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Bismi Allah (In the Name of Allah) Part 1 (a) Published on February 13, 2007
Abstract
The readers might find that certain sections are repetitive�to some extent. It happened simply because the Qur�an and ahadith are repetitive. I tried to avoid repetition as far as possible, but in a few cases this (repetition) could not be avoided all together.
Special Thanks Let us now begin with the �Beginning��the nature of Allah. Allah is Anthropomorphic (i)
Allah is for real.
042.011
Ali Dashti continues: Allah is anthropomorphic! According to Ghazali, Mutazillites were infidels and heretics. Allah will step down from His throne�said Ghazali.(Dashti, 1994, p. 157). Sourcing Imam Ahmad b. Taymiya, one of the highest among the Islamic scholars, Dashti further writes that he (Ibn Taymiya) repudiated Ghazali (the most celebrated Islamic scholar�many Muslims consider Ghazali�s work as next to the Qur�an) who did not have a clear idea about Allah�believing that Allah is not a physical entity. Ibn Taymiya even called Ghazali a heretic. Ibn Taymiya strongly believed that Allah is really anthropomorphic! He will step down from His throne! Dashti writes: Many Moslems, however, have had rigid minds. Such men only accepted interpretations which are confirmed by Hadiths, and they considered any use of reason in religious matters to be misleading and impermissible. They took the above quoted Qur�anic phrases literally and believed that God possesses a head, mouth, eyes, ears, hands, and feet just like those of human being. In the opinion of Abu Ma�mar al�Hodhali (d. 236/850), a preacher in Baghdad, anyone who denied this belief was an infidel. Adherents of the school of the famous traditionist and lawyer Ahmad b. Hanbal (164/780�241/855) have stuck to the same unthinking literalism ever since. The school�s chief later exponent, Ahmad b. Taymiya, was so fanatical that he called the Mo�tazelites infidels and Ghazali a heretic; on one celebrated occasion, after quoting the Qor�an in a sermon, he said to the congregation as he stepped down from the pulpit of the Great Mosque at Damascus, �God will step down from His throne in the same way as I am stepping down from this pulpit.� .(Dashti, 1994, p. 157) Dashti also writes that Muslim scholars agree that the Qur�an is not a miracle. Al-Maari wrote an imitation of the Qur�an. He writes: It is widely held that the blind Syrian poet Abu�l‑�Ala ol‑Maari (368/979�450/1058) wrote his Ketab ol‑fusul wa�‑ghayat, of which a part survives, an imitation of the Qor�an (Dashti, 1994, p. 48).. Here is another proof that Allah is for real and possesses human qualities (anthropomorphic): Enoch walked with Allah 19:56-57, 21:85-86 (Tabari, 1988, p. 6.42). Allah walks with human beings (in Paradise, of course)�this is impossible to believe. But look what the Qur�an says!
019.056
In foot note 55 of volume vi of Tabari we read: A Prophet mentioned in the Qur�an as �raised to high station � by God (19:56f, sec 21:85). He is usually identified with the Biblical Enoch (Akhnukh) who �walked with God, and he was not, for God took Hi� (genesis 5:24).� (Tabari, 1988, p. 6.42). This means Allah surely has feet, just like humans, to be able to walk with a human being such as Prophet Enoch (Idris). Further evidence that Islamic God, Allah is a living entity, alive and going about His daily business, like other creatures is glimpsed from a hadith. In Sahih Bukhari we read: People used to worship Muhammad till he died, Abu Bakr then claimed that Muhammad was dead but if people worshipped Allah then Allah is alive�(Sahih Bukhari, 5.59.733) Volume 5, Book 59, Number 733: Narrated 'Aisha: Abu Bakr came from his house at As-Sunh on a horse. He dismounted and entered the Mosque, but did not speak to the people till he entered upon 'Aisha and went straight to Allah's Apostle who was covered with Hibra cloth (i.e. a kind of Yemenite cloth). He then uncovered the Prophet's face and bowed over him and kissed him and wept, saying, "Let my father and mother be sacrificed for you. By Allah, Allah will never cause you to die twice. As for the death which was written for you, has come upon you." Narrated Ibn 'Abbas: Abu Bakr went out while Umar bin Al-Khattab was talking to the people. Abu Bakr said, "Sit down, O 'Umar!" But 'Umar refused to sit down. So the people came to Abu Bakr and left Umar. Abu Bakr said, "To proceed, if anyone amongst you used to worship Muhammad , then Muhammad is dead, but if (anyone of) you used to worship Allah, then Allah is Alive and shall never die. Allah said:--"Muhammad is no more than an Apostle, and indeed (many) apostles have passed away before him..(till the end of the Verse)......Allah will reward to those who are thankful." (3.144) By Allah, it was as if the people never knew that Allah had revealed this Verse before till Abu Bakr recited it and all the people received it from him, and I heard everybody reciting it (then). Narrated Az-Zuhri: Said bin Al-Musaiyab told me that 'Umar said, "By Allah, when I heard Abu Bakr reciting it, my legs could not support me and I fell down at the very moment of hearing him reciting it, declaring that the Prophet had died." The holy Qur�an also confirms that Allah is a living being�like any other creatures. Here is a verse from the Qur�an:
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One of the most enigmatic episode of Muhammad�s life was his alleged journey from his temporary sleeping place, Umm Hani�s (Muhammad�s cousin sister) bed‑room to the mosque (this is questionable, of course, since no mosque existed at Jerusalem during Muhammad�s time) of Jerusalem, Bait al‑Maqdis and then to Paradise, to meet Allah. Ibn Sa�d writes that on the night of this journey Muhammad went to Umm Hani�s house, offered isha paryer (night prayer) with her, boarded a Buraq, a half‑horse�half�female shaped angel creature and departed for Jerusalem and from there took another flight with this Buraq (or in some version climbed a long ladder) and ascended to Paradise to meet Allah. (Ibn Sa�d, 1.248). We might laugh at this infantile imaginary travel which could only be conceived by a person in hallucination under the influence of a strong drug. But look! What one of Islam�s principal sources, Sahih Bukhari writes: The night journey to Bait ul-Maqdis (Isra) was a real sight and not a dream (context of verse 17:60) �(Sahih Bukhari, 5.58.228). This is a lengthy hadith, I am quoting just the relevant part. Volume 5, Book 58, Number 228: Narrated Ibn 'Abbas: Regarding the Statement of Allah" ���������������. "And We granted the vision (Ascension to the heavens) which We made you see (as an actual eye witness) was only made as a trial for the people." (17.60)
Ibn Abbas added: The sights which Allah's Apostle was shown on the Night Journey when he was taken to Bait-ulMaqdis (i.e. Jerusalem) were actual sights, (not dreams). And the Cursed Tree (mentioned) in the Quran is the tree of Zaqqum (itself).
The verse (17:60) mentioned
in this Sahih (authentic) hadith reads:017.060
Those two sources prove that Allah is for real and He really has His residence in Paradise. Had Allah been everywhere, as many Islamists believe, it was not necessary for Muhammad to embark on this trip. Allah could simply manifest Himself to Muhammad in any form and talked to him. Allah could do this in an instant. So why should He waste time and resource to send a Buraq to Muhammad just to accost him? Therefore, we can safely derive this conclusion: Allah is for real. He is physical and has a fixed residence, wherever it might be.
Volume 8, Book 74, Number 246: Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet said, "Allah created Adam in his complete shape and form (directly), sixty cubits (about 30 meters) in height. When He created him, He said (to him), "Go and greet that group of angels sitting there, and listen what they will say in reply to you, for that will be your greeting and the greeting of your offspring." Adam (went and) said, 'As-Salamu alaikum (Peace be upon you).' They replied, 'AsSalamu-'Alaika wa Rahmatullah (Peace and Allah's Mercy be on you). So they increased 'Wa Rahmatullah' The Prophet added 'So whoever will enter Paradise, will be of the shape and form of Adam. Since then the creation of Adam's (offspring) (i.e. stature of human beings is being diminished continuously) to the present time." In Sahih Muslim we read: Adam is the image of Allah� (Sahih Muslim, 32.6325) This hadith has been transmitted on the authority of Abu Huraira and in the hadith transmitted on the authority of Ibn Hatim Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) is reported to have said: When any one of you fights with his brother, he should avoid his face for Allah created Adam in His own image. To avoid the embarrassment, in the print version of Sahih Muslim, the translator of Sahih Muslim, the Islamist scholar, �Abdul Hamid Siddiqi, in a foot note, writes confusing remarks which could only confirm the absolute perplexity that Muhammad had created with his own concept of Allah. The learned �Abdul Hamid Siddiqi writes: We have translated Surathi as His image instead of His form as Allah has no definite form and shape. The words that Allah created Adam in his own image do not mean that he has been fashioned after His image or form, as the finite being cannot be fashioned after the pattern of Infinite. Here the words �His image� have been used in order to give an idea of the high dignity of man and of his being the roof and crown of his creation and of the high dignity of man and of his being the roof and crown of His creation and of His being the vicegerent of the Lord upon the earth. According to some scholars, the pronoun �his� does not stand for God, but for the person who has been beaten on the face. According to this elucidation, the translation of the sentence should be: For Allah created Adam in his shape (the shape in which the victim too has been created). It is therefore the duty of everyone not to beat the face which is a replica of the face of Adam. (Sahih Muslim, 2004, p. 4.1660, foot note 2872). Note that the translator imposes his own version of concept of Allah, which clearly contradicts the Qur�an�s idea of Allah and the ahadith in Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim. Obviously, Professor �Abdul Hamid is as confused as any Bedouin could have been during Muhammad�s time! Allah noticed the nakedness of Adam and Eve (Ibn Sa�d, p. 1.22). Yes, Allah was embarrassed seeing a naked Adam. As Allah looked like Adam, He surely should be! Allah could never be naked. So, He instructed Adam and Eve to be properly dressed. On this, Ibn Sa�d writes: When Allah noticed the nakedness of Adam and Eve, He commanded him to slaughter a male sheep out of eight pairs which Allah had cast from the heavens. So Adam took the male sheep and slaughtered it. Then he obtained its wool which Eve span (sic). Then Adam along with Eve weaved it. So Adam weaved a garment for himself and a shift and a head‑covering
Allah has arms, legs and ears but the idols do not
have them. Thus, in the Qur�an we read that Allah has eyes and ears�(42:11).
042.011
Allah has hands; He created Adam with His own hands�(38:75, 48:10).
038.075
Commenting on the above two verses, the translator of Sahih Bukhari, Dr Muhammad Muhsin Khan writes that those two verses confirm two hands for Allah, but there is no similarity for them. Readers might be confounded at such a convoluted remark, but hold on, Dr Muhsin writes further: This is not like as some people think that Allah is present everywhere�here, there and even inside the breasts of men (Khan, 1994, p. 1067). Dr Muhsin Khan has confirmed what I wrote beforehand that Allah is anthropomorphic and He has a fixed residence. In Sahih Bukhari we read that Allah does have real physical hands. But His hands are so huge that He could grab the entire earth in one of His hands. Perhaps this hugeness of Allah�s hand is the dissimilarity with humans� hand when Dr Muhsin Khan mentioned Allah has hands but there is no similarity for them. Let us read this hadith. Allah will hold the whole earth and roll all the heavens up in his right hand...(Sahih Bukhari, 6.60.336) Volume 6, Book 60, Number 336: Narrated Abu Huraira: I heard Allah's Apostle saying, "Allah will hold the whole earth, and roll all the heavens up in His Right Hand, and then He will say, 'I am the King; where are the kings of the earth?"' Allah has huge feet. He puts His foot over hell�fire. That�s right. Commenting on verse 50:30, Sahih Bukhari says exactly this. Let us first read verse 50:30. YUSUFALI: One Day We will ask Hell, "Art thou filled to the full?" It will say, "Are there any more (to come)?" [050.030]
50:30 Allah puts his foot over hell fire...(Sahih Bukhari, 6.60.371, 373) Volume 6, Book 60, Number 371: Narrated Anas: The Prophet said, "The people will be thrown into the (Hell) Fire and it will say: "Are there any more (to come)?' (50.30) till Allah puts His Foot over it and it will say, 'Qati! Qati! (Enough Enough!)'"
Volume 6, Book 60, Number 373: Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet said, "Paradise and the Fire (Hell) argued, and the Fire (Hell) said, "I have been given the privilege of receiving the arrogant and the tyrants.' Paradise said, 'What is the matter with me? Why do only the weak and the humble among the people enter me?' On that, Allah said to Paradise. 'You are My Mercy which I bestow on whoever I wish of my servants.' Then Allah said to the (Hell) Fire, 'You are my (means of) punishment by which I punish whoever I wish of my slaves. And each of you will have its fill.' As for the Fire (Hell), it will not be filled till Allah puts His Foot over it whereupon it will say, 'Qati! Qati!' At that time it will be filled, and its different parts will come closer to each other; and Allah will not wrong any of His created beings. As regards Paradise, Allah will create a new creation to fill it with." Here are two similar ahadith from Sahih Muslim: Allah would place his foot on hell when the hell is filled with sinners�(Sahih Muslim, 40.6823, 6825). Anas b. Malik reported that Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) said that the Hell would continue to say: Is there anything more, until Allah, the Exalted and High, would place His foot therein and that would say: Enough, enough, by Your Honour, and some parts of it would draw close to the other.
'Abd al-Wahhab b. Ata' reported in connection with the words of Allah, the Exalted and the Glorious: We would say to Hell on the Day of Resurrection: Have you been completely filled up? and it would say: Is there anything -more? And he stated on the authority of Anas b. Malik that Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) said: (The sinners) would be thrown therein and it would continue to say: Is there anything more, until Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, would keep His foot there- in and some of its part would draw close to the other and it would say: Enough, enough, by Thy Honour and by Thy Dignity, and there would be enough space in Paradise until Allah would create a new creation and He would make them accommodate that spare place in Paradise. Even the translators of The Noble Qur�an and Sahih Bukhari, Drs al�Hilali and Muhammad Muhsin Khan, having included this hadith in a foot note admits the physical nature of Allah�s foot (Hilali and Khan, 1999, The Noble Qur�an, p. 679, foot note 1). Embarrassed with such mindless, cock‑and‑bull ahadith many contemporary Islamist scholars twist the meaning of those ahadith and contain that those allusion of the physical attributes of Allah are metaphorical. Here is a comment from none but the hadith scholar Professor �Abdul Hamid Siddiqi. Hand is here used not in the literal sense, but in metaphorical sense. (Siddiqi. 2004, p. 1.151, footnote 388) In the holy Qur�an (35:41) we read that Allah grasps the sky and the earth firmly lest they move away from their places; only Allah could guarantee the continued existence of the heavens and the earth. This verse clearly depicts the hugeness of Allah�s hand and personifies Allah�s might so much so, that only Allah has the physical strength to keep perfectly the earth in its position of rest. Here is the verse 35:41 PICKTHAL: Lo! Allah graspeth the heavens and the earth that they deviate not, and if they were to deviate there is not one that could grasp them after Him. Lo! He is ever Clement, Forgiving. Allah does have physical ability of hearing and seeing. Here is a hadith from Sunaan Abu Dawud: Sunaan Abu Dawud, Vol. III, Hhadith Number 4710 Abu Yunus Sulaim b. Jubair, client of Abu Hurairah, said: I heard Abu Hurairah recite this verse (4:58): �Allah doth command you to render back your trusts to those to whom they are due��up to �For Allah is He who heareth and seeth all things. He said: I saw the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) putting his thumb on his ear and finger on his eye. Abu Huraira said: I saw the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) reciting this verse and putting his fingers. Ibn Yunus said that al‑Muqri said: �Allah hears and sees� means that Allah has the power to hearing and seeing. As usual, embarrassed with such incredulous hadith, the translator of Sunaan Abu Dawud, Professor Ahmad Hasan, in a foot note, vehemently denies the existence of Allah�s physical organs like ears and eyes. He rather blames the Jahiliya (ignorance) for such an idea. In a foot note, he writes: The Jahmiyyah did not believe in Divine attributes. This tradition refuted their view. Allah does not have the organs of hearing and seeing, i.e. ears and eyes, but their power. (Hasan, 2001, p. 3.1324, foot note 4121). Needless to say, this is a prevarication by Professor Hasan to impose his personal opinion on unsuspecting readers. Let us read what Tirmidhi Hadith says about Allah�s finger. In The Noble Qur�an, Dr Muhammad Taqi-uddin Al‑Hilali and Dr Muhammad Muhsin Khan comments on verse 7:143 which talks about Allah�s conversation with Moses. This verse reads as follows: YUSUFALI: When Moses came to the place appointed by Us, and his Lord addressed him, He said: "O my Lord! show (Thyself) to me, that I may look upon thee." Allah said: "By no means canst thou see Me (direct); But look upon the mount; if it abide in its place, then shalt thou see Me." When his Lord manifested His glory on the Mount, He made it as dust. And Moses fell down in a swoon. When he recovered his senses he said: "Glory be to Thee! to Thee I turn in repentance, and I am the first to believe." [007.143] Here is the comment by these two impeccable Islamist scholars: The appearance of Allah to the mountain was very little of Him. It was approximately equal to the tip of one�s little finger as explained by the Prophet when he recited this verse (This Hadith is quoted by At‑Tirmidhi) (Hilali and Khan, 196, p. 225, foot note 1) Muhammad was so convinced of the anthropomorphic nature of Allah that he even compared the limbs of the idols of the Arab pagans to those of Allah. Ridiculing the idols of the Bedouin polytheists, he told them that their idols� limbs were useless, whereas Allah�s hands, eyes and feet are real and workable. Let us read verse 7:194-196 from the holy Qur�an: Idols have no legs to walk, no hands to hold, no eyes to see and no ears to hear; you may try in vain to call on them to smite Allah (this means that Allah has feet, hands and ears)�7:194�196:
007.194
Muhammad was adamant that his Allah was for real; that is, Allah does have physical limbs. To strengthen his claim he compared the eye of Dajjal (anti‑Christ) to that of Allah. He claimed that Dajjal is one-eyed, but Allah is not. Here is a hadith from Sahih Bukhari: Dajjal is one-eyed but Allah is not�(Sahih Bukhari, 4.55.553) Volume 4, Book 55, Number 553: Narrated Ibn Umar: Once Allah's Apostle stood amongst the people, glorified and praised Allah as He deserved and then mentioned the Dajjal saying, "l warn you against him (i.e. the Dajjal) and there was no prophet but warned his nation against him. No doubt, Noah warned his nation against him but I tell you about him something of which no prophet told his nation before me. You should know that he is one-eyed, and Allah is not one-eyed." Sahih Muslim writes that Allah is not deaf; He can talk and listen and he is really an entity�a physical entity, to be precise, just the likes of a human being. Let us read this hadith from Sahih Muslim: Allah is not deaf or absent; the treasure of Paradise is reciting �there is no might and no power but that of Allah��(Sahih Muslim, 35.6528) Abu Musa reported that he (and his other companions) were climbing upon the hillock along with Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) and when any person climbed up, he pronounced (loudly):" There is no god but Allah, Allah is the Greatest." Thereupon Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) said: Verily, you are not supplicating One Who is deaf or absent. He said: Abu Musa or Abdullah b Qais, should I not direct you to the words (which form) the treasure of Paradise? I said: Allah's Messenger, what are these? He said:" There is no might and no power but that of Allah." Allah will shake hands. Yes, that�s correct. Allah does have arms to shake hands with the His ardent faithful followers. Here is a hadith from Sunann ibn Majah: Sunaan ibn Majah, Vol. I Hadith Nnumber 104:
�Ubayy b. Ka�b (Allah be pleased with him) reported that Allah�s Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him said, �The first person with whom Allah will shake hands (on the Day of Judgment), will be �Umar and he will be the first man to whom Allah will pay salutation (say: Assalamu �alaika) and he will be the first man whom he will hold with his Hand and make him enter the Paradise.
According to Al-Zawa�id, its isnad is daif. It contains in it Dawud b. �Ata al‑Madani and all the scholars are unanimous about his du�f (weakness). The other transmitters are reliable and sound. As‑Suyuti has said, �Hafiz �Imad ud-Din b. Kathir in his Jami al‑Masanid has said: This hadith is highly munkar (disagreeable) and is not far from being a maudu (fabricated) hadith. In case we are wondering about the content of the second paragraph of this hadith, here is the explanation. According to Ibn Majah, a person, named Dawud b �Ata al‑Madani who is one of the narrators of this hadith is not a very reliable narrator of hadith. The other narrators are reliable and the text of the hadith is acceptable, though this might be weak. Another opinion is that this hadith could be fabricated. The bottom line is: though this hadith might be weak and controversial there is no compelling reason to reject this hadith, out‑of‑hand, or render it totally un‑authentic. At best, it is controversial; at worst it is a weak hadith, but not completely inauthentic. Here is another proof from the holy Qur�an that Allah does indeed have physical eyes to see what His Prophets are doing. In fact, Allah instructed Noah to construct an arc right in front of His eyes. After inspecting Noah�s accomplishment, Allah vouched the complete annihilation of the wrong-doers. Here is the verse 011:036�037
YUSUFALI: It was
revealed to Noah: "None of thy people will believe except those who have
believed already! So grieve no longer over their (evil) deeds. [011.036] Abul Kasem writes from Sydney, Australia. Email : [email protected]
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