The Contribution of Atheists to Moral Philosophy and the Practice of Morality

By Naseer Ahmed, New Age Islam 6 March 2023 --------------------------------------------------------------------- Al-Fârâbî Even Cast Doubts On The Character Of Revealed Religions And Opines That The Prophets And The Revealed Religions Articulate The Same Insights That Philosophers Express In Their Teachings. The Prophets Simply Use The Method Of Symbolization To Make This Wisdom More Approachable To Ordinary People. In His Opinion, Therefore, The Prophets Were Philosophers, Who Used The Framework Of Religion To Make Their Ideas Acceptable To The Common Man. --------------------------------------------------------------------- In my article: The Progression from Religious Morality to Secular Laws and the Danger of Regression of Religious Morality into Bestiality,, I have discussed the contribution of the moral philosophers in taking descriptive morality from religion and making it normative. They did this by taking into account empirical proof of the benefits to society from practising the moral code as a religious duty for thousands of years, and its importance in the survival and propagation of the species. They helped make descriptive morality become acceptable on a rational basis by explaining the underlying principle of every moral rule which then became the accepted norm on a rational basis. For example, the golden rule in every religion is the reciprocity rule, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Or “One should not treat others in ways that one would not like to be treated”. The atheist philosopher Immanuel Kant universalized it by rephrasing it as “act only in accordance with that maxim through which you can at the same time will that it become a universal law” and called it the supreme principle of morality. In lay terms, this simply means that if you do an action, then everyone else should also be able to do it. Many of these philosophers were atheists, and indeed their motivation stemmed from trying to make religion irrelevant. This is not some modern phenomenon but even the 11th-century Muslim philosophers and before that, the Greek philosophers were engaged in the same. Al-Fârâbî even cast doubts on the character of revealed religions and opines that the Prophets and the revealed religions articulate the same insights that philosophers express in their teachings. The prophets simply use the method of symbolization to make this wisdom more approachable to ordinary people. In his opinion, therefore, the Prophets were philosophers, who used the framework of religion to make their ideas acceptable to the common man. As De Bono would say, every valued creative idea has to necessarily be logical in hindsight. If it were not so, we would reject it as without value. As the creative idea is logical in hindsight, we are tempted to think that it should be equally accessible to logic in foresight. This need not be so. What chance does an ant on the trunk of a tree have of reaching a specified leaf? At every branch, the chances diminish. In an average tree, the chances are one in eight thousand. Now if we have an ant sitting on a leaf what are the chances of reaching the trunk of the tree? There is no forward branching in the journey so the chances are one hundred per cent. It is exactly the same with creative ideas. Once the idea has been reached then it is logical and obvious in hindsight. But reaching the idea is a different matter. De Bono’s argument covers the creative ideas of human beings which immediately appear logical in hindsight. Moral principles are not like that. They do not immediately become logical in hindsight but take a very long time of practising them for their benefits to become clear. Each principle is also counterintuitive as it is against the nature of man. It is a fact that no moral precept has come out of secular thinking and all moral precepts have come from only Religion. One just has to read the history of moral philosophy starting from 600 BCE to date and the works of every great moral philosopher to confirm this. Or one has simply to go through the arguments on any moral issue to understand how impossible it is to agree on anything to do with morality, left to ourselves. We cannot even agree on a definition of terrorism simply because any workable and reasonable definition makes every nation a state sponsor or supporter of terrorism. So, why is it that when almost everyone lies and cheats if the temptation is high and the probability of getting caught low, ill-treats and oppresses weaker people at least to the extent of bargaining with them their wages or price of the goods and services they sell, do not feel the same pain when people from among the “enemy” suffer a calamity, and yet nobody questions the simple moral rules of do not lie, cheat, oppress, or kill? Now you can imagine the difficulty the same people would have had accepting these same rules if the rules did not exist. So, how did these rules come to be accepted universally? That is the supreme achievement of religion. The basic moral rules from religion have permeated society and come to be known as the “natural law” and are equally accepted and followed by the theists and the atheists. The contribution of moral philosophers in making morality normative must be acknowledged as a great achievement of humans even though it may have been motivated by atheist tendencies. As far as moral tendencies and sensitivity are concerned, many atheists are superior to the majority of theists. Being rational in their approach, and with moral precepts learnt early in their childhood from their parents and environment which helped internalise these to become instinctive, they are less likely to be misled by religious bigots into bestiality. Great literature has contributed more to sensitizing us to human suffering, pain, oppression, discrimination based on colour, gender, social position etc. and in turn promoting moral behaviour than any religion. Many of the authors may have been morally sensitive atheists. Poets are known to be particularly sensitive to human suffering and pain and almost every Urdu poet is an atheist. However, atheism can cause a complete collapse of all moral values. Moral relativism is the small crack through which a wedge could be driven to bring down the moral edifice. The thesis that the truth or justification of moral judgments is not absolute, but relative to the moral standard of some person or group of persons is the proverbial wedge. Consider The Following Story from Jonathan Haidt’s Book ‘The Happiness Hypothesis’ “Julie and Mark are sister and brother. They are travelling together in France on summer vacation from college. One night they are staying alone in a cabin near the beach. They decide that it would be interesting and fun if they tried making love. At the very least, it would be a new experience for each of them. Julie is already taking birth control pills, but Mark uses a condom, too, just to be safe. They both enjoy making love but decide not to do it again. They keep that night as a special secret, which makes them feel even closer to each other.” Do you think it is acceptable for two consenting adults, who happen to be siblings, to make love? Haidt goes on to argue that there is no valid rational argument against it since Julie is unlikely to conceive, their relationship is likely to become closer, the act is kept secret, and they are unlikely to repeat it. Does not everything start in small and safe ways and eventually become an epidemic? The absolute law of morality or the categorical imperative, therefore, has value. Morality based on rational thinking cannot take us beyond acting out of the hypothetical imperative. The dangers of moral relativism are underestimated. Children outgrow their incestual and homosexual urges and are helped in no small way by the sexual mores of society and religion-based taboos surrounding incest and homosexuality. Remove these and we already see homosexuality becoming far too common. This is not because what was hidden earlier is now coming out into the open, but a case of many who otherwise may have reoriented themselves after experiencing the childhood urges, are now indulging in it as it is no longer considered immoral. It is a matter of time before incest becomes both common and acceptable. The population growth rate of the ‘developed world’ is below maintenance levels. With homosexuality and incest becoming common, it can reach dangerously low levels and societies can self-destruct. Moreover, without the social and religious taboo on incest, the home ceases to be a haven safe from sexual predators. The cases of psychological damage caused by sexual abuse of children and adolescents are far too serious and too many to allow us to be complacent. Philosopher Fredrick Nietzsche declared that God is dead. If God is dead, then morality is a matter of personal choice. The root of a person’s denial of God is often also the root of his moral depravity. It is far too uncomfortable for a morally depraved person to believe in God. It causes too much cognitive dissonance which is painful. What Has Psychology To Tell Us About Human Nature? Dan Baston at the University of Kansas devised a clever study to make people make moral choices unobserved, and his findings are that 90% of people are moral hypocrites and are unaware of it. They will cheat if they think that they can get away with it. My guess is that more than 99% fall in this category and some are simply less enterprising and need more time to feel comfortable enough in a new environment (such as provided by the test), to start cheating. Religion Based Morality Religion promotes absolute transcendental values. The relativity of values has led to vulgarity and obscenity, to the widespread use of alcohol and of drug addiction, to making homosexual relations common, and to the breaking down of barriers for incest. “Human dignity and the nobility of character are based upon permanence and stability in the moral order.” Atheists are oblivious to religion as the source of all original moral precepts which have shaped the notions of morality in their society and in themselves. Although there are outward signs of decline in religion, notions of morality derived from religion still govern the lives of people. Moral precepts and all great ideas are logical in hindsight. These ideas are therefore accepted by all. An atheist may reject religion but he will not reject good moral precepts irrespective of their origin. Because these ideas have become self-evident in hindsight, people tend to think that these ideas have always been there or are a result of human thinking. Moral precepts owe nothing to philosophy or literature although both have contributed handsomely to promoting religious morality. The earliest writers and philosophers have openly used religious language and symbolism. For example, Shakespeare while talking about the quality of mercy as an attribute of God Himself. Religion besides giving us transcendental moral values has inspired great art, literature, music and architecture and has undoubtedly been a great civilizing influence. It is also recognised that many of the great artists, writers, poets, musicians and architects may have been atheists acting under moral impulses while being oblivious to the source of all moral principles. Religion has undeniably had a civilizing influence on society and without it, we would have remained barbarians. The weakening of the influence of religion and of absolute moral values that go with it, and the growing trend of moral relativism, will lead us into an enlightened form of barbarianism but barbarianism nevertheless. Technology may help us with surveillance and to ensure compliance with manmade laws, but can it be a substitute for voluntary compliance with absolute ethical and moral values, to the inner peace and serenity that goes with it, and the higher meaning it gives to life? There is a good side to atheists which has contributed immensely to promoting moral values and there is a destructive part which is bent upon destroying the very foundations of morality. There is a good side to religion which make the sincere followers who are also sensitized by philosophy and great literature to be among the best and there are the unthinking bigots who have made immoral principles their religion and have become a threat to peace and harmony. Good people must learn to work together, and espouse good causes rather than be at loggerheads with each other. While atheists can excel in giving voice to the oppressed, it is only the theists who excel in the practice of morality simply because their threshold for resisting pain and suffering while espousing moral causes is far greater than that of atheists. This is because for them their values are absolute and not negotiable. The atheists are more pragmatic and have a point beyond which they will not go for their values. This is why it would be difficult to find among the atheists a counterpart to Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa or Martin Luther King. ----- A frequent contributor to NewAgeIslam.com, Naseer Ahmed is an Engineering graduate from IIT Kanpur and is an independent IT consultant after having served in both the Public and Private sector in responsible positions for over three decades. He has spent years studying Quran in-depth and made seminal contributions to its interpretation. URL: https://newageislam.com/interfaith-dialogue/atheists-moral-philosophy-practice-morality/d/129254 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism

Warbartan Blasphemy Killing In Pakistan: Ulema, Police and Media Pass It Off As A New Normal

By New Age Islam Staff Writer 6 March 2023 A Man Was Lynched For Alleged Desecration of the Quran In Warbartan, Pakistan Two Weeks Ago Main Points: 1. The Ulema condemned the killing. 2. Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif took 'serious note' of it. 3. The police has formed an inquiry committee to probe the incident. 4. The SHO has been suspended. 5. The media held debates on the incident and on blasphemy as usual. 6. 50 persons have been arrested. ------ A man gestures toward the house of Waris, a blasphemy suspect who was lunched by an angry mob, in Warburton, an area of district Nankana, Pakistan, Sunday, Feb. 12, 2023. | Photo Credit: AP ------ In Mid-February, another report of mob lynching of a person (a Muslim) for alleged desecration of the holy Quran came from a small town called Warbartan in the district of Nankana Saheb in Pakistan. The victim, Mohammad Waris, was dragged out of the local police station by an angry mob and beaten up badly by iron rods. Before lynching him, the mob stripped him naked. After his death, the mob tried to set him on fire. The allegation is that he desecrated the holy Quran. According to reports, the man was performing some objectionable act with the Quran with his former wife's photograph in his house. Someone secretly photographed the act and circulated it among the people of the locality. Soon the word of the desecration of the Quran spread in the area. Someone made the announcement of the incident from the loudspeaker of the mosque. The police arrived and took him to the police station. But an angry mob gathered at the police station and demanded the custody of the man. Inna short time, a huge mob gathered there and entered the room where the victim was lodged. The angry mob dragged the man out of the police station and stripped him naked. They beat him with sticks and iron rods till he died. After his death, the mob tried to set him on fire. The SHO and all the policemen fled from the police station. The man had not committed the alleged blasphemy in public but he was performing some magical acts on his former wife with the help of the Quran out of his ignorance. He was perhaps trying to harm his former wife who had left her or taken divorce. Such superstitious acts are common in Pakistan and India. Some people in Pakistan sit in open graves with Quran and recite it to invoke evil forces to harm their enemies or to get desired benefits. The intent is not to desecrate the Quran as they are Muslims. Mohammad Waris was probably also one of the ignorant people who used the Quran to invoke evil forces against his former wife. And he was doing this inside his home. But some 'peeping Tom' secretly photographed him, violating the injunction of the Quran itself. In fact, the person who photographed or filmed the act secretly committed blasphemy by violating the injunction of the Quran that asks Muslims not to spy on others. Doing so is a grave sin. In Pakistan, desecrating the Quran or blasphemy against the prophet pbuh is an unpardonable crime. This is the narrative that has been propagated so widely that once a person is blamed for such act is not given any opportunity to give clarification or show repentance or remorse. Once blasphemy has been committed cannot be undone and the only punishment is death on the spot. According to this narrative, the police, the judiciary and the laws of the country apply only on all other issues except blasphemy. Once blasphemy is reported, the people will decide the fate of the accused. The police has to leave the scene. In the video of the mob gathered at the police station, some people are seen in skull caps and turbans. It shows that along with hooligans, people with religious affiliations were also present there. The accused was killed in a ghastly manner. He was first dragged out of the police station and then and stripped before being lynched. Acording to the police, the accused had been booked under a similar charge and had been released from jail after two years. After the lynching, the state of Pakistan reacted in a routine way. The Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif said the culprits should be dealt with an iron hand. According to a TV channel anchor, the Ulema condemned the lynching. The police arrested 50 people and an inquiry committee was formed. However, the TV channel did not elaborate on the grounds of condemnation by the Ulema. Did they condemn the lynching because they do not believe in death for blasphemy? Or did they condemn it because the mob stripped the man before lynching? Or did they condemn it because they only prescribed ' Sar Tan Se Juda ' (slitting the throat) punishment for blasphemy? The fact is that this routine condemnation is a hogwash. In Pakistan, almost all the sects of Sunni Muslims unanimously believe that even a Muslim can be punished for blasphemy. And the only punishment for blasphemy is death. So why did they condemn it? The social and political analysts and some liberal clerics also differ on the trend of mob lynching in Pakistan. Tahir Malik says that religion has nothing to do with mob lynching. He cites the statistics of a certain survey of Pakistanis which shows that 75 per cent of Pakistanis suffer from depression and psychological disorders. People do not lynch only persons accused of blasphemy, they lynch men and boys acused of theft also. He cited a couple of examples in support of his argument. But a renowned televangelist Engineer Mohammad Ali Mirza disagrees. He is of the opinion that religious fanaticism is the root cause of the mob violence over blasphemy. He also says that the condemnation by the Ulema is only a sham. They use ambiguous words while condemning such incidents. He says that those who condemn such incidents only prepare such boys with violent ideology. Tahir Malik and Engineer Mohammad Ali Mirza both are correct from different perspectives. The culture of mob violence is common in Pakistan. In the past hungry men have been lynched by the mob for stealing food from shops. Punishing a thief is not the responsibility of the people. Once a man was lynched by the mob because he had snatched a pizza from a man who had just come out of the pizza shop with a pizza in hand. The snatcher was hungry for two days. But the mob lynched him instead of defending him or arranging food for him. A boy who was accused of stealing food from a shop was beaten and paraded in the market though the boy denied stealing. His father arrived on the scene and freed him. But the boy said to his parents that now the people would call him a thief all his life. Next day he was found dead in the nearby river. So once the mob culture was promoted, it can be used for religious issues as well. Mullahs announce from the loudspeakers that a man has committed blasphemy and the mob sets out to kill someone and get rewards in the Hereafter. Engineer Mohammad Ali Mirza said that the only solution of the mob violence in the name of blasphemy is formulating a counter- narrative on blasphemy. The law should take its own course but the problem here is that even if the accused is acquitted from the court, he is killed extra-judicially. He said that in any blasphemy case, all the judicial processes should be followed and people do not have any right to punish an individual, whatever be the crime. But unfortunately, such sane voices are rare in today’s Pakistan. URL: https://newageislam.com/muslims-islamophobia/warbartan-blasphemy-pakistan-ulema-/d/129253 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism

Dr Ellis Silver's Book "Humans are Not from Earth" Is Utter Garbage!

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 6 March 2023 I'm afraid the article 'Humans Are Not from Earth: The Brilliant Scientific Research of American Ecologist Dr Ellis Silver Supports the Fact Mentioned In the Quran' on NAI website is the most puerile and unscientific piece I've read thus far. I'm not criticising the writer who has written it. I'm criticising Dr Eliis Silver's book which has been discarded by all evolutionary biologists and scientists across the world. An average devout Muslim with no scientific temperament may like this book because it indirectly endorses what the Quran says. But any rational Muslim with even a scintilla of scientific approach and bent of mind will pooh pooh this book that hit the stands a decade ago and its second edition was brought out in 2017. The author of this book seems to have been influenced by the Swiss author Erich von Daniken's outlandish claims of aliens, space and extra-terrestrial life on other planets. Daniken once claimed that gods were aliens from far away planets which were already advanced when our world was in its nascent stage. Dr Silver has also made bizarre claims. You can drive a coach and horses through the author's arguments. ----------------------------------------------- Also Read: Al-Insan or The Man ----------------------------------------------- "Just a cursory application of high school level science will debunk his claims. Probably the most obvious is our genetic blueprint. We share at least 96% of our DNA sequence with chimpanzees and only marginally less with other primates. To call on chronic backache as evidence of alien descent is just rank idiocy. His whole theory is at the level of maturity and knowledge of a 14 year old. Dr Siver’s book is full of pseudoscience and wrong scientific information and fallacies! This goes from low back pain that is due to human being bipedal and not because of too much gravity! Large human new-born being the cause of new-born death? Where is the statistics to say that? In fact, full term foetus skull bones are not fused and extremely malleable. Even animals get back arthritis! So, why don't Lizards get sunburn? They are coldblooded and will die staying under the sun too long. Their core body temperature goes up and they die! Mars' complete rotation is 24 hours and 37 minutes, not much different from earth! There are no scientific references in the book to back his made up story! There was the discovery of Nucleotides on comets, not on Mars and there is a big difference between nucleotides and life! It’s unfortunate that some people can be so uninformed and gullible to believe his sci-Fi like, almost delusional writings! Utterly unscientific. How could one test that claim empirically? If humans were "brought to earth" then so were all the primate species related to humans. How likely is that "? (Courtesy, Journal of Scientific Studies, NY, 2019). Just because a majority of Muslims believe that Adam and Eve were put on earth from Allah and Adam was banished from Bahisht or Paradise (remember, ' Baagh-e-Bahisht Se Mujhe Hukm-e-Safar Diya Tha Kyon....' Allama Iqbal), the author's claim of humans descending from other planets must be a Gospel truth! This is a ridiculous conceit (a far-fetched idea). Remember, you've every right to believe in all sorts of stupidity but stop when it becomes moronic and morbid. ------- A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including Persian. URL: https://newageislam.com/books-documents/ellis-silver-humans-earth-/d/129252 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism

The Enigmatic Verses of the Quran

By Naseer Ahmed, New Age Islam 4 March 2023 The Quran Consists Of Verses That Are Muhkamat And Verses That Are Mutashabihat. Muhkamat is from the triliteral root Ḥā Kāf Mīm (ح ك م). The judge passes Hukum or judges and makes judicial pronouncements. Hukum is also an order that must be obeyed. Muhkamat verses are therefore verses that lay down the law which must be obeyed and by which our conduct will be judged in the Hereafter. These verses are the foundation of the Book. Such verses of necessity have clear established meanings so that there is no excuse for not following them in letter and spirit. Mutashabihat is from the triliteral root Shīn Bā Hā (ش ب ه). Tashabaha means similitude, or allegorical. Shabahat means likeness. Mutashabihat verses are other than the Muhkamat verses. These are about the realities of our Universe both Unseen and the Seen. Describing them using the vocabulary of the 7th century has limitations and even otherwise, words do not ever fully convey their meanings. The words used therefore must be taken as approximations of reality or as allegorical. Important concepts are however fully defined in the Quran through multiple verses such as the meaning of “Nafs”, “Taqwa”, “Kafir”, “Islam”, “Muslim” etc. To the extent the people in the 7th century had accurate knowledge of things covered by the Mutashabihat verses, there was no debate about them and easy agreement on their meaning. There are however many verses that were enigmatic because the people lacked the necessary knowledge to understand these. They debated in the absence of knowledge. When people cannot make sense of the clear literal meaning, they speculate on what they think must be the “hidden meanings” and created discord. This is why Allah warns them with: (3:7) He it is Who has sent down to thee the Book: In it are verses basic or fundamental (of established meaning); they are the foundation of the Book: others are allegorical. But those in whose hearts is perversity follow the part thereof that is allegorical, seeking discord, and searching for its hidden meanings, but no one knows its hidden meanings except Allah. And those who are firmly grounded in knowledge say: "We believe in the Book; the whole of it is from our Lord:" and none will grasp the Message except men of understanding. Clearly, therefore, there were many enigmatic verses that were beyond the understanding of the people in the past. Their correct literal meaning was never in doubt but because these did not make sense, people interpreted them in terms of their defective knowledge and erred. These verses are however not there without a purpose and their meanings unfold as we gain the knowledge required to comprehend their meaning. This is the miraculous nature of the Quran that it continues to be a fresh revelation even for the people in our times if they sincerely seek the truth. This is a means through which Allah strengthens the faith of His sincere devotees and makes way for new thinking to replace the old for a fresh renewal of His religion. For those in whose hearts is a disease, it will add doubt to their doubt, and they will die in a state of Unbelief. (9:124) Whenever there cometh down a sura, some of them say: "Which of you has had His faith increased by it?" Yea, those who believe,- their faith is increased and they do rejoice. (125) But those in whose hearts is a disease,- it will add doubt to their doubt, and they will die in a state of Unbelief. A clear sign of an enigmatic verse is that it is heavily interpreted in several ways and yet leaves us dissatisfied with a feeling that there is something missing in our understanding, that just does not add up to its literal meaning. Verse 76:1 is one such verse. Its clear literal meaning is: “Has there not passed over mankind a very long period of time in Dahr, when he was a thing not worth mentioning?” Now let us examine how different Mufassarin have interpreted its meaning. 1. Shia website Al-Islam.org The question is asked, “Has there not been over man a long period of time when he was a thing not worth mentioning?” The answer, undoubtedly, is in the affirmative. a) For a long time, the tiny essential particles of his being were scattered in different places. They could have been in the soil, among the tiny droplets of water in the seas, or in the atmosphere. In fact, each of these three environments was so vast that the particles were lost within them and were so small as not to be worthy of mention. Some commentators believe that the term b) 'man', in the first verse, refers to 'Adam' and that 'man', in the second verse, indicates 'mankind' as a whole. However, this seems to be a contradiction in thought and does not appear to be probable. In the following sentence, “...he was considered a thing not worth mentioning?” there are various ideas put forth on this issue and one of them is that when man was but mingled sperm (and egg), he was not worthy of mention, however, later when the entity possessed the higher stage of development it became a worthy being. c) [It has been narrated from Imam Baqir (as), the fifth Imam, that man's existence was known to Allah even though he was not mentioned as being a worthy entity until Allah created him in the physical form.] d) Other interpretations indicate that the term 'man', in this verse, means learned people who were not recognized at first, but subsequently became so, after having obtained their knowledge. They were, then, mentioned everywhere, among all people, while they were alive and even after their death. (Comment: A single website is struggling with four different interpretations a, b, c and d although the literal meaning is crystal clear.) ------------------------------------------------------------- Also Read: Humans Are Not From Earth: The Brilliant Scientific Research of American Ecologist Dr Ellis Silver Supports the Fact Mentioned In the Quran ------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Tafheem ul Quran (Syed Abul A'ala Maududi) The first part of the sentence Hal Ata Alal-Insan-I, means “No doubt, there has indeed passed on man a time. In the second part of the sentence, Hin Um-Min Ad-Dahr the word Dahr implies the endless time, the beginning and end of which are unknown to man and this is the particular period of time which might at some time have passed during this endless period. What is meant to be said is that in this immensely long span of time, there has passed a long period when the human race was altogether non-existent. Then a time came in it when a species called man was created, and in the same period, a time passed on every person when a beginning was made to bring him into existence from nothingness. The third part of the sentence, “When he was not a thing (even) to be mentioned” implies that a part of him existed in the form of a microscopic gene in the sperm drop of the father and a part in the form of a microscopic ovum in the mother. This is the meaning of the sentence that at that time he was not yet a thing worthy of any mention although a beginning of his being as a man had been made. (Comment: While the verse speaks of a very long period of time that has passed over mankind during which he was a thing not mentioned, Maududi interprets the long period to mean the period before man was created or the period of his non-existence. This interpretation contradicts the literal meaning. The verse does say that the long period is in a part of dahr which means it speaks about man’s non-existence in a part of dahr but the long period during which man was a thing not mentioned refers to the period after man came into existence and not before.) ----------------------------------------------- Also Read: Al-Insan or The Man ----------------------------------------------- 3. Maarif ul Quran by Maulana Mufti Mohammad Shafi The verse signifies that there has come upon man a period of time in which he was nothing worth mentioning. The word hinun with nunation [which is the sign of 'indefiniteness'] signifies 'a long indefinite period of time; The verse mentions that a long period of time came upon man. This indicates that man essentially did exist at that time in one form or another, (but he was not worth mentioning), because time could not have come upon 'man' if he was in a state of pure non-existence [Al-'Adam-Ul- Mahd). Therefore, most commentators say that the 'period of time' here refers to the period when he was conceived in the mother's womb till his birth, which normally is nine months. This period covers all the stages of his creation, right from his being a sperm-drop up to his having a body and organs, and then his acquiring life and soul. During this time, he is thought existent, neither his gender is known to anyone, nor his name nor his shape or size. Therefore, he is unmentionable. The statement of the verse may also be taken in a wider sense. The inception of human creation takes place with the sperm that is produced by food. This food and its source and substance was existent in one or other form. If the period of that time is calculated, this long indefinite period of time can stretch into thousands of years. (Comment: To accommodate the long period, Mufti Mohammad Shafi is compelled to consider the atoms and molecules that make us which existed before our conception. We don’t come into existence prior to conception nor are we the atoms and molecules that constitute our body which change all the time and this interpretation is also unsatisfactory) 4. Tafsir al-Jalalayn Has there ever been — there has indeed been — for man Adam a period of time forty years in which he was a thing unmentioned? — he was during this period fashioned in clay and not mentioned; alternatively what is meant by Insan ‘man’ is the generic noun and by hīn ‘a period of time’ the period of gestation. 5. Kashf Al-Asrar Tafsir Has an era come upon man when he was not a thing remembered? The commentators say that man here means Adam and that era alludes to the days when he was thrown down for forty years as a body without spirit between Mecca and Taif. Someone may ask what wisdom there was in leaving Adam like that for forty years between Mecca and Taif and in delaying his creation. The answer is that Adam was made outwardly from clay, with which there is no need for delay. Delay is needed with the heart. I am not talking about the delay of power, but rather the delay of greatness. Adam was not like the other created things, which were created with “Be!”, so it comes to be [2:117]. In creation, Adam was the root, and the other creatures were his followers. He created whatever He created for Adam's sake, and He created Adam for Himself: “You I created solitary for the Solitary.” “In Adam's makeup, there must be a heart that recognizes Me, a tongue that praises Me, an eye that sees Me, a hand that takes the cup of union, a foot that walks in My road. If I were to bring him into existence in an instant, I would make My power apparent. By putting many years in the midst, I make apparent his greatness and magnificence. I would rather make the greatness of My friends apparent than show My own power.” What good fortune and generosity the Exalted Threshold placed before Adam! He brought him into the road with a hundred thousand endearments and exaltations, placing the embroidery of Surely God chose Adam [3:33] on the cape of his good fortune. He fixed the prosperous mole of I have blown into him of My spirit [15:29] on the beautiful cheek of his chosenness. He clothed him in the elevated robe of what I created with My two hands [38:75]. He conveyed him to a station where He gave him the wine of love in the row of chosenness on the carpet of witnessing. From the tip of the Pleiades to the end of the earth, He made him the trustee of greatness. He commanded the angels of the Dominion to prostrate themselves before him. Then, despite all this honour done toward him, his greatness, level, and rank had still not appeared. (Comment: Although this is not the meaning, the following points to the meaning. “If I were to bring him into existence in an instant, I would make My power apparent. By putting many years in the midst, I make apparent his greatness and magnificence. I would rather make the greatness of My friends apparent than show My own power.”) The evolutionary nature of Allah’s creation is apparent in the description of the creation of the Universe itself. It took two cosmic days to create the earth and the rest of the Universe and twice that time or four cosmic days to get the earth ready to sustain life. Life forms also appeared in a very logical sequence. The coming of Adam was preceded by other humans who came into being 2.5 million years ago. They were not different from other animals in their intellectual capacity and are therefore referred to as sub-humans although this is incorrect. Intellectual capacity is not what defines a human being or Al-Insan. Then about 0.07 million years ago, Adam was created. By putting 2.43 million years between the creation of the first humans and Adam, Allah made apparent the tremendous favour that He had bestowed on Adam and his progeny vis-a-vis the humans that preceded Adam. These other humans co-existed with Adam and his progeny for about sixty thousand years or until about ten thousand years ago when the last of them were driven to extinction. The favour on Adam and his progeny was very obvious. There is absolutely no doubt about the exceptionalism of Adam and his progeny in their unique intellectual and cognitive capabilities that enable them to understand at the micro level the nature and attributes of everything, as well as the design, the order, and the rationality built into the natural world at the macro level. For the first sixty thousand years of the existence of Adam and his progeny, there was the example of the other humans to remind them of the favours of Allah, feel grateful and follow His religion. Religion also helped them to build trust and cooperation among one another which was essential to fight and winning the war for survival with the other humans. (15:85) We created not the heavens, the earth, and all between them, but for just ends. And the Hour is surely coming (when this will be manifest). So overlook (any human faults) with gracious forgiveness. If we look at the evolutionary nature of Allah’s creation, we can discover the purpose and how it is leading towards “just ends”. Now consider the following verses: (10:19) Mankind was but one nation, but differed (later). As long as there was a formidable common enemy, and as long as the memory of it lasted, the people were united. This also means that they remained true to their religion. (3:19) The Religion before Allah is Islam (submission to His Will): Nor did the People of the Book dissent therefrom except through envy of each other, after knowledge had come to them. But if any deny the Signs of Allah, Allah is swift in calling to account. The verse above tells us that it is the envy of one another that makes people divide themselves into sects although they don’t lack the necessary knowledge of what is right. The Correct Meaning of Verse 76:1 That Remained Hidden For 1400 Years From the preceding discussion and our knowledge from cosmology that time began 13.8 billion years ago the following explanatory meaning of verse 76:1 fits perfectly the structural and grammatical integrity required as well as conforms with the known facts discovered by science. "Certainly yes. In the Dahr of 13.8 billion years, man has existed for 2.5 million years and a very long period of 2.43 million years has passed over mankind during which he was not a thing mentioned". When we find the true meaning, the flaws in every other interpretation become obvious. Now consider the first few verses of Surah Al-Insan (76:1) Has there not been over Man a long period of Time, when he was nothing - (not even) mentioned? (2) Verily We created Man from a drop of mingled sperm, in order to try him: So We gave him (the gifts), of Hearing and Sight. (3) We showed him the Way: whether he be grateful or ungrateful (rests on his will). (4) For the Rejecters we have prepared chains, yokes, and a blazing Fire. (5) As to the Righteous, they shall drink of a Cup (of Wine) mixed with Kafur,- The first verse provides the contrast and the context for Adam and his progeny to feel grateful for the gifts of understanding and guidance given by Allah to them as a trial to separate the righteous from the evil-doers. A gift not given to previous humans. Since nothing was revealed to Muhammad (PBUH) that was not revealed to the previous prophets, this could be a Surah revealed exactly as it appears in the Quran to Adam (PBUH) himself. Verse 76:1 required no explanation for them nor to us provided we are willing to understand. Corollary to the Discussion: Is there accountability in the Hereafter for the other human beings? Obviously not. How does the Quran answer this question? We are different from other human beings in that we have “nafs” and they don’t. The “nafs” together with our superior intellectual capability are what makes us moral agents and therefore accountable for our deeds in the Hereafter. The meaning of “nafs” is covered in my article: The Quran and the Psychology of Human Behaviour - Nafs We are therefore Nafsin as well as Insan. In every verse that is about accountability in the Hereafter, the Quran uses “Nafsin” and not “Insan” or “Bashar” which means only the Nafsin among the Insan are accountable for their deeds in the Hereafter and not every Insan. The verses about unlawful killing also use “Nafsun” and not “Bashar” or “Insun” because there was a perpetual state of war for survival with the other humans and it was not unlawful to kill them but unlawful only to kill another Nafsun. The characteristics of Al-Insan described in the Quran are common to all mankind. The verses that describe Al-Insan say he is, greedy, niggardly, impatient, ungrateful, contentious, acquisitive, envious, jealous, fearful, and suspicious. These can otherwise be understood as instincts for self-preservation. What we understand by Insaniyat is not to be found in the Quran. Insaniyat has come to mean a refined and cultured human being with humanitarian values. These are virtues that we learn but not born with and therefore not Insaniyat. The Insan of the Quran is both today’s Insan as well as the Insan of 2.5 million years ago. The Insan of today additionally possesses “Nafs” and far superior intellectual and cognitive capabilities than the Insan before the appearance of the modern Insan some 70000 years ago. Meanings Of Other Related Enigmatic Verses (2:30) Behold, thy Lord said to the angels: "I will create a vicegerent on earth." They said: "Wilt Thou place therein one who will make mischief therein and shed blood?- whilst we do celebrate Thy praises and glorify Thy holy (name)?" He said: "I know what ye know not." Earlier, the exegetes wondered how the Angels knew that Allah was creating a being that would make mischief and shed blood. The exegetes were not aware that several other species of humans were created by Allah before Adam whose behaviour was known to the angels. The angels were therefore apprehensive about the creation of yet another human being whom Allah also wanted to make His vicegerent. The Enigmatic Story of Zulqarnain There is a story about Zulqarnain, a prophet who travels to several places on Allah’s mission. He travels west where he punishes those who do wrong and warns them of severe punishment in the Hereafter and gives glad tidings to those who believe and works righteousness. He then travels east and finds people who are without covering to protect them from the sun. He leaves them alone and Allah says (18:91) (He left them) as they were: We completely understood what was before him. (92) Then followed he (another) way, Why did Zulqarnain, not preach Allah’s religion to these people and what is it that Allah completely understood what was before him? Zulqarnain cannot be placed in history and was most probably a prophet more than ten thousand years ago when the primitive species of humans co-existed with modern man. These people he encountered must have been from among the older species of humans for whom there is no religion and no accountability in the Hereafter. Conclusion The remarkable consistency of the Quran in using precise words to make the distinctions and meanings clear has been demonstrated repeatedly which is why I call the Quran a Book that conforms to all the essential requirements of a logical system and must be treated as such. There should be no laxity in finding the correct meaning and we should avoid taking the easy path of interpretation unless we cannot help it. In that case, we should mark the verse for further research to find its correct meaning. The discussion shows how finding the correct meaning of one verse has helped us understand better many other related verses which the earlier commentators were forced to gloss over. ----- A frequent contributor to NewAgeIslam.com, Naseer Ahmed is an Engineering graduate from IIT Kanpur and is an independent IT consultant after having served in both the Public and Private sector in responsible positions for over three decades. He has spent years studying Quran in-depth and made seminal contributions to its interpretation. URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-spiritualism/enigmatic-verses-quran/d/129242 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism

Humans Are Not From Earth: The Brilliant Scientific Research of American Ecologist Dr Ellis Silver Supports the Fact Mentioned In the Quran

By Ghulam Ghaus Siddiqi, New Age Islam 4 March 2023 Given The Reasons Made By Dr Silver And The Inability Of Evolutionary Scientists To Refute Them, Are Evolutionist Theories No Longer True? Main Points 1. The life started elsewhere theory by Dr Ellis Silver gained credence recently. 2. By mentioning a number of physiological traits, Dr. Ellis Silver makes the case in this book that humans did not evolve alongside other life on Earth. 3. Scientist has confirmed that humans are not originally from the Earth. Is this statement true, and is it described in all the heavenly books of God Almighty in a similar or slightly different fashion? 4. As Muslims, we can understand that Paradise was the original home of the first human being as described in the Holy Quran. Allah Almighty sent Hazrat Adam to Earth planet after he was lured by Satan and made an ijtihadi error. 5. This raises a question of whether science is advancing to the point where it will eventually accept the fact mentioned in the holy book of Allah. 6. The more science develops; do Scientists have to prove all the Prophets said to their separate generations? ----- The book "Humans are Not from Earth" by Dr. Ellis Silver has recently grown in reputation as the pinnacle of contemporary science. In this book, the data is evaluated scientifically, including an analysis of the 13 most prevalent theories and 17 pieces of evidence that humans are not originally from Earth. This book addresses a number of queries. For example, how did we come here? When did we get here? What best describes our planet? Are we aliens? Dr. Ellis Silver covers all of these queries in this intriguing book and offers solutions based on the most recent findings and theories, making it a scientific marvel. In this book, Dr. Ellis Silver makes the astounding statement that human was not born on Earth; rather, he was originally developed on another planet and for some reason flung to their current planet Earth. Have a look at what renowned American ecologist Dr. Ellis, a scientist, researcher, and author, has to say in his book. Remember that a scientist who does not practise any religion is speaking here. He asserts that the planet where he had been living and the initial habitat in which he had been created were both environments that may be referred to as VVIPs, where Man had previously lived in a highly benign atmosphere. He was an extremely gorgeous creature that lived in such opulence, and his sensitive nature and laid-back demeanour suggest that he inhabited a fragile environment. He didn't have to work to make a living either. Instead of being frigid and scorching, the weather was more like spring. It was completely free of the terrible and painful ultraviolet radiation and harsh sunshine from a deadly star like the Sun. Then something wrong happened to this human being. Due to some ‘error’, he was expelled from this cosy and opulent setting. An extremely strong Being who ruled the system of planets and stars under His control seems to have banished humans from this planet. He had the power to punish or reward anyone by sending them to any planet he chose. He had the capacity to make creatures as well. According to Dr. Silver, it's plausible that the Earth formerly resembled something akin to a prison where only criminals are sent as punishment because the earth's form resembles some kind of galactic prison. The man may have been sent to a location that takes the shape of a patch of land surrounded by ocean. He says, “The Earth might be a prison planet since we seem to be a naturally violent species and we are here until we learn to behave ourselves”. Being a scientist, Dr. Silver holds off making decisions until he has gathered the results of observations. Several scientific arguments made in his work cannot be disputed. ----------------------------------------------- Also Read: Al-Insan or The Man ----------------------------------------------- The underlying principles of his theories have some factual backing: First, the gravitational pull of the environment from which man developed is substantially dissimilar from that of the earth. It was fairly simple for him to walk, carry objects, and carry out other tasks because the planet where man first originated had a gravity that was substantially lower than the gravity of the Earth. He says that in humans, back pain is a common complaint because of high gravity. Second, no other creature that inhabits the earth has as many chronic diseases as do humans. If you can show me one human on this earth who does not have a single disease, Dr. Ellis says “I might withdraw my statement”. He asserts that he can provide information about any animal that has not caught an illness, with the exception of temporary diseases. Third, unlike animals, humans cannot endure prolonged exposure to the sun without feeling dizzy and perhaps developing sunstroke. The animals spend months in the sun without developing skin problems or other diseases associated with prolonged exposure to the strong rays of the sun. Fourth, every human has the persistent feeling as though the earth is not their original home. He periodically has the sudden sorrow of a foreigner even when he is at house among his closest blood relatives. Fifth, every second, all living creatures on Earth, with the exception of humans, have their body temperatures automatically regulated. For example, if the sun is bright and powerful, their body temperatures will be regulated; but if there are clouds, the shade will cause them to adjust their body temperatures. Unlike other creatures, humans don't have this mechanism. Instead, when the climate and environment change, humans will start getting sick. That is why seasonal fever only affects humans. Sixth, humans are extremely distinct from other species of life on Earth. Their genes and DNA are substantially different from those of other Earthly living creatures. Seventh, the original inhabitants of the earth, animals, do not have any difficulty getting their food and eating it; they do it immediately, whereas humans must exert a lot of work just to consume a small portion of their food. It also demonstrates that man is not originally an earthly inhabitant since food must first be cooked and softened before it can be consumed according to his stomach and physique. Humans didn't have to cook when they were on their home planet because they used everything straight for ingestion. Moreover, Man is the only creature that can walk on two legs, making him an alien in this habitat. Eighth, the original inhabitants of the earth, namely the animals, do not require a bed as comfortable as a human does in order to sleep on the earth. There is evidence that man's original habitat was exceedingly soft and fragile, in keeping with the delicate nature of his body. Ninth, Man is entirely unique from all other creatures; therefore he is not an evolved version of any animal (such as a monkey or chimpanzee) but rather was brought to the earth by someone else from another planet. Earth-like pollution was not present on the first planet where humans were originally born. His supple, delicate skin, which the sun on Earth darkens, was perfectly suited to the planet where he was originally born. He was so delicate that even after coming to Earth, he kept trying to fit the world into his delicate nature. Just like he used to rest in a magnificent and lavish bed in his home world, he is still making an effort to live as comfortably as he can here on Earth. He continues to make an effort to build the magnificent, priceless, and sturdy castles and homes that his parents had there on their home planet. Animals and other species, on the other hand, lack this sort of deeply entrenched behaviour. The native animals of our planet, which lack brains and are accustomed to third-class living, are unable to think clearly, live healthily, or coexist peacefully. After seeing these beasts, man developed a bloodlust. In contrast to his original origins, which were in love, the arts, and serene and pleasant life, he has subsequently transformed into a prisoner who was punished by being transferred to a third-class planet and will return once his sentence is finished. According to Dr. Silver, the intelligence and growth of humans indicate that the parents of this human arrived on Earth from their planet not very long ago. There must have just been a few thousand years. Humans make an effort to produce luxury similar to that on their home planet; occasionally, they develop automobiles and cell phones. If humanity had been on this planet for millions of years, the technology we see today would have existed thousands of years ago because we are not so worthless that even after millions of years; we still live a life of misery and pity like animals. The book by Dr. Ellis Silver has a lot to say about this issue. The fact that no one has been able to challenge his assertions to date is the finest part. We can consider the scientifically supported ideas and arguments put out by Dr. Silver. The fact that Humans are not from the Earth is being told by a scientist; it is not fiction but rather a true account that is described somewhat in the same manner or with minor variations in all heavenly books of God Almighty. Although you are all familiar with the true tale of your father Adam and Eve, I won't go into great length about it. Science is getting closer to recognising the proofs mentioned in the holy book of Allah the more advanced it becomes. Scientists are compelled to confirm all that the Prophets told their respective generations. The ideas of evolution are no longer valid for the reasons presented by Dr. Silver. Human thought is currently being corrected in certain ways. The earth is not where people first appeared. This is not what we are here to express. But Allah the Almighty has told us repeatedly in His holy book and through the beloved Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) that this worldly life is a place of trial for us, from which we shall be rewarded in accordance with our deeds. As Muslims, we can understand that Paradise was the original home of the first human being as described in the Holy Quran. Every blessing there was intended for him. But, there was only one requirement in return—obedience to Allah Almighty. The human being was also not going to face a significant test; it was merely suggested that he be cautioned about the trickery of Satan. This was because Satan thought of man as his perpetual enemy. After worshipping Allah Almighty for more than 600,000 years, Satan became the devil because he refused to perform even a single prostration in accordance with a divine mandate. Hazrat Adam was warned that he must stay away from the tree in order to avoid the satanic deception and merely pray for his Lord's mercy. He was warned that the devil will lure him astray using trickery and a variety of false pretences. Satan worked hard to sway Hazrat Adam away from the right path. When Satan realised how difficult it was to tempt Hazrat Adam, he deceived Hazrat Hawwa [aka Eve] into thinking that he and Hazrat Adam would need to taste the fruit of this tree in order to acquire eternal life. Satan responded to Hazrat Hawwa's question by saying that they have been forbidden from eating the fruit of this tree as a result, lest they obtain eternal life. Satan’s action had an impact on Hazrat Hawwa. Hazrat Hawwa urged Hazrat Adam to go, see and eat from this tree. The price of this exchange is the gift of eternal life, which we will obtain if we simply consume it once. Hazrat Hawwa was created from Hazrat Adam's left rib. Love for the fairer gender comes naturally because the heart is also on the left side of the body. Allah made Hazrat Eve specifically for Hazrat Adam, according to the Holy Quran. On the advice of Hazrat Hawwa, when Hazrat Adam ate the fruit from the forbidden tree and gave it to her, it was as if they were receiving Allah's displeasure. Allah Most High sent them to the earth. The comforts they shared in heaven were not available to them here. We must draw the conclusion that Islam is a reality that is supported by progressive science if the results of Dr. Ellis Silver's research are added to the fact contained in the holy Quran. Hazrat Adam, the first man to walk on the Earth, wasn't originally from Earth; he was brought here from Paradise. This runs counter to the evolutionary theory that humans evolved over time. Parallel to this, if we take into account Dr. Ellis' second point—that this world is analogous to a galactic jail; we can see that the Islamic perspective acknowledges that Hazrat Adam (peace be upon him) made an Ijtihadi mistake that resulted in his exile from heaven to Earth. The Quran continuously commands humans to ponder and observe, and as a result, mysteries beyond human comprehension are being revealed day by day, despite the materialistic viewpoints of some people. ---- A regular Columnist with NewAgeIslam.com, Ghulam Ghaus Siddiqi Dehlvi is a Classical Islamic scholar with a Sufi background and English-Arabic-Urdu Translator. URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-science/humans-scientific-american-ecologist-ellis-quran/d/129241 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism

Al-Insan or The Man

By Naseer Ahmed, New Age Islam 3 March 2023 ---------------------------------------------- We Are Biologically Equipped With The Emotions Of Happiness, Sadness, Pleasure, Pain, Shame, Disgust, Ecstasy, Anger, Anxiety And Fear Which Form Our "Nafs" And This Is Our Moral Equipment Along With The Capacity To Learn Right From Wrong. ---------------------------------------------- The verses that describe Al-Insan say he is, greedy, niggardly, impatient, ungrateful, contentious, acquisitive, envious, jealous, fearful, and suspicious. These can otherwise be understood as instincts for self-preservation. Our instinct is to seek pleasure and avoid pain. There is no verse that describes Al-Insan's virtues which means, we are not born with any virtue. In the case of animals, their virtuous part or their pro-social behaviour is also an instinct that they are born with. We are born without it. There is absolutely no doubt about human exceptionalism in terms of our intellectual and cognitive abilities. Now imagine being born without the virtues animals are born with and with vastly superior intellectual and cognitive abilities, and with all the negative traits necessary for self-preservation that we are born with, how potentially dangerous Insan is to everyone else including his own kind. The characteristics we are born with are all negative. However, we are also biologically equipped with the emotions of happiness, sadness, pleasure, pain, shame, disgust, ecstasy, anger, anxiety and fear which form our "Nafs" and this is our moral equipment along with the capacity to learn right from wrong. So, when we act according to what we have learnt is right, we feel good, otherwise, we feel bad, guilty, disgusted with ourselves, anxious and fearful of the consequences here in this world or in the Hereafter. Allah has taught us right from wrong through His revelations. Human behaviour is largely programmable and can be programmed to distinguish right from wrong. (96:1) Proclaim! (or read!) in the name of thy Lord and Cherisher, Who created- (2) Created man, out of a (mere) clot of congealed blood: (3) Proclaim! And thy Lord is Most Bountiful,- (4) He Who taught (the use of) the pen,- (5) Taught man that which he knew not. (6) Day, but man doth transgress all bounds, (7) In that he looketh upon himself as self-sufficient. (8) Verily, to thy Lord is the return (of all). Allah’s religion or the moral way of living is what Allah has taught man that he knew not nor could he have ever known without Allah’s revelations. This is the inimitable part of every scripture. Insan has to learn every virtue and control his negative self. By the moral choices we make, we can rise to be among the noblest or sink to be among the lowest meaning lower than the beasts. We have the capacity for both the highest good and also the greatest evil. The virtues are therefore not what we are born with. Virtue is learned behaviour and without acquiring the virtues, we are worse than animals. (103:1) By (the Token of) Time (through the ages), (2) Verily Man is in loss, (3) Except such as have Faith, and do righteous deeds, and (join together) in the mutual teaching of Truth, and of Patience and Constancy. Why Couldn’t Man Have Learned To Be Moral On His Own? Given the instincts described above, every moral and ethical principle is counterintuitive and we would never discover, much less adopt any moral principle on our own. It is man alone who has a need for Allah’s guidance without which, our exceptional intellectual capacity would have made us worse than beasts in aggressive behaviour and our species would have self-destructed. Just look at the irreligious and the religious hypocrites and you can see that their base instinct prevails and the only thing that keeps them within limits is the fear of the law of the land and economic and or social loss due to loss of reputation. They are otherwise amoral and shameless. How To Raise Morally Upright Children? Chomsky’s most powerful single idea is that there is a universal capacity for language but it is expressed in different ways in different cultures. Every baby can learn all the world’s languages but what neurologists call synaptic pruning in the early years reduces that child’s capacity to the languages around her. A songbird which does not hear other songbirds singing at the crucial stage of its development can never sing. That account of language can work for morality too – indeed the two are closely related, depending as they both do on human interaction. Up to the age of 3 years, a child accepts all that it is taught without filtering. Beyond the age of 3 years, a child begins to filter new messages through what she has already learnt. So, instil good values and beliefs before they cross 3 years of age. After that, they may filter out any good teachings that you try to give them with the bad that they may have learned from their environment and interactions with other kids who have not been brought up well. We should teach them empathy and the virtues of truth, fairness and justice and keeping promises. Teach them about God and His omniscience, and accountability in the Hereafter. Teach them the virtues of modesty and covering themselves up decently and experience shame otherwise. This takes care of everything and lays a strong unshakable foundation for a good moral character that will stay with the child all her/his life. There is no morality outside religion and a belief in accountability in the Hereafter. Outside of religion, there is only hypocrisy and lip service at which the irreligious excel. With a strong moral foundation laid early in life, the child will filter out all evil influences on their own from the values they have learnt early. A person who has learnt to empathise early in life will never wilfully hurt another sentient life form. Insaniyat Vs Haiwaniyat (Humanness Vs Beastliness) If we take Insaniyat to be what we are born with, then Insaniyat is worse than Haiwaniyat because the beasts are born with the instinct for pro-social behaviour while we are not. We have to learn every virtue. The Quran does not refer to the “humanitarian values” as Insaniyat because these are not what characterises the bare Insan. We need to learn to behave morally. The misuse of words such as Insaniyat to mean “humanitarian values” hide the truth that a human is not born with humanitarian values and these need to be learnt early in life. So, what about Ghalib saying: Bas-Ki Dushvār Hai Har Kaam Kā Āsāñ Honā Aadmī Ko Bhī Muyassar Nahīñ Insāñ Honā Enjoy the poetry but never mistakes words spoken beautifully as wisdom. ----- A frequent contributor to NewAgeIslam.com, Naseer Ahmed is an Engineering graduate from IIT Kanpur and is an independent IT consultant after having served in both the Public and Private sector in responsible positions for over three decades. He has spent years studying Quran in-depth and made seminal contributions to its interpretation. URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-spiritualism/insan-man-biologically-emotion-moral-immoral/d/129233 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism

When Religious People Indulge In Immoral Acts

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 3 March 2023 The news that Iranian schoolgirls are being forced to watch porn to dissuade them from protests against hijab has shocked the world. Isn't it a blatantly immoral act, committed by the so-called religious people? Schoolgirls across Iran joined the protests triggered by Mahsa Amini’s death, with many videos on social media showing them taking off headscarves and chanting anti-government slogans, including on school premises. (Twitter) ----- Now when Mr Naseer says that there cannot be morality outside religion and belief in Hereafter, I ask him with utmost respect and decency, how'll he evaluate these 'religious' people's immoral act of forcing young girls to watch explicit flicks? Aren't these rascals scared of Islam and Roz-e-Qayamat? And if you say that these people are not Muslims, then a very big chunk of Muslims cannot be called Muslims! It's not that such elements are found only in Islam. All religions have followers who despite having faith in religion, god and agla janm, commit all sorts of heinous acts. I must cite the example of the six perpetrators of Nirbhaya Episode that shook the country in Dec. 2012. Out of six, Afroz ( the youngest one) succeeded in cheating the gallows as he was underage. All others were Hindus who had faith in god and were regular chanters of Hanuman Chalisa. Their Hanuman is an eternal celibate but his devotees brutally raped a young woman and were hanged. Did their faith in god and fear of punishment in the next birth dissuade them from committing such a ghastly crime? The point is, a morally upright person is moral, irrespective of any religion and eschatological fear/belief. Rene Descartes, who gave the famous dictum Cogito Ergo Sum ( I think, therefore, I'm) to the world coined a term Decontextualised Morality. He was a believer but believed that morality must be decontextualised. To elaborate it, one's moral behaviour is independent of religiosity or not in the context of religion. In one of the novels of German Nobel laureate Gunter Grass, a character says, " If you're good, you're good. Your conscience is your moral guide which needs no religion and angels to be good." In my whole life, I've come across best of humans from religion and no-religion. The teacher who exempted me from attending religious class in Iran was a devout Muslim who loved me like his son despite my non-belief. He's still in touch with me and never talks of religion with me. When fanatics assaulted me and left me profusely bleeding, it was my dear Muslim friend Shoaib Huda who saved my life. He's a believer. And a complete non-believer like my mentor Dr Zaifa Ashraf gave away her whole body for medical research. I know the girl who sees the world with my mentor's eyes. Dr Zaifa never hurt a single soul in her entire life. Here on this site, my young but very mature friend and a totally irreligious person, Prakhar Garg writes to Unknown and says, let's spread love and peace on this forum. It's his sublime morality which's not regulated by religion. I'm a complete apatheist but I too have pangs of morality. I feel that at times, I behaved too casually and flippantly by calling some readers imbecile, vulture, fools, among others. I should have refrained from using such intemperate terminology. That was my mistake. But my in-built morality has always cautioned and warned me. So, please Mr Naseer, look at things from a fresh perspective as well. There's no harm in admitting that you've erred as I've openly accepted that I've erred. Life's an ongoing process of learning and accepting one's mistakes and erroneous views. An individual's morality is his/her conscience or inner voice. ------- A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including Persian. URL: https://newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/religious-immoral-acts/d/129236 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism

Enforcing a De-Facto Blasphemy Code in Britain

By Arshad Alam, New Age Islam 2 March 2023 An Alleged Quran Desecration Becomes another Excuse for Muslim Exceptionalism Main Points: 1. An alleged incident of desecration of the Quran was reported from a West Yorkshire school. 2. The student at the centre of the controversy was autistic yet local Muslims forced the mother of this teenager to tender an apology. 3. Similar incidents have happened elsewhere and in all such cases, the Muslim response has been to claim special protection when it comes to their religion. 4. The state has been more than willing to accommodate the voices of the Islamists to the detriment of progressive and liberal voices within the Muslim community. ------- Muslims protest outside Regent's Park Mosque against newspaper cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad that first appeared in a Danish newspaper. Photograph: Bruno Vincent/Getty Images ------ An alleged desecration of the Quran took place in a school in West Yorkshire last week. According to reports, one student, after losing an online game, was asked by his fellow students to bring a copy of the Quran into the school. It is alleged by Muslims that within the school premises, the holy book was torn as it was kicked around by these students. The school authorities put out a statement clarifying that “the holy book remains intact and that our initial inquiries indicate that there was no malicious intent by those involved”. However, as others have pointed out, it does appear that some of the pages of the holy book were scuffed and that some damage was done to the cover. Subsequently, the school suspended four students who were involved in the incident. Ideally, the matter should have ended there. But the Muslim reaction did not. Despite the fact that the main accused in the incident, the boy who brought the Quran into the school, is autistic. It should have been common sense to forgive this child given his challenges but the local Muslim community thought of this as a good opportunity to remind this district of the power of Islam. They escalated the matter to the police and the local authorities despite the school inquiring into the issue. They also held a meeting, in which the mother of the accused child was present, where she pleaded for forgiveness. The incident has not just polarized the local community but is now the subject of major debate in the whole of the UK. Anti-Muslim bigots are having a field day ‘proving’ that the religion and its adherents are not compatible with a democracy like Britain. What could have been handled at a local level by Muslims was allowed to get out of hand. Probably the Muslims themselves wanted it like this in order to showcase their power to enforce blasphemy codes on the rest of the society. This is not even an issue of free speech. Those who are not Muslims are expressing a genuine incomprehension at the inability of the Muslim community to forgive an autistic teenager and the necessity of shaming a mother for no fault of hers. After all, don’t the Muslims claim that Islam is a religion of peace and that forgiveness is one of the highest virtues taught by their religion? So why this attempt to scar the life of a teenager? Or is this another attempt to enforce the religious code of blasphemy across that country? I say this because the Muslim protest almost seems like a pattern. There was the Batley grammar school incident in 2021 in which some teachers were suspended for showing a picture of the Prophet in a discussion about blasphemy. There was a similar outrage from Sunni Muslims, in 2022, who eventually forced the cancellation of The Lady of Heaven, a movie about Prophet’s daughter which showed some of his companions in uncharitable light. Muslims even took offense when Majid Nawaz tweeted a picture of Jesus and Muhammad together to make a point that visual depiction of the prophet was not always forbidden in Muslim history. The way Muslims have reacted in all such issues has amounted to enforcing a de facto blasphemy code. Even PREVENT, the counter terrorism wing of UK, which is often accused of being soft on Islamists, has concede that “violence associated with accusations of blasphemy and apostasy is an area of particular importance” in tackling extremism. What is more depressing though is how the local governments, in all such cases, capitulates to the demands of those Muslims who want to make political capital out of such incidents. The inquiry committee in the Batley grammar school, for instance, categorically stated that, “the actions of the teachers were highly inappropriate”. It further stated that “it was not necessary for staff to use the material in question [pictures] to deliver the learning outcome on the subject of blasphemy”. What the statement basically means is that teachers are no longer free to decide what and how to teach simply because there are Muslim students in the class. What this also means is that in case of any subject related to Islam, teachers would be well advised to self-censor themselves so that they do not end up hurting the religious sensibilities of Muslims. What a loss for the average Muslim student in such classes, as he or she will be deprived of engaging the issue from another perspective altogether. Such responses also assume that the Muslim community is homogenous. This is far from truth. Like in all societies, there are divergent voices on such issues within the Muslim society too. Not all Muslims were asking that the child in West Yorkshire be punished or that his mother tender an apology. Therefore, the response of the local authorities only give succour to the Islamists by making them the representative of all Muslims. By extension, it can be argued that the state authorities are keen to concede the intimidating demands of Islamists to the detriment of progressive and liberal voices within the community. What it amounts to is an infantilizing of Muslims by assuming that they are simply incapable of upholding liberal principles. The more important question though remains the Muslim positioning on the issue of perceived blasphemy. It is not that Muslims as a group should not be asserting their religious rights; certainly, they should. But those rights should be those which does not impinge on the rights of others. Through centuries of struggle against religious absolutism, the British have established a system where critical thinking about religion is encouraged and thought of as a cornerstone of that society. Christianity has made peace with this secular march of the western society. But Muslim narcissism about enforcing the dictates of their religion has reached a point where it is threatening to upset the very core foundations of societies to which they have migrated and in which they wish to integrate. But integration has always been a two-way street. The reluctance of the Muslims to adopt anything of their host society can only mean that they still have miles to go in terms of appreciating multiculturalism and pluralism. ----- A regular contributor to NewAgeIslam.com, Arshad Alam is a writer and researcher on Islam and Muslims in South Asia. URL: https://newageislam.com/muslims-islamophobia/enforcing-de-facto-blasphemy-britain/d/129227 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism

A Fatwa by Ulema In Favour Of Hindu-Muslim Unity

By Saquib Salim, New Age Islam 2 March 2023 The formation of the Indian National Congress in 1885 was aimed at regrouping the Indians under one banner after the failure of the First War of Independence in 1857. Indian nationalists saw a ray of hope in Congress while British loyalists felt threatened. Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, one of the most ardent advocates of British rule, opened a frontier against Congress. He expressed his views coated with the religious language of Islam, at Meerut in 1888. Unity of faiths: A Representational image ------ Sir Syed claimed that Hindus and Muslims were two different Qaum (nations/societies) with separate interests. He claimed that Christians were natural allies of Muslims while Hindus were enemies. He told a gathering of more than 800 Muslims, “We ought to unite with that nation with whom we can unite. No Mohammadan can say that the English are not ‘People of the Book’. No Mohammadan can deny this: that God has said that no people of other religions can be friends of Mohammadans except the Christians.” He went on to suggest that Muslims should develop business relations with the British and not the Hindus. Sir Syed asked Muslims to boycott Congress because of its Hindu members. Ulema, Islamic Scholars, were at the forefront of anti-British war of Independence in 1857. They collaborated with Hindu Rajas, Zamindars, and chieftains to free India. This collaboration was in sync with the brand of Islam they used to teach. A screenshot of the Book Nasratul Abrar. ----- Three Ulema from Ludhiana: Maulana Muhammad Ludhianvi, Maulana Abdullah Ludhianvi, and Maulana Abdul Aziz Ludhianvi issued a fatwa against Sir Syed’s call to boycott Hindus and Congress. Inspired by Sir Syed, a Muslim resident of Bombay (now Mumbai) Ali Muhammad asked if it was permissible to engage in trade and other activities with Hindus. He also asked if Muslims should join the association founded by Sir Syed instead of the ‘Hindu’ Congress. Maulana Abdul Aziz replied to this query while delivering a sermon that was documented in the form of a fatwa by his brother Maulana Muhammad Ludhianvi. It must be noted that both of them had fought against the British in 1857. The fatwa categorically said, “In worldly affairs, it’s completely alright to have relations with Christians, Jews, and Hindus”. Islamic scriptures were quoted to prove that the Prophet Muhammad and his companions maintained business relations with Jews. The fatwa addressed Sir Syed’s claim that the Quran directs Muslims not to befriend non-Muslims. Maulana said, “the meaning of this particular sentence of the Quran should be understood in a sense that friendship with non-Muslims which hurts Islam and Muslims is illegitimate”. It was told that only those Hindus who were trying to kill or harm Muslims, could be boycotted otherwise Muslims should maintain relations with Hindus. The fatwa told Muslims that it was fine to join Congress and that the call of Sir Syed to boycott it was baseless. Rather, Maulana asked people not to join Sir Syed's association. It went on to say that Muslims should not deal with Sir Syed and his followers in worldly affairs. They should not have a business or marital ties with his followers because they were not true to Islam. The boycott call made by Sir Syed against Congress, Maulana said, applied to him and his associates. Ulema of Ludhiana then wrote letters to hundreds of Ulema in India and abroad to get reiteration over this fatwa. A few of the most respected Islamic scholars of the time gave their assent to the fatwa. These included Maulana Rashid Ahmad Gangohi, Maulana Ahmad Raza Khan Barelvi, Maulana Mahmud Hasan Deobandi, attendants of Rauza al-Nabi Salallahu Alaihai Wasallam (sacred chamber of the Prophet, Madina) and Rauza Abdul Qadir Jilani (Baghdad), etc. Rashid Ahmad Gangohi fought in 1857 and was one of the founders of Darul Uloom, Deoband. He said that it was completely permissible for Muslims to maintain friendly relations with Hindus. In his view even if Sir Syed genuinely wanted good for the Muslim community he should not be supported and must be boycotted. Ahmad Raza Khan Barelvi went on to say, “they (Hindus) cannot be called Kafir-I-Harbi”. He wrote that Hindus and Muslims enjoy similar rights under Islamic rule. Barelvi believed that Muslims should maintain relations with Hindus "which are beneficial for the whole nation”. All these endorsements to the original fatwa were fatwas in their own right and Maulana Muhammad Ludhianvi and Maulana Abdul Aziz Ludhianvi compiled them in a book named Nasratul Abrar. Though Ulema ruled in favour of Congress and against Sir Syed’s Association yet they didn’t join Congress. It was due to their belief in full freedom which was not the stand of Congress. The party demanded full freedom almost four decades later. The book is a reflection on Islamic scholarship which denounces the usage of Islamic vocabulary for political usage, as Sir Syed was trying to achieve. It further proves that Islamic teachings are in agreement with Hindu-Muslim unity and a united nation. The fatwa also points out that the invocation of certain politicians that Muslims should have their political outfits has no Islamic basis otherwise hundreds of Ulema wouldn’t have endorsed a ‘Hindu’ leadership of Congress for Muslims. URL: https://newageislam.com/interfaith-dialogue/fatwa-ulema-hindu-muslim-unity/d/129230 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism

To Be Absolute Is To Be Over-Assertive

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 2 March 2023 Sanatanis Have Begun To Claim That Hinduism Is The Absolute Faith That Has Always Existed And Will Continue To Exist Forever: Aadi Anantam Iti Dharmasya Sanatan (From Beginning To End, Only Sanatan Dharm Exists). ------ I fully agree with Mr Ghulam Mohiyuddin that absolute certainty should be avoided. Absolute certainty is to be avoided in all pursuits of life but it's a must in the sphere of religion. I'll come to it later. Maulana Rumi wrote in his Masnavi (volume 3) that there was a man in a small town whose wife was astoundingly beautiful. He thought that his wife was an epitome of beauty and the absolute barometer of feminine effulgence until he had a furtive glance of yet another very beautiful woman of a bigger town. He realized that there was no end to it. There's indeed no end to ' Spiralling Ascendancy of Quality ' (Marcel Proust's phrase). It's like perfection. You can only strive for it, but can never become perfect. One, therefore, needs to keep improving and evolving till the last breath. To be absolute is to close all doors to truth. I remember my Theology professor's words. He was an Arab. “No religion or ideology can claim to preach absolute truth. All religions and their moral codes are periodic and relative truths. What appears to be absolute today, may turn out to be dubious tomorrow." So, when someone insists that his/her scripture is the book of absolute truths, it blocks further enquiry and exploration. Today, Sanatanis are doing the same. They have begun to claim that Hinduism is the absolute faith that has always existed and will continue to exist forever: Aadi Anantam Iti Dharmasya Sanatan (from beginning to end, only Sanatan Dharm exists). Muslims have been doing the same for the last 1400 years. They think, Islam has existed forever and that Judaism and Christianity are false sectarian distortions of Islam. Both Judaism and Christianity have books replete with errors and interpolations. This is the general thinking of an average Muslim whose brain has been concussed by Allah, Quran and Islam. We must avoid this type of toxic absolutism not only in religion but in all activities, actions and acts. Remember, to be absolute is to be over-assertive. Bertrand Russell would often say, ' I avoid the word absolute because it smacks of despotic totalitarianism. It's a cul de sac and a dialectical dead-end. To be absolute is to pollute a healthy discussion and vitiate an intellectual debate.' The primary function of human brain is to evolve and shun absolutism. Once you're absolute, you're static for life. ------- A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including Persian. URL: https://newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/absolute-assertive/d/129226 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism

Educating Children about the Fundamentals of Islam, Moral Values, and the Dangers of Terrorism and Violence

By Kaniz Fatma, New Age Islam 1 March 2023 Instilling In Children an Aversion to Terrorism and Love for Peace and Harmony Main Points: 1. Every Muslim parent has a duty to instil in their kids the true teachings of Islam, as well as moral and ethical principles, teachings of peace, moderation, and harmony. 2. Raising our children while instilling in them an aversion to terrorism and terrorists by exposing them to their plans and behaviours is one of the most critical things we must do. 3. Parents should be gentle with their children and teach them to be gentle in order to instil in them respect for humans, animals, and other species. ------ The more we are progressing, the more we are losing sight of our values, manners, respect, and other necessities. Children used to respect their parents and refrain from disrespecting them in front of them, but this has all but disappeared in today's generation. If we don't teach them respect for elders today, the future generation won't respect us. It's commonly said that children today don't respect their elders. Our parents used to say this, and we also share it with our children. I must stress that although change has surely arrived, it is not the children's fault. In reality, seniors now act differently. Particularly today, people have extremely limited time. Our parents used to spend a lot of time with us, unlike now when children and parents don't interact as much as they previously did. When genuine training is needed but not possible, children begin learning from their environment. There is some behaviour that should not be performed in front of children, yet when adults unintentionally engage in them, the kids begin to imitate them. We must understand that children learn more from elders' actions than from their words. Technology has had an impact on life. Youth of today search the internet independently rather than waiting for someone to inform them. We are all well aware of the fact that there are both good and bad things on the internet right now. On the one hand, it is full of religious, academic, and excellent moral traditions, but it is also replete with immorality, ugliness, and things that are not lawful. It is probable that future generations may suffer greatly if children are not taught the distinction between the two categories of online information. Recently, a piece on New Age Islam on the same subject was written by Mr Ghulam Ghaus Siddiqi. This essay is worth reading, which outlines the precautions to take against the negative impacts of smartphones on the new generation. As a result, parents should allocate more time to teaching their children moral values like respect, moderation, peace, harmony, kindness, and forgiveness. Islam has also urged parents to teach their children moral values. Hazrat Abdullah Ibn Umar reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Every one of you is a shepherd and is responsible for his flock. The leader of the people is a guardian and is responsible for his subjects. A man is the guardian of his family and he is responsible for them. A woman is the guardian of her husband’s home and his children and she is responsible for them. The servant of a man is a guardian of the property of his master and he is responsible for it. No doubt, every one of you is a shepherd and is responsible for his flock.” (Sahih al-Bukhari 7138, Sahih Muslim 1829) In light of this Hadith, we must comprehend that parents are responsible for educating their children on the accurate interpretation of Islam as well as moral principles and how to respect and uphold them. They must caution children about immoral evils and give them guidance on how to avoid them. One of the requirements for someone to become a believer is that they believe in Allah, His Messengers, Prophets, Angels, the Day of Resurrection, etc. Also, they must explain the pertinent texts from the Quran and Hadiths and teach their children about the middle path of Islam, which emphasises tolerance, justice, and moderation. Additionally, they need to make it abundantly obvious to their kids that Islam is gravely violated by intolerance, extremism, terrorism, and corruption. Raising our children while instilling in them an aversion to terrorism and terrorists by exposing them to their plans and behaviours is one of the most critical things we must do. They need to understand that terrorists are misguided people who have been deceived by devils. Satan employs these people to spread the seeds of depravity and evil. Our children should be taught that terrorist actions are nothing more than an attempt to deceive and betray people. Terrorists attempt to legitimise their attacks with the Quran and the Sunnah. Children should be educated that the deterrent effect of even one terrorist being apprehended or prevented is a win for Islam and Muslims, as well as a source of peace and solace for them. Our youngsters must understand that these terrorists kill men, women, children, and the elderly while they are innocently sleeping or concentrating on their tasks. The terrorists are so ruthless that they continue to attack Muslims when they are praying or reading the Quran at mosques, other places of worship or visiting shrines. Our students need to learn that these terrorists are treasonous since they kill peaceful and foreign non-Muslims. We must inform them that the terrorists' murderous and destructive deeds are being done in the name of Jihad. Every Muslim parent has a duty to instil in their kids the true teachings of Islam, as well as moral and ethical principles, teachings of peace, moderation, and harmony. Parents have a responsibility to defend themselves and the people in their care from anything that could inspire terrorism, extremism, or intolerance. Allah says: “Oh believers, save yourselves and your families from a fire whose fuel is people and stones, over which are (appointed) angels, harsh and severe. They don’t disobey Allāh in what He commands them, but do (everything) they are instructed.” (66:6) It is unquestionably a very good quality to live up to one's trust and faith. Like all other qualities, this trait develops in children as a result of the attitude and confidence of their parents. As a result, it is the responsibility of the parents to set a practical example for their children to follow as deeds speak louder than words. In this aspect, they should encourage the child to be trustworthy by praising all of their actions and helping them to feel that their parents trust them. People with compassion are capable of kindness, compassion, and forgiveness, which is useful to them both personally and practically. The Almighty, Allah's servant, who is merciful and behaves in a merciful manner, is also given a favour by Allah. "Show mercy; if you demonstrate mercy, you will receive mercy," and "Forgive; if you forgive, you will receive forgiveness," were the beloved Prophet's (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) wise words. Remember! Almighty Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him) like compassion. Parents should be gentle with their children and teach them to be gentle in order to instil in them respect for humans, animals, and other species. Instead, whenever you are teaching them something, set an example for them. As an example, there are many chances for compassion in our everyday employment, like caring for a domestic servant when something is neglected, etc. When compassion is shown to the child in these situations, it will eventually rub off on them. The Qur'an and the Sunnah are the sources of all the characteristics that are part of moral standards. If we want to witness a real-world example, we have the biography of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) in front of us. In order to instil in children a sense of justice and justice, parents should first take on the characteristics of the Prophet. Parents should not discriminate between boys and girls and should act justly. If they discriminate, it will instil a habit of discrimination in their kids, which will manifest once they are adults and have a negative impact on society and the nation. Together with the above-listed moral standards, children also need to learn a wide range of other moral values. The main message of this little essay is that we should do everything in our power to teach our children the foundations of Islam, moral principles, and the perils of terrorism and violence. ----- Kaniz Fatma is a classic Islamic scholar and a regular columnist for New Age Islam. URL: https://newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/children-moral-values-terrorism-violence/d/129223 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism

More Openness Is Required To Understand A Lot Many Things and Taboos

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 1 March 2023 Recently, an English Composition and Comprehension question with clear incestuous undertones, set by a lecturer at COMSATS University Islamabad, has left Pakistanis fuming and has become the government’s “top priority.” While I don't approve or disapprove of incest, I'm of the view that you cannot ignore it and say that it doesn't exist or is mortally immoral. Human society is evolving and every behavioural issue must be dealt with equanimity and without an iota of prejudice. The lecturer in Pakistan may be wrong in the sense that he put this extremely delicate question before rather young students. In other words, he chose the wrong students and wrong age for such a complex issue of human (sexual) behaviour. Advanced students of Psychology and Human Behaviour should have been asked this question. That said, incest (Gotragaman/Agamya Gaman in Sanskrit/ Zanaye Mehram in Urdu) is as old as human civilization. Karin C Meiselman's book, " Incest: A Psychological Study of Causes and Effects with Treatment Recommendations," states that, ' For nearly 100 years, researchers have been split on the origin of incest taboos. In 1913, Viennese psychiatrist Sigmund Freud proposed they exist because we have incestuous urges that need to be repressed.' In contrast to Freud, the Finnish sociologist Edward Westermarck argued in 1891 that people have evolved a biological mechanism to avoid incest. According to Westermarck, people who grew up together would find each other unattractive. For the past few decades, as Freud's influence has waned in psychology, researchers have tended to side with Westermarck. Some evolutionary psychologists have proposed that we subconsciously estimate the relatedness of other people, using cues such as whether we've played together and spent lots of time together. If the relatedness is too high, the thought of sex with the other person triggers "incest avoidance" mechanisms, better known as disgust. Whether incestuous urges in all human beings are deep-rooted or not, it's important to understand that nature has its own way to create restrictions that become taboos as time marches on. Almost all cultures around the world having prohibitions against incest, and for good reason because there's no gainsaying the fact that Inbreeding brings together rare mutations that can cause severe birth defects. In the 17th century, Charles II of Spain, the last of the Spanish Habsburgs – known for their inbreeding – was infertile and could not properly chew his food thanks to a congenital overbite. Incest was prevalent in ancient Greek and Roman civilizations but today it's a psycho-sexual behavioural taboo even in those societies. It has always been a hush-hush issue. Yet, this issue has never been completely ignored by humans. Somewhere in the dark crevices of all humans, there're subconscious incestuous lurking and that's why great writers wrote on this subject overtly or covertly. Oedipus Rex by Sophocles (this gave birth to Freudian Oedipus Complex), Metamorphoses by Ovid, Pericles by William Shakespeare, Moll Flanders by Daniel Dafoe, Laon and Cythna by P B Shelly, Ada by Vladimir Nobokov, The Colour Purple by Alice Walker, The Cement Garden by Ian McEwan, among others are the books in world literature that have incestuous elements. Human society needs to grow up to analyse this subject. A knee-jerk reaction to it wouldn't lead us anywhere. Incest is beyond the conventional religious morality. It relates to cultural and sexual morality in their diversified forms and facets. Nothing is vulgar or reprehensible. We need to study every subject, aberration or anomaly in a dispassionate manner. More openness is required to comprehend human sexual behaviour. Too much prudery will only close all doors and avenues to finding darker secrets and fantasies of humans. ------- A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including Persian. URL: https://newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/openness-taboos-incest/d/129222 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism