The Elephant in the Room – as Caretakers of Earth, Muslims Must Oppose its Destroyers

Pollution has appeared on land and at sea because of what man’s hands have accomplished, so he may let them taste something of what they have earned, in order that they will turn back [in repentance]. (30:41)

Although many translators translate fasad as “corruption,” it can definitely also refer to “pollution” which is indeed a kind of corruption that conveys to modern understanding that this isn’t about leaders getting kickbacks or bribes, it’s about directly destroying the earth and its resources.

It is both dereliction of our duty and a threat to our survival as a species to harm the earth. The Quran warns us not to commit fasad (corruption of any kind) upon the earth many times (around 60x including non-environmental corruption). And our mandate from the Almighty as humans is to be caretakers of the earth. Thus we must also struggle against those who cause the pollution and destruction of the resources of our planet, its water, living things, minerals, air, everything. But now the earth is horribly polluted and made toxic at the hands of humans, and who is the biggest criminal? The U.S. military.

Zakat – Purification of Worldly Wealth

Allah’s command to give zakat* is equal to His command to establish the daily practice of salat, so much so that they are frequently mentioned together – in fact, 25 times (matching the number of prophets named in the Quran). Our worldly income, if not shared with others (if we can), turns into a burden on our souls, weighing them down and even can nullify our salat prayers. Everything, and I mean everything, interrelates. Money and other forms of wealth form a most powerful “heavy” relationship to people, for whom it is felt as a primary essential benefit. It’s quite easy for money to dominate our direction in life, making us forget Allah the Exalted, the Source of all resources and all wealth, and Who alone controls all these complex interrelated “worlds.” His name Lord of all worlds (Rabb Al-‘Alameen) expresses this comprehensive authority, and Allah’s all-encompassing generosity. When we don’t spend in His Way, we violate this generosity and our gains can become worthless. When we do give, Allah increases His giving to us as a reward.

*(Alternate spelling zakah, but I prefer zakat as it’s closer to the original Arabic.)

On Gratitude, Thanksgiving, and Islam

This Yaqeen Institute article entitled “Does Thanksgiving Make a Mockery of Gratitude?” gives us a brilliant and insightful discussion, with examples, of what gratitude is and is not, notably showing the distinct difference between how the Islamic empire grew and how European-style settler-colonial empires or projects grew. His examples include the horrors in Palestine now as well with America’s dubious relationship with the many indigenous peoples (actually nations but not organized as “modern nation-states”) whose lands the European settlers violently usurped. But he also helps us find the way forward.

We can easily see how true this is! Everything Israel accuses Hamas of doing is what Israel actually does and is continuously doing.

An article well-worth reading with historical background and some startling facts! This Smithsonian article also gives more on the more disturbing and accurate history of Thanksgiving.

We Are Worshipers by Nature

Previously I asked the question “What Is Worship of Allah?” But because people worship many things, it’s important to define worship itself, a word which in English is given rather vague and circular meanings. According to the Quran, we are all worshipers, in the sense that Allah did not create humankind except to worship Him. The whole point of our existence is supposed to be worship, which in Arabic is ‘abud. Of course there are many people who do not worship God at all, and thus are not fulfilling their actual purpose, but they may not realize they are worshiping something. So what then does “worship” actually mean or entail? Interestingly, a novelist raised as an atheist who as a child used to secretly pray to God, gave a famously popular commencement speech which makes the very same point we find in the Quran, that we are all created to worship. We can choose what or whom to worship, but cannot choose to not worship – to think so is to be deluded.

Surat Al-Humaza 104

This sura’s power lies in its sounds, and it’s message. Of course, those sounds can only be heard in Arabic; but before presenting how that works, notice how the message is described in a series of unexpected connections. The first unexpected element is how a “fault-finding backbiter” is not found fault with because of his backbiting, but rather from his amassing of wealth and counting it. Backbiters are not associated with wealth, but rather with gossip. And this guy’s big sin is counting his wealth? Nowadays, one might ask, “well, shouldn’t someone with money count it to know how much he has? What’s wrong with that? And who thinks having money will make them immortal? So ok, backbiting is bad, and I suppose greed is bad too, but fire? Aren’t these guys the supply side who get the economy going? Reserve hell for the murderers and rapists.” But let’s look a little deeper.

What Is Worship of Allah?

The word “worship” is not as obvious in meaning as it may seem. Although generally understood as a kind of dedicated devotion, often involving rituals or practices, differences in one’s idea of God may be rather vague. We should imagine God as Good in the highest sense, expecting of us to strive towards such things as justice, truth, beauty, compassion, thankfulness, generosity, reverence. But what is different here is that the Quran refers to all people as ‘abad or worshipers. We were created to worship, and so are worshipers by nature – but it’s up to us to choose who or what we worship, and therein lies the difference.

Allah the Exalted is not Petty and Islam Is Not About Things Being Haram

This inspiring video by Nouman Ali Khan beautifully explains the mistake people (both Muslims and non-Muslims) make, for various reasons, of thinking of Islam as a strict religion that makes everything prohibited, is against all forms of enjoyment in this world, just a kind of dour, restrictive religion, which is the diametrical opposite of the truth.

I associate this sort of thinking, nitpicking about hand positions in salat and which musical instruments are haram and which are halal, and the right and wrong way to wear hijab, whether or not to shave, “wear the beard” and detailed dress codes. But Allah the Exalted isn’t petty! Pettiness is practically defined as making irrelevant details the focus of one’s life, ignoring the looming and huge matters of faith, the Hereafter, charity, generosity of spirit, devotion in the heart, and a forgiving attitude towards others. And the fact that there is none like Allah, so study His book to know what He is like. The Quran is hugely communicative; it’s our responsibility to be receptive, not bark orders to others without humility or expressing love. May Allah guide us all. 🙂

Quran Transforms Zodiac to Signs of Ethical Path

An old blog post – “Why 114 Chambers?” – revamped and published on its original date – explains how zodiac symbolism is properly interpreted as guideposts to the Way of Allah. The post goes into brief details of each constellation’s “sign” as exemplified in the Quran, showing these placements of the suras correlate with both the Hijri months and Zodiac signs in uncanny ways that point to —> ethical behavior. For those who wish to “cut to the chase” and see what it all boils down to, the final set of principles derived from this study are shown below. Adding a reference to the discovery of an ancient Arab zodiac not mentioned in the above-linked post.

What History Books might not tell you about Islam

The featured photo above tells you something about how much has been overlooked: the entire Golden Age of Islam. The above is just an overview about what history books left out, but there is so much more which I’ve explained elsewhere. Below are a few more details. You can also check Wikipedia and other history sites on the subject.

How Enemies of Islam Serve their Agenda Using the Hajj against Muslims

It’s not just about profit but about oppressing Muslims and suppressing freedom of religion.

This mind-blowing video is a must-see for anyone who is Muslim and wants to freely worship Allah according to what they understand as truth. Saudi Arabia’s leadership has given exclusive control over Hajj pilgrimage booking away from independent Muslim businesses and directly to Muslim-killer Modi’s India-run agency. For profit and also because they are like-minded. Saudi leadership has also Americanized Mecca and the Hajj itself for profit and, they imagine, power. Indian Hindus and Muslims once got along and shared both peace and cultural interests until Modi radicalized Hindus to create enmity between religious groups and, as he imagines, please the West and especially Britain who colonized India using the strategy “divide and conquer,” which Modi now espouses.

First Day of Thul-Hijja Coincides with Juneteenth: Reminding Us to Fight for Justice

In Surat Al-Fajr “The Dawn” 89, which has 30 ayat, the first words are the oath “By the dawn,/ and the ten nights,/ and the even and the odd,/ and the night when it passes…” (89:1-4) These words reflect the passage of time: dawn and the passing of night on the outer ayat, and numbers on the inside reflecting a kind of urgency, the urgency to spend one’s time in Allah’s path. The ten nights are often interpreted to refer to the first ten days of Thul-Hijja, today being the first of them, during which many Muslims fast and do charitable deeds. This sura is followed by Surat Al-Balad “The City,” where in 90:11-13 we read “But he has not attempted the steep path (90:11)/ “and what can make you know what is the steep path?/ It is the freeing of a slave.” Although other good deeds are mentioned, we will pause on this one, because today the first day of thul-Hijjah, coincides with Juneteenth – a holiday in the US marking the day, June 19th, 1985, when all slaves in the United States were freed. Yet although slavery has been technically abolished in most of the world, human trafficking is the new slave trade, often involves sexual exploitation, often of minors. And the racism that leads to human exploitation still rages on. The Quran has a solution to both. 

How to Distinguish Good from Evil

The Number One Question should be “Is this (action or belief) Just or Unjust? “Indeed God commands justice, virtue, and giving to kinsfolk, and He forbids immorality, bad conduct, and oppression. And He admonishes you, that perhaps you will be reminded.” (16:90) Obviously, this is no small matter and reams could be written about it, not a mere blog post. But the Quran is also called Al-Furqan, which means “the Criterion,” which refers essentially to the Quran being a guide for the human soul, and as such gives us the criterion and criteria (plural) by which to distinguish good from evil.

Islam Is Transforming America for the Better

C. J. Werleman explains how Islam is bringing communities together that were previously enemies.

This is a true, real-world phenomenon: by simply giving people a welcoming, compassionate, truthful and exemplary way of finding purpose and meaning and mutual cooperation without all the materialistic hype, Islam is growing in America with surprising speed. And with many new converts, new energy and insights are also transforming the way even Muslims born of Muslim parentage view their religion. Excellent video!

Who are the Ma Malikat Ayman in the Quran? What about Slaves, Captives, and Polygamy?

There are many misconceptions regarding these ideas and terms that very much need clarification. Those misconceptions in fact resulted in later generations of Muslims forming harems, a practice that varied from place to place (or palace to palace), but mostly was not in conformance with what the Quran stipulated at all. Some of this derives from interpretations of the words ma malikat ayman. Many interpreters and translators say ma malikat ayman refers to slaves or captives. It’s often translated “those your right hand possesses” which itself needs further explanation, as this in itself means nothing particular in English. So we start with the word used in the verses requiring freeing slaves in compensation for crimes and infractions, raqaba, which is not really in dispute, but its literal and understood meaning gives us insights into what ma malikat ayman does and does not refer to.

Allah Loves/Does Not Love – How to Be the Best Human Possible

There are exactly the same number of ayat that include the statement “Allah loves…” as those that include the statement “Allah does not love…” — 16 times each, a total of 32. We’ve analyzed the two groups and although they have the exact same number of aya references, the qualities they name are not equal in number. There are 8 basic good attributes Allah loves in people, and 10 basic harmful attributes Allah does not love in people. Although they are mentioned the same number of times, comparing the attributes teaches us that attitude is more important than the acts themselves, because the attitude is in the heart, and leads us to the choices we make. 

Mistranslations in the Quranic Descriptions of Paradise Corrected

Some of the ayat in the Quran describing the reward in paradise for muttaqīn or “the God-fearing/righteous” have frequently been translated in a manner that includes descriptive reference to women’s bodies, as in “full-breasted companions” described below. This includes the widely-accepted Sahih International translation. But the word muttaqīn is gender-neutral, including both men and women, making such a translation contradictory and inconsistent. This issue is discussed below in a well-reasoned answer copied here from Quora (question links to the its answer) to the following question: why did the Muslim translators of the Quran place the phrase “full-breasted” in passage 78:31-33 of Sura an-Nisa?

Video: Islam Wins at World Cup

The World Cup brings thousands of people to watch the soccer competition between teams from around the world, usually dominated by European teams and the two famous South American teams. But this year, for the first time ever, the World Cup is being hosted in Qatar, the first Muslim nation to host the games. The soccer games had many surprises, such as the first African team, Morocco, to ever reach the semifinals in a World Cup. But although it has to do with soccer, not religion or culture, outside the stadiums there is much more to the story, as CJ Werleman explains.

Why Does the Quran Focus on Al-Akhira?

This is one of the most important questions one can ask. Faith in Allah is indelibly entwined with faith in Al-Akhira, the Hereafter. The life of this world is temporary and is, according to the Quran, only a test, but the Hereafter is everlasting. This understanding is in some ways – at the least, as an emphasis on higher “eternal” values – the basis for all major religions. There are however differences in Islam, which gives a clear and balanced approach to the subject.

Surat At-Takathir 102 – “Competition for More” vs Justice and Survival

This sura shoots straight to the issue of our time and of all times where civilizations teeter on the brink of collapse, and always for the same reason, greed and the competition for continuous nonstop increase — today, it’s called capitalism, about which journalist George Monbiot says “Capitalism is just a means by which something even bigger is pursued. Wealth.” This is the very subject of this sura: “Vying for more preoccupies you” — more wealth. And that pursuit as it is literally capitalized on and emphasized in modern developed countries as the whole point of life, is actually killing us and destroying the ecosystems we need for the survival of humanity. Not to mention the insanely prevalent injustice to the majority of the human race. Contrary to what we are told.  

Saudi Govt Waging War on Islam Itself, Not “Extremism”

CJ Werleman gives this insightful report and what we can do about it.

Muslims often lead busy lives, in some places struggling just to survive, and for various reasons may not be aware of this. But Saudi Arabia under MBS is no longer protecting the holy sites — and apparently the regime has been working on their destruction long beforehand, according to the video above. No longer a safe place for Muslims to practice their religion. No longer interested in protecting the rights of Muslims in the world, or interested in Islam as a religion or way of life.