Rasheed Gonzales

For those of you in the GTA (Greater Toronto Area), Shaikh Abū Hâtim Usâmah bin ‘Abdil-Latîf al-Qūsî will be coming to town to give some talks @ QSSC.

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Due to the benefit it contains, I’ve been wanting to post Professor Muhammad Mustafâ al-A’zamî’s introduction to his book titled The History of The Qur’ānic Text from Revelation to Compilation: A Comparative Study with the Old and New Testaments for some time now, but never really had the time to sit down and transcribe it until now. Allah willing the visitors to my blog will benefit greatly from what the Professor mentions in it. He touches on some very pertinent issues concerning revisionist thought in Islam, as well as some things concerning the famous Yemeni parchments so often mentioned on various websites about Islam (both hostile and friendly). Enjoy … .

Prof. al-A’zamî writes,

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ كُونُواْ قَوَّامِينَ للهِ شُهَدَآءَ بِالْقِسْطِ وَلاَ يَجْرِمَنَّكُم شَنَئَانُ قَومٍ عَلَى أَلاَّ تَعْدِلُواْ اعْدِلُواْ هُوَ أَقْرَبُ لِلتَّقْوَى وَاتَّقُواْ اللهَ إنَّ اللهَ خَبِيرٌ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ 

“O you who believe! Stand out firmly for Allāh, as witnesses to fair dealing, and let not the hatred of others to make you swerve towards inequity and depart from justice. Be just: that is closer to Piety: and fear Allāh, for Allāh is well-aquinted with all that you do.”[1]

Guidance, comfort and beauty. For the believing Muslim the Holy Qur’ān is all this and much more: the heartbeat of faith, a remembrance in times of joy and anguish, a fountain of precise scientific reality and the most exquisite lyricism, a treasury of wisdom and supplications. Its verses hang from the walls of shops and living rooms, lie etched in the minds of young and old, and reverberate through the night from minarets across the globe. Even so, Sir William Muir (1819-1905) adamantly declared it one of the “most stubborn enemies of Civilisation, Liberty, and the Truth which the World has yet known”.[2] Others have been no more charitable, seeing fit to heap abuse or cast suspicion upon it throughout the centuries and up to our present day, among them scholars, missionaries, and now even the occasional politician. Such a dichotomy is aggravating to Muslims and certainly perplexing to the non-Muslim, who would be well justified in supposing that each group was alluding to a different book altogether. What are the facts and what is the evidence? Faced with such an immense and sensitive topic brimming with ideas to consider, I could have begun my exploration anywhere; the starting point, as it finally turned out, was to be an article by someone I had never heard of before.

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Whoever disbelieved in stoning [as a legislated punishment] has certainly disbelieved in the Qur’an without considering. And that is Allah’s statement, exalted is He, «O People of the Book, Our messenger has come to you, clarifying for you much of what you used to hide of the Book, while he excuses much» (5:15). From what they hid was the [law concerning] stoning [as a punishment].

‘Abdullah bin ‘Abbâs, cousin of Prophet Muhammad
Silsilah al-Âthâr as-Sahîhah by Abū ‘Abdillah ad-Dânî Âl Zahawî, pg. 242

A note on the narration’s authenticity from the referenced source: Read the rest of this entry »

Zaid bin Thâbit left riding so Ibn ‘Abbâs took hold of his ride. Zaid said, “Do not do that, O nephew of Allah’s messenger, may Allah send salutations and peace upon him and his family.” So he (i.e., Ibn ‘Abbâs) said, “This is how we were commanded to act with our scholars.” So Zaid said, “Show me your hand,” then he took his hand. Zaid kissed it and said, “This is how we were commanded to act with the people of the household of our Prophet, may Allah send salutations and peace upon him.”

‘Âmir bin Shurâhîl ash-Sha’bî
Silsilah al-Âthâr as-Sahîhah by Abū ‘Abdillah ad-Dânî Âl Zahawî, pg. 128

A note on the narration’s authenticity from the referenced source: Read the rest of this entry »

New from brother Kâmil:

The age we live in today is an age of trial and tribulation, especially for the Muslims living in the non-Muslim societies of the West. You find many of them trying to strike a balance between their Islamic and Western identities. You find that when Islam is attacked they turn to the defensive with an inner feeling of defeat as they try to show that the Islamic values are no different than the Western ones. If they are told that the Islamic political system is dictatorial they respond by trying to show it is democratic. If they are told that Islam was spread by the sword they respond that Muslims fought only to defend themselves when attacked. They present a false interpretation of Islam without realizing it, for the purpose of pleasing the non-Muslims.

 Read on here.