Things in Islam I am curious about...

[Sunnih]

Would Islam say that the norms of a society are the standards by which that society is to be judge if that society does not possess the Qur'an? Or by what standards does one determine that which is and is not morally acceptable in a society that does not yet have the Qur'an available to it?

(Obviously I am not talking about 21st Century western cultures, as they have the Qur'an available to them even if they subscribe to something else.)

With regards to morals and what is acceptable and what is not, there is a common denominator in all three major religions (Jewdaism, Christianity and Islam). All these accept as moral that which has been ordered to perform, allowed to perform or encouraged to perform. Be this of the request to perform such as be just, be truthful....etc, or of the abandonment nature such as do not steal, do not cheat....etc.

So in this respect, not only Islam but all the three religions share such points. So the standard of behaviour comes from God. When Islam came, it did not demolish these universal values, rather it refined and perfected them (from a muslims point of view). This is testified by the Qur'anic verses:

"If only the people of the Book had believed and been righteous We should indeed have blotted out their iniquities and admitted them to gardens of Bliss.

If only they had stood fast by the Law the Gospel and all the revelation that was sent to them from their Lord they would have enjoyed happiness from every side. There is from among them a party on the right course; but many of them follow a course that is evil.

O Apostle! proclaim the (Message) which hath been sent to thee from thy Lord. If thou didst not thou wouldst not have fulfilled and proclaimed His mission: and Allah will defend thee from men (who mean mischief). For Allah guideth not those who reject faith.

Say: "O People of the Book! ye have no ground to stand upon unless ye stand fast by the Law the Gospel and all the revelation that has come to you from your Lord." It is the revelation that cometh to thee from thy Lord that increaseth in most of them their obstinate rebellion and blasphemy. But sorrow thou not over (these) people without Faith.

Lo! those who believe, and those who are Jews, and Sabaeans, and Christians whosoever believeth in Allah and the Last Day and doeth right there shall no fear come upon them neither shall they grieve" (5:65-69)

So in these verses there is clarification that what was required by the nations before islam was that they abided by God's message. Now just like the Jews are criticised for not following the Gospel (Injeel-not the new testament), so the Christians are criticised too for not following the Qur'an. However, even though the Jews had the Torah (Tawrat) and the Christians had the Gospel (Injeel) they did not abide by it's commands (again in muslim prospective) and had they abided by them they would have been in the right path just like some of them who died before islam came about and followed their scriptures justly, their faith is not denied.

So for those societies that existed before islam the criterion is their book upon the original teachings of their prophets. After the comming of islam then we say: "O people of the Book! come to common terms as between us and you: that we worship none but Allah; that we associate no partners with Him; that we erect not from among ourselves Lords and patrons other than Allah." If then they turn back say: "Bear witness that we (at least) are Muslims (bowing to Allah's will)." (3:64)

In general this is what I believe and there are also other points and arguments but I think that this is enough.

 

[Muslim Woman]

Salaam/peace


cooloonka: i am wondering if there is anywhere in the quran or hadith that speaks about incest, homoesxuality, sodomy, and petophilia.


---few related verses :


The Women [4.23]

Forbidden to you are your mothers and your daughters and your sisters

and your paternal aunts and your maternal aunts and brothers' daughters and sisters' daughters

and your mothers that have suckled you and your foster-sisters and mothers of your wives and your step-daughters who are in your guardianship,


(born) of your wives to whom you have gone in, but if you have not gone in to them, there is no blame on you (in marrying them),


and the wives of your sons who are of your own loins and that you should have two sisters together, except what has already passed;

surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.


Holy Quran 7:80-81

We also (sent) Lut: he said to his people:

"Do ye commit lewdness such as no people in creation (ever) committed before you? "

For ye practice your lusts on men in preference to women: ye are indeed a people transgressing beyond bounds." -



"Of all the creatures in the world will ye approach males". "And leave those whom Allah has created for you to be your mates?

Nay ye are a people transgressing (all limits)!" -


Holy Quran 26:165-166

in islam does a husband have to consumte a marriage in order for it to be valid?

--to my knowledge , No.

To get married , it's a must that both parties ( not only man ) agree/ give consent in front of 2 adult Muslim men
( preferably in front of father , grandpa, uncle & other guardian ) & mohr should be given to bride.

If divorce takes place , then there is a differences on how much bride would get from husband ? Depends on if they spent time privately or not. So , to make the marriage valid , it's not compulsory to stay together in private.


Al-Mahr (The Dowry)


The Noble Qur'an 4:4

And give to the women (whom you marry) their Mahr (obligatory bridal money given by the husband to his wife at the time of marriage) with a good heart,


but if they, of their own good pleasure, remit any part of it to you, take it, and enjoy it without fear of any harm (as Allâh has made it lawful).

 

[Kashnowe]

So if he had died right after the first revelation, i don't think he could have narrated the whole history of the children of Israeel, the lives of all the Prophets, the aspects of the Day of Judgement, paradise and hellfire etc.

i was hinting at the idea that maybe mohammed spoke with the old man before gabriel visited him and they had just chatted it up a bunch of times.

i'm guessing there might have been many times in mohammed's life where he heard some about jews and christians............just guessing

anyhow thanks for the replies. very informative

 

[Kashnowe]

To get married , it's a must that both parties ( not only man ) agree/ give consent in front of 2 adult Muslim men
( preferably in front of father , grandpa, uncle & other guardian ) & mohr should be given to bride.

so how are arranged marriages justified? i work with many egyptians here in the us and 3 of them . and they have pictures of their 'promised wives' and they tell me that their families arrange marriages over there. they have no choice. in fact all three of them flirt around here with american girls and t ry to date them . they try rather hard. they don't want to go home to marry these women, one guy told me he would rather live in america and fall in love and risk never seeing his family again than go back home and marry the women he is arranged to marry.....

puzzling

 

[Muslim Woman]

Salaam/peace

Would Islam say that the norms of a society are the standards by which that society is to be judge if that society does not possess the Qur'an? ......

God informed us in holy Quran that He sent warner to all nations. So , it's clear that always there was a list of Do's & Don'ts .


Surely We have sent you with the truth as a bearer of good news and a warner; and there is not a people but a warner has gone among them

[35.24]

 

[Muslim Woman]

Salaam/peace

so how are arranged marriages justified? ...

--dating is not allowed in Islam. So ,normally parent look for suitable persons for their sons/daugheres....why it's not justified ?

Of Course , parent must not force anyone to give consent. Normally parent collect info about the would be son/dauther -in-law , talk to their parent , they arraange a meeting where boy & the girl can see & talk to each other ( in presence of a relative ) etc ,etc.


If everything goes well ,then the marriage ceremony takes place. A boy & a girl is allowed under Islamic rule that no , i won't get married here & no one is supposed to force him/her.
It's unfortunate that parent sometimes force kids to listen to them.


A related fatwa:

The Limit of What can be seen of the Woman Whom One Seeks to Marry


Sheikh Ibn Baz, May Allah have Mercy on him


Question: If a young man proposes marriage to a young lady is it obligatory that he sees her?


Also, is it correct that the young lady uncover her head to show more of her beauty to her proposing fiance? Please benefit us and may Allaah benefit you.



Answer: There is no harm (in the man seeing her), however it is not obligatory.



Rather, it is recommended that he sees her and she sees him, because the Prophet (Sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam) commanded the one who proposed marriage to look at the woman.



This is because that is better for causing agreement and harmony between them. So if she uncovers her face for him, and her hands and her head, there is no harm in that according to the correct opinion.


Some of the people of knowledge have said that it is sufficient for her to uncover the face and the two hands. However, the correct opinion is that there is no harm in him seeing her head, face, hands and feet, based upon the mentioned hadeeth (above).


However, this is not permissible with him being alone with her. Rather, her father, or brother, or someone else must be with them.



This is because the Prophet (Sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam) said, "A man must never be alone with a woman unless there is someone who is a Mahram with them."

(Agreed upon in Saheeh Al-Bukhaaree and Saheeh Muslim.)


He (Sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam) also said, "A man must never be alone with a woman, for verily the Satan is their third."


(At-Tirmithee and Ahmad)


Source: Sheikh ibn Baz, Al-Fataawaa ash-Shar'iyyah fil-Masaa'il il-'Asriyyah min Fataawaa 'Ulamaa' il-Balad il-Haraam, pp. 498-499. Translated by Aqeel Walker


http://muttaqun.com/marriage.html

one guy told me he would rather live in america and fall in love and risk never seeing his family again than go back home and marry the women he is arranged to marry.....

----good for that Muslim girl who's parent have arranged her marriage with this boy without collecting correct info about him.

Insha Allah , she will be blessed with a pious man in future.


pl. tell ur Egypian friends that no one will punish them in USA for breaking Islamic laws but they must not forget about the life hereafter.

puzzling

yes , puzzlinng....how some Muslims go to USA & forget about Islam.

In a Muslim majority country , we usually don't shake hand with opposite sex . I heard that what some Muslim boys learn after going to west that how to date with western girls as if it's ok to do so when u r not in ur own country or parents are not around. LOL

 

[Kashnowe]

for a muslim woman who decides to cover her head, does she remove the cover at home with her family? does she sleep with it?

it is permissible for her to remove it when in the company of only girl friends?

 

[Kashnowe]

are there people today that can trace their ancestry back to mohammed.

i'm pretty sure the answer is yes so where are they? are they just normal folks for the msot part? are their families known or revered by muslim people today? wherre do they live?

any info along those lines would be appreciated.

thanks

 

[Woodrow]

are there people today that can trace their ancestry back to mohammed.

i'm pretty sure the answer is yes so where are they? are they just normal folks for the msot part? are their families known or revered by muslim people today? wherre do they live?

any info along those lines would be appreciated.

thanks

They have no special status and are not sought out for any particular reason. Muhammad(PBUH) was simply a man and his progeny are no diffferent than any one else.


From what I see it would actually be a disadvantage to be descended from the Prophet(PBUH)


Volumn 008, Book 080, Hadith Number 718.
-----------------------------------------
Narated By 'Aisha : Fatima and Al 'Abbas came to Abu Bakr, seeking their share from the property of Allah's Apostle and at that time, they were asking for their land at Fadak and their share from Khaibar. Abu Bakr said to them, " I have heard from Allah's Apostle saying, 'Our property cannot be inherited, and whatever we leave is to be spent in charity, but the family of Muhammad may take their provisions from this property." Abu Bakr added, "By Allah, I will not leave the procedure I saw Allah's Apostle following during his lifetime concerning this property." Therefore Fatima left Abu Bakr and did not speak to him till she died.


Volumn 008, Book 080, Hadith Number 719.
-----------------------------------------
Narated By 'Aisha : The Prophet said, "Our (Apostles') property should not be inherited, and whatever we leave, is to be spent in charity."


Volumn 008, Book 080, Hadith Number 720.
-----------------------------------------
Narated By Malik bin Aus : I went and entered upon 'Umar, his doorman, Yarfa came saying 'Uthman, 'Abdur-Rahman, Az-Zubair and Sa'd are asking your permission (to see you). May I admit them? 'Umar said, 'Yes.' So he admitted them Then he came again and said, 'May I admit 'Ali and 'Abbas?' He said, 'Yes.' 'Abbas said, 'O, chief of the believers! Judge between me and this man (Ali). 'Umar said, 'I beseech you by Allah by Whose permission both the heaven and the earth exist, do you know that Allah's Apostle said, 'Our (the Apostles') property will not be inherited, and whatever we leave (after our death) is to be spent in charity?' And by that Allah's Apostle meant himself.' The group said, '(No doubt), he said so.' 'Umar then faced 'Ali and 'Abbas and said, 'Do you both know that Allah's Apostle said that?' They replied, '(No doubt), he said so.' 'Umar said, 'So let me talk to you about this matter. Allah favored His Apostle with something of this Fai' (i.e. booty won by the Muslims at war without fighting) which He did not give to anybody else.

 

[Malaikah]

for a muslim woman who decides to cover her head, does she remove the cover at home with her family? does she sleep with it?

it is permissible for her to remove it when in the company of only girl friends?

We actually wear it because we don't have hair.

That was a joke lol (but hey, a friend of mine actually thought that;D).

Basically we only have to cover up in front of men who are not close relatives. The blood relatives we don't have to cover up in front of include our fathers, brothers, sons, sons-in-law, uncles, grandfathers, nephews, grandchildren... (I think that is all... someone correct me if I missed one thing please).

The non-blood relatives we don't have to cover in front of are our husbands, father in law and young boys below the age of puberty.

We must cover up in front of all other men.

So, based on that you should be easily able to figure out when we do and don't have to cover up. To answer your questions, no we don't have to wear it at home if it only the men mentioned above who are present. No, we don't wear it while we are sleeping (assuming that there are no strange men sharing you bedroom:rollseyes ), and yes we can take it off in front of our girl friends provided that there isn't any chance that a male who isn't allowed to see us uncovered comes in.

Surah an-Nur verse 31 reads:

And say to the faithful women to lower their gazes, and to guard their private parts, and not to display their beauty except what is apparent of it, and to extend their headcoverings (khimars) to cover their bosoms, and not to display their beauty except to their husbands, or their fathers, or their husband's fathers, or their sons, or their husband's sons, or their brothers, or their brothers' sons, or their sisters' sons, or their womenfolk, or what their right hands rule (slaves), or the followers from the men who do not feel sexual desire, or the small children to whom the nakedness of women is not apparent, and not to strike their feet (on the ground) so as to make known what they hide of their adornments. And turn in repentance to God together, O you the faithful, in order that you are successful.​

Surah al-Ahzab verse 59 reads:

O Prophet! Say to your wives and your daughters and the women of the faithful to draw their outergarments (jilbabs) close around them; that is better that they will be recognized and not annoyed. And God is ever Forgiving, Gentle.​

Hope that helped!

 

[Muslim Woman]

Salaam/peace

are there people today that can trace their ancestry back to mohammed.

i'm pretty sure the answer is yes so where are they? are they just normal folks for the msot part? are their families known or revered by muslim people today? wherre do they live?

any info along those lines would be appreciated.

thanks

In my country , many people use the family title as Syed & they claim that somehow they are related to the Last Prophet (p) by blood relation.

It's something like that his/her great , great , great grandpa or grand ma came from Saudi or married to a Saudi family who was a relative of the Prophet (p).

Yes , they are very proud of it ....so proud that sometimes don't accept marriage proposal who are not Syed. They think , their status is higher than others & marriage should take place between equal status people.

Some use titles like Sheikh , Kazi , Choudhury ---represent those whose great grandpa came from SA or was a judge or Lord etc . Some of them also believe that their status is high than other ordinary people.....u may say that it's ignorance of some Muslims.

 

[- Qatada -]

i was hinting at the idea that maybe mohammed spoke with the old man before gabriel visited him and they had just chatted it up a bunch of times.

i'm guessing there might have been many times in mohammed's life where he heard some about jews and christians............just guessing

anyhow thanks for the replies. very informative

I understand, but again - we have to bring forward evidence for that. I.e. i can state that Jesus son of Mary fought with the sword against the children of Israel and even the Byzantinian Romans, but none of these claims are useful or worthy of any weight unless brought forward with evidences.

Small details and incidents which occured in the life of God's final Messenger, Muhammad (peace be upon him) were recorded, i.e. even when he was small and how he would sit with his grandfather and play. Or how he was the most honest man, and the trustworthy. If he ever lied in his life - the ones (his clan - the Quraysh) who tried to disapprove him at his time would be the first people to accuse him of lying, yet they never, and they were the harshest in persecuting his followers while knowing that he's never lied within his life.


If events like this were recorded, i'm sure the meetings with Waraqa ibn Nawfal would also be recorded. If you were to say that this may have happened yet it wasn't recorded, then we have to reflect on other events which happened in the life of God's Messenger, and how they are still preserved till today i.e. the evil slander against his wife Aa'isha (may Allaah be pleased with her) etc. If situations like this are recorded, then i can easily say that events which involve meetings with others would easily be recorded also.


Therefore to clarify your position, you'll have to bring forth evidence.




Regards.

 

[- Qatada -]

so how are arranged marriages justified? i work with many egyptians here in the us and 3 of them . and they have pictures of their 'promised wives' and they tell me that their families arrange marriages over there. they have no choice. in fact all three of them flirt around here with american girls and t ry to date them . they try rather hard. they don't want to go home to marry these women, one guy told me he would rather live in america and fall in love and risk never seeing his family again than go back home and marry the women he is arranged to marry.....

puzzling

Praise be to Allaah.


It is not permissible for a woman to be made to marry someone she does not want. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “A previously-married woman should not be married without being consulted, and a virgin should not be married without asking her permission.” They said, “O Messenger of Allaah, how is her permission given?” He said, “By her silence.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, 6455).


‘Aa’ishah reported that a girl came to her and said, “My father married me to his brother’s son in order to raise his social standing, and I did not want this marriage [I was forced into it].” ‘Aa’ishah said, “Sit here until the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) comes. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) came and she told him about the girl. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) sent for her father, then he gave the girl the choice of what to do. She said, “O Messenger of Allaah, I have accepted what my father did, but I wanted to prove something to other women.” (Reported by al-Nisaa’i, 3217).


So, both the guardian and the woman must agree to the marriage.


Islam Q&A
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid

http://islamqa.com/index.php?ref=4602&ln=eng


Similarly, males and females can't be forced into a marriage. That is a practise of the times of ignorance [before Islaam.]




​

 

[- Qatada -]

are there people today that can trace their ancestry back to mohammed.

i'm pretty sure the answer is yes so where are they? are they just normal folks for the msot part? are their families known or revered by muslim people today? wherre do they live?

any info along those lines would be appreciated.

thanks

The Prophets do not leave behind any wealth for inheritance, we know this because Prophet Dawud [David] never left any wealth for Prophet Sulaiman [Solomon] - yet the kingdom still remained among them.

The Prophets leave behind knowledge, and the scholars (people of knowledge) are the inheritors of the Prophets, since they acquire knowledge which the Prophets left behind.


We know from the hadith which Woodrow mentioned, the daughter of God's Messenger, Fatima never had any share of the property which her father had left behind. And when she asked why, the companion of God's Messenger, Abu Bakr explained the Prophetic saying that the Prophets do not leave behind any wealth (it goes to charity), but rather they leave behind knowledge from which the believers can benefit.


We know that the lineage of Fatima (may Allah be pleased with her) daughter of Muhammad (peace be upon him) still continues on till today and they can be anywhere in the world, we respect them and we respect the believers, we honor them, and we honor the believers. No-one is greater than others unless it is through Taqwa.

O mankind! We have created you from a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know one another. Verily, the most honourable of you with Allâh is that (believer) who has At-Taqwa [i.e. one of the Muttaqûn (pious - see V.2:2). Verily, Allâh is All-Knowing, All-Aware.

[Qur'an 49:13]


[SIZE=-1]Taqwa: piety, "God-consciousness." Taqwa involves constant awareness and remembrance of Allah, and conscious efforts to adhere to His commandments and abstain from whatever He has forbidden.


[/SIZE]​

And Allaah Almighty knows best.



Regards.

 

[Kashnowe]

cool. thanks for the relpies.

 

[Grace Seeker]

We actually wear it because we don't have hair.

And here I thought it was just vanity on account of a "bad hair" day. ;D

Basically we only have to cover up in front of men who are not close relatives. The blood relatives we don't have to cover up in front of include our fathers, brothers, uncles, grandfathers, nephews... (I think that is all... someone correct me if I missed one thing please).

The non-blood relatives we don't have to cover in front of are our husbands, father in law and young boys below the age of puberty.

We must cover up in front of all other men.

How about adult sons? Grandsons? Great-grandfathers? Sons-in-law?



The quote you provded also mentioned slaves. Would that still apply? Would it translate to servants today?

 

[Grace Seeker]

يَا زَكَرِيَّا إِنَّا نُبَشِّرُكَ بِغُلَامٍ اسْمُهُ يَحْيَى لَمْ نَجْعَل لَّهُ مِن قَبْلُ سَمِيًّا {7}​

[Pickthal 19:7] (It was said unto him): O Zachariah! Lo! We bring thee tidings of a son whose name is John; we have given the same name to none before (him).

I understand this to refer to John, the son of Zachariah in the New Testament, also known as John the Baptist. Am I also to understand this to be a declaration in the Qur'an that no one had ever been named "John" prior to this point in time?

 

[- Qatada -]

Hey Grace Seeker.


You can read about the Story of the People of the Ditch from the tafsir/explanation here insha Allaah [God willing]:


The Oppression of the People of the Ditch against the Muslims Concerning

The Story of the Sorcerer, the Monk, the Boy and Those Who were forced to enter the Ditch

The Punishment of the People of the Ditch

The Reward of the Righteous, and the Harsh Seizing of the Disbelieving Enemies of Allah

adult sons? Grandsons? Great-grandfathers? Sons-in-law?

They are mahrams (people one can't marry) so i don't think it applies to them. And Allaah knows best.


About John, i think it's referring to the name Yahya. Which may not have been given to anyone before. And Allaah knows best.



Peace.

 

[Muslim Woman]

Salaam/peace

How about adult sons? Grandsons? Great-grandfathers? Sons-in-law?

--no .....covering hair is not a must infront of those with whom marriage is prohibited ; but a modest dress is required i.e. loose dress preferably with a shawl / dupatta/ warna.

The quote you provded also mentioned slaves. Would that still apply? Would it translate to servants today?

no , no ,no. Today's maid servants are paid workers .....they are not war prisoners or somethinkg like that. They are free to go to anywhere , any time .

 

[Kashnowe]

can someone please tell me where the prophet elijah is spoken about in the quran?