acceptance.
Hence, Trinitarian theology has not only been at odds with Unitarian theology for
the past two millennia, but has roused contentious debate among its own constituents. Historically, the greatest upheavals came in the form of… Click here to continue reading 

UK refuses to publish report on 'funding of extremism'

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Home Secretary cites “national security reasons” for decision, but critics say it is trying to protect Saudi Arabia.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd says most common source of support for ‘extremists’ was from within the UK [EPA]

The British government has announced that it would not publish in full its report on the sources of “funding of extremism” in Britain, prompting opposition charges it was trying to protect its ally Saudi Arabia.

British Home Secretary Amber Rudd said on Wednesday that though some “extremist organisations” were receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars, she had decided against publishing the review in full.

“This is because of the volume of personal information it contains and for national security reasons,” she said in a written statement to parliament.

READ MORE: Report says Saudis are leading backers of ‘extremism’ in UK

The report, commissioned by former Prime Minister David Cameron in November 2015, was handed to the government last year, and ministers have been under pressure to release its findings following three deadly attacks in Britain since March, which have been blamed on violent armed groups.

The review found the most common source of support for these organisations was from small, anonymous donations from people based in Britain, Rudd said.

But it also found overseas funding was a significant source of income for a small number of organisations.

“Overseas support has allowed individuals to study at institutions that teach deeply conservative forms of Islam and provide highly socially conservative literature and preachers to the UK’s Islamic institutions,” Rudd’s statement said.

“Some of these individuals have since become of extremist concern.”

Critics were quick to see a cover-up to shield Saudi Arabia, a powerful Gulf ally of Britain.

A separate report published in June said Saudi Arabia spent at least $87bn over the past 50 years to promote extremism [EPA]

‘Saudi money’

MP Caroline Lucas, coleader of the Green Party who has been pressing the government to release the full report, said the statement from Rudd was unacceptable.

“The statement gives absolutely no clue as to which countries foreign funding for extremism originates from – leaving the government open to further allegations of refusing to expose the role of Saudi Arabian money in terrorism in the UK,” she said.

On July 5, a report by the Henry Jackson Society think-tank said Saudis are the leading backers of “extremism” in the UK.

“While entities from across the Gulf and Iran have been guilty of advancing extremism, those in Saudi Arabia are undoubtedly at the top of the list,” Tom Wilson, a fellow at the Henry Jackson Society, said in the report.

According to the report, Saudi Arabia operates several large charities that fund education involved with their ideologies worldwide, including in Britain, spending at least $87bn on the programmes over the past 50 years.

Saudi Arabia denounced that report as “categorically false”.

After an attack on London Bridge in June, which killed at least seven people, opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn also said Britain needed to have “some difficult conversations” with its ally Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states.

Source: Al Jazeera and news agencies

Jesus Christ Appears in Ikorodu!!! (photos)

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By Funsho Animashaun @ knowislam.com.ng
I wonder what this world is leading to. I wonder why our Nigerian Christians are beginning to be so gullible like their South African counterparts. Has the church gone this bad? Why are our Christian brothers not reading their Bibles anymore?  Have they turned a blind eye to this prophesy:

Acts 1:10-11

10 And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;

11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.

An image of ‘Jesus Christ’ on the wall of Holy Ghost Fire Apostolic Church located at Ogunse Estate in Ikorodu, Lagos has attracted a lot of residents in the area.
According to reports, the alleged silhouette of Jesus Christ appeared after a heavy rainfall on Saturday and it has invited at least 400 worshippers daily since then.

 

Residents can be seen kneeling down and ‘praying to Jesus’ in the photos below.

 

Ex Christian narrates how he found Islam (Contd.)

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Continued from here

 

 

……removed along with a number of
other verses that immediately preceded and succeeded it.

 

As for Luke 24:51, the words
“carried up into heaven” were removed.

 

In Matthew 16:27-28, we read ” For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with his angels and then He will reward each according to his works. Assuredly, I say to you there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in his Kingdom”.

 

As this prophecy (Matthew 16:27-28) never came true, it can only be concluded that it was a fabrication ascribed to Jesus Christ who was a true prophet of God and whose prophecy cannot be
mistaken.

 

Concerning the alleged crucifixion events, Matthew 27:44 says “Even the robbers who were crucified with him reviled him with the same thing.” Here the two thieves are mentioned as acting together.

However, Luke 23:39-40 states “Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed him saying
If you are the Christ, save yourself and us. But the other answering rebuked him saying, Do you
not even fear God, seeing you under the same condemnation?”

 

In the latter example, the two thieves are not acting together rather they are in opposition tobeach other.

Changes, alterations and contradictions are found not only in New Testament but also in the Old
Testament.

 

For examples;

 

*Ahaziah was twenty two years old when be became king (2 Kings 8:26)

*Ahaziah was fourty two years when he becane king
(2 Chronicle 22:2).

 

**Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king and reigned in Jerusalem three months (2 King 24:8)

**Jehoiachin was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months
and ten days (2 Chronicles 36:9)

 

***Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death (2 Samuel 6:23)

***So the King took Amoni and Mephibosheth, the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah whom she bore to Saul whom she brought up for Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathithe. (2 Samuel 21:8)

 

In the New Standard American Version of 1973, the name Michal as in 2 Samuel 21:8 which appears in
both KJV and NWT was replaced by Mirab to conceal the contradiction.

Addressing the issue of seeing God as stated in both the Old and New Testaments;

John 1:18 tells us “No one has seen God at any time”. This is also confirmed by 1 John 4:12.

 

However, Genesis 32:30 tells a different story

“And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: For I have seen God FACE to FACE and my life is
preserved”.

Strangely enough, this is also confirmed by Exodus 33:11, which says “So the Lord spoke to Moses
FACE to FACE as as a man speaks to his friend.

 

Islam’s position relative to the Bible is one of fairness and unbiased judgement. It views the Bible
as clearly a book that contains some truth and that some falsehood has tainted it’s noble origin.

 

The Islamic criteria for distinguishing truth from falsehood are the Quran and the Sunnah of
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

In simple terms, whatever contents of the Bible that are in agreement with the Quran and the Sunnah are acceptable and whatever statements contradicts them is rejected.

 

As for the original scriptures that God revealed to his prophets, Abraham, Moses, David, Jesus (Peace be upon them) among others, a Muslim must have
firm belief in them as doing so is among the pillars of faith; otherwise, He is not considered a Muslim.

 

 

Written by Johnson Abdulazeez Ayomide @ knowislam.com.ng

 

 

Credit : newslinee.com

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