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QURANIC

CONTENTS
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 INTRODUCTION RELIGION PROFESSED IN THE QURAN NOT REFORM BUT RETURN TO THE QURAN HADITHS AND SUNNA REASONS FOR ADDITIONS TO TO THE ESTABLISHED RELIGION AND FOR INVENTION OF HADITHS CONTRADICTIONS BETWEEN THE HADITHS AND THE QURAN CONTRADICTORY HADITHS HADITHS IN CONTRADICTION WITH LOGIC INTERPOLATIONS BY HADITHS HADITHS JUDGED BY HADITHS ATTITUDE OF THE FOUR CALIPHS TOWARD THE HADITHS SOME PROMINENT HADITH FABRICATORS PSEUDO-RELIGION UNDER THE OMAYYADS AND ABBASIDS SECTS RELIGIOUS ORDERS THE CONCEPT OF SUNNA ARAB NATIONALISM ANIMOSITY TOWARD THE ARTS, MUSIC AND CHESS 03 07 17 20 32 37 42 46 50 55 59 62 68 71 88 93 96 98

Page |2 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 EATING ACCORDING TO THE QURAN AND ACCORDING TO SECTS SO-CALLED APOCALYPTIC SIGNS: SECOND COMING, MAHDIS WOMEN IN THE QURAN AND IN THE FABRICATED RELIGION HEADSCARF AND VEILING THE QURAN: A BOOK OF INCANTATIONS? MARIFATNAME, AN EXEMPLARY BOOK,PROTOTYPE OF LUDICROUS SCHOLARSHIP! TURNING RELIGION INTO A GAME: NASIH-MANSUH RAJM: STONING TO DEATH WHAT IS MEANT BY OBEY THE MESSENGER (PROPHET)? THE PROPHET TURNED INTO IDOL LESSONS TO BE LEARNED FROM JEWS AND CHRISTIANS THE QURAN AND GOVERNMENT THE QURAN AND THE SECTS TRUE BELIEVER IS PLURALITY THE ANSWER? SIMPLICITY KEYS TO COMPREHEND THE QURAN FAITH, PRAYER, ALMS, FASTING AND PILGRIMAGE LIST OF INTERPOLATIONS THE REAL CONTENTS OF THE QURAN SUBJECTS OUTSIDE THE CONTEXT OF THE QURAN PRAYING IN THE VERNACULAR AND THE LAST WORDS 100 102 106 117 121 124 128 133 135 142 145 149 151 154 155 158 162 166 184 192 200 201

QURANIC RESEARCH GROUP

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INTRODUCTION
Before proceeding any further, we must draw the attention of the reader to the fact that the word religion as used in this book refers mainly to Islam, although it may now and then assume its general meaning in the course of our narrative. Religious arguments are on the everyday agenda of the media and form an object of heated debate among the public in general. How are we to arbitrate between such controversial questions? What makes such divergences? How is it that every one of these arguments claims to be the truth by their defenders? How are we to differentiate between truths and untruths? The aim of the present book is to provide answers to these questions and dispel all ambiguities. The essential topic of discussion may be initiated by the question What is the origin of Islam? The answer to this crucial question would be conducive to the clarification of problematic issues. We shall witness, in the coming pages, the fact that the divergent opinions originate from different answers given to this basic question. To start a discussion without attempting first to answer this question and without assessing every one of the issues within their respective frames, would lead us inevitably to endless controversies and dilemmas. Our answer to the said question will clarify the steps we shall be taking. Those who start an argument without having dealt first with it proceed in a haphazard fashion. Their arguments are based on a variety of sources: some have their origin in the Quran, some in a hadith, some in their own lore, some in a religious sect of Islam, and some in an order of Islam. People who tackle the subject without any method try to impose their own ideas, wishes and obsessions in the name of Islam. Their claims, devoid of sound logic and method, seem puzzling to us, as we are at a loss to understand their reasoning. To provide an answer to the question: What is the source of the Islamic religion? is of utmost importance and rewarding insight into it. Islam is a system devised by God. To know Gods expectations from His creatures, His commandments and injunctions would guide us to the answer we are after. Is the Quran the only source of Islam? Can hadiths (words attributed to Muhammad) contribute to the interpretation of the Quran? What is the authority of madhabs (religious sects) in Islam? How are we to conceive religious orders and the sheikhs, their chiefs, in terms of the established religion? You will find answers to all these questions. You will see how the answers traditionally given to these questions have played a role in misleading the masses. After having read the present book, we would advise you to ask those who speak authoritatively in the name of Islam what the origin of their overall conceptions is, and to check the answers to be given to see whether there are discrepancies in them. If we can do this, we can easily see their paradoxes. We must beware of people who speak about religion haphazardly, and whose lifestyles are at odds with the views they advocate. Observers of the ways of these people may be at a loss to understand the ground upon which their religious creeds are based. These people who profess to be the advocates of Islam should, in principle, lead a life like the way of life advocated by the Talibans; but they are far from willing to do so. There is a deep chasm between the lifestyle of these people and the ideas they champion. These people form not a minority, but a majority of the Islamic population. What must be done should not be directed at opening still wider the rift between their systems (theories/methods) and their actual lifestyles in the hope to better themselves. What must be done is to lay the foundation to which we refer, by such expressions as method or theory and to reduce to a minimum the clashes between faith and lifestyle. Only by developing an overall concept of Islam through a well-founded and coherent system that does not sever a persons lifestyle from this concept can one attain a rational, logical and correct conclusion. The path leading to this achievement would be the correct answer. What is the source of the Islamic religion? On this conclusion shall be

Page |4 based a Muslims lifestyle and practice. This is the only way to guard against unwarranted interferences of arbitrary deductions and malicious interpretations. Our method aims at separating the true source of the Islamic religion emanating from God from the false arguments of humans. It is our fervent belief that the meticulousness in our approach will put an end to all misconceptions regarding the true source of Islamic religion.

THE HISTORY OF RELIGIONS IS AN ACCOUNT OF THE CONTROVERSY BETWEEN REASON AND TRADITION Prophets over the ages have challenged the established traditions and contested what they believed to be irreconcilable with Providence. It is explicitly stated in the Quran that the prophets always warned their public against traditions and false beliefs, manifestly at variance with Gods religion, appealing to their intelligence and cogent reasoning. Those adamant in their convictions based on ingrained prejudices inherited from their ancestors were determined not to change their opinions and were resolute not to break with tradition. Throughout history, traditionalism has proven to be the greatest enemy of the call of the Prophet, who urged his community to make use of their intelligence, in an effort to make them amenable to reason. The perpetuation of the established system inherited from our forefathers and the emulation of their ways have always seemed attractive and preferable to rationalization. Traditionalism and conservatism have always clashed with reason. It is odd that religiosity is equated today with conservatism and traditionalism. According to the Quran, man must be governed by reason. He must not be guided by traditions and preconceived ideas not sanctioned by unbiased evidence. We suggest that our readers who prefer to stick to the system of their ancestors consult the following verses of the Quran: 31 Luqmaan, 21; 14 Abraham, 10; 11 Hud, /62 and 109; 5 The Feast, 104; 7 Purgatory, 28. 21 What! Have We given them a book before this to which they are holding fast? 22 Instead, they say: We found our fathers following a certain way, and we do guide ourselves by their footsteps. 23 Just in the same way, whenever we sent an envoy before you to a settlement, the leaders among them said: We found our fathers following a certain way, and we will certainly follow in their footsteps. 24 He said: Even if I brought you better guidance than that which you found your fathers following? They said: We are disbelievers in the message you brought. 43 Vanity, 21- 24 It is made clear in the Quran that compliance with the established creeds of a society or of the majority of a population does not guide a Muslim toward the ultimate truth. (see Chapter 33). Today, we see that communities of people have transformed the Islamic religion into the observance of a set of traditions mostly based on hearsay and blindly accepted without questioning them. Verse 21 of Sura Vanity states that ideas put forth in the name of Islam not based on the Quran are wrongly inferred set of opinions. The following verses point to the fact that what has been inherited from our forefathers has taken precedence over Gods book. 36 - Do not follow that of which you have no knowledge. Verify the ear, the eye, the heart; each will be questioned. 17 The Children of Israel, 36 18 - Those who listen to the word, and follow the best in it: those are the ones whom God has guided, and those are the ones of wisdom. 39 The Throngs, 18

Page |5 Opinions expressed in the name of religion must therefore be evaluated in the light of these Quranic verses. We must examine their origin and the way they have imposed themselves throughout centuries. In the second part of our book, we shall be dwelling on the fact that the sole source of Islam is the Quran. We shall advise our readers to consult the Quran for a sound and complete coverage of Islam. Then we shall tackle the issue of the hadiths, claimed to be the sayings of the Prophet; sayings in which truth and untruth are inextricably intermingled and are manifestly in conflict with the dictates of the Quran. To say that the hadiths should not be taken as a basis for the Islamic religion is to safeguard the Prophet against slanders, rather than to behave disrespectfully toward him. While studying this question, we suggest that you revise your opinions, taking into consideration Verse 36 of Sura The Children of Israel and bear in mind the statements of Verse 18 of Sura The Throngs in order to attain the truth and re-examine your preconceived ideas and the traditional practices you are indulging in as well as the heritage of your forefathers within the framework of Verses 21, 22, 23, 24 of Sura Vanity, so that you may found your religion not on traditions but on clear evidences of the Quran, Gods will.

THE QURAN IS CONSISTENT WITH REASON 22 - The worst of creatures in the sight of God are the deaf and the dumb who understand not. 8 The Spoils of Water, 22 100 - And He casts uncleanness on those who will not understand. 10 Jonah, 100 The path to God is the path of intelligence and conscience. The worst creature in Gods sight is he who is deaf to reality and unwilling to use his intelligence. These people do not use their brains, a gift of God granted to man in order to differentiate him from other creatures, and are blind to His clear evidences. They have no need for intelligence as they cling to their lords, their forefathers, the established traditions and public opinion. Those who have failed to get the message of the Quran have tried to manipulate it into a system of intractable postulations mixed with dogmas and superstitions. This has caused an infinite number of people to repudiate religion or to turn them into atheists. Therefore, it is very important to differentiate Islam decreed by the Quran from the traditionally inherited religious practices rendered distressing and irrational. This will relieve Islam from unnecessary burdens, interpolations and omissions. The great masses who had turned a cold shoulder to the Quran and Islam will thus be won back. 10 - We have sent down to you a book which has a reminder for you. Will you not then understand? 21 The Prophets, 10 This was the mentality that had delayed for 278 years the use of the printing press invented in the 1450s and led the ulema (professors of theology) to issue a decree for the decapitation of the Sultans sons, a capital sin according to the Quran. This was the mentality behind the practices of the primitive and savage Talibans in Afghanistan and of the austere and unyielding Shiites in Iran, who deemed unsatisfactory what the Quran announced. This mental outlook ended by turning the imams, the mullahs and the sheikhs and their spurious statements into the wellsprings of religion, inventing grotesque hybrid systems superseding Gods Word. The pronouncements of these people having been styled the authority, and declared apostate the dissenters and excommunicated them (see Chapter 32).

Page |6 THE BOOKS AIM The aim of this book is to assert once and for all the fact that the Quran has the exclusivity of Islam, and that, unless explicitly announced in it, no one, no sect, no sheikh or authority is allowed to remove anything from it or to make any additions to it. The purpose of religion is man. To mislead a man by arousing antagonism between him and life, and generating discord between him and his self is doomed to end in a disaster. Islam is, in its essence, free from all contradictions, whereas the pseudo-religion is a den of inconsistencies, illogicalities and sources of misery. It is inconceivable that the religion that God has revealed to be in perfect accord with human nature would include contradictions. 30 - Therefore, you shall devote yourselves to the religion of strict monotheism; Gods handiwork according to the pattern on which He created mankind. Such creation of God will never change. This is the perfect religion, but most people do not know. 30 The Romans, 30 The only lawgiver is God as far as religion is concerned. God, as the only authority, has addressed humanity through the Quran, an explicit book free from all contradictions; a book that comprises all His messages. To acknowledge the truth of these facts is tantamount to recognizing Islam given in the Quran as the word of the Almighty, the only Lawgiver. This acknowledgement entails the revocation of all unsubstantiated powers of those styled authorities and the affirmation of the fact that God is the One and Only Authority and has no equal. The Prophet, the messenger of God, has not declared any source other than the Quran; nor has he dictated any doctrine in the name of Islam. If a statement or commentary supposed to have been given by the Prophet proves to clash with an announcement in the Quran, if anything is added or omitted from the text of the Quran, this would belie both Islam and the Prophet. In the coming chapters, we shall take a closer look into the Arabian, Omayyad, and Abbasid traditions and customs, into the contrived explanatory notes, interpolated idiosyncratic remarks and the mentality that incorporated into Islam many sham practices. We shall be warned against equating the so-called established religion with the Quran and find out the reasons why the points alleged or believed to be part of the religion are in fact outside its scope and devoid of all validity. In brief, by heading for the source, we shall be better acquainted with Islam, and, in a sense, we shall restructure it.

LETS BREAK THE SHACKLES OF TABOOS ON MINDS We shall be wary of propounding our personal viewpoint, as we shall exclusively confine ourselves to the Quran. We are well aware that we shall be faced with the expostulations of traditionalists. We shall be accused of Zionism or be excommunicated as Freemasons, as has been the case in the past. This is the usual self-deception method of the traditionalist fundamentalists who justify their backwardness by laying the blame on extraneous agents. We hereby declare that we are neither Zionists nor Freemasons. We are mere researchers and advise you to read the present book with a critical eye. The Quran is the Book of God, the true and unique source of religion. Our own opinions should be considered correct so long as they conform to the text of the Quran. This study aims at breaking the shackles that traditions, plurality, apism and superstitions have put on human intelligence. We shall be gratified if this book would be a modest contribution to a better understanding of Islam according to the Quran.

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RELIGION PROFESSED IN THE QURAN

What may be the deviations between the religious system actually practiced as Islam and the religion described in the Quran? In the coming chapters we shall be dealing in detail with the Islam propounded in the Quran and the Islam in which traditions have a large share.

ORIGINS OF ISLAM To find out the deviations in question, we must trace back to the origins of Islam. Having established the fact that the Quran is the only authority of Islam, we shall consult it whenever we are asked to provide answers to questions put to us. For instance, if somebody wants to know if the practice whereby some Muslim women veil themselves and avoid contact with men not related to them is dictated or not in the Quran, we shall have to look it up in the Quran, and having concluded after careful research that there is no such thing, we shall be in a position to safely state that the Quran has no such exhortation. In such a case, the traditionalists would refer to books on Islamic catechism and to their sheikhs, and arrive at the conclusion that the segregating of women and men does figure in the Quran and is a binding duty. (For illustration of the way to understand Islam by sheer reference to the Quran, see Chapters 35, 37 and 38.) Having examined these issues, we are faced with the question of whether the Quran is a sufficient source for the practice of Islam. The Quran is complete and self-sufficient. What is more, the fact that it is the only source of the Islamic religion is explicitly stated in it. For dissenters, the Quran needs to be supplemented by hadiths, the general concurrence and agreement in opinion and decision of legalists and analogy. In the present book, we shall try to prove that pronouncements other than those in the Quran are not reliable. If we can prove that even the hadiths cannot be an auxiliary source for the practice of the Islamic religion, the other sources enumerated above will necessarily lose their validity. The Quran is not self-sufficient, according to traditionalists. Yet, the verses we have quoted in this section form conclusive evidence, proving that the Quran is indeed self-sufficient and that it is a book that clarifies everything, as it contains all the detailed information necessary. To state that the Quran is not self-sufficient and that there is need for supplementary sources is tantamount to acting against the dictates of the Quran. We shall not pass over the issue by mere reference to the verses quoted above, but demonstrate, from different perspectives, the error committed by those who insist on supplementary sources, and show the spuriousness of words attributed to the Prophet and their contradictory and irrational character.

DOUBTERS OF THE SELF-SUFFICIENCY OF THE QURAN Those who think that the Quran is not self-sufficient will reason on the grounds that they belong to such and such a sect or order. The hadith scholars, the experts in the canon law of Islam and the commentators on the Quran, will contend that unless a person has made studies in their respective domains, Islam cannot be understood properly, and that the Quran is not accessible to the public at large. Was religion revealed then only for the few and not for all of humanity? Did the Prophet belong to a particular sect or order? What were the sects or orders of the Four Caliphs? Are there such sects as Hanafi, Shafi, Shii and Wahabi in the Quran? Does the Quran refer to itself when it uses the expression the only guide or does it also mention Bukhari, Muslim and the Twelve Imams, the books on Islamic catechism or the

Page |8 consensus of the wise men of a community? We must examine the verses of the Quran and try to find answers to these and see if the Quran is self-sufficient or not. 89 - And We have sent down to you the Book explaining all things, a guide, a mercy and glad tidings for those who submit. 16 The Honey Bees, 89 As one can clearly see from this verse, the Quran explains everything and is the only guide. If so, why refer to Bukhari or Muslim or to the books on Islamic catechism? Since we can plainly see in the Quran, why insist on appealing for the help of such sects as Hanbali, Shafi, Hanafi, Shii, Jaferi and Maliki? Considering that God styled us as Muslims (submitters), must we use such designations as Sunni, Shii and Shafi considering that the attribute Muslim falls short of the mark?

THE COMMAND IS FOR NONE BUT GOD 40 - The command is for none but God; He has commanded that you worship none but Him: that is the right religion, but most people do not know. 12 Joseph, 40 26 - They have no guardian other than Him, nor does He share his command with anyone. 27 - Recite what has been revealed to you of the Book of your Lord. No one can change His words and no one will you find as a refuge than Him. 18 The Cave, 26 -27 The sharing of Gods command would be an act of heresy. Judgments based on the interpretations of sects, the consensus of the learned, and the analogies and hadiths do not come within the purview of Gods command. To equate them with religion means transferring the legislative power to persons other than God who can not share His command. Personal opinions of individuals cannot supersede religion, Sura The Cave, 27, is explicit about mans only refuge, God. No one can change His words; and yet sects have dared to do so. Gods words, in which He has revealed His will, are in the Quran. There is no other source that can be said to belong to God. Given the fact that the command belongs only to God (Sura Joseph, 40), and the fact that He does not share His command with any person whatsoever, we have to accept the Quran as the unique source of the Islamic religion. If we espouse the view that the books that do not belong to God (like the hadiths or the books on Islamic catechism) may also be taken as a source of religion, we cannot avoid being accused of heresy. The authors of the books referred to as Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Davud or the sects like Hanafi, Shafi, Jafari should not be equated with God. 33 - Whose word is better than one who calls to God and works righteousness and says I am one of the submitters. 41 Elucidated, 33 115 - The Word of your Lord is complete in truth and in justice. No one can change His words. He is the Hearer, the Knower. 6 The Cattle, 115

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Islam, Gods religion, was completed during the lifetime of the Prophet. The Quran was written, learned by heart and became the source of the Islamic religion. Books that compiled the hadiths, the sayings of Muhammad, began to appear one or two hundred years after his death. While it was made explicit in the Quran that Gods Words could not be changed by anyone, for some reason or other, the carriers found the Quran not sufficient enough and began looking for new sources. According to this mentality, the ijtihads (canonical jurisprudence) of Imam Shafi, the fatwas of the Twelve Imams and the clarifications of the Hanafi Imams have completed the revelation. According to these personages, religion was not complete before their contributions. Moreover, the advocates of traditionalism not being content with this, dared to repeal the commentaries of the Quran, superseding them with hadiths and their own interpretations (see Chapters 25, 26) and violated the statement of the verse that said: No one can change His Words.

THE QURAN CONTAINS ALL DETAILS 114 - Say: Shall I seek for judge other than God? When He it is Who sent unto you the Book, explained in detail. 6 The Cattle, 114 The Quran makes no reference to other books, sheikhs, books on Islamic catechism or explanations of the hadiths. It explicitly says that it has spoken in detail. Under the circumstances, if we cannot find in the Quran a particular prohibition, a detail or a prayer, it should follow that the alleged prohibition, the act or the prayer in question simply does not exist. For instance, the fact that there is no reference to the wearing of silk or to the eating of mussels or shrimp means that they are considered edible. One should look up in the Quran for a ban or a prohibition of a certain act and not for the execution of particular deeds. For example, the absence of a prohibition against the wearing of silk would be enough to deduce that it is permissible. There is no need for a special provision that would allow the wearing of silk. This mentality is inherent in the following verse: 101 - O you who believe, ask not about things which if made known to you would give you trouble; and if you ask about them when the Quran is being revealed, they will be made known to you. God has overlooked them and God is Forgiving, Forbearing. 5 The Feast, 101 To spare trouble for His creatures, God makes no mention of a great many things. Had He done so, the responsibilities on the shoulders of men would have increased. God repeatedly states that religious practices are easy to perform and that His intention is not to create difficulties for men. However, the inventors of the hadiths and the sectarians make every effort to create difficulties in the name of religion by their commentaries, as if God had forgotten to explain the points which they tackle. Whatever religion prohibits is evil, but religion does not have to state every act which should preferably be avoided. Responsibilities that religion commands must be performed. Thus, points left out from the text of the Quran must be interpreted as acts depending on our free discretion. All additions to it must immediately be eliminated.

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GOD NEVER FORGETS 64 - And your Lord never forgets. 19 Mary, 64 God, our Lord, is omniscient; it follows that He knows what we need to know about religion. Points left to our discretion are meant to be a mans elbowroom. Are those people who deem it necessary to supplement the Book, with the intention of interpolating new details in the text, consider themselves wiser than God, and believe to accomplish what God has, according to them, left incomplete? For example, while God has not described the clothes to be worn by the woman stating that she is to cover herself from a given part of her body to another part, how dare they do so in the name of the Almighty? Why have they tried to interpolate their opinions in the practice of Islam? Their rationale may be a topic of discussion, but clothing the woman in a particular uniform is but casting aspersion upon God and His religion (See Chapters 17, 18). 51 - It is not sufficient for them that We have revealed the Book to you which is read out to them. 29 The Spider, 51 Alas, the Quran seems to be not good enough for the traditionalists. The Word of the Quran does not satisfy those who dare rewrite the Quranic text by interpolating thousands of hadiths and viewpoints of the sectarian chiefs in the practice of religion. They are not satisfied, because the Quran does not veil the woman as the traditionalists seem to imagine, because it does not prohibit arts and sculpture and does not decree uniforms with turbans, robes with full sleeves and long skirts nor recommend men to grow a beard, thus promoting the customs of the Arabs. This is why many people prefer to become members of the Hanafi, Shafi, and Shii sects rather than being the Muslim as put forth in the Quran. For these prohibitions, which do not exist in the Quran, are incorporated in the creeds of these sects. Instead of learning what the Quran says, these people prefer to figure out a religion in their minds and look for it in the Quran, and when they fail to find it in it, they say the items are missing. Eventually, the Quran proves not to be sufficient for certain miscreants and religionists.

NOTHING HAS BEEN OMITTED FROM THE BOOK 38 - Nothing have We omitted from the Book. 6 The Cattle, 38 Considering that God states that nothing has been omitted from the Book, those who make use of the Book as a prayer recited for the souls of the departed and who are enchanted by its music are ignorant of its meaning. They try to supersede the Quran with books on Islamic catechism, to replace the meaning of it by incantations, to substitute the dead for the living and to favor the Islam of the sectarians in total disregard of the Quran. They seem to be doomed to remain in the dark unless they begin to pay due attention to the meaning inherent in it and be more concerned with the living than the dead. 154 - What is the matter with you? How do you judge?

P a g e | 11 155 - Why do you not take heed? 156 Do you have solid proof? 157 Then bring your Book, if you are truthful. 37 Who Stand in a Row, 154-157

36 - What is the matter with you? How do you judge? 37 Have you a book through which you learn? 38 In it, do you find anything you want? 68 The Pen, 36-38

49 You shall judge between them in accordance with Gods revelations to you. 5 The Feast, 49 These verses point to the fact that religious commands are from God. All other injunctions and admonitions are false, null and void in religious terms. If a given word or behavior attributed to the Prophet is brought forth as evidence for an act not mentioned in the Quran, the hadith in question is sure to be unfounded; or it may have been a personal opinion of the Prophet which is of no consequence in religious terms. It is explicitly stated in the Quran (Sura The Feast, 49) that the Prophet lived solely by the Quran, the Book that contains all the religious prescriptions. If we take the Quran as our only guidance, we are sure to be on the right path and have no need for any further authority. (We shall study the issue of obedience to God and His prophets in Chapter 27.) 69 - This is nothing but a reminder and a Quran making things evident (mbiyn). 36 Yasin, 69 The Arabic word mubin, comes from beyan (evident, clear). The same expression is encountered in such verses as 26 The Poets 2; 27 The Ant 1; 28 The History 2.. These statements that declare that the Quran is clear enough as an answer to those who contend that the Quran can be understood only by reference to the hadiths and the sayings of the imams of religious schools. In verse 79 of Sura The Ant, the Prophet is addressed with the following words: So put your trust in God, you are following the evident truth. It is the Quran that reveals the truth to the Prophet. Therefore, all that is attributed to the Prophet is valid so long as it is sanctioned by the Quran. The Quran, which is clear, is a sufficient source for us to understand both it and the Prophet. ACTING ACCORDING TO THE QURAN IS ACTING ACCORDING TO THE PROPHET 45 - Say: I do but warn you according to revelation. 21 The Prophets, 45

P a g e | 12 19 - This Quran has been revealed to Me that I may warn you 6 The Cattle, 19

15 When Our clear signs are recited to them, those who do not hope to meet Us say Bring a Quran other than this, or change it. Say It is not for me to change it of my will. I follow only what is revealed to me. 10 Jonah, 15 We observe clearly that the revelation that the Quran contains the only source that the Prophet drew on, the Book denied by disbelievers who wanted to make alterations to it. The duty of the Prophet was to relate the Quran revealed unto him. Therefore, to follow the path of the Quran is to follow the path of the Prophet. The Prophet is referred to in the Quran more often than not with the attribute of messenger. His mission was to carry on the messages he received from God to mankind. There is no reference to any other source or book. Had God deemed it necessary He would have referred us to other revelations and sources to believe in. Nevertheless, we observe today hundreds of volumes on hadiths and canonical jurisprudence claiming an authority tantamount to the authority of the Quran. While the authority of the Quran is absolute, being the only source of Islam, today it has come to be considered merely as one of the books on Islam. Its role has been reduced to an absolute minimum. The Quranic verses we have quoted above plainly reject this mentality that belittles the Quran and attributes invented sayings to Muhammad.

THE QURAN LEADS MAN FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT 4 You are on a straight path. 5 A revelation from the Mighty, Merciful. 36 Yasin, 4-5

1 This is a Book We have sent down to you that you may lead people out of darkness into the light, by their Lords will, to the path of the Mighty, the worthy of praise. 14 Abraham, 1 This Book (the Quran) leads mankind from darkness to light. The people who live by the Quran draw their power from verses like the ones quoted above. Where do they draw their power, those who act in accordance with Tirmizi, Muvatta, Bukhari and Muslim, claiming them to be sources of the established religion, daring thus to adulterate the exclusivity of the Quran? The Quran was written and learned by heart during the lifetime of the Prophet. It contains no contradictions or illogicalities. There was no other source committed to paper during the lifetime of Muhammad. Moreover, as we shall see in the forthcoming chapters when we deal with the hadiths and sectarian pronouncements, they contradict their own statements, let alone the Qurans contents. What has become of the position of the Quran, the harbinger that surpasses human intelligence? Where do the outdated contrived hadiths and sects that caused men to dodge Islam stand now? (From Chapter 4 to Chapter 12 we shall deal with the self-contradictory statements claiming to supplement Islam and see whether they are tenable or not.)

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SIMILAR CORRUPTIONS ALSO EXIST IN JUDAISM AND CHRISTIANITY 43 - And how do they make you a judge and they have the Torah wherein is Gods judgment? 5 The Feast, 43

47 The people of the Gospel shall judge in accordance with Gods revelations therein. And those who do not judge in accordance with what God has revealed are transgressors. 5 The Feast, 47 Prior to Islam, God had also sent down books through His prophets, requesting them to live by them. The Jews had received the Torah that contained all the details they were supposed to know. Yet Gods Word failed to satisfy them. Their scrupulous attention to detail described in verses 67 and 71 of Sura Bakarah continued after the death of Moses. They produced the Mishnah and the Gamara. Islam then is not the only religion wherein false attributions have been made to smother the religion in details under the guise of hadiths and sunna, the code of behavior of the Prophet. According to the Quran, Christians took Christ for God and priests as their lords, and there came a time when they themselves lost faith in the priesthood they had fabricated. Parables in the Quran are meant to indicate certain truths. There are people who believe that they should not be mixed up with the Jews and the Christians. Yet, people who style themselves as authorities are in no way sanctioned by the Quran. All their evidence consists of assumptions. Evidences are their very selves. They are pluralists. Their argument is based on the fact that since great masses believe in traditions they cannot possibly err. While the majority of Christians literally take Jesus Christ as the Son of God, there are also Christians who interpret this expression as a simile, believing that God cannot possibly beget children, and consequently, Christ could not be the Son of God, but a man who was among the chosen who enjoyed divine favor and was a prophet like all other prophets. How should we arbitrate between these ingenious arguments? Should one side with the minority or with the Catholic and Orthodox ecclesiastics who maintain that Jesus is the Son of God? Moreover, the number of those who claim him to be the Son of God is greater than the Muslim traditionalists. The contention of the Christian majority may be formulated with the following words: Look how many men have acknowledged Christ as the Son of God. Our saints were holy men who had devoted themselves to preach the Gospel and act according to it. How can we say that they have been in error and you, in the minority who claim to be wiser than our saints, spiritual guides and priests, speak the truth? Muslim traditionalists are in a similar position. The verses of the Quran clearly indicate that imitation of the majority would lead man to perdition. (See Chapter 11 for Caliph Omars burning the hadiths saying: the Mishnah of my community, Chapter 29 for issues related to the Christians and Jews; and Chapter 33 about those who side with pluralism.)

34 - We have sent down to you verses making things evident and examples from the past generations, and a warning for those who take heed for themselves. 24 The Light, 34

P a g e | 14 42 - that those who died might die after an evidence and those who lived might live after an evidence. 4 The Spoils of War, 42

Evidences according to the Quran must be explicit. Practices, based on traditions, conventions, customs and usage, are not sanctioned; general approval, no matter how wide it is, is not compatible with the Quran. The Quran is evidence itself. Those who adopt the Quran as the source of Islam are on the straight path.

THINGS NOT DISCLOSED IN THE QURAN ARE OUTSIDE THE SPHERE OF RELIGION 89 We have cited for the people in this Quran all kinds of examples, but most people insist upon disbelieving. 17 The Children of Israel, 89

65 - See how we explain the signs by various symbols that they may understand. 6 The Cattle, 65

52 We have given them a Book that is fully detailed with knowledge, guidance and mercy for people who believe. 7 Purgatory, 52

1 - This is a Book with verses basic on fundamental of established meaning. Further explained in detail, from One Who is wise and well acquainted. 11 Hud, 1 We observe from the above quotations that the Qurans statements are clear, explicit and detailed. Statements like The Quran refers to other books; the details should be learned from other sources contradict the contents of the Quran. A declaration like We dont understand the Quran conflicts with the message of the Quran. Those who follow closely the injunctions and recommendations of the Quran shall understand it. A close examination of the verses will reveal that all necessary details are contained in it. For instance, a person in dire need, who cannot find food, may eat the flesh of a dead animal, or drink its blood, pork or the flesh of beasts slaughtered in the name of deities other than God. The things that a person should do when he is obliged to have his hair trimmed for reasons of health on his way to pilgrimage are prescribed in the Quran. The Quran also contains the nocturnal prayer prescribed only for the Prophet. The Quran also states that Abu Lahab would refuse to be converted, and the Romans who had lost a battle would, in the near future, gain a victory; events observable during the lifetime of the Prophet. These and many other such examples are evidences of the Qurans references to details. The number of people in dire need obliged to eat food normally prohibited in the Quran, should certainly not be so considerable. A person who must trim his hair for health reasons on his way to pilgrimage must surely be an exception. Such rare instances are contained in the Quran, as we may observe. Marrying ones mother or maternal aunt, as everybody knows, is an abomination, yet even such a detail is contained in the Quran. The Quran that mentions even the Sabbath prohibitions for the Jews would have certainly

P a g e | 15 stated other bans had there been any. The Quran that prescribed measures for the man obliged to trim his hair on his way to pilgrimage would have certainly described the way a woman should veil herself had there been any such prescription. Had there been a ban on the consumption of mussels and shrimp, it would have been so stated. Considering that the night prayer was foreseen for the Prophet only, all other prayers ordained would have certainly been mentioned, had there been any to be performed.

How can one claim that the Book God sent does not include everything as far as religion is concerned. And yet, the number of those who think otherwise is considerable. Can one conceive Gods advising referring to any source other than His own Word? Can one imagine that what God has sent has holes that need to be filled up? Had there been such a need, God would have increased the number of volumes of His Book as it would have been declared not selfsufficient. Can one imagine that God has revealed only a part of Islam and left the second part to be discovered by interpreters? Gods vocabulary is surely rich enough for that. In brief, He has no need for commentaries and interpretations of sects. 27 - If all the trees on earth were pens and the ocean, with seven oceans behind it to add to its supply, yet would not the words of God be exhausted. He is Mighty, Wise. 31 Loqmaan, 27

THERE IS NO NEED FOR COMMENTARIES, HADITHS, BOOKS ON ISLAMIC CATECHISM, ETC. 32 Those who disbelieved said: Why did the Quran not come to him all at once? It was sent thus We may keep your heart resolute. So We enunciated it by steps and distinctly.

33 There is not an example they advance to which We do not give you the truth and the best commentary (ahsena tafsir). 25 The Distinguisher, 32-33 The infidels have often been warned in the Quran; therefore, their protests are directed to the Quran. All interpretations and commentaries are included in the Quran. The only place where the Arabic word tafsir is mentioned is in the verse quoted above. God says that the best commentary of the Quran is the Quran itself. A considerable number of books entitled Commentary (tafsir) on the Quran contain hadiths that are judged to be companions to it. While the Quran is the commentary, other commentaries are superfluous and cannot be taken as sources. Islam may be understood without reference to commentaries. 1 Gracious 2 Taught the Quran 55 Gracious, 1-2

17 Surely its collection and recitation is Our responsibility.

P a g e | 16 18 So, as We recite it, follow its reading. 19 Then it is We who will explain it. 75 The Resurrection, 17-19

God has assumed the task of teaching and explaining the Quran. In other words, the Quran is self-explanatory. If in a given verse, an explanation has remained unclear; in another verse everything becomes clear. So the Quran has no need for hadiths, commentaries or canonical jurisprudence. There is no mention in the Quran about the need to refer to such books. The Quran states that it is God who will teach and explain everything in the best manner possible. As an instance of this we can refer our readers to Sura Prologue, 4, where it is said that God is the Master of the Day of Religion. Readers of the Quran who want to know what the Day of Religion means may refer to the following verses to understand what it means: 15 Al Hijr 35; 26 The Poets 82; 37 Who Stand on Row 20; 38 Sad 78; 83 The Cheaters 11. Having read through them they come to the conclusion that it means the day when we shall be raised from the dead. As we observe from this, whatever we are after in the name of religion exists in the Quran. The Quran is self-explanatory.

THE PROPHETS COMPLAINT We must place the Quran in the center of Islam and be aware of the fact that abiding by the Quran means living up to the standards of the Prophet, and free our religion from falsehoods. The Prophets only complaint addressed to God was: 30 The messenger will say: O my Lord! My people have deserted this Quran. 25 The Distinguisher, 30 Actually, this is the behavior of many disciples of the Prophet. The Quran is supposed to have a privileged place, it is holy; yet, it has become a book that people do not follow. It has turned out to be just one of the religious books. People learn their religion from books on Islamic catechism. The Quran is recited today not to be understood but to be heard. All the verses and clarifications we have tried to mention point to one thing: that the Quran is the only source of Islam. In the coming pages we shall refer to other supplementary evidences in proof of this. However, the verses we have already quoted are sufficient to prove that the Quran is the only source. We shall have the opportunity to display the despair resulting from basing beliefs on hadiths, sects, religious orders and traditions.

P a g e | 17

NOT REFORM BUT RETURN TO THE QURAN

The primitiveness, the ugliness and the contradictions displayed in the name of Islam make it indispensable to clarify where we stand and what should be done to redirect people who have been diverted from the true path described in the Quran. Muhammad Ikbal, ill at ease at the sight of this state of affairs, had made the following remark in the 1920s: If we are resolved to describe Islam as a system of superior values, we are obliged, first of all, to acknowledge that we are not the true representatives of Islam. Muhammad Abduh had, before him, expressed the same truth in the following words: If the word Islam associates in the mind problems, dilemmas and contradictions, this is due not to Islam itself, but to the Muslims. So long as the books taught at Al Azhar and similar publications exert authority, I see no future for this community. The spirit needed to awaken the public is inherent in the Quran. Everything remaining outside the sphere of the Quran is but an obstacle preventing the Quran from being understood and experienced. The famous Turkish poet Mehmet Akif Ersoy had the following to say to describe the plight of Islam that the interpreters had corrupted in total disregard of the clear indications of the Quran: If it is the Quran that is understood by the word Islam, we must be in a position to acknowledge that there is no such thing as Islam, since the Quran has been raised back to the heights and the Islam on the earth today has lost all contact with it. An American professor of Arabic origin, smail Faruki, interprets the situation as follows: Islam is not represented by the lifestyle and behavior of Muslims, nor is it represented by any one period of history of Islam, nor by any book written on Islam. Islam is the Quran.

THIS IS NOT A POPULIST MOVEMENT The majority of the public among whom the number of thinkers is considerable wants to see Islam in its original garb and cleansed from its corrupted state of today. This is not a populist movement. In other words what is purported here is not to make Islam attractive in the sight of large masses. The origin of it lies in the contradictions created between the Quran, which is the only source of Islam, and the actual practices developed throughout the ages. The objective is not to shape Islam into a new form that will seem attractive to the general public, but to reinstate the true Islam as revealed by God. The religion propounded in the Quran is, in fact, more gratifying for mankind, in which love and tolerance have a larger share. This is why it is generally appreciated. The main objective is not to please the public, but it is one of the consequences.

A movement whose origin is mere enjoyment by the general masses would be inclined to shape the religious practices as they seem attractive to them, and in this design, cultural traits and political ends have a great share. The renaissance and the reform movement in the wake of the French Revolution may be shown as examples. Whatever is subjective that is human cannot be defined as religion.

P a g e | 18 THERE WAS A TIME WHEN NO SECTS EXISTED During the lifetime of the Prophet and the Four Caliphs there was no religious source other than the Quran (see Chapter 11). Men were not members of any particular sect. They practiced what the Quran prescribed to them and were free in points when there was no prescription in the Quran, according to their own appreciation, customs and conventions. No opinions were told in the name of such schools as Sunni, Hanafi, Shafi, Shii, Alawi or Jafari. They simply called themselves Muslims. And this fact satisfied them. Even the most illiterate of the Beduoins during the lifetime of the Prophet practiced Islam according to their own interpretations and were Muslims. That is what we are after today: to be simply a Muslim without having to belong to any particular sect and to abide by the Qurans dictates which never change, which involve no contradictions and which are logical and rational as laid down by God. One God, one religion and one book will clear up the confusion that the masses are suffering at present. The aim is to stick to the Quran exclusively and to refuse to acknowledge all other sources. To interpret the elbowroom that the Quran recognizes as applied in a particular period is not our objective. However, if we conceive the free zone of action about which the Quran is reluctant as a place where we are left to our own devices, we can find the true path and correct the mistakes we have committed in the name of religion. The corruptions have been mostly in points where there is no explicit commandment in the Quran (see Chapter 39). In realizing this we must be conscious of the fact that it is Gods will. This may be established by the views expressed in Chapter 2 of our book about the exclusivity of the Quran. We shall be quoting verses other than those already cited about the self-sufficiency of the Quran to substantiate our claim. We shall presently take awareness of the fact that what has been alleged to be Islam up until now has been but a mixture of elements alien to Islam, a blend of hadiths and traditions and personal views which eventually assumed the garb of religion where truths and untruths have became inextricably mixed. Had the hadiths been a source of Islam like the Quran, it would have followed that it was hopelessly contaminated. To make clear that the sayings attributed to Muhammad cannot constitute a source of religion would liberate both Islam and the Prophet from irrelevant authorization. We shall see in the coming pages that the hadiths conflict with the Quran in many instances, that they are self-contradictory, illogical and that they have a supplementary character. When you see that the Prophet himself and the Four Caliphs were unwilling to see the hadiths written down (see Chapters 4, 10 and 11), you will see once again the rationale behind it and clear the path that leads to the Quran.

LET US SET ISLAM FREE FROM THE MONOPOLY OF IDOLIZED MASTERS Having cleansed Islam from alien elements and entrusted it to the sole exclusivity of the Quran, we must liberate Islam from the dominance of tabooed masters. Unless this is achieved, we cannot expect a rapprochement between the Sunni, and the Alawi, the Shii and the Hanafi, the Shafi and the Jafari. (We must make clear that we are Sunnis in the sense we are faithful to the Prophet, and Shiites and Alawis in the sense that we love Ali, the son-in-law of the Prophet. Yet, we are not concerned with the linguistic meanings of these, but rather with the sociological meanings they have assumed throughout history and the structural formations that have come about, full of elements alien to the Quran.) 67 They will say: Our Lord! We have obeyed our leaders and the elders, but they led us astray. 33 The Parties, 67 The members of the Sunni branch of Islam must cease to dignify Abu Hanifa, Imam Shafi, Imam Maliki and Imam Hanbali. They must cease believing in such statements, as Abu Hanifa was a great man; so great in fact that he had seen God in his dream 99 times. Along with the aforementioned Imams, the traditionalists Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmizi, Abu Davud, etc. must clear the path that leads to the one truth, the truth of the Quran. The Shiites must cease to

P a g e | 19 declare: Our Imams are innocent, they never err and rid themselves from powers assignable to the Prophet and the Quran. They must cease to believe in the existence of a source outside the Quran and of a religious leader other than the Prophet. They should know that to be a descendant of the Prophet does not mean he has holiness. The swerving from the straight path of Abrahams father and of Lots wife is related in the Quran. Considering that someone related to a given prophet is liable to be doomed even during the lifetime of the prophet in question, ascribing superiority to a distant descendant of a prophet and, in so doing, being oblivious of the Book sent by God as a guide, a divine favor and a mercy (16 The Honey Bees, 89) is inconceivable. We must note that there is something that sects excel in: the skill of seeing through the faults of others. For instance, the Sunnis justifiably level criticism at the Shiites blind obedience to their imams, while they declare their own imams, Hanafi, Shafi, Hanbali and Maliki, blameless and forget that they live by their instructions rather than by the precepts of the Quran. While they perform a binding duty of the religion according to a given sect, the very act they perform quite often proves to be unlawful according to another sect, and while the religion sent by God is one and unique, the emerging result is a plurality of concepts and practices (ee Chapter 14 on sects).The eye that skillfully detects the idolization of imams happens to be blind at its similar practice; the eye seems to be unable to see itself. While it accuses the other of disagreement, it styles itself as the only accepted denomination. If you follow the sayings of particular individuals, what makes you different from your brother? The person whom we revere happens to be the wisest person, while the others are but separatists. What is the exact criterion according to which these people can be classified? Had you adopted the Quran as the only authority, you would not have sought other guides. Their controversies make them forget this truth.

RELIGIOSITY AND ATHEISTIC FANATICISM The Quran, the revelation recited, contains all the messages that our Creator wanted us to know in the name of religion. It is Gods revelation that provides for every eventuality. Changes do occur in life, this is incontestable; but being able to provide for every probability is a miracle inherent in the structure of Gods revelation. This fact prevents the necessity of carrying out reforms. There are two communities, however, that draw their powers from the prevailing pseudo-religion: the fanatic atheists and the staunch defenders of adulterated practices misnamed religion. While the latter strictly abides by the said adulterated practices, the former makes every effort to swerve the latter from the path of salvation, trying to level criticism at the prevailing practices as false reasoning. On the other hand, the religious fanatic embraces his false convictions still more tightly, condemning those who remain outside their sphere, whom they style as wood for hells fire. Although their practices differ, both systems live on the same capital. These are the two main communities that are reluctant to return to the Quran. The infidel will go nowhere having been divested from the assets he would have used as means that would have enabled him to launch attacks on religion. The religious fanatic will be infuriated at having been stripped of his conventional trappings and will have recourse to the mechanisms of excommunication and hatred. We should not be surprised at the fact that the excommunicators are university professors; that the sects and orders find huge masses of supporters; and that these ideologies have their so-called intellectual media. We learn from the Quran that when a new idea crops up, the objection will be raised first by the prominent personalities of the established order. The professors, the staunch defenders of conservative practices, the sheikhs who based their orders on the established system will be in the forefront of those who attack the Islam of the Quran for fear of being divested of their authority and losing their charisma that they have built up throughout long years. If we remember that those who attempted the life of Jesus Christ were prominent rabbis, we must not be puzzled by the fact that those who argue against the Islam of the Quran are self-styled religious personalities. Religions worst enemy is the exploiter of religion. The majority of Muslims can see this illustrated in the inquisition that excommunicated people and in the act of confession. The same eye that sees this, happens to be blind to its own wrongdoing in contriving a new religion that aims to replace the one preached in the Quran. Islam also has been subject to cruel dealings just like during the war waged by the Christian clergy in their attempt to monopolize religion. Just as the miracles performed by saints and

P a g e | 20 clerics have become legendary, so the sheikhs and imams power of sanctity and their alleged vision of God in their dreams made them necessity of their faiths. It depends on us to return to the Quran and avoid being corrupted by the personal viewpoints of the Arab-Omayyad sovereignty. In this way, a new link will be established between man and the religion alienated from man. The solution is not reform but rejection of what is foreign to the Quran. Nor is this movement an attempt at the reunification of sects. The reunification of phony ideologies would be absurd anyway. The religion is unique and all other attributions are irrelevant. The Quran that towers high above sects must be reinstated as the only and unique source. The Omayyads and the Abbasids attempted to bring reforms to Islam by adding adjectives like Hanafi and Shafi to their conceptions of Islam, transforming what was from God into human work. The thing that should be done today is not reform Gods religion but reform the pseudo-religion; in other words a restructuring. This is returning to the essence rather than reforming.

HADITHS AND SUNNA

In Chapter 2 of this book we saw that the Quran was a self-sufficient source for Islam and that there was no need for any additional source. In this chapter we shall be studying the way the hadiths were collected and assembled. The hadiths were not dictated by the Prophet and were not intended to be shaped into book form. Consequently, it cannot constitute a companion volume to the Quran. With reference to their self-contradictory and illogical character, and their inconsistency with the Quran, we shall refer you to Chapters 6, 7 and 8. The literal meaning of hadith is word. It means primarily a communication or narrative in general whether religious or not, and it has the particular meaning of a record of actions or sayings of the Prophet and his companions; while the word Sunna means path followed, trodden path, custom. According to the usual explanation, Muhammads sunna comprises his deeds and sayings as well as his unspoken approval. (For the use of the concept of sunna, see Chapter 16.) The sunna that the Quran refers to will also be examined in this chapter. The words hadith and sunna are often used interchangeably in nearly all publications since patterns of behavior are expressed in words. For instance, Dr. Subbi es Salih, from the University of Lebanon, explains this in the following manner: The experts on traditions have acknowledged that hadith and sunna have been interchangeably used in books. Both concepts refer to a word, an act, a statement or an attribute of the Prophet. This is also applicable to the present book. We propose to go back to the days of the Prophet before starting to examine the hadiths and return to our own day. The hadith scholars themselves admit that the Prophet did not allow scribes to take down his sayings. Two authoritative books on hadiths, Muslim and Musnad by bni Hanbal, founder of the Hanbali religious sect, make the following comment: Take down nothing other than the verses revealed. Anyone that may have written any of my sayings, let him destroy it (Muslim, Sahih-i Muslim Kitab- Zhd, Hanbal, Musnad). The hadith quoted by Darimi is as follows: The companions of the Prophet asked him permission to take down his sayings. They were refused (Darimi, es-Sunen). The hadith transmitted by Alm Hatib is as follows: While we were engrossed copying the hadiths, the Prophet came and asked what we were doing. We are copying your sayings, we replied. Is your intention to create a book other than Gods Book? People that preceded you swerved from the straight path because they dared write books other than Gods Book (Al Hatib, Takyid). And Tirmizi had this to say: We asked permission to copy the sayings of Gods messenger, but he refused to give it (Tirmizi, es-Snen, K. Ilm). In books on hadiths and in books claiming to be the source of the established religion, it is explicitly acknowledged that the Prophet had prohibited the copying of his sayings, and the reason was to prevent the mixing up of the verses of the Quran with his own sayings. According to the traditionalists, the hadiths should have as much authority as the Quran;

P a g e | 21 they are suggested to be the source of religion as much as the Quran. If this is so, in fact, how come then the Prophet prohibited the copying of his sayings? Why did he tolerate gaps that were likely to occur in the revealed religion, the adulteration of his sayings during the process of their transcription, or the omission of his words? The Quran speaks of copying with the use of pen, of committing to paper ones will and debts owed. This being the case, is it possible that the Prophet should prohibit the transcription of his sayings were they to be considered another source of Islam? Had he forestalled the copying of a source of religion, wouldnt he have been instrumental in causing Islam to remain incomplete? As we shall be seeing in the forthcoming pages, the number of contrived traditions is considerable. Had the hadiths constituted another source of Islam, the Prophet would certainly have dictated them and spared the interpolation of an infinite number of sayings reported to have been uttered by him. As far as the source of Islam is concerned, we well know that the Quran is self-sufficient. The first person who was aware of this fact was the Prophet himself. Committing traditions to paper was far from being his wish. The Prophet, who was well advised in every respect, had banned the copying of his sayings as he knew that the human character was inclined to idolize prophets and was liable to sow dissension. Today, we are in a position to appreciate once more the foresight of the Prophet. The very fact that he had forbidden the transmission of his sayings is enough to convince those who are wary.

MULTIPLICITY OF HADITHS Ahmed Emin draws the following chart to represent the garbling of traditions transmitted: Were we to make an expository display of the hadiths, we would be confronted with a pyramid, the summit illustrating the period of Gods messenger. As we go down we observe the gradual expansion toward the base. Yet, the ideal should have been the reverse; for, the companions of the Prophet best knew what the Prophet uttered. As they were to pass away, the number of those who knew the words uttered by the Prophet would decrease and the pyramid would have changed its position and turned upside down. Yet, we observe that the number of hadiths is even greater under the Omayyads than during the lifetime of the Prophet (Ahmed Emin, Duhaul Islam). According to some scholars there are over two million hadiths. Two of the most reliable books on hadiths are the one of Bukhari and the one of Muslim. The hadiths contained in the former are reported to have been selected from among 600,000 and in the latter this number is 300,000. The one of Davud contains hadiths selected from among 500,000, the one of Malik Muvatta, founder of a religious sect, contains hadiths selected from among 100,000 and the one of Musnad contains hadiths selected from among 750,000. Given the fact that the prophethood of the Prophet lasted for about 23 years, the number of days he would have acted as prophet would have been 23 x 365 = 8395. If two million is the number representing the totality of the hadiths, the number of hadiths per day would be 200. The result to be obtained after 200 years after the death of the Prophet would be inconceivably misleading. It is alleged that the authors of hadiths used to know them by heart and that they had selected from among them those that had appeared the most reliable to them. In order to declare the exact number of hadiths that someone had in store, he should have written them somewhere and counted; whereas no one can possibly assert that he has in his repertory 600,000 hadiths.

HAD THE HADITHS BEEN A SOURCE OF ISLAM, THE RELIGION WOULD HAVE BEEN INCOMPLETE Supposing for an instant that the claim was admitted, the situation would be even more frightful. Muslim declares that he has not included in his book every one of the hadiths alleged to be authentic (Muslim). According to his argument the hadiths are a source of Islam; yet, he leaves out some, though acknowledged to be genuine. According to this logic, Islam would be riddled with loopholes. Given that we cannot be sure of the fact that a hadith left out by Muslim is not omitted by another compiler, this account of traditionalist logic declares itself to be incomplete. Bukhari who announced that the hadiths are a source for Islam, included in his book only 6000-7000 hadiths although he had in his

P a g e | 22 store 600,000, i.e. 1%. The rest, 99% of the whole, did not gain admission, either because he deemed them not trustworthy or irrelevant. Had the hadiths been a source of Islam, we would have been at the mercy of Bukhari and his skill of selection. Had the hadiths been useful, assuming that the 99% left out did not include what was essential, the mentality of those who acknowledge the hadiths to be a source of Islam would have to admit the fact the Islam would irretrievably be lacking in many respects. Given the fact that Bukhari is no more and that there is no one who claims that he has in store the said 99% of the hadiths that Bukhari asserted to have in his repertory which he did not commit to paper or transmit through other means, we should have been considered members of a patchy religion.

Let us try to make an assessment of the 600,000 hadiths in Bukharis bundle. Let us assume that Bukhari had nothing else to do in life except deal with hadiths; that he did not sleep, that every one of the hadiths was authentic and that he spared two hours to check whether a particular hadith was authentic or not, testing the dependability of the transmitters chain. The space of time in question would be 130 years. If we consider that there were instances of checking the authenticity of a given hadith by setting off on a journey that sometimes took days, Bukharis carrying out this test would take thousands of years. In brief, we can safely assert that Bukharis testing the authenticity of the hadiths and his sorting them out is illogical. The Quran is an established text. We cannot say the same thing for the hadiths. There is no end to unconfirmed reports. As no established text existed, the compilation of hadiths was liable to be mixed with alien elements. We must be grateful to God Who has not put us in a condition in which we would be in need of a source another than the Quran. And thanks to Him we are now the members of a perfect religion. We must divest ourselves from every element alien to Islam, getting rid of hadiths that sow dissension and of hadiths unjustifiably attributed to the Prophet, claiming predominance over the Quran and be illumined by the dazzling light of the Quran, the perfect finished work.

HOW DID THE HADITHS WHOSE COPYING WAS PROHIBITED BY THE PROPHET TAKE THE SHAPE OF BOOKS? The attitude of the Prophet toward the copying of his sayings was also adopted by the Four Caliphs (Abu Bakr, Omar, Osman and Ali) who succeeded him. We shall see in Chapter 11 how the caliphs put a ban on the copying of hadiths and had those committed to paper burned. At first sight, there is nothing surprising in the fact that those who had witnessed events during the lifetime of Muhammad narrated what they had heard and seen to each other. The fact that the companions of the Prophet cross-examined people who claimed to have heard the Prophet say this and that, requiring them to produce a witness, their prohibition to commit to paper the sayings of the Prophet during conversations held in which he was a part, are evidences that show the Prophets caution was also maintained by his followers. The four caliphs also had followed suit and prohibited the writing of hadiths despite the fact that they knew many of the sayings of the Prophet, in the wake of his demise. If there is anyone to say the contrary, why not ask him to produce a compilation dating from that date? Harevi said: Neither the companions of the Prophet, nor those followers in point of time, the ones that lived after Muhammad was dead, but had conversed with at least one of his companions wrote any of his sayings. They just transmitted them by word of mouth. There is no exception of this outside of one or two instances. Being afraid of their sinking into oblivion, Omar bin Abdulaziz, in a letter addressed to Abu Bakr al-Hazm, wanted him to try to research traditions and have them copied. The Caliph Yazid bin Abdulmalik who succeeded him after the latters decease dismissed Abu Bakr al-Hazim and his collaborators from this job after the death of Omar bin Abdulaziz. Afterward, Caliph Hisham is accepted to have been the first compiler of hadiths of Ez-Zurhi. Mahmud Abu Rayye, who tells these developments in detail, mentions the pressure exerted. The tabiyyun (those who lived after Muhammad was dead but had conversed with at least one his companions) who were given the task of collecting the hadiths assumed the duty

P a g e | 23 under coercion. The fact that the companions of the Prophet had not undertaken such a task daunted them. We felt uneasy as we committed the traditions to paper, but the administrators forced us to this said Az Zuhri (Mahmut Abu Rayye, Clarification of Sunna). Ghazzali said that the second generation after Muhammad looked askance at the copying of hadiths, merely advising their memorization (Ghazzali, Iha-y Ulum-iddin). The first period in which the hadiths were studied individually was the time of the Abbasids. This study, Muvatta, made available toward the end of the second century after the Hijrah belongs to Maliki, the founder of the religious sect Maliki. Ibn Ferhun, on his book entitled Ed dibae al Muzahhab, says that Malik had collected some 10,000 hadiths, revising them on a yearly basis, that very few had been left at the end, and that had he lived a few years more he would have dismissed them altogether. Musnad comes next, the work of Ibn Hanbal, founder of the religious sect Hanbal. In the work of Hanbal who died in 241 after the Hijrah, we observe the inclusion of many sayings without a serious approach, and without differentiating between the authentic traditions and the inauthentic ones, based on the ongoing rumors at the time. Up until the arrival of Bukhari, no effort was spent to sift the traditions classifying them according to their degrees of authenticity. It was Bukhari first who initiated the classification of hadiths according to their degrees of authenticity. However, this study failed to bring it to fruition. The dates of decease of the prominent researchers on hadiths are as follows: Bukhari, 256 A.H.; Muslim, 261 A.H.; Ibn Mace, 273 A.H.; Abu Davud, 275 A.H.; Tirmizi, 279 A.H.; Nesei, 303 A.H. The Shiites have a different collection. The Sunnis and the Shiites refute each others compilation. The formation into book form of the collected sayings of Muhammad according to the Shiites is of a later date. The dates of decease of the prominent researchers on the hadiths are as follows: Kulani, 329 A.H.; Babuvay, 381 A.H.; Jafar Muhammad Tusi, 411 A.H.; Al Murtaza, 436 A.H. If a given statement of Mahmud II, Ottoman Sultan, had not been recorded in a history book and had come down to us by hearsay, how far could we rely on its authenticity? Who would have relied on it to be the authentic utterance of the Sultan, claiming that his words had come down following the direct line in a chain? The time that elapsed since the death of Mahmut II who died in 1839 AD up to now is much shorter than the space of time that separates the death of the Prophet from the date when the first compilation of the hadiths in the form of a book appeared. The time that elapsed between the date of the passing away of the Prophet and some famous books of hadiths was twice as long as this interval of time. For reasons we shall be stating in Chapter 5, at the time of the prominent transmitters of hadiths tens of thousands of hadiths had already been concocted in a way that a sifting was impossible. The fact that these compilations contain innumerable traditions contradictory and conflicting with the Quran, logic and other hadiths, was the method they used show once again the disastrous results of the quest for sources other than the Quran. The simile of the pyramid we mentioned above had been inflated by pseudo-hadiths already. Instead of following the path of the Prophet and of the caliphs and raising objections to the copying of the hadiths, they committed to paper an infinite number of hadiths whose authorship they falsely attributed to the Prophet, giving great harm to the world of Islam along with uttered slandering and abusive statements on behalf and for the love of the Prophet. The pretext of the Christians who deified Christ has been the love they had for him. However, neither the convincing arguments of the transmitters of the hadiths, nor the alleged reasons of Christians could justify their ends.

ARE COMPANIONS OF THE PROPHET FREE FROM ERRORS? The word sahaba is used for all Muslim individuals who had the privilege of seeing the Prophet, even from a distance. This definition of Bukhari has received general acceptance. In the well-known hadith compilations, the honesty, the reliability of the memory, and the faith of persons who claim to have heard a certain saying of Muhammad reported were questioned to check the veracity of the allegation or for rejection of testimony. Yet, no ones lifetime would suffice for the examination as to honesty, reliability of memory and checking of other qualifications of reporters up until the third century AH.

P a g e | 24 Abu Shame said: Views on transmitters of hadiths present great diversity; while a particular transmitter is the most reliable one among others for some, for others he happens to be the most accomplished liar. For instance, he may be a trustworthy transmitter according to Ikrim and Bukhari, but a perjurer for Muslim. This instance may be multiplied. Among these the most striking example may be Bukharis refusal to include in his compilation any of the traditions transmitted by Abu Hanifa as he declared him to be one of the most unreliable of transmitters. The founder of the foremost representative and revered figure of traditional Islam happens to be unreliable according to the most prominent compiler of hadiths. The contradictory accounts encountered about hadiths, subject of controversy, among members of the board of examiners, abounds, and are as many as those existing between the hadiths themselves. We refrain from going into detail, as it is useless and may be tiresome. All these hadiths were first attributed to the companions of the Prophet as the last link in the chain of information, to be eventually traced back to the Prophet. Persons, who came after the companions, also became a bone of contention even though they were ultimately questioned. Nowhere in the Quran do we encounter a passage where it is said that every person who saw the Prophet is a reliable person. Quite the reverse is the case, many of those who confessed to be confirmed Muslims were censured. The Quran states also that the hypocrites had infiltrated the community of true believers. It is said that not even the Prophet knew all of the double-dealers (9 Repentance, 101). One cannot imagine how the hadith imams may have distinguished them, given the fact that not even the Prophet could tell them apart. How can they assert that what they accepted as reliable was, in fact, not worthy of confidence? Can one claim that these people knew what the Prophet did not know, 200 hundred years after his death? The clashes and accusations of infidelity among some of the companions are evidence that the self-styled companions also may not have been trustworthy after all. The mentality that hypothesizes the fact that a companion should be considered ipso facto a reliable source is liable to err. As G.H.A. Juynboll has pointed out, if the assumption that the companions are trustworthy people is challenged, the logic behind the structure of hadiths would go on the rocks. We shall be dealing with this issue when we take up the case of contrivers of hadiths.

MEANING AND METHOD OF TRANSMISSION OF HADITHS The unreliability of hadiths transmitted may be illustrated with a game played among children. Suppose a sentence of ten words is to be transmitted from one ear to the next along a chain of ten students and try to evaluate the result by checking if the initial word spoken in the first ear is exactly the same as the one announced by the tenth in the chain. The transmission of hadiths took place in the course of a space of time of 200 years. And the communication was made over hill and dale by hearsay. Even though we were blindfolded to the reasons for the concoction of hadiths and to assume the chain to have been perfect, and acknowledging the good will of the transmitters, the end results should still be considered doubtful. A large majority of the public, uninformed of the true state of affairs, believes that the hadiths are the unadulterated sayings of Muhammad as uttered by him. Even the transmitters of hadiths are uncertain of this. A great number of the compilers and Bukhari himself are of the opinion that it is enough to keep the meaning of a transmitted hadith rather than literally committing it to ones memory. This led to the interpolation of individual opinions into the transmitted sayings of Muhammad; the opinions of those unwilling to confess to themselves their inability to understand them. Given the fact that not every transmitter had an infallible memory capable to implant in his mind all that had been transmitted, he had to rest satisfied with what remained in store, resulting in variant semantic points of view. In spite of this, Bukhari as well as Abu Hanifa and Shafi, heads of the two leading religious sects, have deemed the semantic consideration and hearsay evidence sufficient in their assessment of the true meaning of a hadith.

P a g e | 25 It is generally accepted by transmitters of the hadiths that the largest congregation the Prophet had addressed in his lifetime was when he delivered his farewell sermon, and it is estimated that more than one hundred thousand people attended it. Yet the sermon, to which more than one hundred thousand people bore testimony, appeared different in written texts according to the reporters; this may demonstrate the production of multiple conflicting interpretations and variants in the hadiths each alleged to have directly originated from the Prophet. It was said that not the literal rendering of a hadith but its meaning could be transmitted; yet, when there was something omitted in the sentence claimed to have been uttered by the Prophet, the interpretations had been liable to variations. When Aisha, the Prophets wife, heard from Abu Hurayra, who had attributed to the Prophet the words: House, woman and horse may bring bad luck, she said: I swear by Almighty God that the Prophet uttered no such thing. This conviction was widespread during the time of pre-Islamic Arabian paganism but had a different wording: If there is bad luck, one must look for it in ones woman, horse or house. As one can see, this saying attributed to Aisha may be interpreted differently according its wording and context. All these considerations played a role in the controversies provoked among the transmitters of the hadiths. Many hadiths reported by Muslim were unfounded according to Bukhari and vice-versa. Whereas, among the hadiths transmitted by the founders of the four orthodox religious sects, no distinction was made about their degree of authenticity. The four imams founded their sects disregarding the criteria of the authors of Kutub- Sitte (6 renowned hadith books). Of these, Abu Hanifa, the founder of the most prominent of the four sects, blind to his poor knowledge of hadiths, and dodging the hadiths, gave preeminence to his own views for which he was censured by the Imams and was declared an unreliable person by Bukhari.

CHAIN OF TRANSMITTERS OF THE HADITHS We saw that the companions of the Prophet were considered infallible, and that without distinction they were judged to be honest people, worthy to be taken at their word. When the books of hadiths began to be committed to paper, neither a companion of the Prophet nor anyone who had seen any of his companions was alive. From the time of the Prophet to the copying of the hadiths six or seven generations had gone by, so that when one transmitted the hadiths he had to go six or seven generations back. Bukhari was the first person who took up this task systematically and the hadiths began to be transmitted without tracing their origin to a particular person. Given the fact that Bukhari lived in the 200s AH, keeping in mind the chain of transmitters of the traditions without any preset system is illogical. Kasm Ahmad, who criticized the transmission of the hadiths, quotes in his book Hadiths and Islam the following names: 1- The Prophet 2- Omar Ibn Hattab 3- Ibn Vakkas 4- Ibn Ibrahim at Taimi 5- Yahya Ibn- Said al Ansari 6- Sufyan 7- Abdullah Ibn Zubeyr 8- Bukhari

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1- The Prophet 2- Aisha 3- Urvan Ibn Zubayr 4- Ibn Shiab 5- Ukail 6- Al Baith 7- Yahya Ibn Bukhair 8- Bukhari When the hadiths began to be transmitted, even the link that succeeded the link that had followed the generation after Muhammad had passed away. In other words, persons who could check the reliability of transmitters had already died. Assuming, though illogically, that all the companions were indeed truthful, considering that a good many people of the generation that followed the companions age had died when the copying of the hadiths began, the checking of their reliability would still be impossible. Therefore, the criteria that the transmitters had adopted are unfounded and in vain. On the other hand, it is also impossible to control the reliability of those who were living at the time. For, during the copying of the hadiths, Muslims were scattered over a vast geography. It was not practical for the copiers to reach the last links of transmitters by camel. Moreover, one could never be certain that those who might have reached them were reliable. A short visit and interview would not suffice to reveal the character of a man. How can a phenomenon like religion, which must be based on sound principles, be founded on such subjective criteria? We see in the hadith ,iImams the sectarian mentality in supermans garb. This hero is supposed to have in his memory hundreds of thousands of hadiths and be able to conjure them up at any given moment deciding on their veracity. There are people whom he had never set eyes on, persons who had already died when he came into the world; yet, he was confidant that they must have been honest and reliable. He had also the power to establish contact with people on camel back and cover distances that not with a helicopter at his command could he have covered such territory. He also had the genius to distinguish the honest and reliable from the unreliable and dishonest. Yet, these were the qualities attributed to the Imams, transmitters of hadiths. We pass over in silence the legend of spiritual supremacy.

WE ARE NOT THE FIRST TO ADD WEIGHT TO THESE ARGUMENTS The transmitter of a hadith who rests content with the assumption that all reporters in the chain of transmitters were honest people, without feeling the need to question them, accepts it as correctly transmitted. Such hadiths are called ahad. The most reliable hadiths that comprise these ahad hadiths belong in particular to Bukhari and Muslim and the six books called Kutub- sitte. The traditionalist Islamist holds onto his weapon of excommunication in order to have his convictions accepted and declares that anybody who questions the truth of a hadith is declared an outcast. One should bear in mind that both Bukhari and Muslim had repudiated each others arguments in the compilation of their respective books. However, traditionalists consider a divine grace the disagreement between learned men on tenuous arguments, while our different opinions will likely send us to hell. The Shiites do not accept any hadith book compiled by the Sunnis. The objections, raised by Al-Mutazila, and the Kharidjites, members of the earliest of the religious orders of

P a g e | 27 Islam, to the copying of hadiths and their acceptance as a religious source, the announcement of some theologians (Kelamclar) that the hadiths are but suppositions, the controversies of Shafi in Basra because of his recourse to sources other than the Quran, and the quotations of the responses of Al- Murdjia, extreme opponent of Kharidjites, in books on hadiths are examples for the objections raised against the compilation of the hadiths. Those who question the defenders of Islam as put forward in the Quran and challenge the argument that the hadiths should not be considered as a source of Islam, by asking: Do you consider yourselves pioneers in disseminating such a message, since up until now no one has come up with such a claim? are ignorant of the events we have mentioned. Ever since their dawn, the hadiths have been an object of strong reservations as to their validity as a source of Islam. However, the central authority hushed up the counter arguments. We are neither the pioneers in this, nor is the claim new. The Islam of the Quran existed from the very beginning without the addition of hadiths. The hadiths were a late attachment and served as something equal to the Quran.

REVELATIONS As we saw in Chapter 3, the Quran is a self-sufficient, detailed, explicit book that contains everything that a Muslim should know. The Quran has no need for hadiths. When we are faced with a question that puzzles us, we must look for it in all the verses of the Quran related to the issue and learn all about it. To assess the Quran within the framework of adulterated hadiths is to mystify and pervert it. In order to hear the voice of the Quran without interferences, we must turn our ears solely to the Quran. 33 There is not an example they advance to which We do not give you the truth and the best commentary. 25 The Distinguisher, 33 God declares that He provides the best commentary. Gods revelations are complete in themselves without the need for recourse to other commentaries. The hadiths related to the occasion in which a particular revelation had come down (esbab nuzul) seem to be even more numerous than other hadiths. The commentaries on the Quran in circulation are replete with hadiths which have not been subjected to any sifting process as to their authenticity and interspersed with old Jewish legends. The fact that the reasons given for the revelation in connection with a particular occasion vary considerably among various commentaries and are adulterated with irrelevant stories demonstrates the extent of distortions involved. Ibn Hanbal, a traditionalist and founder of a sect himself said: There is not a single hadith related to the occasion (esbab nuzul) on which a particular hadith was revealed. The main problem is the confinement of intellects by established religious sects. This is still more relevant when we think about the variety of irrational interpolations. Interpreters of the Quran based on sectarian approaches tried not to deviate from the path indicated by their sects and consequently made false constructions. The infinite variety of contradictory hadiths on the occasions in which revelations were made has been a rich source of exploitation by sectarian commentators. As a matter of fact, several transmitters, to suit their own ends, had coined the majority of these hadiths during their compilation. In the Introduction of Elmal Hamdi Yazrs commentary, there is a private understanding of his with the official authority. In Chapter 5 of this understanding it is said that the commentary is in conformity with the body of creeds of the madhab (sect) Hanafiya and of the Sunnis. The ideological commentary, according to Mehmet Aydn, or the sectarian commentary we prefer to use, is apparent from the very start of Elmalls work. No matter how wide his knowledge may be, how far can a commentary produced by those whose intellects are hinged on a sect not sanctioned

P a g e | 28 by God, be dependable? The efforts of those who have tried to interpret the Quran in the light of the hadiths served no purpose other than to lead the seekers of truth down a blind alley; the seekers may have been imams or sheikhs, and the causative agents, hadiths or the occasions when the revelations were made.

SALMAN RUSHDIS SATANIC VERSES ARE ACTUALLY SATANIC HADITHS The greatest trouble caused to the commentaries on the Quran based on the hadiths related to the occasions on which the revelations were made has been their use by the impious to equate them with Islam. The book of Salman Rushdis is an example of this. According to contrived hadiths it is alleged that one day, as the Prophet was engrossed in the recitation of the Quran, Satan penetrated his soul and caused him to praise the divinities Lat, Menat and Uzza and made him utter complimentary words about them; and persuaded Muhammad to recognize these divinities as intercessors with God. Ibn-i Kutayba also confirms this in his hadith book entitled Tevilu Muhtelifil Hadis. According to the hadiths, however, the Prophet declared what he had uttered did not originate from him but were the words of Satan. We have witnessed the public censure leveled at Salman Rushdi and Homeinis anathema that paved the way to diplomatic crises. Nevertheless, no one put the blame on those who had reserved a place for these hadiths, the real culprit.

THE QURAN COMMENTARIES IN THE MARKET We observe that there is an escalation of Quran commentaries in the market filled with legends and stories about the occasions on which the revelations had occurred. This approach has made the impression that the verses revealed were restricted to single cases and were confined to a given time bracket. This attitude casts a shadow on the universality and the timeless quality of the Quran. 81 The Rolling, 27, repudiates this approach: This is a reminder for all the worlds. And 2 The Cow, 185 states: in which was sent down as a guidance for the people. On the other hand, God gave the reasons for the revelations of particular verses in the Quran when He thought it relevant. For instance, the verses introduced by the phrase They ask you so and so, tell them that. And when He chooses not to mention anything, it follows that we need not know the whys and wherefores of the revelation in question. Those who considered the Quran insufficient, have regretfully felt the need to have recourse to adulterated commentaries and have caused interferences in the resonant voice of the Quran. One thousand four hundred years ago, the Quran displayed in its vast array of revelations the mysteries lying behind natural phenomena including the roundness of the earth, the movements of the sun and the earth, the barrier between two bodies of flowing water mixing with each other; scientific phenomena discovered only in the course of the last century. The commentators who intended to expound the meaning of the Quran indulged in ridiculous fantasies like the following commentary by Ibn Kathir of Sura The Cow, 29 and Sura The Pen, 1. When God desired to create that which He wanted to create, He produced vapor out of thin water. The vapor rose above the surface of the water and He called this rising thing sky meaning heights. Then He solidified the water transforming it into a single mass; afterward He tore it to pieces and within two days, on Sunday and Monday, shaping them into seven unities. The earth He created resting on a fish, the very fish mentioned as Nun in the Sura The Pen. The fish was in the water and the water rested upon rocks; while the rocks stood on a large stone where no vegetation flourished. An angel carried the stone; the angel was upon a rock, which is the wind. The rock is the same rock mentioned by Luqmaan as in the following passage: There was neither the sky nor the earth, the fish moved and the earth shook, mountains came to be implanted on them.

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WHICH HADITH WILL THEY BELIEVE NOW? Reference is made to Verse 185 of Sura The Purgatory; hadith means word in Arabic. As a matter of fact, it made allusion to the hadiths (words, sayings) that were to be ascribed to Muhammad with a view to disparaging the integrity of the uniqueness of the Quran. The transmitters of the hadiths might have used other synonyms to express the same thing such as agval (words), ahbar (news, messages) or hikma (wise saying); the tacit consensus among the transmitters of the hadiths on the use of this word is one of the miracles of the Quran.

111 - It is not a word (hadith) invented, but a confirmation of what was sent before it, a detailed exposition of all things and a guide and a mercy to any such as believe. 12 Joseph, 111 In this verse, the fact that the Quran is not a word invented, and that it is a detailed exposition of all things is stressed; a fact to which the traditionalists have remained blind. The Quran states that the Quran is not a fabricated word (hadith). 6 - Following after them in grief, if they believe not in this word (hadith). 18 The Cave, 6 What is meant by the expression in this word is the Quran. The verse indicates that the lack of faith in the Quran will sadden Muhammad. The Prophet never told anybody to take down his sayings. Had his sayings constituted a source for Islam, he would have had his sayings copied and would have been in distress to see his words fall on deaf ears. The only hadith (word) that the Prophet fought for was the Quran. The Quran makes no reference to any hadith other than itself. Had the words of the Prophet been a second source of Islam next to the Quran, this would have been declared in more than one verse of the Quran. There is not a single verse on the issue and the use made of the word hadith in the Quran is strong evidence of the adulteration of the concept of hadith. 6 These are Gods signs that We recite to you truthfully. In which word (hadith) other than God and His signs do they believe? 45 Kneeling, 6 Such is the question asked by God. The meaning that is obtained from the answer that comes out of the behaviour of the traditional defenders of Islam and the imitators of Sunni and Shii madhabs, is:: We believe in Bukhari, Muslim, the sayings of the Twelve Imams, Abu Davud and b. Mace. 87 - And whose word (hadith) can be truer than Gods? 4 The Women, 87 34 - Let them produce a word (hadith) like this, if they are truthful. 52 The Mount, 34 Claiming that in the famous book of hadiths of Abu Davud it is pointed out that the Prophet was entrusted with the Quran and similar hadiths, they try to engage in a rescue operation to save the sayings of the Prophet. However, this

P a g e | 30 wish fulfillment falls short of the mark. For the sayings of Muhammad cannot be equated with the Quran, let alone the fact that the bulk of the sayings ascribed to the Prophet is larger than the Quran. Moreover, the hadiths, representative of the traditionalist mind, conflict with the above verse. 6 Among the people, there are those who spread frivolous words (hadiths) to mislead others from the way of God, and take it in vain. For such there will be a humiliating penalty. 31 Luqmaan, 6

In verse 7 of the same sura we read: When our signs are rehearsed to such a one, he turns away in arrogance, as if he heard them not as if his ears are deaf announce to him a grievous penalty. If those who turn a deaf ear to the sayings of the Quran because of their sectarian fanaticism were to read these verses not merely for the pleasure of the built-in melody of the recital but to try to understand the meaning, they will surely be in a position to understand better what we are trying to clarify. The word hadith with reference to the Prophet is used in the Quran on two instances: 53 - Enter not the Prophets houses until leave is given you for a meal and when you have taken your meal; disperse without tarrying, lost in a hadith (word). 3 The Parties, 53 3 - When the Prophet disclosed a hadith in confidence to one of his consorts, and she then divulged it, and God made it known to him... 66 Prohibition, 3 The use made here of the word hadith is not related in some way or another to Sunni and Shiite sectarian opinions. The fact that the word hadith in these verses is used merely to refer to the sayings of Muhammad are of great importance for our discussion. God, the prescient, uses the word hadith not in a Sunni and Shiite religious context, but to refer to the Prophets own words. Moreover, in both instances, the word hadith is use in a bad sense. On the other hand, the word sunna is used in the Quran in the combination - sunnatallah meaning the way of God. (We shall see this in Chapter 16.) The word idjma (general agreement in opinion and decision of legalists) and its derivatives, considered to be another source of Islam, again has a negative connotation. This is evidence that the Quran also repudiates ijma just like in the case of sunna and hadith. (For the derivatives of ijma, see 3 The Family of Imran, 157; 3 The Family of Imran, 173; 7 The Purgatory, 48; 10 Jonah, 58; 10 Jonah, 71; 12 Joseph, 19; 17 The Children of Israel, 88; 20 Taha 60; 20 Taha 64; 22 The Pilgrimage, 73; 26 The Poets, 38; 26 The Poets, 39; 26 The Poets, 56; 28 The History, 78; 43 Vanity, 32; 54 The Moon, 44; 54 The Moon, 45; 70 The Heights, 18; 104 The Backbiter, 2.)

HADITHS ABOUT WHICH THERE IS NO DOUBT AS TO AUTHENTICITY There is no doubt that there are tens of thousands of hadiths ascribed to the Prophet. Those that contradict the Quran, that introduce additional provisions, and that are self-evidently illogical and unreasonable are surely pure inventions. The hadiths that introduce new things into Islam are evidently the result of a manipulation conflicting with the verses of the Quran that confirm the fact that Quran is an accomplished work that comprises all that a man needs to understand.

P a g e | 31 The remaining hadiths may be authentic provided they do not clash with the Quran. We stress the probability of their authenticity by using may. On the other hand, we can identify, up to a certain extent, the authentic ones, without being one hundred percent sure. For those that are authentic and those that are invented originate from the pens of the same authors and date from the same time. A little after 200 AH Bukhari, Muslim and others tried to probe into the hadiths to find out the authentic ones, however without success. Now that we are in 1400 AH, we cannot possibly cope with this task. A saying in perfect accord with the Quran belonging to a Muslim may well have been thought to have been said by the Prophet. We shall see in Chapter 5 the counterfeiters who concocted hadiths in the belief that their action would serve the interest of Islam. These hadiths may well be the sayings of the so-called good-willed people. Wherever you come across a beautiful saying, dont be afraid to ascribe it to the Prophet was often used as an expression by the transmitters and collectors of hadiths. This fact and the probabilities make up our viewpoint. We must beware of recognizing an anonymous saying in perfect conformity with the Quran having no validity in fact and ascribing it to the Prophet. If we are to abide by word of the Prophet, this word must be the Quran He transmitted to mankind. The word pronounced in the Quran is Gods own word although spoken through a man. By complying with the message carried by the Prophet, we shall have conformed ourselves both to the Prophet and to the Quran.

OUR AIM IS TO PREVENT PEOPLE FROM DEVIATIONS We have tried to describe the attitude of the Prophet in the present Chapter. We shall deal with the outlook on hadiths of the Four Caliphs in Chapter 11. What must be the reason for our desire for going over this with a fine-tooth comb in trying to detect the authentic hadiths while the Prophet, and afterward, the Four Caliphs, had prohibited the transmission of hadiths and even caused them to be burned? Satisfactory information related to the Prophet is already contained in the Quran. Moreover, to dissect them is an impossible task. Having studied the reasons exposed in Chapter 37 the additions brought in Islam, you can see better our defensive argument on the issue. Even though a particular hadith happens to be in perfect accord with the Quran, there still is the likelihood of our falsely ascribing it to the Prophet. For not every word that fits the Qurans message is the Prophets word. The Quran is the Book that guides man to the straight path. Whoever may have said a word in support of it has surely spoken the truth. Some will accuse us for failing to pay due respect to the Prophet. Nevertheless, those who speak of a spell cast on the Prophet, invent absurd suppositions on his sexual life and place the earth on a fish are the ones lacking in respect. How can one trust in the words of these people? To turn a deaf ear to the hadiths is the consequence of respect and love for the Prophet, a confirmation of the fact that God only has the exclusivity of Islam. Just like in the case of Christ, for whose love people went as far as to declare him God, there have been those who have said that they loved the Prophet, but afterward said that he had been under a spell. The prophets desire that we believe in God; they hate to be deified.

The acts of the followers of prophets should be in perfect conformity with the revealed religion. They are displeased with praise as practiced by certain fawning Christians.

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REASONS FOR ADDITIONS TO TO THE ESTABLISHED RELIGION AND FOR INVENTION OF HADITHS

In the first three chapters we settled the question of the self-sufficiency of the Quran and in the fourth we produced clear evidence to show that the hadiths sanctified and clothed in the garb of holiness could not constitute a source for Islam, by pointing to the method of collection. Assuming that the companions of the Prophet are free from all error, the question of the literal representation in the collection of hadiths proved the unreliability of it, no matter how honorable the intention may have been. We shall no longer be dealing with these in the present chapter. The object of our study will be the intentional interpolations. This will enable us to have an insight into the reasons of inventions of which we shall furnish examples in Chapters 6, 7, 8 and 9.

1) FABRICATIONS WITH THE INTENTION OF ADULTERATING THE RELIGION Infidels have invented innumerable hadiths with a view to perverting Islam and adulterating the religion. Later, they and a host of non-believers who succeeded them used these hadits to subvert the foundations of Islam. Concealing their lack of faith in Islam, their hatred and the grudges in their hearts, they infiltrated into the midst of people clad in the garb of the true believer, and tried to sow dissent among the faithful and arouse suspicion in their minds. With this aim they invented an infinite number of concocted hadiths ascribing their authorship to the Prophet. There are verses in the Quran that speak of the hypocrites who had already infiltrated among the people during the lifetime of the Prophet. The notorious atheist Abdulkerim b. Abil Avca had made the following statement before he was decapitated under Caliph Mahdi: You are killing me; yet I have invented 4000 hadiths that adulterated your religion, turning the lawfully permitted into what was forbidden by the religion and the forbidden into the permitted. Considering that there are 6000 verses in the Quran, the invention of 4000 hadiths by one single man can give you an idea of the harm that the so-called hadiths may have done. It is reported (by Ibni Hajar, Lisanul Mizan) that the number of hadiths invented by Ahmad bin Al Juvaybari, Muhammad bin Ukesha and Muhammad bin Tamim exceed, 10,000. Zahabi states that Ahmad bin Abdullah had invented thousands of hadiths allegedly based on hearsay evidence, ascribing his concoctions to the hadith imams. He mentions that he had heard from Dinar Abu Mikyas, who claimed to be the servant of Ahmad bin Abdullah, a whole invented page alleged to have originated from Anas bin Malik (Zahabi, Mizan). The hadith books are full of inventions willfully made to adulterate the religion. This is an established fact. But who can come forth and say that this hadith is authentic while that one is unauthentic? Who can claim that the sinister plots of the hypocrites already swarming around during the lifetime of the Prophet have not watered down what we have as hadiths today?

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2) FABRICATIONS BY DISSIDENTS Not forty years had elapsed before clashes began between Ali, son-in-law of the Prophet, and Muaviya. From this moment on the world of Islam entered a phase of schisms and political turmoil. Politically disintegrated communities, deemed mutual excommunication and antagonism praiseworthy acts, invented hadiths in support of their respective ends and concluded that belief in their own political ideals was Gods order. They praised themselves to the skies while belittling the leaders of the opposition. We read in Halili that some 300,000 hadiths had been invented by Shiites in connection with Ali, son-in-law of the prophet, and the way Alis sayings had been distorted (Halili, Al Irshad). This number represents 50-fold the number of verses in the Quran. Someone who had broken away from the Shiites had declared: May God punish them, they invented innumerable hadiths (Muslim, Sahihi Muslim). The Sunni viewpoint that favored Abu Bakr to Ali and considered this as a requirement of their school of religion and their age old controversies outside the confines of the Quran is a good example. When Islam became politicized, those who wielded political power made use of religion to give shape to public opinion according to their interests. Thus they manipulated the people with a view to molding them to suit their own ends by making additions and omissions in religious practice.

3) FABRICATIONS BY THOSE WHO THOUGHT THAT THE REVELATION NEEDED TO BE SUPPLEMENTED Innumerable prominent persons reputed to be accomplished Muslims(!) are beautifully described by Yahya bin Said: No greater lies were told in the field of hadiths than those pronounced by the devotee. The author of one of the two major hadiths books said to be most reliable, Muslim, asserts and declares this fact. Muslim transmitted the following from what he had heard from Abu Zannat: I came across some one hundred people in Madina, they were reliable people without exception, but the hadiths they transmitted were not creditable (Muslim, Sahihi Muslim). As one can plainly see the fact that a good many pious people had invented hadiths they ascribed to the Prophet and this was an established fact in the eyes of the transmitters of the hadiths themselves. These people who deemed their opinions worthy of being added to the body of traditions believed that they had done a laudable act; for instance, by inventing something that the Quran did not contain, namely the segregation of men and women. They may have thought that by separating the mens and womens sections, adultery and corruption would be prevented. They should have put on their thinking caps and thought that had God so willed this, He would have included it in His Book. To expect that interpolating something one believes beneficial into the established religion is a primitive method of reasoning and its grave consequences are well known.

4) FABRICATIONS TO MAKE RELIGION ATTRACTIVE TO PEOPLE This item has some similarities with the preceding one. The types of persons under this heading are convinced that they will contribute to the promotion of religion, as if God needed their assistance, to make religion and ritual appear pleasant to the eyes of the public. This populist concern caused the revealed religion to be adulterated by invented hadiths and interpretations. Among these promoters of religion was also a man by the name of Abu Ismet Nuh who had invented a hadith to extol and exalt every Sura of the Quran. There are hadiths concocted with a view to praising the Prophets merits. These people argued as follows: We told no lie on behalf of the Prophet; we did it simply to consolidate his message (Ibn Hajar, Fethul Bari). What they did was not fraudulent according to them; they even considered their act a laudable and pious one.

P a g e | 34 These devout fanatics have formed one of the most dangerous religious classes. In fact, they were considered reliable people favored by the public whose behavior and acts they emulated. A tradition transmitted by them was accepted without any objection. In this way, the pure religion was watered down and the newly shaped creed replaced the original Islam.

5) FABRICATORS WHO TRIED TO JUSTIFY THEIR SECTS AND IDEAS Removed from the original pattern of Islam, people took mans word for the word of God; this gave rise to wide divergences in Islamic concepts. Conflicting conclusions and dissensions led to the formation of schools or sects. People estranged from the true source of religion, the Quran, became partisans of factions. In this attempt, to justify their arguments and influence the public, they felt the need to base themselves on the hadiths fabricated to praise their respective sects while disparaging others. To give you an example, the following is a hadith fabricated by the members of the Hanafi sect: Among my community an imam by the name of Shafi will rise. He is a fiend and his influence will be detrimental, worse than Satans. Among the members of my community a person by the name of Abu Hanafi will rise and he will be the light of my community (Ibn Arrak, Tenzihus Sharia). On the other hand, the partisans of Imam Shafi did not remain idle; they also concocted hadiths. The Quraish scholar (Imam Shafi) will spread his wisdom over the earth. Then came the turn of the partisans of Imam Maliki and did not fail to declare their hadith. A day will come when the necks of camels will be cut (long distances will be covered) and there will be no one wiser than the scholar of Medina (Imam Maliki). Abu Raja Muhriz, an old member of the Kadiriya order of dervishes, said: Dont let any hadith be transmitted from any member of Kadirie; for we fabricated hadiths with a view to drawing people to our sect, hoping thereby to perform a laudable and pious act. In this way I enrolled four thousand souls (Ar jarhu wel tadil).

6) FABRICATIONS UNDER PRESSURE As we have already pointed out, at the beginning of the movement of the collection of hadiths, especially under the Omayyad caliphs, threats and torture were everyday occurrences. The following saying of Ez Zuhri, claimed to be the first collector of hadiths, is evidence of this: We did not like to invent hadiths. But the administrators (the Omayyad caliphs and their men) forced us to do it. In collections made under pressure, the hadiths selected were those that gratified the powers that supported the conceptions of administrators related to culture, traditions and history. A great many of them were used to conform and corroborate traditions. For instance, when reference was made to a particular act of the Prophet, they used the introductory phrase: The Prophet said that or The Prophet has ordered that All the inventions and semantic deviations were carried out under the command of the powers in conformity with the views and concepts they cherished. Interpolations made under pressure were not confined to the Omayyads and the Abbasids. These interpolations of fabricated hadiths were later transformed into fatwas and canonical jurisprudence under the pressure of caliphs and governors. Under the Ottomans, the caliphate was to pass from father to son, and fratricide for the welfare of the State came to be admitted within the framework of these fatwas and canonical jurisprudence. This attitude is an indication of the freedom that the powers in charge enjoyed in regard of the revealed religion. All these took place at the request of the Sheikhulislam, considered an imposing personality clothed with authority and paid by the government.

7) FABRICATIONS BY SEEKERS OF MATERIAL GAIN

P a g e | 35 Travelers who set out on journeys to collect hadiths had lucrative objectives. It is reported that Yakub b. Ibrahim would not transmit any hadiths unless he was paid one dinar per hadith. Abu Naim al-Fadl expected a consideration per hadith transmitted. Ali b. Jafar, a student of his, reported: We copied hadiths from Abu Naim al Fadl in return for which he received from us precious dirhams. If the dirhams we had about us happened to be low in value, he asked extra consideration. There was no end to the liars wallowing in riches, had retorted Ali b.Qasm to Shuba b. Hajjaj who had said that Umera b. Hafsa was rich, consequently he would not lie, and the hadiths he transmitted should be trusted after his special injunction to the effect that no hadiths should be received from the poor (Al kifaya). There were also people who produced hadiths to order. In order to promote their merchandise many traders had recourse to the hadith agents in return for money, and had them invent hadiths extolling the benefits of the goods they sold. An example of this is the case of the perfume sellers who had invented hadiths praising the benefits of fragrance. Hadith fabricators like Abul Mujazzam, who fabricated 70 hadiths in return for one kurush as reported by Shuba b. Hajjaj, may be given as an example.

8) FABRICATORS, SEEKERS OF SPIRITUAL ADVANTAGE After the death of the Prophet and following the era of the first Four Caliphs, a class of people styled as story and parable tellers had developed the habit of sitting in mosques to preach, and people made a circle around them. What they were actually interested in was creating an image of superiority and repute in the minds of the public. They arranged their sermons to suit their ends. They well knew that the path that led to fame passed through religion, an institution of towering importance for the public; therefore, they took special care to have recourse to rhetoric and make their audience cry by the dramatic effects they created. They interspersed their stories with legends they fabricated about the Prophet. Heaven and hell were described with pathos to overpower their audience. Although nothing was missing in the Quran about hell and heaven, these story and parable tellers drew on a great scale on the lore of hadiths to mystify and exhilarate people. Their professional merit was based on the extensive use they made of hadiths. This tragicomic picture of the state of affairs gave rise to the following incident: upon the announcement by Kulsum, the poet, that anyone who could touch his nose with the tip of his tongue would be spared the torture of hell, the congregation he preached to began to try it. Ibn ul Jawzi described these people as follows: Among them were people who dipped their faces into all sorts of dyes to give their complexion a pallid appearance with a view to giving the impression that this was due to their fasting and devotion. There were others who made use of their fasting and devotion. There were others who made use of salt to bring tears to their eyes whenever they wanted to. Still others displayed great courage by throwing themselves down in a fit of transport from the chair above which they had lavishly decorated, or they banged on the desk and climbed and descended the flight of stairs in an agitated mood making violent gestures and gesticulations in the course of the narration of their stories that appeared odd to unfamiliar eyes (Ibn ul Jawzi, al-Kussas wel Muzekkirin). A cursory examination of our environment will show us that these human figures described by Ibn ul Jawzi are reminiscent of the impostor-fabricators. Crocodile tears, running noses and excessive saliva, banging and gesticulating must associate in the minds the story-tellers described by Ibn ul Jawzi. There was no limit to the imagination of the tellers of cock-and-bull stories. There was a man by the name of Jafar b. Nastur Frab who claimed to be three hundred and twenty years old and had had the opportunity of seeing the Prophet, and because of the Prophets prayers, he had lived for so many years. Rafans case was similar. These men, who lived in the fourth and eighth centuries AH, claimed they had been companions of the Prophet, and Rafan wrote a book that contained three hundred hadiths and had succeeded in gathering around him many disciples.

P a g e | 36 9) FABRICATIONS TO GIVE A PLACE FOR TRADITIONS AND CUSTOMS IN RELIGION As we may well remember, the Quran has laid down certain precepts, injunctions and commands leaving a great many issues to the discretion of man. We studied this point in Chapter 2 and will be further tackling it in Chapter 39. Men are supposed to act as it may seem best to them in their own respective fields within the framework of their traditions, customs and views of the world. The Quran makes no mention of any table manners and does not say whether we should eat with our fingers, use a fork or sticks or not. There is no prescription for the garments a man or a woman should wear, whether a man should wear a turban, a mantle, a necktie or a shirt or whether a woman should wear a kimono. Given the fact that we are free in our actions in the fields left to our discretions, we are at liberty to choose among the alternatives mentioned above. To say that something is permissible or not would contradict the Quran. An important part of the interpolations during the reign of the Omayyads and the Abbasids was made under the guise of traditions and customs to which they gave a holy character. The Quran was explicit and contained nothing regarding traditions and customs. The thing to be done therefore was to invent hadiths and give a sacred character to traditions and customs in a Sunni background. Because of the racist and tribalist concepts of the Arab-Omayyad, many traits were introduced in the religion as practiced, ranging from the Arabic language to the fashions of the time, the food, and the manner of using the toilet (for details see Chapter16).

10) FABRICATIONS RESULTING FROM INTERPOLATIONS INTO THE RELIGION OF STORIES FROM OTHER RELIGIONS This subject may be studied in two sections: the first section will deal with people who deliberately invented stories with a view to corrupting religion rendering it illogical or transforming it to fit ones own faith. The second section is related to those people who felt obliged to bring into Islam their former creeds and customs before conversion into Islam. Jewish parables, Christian legends, pagan customs and the shamanic concepts of the Turks were introduced into Islam either as hadiths or canonical jurisprudence. In terms of the space they occupy, the Jewish legends have a larger space compared to Christian ones. The legends inherited from other religions dating far back in history infiltrated Islam as they found it easier to have access. We shall confine ourselves to the former ones. Kab al Ahbar, Wahb b. Munabbih and Abdullah b. Selam were the prominent figures that brought into Islam the Jewish legends. In speaking for the foremost fabricators of hadiths we shall take up this point to show how much Jewish sources can be dependable. One thing is certain: some Muslims saw no contradiction in narrating these legends along with the Quranic verses. This is one of the reasons that inflated the volume of hadiths. In a great many hadith books and the commentaries, we often come across invented stories ascribed to these people. Let us give two examples to illustrate this. The hadiths whose origins go back to Jewish lore transmitted by Wahb Munabbih run like this: The people of Bayt ul Makdis are Gods neighbors. God takes special care not to grieve His neighbors. Those who are buried in Baytul Makdis are spared from the ordeal of a grave. Another fabrication attributed to Kab al Ahbar, mentioned in the commentary of Kurtubi, runs as follows: When God created it, the sky said: God has created no greater entity than me. And it proudly swayed to and fro. God caused it to be encircled by a snake with 70,000 wings, each of which having 70, 000 feathers. Each feather had 70,000 faces. Each face had 70,000 mouths. Each mouth had 70,000 tongues. Its tongues repeated Gods name every day as many times as there are raindrops, leaves of trees, grains of sand and pebbles, the days of the world and the number of angels. The snake coiled around the sky and the sky could attain only half of it. Only then did the sky begin to be modest. On the other hand, Tamim ed Dari and Ibn Jurayj may be held responsible for the interpolations into Islam of stories of Christian origin. The second coming of Christ, the Antichrist, the Angel of Death and heaven and hell may be traced back to Christian legends. (In Chapter 20, we shall tackle the problems given rise to in Islam by the Second Coming of Christ and Mahdi and the Antichrist.)

P a g e | 37 The traditionalist fundamentalists, furious at the Muslims who based Islam exclusively on the Quran, are mad at the researchers who preach the unreliability of the hadiths. Regardless of the intention of these researchers, what concerns us is the scholarly value of their work. These people who had adopted an unbiased approach, which is inexistent in Muslim communities, have incontestably put forward serious facts, meat for thought. We must adopt an impartial attitude toward their work, find out their mistakes, if any, and try to benefit from their discoveries. Among these, we must especially single out the works of Goldziher, Schacht, van Kramer, Sprenger and Dogi. Goldziher, the most renowned scholar among them, says: The sayings of Jewish and Christian scholars, the quotations made from the gospels, the doctrines of Greek philosophers, the literary extracts of Persian and Indian origin, etc. have infiltrated Islam. All these, directly or indirectly became integrated into Islamic culture. A great many religious parables have found their way to Islam. If we examine the material used in the hadiths and Jewish culture, we observe the extent of them in Islam (Goldziher, Al Akida Wes Sharia).

CONTRADICTIONS BETWEEN THE HADITHS AND THE QURAN

We shall study in this chapter the contradictions between the Quran, the basic and unique source of Islam, and the fabricated hadiths. When we observe the fatal consequences of the adoption of the hadiths as a source of religion, we shall see better the importance of going back to the Quran. We have quoted here the hadiths from the most famous book on hadiths to illustrate those that are openly in contradiction with the Quran; you can imagine the hadiths contained in the lesser known compilations. The fact that these are hadiths that plainly contradict the verses of the Quran is enough to reject them all and our return to the Quran for our religious concepts. There are thousands of hadiths that present glaring contradictions with the Quran. We shall confine ourselves by quoting only ten. As we proceed, we shall witness many such inconsistencies. Now, how do we know if the Quran is the Word of God? Some may come up with the answer: It is said so in the Quran. However, if there crop up persons pointing to other books ascribed to God, what shall be our argument? We shall be able to assert that the Quran is the Word of God after examining and making an assessment of its contents. To discuss the truth of Gods message has to do with the intrinsic contents of the Quran. If we examine the hadiths with the same logic, we can see if they deserve to be a source of Gods revelation or not. As we discuss the degree of truth by the established religion, by referring to the very contents of the Quran, so we must examine the argument that hadiths must be considered a source of religion by referring to the body of hadiths. We have examined the Quran and the hadiths from the point of view of their respective intrinsic values, which would enable us to assess how far they could constitute a source for Islam. The hadiths we shall be examining now will make clear their reliability and truthfulness as a source of Islam. The hadiths quoted here are those acknowledged reliable by prominent hadith scholars. We have left out those denied by them, as they deemed them not dependable. Of the latter, the following examples may be quoted: When God desired to create Himself, He made the horse run and let it perspire; and out of this perspiration He created Himself or God created the angels from the hairs of His armpits and chest or Gods eyes were sore, the angels came to pay Him a visit or I saw God in my dream. He was a handsome young man with long hair. He wore a green garment and had golden sandals on His feet (see Defense of the Hadiths Ibn Kutayba). It is true that the prominent hadith scholars denied such fabricated hadiths and ignored them. What we shall presently see are the hadiths quoted by the most reliable, trustworthy and dependable hadith books, and we shall observe that

P a g e | 38 the truth and falsehoods are inextricably mixed and any effort to tell them apart would be fruitless. Moreover, given the fact that the Quran is self-sufficient and complete in every respect, such an effort would be futile. 82 Why do they not consider the Quran? If it were from other than God, they would have found in it many contradictions. 4 The Women, 82 9 Surely, We have sent down a Reminder, And We are protecting It. 15 Al Hijr, 9 Verse 4 of the Sura The Women states that the source of Islam embodies no contradictions. By such a statement God confirms the truthfulness of the Quran as well as indicating how the book to constitute the source of religion should be. The very existence of the hadiths that contradict the Quran is proof that they cannot be considered as a source of Islam. Verse 15 Al Hijr 9 explicitly states that the Quran is a guarded and protected book. We shall see presently and in the following three chapters that the hadiths are not protected and that the whole body of them has become a hotchpotch of invented sayings. By witnessing the regrettable consequences of the acceptance of the hadiths as a source of religion, we shall better see the absolute necessity of returning to the only source of Islam, the Quran, free from all contradictions and a guarded and protected Book.

1) GODS CALF? 11 - there is nothing whatever like unto Him 42 Consultation, 11 Hadith: God will show His calf to the Prophets to prove His identity in the world hereafter. (Sahihi Muslim, Bukhari, Hanbal) We must draw your attention to the books we have quoted from: books written by Muslim and Bukhari, considered the most reliable and dependable ones. According to the mentality of transmitters of traditions, those who would deny the truth of this tradition would be declared infidels, while those who would believe it, would be true Muslims. There is no need to dwell further on this when we are reminded by the verses that declare that there is nothing whatever like unto Him which will automatically negate it.

2) GOD SHAKES HANDS? 4 - and there is none like unto him. 112 Absoluteness, 4 Hadith: God talked to me and shook hands with me. He placed His hand in between my scapulas and I heard the coldness of His hand in the middle of my chest.

P a g e | 39 Hanbal The hadith without any metaphorical meaning gives shape to God and ascribes fingers to Him and coldness to His hand. If the word hand had a symbolical meaning and was not associated in the mind with the concrete hand of man, it might be admissible. For instance when one says: Everybody is in Gods hands would connote that everything depends on Him, that He has overall control of everything. But in this context, the hand is the concrete hand of man. In the above text, the hand and fingers to which coldness is attributed cannot possible have a metaphorical connotation. Whats more, the saying is crowned with the shaking of hands of God and man. Would the transmitter of the hadith who believes in the literal meaning of this or the person who observes the falsehood in the invented hadith and deems the Quran self-sufficient, be a truthful Muslim?

3) SHOULD RENEGADES BE PUT TO DEATH? 256 There shall be no compulsion in religion. 2 The Cow, 256 Hadith: Kill the renegade! Nesei, Bukhari. There has been no end to murders due to the work of the hadith fabricators who tried to overrule the injunctions of the Quran. Such hadiths were responsible for legitimizing the massacres committed by extremist organizations. If you were among the defenders of the Sunni sects, your raising objections to these murders would be in vain. Evidence to justify this are embodied in the Sunni books of hadiths and in the books of the sectarians.

4) SUFFERING FOR TEARS 38 No soul bears sins of another soul. 53 The Star, 38 Hadith: The dead will suffer for the tears of his/her family will shed for him/her. Bukhari, Jemiz This hadith, unreasonable and inconsistent with the intrinsic logic of the Quran, is an illustrative example of a fabricated hadith.

5) GOOD WOMEN AND CROWS 195 - Never will I suffer to be lost the work of any of you, be he male or female: you are members one of another. 3 The Family of Imran, 195

P a g e | 40 Hadith: A good woman among women is like a white crow among one hundred crows. Bukhari While the Quran opens the path for men and women produces good deeds without any discrimination between them, the hadith bars the way to women. The woman issue is one of the subjects about which there is no end to invented hadiths. (For a detailed account, see Chapters 21 & 22.)

6) SPELL AND PROPHET 8 - The wicked say. You follow none other than a man bewitched. 25 The Distinguisher, 8 Hadith: A spell was cast on the Prophet in Medina. He went around dazed. Bukhari, Hanbal To the objection raised by Muhammad Abduh and Mutezila to this hadith, Muhammad Abu Shhebe provided the following argument: If Abduh denied the hadith related to the spell cast over Muhammad, many scholars like Al Mazrii, al Hattabi, Cadi Iyaz, Ibn Taymiyya, Ibn ul Kayym Ibn Kathir, En Nevevi, Ibn Hajar, al Kurtubi and Alusi, have acknowledged its truth. Shahbe says Bukhari and Muslim also had acknowledged it, went on to add to it the following account: A spell was cast upon the Prophet. He was believed to have slept with his wives while in fact he had not. Sufyan declared that he had been under a powerful black magic (Abu Shabbe, Defense of the Sunna, pp. 152-153.). According to the Quran, those who said that the prophet was bewitched were wicked people. Yet, most of the reliable hadith scholars had been of a different cast of mind. You may revert to syllogistic reasoning to conclude the identity of the wicked people.

7) IS A WILL PERMISSIBLE? 106 - O you who believe, witnessing a will when one of you is dying, shall be done by two equitable people among you. 5 The Feast, 106 Hadith: No will for heirs. Hanbal Reference is made to the will both in Sura The Feast and in other verses. The estate remaining after the execution of the will is distributed as indicated in the Quran. This hadith, aiming at repealing the lawfulness of bequeathing, is an attempt at revocation of a provision of the Quran.

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8) PAINTERS GREATEST SINNERS? 48 - God does not forgive who set up partners to God, but He forgives anything else to whom He pleases. 4 The Women, 48 Hadith: The persons who will receive the severest punishment will be painters. Bukhari-Tasawir According to the Quran, the greatest sin is to set up partners to God. Every sin is pardonable except this. Therefore these will be the people who will be doomed to eternal punishment. If one is to give credence to Bukharis above stated hadith, the painters will be doomed to eternal punishment. (The hadith invented by sectarians and hadith transmitters to show their hostility to arts will be the subject of Chapter 18.) This hadith contradicts the Quran. Moreover there are other conflicting hadiths. For instance, according to another hadith, chess players will receive the severest punishment (Capital Sins, Hafz Zahabi).

9) WEARING GOLD ITEMS AND SILK GARMENTS? 32 Say: Who prohibited the nice things God has created for His servants and the good provisions? Say: They are believers in the world, and will be exclusively theirs on the day of resurrection. That is how We explain Our signs in detail for those who understand. 7 The Purgatory, 32 Hadith: Gold and silk are allowed to be worn by women but forbidden for men. Muslim Gold and silk may be worn both by men and women indiscriminately. There is no hint in the Quran regarding their prohibition. God allows them to be made use of by both sexes. This hadith of Muslim who contends that every one of the hadiths he transmits is valid conflicts with the relevant verse of the Quran mentioned above.

10) FISH CAUSE OF EARTHQUAKE? 30 He made the earth egg-shaped. 79 Those Who Pull and Withdraw, 30 Hadith: The earth rests upon a fish. When it shakes its head earthquakes occur. Ibn Kathir -Commentary The Quran miraculously stated that the earth had an elliptical shape, it explained as todays science would have explained the formation of the embryo, the winds role in insemination, etc. Yet the superstitions that find a place in the

P a g e | 42 hadiths conflict with the Quran and logic. Why not ask the possessors of this mentality the kind of fish that is supposed to support the earth?

CONTRADICTORY HADITHS

As we have seen, God says that the Quran is protected and free from all contradictions. God brings testimony to His statement by the fact that the Quran is His own word. By analogy, we deduced in Chapter 6 that hadiths could not constitute a source for religion as they clashed even with the Quran. These discrepancies are proofs of our contention. We shall be witnessing the fact that truth and falsehood are inextricably mixed together. It would be worth while to note that even though, when a given hadith does not conflict with the Quran and is not contrary to reason, it does not necessarily follow that it is the word of the Prophet and need not be taken as such. Religion cannot be based on such conjectures. Therefore no hadith can be considered having a religious connotation. 116 If you obey the majority of people on earth, they will divert you from the path of God. They follow only conjecture, they only guess. 6 The Cattle, 116 36 Most of them follow nothing but conjecture. Surely, conjecture is no substitute for the truth. God is fully aware of everything they do. But most of them follow nothing but fancy: truly fancy can be of no avail against truth. Verily God is well aware of all they do. 10 Jonah, 36 We are warned against abiding by conjectures. To try to found religious concepts on conjectures like hadiths would be baseless, since we have been provided with a miraculous, guarded and sound source without any contradiction like the Quran. Now we are going to illustrate the incongruity between hadiths in 10 examples.

1) DRAWING BLOOD DURING FAST The first contradictory hadith: Drawing blood violates a fast.

P a g e | 43 Tirmizi Fast, Abu Davud Fast, Bukhari Fast. The second contradictory hadith: Drawing blood was administered to the Prophet while observing the fast. Abu Davud Fast, Tirmizi Fast, Bukhari Medicine. It goes without saying that had drawing blood violated his fast, the Prophet would not have let his blood be taken. It is explicitly stated in the Quran that eating, drinking and sexual intercourse are the three things that violate a fast. This shows that not only the two hadiths exclude each other but the first also contradicts the Quran. This quotation from three books considered the most reliable is evidence of the infiltration of false hadiths into books.

2) TURNING TOWARD MECCA DURING URINATION OR DEFECATION The first contradictory hadith: You must not turn yourself to Mecca while you are urinating or defecating. Hanbal The second contradictory hadith: Having witnessed that certain people avoided turning toward Mecca while urinating or defecating, the Prophet had his toilet designed pointing to Mecca to avoid pandering superstitions. Bukhari Whereas in one hadith it is stressed that one should not direct oneself toward Mecca while urinating or defecating, in another, the Prophet is illustrated doing exactly the contrary of what is firmly believed. As one can see, to ascribe things to the Prophet devoid of any justification is to cast aspersion on him.

3) KISSING ONES WIFE DOES NOT VIOLATE ONES FAST The first contradictory hadith: The Prophet kissed his wife when he was fasting. Ibn Kutayba-Defene of Hadith The second contradictory hadith: When he was asked if ones fast would be considered violated, the Prophet answered in the affirmative. Ibn Kutayba-Defense of Hadith These hadiths figure also in the Kutub- Sitte, the famous six-volume collection of hadiths. We came across these hadiths that tried to reconcile contradictory hadiths in Ibn Kutaybas book. The illogicality and contradictoriness of hadiths can plainly be seen in Ibn Kutaybas book. The Prophet kisses his wife according to one hadith, while he does not do so according to another. At least one of them must be false. To take both of them as true would be superfluous and would claim that the Prophet is a senile old man.

4) CAN ONE PERFORM THE SALAT (RITUAL PRAYER) TWICE? The first contradictory hadith: If a man performs the salat at home and then performs the same salat once more, the second one will be superfluous.

P a g e | 44 Ibn Kutayba - Defense of Hadiths The second contradictory hadith: Do not perform the same salat twice. Abu Davud The second hadith contradicts both the first hadith and the Quran. A superfluous prayer could not possibly be frowned on. This approach would prevent the faithful from invoking God once more.

5) URINATING The first contradictory hadith: If someone says to you that the Prophet urinated standing, dont believe him. Sunneni Nesei

The second contradictory hadith: The Prophet went to the garbage dump of a tribe and urinated standing. Bukhari We observe that this practice has occupied a place in traditional Islam. This rumored practice of the Prophet led the public in general to urinate squatting down on ones heels. Urinating standing came to be considered an unseemly act.

6) DRINKING WATER The first contradictory hadith: Drinking water while standing was prohibited by the Prophet. Abu Davud The second contradictory hadith: I saw the Prophet drinking water standing like you and me. Abu Davud The first hadith above received greater approval among the public although it clashed with the second one. Today we observe among the followers of practices of traditional Islam, people drinking water in the sitting position and in three gulps, expecting thereby to have performed a pious act.

7) MENSTRUAL PERIOD The first contradictory hadith: Having entered the courtyard of the mosque, the Prophet said: The woman in the menstrual period shall not step in the mosque. Muslim Hayz, Abu Davud Taharat, Tirmizi Taharat, Nesai Hayz The second contradictory hadith: The Prophets wife spoke as follows: The Prophet rested his head on our knees and recited the Quran, although we were in menstrual period. We used to take certain things to the Prophet who was in the mosque while we were in menstrual period.

P a g e | 45 Nesa, Hay. While the first hadith above bars the way to woman during her menstrual period, the second speaks that she had free access to it. (The womans prohibition from worship under certain conditions is dealt with in Chapters 21 and 35, and in the section on salat in Chapter 36.)

8) CAN SOMEONE ON PILGRIMAGE GET MARRIED? The first contradictory hadith: The Prophet was on pilgrimage when he married Maymune. Sunneni Nesei

The second contradictory hadith: A person on pilgrimage cannot get married nor can he ask the hand of someone, or marry couples. Sunneni Nesei The details of the ritual to be performed during the visit to Mecca for pilgrimage purposes are described in the Quran. When this information seems insufficient and people start looking for supplementary details and consult the relevant hadiths, a chaos of contradictions results.

9) CAN A MANS CALF BE UNCOVERED? The first contradictory hadith: To a companion whose calf was not covered the Prophet said: Cover your calf as it is your privy parts Tahzibut Tazhib The second contradictory hadith: The prophet was in a reclining position at his house with his calves uncovered. Abu Bakr asked permission to be admitted into his presence. The Prophet nodded consent without changing his position. Omar followed suit and he received the same approval. Hanbal According to one of the hadiths, man must cover his calf, while according to another; this is countered by the fact that the Prophet had not changed his position despite his uncovered calves. Certain sects inspired by the first hadith above brought in a prohibition for men whose part of the body extending from his waist down to his knees had to be covered.

10) THE SKIN OF DEAD ANIMAL The first contradictory hadith: The Prophet said: A tanned skin becomes clean. Then he came across the carcass of a sheep and he said: Why dont you use its skin? Bukhari

P a g e | 46 The second contradictory hadith: The Prophet said: You should not utilize the skin of a dead animal. Hanbal According to the Quran, the flesh of a dead animal should not be eaten. There is no mention of a ban against the use of the skin of a dead animal. According to the hadiths above, the account differs as well you may observe. While there is no contradiction in the Quran, to trace the authenticity of the alleged hadiths has led us nowhere. The Prophets complaint in the next world was as follows: 30 The messenger will say: O my Lord! My people have deserted this Quran. 25 The Distinguisher, 30

HADITHS IN CONTRADICTION WITH LOGIC

In the preceding chapters, we saw that the Quran was a guarded, consistent and complete book wherein there were no contradictions, and constituted thus the only source of Islam. We also observed that the hadiths had been exposed to interpolations, were inconsistent and contained contradictions; thus, they could not be considered a source for religion, and, what is more, they were utterly devoid of importance, since the Quran contained all that a man should know as far as religion was concerned. We shall continue to illustrate our argument with examples we shall be providing. We propose, in this section, to show the contradictions of hadiths with logic. According to the Quran, people must work their brains and try to see His revelations reflected in the universe, in their own constitution and in the Quran. To say that reason, which is part and parcel of the universes harmony, is not compatible with religion, is to try to conceive of religion in total disregard of reason, to look for virtues and merits by turning a blind eye to it rather than using it. There are laborious works of those who have been instrumental in introducing absurdities into religion and there are dissenters from all creeds. It is inconceivable to think that religion is irreconcilable and incompatible with intelligence. Is intelligence not a blessed gift of God? Does the Quran not repeat every now and then that we should use our brains? 100 - And He casts uncleanness on those who will not understand 10 Jonah, 100 This verse also indicates the reasons for the interpolations of uncleanness. As we are not in a position to squeeze in the brief space of our book hundreds of illogical and paradoxical hadiths, we shall be content with selecting only ten from among them. Our examination of these examples will enable us to understand better the uncleanness cast on those who turn a blind eye to the discourse of reason. The traditionalist Islamist casts aspersion upon us arguing that we are confirmed enemies of the Prophet, that we deny his words and that we ignore him. We ask them a simple question: Does questioning the truth of these so-called hadiths mean belittling the Prophet or rather protecting him against lies? To confirm the truth of the contrived hadiths would certainly mean ascribing to him false statements and earn us the attribute of an accomplice.

P a g e | 47 1) LIVER OF THE FISH ON WHICH RESTS THE EARTH? Hadith: The earth rests upon a fish. Those whose destination is paradise will in the first place eat from the liver of this fish. Bukhari In the face of descriptions in the Quran of the roundness of the earth, the movements of the earth, of the sun and of the moon, and the perfect explanation of the creation of the space, one is appalled to behold the absurdity of the minds that imagine the world resting on a fish and or an ox. How will the exegetes who try to explain away this fact account for the argument that the travelers to the paradise will first eat from the liver of the fish and the phenomenon of the earthquake due to the waiving of the tail of the fish? In a hadith (see Abu Davud, Sunna, Tirmizi, Ibn Maje, Mukaddime) it is said that the sky rests on 8 chamois. One wonders how these people would describe these chamois. It is furthermore stated that an interval of time of seventy-one, or seventy-two, or seventy-three years separates the earth and the sky. What can possibly be the unit of measure? Is it by foot or mounted on camels can this distance be measured?

2) GOD=TIME? Hadith: Someone asked the Prophet where God was before He created the heavens and the earth, and he said: He was wrapped in a cloud and above and below was air. Hanbal Hadith: God is time. Muvatta Why are such absurd descriptions not contained in the Quran, but in hadiths solely? One of the founders of the four sects of Islam is Hanbal and the said hadith, the first one above, is quoted from his book. The author of the second hadith is Malik and he is the author of Muvatta and he is one of the founders of the four sects. The level of knowledge of those who says that God is time and that He was wrapped in clouds is an indication of the fact that they have not understood the Quran and they are unaware of the nature of air and time and God.

3) MOSES SLAPPING THE FACE OF AZRAEL THE ANGEL OF DEATH? Hadith: The Angel of Death came to Moses and said unto him: Obey your Lord. Whereupon, Moses slapped his face and punished him. The Angel went to God and said to Him: You have sent me to a servant of yours who is unwilling to die. He pulled out one of my eyes. Sahih-i Muslim This hadith is utterly ridiculous and at the same time is an insult to Moses. A dutiful servant of God would certainly not disobey the messenger of God. Not only in Muslims hadith book, which is renowned for being free of error, but in other hadith books also, we read this hadith. How can a book that contains such an absurd account be considered a serious work?

P a g e | 48

4) HOW CAN THE PROPHET BE CRUEL? Hadith: A group of people from the Urayna and Ukala tribes came to Medina and were converted into Islam. As they had been affected by the changing weather, the Prophet suggested they drink camel urine. The men scattered the camels and killed the shepherd. The Prophet had his men catch them and cut off their hands and feet, remove their eyes from their sockets and let them perish in the desert. When we attempted to give them some water, the Prophet thwarted us from our attempt. Bukhari, Hanbal. To remove the eyes from their sockets and abandon people to death in the midst of the desert are not compatible with the contents of the Quran. The people who concocted this hadith must have tried to cover up their own crimes by accusing the Prophet of such an unseemly act.

5) FIRE EXTINGUISHED BY PRAYER? Hadith: When you witness a fire, say God is great and there is no greater than Him (Allahuakbar), and you will have extinguished the fire. Ramuzal, Hadiths The work entitled Ramuzal Hadiths is not as well known as the others, so we have not quoted many hadiths from it. Yet, in some countries this book happens to be one of the bestsellers among the hadith books and contains innumerable hadiths of this nature. If one lent credence to it he might take along with him a gang of fire extinguishers to join him in a chorus singing alleluia.

6) AN IMPORTANT INJUCTION REGARDING SEXUAL INTERCOURSE! Hadith: During sexual intercourse, man must not look at his wifes sexual organ; for, this may cause blindness. Fayz ul Kadir This absurd injunction will serve the purpose of those who would like to flout religion. The contriver of this hadith may have had the objective to mock the Prophet. Interpolations of prohibitions that the Quran did not contain are nothing but wanton cruelty toward humanity. Along with such prohibitive acts during sexual intercourse are also indecent hadiths describing the sexual practices of the Prophet and his companions. According to one such hadith, when the companions had accomplished the pilgrimage ritual and returned to their women, there were drops of sperm on their organs (Bukhari, Haj; Muslim Haj). According to another hadith, the Prophets sexual potency was equal to the potency of thirty men (Bukhari). According to another hadith, whenever the Prophet saw a beautiful woman, he rushed home and slept with his wife Zaynap (Bukhari, Hibe, 8). Should we accept or reject these hadiths in order to show him due respect?

7) WOMAN LICKING PUS?

P a g e | 49 Hadith: Even though a woman licks the pus of her man with which his body is entirely smeared; even then she cannot repay him what she owes to him. Ibn Hajar al Haytami In traditional Islam, women were made the subject of hadiths on a grand scale. Those who could not find the exact replica of their opinions about woman in the Quran had recourse to inventing innumerable hadiths on the subject. You will read more hadiths in Chapter 21 in which the subject of woman is tackled in detail.

8) IMPERTINENCE OF THE GOAT! Hadith: The verse that ordained the stoning of adulterous married women happened to be written on a page beneath the bed of Aye, wife of Muhammad. When the Prophet died, as Aye was busy in arranging the funeral, a goat that found its way to the room ate up that page. In this way stoning was left out of the context of the Quran. Yet, it is still effective. Ibn Maja, Hanbal

This hadiths and other such hadiths have caused great harm to Islam. This hadith: 1- Cancels the injunction related to adultery in the Quran; 2- Introduces a new provision supplementing the one already existing in the Quran; 3- Implies that the Quran is not complete; 4- Brings in an absurd argument claiming that it is a goat that was responsible for the missing part of the Quran.

This incredible allegation will be dealt with in Chapter 26 as it has had wide repercussions.

9) THE MAGIC STONE! Hadith: The sacred black stone has its origin in paradise. It was snow white but the sins of the pagans blackened it. Hanbal Hadith: The sacred black stone is Gods hand on the earth. He shakes the hand of the chosen through it. Jami-us Sagir These hadiths contrived about the black stone built into the southeastern corner of the Kaaba in Mecca have been the cause of many ridiculous and absurd rituals during pilgrimage. People who are not familiar with the tenets of our religion might conclude at the sight of the throngs hustling and bustling in order to be able to touch this stone that they are idolaters. These hadiths had also been a subject of derision long before. Mutazila, who had argued against the reliability of the hadith under the Abbasids but who had lost ground in the political arena, poked fun at the defenders of

P a g e | 50 this hadith saying: According to the logic of this hadith if this stone had blackened because of the sins of the pagans, it should have whitened now that the Kaaba is in the hands of the Muslims.

10) CONUNDRUM! Hadith: The person that keeps in his heart a grain of pride shall not enter paradise. The person that keeps in his heart a grain of faith shall not enter hell. Bukhari There are innumerable hadiths that send a person to paradise or hell for an insignificant act of his. These paradoxes are sometimes encountered in the same hadith like the one above. The greatest insult to the Prophet would be ascribing him these hadiths. The Quran dictated by the Prophet as His message is the only source of Islam.

10 - We have sent down to you a Book which has a reminder for you. Will you not then understand? 21 The Prophets, 10

INTERPOLATIONS BY HADITHS

Just to make sure that certain errors are indeed made clear and, consequently, corrected, we find it advisable to stress certain points once again. There may be people who would come up arguing that the hadiths that do not clash with the Quran and stand to reason might, after all, be accepted as true. The fact is that these hadiths are also transmitted by the same source. Even though the hadiths may not contradict the verses of the Quran, as long as additional concepts of sins or good deeds and imagery related to hell and paradise are introduced, they should be discarded, since they are but commentaries and interpretations. Anyway, there is no need for any further considerations since the Quran is there, complete and whole and the sole source of Islam. 89 - We have sent down to you the Book explaining all things, a guide, a mercy and glad tidings for those who submit. 16 The Honey Bees, 89 Under the circumstances, to come up with concepts of sins and good deeds with the intention of making additions to the Quran, clashes with the verses of the Quran, some of which we have quoted in Chapter 2. If a given hadith tries to explain something supposedly not clearly expounded or if certain new concepts are put forward, concepts not existing in the Quran related to good deeds, sins, sunna or acts not forbidden by God but looked upon in horror and disgust by Muslim scholars, that hadith would necessarily be a false one. This leads us to another consideration. If a given hadith does not clash with the Quran, with another hadith and with logic and makes no addition to religious concepts, should we accept it as true? The answer is: We are not in a position to give an answer to what we do not know. How can we? All the hadiths in circulation have their source in the books of the transmitters of a pack of lies. Moreover, since we have the Quran, infallible in every respect, why do we have to have recourse to the hadiths? Since the Quran explicitly

P a g e | 51 states that we must not abide by conjectural prescriptions, we must surely beware of hadiths every one of which being a matter of conjecture. How can we, in 1400 AH, sort out the contradictions, the paradoxes, the lies and the illogicalities that infiltrated them during their collection in 200-300 AH? All these vain efforts are the result of failing to see the Quran as a complete book; this failure had in fact grave consequences. To illustrate our argument we are giving below ten examples.

1) MATHEMATICALLY COMMENSURABLE PRAYERS? Hadith: The salat (ritual prayer) performed in congregations is 27 times superior to the salat performed individually. Bukhari Ezan, Muslim Mescid, Muvatta Jamaat You may consider this hadith not in contradiction with the Quran, nor in conflict with another hadith or is in any way illogical; yet you may be sure that it is a contrived hadith,for there is no such information in the Quran. There are also hadiths that say that the salat performed after having performed ones ablutions using the miswak (stick of wood beaten into fibers at one end and used as a toothbrush) is twenty-seven times or seventy times superior to the salat performed with ablutions performed with ones turban on.

2) BEWARE THE LEFT HAND! Hadith: Do not use your left hand while eating or drinking, for Satan uses his left hand while eating and drinking. Hanbal During the courses conducted by certain traditional religious groups, the hands of children, who use their left hands while eating, are beaten till they become red and swollen, and those who sleep at night flat on their belly are woken up from their sleep and beaten; a consequence of such hadiths in circulation.

3) CEREMONIES ON THE OCCASION OF BIRTH Hadith: The Prophet ordained that on the seventh day of a childs birth his/her name be whispered in his/her ear, and be washed and cleansed and a sheep be sacrificed. Tirmizi Adab, Abu Davud The reader may not see any irrelevance in this hadith. Yet there is no prescription to this effect in the Quran. It follows that this hadith that has no place in the Quran is a contrivance. A fabricated hadith may be harmless, but so long as it adds something that does not exist among the religious prescriptions, it is concocted. The reason of some fabrications may be the attempt at giving the religion an attraction as we briefly mentioned in Chapter 5. However, no matter what the reason may be, to add what is of human origin to Gods word is nothing but treachery.

4) SHOULD BLACK DOGS BE KILLED? Hadith: Kill all the black dogs for they are Satan personified.

P a g e | 52 Hanbal In Sura The Cave, youth and dogs are mentioned. The youth in question are praised and there is nothing against dogs. If you cannot remember the relevant verses, if you do not know the hadith that told that during the lifetime of the Prophet dogs wandered in mosques, if this hadith does not seem illogical to you, you may conclude that since this hadith introduces into the religion something that the Quran does not mention, it must be counted out, so should all the hadiths that speak against dogs. Such hadiths lead some people to consider dogs as unclean and the most faithful of animals have been outcast. There are an infinite number of hadiths about the animal kingdom. For instance, in a hadith it is said that a cock had crowed because it had seen an angel and that the donkey brays when it sees the Devil. (see Sahihi Muslim). According to another hadith, the rat is a Jew and does not drink camels milk because of this (see Sahihi Muslim, Zuhd). Again a hadith alleges that the crow is a pervert (see Bukhari, Hanbali Musnad). The fact that the camel was created from Satan is a phenomenon that biology should look into! (see Hanbal, Musnad). There are also hadiths that claim that the cat was created as a consequence of a lions sneezing and that the swine was a consequence of an elephants sneezing (see Al Majruhin). All these hadiths have caused religion to be considered illogical and irrelevant. According to those who argue that the hadiths are necessary in order to fully understand the Quran, these hadiths also that figure in reliably hadith books must be given credence. If they think otherwise, it follows that they accept the fact that the Quran is the only reliable book and that for religion they have to refer solely to the Quran. If, however, they take these hadiths to be literally correct, well then

5) EATING IN GOLDEN AND SILVER PLATES PROHIBITED Hadith: The Prophet prohibited us to eat off of silver and golden plates. Bukhari There is nothing to suggest such a prohibition in the Quran. Such interpolations are made by those who deem the contents of the Quran to be insufficient.

6) PUNISHMENT FOR CUTTING A WOMANS FINGERS Hadith: The punishment of cutting the fingers of a woman is a consideration (in terms of camels) of ten camels for the cutting of one finger; twenty camels for two fingers; thirty camels for three fingers and twenty for four fingers. Muvatta, Hanbal Be it a man or a woman, the compensation for cutting the finger of someone may be exacted from the culprit, but there is no such prescription in the Quran. People may award compensation according to the prevailing conditions of the time. Even though such a punishment may have been meted out sometime in history, no person of sound mind can argue that it has a universal validity and that camel should be the unit of measure. On the other hand, the above hadith does not stand to reason in that for three fingers the award is thirty camels while for four fingers the number drops to twenty.

7) CIRCUMCISION OF WOMEN

P a g e | 53 Hadith: O Atiyye circumcize the clitoris superficially which will cause hot flashes and make her appear more beautiful to her husband. mam Ghazali, Ihyau Ulumiddin Circumcision is not prescribed in the Quran, either for men or women. Anyone who thinks that circumcision is a contraceptive measure may have it carried out. It is certainly not a Quranic prescription. Yet, the hadith gave it a religious connotation. What is more, this is performed on women for the sake of making them appear more beautiful for their men! O you who extol Ghazzali and style him as the proof of Islam and the ornament of religion, who consider him as the peak of wisdom, and who equate the hadith with the verses of the Quran, have you had your women and daughters circumcised? If you havent already, why dont you do it now? Or would you be of those who do not follow the sunna? Dont you know that those who look askance at such invented hadiths are to be considered outcasts? It is unfortunate that these interpolations have made religion into a system of impractical practices. It is furthermore regretable that such information has found a place in the work of important personages like Ghazzali. 8) MAGIC TREE! GIGANTIC MOLAR AND IMMENSE SKIN Hadith: There is a tree in paradise under whose shade a knight can travel one hundred years. Ibn Maje Zuht, Muslim Jenna, Tirmizi Jenna Hadith: The molar of the infidel in hell is as big as the mountain Uhud and the thickness of his skin is equal to a distance of three days. Sahihi Muslim Hadith: The inmates of hell will grow in size in the midst of fire and the distance between the earlobe and neck will be such that can be covered in seven hundred years. Hanbal Musnad Hadith: The poor of my community will be admitted to paradise five hundred years before the wealthy. Tirmizi, Ibn Maja These descriptions not contained in the Quran are mere additions. Heaven and hell are described in the Quran. Ignoring the descriptions of the Quran means to disregard the Qurans depiction of them. There are a great many depictions of heaven and hell in the hadiths. Whether they stand to reason or not, they must not be taken into account. Hadiths can be accepted neither in application nor in theory as they are of no consequence whatsoever.

9) PROPHETS COMMANDING ABLUTION FOR THE EATER OF CAMEL FLESH Hadith: They asked the Prophet what should a person who ate the flesh of camel do? He said: Anyone eating the flesh of camel must perform ablution. Abu Davud

P a g e | 54 There is nothing in the Quran to suggest such a thing. Therefore this hadith also is an interpolated one. There are sects who have enjoined a person who eats camel flesh to perform ablution. In Chapter 36, we shall study the manner of performing the ablution.

10) GHAZZALIS PRESCRIPTION FOR SALVATION Hadith: On Tuesday, at noon, or when the sun is in its zenith, a person reciting The Prologue (The first sura), plus Ayatal Kursi (a long verse in Sura The Cow) and repeating the Absoluteness (the 112th sura) three times, he completes a rekat (complete act of worship with the prescribed postures) in worship in the course of his ten rekats, no sin will be recorded in his books for seventy days, and if he dies in the said space of time he will be considered a martyr and the sins committed by him in the course of seventy years of his life will be pardoned. Ihyau Ulumuddin Hadith: Whoever performs his worship of twelve rekats when the sun is in its zenith on Wednesday and recites one Fatiha, one Ayetlkrsi and three Ihlas and three Muavezeneteyn (last two suras in the Quran), a harbinger from the sky will announce: O Gods servant! All your sins have been pardoned. God has spared you the grave agony apportioned for man, you will no longer have to make good deeds and that very day the Prophets blessing will be upon you. Ihyau Ulumuddin It is incumbent upon us to recommend those who may not be familiar with this to get a copy of Ghazzalis prescription for salvation (Ihyau Ulumuddin book). Ghazzalis contention is that the man who thinks he will attain salvation by following his intelligence will never reach his objective. In his arguments with philosophers there had been times when Ghazzali reached unattainable heights, but he unfortunately failed to excel in the fields of canonical law, hadiths and mysticism.

HOW TO RECONCILE THESE HADITHS WITH ISLAM? Having stressed the fact that a hadith cannot be a source of Islam, we evaluated the hadiths according to: 1. The Quran 2. Other hadiths 3. Logic 4. Interpolations of hadiths and revised our conclusions, which once more corroborated our opinions. Some of the hadiths we examined contradicted the Quran, some were clashing with other hadiths, some were paradoxical, while others were mere additions. To avoid stuffing our book with further encyclopedic data we produced but ten instances in every chapter. We hope that our undertaking will enable people to perceive the light shed by the Quran and the darkness enveloping the hadiths. We wonder whether the members of the Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi and Hanbali sects still contend that these hadiths are worthy of being considered part of Gods religion. If so, they must abandon them altogether. If, moreover, these hadiths

P a g e | 55 are considered unreliable, the mentality of the sects will automatically suffer a reversal and the sects themselves will, of necessity, be rendered null and void. The consequence will be the victory of the only source of religion, the Quran; Gods will! We saw in Chapter 2 that the Quran was in fact a complete work wherein everything was explained sufficiently. And in the course of the last four chapters, we produced samples of hadiths to enable our readers to be convinced that the Quran is indeed the sole source of Islam. If this fact has been made plain enough, return to the Quran, take stock of what have been demonstrated regarding your traditions and conventions that may have been generated from sectarian practices and hadiths. Abandoning all your preconceived habits, start then from the very beginning by returning to the Quran. If you still insist on your former convictions, why not pore over the Quran again and again and revise the hadiths in Its light. 77 - And it certainly is a guide and a mercy to those who believe. 27 The Ant, 77

HADITHS JUDGED BY HADITHS

We have already seen that logic and the Quran negate most of the so-called hadiths. On the other hand, there are hadiths that contradict other hadiths. We have seen instances of this in Chapters 4 and 7. Our aim in this chapter is not to approve some of the hadiths that seem logical to us and deny others. Such an attempt would be tantamount to considering the Quran not self-sufficient and incomplete. If we deem the Quran to be self-sufficient, we must shun explanations in which the truth and falsehoods are intermixed. Our objective here is merely to prove that the hadiths chosen by people, who, in total disregard of the fact that hadiths cannot constitute a source for religion, by having recourse to deductive reasoning, involves many contradictions. We have already seen in Chapter 4 the very existence of hadith books of the Sunni and Shiite sects that contradict the Prophets prohibiting of copying his sayings. We asked permission to write down his sayings, but he refused it. Tirmizi, Kitabul- Ilm As we were engaged in copying hadiths, the Prophet came up and asked: What are you copying? We answered: Your sayings. Do you want a book other than Gods book? Nations before you swerved from the right path because they wrote books other than the one revealed by God! Al Hatib Takyid

COPYING OF HADITHS WAS PROHIBITED BY THE PROPHET Those who adopted the hadiths as a source of Islam mentioned this fact. If you are aware of this, why insist on writing hadith books? Do you think that you are wiser than the Prophet and that you are more concerned with religion than he? The argument, that the Prophets prohibition was due to his concern about the risk that the word of man might be taken for the word of the God, but now that the Quran is there, there is no risk at all, is not a valid argument. O you who base your religion on hadiths! You must burn all hadiths and destroy them, those hadiths that brought along concepts of lawful and unlawful which do not exist in the Quran.

P a g e | 56 Now we shall tackle some other type of hadiths: O men! Fire is kindled and like the parts of a dark night the mischief got nearer. I swear by God that there is nothing of which you can accuse me; I have not declared lawful anything other than those mentioned in the Quran, nor have I declared unlawful anything than those mentioned in the Quran. Ibn Hisham Siret God has ordained certain sacred duties; do not transgress them. He has laid down certain limits that you should avoid. He has made certain things unlawful that you should abstain from. He has kept certain things concealed from you for your own good; do not be inquisitive about them. Mahmud Abu Rayya, Enlightenment of the Muhammadan Sunna.

What is announced lawful in Gods book is lawful and what is announced unlawful in Gods book is unlawful. Abu Favud K. Etime, Tirmizi K.Libas, Ibn Maja Kitabul Etime, Almurajaat. According to these hadiths there are no unlawful things other than those stated in the Quran. If that is so, according to the hadiths, how can you prohibit shaking hands with women, listening to music and drawing pictures, unless you have recourse to hadiths? According to these hadiths the Prophet announced nothing unlawful other than those mentioned in the Quran. In other words, according to these hadiths, the hadiths you claim to have originated from the Prophet are actually not his own words. After me 30 years will last the caliphate, to be succeeded by kings Sahihi Bukhari According to the widely acclaimed hadith book, the Prophet is suspicious of the future, i.e. after the lapse of 30 years. As a matter of fact, the first Four Caliphs reign lasted 30 years (Abu Bakr, Omar, Othman, Ali). During the said period no sect had been established, nor a book written to supplement the Quran (see Chapter 11). Why not live up to the Islam of that period during which the Quran was the unique book? But,we believe that the partisans of Ali, hostile to the Omayyads, invented the above hadith. However, anyone who refutes a single hadith transmitted by Bukhari will be considered a heathen. Under the circumstances one should destroy, just like during the reign of the Four Caliphs, and burn the hadith books. Why should credit be given to the sects and the hadith books written under the supervision of the kings succeeding the Four Caliphs?

THE UNIQUE SOURCE OF ISLAM: THE QURAN According to some hadiths, the Prophet had had certain failures in spheres outside the religious framework. It is wrong to make additions to the Quran related to the acts of the Prophet other than those revealed in the Quran. For they concern solely the Prophets private life. The hadith runs as follows: When the Prophet arrived in Medina, the people of Medina were engaged in grafting palm trees. The Prophet asked what they were doing and they answered: It is the custom, they said. He suggested: It might be better if you desisted from it. Whereupon they abandoned their custom. But the palm trees ceased to give fruit. When the Prophet was

P a g e | 57 reminded of this, he said: Well, I am but a human being. When I say something about religion, you should take it seriously. But when I make any other suggestion, you should pay heed to them as the words of a mortal. Muslim- Kitabul Fazail, Hanbal The Prophet had pitched camp somewhere at Bedir, near a water spring. A companion of the Prophet, al Habbab b. al Munzir, asked him: O messenger of God, can here be the place chosen for you by God? Or can it be a battle tactic of your own selection? Gods messenger answered: It is indeed a war tactic of my own selection. Al Habbab retorted: But here is not the right place for a pitched battle. Why not go and pitch our camp by a water spring nearer to the enemy. We could also dig a well there to store the water for our own consumption rather than allowing the enemy to have access to it. The Prophet answered: Right you say, and suited the action to the word. Ibn Hisham- as Sirah, Tabari-at Tarih.

I am but a human being. You have recourse to me submitting your differences to my arbitration; I hope that some of you will be able to better explain your evidences so that I may decide in their favor. If I (wrongly) apportion to one of the parties something from the case in litigation, he must not usurp his brothers due. For perjury there is but the torture of fire. Al Cadi Iyaz- As shifa.

According to the judgment of the hadiths so far: 1- No source exists that contains references to things lawful and unlawful in religious terms outside the Quran; 2- No hadith books should be created and those already existing should be destroyed; 3- To the acts of the Prophet no religious connotation should be ascribed.

We learn the perfection and wholeness of the Quran from the Quran itself and the fact that there is no need for any supplementary source for Islam. What we want to derive is the fact that the transmitters of hadiths, which they themselves created, are marred with paradoxes.

THE HADITHS SHOULD BE DESTROYED ACCORDING TO THE HADITHS THEMSELVES We have given above instances of hadiths that prohibited the copying of hadiths that announced what was lawful and what was not, that sanctified the Prophets acts and actions. We witnessed the existence of hadiths that corroborated the Quran and the hadiths that said that the hadiths should be destroyed altogether. It is interesting to note the existence of a good many hadiths that negate themselves. While a hadith speaks of the Prophets banning the sight of ones calves, another negates it. While there is a hadith that prohibits the consumption of mussels and shrimp,,another negates it. There is a hadith that makes unlawful the wearing of silk or gold by men, there are hadiths that say that the companions of the Prophet did wear silk, and that even the Prophet had once worn a golden ring. There are hadiths

P a g e | 58 which are in favor of the segregation of men and women, while there are also hadiths stating that men and women used to perform ablutions in the same place and that they freely conversed. The thing to do then should be to consider the Quran a self-sufficient book and avoid all contrived and fabricated explanations. There are hadiths that speak of acts that the Prophet could not possibly be the author of or that he could not have spoken. Yet, by introducing the quotation with the formula The Prophet said, the words assume the garb of sanctity. Another point is giving a religious connotation to the areas that God has left to the discretion of man. For example, the Quran has not commanded people to wear a particular uniform but left it to the discretion of man, so a man is free to wear a suit, or a woman a t-shirt. It is quite possible that the Prophet used to wear, according to the customs and fashion of the time, a robe with full sleeves and a long skirt. Yet, the pagans and enemies of the Prophet also wore such robes. This means that his attire had no religious connotation whatsoever, but was something that God had left to the choice of man. The fabricated hadith that described the attire of the Prophet was actually not a hadith but an interpretation of this custom. The following hadith provides an example to illustrate how a fabricated hadith should be corrected based on the Quran.

Know that anyone who sows something against the Quran will reap calamity when the time comes to reap what he sowed. So, sow what is ordained in the Quran and abide by it. Call it to witness in the presence of your Lord, and take Him for your guide. If your opinions clash with what is ordained, blame them, and if your wishes are in conflict with them betray your wishes. Nahcul Balagha All the hadiths are but conjectures. According to the Quran, religion cannot be based on suppositions. There is no doubt that any hadith that contradicts the Quran and dares supplement it is most certainly an erroneous supposition. On the other hand, even those that do not clash with the verses of the Quran are still doubtful. So even assuming that they are in perfect conformity with the Quran, they cannot be considered to be one hundred percent the sayings of the Prophet. The reasons behind this were many, like the efforts to make the religion seem attractive to people, the unintentional errors that must have occurred in the chain of transmission, and the mixing of the words of the Prophet and his companions. There is so much evidence that even the best hadith book written two hundred years after the death of the Prophet is but conjecture. Our intention here has been to judge the hadiths of transmitters by their own hadiths. We have no intention to write a new book of hadiths. Islam is equivalent to the Quran. Nothing less, nothing more. The rest is but conjecture and the truths and the untruths have been inextricably mixed.

42 Do not confuse truth with falsehood, nor conceal the truth knowingly. 2 The Cow, 42 36 Most of them follow nothing but conjecture. Surely, conjecture is no substitute for the truth. God is fully aware of everything they do. But most of them follow nothing but fancy: truly fancy can be of no avail against truth 10 Jonah, 36

P a g e | 59

ATTITUDE OF THE FOUR CALIPHS TOWARD THE HADITHS

Those who have acknowledged the existence of books other than the Quran as sources for Islam in the belief that the Quran was not self-sufficient, and who have tried to understand Islam basing this on the hadiths, think that the happiest period of Islam was in fact the period during which the Prophet reigned and next to it the period of the Four Caliphs that followed it. However, their behavior has betrayed their speculative approach. It is a fact that the Four Caliphs banned the copying of all hadiths and did everything to thwart the attempts to copy. What is more, the time was the period after the death of the Prophet. Had they so wanted, they could have collected an infinite number of hadiths, and the result would have been much more reliable, given the fact that they would have obtained their information from the people who had seen and talked to the Prophet. What they did, however, was to outlaw the creation of sources next to the Quran. It may be worthwhile to quote here the remark of Darekutni, the celebrated hadith transmitter: A sound hadith among those invented is like the only white hair on the skin of a black ox. A time came when the number of invented hadiths exceeded the genuine ones. The most renowned book of hadiths came out in the period when the political, material and moral interests had prevailed. The authors were certainly oblivious to the Four Caliphs approach to the issue. Although the said Four Caliphs are an object of praise today, they ignored their attitude toward the hadiths: Abu Bakr gathered the public after the death of the Prophet and addressed them thus: You are transmitting conflicting hadiths that clash with the sayings of the Prophet. The persons to come after you will be in a worse predicament. Transmit no hadiths from Gods messenger. Speak to those who would like you to transmit hadiths in the following way: Behold! Gods book is with us, abide by what has been made lawful for you therein and avoid what has been prohibited. Zahabi, Tezkiratul Huffaz, Bukhari As we see, Abu Bakr, the first Caliph, was resolute about the prohibition of writing down hadiths. He made no distinction between the true and the fabricated hadiths. It is advisable to remind our readers that this approach by the Caliph is all the more meaningful if we consider that at the time there were still people living who had been a witness to the Prophets acts and sayings. The attitude of Omar was no different. He was even more rigid in his approach.

P a g e | 60

OMARS CHASTISEMENT OF FABRICATORS Omar wrote letters to the Prophets companions, who lived in other cities, asking them to destroy all the copies of hadiths in their hands. Ibn Abdil Berr, Camiul Bayanil Ilm ve Fazluhu. There was a remarkable increase in the number of hadiths during the caliphate of Omar. Omar desired that all the pages on which were written the hadiths that were in the hands of the public be brought to him. Then he ordered that they be destroyed, saying: These are like the Mishnah of the Jewish people. Ibn Sad- Tabakat Omar drew a parallel between the Mishnah that had contributed to the corruption of Judaism and the hadiths. Not being satisfied by mere speculation, he had them destroyed. According to our estimate, the hadiths was quite probably more correct compared to those we find today in the books of Bukhari and Muslim. To begin with, the persons who had known the Prophet were still alive and no political dissensions had yet started.

Let us ask the defenders of traditional Islam if Omar had not loved and respected the Prophet. If their answer would be affirmative, they should not challenge then the defenders of the self-sufficiency of Islam. Otherwise, they should also level criticism at Omar who had the hadiths burned. There is no doubt that Omar held the Prophet in affection, but he had got the message of the Quran and the essence of Islam. His burning of the hadiths was not a sign of disrespect toward him; quite the reverse was his attitude, one of profoundest respect in fact. He knew that the Prophet himself had banned the copying of his sayingsas the Quran was self-sufficient and included everything a man should know. He tried to protect Islam against Mishnah and the acts wrongly attributed to Omar. People nowadays who praise Omar believe that to abide by the hadiths is to respect the Prophet. They are more Catholic than the pope, as they say in the West, and far removed from the Quran. In the next chapter we shall see the strong reaction of Omar against such people as Abu Hurayra and Kab who had transmitted innumerable hadiths (see Chapter 12.) Omar said to his friend who went on a journey to Iraq: You are going to a country where the population recites the Quran like busy bees; so do not divert them from their true path with hadiths. Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, Kitabul Ilal Omar spoke thus: Remember those that went before you, they had books written and abandoned Gods Book. I shall not allow anyone to compare any book with the Quran. In another instance he had said: I will not exchange any book for the Quran. Yet, on another occasion, he had announced: By God, I shall not let any book cast a shadow on the Quran. Al Hatib, Takyidul Ilm; Ibn Sad, Tabakat. Omar carried on his reaction against Abu Hurayra and Kab who continued transmitting hadiths.

PROMINENT COMPANIONS OF THE PROPHET WAGED WAR AGAINST TRANSMITTERS OF HADITHS

P a g e | 61 Othman threatened Abu Hurayra with exiling him to the Desh Mountains and Kab to the Krada Mountains. Tahzrul Havas Many companions of the Prophet other then the Four Caliphs, both during the period of the Four Caliphs and thereafter, adopted the same attitude toward the hadiths. Ibn Abbas and Abdullah bin Mesud were among them: Sheddad asked Ibn Abbas whether the Prophet had left anything behind and the answer was: Only what are inscribed between the pages on the Quran. Bukhari K. Fezailul Qura; Muslim K. Fezailus Sahabe, Abu Davud K. Fiten, Tirmizi K. Fiten. Ibn Abbas used to say, regarding the prohibition of copying the hadiths: The communities before you swerved from the right path because of books they wrote like yours. Ibn Abdul Berr, Camiul Beyanil ilm

A page on which were written hadiths happened to be in the hands of Abdullah b. Masud. He asked for some water with which he washed away what was written on it, then he ordered it burned saying: Anyone who would report to me the place where a hadith is kept, I would go there, even as far as India, to destroy it. Aby Rayya, Enlightment of the Muhammedan Sunna. If the hadiths were to be a source of Islam, they should have been preserved; but the fact proved to be different. The hadiths were burned and the self-sufficiency of the Quran was announced. The behavior of those who pay tribute to the companions of the Prophet and the attitude adopted by the companions themselves plainly clash. Those who oppose the prohibition of copying the hadiths, whose reaction runs counter to the approach of the companions, have created a mechanism that puts a forced construction on the hadiths. Yet, this outcry cannot obliterate the fact that not even a single page of hadiths has come down to us from the Four Caliphs period. The words spoken by the Caliphs above and the companions of the Prophet and the fact that none of them wrote any such books prove beyond doubt that all our arguments are valid.

ALI THE CALIPH HAD HADITH PAGES DESTROYED We hope that the reaction of Ali will induce the Shiites, Alawis and other sects to return to the unique source of Islam, the Quran. Ali pronounced the following khutba, (sermon delivered at the noon prayer on Friday): Those who have about them pages of hadiths, destroy them. For, what causes havoc among people is their abandonment of the Quran, and in abiding by the injunctions of the scholars. Ibn Abdul Berr, Camiyul Beyanul Ilm They came to report to Ali and said: The public is engrossed in hadiths. Is that so? asked Ali. The answer was in the affirmative. I had heard the Prophet say that a mischievous dissension seemed to lurk ahead. I asked him what could that be and he replied: The salvation is in the Quran. Those that went before you and those that will come after you are within reach of the Quran, the Book that settles all disputes; it is no joke, mind you. Anyone who abandons It will be

P a g e | 62 subject to the wrath of God. Anyone seeking a truer path will go astray. It is the infallible rope of God. It is full of wisdom. It leads man along the right path. It is the Book that will surely lead youin the right direction;, scholars will never be able to embrace it totally, a Book with inexhaustible riches. Sunnan-i Tirmizi/Darimi

SOME PROMINENT HADITH FABRICATORS

If the hadiths were to be a source of Islam like the Quran, the Prophet would have asked his companions to copy and learn them by heart. Yet, he prohibited their copying, let alone ordering them to be copied as we have seen in the previous chapters. Had the Prophet desired them to be learned by heart, the companions nearest to him like Abu Bakr, Omar, Usman, Ali, Sugry, Zed b. Sabit and Selma al Farsi, would have transmitted thousands of hadiths. Instead, the words that have been transmitted from the abovementioned companions are very few. For instance, not even one third or one fourth of the hadiths alleged to have been transmitted by Abu Hurayra, one of the fabricators, can be ascribed to all the words spoken by other prominent companions. We shall be dealing in this chapter with some fabricators, including Abu Hurayra, instrumental in interpolating into the established creed Jewish and Christian legends and parables. We shall see the reason why the infinite number of hadiths these people invented cannot be relied upon. We shall also observe the lack of fastidiousness and meticulousness, which they claimed to have had in collecting and sorting out the hadiths. In Chapter 4, we have seen that a person who had the chance of setting eyes on the Prophet was styled his companion (sahabe) and whatever that person said was taken to be the literal truth. The word sahabe actually means the persons who were very close to the Prophet. We read in the Quran that there had been many hypocrites who professed to be Muslim, whereas in fact they were disbelievers and had created innumerable difficulties for the Prophet. It is regrettable to observe that the transmitters of the hadiths turned a blind eye to the meaning of the relevant verses and preached that whoever abided by the sayings of the companions was on the right path. The Sunnis who detected many errors in declaring the Twelve Imams innocent, ended with a more serious failure, which led them to face a derision they did not deserve, by announcing immune a whole generation and the persons among whom there were mischievous characters and about whom there were deprecatory allusions in the Quran. We shall now take up the case of Abu Hurayra, declared infallible, having been styled a companion of the Prophet, who transmitted thousands of hadiths, and see where such a mentality leads us.

IF ABU HURAYRA IS DECLARED UNRELIABLE About the life of Abu Hurayra prior to his conversion we know nothing other than what he himself said. Having been converted, he became one of the companions of the Prophet. In Muslims Fezailus Sahabe, it is said that Abu Hurayra remained in the Prophets company and became his servant without asking for any consideration in return. Ibn Hazm says in the Musnad of Baki b. Mahlad that 5374 hadiths were quoted from Abu Hurayra. Bukhari quoted only 446 of his in his book. From the accounts of Abu Hurayra we deduce that the person he feared most was Caliph Omar. The hadith books mention that Omar had threatened and harassed Abu Hurayra because of his involvement in the transmission of hadiths.

P a g e | 63 If I transmitted these hadiths during the lifetime of Omar, he would surely strike me, said Abu Hurayra. Az Zahabi Tazkiratul-Huffaz Abu Hurayra said: We could not utter Gods Messenger spoke thus, before Omar died. Muslim, Sahihi Muslim Had we had the opportunity to see Muslim, we would have asked him the following question: O Muslim! You have written a book and claimed that all the hadiths in it were authentic and that you screened carefully the transmitters accounts. Why did you not notice that Caliph Omar had accused him of recounting falsehoods, and have not found Omars indictment convincing enough? This shows that the hadiths that you claim to be reliable are in fact based on unsound arguments. It is regrettable to observe that Muslim also had taken every one of the Prophets companions as a star that guided one in the right direction. It may be because he realized that had he applied a strict screening method to Abu Hurayyas hadiths, not many would have left. Omar was not the only one who accused Abu Hurayra of lying. We also observe that Aisha, the Prophets wife, had accused him more than once, which is mentioned even in the hadith books that stand up for Abu Hurayra.

When Aisha said to Abu Hurayra You are reporting false hadiths you never heard from the Prophet, he had retorted impudently: I see that mirror and kohl have kept you aloof from the Prophet. Zahabi, Siyeru Alemin Nubela Ali said: The person who ascribed the greatest number of lies to Gods Messenger is Abu Hurayra. Ibn Abul Hadid, Sherhu Nahjul Belagha When Ali heard him say, alluding to the Prophet: My dear friend said that... He asked: Since when has the Prophet become your dear friend? Ibn Masud, a well-known companion of the Prophet who heard him say: "The person who washes the body of a deceased person and the person who carries it on his shoulders should perform ablution was furious and retorted: O men, your dead will in no way soil you!

IS THE CHEATING OF THE HORSE MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE BEATING OF OMAR? The following anecdote shows how fastidious were the transmitters of hadiths in checking to what extent they stood the test: A prominent transmitter of hadiths goes to see a person from whom he is going to receive a hadith. Arriving at his destination, he observes how he calls his horse as if he were going to give it fodder, but fails to do so. He concludes that a person who cheats his horse may cheat people as well, and does not include the hadith he heard from him in his work. Those who recount this anecdote as evidence of the insight of the transmitters believe to have proved the authenticity of the hadiths they transmitted. We have demonstrated so far the reasons why the true and the false had been jumbled together. This chain of reasoning is illogical of course. Most of the transmitters upon whom the hadiths were drawn had already died during the compilation. The rest were scattered over a vast area of Islamic lands. To have paid a visit to each of them is inconceivable given the state of the means of communication of the time. Supposing that this had been possible, the honesty of the people concerned and the trustworthiness of their memories should be questioned. Not every transmitter of hadiths could have been as lucky as the collector who had detected the cheating

P a g e | 64 of the horse by its master! As for Abu Hurayra, how can he still be trusted despite the accusations and beating of Omar and Ali and in the light of Aishas flat denial of the account of the given by the man? It is told that Caliph Omar had dismissed Abu Hurayra from office of governor to which position he had assigned, because of embezzlement. Omar is reported to have spoken as follows: When I appointed you governor to Bahrein, you barely had a pair of shoes on your feet. Yet I have been told that you bought horses for 1000 dinars and 600 hundred dinars. Did you come from the remotest corner of Bahrein with a view to having people give the tributes they owed to Allah and the Muslims to you? Zahabi, Siyer In a hadith transmitted by Hurayra himself Omar spoke to him as follows: O you, enemy of God and His Book! You stole Gods money, didnt you? How else could you be in possession of ten thousand dinars? Ibn Sad, Tabakat Abu Hurayra himself gives this account despite this fact the believers in hadiths quote the largest number of the hadiths from him as they find him credible. In the meantime, they contend that they have quoted no hadith from a source that had not been established to be reliable. The believers in hadiths, who affirm that they have not quoted from any transmitter unless he was proven to be dependable, consider Abu Hurayra, declared by Omar to be an enemy of God and his Book, as dependable!

THE ERA OF THE OMAYYADS WAS THE GOLDEN AGE FOR ABU HURAYRA The era of the Omayyads, who came to power after the murders of the Caliphs Omar and Ali, was the golden age for Abu Hurayra. The Omayyads had a mansion constructed at al-Akik and made a gift of it to Abu Hurayra along with a parcel of land. The following hadiths quoted in al Bidayaven Nihaya of Ibn Kathir shows the compensation in return for these favors during the reign of Muaviya: Abu Hurayra said: Gods Messenger gave Muaviya an arrow and spoke thus: Take this and meet me in paradise with this arrow and bow. I heard Gods apostle say: God entrusted Gods revelation to three persons: To me, to Gabriel and to Muaviya. In spite of all these evidences it is a fact that saying The hadiths transmitted by the companions of the Prophet are trustworthy was not to be taken for granted. Who was Abu Hurayra anyhow to tell cock-and-bull stories about the Prophets acts and sayings which not even the nearest to him had reported? For instance, the following strange hadith is just one of the illogical hadiths transmitted by Abu Hurayra. Abu Hurayra reported that he had heard the following anecdote from the Prophet: The Angel of Death was sent to Moses. When he came near him, the latter struck a severe blow on him. The angel went back to his Lord and spoke to him thus You sent me to someone who does not want to die. God restored his eyes that Moses had deprived him of and said: Go tell him to place his hand on an ox. He will have as many years as the hairs of the ox that his hand covers. The Angel asked further: O Lord, what then? God said: Death. The criticism leveled at Abu Hurayra might take volumes. Hseyin Hilmi Ik, author of Saadeti Ebediye-Tam lmihal, one of the staunch defenders of the importance of the hadiths for Islam, speaks of the significance of Abu Hurayra as

P a g e | 65 follows: Anyone who denies the role of Abu Hurayra denies half of the canonical law, for half of the hadiths on which judgments were based had their origin in Abu Hurayra.

JEWISH PARABLES AND PROMINENT FABRICATORS The Jews who converted to Islam took with them a good many parables to Islam under the guise of hadiths. Although the general contention is that this was a consequence of their attempt at corrupting Islam, one may be inclined to conjecture that they could not get rid of their ancient beliefs and customs or that they intended to give Islam a Judaistic character. Ibn Khaldun speaks as follows in his Mukaddima: Commentaries of transmitted hadiths contained everything, whether true or false, accepted or denied. The reason was the Arabs were not versed in literature and scholarship. They distinguished themselves in ignorance and the Bedoin characteristics. When people asked them about the mystery of the universe, they consulted first those who had been given books before them and provided answers accordingly. Among them figure such personages as Kab al Ahbar, Wahb Ibn Munabbih and Abdullah b. Salam. Commentaries of hadiths were full of hadiths transmitted by such men. The interpreters had been careless in filling up their books with the commentaries of hadiths.

INFLUENCE OF KAB AL AHBAR Kab al Ahbar is the person who had been instrumental in interpolating the greatest number of Jewish anecdotes and parables into Islam. He is said to have converted to Islam either during Abu Bakrs era or Omars. His lore of Jewish legends and interminable stories had put him in the focus of his time. In one of the hadiths, it is said: There is no harm in transmitting hadiths from Judaic lore. It was Abdallah bin Amr who reportedly transmitted this hadith. Tirmizi, Abu Davud and Bukhari also mentioned this hadith. As we shall be seeing presently, Abdallah b. Amr was among the novices of Kab al Ahbar. Those who fabricated this hadith prior to the other unfounded hadiths used it as a basis for their new fabrications. Kab al Ahbar was a pioneer in this. Not only did he transmit hadiths, but also gave instruction to Abu Hurayra, as we have already examined, as well as Abdallah b. Amr, Ibn Omar and Ibn Abbas. Thus he benefited from these people when spreading his interpolations. Caliph Omar, who revolted against Abu Hurayra, had displayed a similar reaction to Kab al Ahbar and threatened him with exile. Kab al Ahbar, who had had difficulty in spreading his teaching, found partial relief in the wake of Omars death. Mahmud Abu Rayya, claiming that Kab had been partially responsible for the killing of Caliph Omar said: Despite the fact that Caliph Omar had the insight of diligence to keep track of this ingenious Jew and had sensed the evil intentions he would be displaying, he had, thanks to his stroke of genius, continued to set traps and overcome Omars vigilance and good will. The scheme ended with the murder of Caliph Omar. The evidence in hand shows that the plot had been hatched by a secret society. The head of this society, of which Kab also was a member. was a certain Hurmuzan. Hurmuzan was the king of Huzistan and had been brought to Medina as a captive. The mission to kill Omar was entrusted to Abu Lulue. Mahmud Abu Rayya, Enlightenment of the Muhammadan Sunna We cannot, of course, claim the absolute truth of this likelihood told by Mahmud Abu Rayya with quotations from Ibn Kathir. But we have every reason to doubt the authenticity of the hadiths transmitted by a person whose attempts at copying the hadiths had been banned by Caliph Omar and by such individuals as Abu Hurayra, Abdallah b. Omar, Ibn Omar etc., to whom he had given lessons. On the other hand, can the meticulousness and fastidiousness of these people who interpolated a host of Jewish parables and legends be taken for granted? After these questions, what if we

P a g e | 66 return to Kab to the fabrications of which there was no end: the creation of the universe, like the views of the other world, the importance of Damascus, etc.

EXAMPLES OF FABRICATIONS HAVING KAB AS THE ORIGIN A man ran across Kab whom he saluted and blessed. Kab asked him: Where are you from? The man said: I am from Damascs. Kab commented: You may be one of those men elected from among the people of Damascus not to be subjected to interrogation and suffering! Ibn Asakir- Tarih Kab said: God looked upon the earth and spoke thus: I will touch a part of you. Where upon mountains ran toward Him. Rocks flattened. God thanked them for this and put His feet on them. Abu Rayya, Enlightenment of the Muhammedan Sunna.

Beytl Makdis (The Mosque in Jerusalem) will be the place where the resurrection and the reckoning will take place. Those who are buried there will not be subjected to suffering. Mahmud Abu Rayya, Enlightenment of the Muhammadan Sunna.

Although some of these concoctions are quoted from him, those that have been transmitted by his students are far more numerous. Muaviya, who had supported Abu Hurayra, had also backed up Kab and ordered him to tell parables ( Ibn Hajar, Isaba).

WAHB IBN MUNABBIH Next to Kab came Wahb Ibn Munabbih, notorious for his concoctions. He had transmitted numerous hadiths ascribing them to the Prophets companions; Abu Hurayra, Ibn Omar and Ibn Abbas quoted many hadiths of his. Ahmet Emin speaks as follows: Including the most reliable ones, they are not entirely purged from Jewish interpolations. Quite the reverse is the case, since the oldest among them contain even more. Ibn Ishak considered the most reliable among them who had drawn profusely upon Wahb Ibn Munabbih who was a convert. We know also that Ibn Ishak had also drawn largely upon Christian and Magian sources (Ahmed Emin, Duhaul). It is regrettable that Wahb has not been made a subject of criticism as seriously as Ahmet Emin, and in order to be able to transmit as many hadiths as possible, they transmitted invented stories from Wahb like the following: Four angels support the sky on their shoulders. Each has four faces: namely, the faces of an ox, of an eagle, of a lion and of a human being. Each is equipped with four wings. Two of these cover their faces so that they are not scorched when they chance to look upward. His majesty covers the skies and the earth. Malti-Kitab at Tanbih. Reid Rza describes the harm Kab and Wahb have done to Islam in the following manner: Among those who interpolated Jewish legends and deceived the Muslims, Kab and Wahb were the most evil. All the superstitions related

P a g e | 67 to creation, genesis, prophets, past communities, mischief done, the day of resurrection and the hereafter have found their way to commentaries and history textbooks thanks to the labor of these two fiends. Among their concoctions, those that they supposedly drew upon, the Torah and other heavenly books, have been examined by us. The conclusion we reached was the fact that most of them were devoid of any foundation. The scholars of ancient times could not have detected themas they had not been familiar with the books of Jews and Christians. Most of the tales reported by these two Jews were superstitions from Jewish folklore, but had infiltrated many commentaries and other publications. Pagans hostile to Islam claimed that Islam, like other religions, was a religion of superstitions and delusions. Reid Rza, Mecelletl Menar

CHRISTIAN INTERPOLATIONS AND PROMINENT FABRICATORS Tamim ad Dari and Ibn Jurayr are two prominent figures that interpolated legends of Christian origin. Among these legends those that are related to the Antichrist, Satan, the Angel of Death, heaven and hell are more prominent. Legends about Christ also are to be seen among them. We can quote the following hadiths to illustrate this:

Gods Messenger gathered the public and spoke to them: By God, I have not convened you here to scare you or enjoin you anything. Now hear: Tamim ad Dari was a Christian. He came to me and expressed his desire to be converted into Islam and he told me: He had boarded a vessel with thirty monstrous lepers. Having had a ghastly time with a rough sea they ended by landing on an island in the midst of the ocean. No sooner had they set foot on this island than they encountered an animal whose body was covered with an abundance of hair that made it impossible to distinguish his front from his back. That animal that introduced itself as Cesase suggested they go and see a man in the monastery. When Tamim and his companion entered the monastery, they set eyes upon a creature of gigantic size chained from top to toe. The man who listened to their story and learned that they were Arabs interrogated them on many an issue. He ended by asking one last question: Tell me the latest news of the Prophet of the ignorant community? They answered: He left Mecca for Medina. And to the question Did he fight against the Arabs? the answer provided was Ye.. Then he went on asking: What has been the behavior of the Prophet against them? They replied: He overcame the Arabs and subjected them. Whereupon the man revealed his identity: I am the Antichrist; my time is near. I shall soon be released, and then I shall have the opportunity to visit the earth within a space of time of forty days, and there will be no town left unvisited except Mecca and Medina. For, those two towns have been banned to me. If I dare make an entry into any one of them, an angel with a sword in hand will bar the way. Having said this, the Prophet struck the altar with his scepter and said: Here it is. The Medina! The Medina! Muslim-Fiten, Abu Davud-K.Melahun, bn Maja- K.Fiten This hadith is quoted in the works of Muslim, Abu Davud and Ibn Maja, works that have been declared as the best. A person who refutes the authenticity of this hadith quoted by Muslim is declared an infidel, and a person who confirms the authenticity of it is considered a faithful follower of the sunna and the Prophet. Here we have another hadith having its origin in Christian legends: Satan wounded every man at their birth. However, he failed to hurt Christ, son of Mary. Bukhari-K.Badul Halk, Hanbal While this hadith extols Christ, the rest of mankind including the Prophet Muhammad is declared wounded. There are also unseemly hadiths that tell that the Prophets heart had been operated on five times so that he might be cleansed

P a g e | 68 of the black clot of blood from the wound caused by Satan. Bukhari and Hanbal, the founder of the Hanbali sect, give this account- the hadith that the most reliable book of hadiths contains!

PSEUDO-RELIGION UNDER THE OMAYYADS AND ABBASIDS

The Islam preached today is unfortunately the religion whose foundations had been laid under the Omayyads and the Abbasids. This Islam is not based on the Quran, but is the Islam that does not consider the Quran a self-sufficient book, the Islam that underwent reform under the Omayyads and the Abbasids. What the Omayyads and the Abbasids had done was to render religion impractical, encumber it with insurmountable difficulties and segregate the women. They had recourse to hundreds of hadith books and to books written on the canonical law to corrupt and perplex the mind. If we cast a glance on the history of the Omayyads, we shall be in a better position to realize that the sects and the hadiths fabricated are far from reliable.

MURDER OF THE PROPHETS GRANDSONS It was the Omayyads again who displayed their hostility toward Ali, the Prophets son-in-law, and killed Hasan and Hseyin, grandsons of the Prophet. According to the report of Masudi, it was Muaviye, finding a rival in Hasan, who had him poisoned. Muaviya, who made use of Hasans wife, was said to rejoice upon hearing of the death of Hasan who had abandoned the political scene and was living the life of a recluse. Also, Hseyin, Hasans brother, also was killed Karbala by Yazid, Muaviyas son at. It is reported in historical records that Yazid did not pay any respect to the dead body of Hseyin and that he had planted the skull of his enemy at the end of a stick and dallied with it. Zaynab, sister of Hasan and Hseyin, was sent into exile for fear that she might lead an insurrection. The Omayyads, murderers of the Prophets grandsons, were brazen enough in claiming that they had done this for the sake of Islam. It is not our intention here to indict the culprits and declare them guilty of evident treacheries. What we are trying to get across is to show how far one can trust these people, the source of iniquities, with regard to their having been the fountainhead of hadiths and sects. The hadith books of today are what have been inherited from them, with additions made during the reign of the Abbasids. These hadiths lay the foundations of Islam that the sects shaped.

P a g e | 69 They transformed the caliphate into a sovereignty that passed from father to son. There was no end to the books of hadiths and sects that cropped up under the supervision of these caliphs. To what extent can these sects and hadiths, developed by caliphs, the murderers of the Prophets grandsons and the governors, be considered dependable? Yet, the majority of Sunni Islamists try to free the Omayyads from blame by pointing to the Sff battle as an error of ijtihad (canonical jurisprudence). In this way, they believe they can acquit the founders of their creeds, and, consequently, themselves. One cant hide the truth, the evil practices of the Omayyads. Up until the reign of the Omayyads, there had been no institution of caliphate that had taken the shape of a sultanate, nor a source other than the Quran. The transformation of the simple lifestyle during the lifetime of the Prophet and the Four Caliphs into a pompous way of living, the conversion of religious leadership into material prosperity and political power and of the caliphate into a dynasty were the origins of the corruption that had begun in this era. There had been caliphs that had become notorious for their orgies and others that had made the pages of the Quran on which they spotted verses going against their grain targets for their arrows (see Masudi, Isfahani and Ibnul Athir). This is the period during which the hadiths appeared in black and white. However, the hadiths, the parables and commentaries were all mixed up. Although we know that the hadiths had begun to be copied under the Omayyads, there is no book of hadiths still existing from that period. The Kutub-i Sitte (the famous books of hadiths) were written afterward, during the rule of the Abbasids. If we consider the Omayyads to have been a bridge, a source for the hadiths (assuming that the fabrications of the Abbasids had never existed), we can readily see the predicament. Ali had made the following remark about the Omayyads: They also wear the garb of religion, but with one difference; they put it on having turned it inside out. The system of sects that claimed to be representative of the established religion has deceived the public and imposed itself as the religion. It is to be regretted that what was interpolated and added to Islam at that time is believed to be part of the religion. A lunatic has thrown a stone into a well; forty intelligent and sane persons do their utmost to get it from there, without success. The gist of the matter lies not in Islam as such, but in those that put it on as a garb turned inside out. Even the smartest suit will look awkward on someone if it is worn turned inside out. To tell all the suffering caused by the Omayyads would take volumes, but this is not our intention.

CONCOCTIONS STARTED UNDER THE OMAYYADS CONTINUED The concoctions reached a peak under the Abbasids. However, both during the Omayyads and the Abbasids there had been objections to those engaged in creating a religious source other than the Quran. We know that there have been quite a number of people who espoused the theological school of Mutazila that opposed the copying of the hadiths and the misconceptions. However, the Sunni viewpoint that was to dominate the administrative corps came to be imposed on the public. In this way, before the Abbasids came to an end, the Sunni eliminated all opposition and established its sovereignty. The heritage of the Omayyads had been the most important source in the emerging system. Yet, concoctions never ended. The asceticism, sufism, mysticism, self-immolation introduced partly influenced by Indian mysticism had their parts to play in corrupting the mentality shaped by the Quran. The new converts from the widening geography of Islam had brought along their original creeds into the Islam they embraced. For instance, in the islamization of Turks, dervishes and sufis had played important roles. The shamanistic past of the Turks had made them subservient to their sheikhs. The religious orders and sufism that bore the traces of Indian mysticism and shamanistic culture occupied an important place in the formation of the mental outlook of the Turks. The path to salvation was therefore to find ways and means for the prevention of the continuation of the influence of these institutions and constant additions to religion which could be thwarted only by returning to the Quran. This movement that had begun by concocting and fabricating hadiths and the infiltration of foreign creeds and cultures continued with fatwas and ijtihads. For example, the fatwa that allowed the Ottoman sultans to murder the brothers of

P a g e | 70 the heir apparent (which conflicted with the verses of the Quran) was issued by the sheikhulislam (dignitary responsible for all matters connected with canon law) in the name of religion. It was again a religious scholar who had issued a fatwa according to which the wearing of the hat (instead of the turban) during the reform movement was declared to be a sign of heathenism, the outcome of which being the hat wearers ending in the gallows.

A BOOK WRITTEN UNDER THE OMAYYADS: IRCA (DEFERRAL) In the political medium of the Omayyads, the confrontation of Ali and Othman and indulging in arguments about Muaviya and Ali were daily occurrences. There was a group of people that remained indifferent toward people who occupied an administrative office in the political arena and preferred not to speak their minds as to who was faithful and who the heretic. God knows who is what had been their motto. As they had deferred the sentence to the Judgment Day, they were called Murcie (postponers). The relevant opinions had been expressed in the book entitled Irca (Deferral). It was written in the 60s AH, during the later period of the Omayyads, 150-200 years prior to the celebrated hadith books. The book stressed, at an early phase of Islam, that the source of religion was the Quran. This was a period during which additions to the Quran had started. The absolute dominion of the mentality that promoted the copying of hadiths came about toward the end of the Abbassids.

In the said book, Hasan bin Muhammad describes the Quran with quotations from the Quran: This revelation is sent down with the knowledge of God (11 Hud, 14; 4 The Women 166), God perfected His revelations (22 The Pilgrimage, 52), the Quran is explained in detail (11 Hud, 1; 6 The Cattle, 55, 97, 98, 126; 7 The Purgatory, 52,174; 9 Repentance, 11), it is guarded (15 Al Hijr, 9, 17), God set the best examples in the Quran (14 Abraham, 45; 30 The Roman, 58), and the Quran is the distinguisher of true and false (25 The Distinguisher, 1; 8 The Spoils of War, 25) According to Hasan bin Muhammad, Gods grace has been accomplished by the revelation of the Quran, and prayers took their final form. This is the end of all injunctions. The believers are to obey what have been prescribed for them in the Quran. It is the sound link that will never be broken. God made the Quran in the form of a book and commanded His servants to obey whatever is written in it. Humanity is obliged to learn it by heart and transmit it to future generations. Woe to those who break away from it. Hasan bin Muhammad, who admitted no salvation outside the Qurans jurisdiction, had declared Sebeils as enemy because they claimed that man could be saved by a secret revelation (see rca Deferral, and Trklerin Islamlama Srecinde Mrcie ve Tesirleri). The fact that in the above considerations no place has been given to any hadith shows that the author of the book Deferral enjoyed the same cast of mind as ours. This book that gave tongue to the Deferrals, the opposition to the hadith transmitters of Kharidjis and the Mutazilas rationalism that ousted the hadiths are examples of the opposition experienced by the political authorities before they succeeded in imposing the sectarian concepts as the official religion.

P a g e | 71

SECTS
Once the Quran came to be deemed not self-sufficient and the need was felt to supplement it with hadiths and ijtihads, the rise of numerous sects was inevitable. The four sects prevalent today of the Sunni and Shii sects have had the largest followers among many that have emerged in history. According to one hadith a mans calf should be covered, according to another it might be uncovered; according to a commentary of a hadith bleeding would render a man canonically unclean, according to another, touching a womans hand would have the same effect. Those who were responsible for corrupting religion by reverting to sources other than the Quran tried to come to a settlement of such issues by having recourse to sects. In this way, the Islam of the Quran was transformed to the Islam of the sectarians. On the other hand, it so happened that the founder of a sect took into his head to enjoin the covering of a mans body from the waist down to his knees based on a certain hadith, while another denied the authenticity of it. The founder of another sect thinks otherwise and disregards such a prohibition. The fact is that a given hadith was liable to be interpreted differently, but not the Quran since it is the unique source of Islam.

RESEMBLANCE BETWEEN ISLAMIC AND CHRISTIAN SECTS Sectarian chiefs (imams) reverted to different hadiths from which they tried to derive conclusions and lay down rules in their capacity as lawgivers in subjects left to mans discretion. The result was the emergence of a new religious composition. In terms of approach, this new structure was no different than Catholicism or Orthodoxy. There have been people who have been of the idea that these sectarian imams had always had the best intentions and there was no end to their sacrifices in the name of religion; consequently, they turned a blind eye to the actual state of affairs and ignored the criticism leveled at them. These sectarian imams who had been given almost absolute authority had been free to issue decrees, laying down or repealing rules at their discretion, and consequently declared an infinite number of things lawful and unlawful, greater in number than what the Quran contained. The names given to the prominent sects were: Hanafi, Shafi, Maliki, Hanbali and Shii. 159 - As for those who divide their religion and break it up into sects, they do not belong with you. He will then inform them of everything they had done. 6 The Cattle, 159

THE SAME PERSONS DESTINATION IS HEAVEN ACCORDING TO A GIVEN SECT AND HELL ACCORDING TO ANOTHER For instance, the person who refuses to perform the prayer is flogged according to the Hanafi sect, but is killed according to the Hanbali, Shafi and Maliki sects. The latter three sects commit a heinous crime, the greatest sin according to the Hanafi sect, while cruelty is attributed to the Hanafi sect that flogged but abstained from murdering the culprit according to the other sects. In accordance with the mentality that divides the religion, God will sort out the Muslims depending on their sects and judge the flogging of the Hanafi and approve his act, while He will do the same thing with regard to the murder of the Shafi and mark it with approval. The person refusing to perform the prayer killed by a Hanafi will be sent to hell, but if he is killed by a Shafi, the act will be one deserving the reward in paradise. No matter what the number of followers of such paradoxical religious concepts is, how can one of a sound mind consider

P a g e | 72 them seriously? The approach that preferred to imitate rather than cogitate and declared the Quran incomprehensible by the layman has immersed the public into abysmal ignorance. Can God have revealed the religion and made it exclusive to these sectarians? Yet, He addresses humanity saying O people! and makes no reference to the Four Imams. Despite the verses of the Quran that say there is no compulsion in religion and that contain no provision for those who do not perform the act of worship required of them, why do the imams, at their discretion, pronounce their respective judgments, all of which are admissible, though incompatible? There are people who claim that differences between the sects are insignificant, that the Hanafi sect suits better the town dweller, while the Shafi sect suits better the villagers! With such inept remarks, they lured people to fancy apish manners. The sects have taken different shapes and moved away from the basic tenets of the Quran and almost become dissimilar creeds. The sectarian imam interprets the hadith he chooses at his discretion, according to his own view of life and supersedes the Quran and the hadiths. Dissent from the true and unique religion of the Quran is only too apparent in their attitude. 105 - Be not like those who are divided amongst themselves and fall into disputations after receiving clear signs. 3 The Family of Imran, 105

SECTUAL DIVISION IS NOT SALVATION BUT DAMNATION If those seeking salvation in division seriously read the Quran rather than the fabricated hadiths, they will see for themselves that division into factions and the setting up of sects that differ in what is lawful or not is but damnation. Another fabricated hadith runs as follows: If one tries to acquire correct and sound views but commits an error, he acquires merit in Gods sight, and if one who tries hard to acquire correct and sound views proves to be right in his judgment his merit in Gods sight is doubled. This invented hadith enabled one to interpolate into the religion ones own opinion and gave the impression that someone who strove hard to acquire correct and sound views gained the blessing of God even though he may have erred in his attempt. Based on this claimed hadith, the sectarian imams had been free to interpolate into the religion their own views and ideas under the guise of ray (opinion), kyas (analogy), jtihad (initiative) or fatwa (legal viewpoint) on legal matters. The words, the great majority of which had been wrongly attributed to the Prophet and to the Prophets companions and taken for Gods own word like the Quran and the thousands of additions made by sectarian imams who had deemed themselves authorized to formulate their judgments about the words spoken before them and to impose them as religion, make up the history of present-day Islam. In other words, the Quran + the hadith decided upon at his own discretion by the sectarian imam + the commentaries of the Quran by the sectarian imam + the deductions by the sectarian imams through analogy and ijtihad (initiatives) + the deductions by the sectarian imams according to their evaluation of the companions of the Prophet + the fatwas decreed on events that occurred afterward make up Islam. This was the equation created. The traditionalism, the sectarianism and the religion based on hadiths into which were added the fatwas and ijtihads pronounced by the imams who had succeeded the first imams who embraced their points of view have made up what Islam is conceived to be at present. The controversial points such as whether or not the cologne would cleanse one or not, and if it were sprinkled on one should one renew ones ablution, or if a cigarette should be declared to be lawful or unlawful formed the basis of later additions, each sect adopting a different viewpoint. Another alleged hadith was the one that foresaw the division of the Muslim community into seventy-three factions of which only one was to be admitted to paradise, the rest going to hell. The person who had announced this was no other

P a g e | 73 than Muaviya (Darimi, Siyer). This hadith allowed each one of the sects to consider itself the future dwellers of paradise and to condemn the others to eternal punishment in hell. This so-called hadith enabled the Sunnis to condemn the Shiites as reprobates and the future inferno dwellers and the Shiites to convict the Sunnis as reprobates and the future inferno dwellers. Conversely, the imitators of the four principal sects styled as Sunni ended by interpreting and explaining away their mutual accusations in a reconciliatory manner and decided that the followers of the four sects might be eligible for paradise while the Shiites were outcasts. In reality, having judged the Quran not sufficient enough, each party takes its own imam for its guide and follows the imams injunctions as if they were the revelations of God.

THE ONLY WAY TO FREE ONESELF FROM THE ASCENDENCY OF SECTS Yaar Nuri ztrk explains in his book, Islam in the Quran, the damages caused by sectarianism: One of the ways to tell lies in the name of God has been to transform the sects into religions. When each of the sects has become a religion on its own and each of the sectarian imams has turned into a prophet that admits no censure, the establishment of the proportion and divine contribution in the prevalent religion becomes impossible for the masses and a chaos results under the guise of religion. Despite the lapse of hundreds of years in between, nobody dares to bring a change in these tabooed interpretations. This is nothing but cruelty and defamation of God. Because of this cruelty, when the true Islam scholars and honest officials in charge of the religious practice attemptto explain the religion in its true garb, they encounter difficulties and are met by accusations. The remedy to this would be an iconoclastic approach, leaving God the unique authority. This is because pure religion is the exclusivity of God (39 The Throngs, 3). Those who do not feel at home in the face of this exclusivity and dare to share Gods authority are reprobates.

NAKED WARNING Yaar Nuri ztrk, realizing the obstacle created by the Islam of sects to the Islam professed in the Quran, has described the devastation caused by sects by giving concrete examples in his book, Naked Warning (plak Uyar), in a chapter entitled Chaos of the Religious Anthology Ascribed to God, said: The restlessness is due to the mixing of Gods religion with the anthology of religion created by men. Gods religion is the one revealed by God Himself in His book, explicit and detailed and about which there is no doubt. The messenger of the Book is Muhammad. This is the Islam of the Quran. The authors of the anthology of religion are copartners and have created a compilation challenging the uniqueness of the fountainhead of Islam. The books are more than one, the leaders are more than one and the communities are more than one. It is like a corporation. Instead of the unity and harmony existing in religion as such, there exist but chaos and discord in this anthology. All the resulting desultoriness originates from lack of unity and the plurality of its authors. There is an absolute lack of authority in the anthology. According to the opinion of has been the phrase of introduction in many instances. Gods will, having been dodged, the consequence has been but a turmoil in which sects, factions, groups, parties, religious orders, etc. have had their part to play. In these, two persons of the same denomination who act with the same intention are judged differently according to their respective groups, one being condemned, the other declared not guilty of the act they performed.

THE PLIGHT OF A HANAFI WITH TOOTH DECAY The masses happen to be the followers of a given sect without being aware of their true aspect and let themselves be instructed what the books on Islamic catechism provide them with. For instance, the great majority of Turkish

P a g e | 74 population claims to belong to the Hanafi sect. Yet, as they are ignorant of the fact that the filling or crowning of teeth is prohibited by their sect, they have their teeth filled or crowned. Under the circumstances, their ablution and consequently their prayer becomes null and void according to the viewpoint of their Hanafi sect. Clichs and threats have rendered the sectarianism into some sort of chauvinism and racism. Not to belong to the Sunni sect has been almost equated with heathenism. The same thing holds true as regards the Shiites and Alawis. Their approach to the Sunni is similar. The only alternative that is avoided by the masses who should be enlightened on this issue is the refutation of all the sects and the return to the unique source of Islam: the Quran! The founders of the sects interpreted the Quran and the hadiths according to their idiosyncrasies, made a selection of the Quranic verses and hadiths transmitted peculiar to their characters, laid down rules under the guise of ray (opinion) and ijtihad (initiative) in the domains left to the discretion of the individual, and ended by establishing supremacy over the Quran and the hadiths. The exercise of this power received bitter censure not only from those who deemed the Quran self-sufficient, but also from the hadith imams who came after the sectarian imams we keep on criticizing. One of the major issues they contested was the prevalence of the personal opinions and viewpoints of the sectarian imams. Certain transmitters of the hadiths leveled criticism at the sectarian imams accusing them of inventing hadiths that best suited their own opinions. The criticism of accusing Hanafi, founder of the largest sect, of unreliability by Bukhari, the most renowned among the authors of hadith books, is an example of the depreciation of the sectarians by the authors of hadith books. The consequence has been present-day Islam, which is far from being the Islam of the Quran, not even the Islam based on an infinite number of invented hadiths. The Islam practiced today is the system established by sectarian imams. During the period when they established their sects there was neither a Bukhari nor a Muslim. Nor had the hadiths been sorted out according to the likelihood of their authenticity. In other words, the sects had been formed at a time when there was no trace yet of the Kutub-u Sitte (the six renowned books of hadiths). By this we try to stress the fact that the percentage of the invented hadiths was much higher than a good many hadith books. It is sad to observe that the great majority of people believe their sect to be tantamount to Islam and are unaware of the fact that it is at variance in many respects with the injunctions contained in the Quran. The Quran laid down explicit rules in certain domains leaving others to the discretion of the individual allowing the religion to conform to the time and milieu in question. The sects, on the other hand, believing that there had been gaps left by God in His revelation, ventured to intervene and tried to fill up the so-called gaps, bringing religion to clash with many a situation and even with human conditions.

WOMEN AS SEEN BY THE KHARIDJIS Idjma (consensus) also is mentioned as one of the sources outside of the Quran. The Sunnis define idjma as the consensus on a given issue reached by all the scholars. Yet, what we are going to observe presently is at odds with the arguments. Although idjma may be adopted as a fact among the Sunnisects, if we take a look at the history of Islam there is hardly any issue outside the purview of the Quran on which consensus has not been reached. For instance on such issues as the prohibition to perform prayer for menstruating women, the fact that the number of prayers should be five in the course of the day, the barring of the way for women to rise to the position of the head of state, the stoning to death of the married committing adultery there is consensus among all the Sunni sects. But this viewpoint belongs to the Sunnis exclusively; for, according to the Kharidjis a menstruating woman may perform her prayers, a woman may rise to the position of the head of state, the number of prayers may be less than five, the adultress shall not be stoned to death.,These views had already been expressed from the very start of the foundation of the sect. This illustrates once again that the Quran, which does not contain prescriptions on such issues, should be adopted as the only reliable source. So long as one was not satisfied with what the Quran lays down explicitly, the rise of a plurality of sects was inevitable. Although under the heading of Sunna they try to show the unity of sects, the readers will presently see for

P a g e | 75 themselves that the situation is not as it is alleged and that the lawful and the unlawful differ according to most of them.

SECTARIAN IMAM WHO SAW GOD IN HIS DREAM! Those whose intentions have been to deceive people have invented hadiths that praised their sectarian imams while depreciating their opponents, the imams of other sects. To consolidate the link of the followers to the sectarian imams, stories are told about the scholarship and devotion of the founders of the sects. The most incredible cock-and-bull story we have heard has been Abu Hanifas vision of God in his dreams more than one hundred times. In order to attach people to their own creeds they had recourse to such hyperboles. It is difficult however to tell if the author of such invented stories had been the founders themselves or their students or followers. We are of the opinion that those who at present style themselves Hanafis are far from being linked to Abu Hanifa. Abu Hanifa was nicknamed Ahl-i Ray (authorized to pronounce legal opinions). This was a consequence of his laying down rules that the Quran did not contain. All the hadith scholars, especially Shafi, and later, Bukhari took exception to this attitude that disregarded the hadiths. Yet, the Hanafi sect today is entirely based on hadiths. They try to base every viewpoint of the Hanafi sect on a hadith. Nevertheless, according to historical records the reason for the murder of Abu Hanifa was his qualification as lawgiver. The Hanafi sect has been transmitted to us under the sovereignty of the powers that be who had assassinated Abu Hanifa. As a matter of fact, Abu Yusuf, acknowledged as the number 2 figure to succeed Abu Hanifa (the person who had ventured to kill somebody who disliked squash, as this was against the Sunna) became the authority that issued fatwas attached to the group that had killed Abu Hanifa. The preaching of his masters views under the rule of the powers that be murderers of the master that had raised him to his actual office was certainly tainted with ideological prejudices and sectarianism. One of the reasons is the concoction of hadiths by sectarians with a view to justifying their own viewpoints. Most of the hadith books were written after the establishment of sects. Whatever Abu Hanifas views may have been, the sect called Hanafi we have been commenting on is the one that is being applied at present.

SHAFI LAID DOWN THE FOUNDATIONS OF A PSEUDO-RELIGION A careful survey would show that the foundations of the Sunni ideas and the religion based on hadiths had been laid by Imam Shafi, founder of the Shafi sect. After Shafi, except for certain cases about which there is explicit injunction in the Quran, a provision of the canonical law had to be based on one or more hadiths (Montgomery Watt, What is Islam?). The same opinion is expressed by lhami Gler in the following way: One must not forget that the core of the history of Islamic thought expressed in the Kutub-i Sitte and especially in Bukharis work to which has been attributed an epistemological worth almost equal to the Quran, largely consists in Shafis reducing the Sunna to gayr metluv vahiy. The hadith culture, which up until Shafi, had been differently interpreted and depended on, verbal intellect had come to be expressed in written form after Shafi and assumed a dogmatic quality and an importance almost equal to the Quran (First Quran Symposium, Arkun Tarihiyyatul-Fikrill-Arabi). Osman Tatan described the manner by which the foundations of the Sunna conception of today had been laid down by Imam Shafi: Shafis emergence changed the situation. Shafi, separated the Prophets Sunna from the communitys Sunna and raised the latter in legal terms to a level equal to the Quran. The idea was to show the highest respect to the prophethood of Muhammad and contribute to it. Actually, this put an unbridgeable gap between the Prophet and the community. In this way the Sunna had been mixed with the revelation in a melting pot. The last thing to do would be to merge the sayings of the Prophets

P a g e | 76 companions with them. These theoretical approaches had widened the scope of the revelation that came to be extended to cover first the Sunna and then the sayings of the companions. This meant extending the divine revelation to cover human words (First Quran Symposium). We did not want to reserve a wide space for the history of sects in the present book. Anybody who examines the history of sects may see for himself the attacks on the Hanafi sect by Shafi and the fact that the sects Maliki, Hanbali and Shafi are not branches of one single sect called Sunni, but are sects on their own. The table we shall be giving presently will make clear the wide differences between them. These sects, which originally were separate from each other, had come to be gathered under one heading by the contribution of Imam Ghazzali, rector of the Nzamya Madrasa under the influence of political authority. The revelation was one contained in the Quran before it was divided into conflicting sects. The objective was to acquire extraneous sources and try to challenge the divine authority. 103 Hold on firmly together to the rope of God, and be not divided among yourselves. 3 Family of Imran, 103

ARE YOU STILL FOLLOWING IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF YOUR ANCESTORS? We shall observe in the table below the conflicts between the sects and the way Gods Islam came to be differently conceived. We have spared here the intrinsic differences between the sects themselves. Just to give you an instance, it is acknowledged that there was wide divergence between Abu Hanifas opinions and the ideas of his followers; Abu Yusuf, Muhammad. In our table we limit ourselves to the variations between various sects. Those who believe in what has been transmitted by their ancestors but willing to know the core of their creed should, after examining the tables given below, come to a decision before getting rid of all of them and return to the only revelation contained in the Quran. 100 Examples illustrating the differences between sects Items

Hanafi Maliki Shafi Hanbali

1. Skin of a dead animal unlawful lawful unlawful lawful

2. Flesh of beasts fed on dirt - lawful - unlawful

3. Eel

P a g e | 77 lawful - - unlawful

4. Mans wearing red abominable lawful unlawful abominable

5. Mans wearing yellow unlawful lawful unlawful unlawful

6. Playing ud, recorder, drum, etc. abominable lawful lawful unlawful

7. Crow flesh unlawful lawful unlawful unlawful

8. Horse flesh unlawful lawful - -

9. Mussels unlawful lawful - -

10. Oysters unlawful lawful - -

11. Lobsters unlawful lawful - -

12. Swallows lawful lawful unlawful unlawful

P a g e | 78

13. Eagles unlawful lawful unlawful unlawful

14. Bats unlawful abominable unlawful unlawful

15. Ablution before circumambulation in pilgrimage duty (wacip) binding duty binding duty binding duty

16. Rehearsing of Fatiha in the first two rekats during prayer. duty binding duty binding duty binding duty

17. Tasbih in kneeling and prostrating sunna - sunna duty

18. Rehearsing suras after the fatiha during the first two rekats duty permissible sunna sunna

19.Rehearsing basmala before the fatiha sunna abominable binding duty duty

20. Interval between feet during prayer in the standing position 3 inches 16 inches 8 inches 16 inches

21. Vitr prayer duty sunna sunna sunna

P a g e | 79 22. Man who touches a boy becomes canonically unclean no yes no no

23. Does greeting during prayer make one canonically unclean? yes no - -

24. Interval allowed from the person during prayer. 40 fathoms 1 fathom 3 fathoms 3 fathoms

25. To utter words other than the prayer during prayer annuls it yes no no no

26. Using a wrong word during the prayer annuls it yes no no no

27. Sighing during the prayer annuls it yes no yes yes 28. Is the urine of beasts whose flesh is edible clean? yes no yes no

29. Is the sperm of edible beasts clean? yes yes no no

30. Number of binding duties in ablution 4767

31. Is there an obligatory order of acts during ablution? no no yes yes

P a g e | 80

32. Must acts performed during ablution follow an unbroken succession? no yes no yes

33. Number of sunnas of ablution 17 8 30 20

34. Is the use of miswak sunna? yes no yes yes

35. Washing hands, face and arms three times sunna? yes no yes yes

36. Is the three times anointing the head during ablution a sunna? no no yes yes

37. Is the rubbing of ears inside & outside a sunna? yes yes yes no

38. How many times must the ears be rubbed during ablution? once once three times once

39. The number of acts that annul ones ablution 12 3 5 8

40. Does touching ones sexual organ annul the ablution? no yes yes yes

P a g e | 81 41. Does laughter during pray (salat) annul the ablution yes no no no

42. Do eating camel flesh and washing the body of the dead annul the ablution? no no no yes

43. Does uncertainty annul the ablution? no no no yes

44. Does bleeding annuls the ablution? yes no no yes

45. Is expression of intention necessary before ablution? yes no no no

46. Number of reasons for total ablution (gasala) 7456 47. Number of binding duties related to total ablution 11 5 3 -

48. Person not performing the pray because of neglect or idleness is jailed& killed if killed if killed if beaten& he doesnt he doesnt he doesnt killed repent repent in repent in 3 days 3 days

49. If the words are not rehearsed successively will call for prayer (ezan) be valid yes yes no no

P a g e | 82 50. Can a person who doesnt speak Arabic rehearse the words of ezan in his tongue? no yes no yes

51..Must formal resolve be expressed in ezan? no yes no yes

52. Is greeting permissible during the ezan? no no no yes

53. Must one rehearse the Fatiha at every prayer? Is it a binding duty? yes no no no

54.Is salam a binding duty at the end of every prayer? no to one to one to both direction only direction only directions

55. Parts of a man that should be covered? From navel privy parts & from navel from navel to the knee buttocks to the knee to the knee

56. Portion of a corpse for ritual cleaning before burial 2/3 a portion a portion

57. Must water enter the mouth and nostrils during ritual washing of the corpse no yes yes no

58. Should person who died during hajj (pilgrimage) be incensed with perfume and face covered?

P a g e | 83 yes yes no no

59. Who will conduct the salat performed in honor of the dead? sultan- person next of person head of state that the dead kin that the dead had indicated had indicated

60. Special proscription for the time of performance of salat in honor of the dead? 5 3 every time 3

61 Can body be buried at a location other than the one where death occurred? yes yes no no

62. Should intention to fast be expressed by word of mouth yes yes no yes

63. Should a person renew his intention to fast every day in Ramadan? yes no yes yes

64. Does bleeding annul fasting? no no no yes

65. Chattel a person owes that bars zakat giving? all assets gold&silver no all assets except for grains prescription

66. Should a man or woman give zakat on their jewelry? yes no no no

P a g e | 84

67. Should zakat be given on cash? yes yes yes no

68. Rate of zakat on metals? 1/5 1/5 1/40 1/40

69. No. of conditions related to zakat to be given on traded assets 4562

70. Should zakat be given on any valuable thing unearthed? yes no no yes

71. Should zakat be given on honey produced? yes no no yes

72.Should zakat be given on land devoted to pious foundations? yes yes no no

73.Should zakat be given on land rented or held in tenure to be cultivated ? no yes yes yes

74. Should zakat be given on olives? yes yes no yes

75.Should zakat be given on cattle fed on foddle or worked in the field? no yes no no

P a g e | 85 76. Age of sheep and goat at which they are liable for zekat? For sheep 1 For sheep 1 For sheep 1 For sheep 1/2 For goat 1 For goat 1 For goat 2 For goat 2

77. Can a woman go to hajj unaccompanied by her husband? no yes yes no

78. Can a person unable to go on hajj appoint a proxy? yes no yes yes

79. Number of requirements for hajj? 2454

80. Is it permissible that the stone hurled at Satan does not fall on the jamra during pilgrimage? yes no no no

81. Is it permissible to give food to a poor who is not a Muslim? yes no no no

82. Is it unlawful to sit on silk, to lean against it or to use it as tapestry? no yes yes yes

83. Is it permissible for a boy to wear silk? no no yes yes

84. Is it permissible to use a cup ornamented with silver while taking ablution or drink from? yes no no no

P a g e | 86

85. Is trimming the beard unlawful? yes yes no yes

86. Is backgammon unlawful? no yes yes yes

87. Is chess unlawful? yes yes no yes

88. Should the debts of a dead be paid? no yes yes no

89. What portion of things unearthed in ones own land are due to the state? 1/5 0 0 0

90. Is the usurper cultivator of land the owner of the produce he obtains? yes yes yes no

91. Time within which a contract can be modified or terminated? 3 days according 3 days according to to the need contract

92. Beast sexually assaulted killed not killed not killed should be flesh nor flesh edible flesh edible killed edible

P a g e | 87 93. Number of times the cudgel shall be applied to inflict punishment to a drinker of wine or other inebriating substance? 80 80 40 80

94.Will a person stinking or vomiting wine be punished with a cudgel? no yes no no

95. Can the estate of a religious apostate killed be given to his inheritor? yes no no no

96. Should a woman renegade be killed? no yes yes yes

97. Should letting some die by abandoning, imprisoning and leaving him to starve be considered as premeditated murder? no yes yes yes

98. Can a woman act as a judge? yes no no no

99. Is a dog a clean animal? no no yes yes

100. Should a muezzin be paid for his act? no yes yes no

P a g e | 88

RELIGIOUS ORDERS

Despite the great number of orders (tarikats), each widely differing from the other, and altogether apart from the Qurans teaching, for lack of space, we shall dwell on the worship of sheikhs and certain incontestable truths common to most of them.

TRANSFORMATION OF DERVISH LODGES INTO TAVERNS AND BROTHELS When the Prophet was incontestably the unique spiritual guide, the only institution of Islam was the mosque. Prayers, education and all kinds of social activities took place in the mosque. Even the dervish lodges and the inmates of dervish convents acknowledge that during the lifetime of the Prophet and the reign of the Four Caliphs there had been no lodges or convents other than the mosque. It is generally acknowledged that the first order had been established circa 760 AD somewhere in the vicinity of Damascus. Yet, the sprawling over a vast area of lodges was to take place hundreds of years later. It is a fact that lodges served a variety of purposes, among others as an academy of sciences, a military headquarters, infirmaries, etc. It is also a fact that, in the terms of Kuadal Ibrahim, a day came when they served as brothels and taverns; and practices not related in any way to the injunctions and prescriptions of the Quran took place here in the name of religion. Kuadal, who witnessed this, refused to re-erect the lodge burned down and said that the lodges that had been established hundreds of years ago should be closed down, that the entire surface of the earth could be used as a single lodge and that, with the exception of the mosque, just as in the lifetime of the Prophet, all religious institutions other than the mosque should be closed and that the special prayers conducted in lodges should be abandoned leaving the place only to the reciting of the Quran. Lodges may have started to be erected in 150 AH, but their spread as institutions took place actually circa 600 AH. It is generally acknowledged that the first institutionalized religious order was the Khadiriya; the founder was Abdulkadir Gilani, d. 562 AH. To quote only a few more: Rfaiyah, founder Ahmad ar Rfai, d. 578; Baktashiyah, founder Hac Bekta Veli, d. 669 AH; Mawlawiyah, founder Mawlana Djalal al-din Rumi, d. 672 AH; Khalwatiyah, founder Amaladdin al Khalveti, d. 750 AH; Nakshibandiyah, founder Bahauddin Nakshiband, d. 791 AH.

WHOSE SPIRITUAL LEADER IS SATAN? Tarik is an Arabic term meaning path, road, and way. There are sheikhs, leaders of religious orders, and their followers who preach that the path in question is just one of the ways to God and to follow it is not a binding duty. However, there are many dervishes who claim that the Prophet had said Satan is the guide of those who have no spiritual leader (sheikh, murshid). If such is the case, the Muslims of old must have been imperfect Muslims. During the period when the number of sheikhs was not so great, the guide of Muslims must have been Satan then. Did Muslims who lived before the proliferation of religious orders live as imperfect Muslims? Many sheikhs, products of religious orders, were declared infallible; those who assembled around them were judged eligible for paradise, while the destination of the remaining Muslims was hell. Therefore, it was indispensable to become the devotees of such figures. That a good many sheikhs were announced in history to be the Mahdi or Jesus Christ is a fact. These figures may be encountered nearly in every town and district. Most of these people suffer from paranoid delusions and have a harmful effect not only on their spiritual world but also on the purse. These are the counterparts of the hypocritical Jewish rabbis and Christian anchorites mentioned in the Quran.

P a g e | 89 34 - There are indeed many among the rabbis and priests, who in falsehood devour the substance of people and hinder then from the way of God. 9 Repentence, 34

BLIND OBEDIENCE TO SHEIKHS One of the most important principles of religious orders is the complete abandonment of the novice to the sheikh in the state in which his dead body would be at the mercy of the person who will wash him. Despite the fact that it explicitly states in the Quran that we must use our intelligence and revert to our discourse of reason, the religious orders are categorically about the blind obedience to ones sheikh. The person who is willing to adopt such an attitude is easily convinced that his sheikh is the Mahdi or Messiah awaited, and that he is an all-powerful superman. The novice often becomes an object of material exploitation and candid enough to believe whatever he is told about religion disregarding all additions and removals made to and from the invented religion. Once a person accepts leaving reasoning aside, there is no longer any difference between a university graduate and an illiterate. These people have abandoned their will indiscriminately to their sheikh. Deception instead of intellectual curiosity, slavish imitation instead of reasoning would certainly render all novices the exact replica of their sheikhs in the interpretation and practice of religion and in their outlook on life in general. It often happened that a person who had been willing to abandon reason in total disregard of his intellectual background readily denied his learning and acknowledged the erudition of his sheikh in all matters. An instance of this may be the case in which the novices proudly claimed that their sheikh, furious at the USA, had caused the space-shuttle to come down. A second incident was the inexplicable noise heard in Cyprus, which the sheikh had declared to come from a monster to which all his novices had given credence. There was another sheikh who had his penis kissed by novices under the pretext of training them in self-mastery. It is inconceivable to see that even the learned intellectual novices, who do not know the philosophy of dependence on a sheikh and the makeup of the orders, believe in such absurdities. However, if one considers that these novices had from the very start been willing to forego the reasoning faculty and preferred to remain mere imitators, such acts may be understood. You have below a list of seven principles that a novice is required to abide by: 1- To pledge unswerving allegiance to ones sheikh and to acknowledge the superiority of no one over him. 2- To be intelligent and perceptive. 3- To serve his sheikh actively with might and main. 4- To be honest and reliable. 5- To put ones assets at the disposal of his sheikh. 6- To keep his sheikhs and his orders secrets and divulge them to no one. 7- To be ready to sacrifice his life for his sheikh.

EXPLOITED DISCIPLES

P a g e | 90 We understand the rationale of all these points except for the second point. How is it that orders that require absolute dependence on the sheikh stipulate intelligence and perceptiveness in their novices? This may be due, however, to the need for intelligence that would be instrumental in increasing the wealth already in possession of the disciples foreseen under point 5! Muhammad Ikbal called this pirizm (adulation of the master). The enquiring mind that poses the question What exactly is the wish of God? What does the Quran have to say about this? Thus the sheikh supersedes God and the question is put accordingly: What may be the desire of our sheikh? How is this point dealt with in our order? Ikbal explains this in the following manner: Development of selfhood in lodges has become an impossibility. This humid flame gives no spark. On the other hand, not every order and sheikh is the replica of the other, of course. What we are against is the mentality behind the orders. The Quran states that we must not follow things we know nothing about, since otherwise we would be held responsible for our act. 36 Do not follow that of which you have no knowledge. Verify the ear, the eye, the heart; each will be questioned. 17 The Children of Israel, 36 Even in the best organization the disciples are strictly dependent on their sheikh who subjugates them. Personality is obliterated; men are no longer masters of themselves, but mere imitators. Once the logical reason is set aside, deterioration and corruption are inevitable.

LEGENDS Unconditional surrender to the will of the sheikh being mandatory, many legends are told in order to realize this. For instance, a sheikh tells his disciple to go and cut off his fathers head and to bring it to him. And the disciple performs such an absurd act believing that there is something beyond his comprehension known only to his sheikh. Then he realizes that the head he had cut off while he was by his mothers bed was not his fathers but a mans, a man in an adulterous relationship with his mother. The sheikh, in his hindsight, had seen the event and to try his disciple orders the disciple to perform such an act. This parable aims at illustrating the unconditional obedience to ones sheikh, since what he does is the consequence of the mysterious dispensations of providence. Under normal circumstances, a Muslim would retort to the person giving this command: How can you ordain me such a thing since murder is a major sin? In religious orders such objections would be interpreted as a lack of faith. Let us illustrate this situation with another well-known story. One day the powers that be, grown restless because of the crowd of disciples gathered round Hac Bekta Veli, come to tell him of their discontent. Whereupon Hac Bekta says: Do not worry, I have merely one and a half disciples. Then suiting the action to the word he goes inside and slaughters a sheep, draining its blood to the outside. Then he calls his disciples and tells them that he has to cut them and that they should come one by one. All of them scatter away with the exception of a man and a woman -she being counted only as a half, the result was one and a half as he had declared. This parable shows that the true disciple has to submit unconditionally to the will of the sheikh. Even though a sheikh may unreasonably demand something unlawful, the disciples will obey him without question. The way they are expected to embrace Islam is then decided by their sheikh. Thus they pledge allegiance to their sheikh instead of to the Quran. A parallel may be drawn to other religions reflecting the same mood: 31 - They take their rabbis and their monks to be their lords in derogation of God. 9 Repentance, 31

P a g e | 91

FUNNY LINK The relation between the sheikh and his disciple is established through a strange link (rabta). In the Nakshibandiyah, this link between the disciple and the sheikh is established as follows: the disciple, canonically cleansed, sits facing the direction of Mecca. Focusing in his imagination on the point between the two eyebrows of his sheikh, he begins to repeat the name of God. This process establishes a link between the sheikh and his disciple. There are modern Nakshibandiyah members who perform this ritual by merely looking at a photograph of their sheikh! Another awkward application is as follows: Repeating Gods name disregarding the link (rabta) is preferred to the link without having to repeat Gods name. If either the repeating of Gods name or the link has to be foregone, repetition of Gods name may be abandoned. For a link without the repeating of Gods name will enable the disciple to attain heavenly bliss, but repetition of Gods name would fall short of this. All of this has, of course, nothing to do with the teaching of the Quran. It is interesting to note the different concepts in the Quran of certain basic words. Namely, the word sheikh is used in the sense of old man (see 11 Hud 72; 12 Joseph 78; 28 The History 23; 40 The Believer 67); again the word wali is used in the Quran in the sense of friend and somebody close to him. Every believer is the wali of God, and God is the wali of those who believe (2 The Cow 257; 3 The Family of Imran 68; 5 The Feast 55; 7 The Purgatory 196; 9 Repentance 71). Disbelievers are the walis of Satan, and disbelievers are the walis of each other (see 4 The Women 76; 4 The Women 119; 7 The Purgatorty 27; 16 The Honey Bees 16). Dont you know that to God belong the dominions of the heavens and the earth? And besides Him you have neither Lord nor wal (see 2 The Cow 107; 9 Repentance 116; 25 The Distinguisher 18; 39 The Throngs 3; 42 Consultation 9). The word wali and its plural awliya mentioned in the Quran more than 80 times are never used in the sense of superman as presented to the public. Nor do we come across anywhere in the Quran the word karamat (power of sanctity by which a superman works miracles). There are many verbs which have the same root (krm) that means Gods generosity, the abundance of sustenance provided by God, but has not the connotation mentioned above (see 27 The Ant 40; 8 The Spoils of War 4; 17 The Children of Israel 70; 36 Yasin 11). We have nothing against the whirling of dervishes and the socalled devotional music so long as they are not claimed to be a religious ritual since they are neither ordained nor prohibited by the Quran. Yet, in many, such performances are interpreted as a religious ritual. Otherwise, Muslims may certainly institute foundations, associations and establish a hierarchy in them. Recitation of poems, recitals, ritualistic dances, artistic activities, meetings and demonstrations may be held. What is unacceptable however, is the apotheosis of men and the ascribing to orders a religious character, as this is not contained in the Quran. Another harm done to Islam by these orders has been their giving it an ascetic appearance. Orders claiming they trained their disciples through rituals and performances reminiscent of Indian religious practices - leaving them starving, inflicting torture on them in dark rooms and making them insane. The delusions and hallucinations reported to have been perceived by these people came to be considered signs of sanctity. There is nothing in the Quran suggesting asceticism. According to the Quran, God may, if He so chooses, create difficulties for His servants to test them and to which true believers submit. However asceticism is not proposed in the Quran.

DO NOT FOLLOW IN THE WAKE OF THEIR MASTERS 67 They will say: Our Lord, we have obeyed our leader and elders, but they led us astray. 33 The Parties, 67

P a g e | 92 The traditionalist Islamist abides by the criteria he has inherited from his ancestors without questioning. The disciples try to justify their dependence on their sheikh by telling stories about the prominent members of their sect whom they consider endowed with great moral merits. According to these people the sheikhs have organized everything. To accommodate himself to ones sheikh is what is required; to have to think or call to question something on which the sheikh has pronounced judgment is irrelevant and indecent. To conform to the ways of their superiors is to obey without raising any objection, without questioning the thing they have decided upon and to rely on their wisdom without having recourse of the faculty of reasoning. Yet we see in the Quran that the reason of deviation from the right path is blind obedience to ones superior. The Quran mentions no master, no sect, no hadith and no religious order as the source of religion. According to the Quran, the path to truth is the individuals use of his own intellect and reasoning faculty. 82 - Do they not ponder over the Quran? 4 The Women, 82 29 This is a Book that we have sent down to you, that is sacred, that they may meditate on its signs, and that men of understanding may receive admonition. 38 Sad, 29

DISCIPLES THAT CAUSE THEIR SHEIKHS TO FLY Strange acts performed at the tombs of buried sheikhs, tying knots and prostrating themselves are miserable performances. There are sheikhs who bequeath their sheikhdom to their sons, sons-in-laws and brothers, trying to preserve the exclusivity of this institution within the confines of the family members. According to Islam, the thing to be trusted is left with the person who deserves to take custody of it and not with a blood relation. Sainthood granted sometimes to disciples is conferred in a more grandiose fashion to the sheikhs. So many incredible legends have been told about the miracles performed by sheikhs that those mentioned in the Quran performed by certain prophets remain in the shadow in comparison. There is a saying in Turkish: The sheikh does not fly, but the disciple causes him to fly. As a matter of fact, there is no end to challenges among the contestants who try to extol their masters. There are sheikhs that resuscitate men and animals; there are those that can walk on the surface of water and those that are everywhere. The hearts of superman sheikhs have knowledge of everything; they have the capacity of remote controlling, a mere look by them suffices sometimes to elevate a man to the heights of religious inspiration; they have the power to send a man either to heaven or to hell or to cause the death of a person or to resuscitate the dead. It falls to the disciples to obey the sheikhs faithfully, without questioning them. Many Islamic people have not been able to break the chain coiling around their intelligence; they remained a captive of such religious orders, preferring to abide subjugated rather than take the trouble to make use of their own reasoning power. Blind obedience, asceticism, lack of interest in developing ones intelligence are the effects of the teachings of these religious orders. The influence exerted by the restraints that people have imposed themselves all throughout time have continued to this day, thwarting the Islamic people from letting themselves enjoy the innocent pleasures of life. Even smiling has been considered a lack of decorum among the educated class. The orders, that preached asceticism as salvation, have been the major obstacle for mans development of his nature through the exercise of his reason advocated by the Quran. Unless the hadith books, the books on Islamic catechism and the sermons of religious orders are swept away, the individual shall remain alienated from the Qurans Islam. Once these obstacles are removed, the Quran will regain with the sovereignty it enjoyed under the Prophet and during the period of the Four Caliphs; and the Islam, divested of the lodges of religious orders, of intercessors like the sheikhs, will triumph once more under the guidance of the Quran, with thanks to mans eventual exercising of his reasoning faculty.

P a g e | 93 3 Absolutely, the religion shall be devoted to God alone. Those who have taken protectors other than Him, say We worship them that they may bring us nearer to God. Surely, God will judge between them in that in which they differ. Surely, God does not guide any liar, unappreciative. 39 The Throngs, 3 3 - Follow what has been revealed to you from your Lord and do not follow any other protector apart from Him. Rarely do you take heed. 7 The Purgatory, 3

THE CONCEPT OF SUNNA

Sunna as a word has the meanings of style, method, way, and behavior. It has also the connotation of the customs and traditions of a community. Although the word usually refers to the acts and sayings of the Prophet, it is generally used to speak of Gods way. 43 - Now are they but looking for the way the ancients were dealt with? But no change will you find in Gods way (sunnatullah): no turning off will you find in Gods way (sunnatullah). 35 The Originator, 43 62 - Such was the way of God (sunnatullah) among those who lived previously; no change will you find in the practice of God (sunnatullah). 33 The Parties, 62 Whereas the words sunna has the meanings described above, in the Islamic tradition it is thought of as being the Prophets acts and sayings. It is generally studied in three parts: sunna as an act, sunna as a saying and sunna as tacit approval. The first is the deeds of the Prophet, the second comprises the Prophets sayings and the third, the acts witnessed and not prohibited by the Prophet. Essentially the words main meaning is expressed by the words hadith. The words sunna and hadith have in fact been used in each others place. All that we know about sunna is through the hadith books. And hadiths refer to sunna as a saying. So you may replace the word sunna with the word hadith in this book without bringing any change to the meaning of the sentence. The traditionalists may face a question such as the following: Considering that you claim that there are hadiths or sunnas that lay down what is lawful and what is not, why does the Quran not mention it? In the 6500 verses of the Quran there is not a single instance where sunna as an act exists. It becomes clear that the use of the words hadith and sunna were the fabrications of traditional Islamists. The Quran explains everything it deems essential in detail and comprises all of Islam.

ARAB CUSTOMS CONSIDERED TO BE SUNNA The greater part of sunnas consists of sayings falsely attributed to the Prophet. The remaining part has nothing to do with religion in that they are the customs of the Arabs that the Prophet also practiced, such as wearing a robe with full

P a g e | 94 sleeves and long skirts, eating squash and having meals seated on the ground. These customs were also practiced by Abu Jahil, an enemy of the Prophet against whom he had fought. Some of these practices were due to the prevailing climate, some were from common usage, and some were due to the vegetation of the area.. Seeking an additional reward for such supposedly pious attitude in such acts would be supplementing the Quran with things that are not within its scope. To say that acting in the way the Prophet is said to have acted would be meritorious, far from being a sin, it would not neutralize the error committed. Another reason for such inventions is the consideration of the companions of the Prophet (even of those who had had the privilege of having glanced at the Prophet only once in their lifetime) to be unimpeachable and of putting their movements on the same level as those of the Prophet. If we take into consideration the errors that are made in the interpretations and deviations, those mistakes ascribed to the Prophet and his companions, the chaos that results is immeasurable. Today the word sunna generally applies to the ways of the Prophet. The hadith books, however, refer to some of the sunnas in places like Madina, Kufe and Basra where the companions dwelled. One writer criticizes these acts in the following manner: I cant see a more stupid act than the servile imitation of other peoples manners. Whether you eat seated or at the table makes no difference. Abu Lahab may well have eaten his meal seated. This is the custom of the Arab people. This is just one of the instances of the apish attitude adopted by communities. We must be able to sort out what is prescribed in the Quran as religion and the customs of foreign communities that have infiltrated our community in the course of centuries that have gone by. Unless this is achieved, the world of Islam will not have respite. We must note however that behind such blind acceptance of certain data there lie other considerations. For, when the waters are troubled, one cannot see clearly what is in the depths. The poisonous snakes that lurk there must be concealed so that a certain class of opportunists profit of it. One may well go ahead and get fish from the same water unaware of the existence of the poisonous snake in the depths. The reactionary bigot is not the main culprit, mind you! They are but baits at the end of the hook. The profiteers in this trade happen to be those who consider religion a trading asset. The culprits are the international centers hostile to Islam. The best way to remove Islam from the state would be to give it an unseemly aspect. And bigotry is best suited to this way of disparaging Islam. In vain do we raise a hue and cry not to be caught in this trap. They pay no attention to our warnings and sink deeper and deeper in the marshes.

FAREWELL SERMON The fabricated religion serves the atheists better. By giving it an aspect of chaos, they are pleased to see masses of people prefer to avoid religion. The main objective of this book has been to draw the attention of these people to the religion as offered in the Quran and to try to clear off all alien elements introduced in the course of ages under the guise of hadiths. Of these hadiths the Farewell Sermon of the Prophet is the best known. Yet, the same speech is transmitted in different versions. If one considers that a sermon attended by one hundred persons is reported differently, one should justifiably suspect the authenticity of other hadiths.

1- I entrust something to you:it is Gods Book; it is Gods rope stretched down to earth. Hold on to it and youll never swerve. 2- I entrust two things to you: Gods Book and my sunna. 3- I entrust two things to you: Gods Book and my household.

P a g e | 95 Two of these three hadiths are ostensibly not authentic. The Sunnis acknowledge the authenticity of the second version and the Shiites the third. It is the first one that is most likely the authentic one in terms of meaning. The only Islam is the Islam stated in the Quran, as we have never tired of repeating. We must not look in the Quran for a religion of our own imagination. Why is there this concern for a religion that God has not revealed? Let us not be the slaves of our customs and traditions. Let us keep away from sheikhs and the passion for being a disciple of sheikhs.

THE QURAN ALSO INCLUDES THE SUNNA We dont deny that we have to act according to sunna. But this sunna (the acts and the lifestyle of the Prophet) is what has been described in the Quran. The fact that the Prophet was a messenger of God, that he himself did not invent a religion, that he kept on preaching to the believers the true religion he had received, that his morals were impeccable, that he was of devout character and that he fought for the cause of Islam are told in the Quran. All the moral principles preached in the Quran were also those of the Prophet himself. Prayer, fasting, generosity, ceaseless reciting of Gods name, meditation on the creation, thanksgiving, outspokenness, patience, exodus if need be, reliability, honesty, bravery, love and respect for God are among the sunnas of the Prophet. All these merits are mentioned in the Quran. Growing a beard, wearing a robe, discriminating colors of clothing, choosing food, following Arab customs, describing personal likes and dislikes that have nothing to do with religion do not come within the scope of the Quran; they are the consequence of Arabian racism being put into the brains of believing people.

115 The word of your Lord is complete in truth and in justice. None can change His words. He is the Hearer, the Knower. 6 The Cattle, 115

P a g e | 96

ARAB NATIONALISM

Honesty, good morals, diligence in the practice of religious rituals, frequent reciting of Gods name are the essential sunnas indicated in the Quran. Turbans, wearing robes with long sleeves and skirts, growing beards, eating with the right hand and seated on the groundi along with restrictions of womens rights are among the numerous Arabic customs that were instilled into the brains of the public as if they were the Prophets own ways. One of the reasons of this brainwashing was to Arabize the Muslim people who were not Arabs by indoctrination through sanctification of the Arab customs and philosophy of life. Had these customs not been shown to be of a religious character, the Arabic customs would not have infiltrated into Muslim communities. The hadith books that found fertile domain in the minds of the sunna followers, like Bukhari and Muslim, and the establishment of sects under the Omayyads and Abbasids, namely Hanafiyah, Shafiyah, Malikiyah and Hanbaliya, have been instrumental in inculcating the Arab nationalism into the minds of Islamized communities.

SANTIFICATION OF THE ARABIC LANGUAGE One of the reasons of the spread of illiteracy among the greater part of the Muslim population was the prohibition of translating the Quran into foreign languages. This made religion the exclusivity of a minority. The public was taught books on Islamic catechism rather than the Quran. On the other hand, deserters from the established sects were subjected to severe punishments and in this way the distorted and Arabized Islam was protected. This was the same mentality that reigned during the Middles Ages in Europe when the translation of the Gospels into any language other than the Latin was banned. Although nowhere in the Quran is it said that prayers should be performed in Arabic, the sectarian concepts of the Sunnis made it obligatory preventing people from using their vernacular in their prayers. Their brains were washed, saying that Arabic was the language of paradise and was holy, and this was successful in imposing the Arabic civilization on other nations. The Quran states that every prophet (whether his name is mentioned in the Quran or not) addressed his nation in his vernacular. None of these languages had any sanctity among them. The fact that Arabic is the language spoken and written in paradise is nowhere mentioned in the Quran but is an invention based on fabricated hadiths.

MARRYING NON-ARABS The sectarian Arabs styled non-Arabs as mawali. Rules were laid down banning marriage of Arabs with them based on fabricated hadiths. Arabs are Arabs equals. Mawalis are equals of Mawalis. O Arabs those among you who marry Mawalis are considered to have committed a punishable offense Muttaki O Arab, marry your equal, never marry Negroes for fear of corrupting your offspring. For Negroes are a crooked race, and their issue will be crooked and disabled. Muttaki

P a g e | 97 What we are trying to convey here is the fact that all so-called sources of Islam other than the Quran are unreliable. The only dependable and reliable book is the Quran. You will find below such a derogatory hadith about Turks: Unless you are attacked by Turks, dont meddle with them. For if they like you, they will strip you of your possessions. If they dislike you, they will kill you. Lealil Masnua Despite the fact that they have been co-religionists, the Turks and the Arabs have never ceased to be each others enemy because of such invented stories and irrelevant provocations. This hostility has been to the detriment of both sides; but opportunists, like the English and the French, took advantage of this. Napoleon exploited Arab nationalism; he gave the semblance of being pro-Islamist; he entered Arab lands and made Turks seem to be hostile to Islam and succeeded in staying in Egypt thanks to this policy. The English capitalized on the Turco-Arab antagonism with a view to dividing the Ottoman Empire and indulging in petroleum exploitation. On the Turkish side, absurd attributes, almost swear words, have been ascribed to the Arabs. What is still worse has been the fact that words spoken against Turks were ascribed to the Prophets hadiths. Many prominent Turkish scholars, who were in effect ignorant in many respects, carried things to extremes and became fervent adulators of Arabs themselves. The most renowned hadiths about the Turks have represented the Turks as Agog and Magog. Before war is fought and won against the Turks (Agog and Magog) with small eyes, red cheeks whose faces are of hardened skin like shields, the Day of Judgment will tarry. Bukhari K. Cihad, Muslim K. Fian

THE ARABIST AND TRIBALIST RELIGION CONCEPT There is a controversy about the identity of Agog and Magog who are described as wild and uncivilized creatures. Bukhari, whom the traditionalists declare to be the man whose hadiths are incontestable so much so that a Muslim who refutes even one of the hadiths he has transmitted would be a heretic, along with Tabari, Baghdadi, Balhi, Bayzawi, Nasafi, Nuvayri and Ibn Kathir revered by the traditionalists as well as certain Turks like Asm Efendi and Ahteri Mustafa Efendi all claim that Agog and Magog are Turks. There are awkward and indecent legends that recount that Agog and Magog were the products of the sperm of Adam who had had an ejaculation while dreaming. All these aimed at ascribing a religious character to the customs and manners of the Arabs, sanctifying the Arabic language, and ascribing holiness to the Arab race and vilifying Turks and other races by inventing derogatory hadiths. Hadiths were invented that claimed the superiority of the Arab race over all other human beings (see Ibn Arrak, Tenzihuz Saharia Fil Marfua). They seem to ignore that the enemies of the Prophet, Abu Lahab and Abu Jahil, were Arabs. The army deserters and hypocrites often referred to in the Quran were Arabs. According to the Quran, a person is evaluated on the basis of his devotion and expression of love for his God. Hadiths invented with political interests and racist concerns have been introduced into religion and corrupted the purity of the Quran.

P a g e | 98

ANIMOSITY TOWARD THE ARTS, MUSIC AND CHESS

The entire universe is a product of Gods art. God manifests His art and power in the movements of the earth, in the rain, in the twittering of a bird and in the color of a violet, in a piece of music, in a sculpture, and in a painting. God is the creator of everything, the maker of all raw materials and the mastermind of laws of chemistry, physics and biology. Man shapes what God has provided him with in due conformity with physical laws; he invents machines, makes various calculations that, thanks to mathematics, lead to the production of cars and airplanes. A musician composes with what already exists in the world. A perceptive mind sees the existence of God behind all these things. Nowhere in the Quran is there a suggestion about the prohibition of music, sculpture or painting. Yet, many sects have banned the arts and have wanted to impose their gloomy world on others.

BAN ON MUSIC Music listeners shall not be given the privilege to listen to the spiritual beings in heaven. Kurtubi A song sows dissension in ones heart. Abu Davud God made songs, the exchange of music, money earned by music, the teaching of and listening to music unlawful. Muhammad Ghazzali/Nabawi Sunna. Muhammad Ghazzali (b. 1917, Egypt) who quotes this last hadith, having examined the transmitters, brings as evidence the accounts in Ibn Hazm and quotes from Caliph Omar to prove the inauthenticity of this and other hadiths. As a matter of fact, there are also hadiths that say that the Prophet listened to music and even encouraged it. Yet a great many sects, among others Hanafi having the largest congregation, have come under the influence of this prohibition. There are also absurd declarations to the effect that percussion instruments might be permitted as lawful while string instruments should be banned. Poetry also was made an object of derision although not so much as music. However, in general, non-devotional love poetry was looked at askance while poems of a religious nature were permitted. It would be better for you were your insides full of vomit and blood rather than poetry. M. Masabih The raising of a hue and cry against poetry was not so intense as against sculpture. The reason was simple: sculpture would lead to idolatry! Given the fact that Hindus worship the cow, must all cows be killed then? The Magians worshipped fire. Did the Prophet ever prohibit the kindling of fire? Can one live in a dark cellar just because there are people that worship the sun? Only in one place in the Quran is there mention of statues and it is in praiseworthy terms. 13 - They worked for him as he desired: niches, statues, dishes large as water-troughs, and cauldrons firmly fixed. House of David! Act and give thanks. Only a few of My servants are appreciative.

P a g e | 99 34 Sheba, 13

SECTARIANS APPRECIATION OF SOLOMON Do you consider yourselves of a more religious cast of mind than Solomon or can it be that he is a sinner? Whoever draws a picture, that person shall be punished on the Day of Judgment. Bukhari, Tabir, Nesai Zinat Angels do not enter the houses in which there is a dog or a picture. Tirmizi In the sectarians Islam painting and drawing are strictly limited. Despite the total absence of such a prohibition in the Quran, drawing a live figure is banned just like sculpture. The same fabricated hadith has also forbidden keeping pet dogs at home. There have been sarcastic questions derisively posed: Considering that the Angel of Death is also an angel, shall I be spared death since he shall not visit me at home? 32 - Say: Who had prohibited the nice things God has created for His servants and the good provisions? Say: They are for believers in the world, and will be exclusively theirs on the Day of Resurrection. That is how We explain Our signs in detail for those who understand. 7 The Purgatory, 32 The faithful, according to the Quran, draw benefit from beautiful things not prohibited by God for which he gives thanks to God. Traditionalist Islam is ever after prohibitions and seeks difficulties everywhere and in everything. Such mentalities are convinced that the more they render life difficult, the easier it will be for them to attain heaven. Yet God condemns all additions to and removals from His sayings. 87 - O you, who believe, do not forbid good things which God has made lawful for you and do not transgress. God does not love transgressors. 5 The Feast, 87

IS PAINTING WORSE THAN IDOLATRY? Here are a few more hadiths that illustrate the injustices done to the arts: The retribution for those who draw and paint shall be severe punishment on the Day of Judgment. And they shall be told to resuscitate what they have drawn. Suneni Ibn Maja All those who made these figures shall be told to recall to life what they have drawn. Sahihi Bukhari The greatest suffering shall be the lot of the painters on the Day of Judgment.

P a g e | 100 Ibn Hajar al Haytami, The lawful and the unlawful in Islam, Bukhari, Tasawir Especially according to the last hadith, painting seems to be a major sin, greater than adultery, manslaughter or idolatry. Yet according to another transmitter of hadiths: The greatest suffering shall be the lot of chess players on the Day of Judgment. Great Sinners, Hafz Zahabi Hafz Zahabi recounts how Ibn Abbas had thrown into a fire the chess board of an orphan. 59 Say: Did you see how God sends down to you all kinds of provisions, then you render some of them unlawful, and some lawful? Say: Did God give you permission, or are you imputing lies to God? 10 Jonah, 59

EATING ACCORDING TO THE QURAN AND ACCORDING TO SECTS

The food prohibited to consume is explicitly indicated in the Quran. 115 He only prohibits for you dead animals, blood, the meat of pigs and that which is dedicated to other than God. But if one is driven by necessity, without being deliberate or malicious, then God is Forgiver, Merciful. 16 The Honey Bees, 115 145 - Say: I do not find in the revelations given to me any food that is prohibited for any eater except: dead animals, running blood, the meat of pigs - for it is unclean - and the meat of animals blasphemously dedicated to someone other than God. But even so, if a person is forced by necessity, without being deliberate or malicious, your Lord is Forgiver, Merciful. 6 The Cattle, 145

NO PROHIBITION AGAINST MUSSELS AND SHRIMP! As we have seen in the above verses only four things have been forbidden, namely: dead animals, blood, pork and the meat of an animal on whom a name other than Gods has been invoked. However, in a situation when there is no other choice, a person may eat of these, provided not with willful obedience and without going to extremes. One can see that the Quran leaves no loopholes. Yet, thinking there are loopholes, the sects have thought it advisable to add other prohibitions. For instance, the Hanafi sect, the largest of the sects, has forbidden the eating of mussels and shrimp. It is to be regretted that many people believe that these gifts of nature have been prohibited by religion, depriving themselves of them. The sects contradicted not only the Quran but also each other. For example, the Maliki sect acknowledges the edibility of mussels and shrimp banned by the Hanafi sect. On the other hand, the flesh of horses forbidden by Maliki is consumable for the Shafi and Hanbali sects. These are not all that are declared forbidden by great scholars. Carnivores like the wolf, the bear and the squirrel are also on the black list. The sects also have banned the rapacious birds. One may also add to the black list serpents, frogs, toads, tortoises and crabs. Those who did not

P a g e | 101 deem enough the prohibitions laid down in the Quran felt the necessity to add to the list of prohibited animals those that appeared unsightly. One should remember that the cuisine of populations living in different regions of the earth differs greatly. Given the fact that there are no restrictions stated in the Quran, other than the four items mentioned above, we are free in our choices. 140 - Lost are those who slay their children, from folly, without knowledge, and forbid food that God has provided for them, inventing lies against God. They have indeed gone astray and heeded no guidance. 6 The Cattle, 140 As one clearly sees in the verses, mans attributing to religion those things that do not exist in the Quran is tantamount to raising arms against God; a slander against God, a betrayal of religion. Being instrumental in causing people to turn their backs to religion is a capital sin. 87 - O you, who believe, do not forbid good things which God has made lawful for you and do not transgress. God does not love transgressors. 5 The Feast, 87

EATING RICE WITH THREE FINGERS Many other things extraneous to religions scope have been introduced to it, ranging from table manners to menus under the guise of sunnas. Here are some of the additions: regarding table manners, a meal must be consumed seated on the ground. Whether it is rice or other dishes, man must use three fingers and not a fork and spoon. When seated on the ground, the right leg should be bent from the knee while the left should be placed under the buttocks. It is absolutely required that the right hand be used, for Satan is believed to eat with his left hand. On the menu of the Prophet the following existed more often than not: chicken, beef, squash and eggplant. As America had not yet been discovered during the lifetime of the Prophet, potatoes, tomatoes and corn were outside the confines of the sunnas. In other words, a person who ate squash was performing a meritorious act while the potato eater would be deprived of this blessing. Numbers also were important: water should be drunk in three gulps; it is also claimed that a meal should be served in one single container in which persons around should partake, according to the sunna. (Yet in Sura The Light, 61, it is said: It is no sin in you that you eat together or separately.) According to another widespread belief, breaking the fast in the month of Ramadan with olives or dates is a meritorious act. A person who breaks his fast with soup or cheese will not be as meritorious as the former. At the conclusion of the meal, the three fingers with which one has eaten should be licked and the order in which this will be executed should be according to a sunna. The concept that sees the Quran as inefficient has immersed the religion in details almost without end. The essential thing according to the Quran regarding the eating habits are as follows: the fact that what is eaten is lawful and the fact that God is thanked for what one has consumed in cognizance of the fact that sustenance comes from God. All other manners are but customs of Arabs to which the Prophet may have conformed. 38 - .Nothing have we omitted from the Book 6 The Cattle, 38

P a g e | 102

SO-CALLED APOCALYPTIC SIGNS: SECOND COMING, MAHDIS

MAHDI AND THE ANTICHRIST It is believed that this figure is about to appear near the end of the world to wipe out the enemies and become the Lord of the world and to later join Christ to defeat the Antichrist. According to the hadiths not only the Mahdi, but also his disciples, possesses superior powers. Thousands of hadiths have been concocted to prove that ones own sheikh or leader was the Mahdi. There are many contradictory accounts as to the outward appearance of Mahdi, the place where he is to emerge and about his doings. Damascus, Kufa, Istanbul and Madina are the possible points of emergence of Mahdi according to the hadiths. The first generations invented so many hadiths that there was nothing more left for later generations. The description of Mahdi differed according to different leaders; as he was to assume the guise of the leader in question. There has been an inflation of Mahdis in the world of Islam.

THRONGS OF MAHDIS In order to understand better the traditionalist communities, we must dwell on the Mahdi issue. A great majority of congregations are reticent about messianism. Even after entering a religious order, the novice is enlightened on the issue not by the sheikh but someone nearest to him. Congregations are convinced that the hadiths prefer the disclosure of the identity of the Mahdi in a confidential manner, passing the information from ear to ear. This messianism provides the disciples with tremendous energy. The fact that a disciples leader is a person of a power equal to the power of a prophet, as described 1400 years ago, is the generator of this energy. This unconditional dependence on the sheikh induces the disciple to hand over whatever he possesses to the hands of his sheikh. It never occurs to him to call to question any act of his sheikh, however doubtful. Legends about the prospect that his sheikh will be the future caliph give rise to malicious gossip about possible rebellions and coups to clear the path for the caliph to come. In point of fact, there have been many such uprisings in the history of Islam led by paranoid Mahdis.

HOMEINI DERIVING HIS POWER FROM MESSIANIC HOPES The belief in Mahdi is essential to the credo of the Shiites. It is even superior to the sunna. It is believed that Mahdi is Muhammad, son of Hasan Askeri, born in 256 AH. Now that we are in the year 1400 AH, Mahdi, according to the belief of the Shiites, is a person who has been playing hide and seek for a space of time longer than 1100 years. To evaluate the Shia and assess the reforms in Iran, knowledge about the Mahdi issue is a must. According to this formulated belief, Mahdis deputies will reign until his coming; any disobedience to them means disobedience to Mahdi himself, which is tantamount to disobedience to God. Ayatullah Homeini derived his power from his deputyship. Absolute submission to Homeini was a religious duty according to the Shia belief. This state of affairs has been the main reason for the indivisible unity of the Iranian people in the revolution.

ANTICHRIST RESUSCITATING THE DEAD

P a g e | 103 The Antichrist is the person against whom Mahdi and Jesus will fight. Those who believe that their sheikh is the Mahdi readily announce the person standing against him or opposing his ideas as the Antichrist. There are many legends about Mahdi told in the hadiths. The Antichrist is said to have his own paradise and hell and to possess the power of resuscitating the dead, this having Infidel written on his forehead, , that he is blind and happens to be the greatest mischief-maker who ever existed in the world. For instance, Said Nursi, founder of the Nurculuk order, presented himself as a pioneer of Mahdi. He styled Atatrk as the Antichrist. You may observe in his books how he re-formulates the transmitted hadiths to fit him. For instance, the belief that the forehead of the Antichrist bears the word Infidel is interpreted as Atatrks hat reform. The hadith that speaks of a long donkey means, according to him, a train. As for the heaven and hell of the Antichrist, heaven refers to the entertainment organized under the Republic and hell refers to the imprisonment of the opposition. The prominent leader of the Sunni community in Turkey had thus found out the Antichrist and declared himself Mahdi. The foremost leaders of the Nurcu communities that succeeded Said Nursi were thought to be Mahdi by some of them. Sleymanclk, the second major Nurcu community, headed by Suleyman Hilmi Tunahan, is considered by his disciples to be Mahdi. The successor of Suleyman Hilmi Tunahan also is considered Mahdi. The same things hold true for the founders of greatest orders and their successors in Turkey. Despite the diverse alternatives of the Mahdi figures, these people have a concert of voices about Atatrk being the Antichrist. One of the main reasons is Atatrks abolition of the caliphate. There is no point of reminding our readers that all these considerations are outside the scope of the Quran. While there is nothing in the Quran to suggest the existence of a Mahdi or an Antichrist, all those who oppose the traditionalist Islam have been considered as antichrists. Blood has been shed on a vast scale and an Islamic mythology has been fabricated. The Mahdi, expected to come in every age, encouraged people to laziness in the hope they will be saved by him instead of seeking salvation through their own means. On the other hand, the traditionalists accused the antichrists of offenses they themselves committed and made them their scapegoats.

THE SECOND COMING The Second Coming is not mentioned in the Quran. However there are hadiths that speak of Christs return from east of Damascus where he will meet the Mahdi and kill the Antichrist. A hadith to which great credence is given by Abu Hurayra and such traditionalists as Bukhari and Muslim runs as follows: I swear by God that Christ will soon come to act as arbiter. When he comes, he will destroy the crosses, kill the swine, cancel the tributes and put an end to the monkey and oust every faith except Islam. This hadith, we believe invented by the converts to Islam, has no corroborative evidence in the Quran. 55 Thus, God said:O Jesus, I am terminating your life on earth, raising you to Me, and ridding you of the disbelievers. 3 The Family of Imran, 55 Hseyin Atay makes the following comment referring to this verse: According to the Quran, Jesus was not killed; he died his own death. Jesus being dead, he will not come back to life. One should not rely and base ones credence on hadiths, and the hadiths cannot be interpreted as part of the Quran. In one of the legends told after the death of the Prophet and brought over from a Christian cult and culture to the Islamic literature, Jesus did not die, he ascended to the heaven and will descend from there on the eve of the Day of Judgment from the minaret in Damascus. This is nothing but an Islamized version of the Christian myth. Those who do not believe this legend are taxed with infidelity (Hseyin Atay, Investigations According to the Quran).

P a g e | 104 40 - Muhammad is not the father of any man among you. He is the messenger of God and the last of the Prophets. 33 The Parties, 40

Given the fact that Jesus also was a prophet and Muhammad was the last prophet, the return of Christ as a prophet contradicts the Qurans statement. 33 And peace be upon me the day I was born, the day I die and the day I get resurrected. 19 Mary, 33 In Sura Maryam reference is made to three important days of Christ as may be seen in the verse above. There is no mention of his Second Coming. Had there been such a thing as a Second Coming, it would certainly have been mentioned in the Quran. The story of the Second Coming of Christ gave rise to infinite speculations and led to the emergence of false Christs that filled up asylums.

AGOG AND MAGOG Agog and Magog is the name of a community mentioned in the Quran. The name is mentioned in the Quran in the following contexts: 93-When he reached the valley between two barriers, he found, beneath them, a people who understood but little of what was spoken. 94- They said: O Zulqarnain! Agog and Magog do great mischief on earth: shall we then render your tribute in order that you may erect a barrier between us and them? 95- He said: The power in which my Lord has established me is better. Help me therefore with strength: I will erect a strong barrier between you and them 96- Bring me blocks of iron. He filled the gap between, and then said: Blow. Once it was red hot, he said: Bring me copper that I may pour over it. 97- Thus, they could not climb it, nor dig a hole through it. 98 He said This is a mercy from my Lord: But when the promise of my Lord comes to pass, He will make it into dust; and the promise of my Lord is true. 18 The Cave, 93-98 96- When the way is opened up for Agog and Magog, they will swiftly swarm from every hill. 97 That is when the fulfillment of the truthful promise will approach. The eyes of the disbelievers will fixedly stare in horror: Woe to us! We were indeed heedless of this. In fact we have been wicked. 21 The Prophets, 96-97

P a g e | 105 According to a legendary account, Agog and Magog are a people generated by the sperm of Adam during the ejaculation he experienced in sleep. Another account is to the effect that it is a community of people not taller than ten inches who have a subterranean life and will come up near the Day of Judgment. According to the hadith transmitted by Ibn Abu Hatam Shuayh who opposes the above hadith of Ibn Abbas, the people Agog and Magog are of three categories. The first category resembles a huge tree. The second one has a length of four cubits and a width of four cubits. The third one makes a bed out of one of his ears and uses his second one as a coverlet. A still more interesting account is the claim that these people are Turks, which demonstrates the Arab hostility to the Turks.

DABBE Let us see what the Quran has to say about the Dabbe: 82 - And when the word is fulfilled against them, We shall produce from the earth a Dabbe to face them; he will speak to them, because mankind did not believe with assurance in Our verses. 27 The Ant, 82 On the other hand, a hadith gives the following account on the issue: Dabbe has the head of an ox, the eyes of a pig, the ears of an elephant, the horns of a goat, the neck of an ostrich, the chest of a lion, a brownish color, the tail of a ram, and the feet of a camel. There are also strange hadiths that describe the Dabbes head reaching to the sky, the tail reaching to the one of the poles and the feet on the Arabic peninsula. According to one account the Dabbe has in his hand the seal of Solomon and the scepter of Moses. It has been our intention not to try to find out what the Dabbe and the Gog and Magog are. These figures about which there is but scant information should be dealt with within the framework of the Quran. Reference to the hadiths, about these figures, around which a whole mythology has been fantasized, has made the issue even more problematic. The Antichrist, Mahdi and the Second Coming are nowhere mentioned in the Quran. They are part of mythological hadiths.

P a g e | 106

WOMEN IN THE QURAN AND IN THE FABRICATED RELIGION

The issue about women has had the most additions to the established religion. Women were lowered to the level of a slave, of a servant employed in household affairs and a sex instrument at the disposal of her husband, justified in the light of concocted hadiths and sectarian interpretations and viewpoints. The majority of the fair sex, unable to make any distinction between what is truly revealed and what is fabricated, continued to trudge along the path designated by men who went on preaching the words reported to have been told by the Prophet to the effect that paradise lay under the feet of mothers. We shall presently see how sincere their approach to womankind has been.

TISSUE OF LIES ABOUT WOMEN BY SECTS BASED ON FABRICATED HADITHS The basic target has been to render a woman a slave of her husband, making her unconditionally loyal to him. Subservience to ones husband was considered to be a devotional act. Were I to ordain prostration to human beings I would have decreed that women should prostrate themselves before their husbands because of the debt they owe them. Tirmizi, Rada, Abu Davud, Nikah, Ahmad bin Hanbal, Musnad, Ibn Maja, Nikah Even though her husbands body be smeared from head to foot with pus and the wife cleans it by licking him, yet her debt to him would still remain unsettled. Ibn Hajar al Haytami, Ahmad bin Hanbal, Musnad O women! Were you ever to realize the debt you owe your husbands you would not hesitate to wipe the dust off their feet by rubbing your cheeks on them. Hafz Zahabi, Great Sins Womens devotion and intellect are defective. Sahihi Bukhari You curse much and are ungrateful to your husbands. I have seen no creatures lacking in intelligence and devotion except you who can tempt man. Muslim, Iman, Ibn Maja, Fiten The mentality that makes a woman captive of her man makes her destined for hell and defective in devotional attitude, conflicting thereby with the explicit remarks contrary to the Quran. A good woman is like a magpie among one hundred crows. Sahihi Bukhari

P a g e | 107 O womankind! Give alms and repent. I have observed that the majority of the inmates of hell consist of women. Muslim, Iman, Ibn Maja, Fiten

A WOMAN CAN BE ADMITTED INTO PARADISE ONLY BY PERMISSION OF HER HUSBAND In addition to the hadiths that condemn her, the admission of woman to paradise depends on her husbands satisfaction and approval. If a woman dies, she may go to paradise if her husband happens to be satisfied with her. Riyazus Salihin The laudable woman is she who endures her husbands frivolities and occasional unfaithfulness, thanks to which she will be admitted to paradise. Religious Information for Women Such observations often encountered in the books of Muslim, Bukhari, Trmizi, Muvatta and Shiite sources, have their roots from the periods of the Omayyads and Abbasids. No such vilification of woman exists in the Quran. The eligibility for heaven according to the Quran depends on the devotion exhibited by a person regardless of the sex involved. 13 - O people! We created you from a single pair of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may recognize one another. The best among you in the sight of God is the most righteous. 49 The Rooms, 13 As we can see, the Quran makes no distinction between nations, tribes and sexes. Yet, woman has been considered as an instrument likely to lead a man to hell. There are four things that invalidate a mans prayer: a black dog, a donkey, a pig and a woman. Sahihi Muslim, Salat, Tirmizi Salat, Abu Davud, Salat There are three things that are inauspicious: a woman, a house and a horse. Abu Davud, Tb, Muslim, Salam, Bukhari, Nikah

SALVATION FOR AGED TOOTHLESS HUSBANDS Imam Sharani and Imam Ghazzali, two of the foremost representatives of the mentality that sees women as inauspicious, agents who invalidate ones prayer, have bequeathed the following mine of information to future generations. A man may have lost his teeth and become ugly while his wife happens to be young and very beautiful. It is possible that such a woman, who may have gone out to the market or to other places where she may have been invited, sees handsome men and upon her return home is reluctant to be responsive to her husbands amorous advances. This is the result of the visit of a woman to markets and social gatherings to say the least.

P a g e | 108 Imam Sharani,Ubudul Kubra

May Gods curse be upon those whose profession is tattooing and who have their bodies tattooed, and upon those who have the hair on their cheeks removed and their teeth re-fashioned. Sahihi Bukhari Those who wear wigs, pluck their eyebrows, make or have tattoos on their bodies are cursed. Abu Davud, Tarajul If a woman wears a wig, has her arms and face tattooed or uses beauty spots or has her face and eyebrows plucked by tweezers and changes her appearance, she is cursed. Imam Sharani, Ubudul-Kubra According to a hadith the companions and disciples of the Prophet had the shutters of the house tightly closed to prevent their wives from seeing men passing by and used to beat those who peered outside. Imam Ghazzali- Ihya u Ulumiddin See that your women remain somewhat hungry without going too far, and deprive them of beautiful apparel. For if they have their bellies full and are dolled up, they are sure to be tempted by outside attractions. Whereas, if they are somewhat hungry and not so well dressed, they will stay at home. Ibnul Jawzi, Mawzuat, Suyuti, Leali, Ibn Arrak, Tanzihushsharia Dont let your women put on smart dresses, since if they are dolled up, their hearts will leave home. Imam Ghazzali- Kimyay Saadet, Ibn Abi Shayha, Musannaf A woman who has to go out shall abide by the following principles once she has obtained the consent of her husband: 1- To be dressed dowdily, 2- To behave as if she is not actually out. 3- To bow her head and be careful not to look at the face of strangers. 4- To avoid crowds. 5- To avoid places frequented by men. 6- To prefer deserted side-streets. 7- To finish her work quickly and return home. Imam Ghazzali, Ihyay Ulumiddin

THE BEST WOMAN IS SHE WHO IS LIKE SHEEP

P a g e | 109 Those, who through such absurd injunctions, tried to project their jealousies over others and transformed them into religious commands , gave Islam an area open to attacks. Here are a few more remarks about women, decreed by Imam Ghazzali:

A woman has seven properties:

1- She is like an ape with her strong desire to get all dressed up; 2- She is like a dog as she is loath to be poor; 3- She is like a snake because of her overbearing pride both to her husband and to others; 4- She is like a rat when she sells household goods; 5- She is like a scorpion as she is a backbiter; 6- She is like a fox as she sets up traps for men; 7- She is like a sheep as she obeys her husband. Imam Ghazzali, Ihyay Ulumuddin The ideal woman is the one of the sheepish kind! The woman deprived of all freedom is not even allowed to go on pilgrimage. The woman is not allowed to go a distance of more than 90 km (55 miles) without the accompaniment of her next of male kin (father, uncle, brother, husband). Under the circumstances a woman who cannot persuade a next of kin to accompany her cannot even fulfill her binding duty of hajj. God has made no distinction of sex in this binding duty. A womans performing her prayer in the mosque came to be prohibited by fabricated hadiths since she would then have to go out. Thus a womans prayer at home is indicated to be more meritorious than the prayer she would have performed in the mosque. 71 - The believing, men and women, are allies of one another. 9 Repentance, 71 How do they expect that the man and the woman will establish this alliance, given the fact that even their speaking to each other is forbidden? The continuation of the verse mentions that those who will bring about this alliance will be rewarded by Gods mercy. If the said mercy has been withheld in communities alleging to be Muslims, it may be due to their disobedience in this respect. Among the Hanafis even the voice of the woman must be hushed so that the man may not listen to it. Fkhus Siyra You are allowed to speak only with your mahrem (husband, father, nephew). Ibn Kathir

P a g e | 110 SPEAKING WITH A MOUTH FULL OF PEBBLES With the segregation of men and women, women became isolated, and were not allowed to have male friends, so much so, in fact, that even conversations between women were to be conducted in whispers to prevent men from hearing their voices. However, in case of an emergency, a woman was allowed to address men only if she had filled her mouth with pebbles. She was not allowed to perform her prayer when menstruating, nor could she read the Quran or keep the fast during her period. The Quran merely mentions that one should not have sexual intercourse with a menstruating woman. If God had desired that she should not recite the Quran or keep the fast, He certainly would have made it explicit. 22 They ask you about menstruation. Say: It is harmful. So keep away from women during menstruation, and do not approach them until they are relieved of it. 2 The Cow, 222 As we can see, the Quran gives every detail that a person requires. Yet, womens acts have been restricted by segregating them, by preventing them from performing the Friday prayer. The restrictions imposed on them, which do not exist in the Quran, are considered abominations. The concoctions went as far as fabricating hadiths that declared anyone complying with a womans word would perish. Such an idea is utterly against the philosophy of the Quran. Do not take counsel from women; oppose them, for opposition to womankind brings prosperity. Suyuti, Leali, Ibn Arrak, Tanzihush Sharia Whoever obeys his wife, God will throw him into hell. Ibn Arrak II, 215

WOMEN AS IMAMS, MUEZZINS AND HEADS OF STATE There is nothing in the Quran to suggest that certain offices are prohibited to women; consequently, they may rise to the position of president, caliph, judge, imam or muezzin (caller to prayer). Everything is permitted unless explicitly prohibited by the Quran. Freedom is the principle while prohibition is an exception; moreover if there are any exceptions, they are explicitly stated in the verses of the Quran. Thus, there are no obstacles for women who desire to attain the above positions. A community headed by a woman is a doomed community. Ibn Hanbal Musnad, Tirmizi-Fitan Nesai- Kudat, Bukhari Fiten The opponents of Aisha, the Prophets wife, who had taken command of the situation during the Jamal incident, must have concocted this fabricated hadith. Sleyman Ate makes the following comment: The hadith in question must be alluding to Aisha. However, had the Prophet said something like it, Aisha would not have been given the mission in question, and Talha and Zubayra would not have tolerated this. The authenticity of this hadith that contradicts the Quran is dubious (Sleyman Ate, Commentary of the Quran). Those who invent hadiths to support their own political views also ignore the description of the Queen of Sheba. Verses 22 and 44 of Sura The Ant mention the community ruled by a woman. We observe her described as an intelligent and

P a g e | 111 wise woman prudent in that she does not take risks in exposing her community to precarious situations. There is not a single suggestion in the Quran to the effect that a woman cannot be a ruler.

Dont teach women how to read or write. Let them be trained in sewing and see that they recite the Sura The Light. Ibnul Jawzi-Mawzuat

FABRICATION OF HADITHS FOR SEXUAL ENDS If a man calls his wife to bed and the wife refuses, the angels curse her till the early hours of the morning. Bukhari The men worried about being refused fabricated this hadith that alluded to the Prophet. Women deprived of their right to divorce came thus under mens oppression. If a woman obtains a divorce, she will not savor the scent of heaven. Religious Information for Women In the Quran expressions like Divorced Women (see 2 The Cow, 228-241) may have both meanings: namely, a woman who has obtained a divorce or one who has been divorced. Considering that there is no explicit prescription in the Quran making the act of divorce exclusive to men, women should, in principle, enjoy the same right. Another hadith says: God will not answer the prayer of a woman who dabs on perfume before entering the mosque, unless she goes home and cleanses herself by total ritual ablution of her body. Avnul Mabul Men putting on perfume is commendable while women doing so are stamped with having committed a sinful act. The rationale is that men are aroused by beautiful scents. The fact that women may also feel the same sensation does not occur to them. Furthermore, why was this not foreseen in the Quran? Unless the place where a woman had been sitting cools off, it must not be occupied by a man. Religious Information for Women This hadith generates many complications in modern urban life as one can readily see.

CERTAIN MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT WOMEN It all begins in the stories about Adam and Eve. Nowhere in the Quran do we come across anything about the temptation of Adam by Eve. If we read inbetween the lines of 7 The Purgatory, 11 and 28, we can see that both Adam and Eve had been tempted by Satan. Moreover, the legend that Eve had been created from Adams rib is not mentioned anywhere in the Quran.

P a g e | 112 Another unjustified claim often made about the Quran is that it addresses men solely. Ninety percent of the verses address both sexes. There are also verses that address only men or women. Anyone who seriously reads the Quran will see that the Quran addresses the general public and not a single sex.

35 - For Muslim men and women; for believing men and women, for devout men and women, for men and women who are patient and constant, for men and women who humble themselves, for men and women who give in charity, for men and women who fast, for men and women who remember God a great deal, for them has been prepared forgiveness and great rewards. 33 The Parties, 35 Although the greater part of the Quran addresses the general public, there are also verses that address women and men separately.

POLYGAMY IN HISTORY One must be reminded of the fact that Islam extends over a great space of time and embraces a vast portion of the earths geography that enjoys varying climates. There are communities of people ranging from the smallest of tribes to the greatest of empires, dealing in such a wide range of activities so that agricultural pursuits alternate with industrial ventures in diverse social and political milieus and cultural backgrounds, of different customs. The universality of the Quran befitting every situation, differing customs, conditions and milieus has been achieved thanks to the vastness of its latitude. So far we have covered the attempts at the creation and the perpetuation of an Arabic Islam in which the turban, the robe with long sleeves reaching down to the ankles and the wearing of a beard were some of the conspicuous characteristics; these attempts had untoward effects on the spread of Islam. The elbowroom that the Quran has conceded to mankind allows the people of different cultural backgrounds to wear their customary apparel. The same holds true for polygamy. Polygamy is not prohibited in the Quran; however, it is not especially promoted and encouraged. Different cultural backgrounds had different practices. In communities where a great many of the male population died in battle and the balance between the male and female population was disrupted, polygamy had become indispensable. In agricultural societies where crowded families wielded immense power, polygamy had been the solution to lighten the burden of women in household affairs, and there were times when the wives went to look for consorts for their husbands. In Islam, the intention to marry is expressed by both sides and the woman does enjoy the right to divorce her husband. In other words, in cases where there are matrimonial disputes in a family, the wife is free, according to the Quran, to ask for a divorce. The so-called prohibition for the woman to have recourse to divorce, or the supremacy of the decision of her family on that issue has nothing to do with the Quran, but are merely traditional practices. Polygamy was not only a product of Eastern cultural background since it has also found favor in the West under certain conditions. In the wake of the two world wars such a solution was sought, and an article that appeared in the Daily Mail had suggested polygamy as the only solution on the grounds that there had been a considerable rise in the female population. In 1949 the people in Bonn, to be precise, womens associations, had applied to the authorities concerned demanding that the institution of polygamy be incorporated into the constitution. The European authoress Annie Besant, who made an assessment of the plight of the Western post-war cultural and social situation, writes as follows: Monogamy no longer exists in the West. What prevails at present is an irresponsible state of polygamy. When a man has had enough of his mistress, he abandons her, after which the abandoned woman gradually falls prey to the state of a prostitute. Her plight is much worse than the state of the woman who happens to be one of the wives of a

P a g e | 113 single husband. If we take into consideration this state of affairs, we must own that we Westerners are far from being justified in condemning the institution of polygamy. Rather than being defiled, seeking a refuge, deprived of all affection and care, abandoned with her illegitimate children, dispossessed of all rights of inheritance and submitting in servility to the pleasure of any chance encounter, to enjoy the honor of being one of the lawful wives of a man and live in his household is far better.

DOG MEAT AND POLYGAMY As we have already pointed out, polygamy is not an obligation; it is left to the husbands discretion, although in certain communities it is even encouraged by the female spouse. The Quran prohibits solely the consumption of dead animals, blood, pork, and, last but not least, animals slaughtered in the name of some being other than God. All other edible material is allowed. For instance, dog meat is a favorite dish in China. The ways and manners differ according to the geographical and social status of a community. However, what is considered to be lawful should not be interpreted as a devotional act. This important point has often been misconceived by the communities whose ways differ from each other. So long as the Quran has not explicitly stated that a given thing or act is prohibited, the said thing or act is lawful; it is not against Islam. For instance, going to a wedding party in Hawaii wearing shorts, painting ones face with various colors like American Indians, belching or passing gas may be deemed normal in certain cultures. Muslims living among these communities may live up to their standards without being accused of non-compliance. The Quran is neutral in this respect. The Quran speaks neither in favor of nor against such acts. Just as it is irrelevant to attribute to the religion such injunctions as Islam commands you to eat dog meat, or Islam commands you to go to a wedding party in shorts, it is equally irrelevant to say Polygamy is sanctioned by Islam. The act favored and ordered by Islam and the act that is free just because it is not forbidden are two different things. Under normal conditions in peacetime, we observe a quasi equality between the male and female populations. This is a sign that polygamy is an exception. The Quran states that monogamy should be observed if a husband is not sure of being partial to any one of his wives. 3 But if you fear you cannot treat them with equality, marry only one. 4 The Women, 3 Polygamy is foreseen in the Quran. However, it is neither recommended nor forbidden. Man is free to choose. He may or may not take more than one wife. The Quran addresses, as we have mentioned at the beginning of the present book, mankind, people with different cultures, in different periods of history, in time of peace and of war, the agricultural and industrial communities, the big states as well as the small insular inhabitants. The Islam preached in the Quran is not exclusive to a single civilization, a single industrial community, a single place where peace reigns. The Omayyads and Abbasids contrived to introduce foreign elements into Islam and succeeded to implant their local tribal customs as if they were dictates of Islam (like growing a beard, wearing a robe with full sleeves and long skirts, wearing a turban and living a polygamous life) since there was nothing against such practices. Today one is free to shave and wear trousers, wear a necktie and prefer monogamy without offending Islam in any way whatsoever. In these there is nothing offensive against Islam. On the other hand, recognizing the uniqueness of God, helping the poor, keeping the fast are the prescriptions of the Quran and were part of the injunctions that both the Omayyads and Abbasids had had to observe, and require contemporary Muslims and the future Muslim generations to abide by them.

THE PROPHETS WIVES

P a g e | 114 The wives of the Prophet and the stories about them are not mentioned in the Quran. The story of the Prophets marriage with a nine year old girl is again a fabrication of the hadiths. 99% of the stories told about the Prophets wives have their origin in the hadiths. They may be correct or not. One fact is certain though; they are not reliable. 52 No other women are lawful for you after this. 33 The Parties, 52 Prior to the revelation of this verse, what had been lawful for the public at large was also lawful for the Prophet. This verse, however, introduced a restraint for the Prophet, a restraint not applicable to other men. The wives of the Prophet, like all other women, married him by their own free will. The Prophet, following the customs of the time, contracted marriages without infringing on the injunctions of the Quran. Whatever we are supposed to know is there in the Quran. Any further concern by us is irrelevant. The message of the Quran revealed to the Prophet is the religion transmitted to us through him. The private life of the Prophet may be evaluated by going back to the times and conditions that prevailed in his era. We are not in a position to pass judgment by having recorded reported hadiths. In point of fact, one of the useless and vain discussions on the issue has been the result of the servile obedience and unshakeable acceptance of the fabricated hadiths.

WOMEN AS WITNESSES Nowhere in the Quran is it mentioned that two women are equivalent to one man as a witness. For instance, the testimony of four witnesses is required to prove adultery, and in the Quran no discrimination is made between male and female witnesses, only the number of witnesses is mentioned. However, there is a misunderstood instance described in Sura The Cow, 282, related to time loans. According to this verse, the loan received must be evidenced by a written document, and the presence of witnesses during its execution is required. This is a commercial contract that should not harm the scribe or the witnesses. It is a well-known fact that when material interests are at play, people are reluctant to give testimony. The Quran charges this heavy duty to two men. Take note that only two men are mentioned. A phrase such as or four women does not appear. Thus, a woman who rarely deals in commercial affairs, and is weaker in the face of likely pressures and oppressions is protected. Should two men be unavailable and only one is accessible, then the required number would be one man and two women. In this way, the obligation to bear testimony is realized, and should an untoward situation occur later, an encounter between a man and a woman is avoided. Let us assume that a dispute arose about the amount of the loan. The woman, who will have to face one man failing to agree on the amount in question, cannot avoid experiencing stress and pressure. Whereas if there are two women in the picture, they can put up a bold face against the man and the ill-intentioned witnesses will be in a difficulty to put pressure on the women. This practice, which protects women from undue pressure, has been wrongly interpreted and made a generality of this particular case. Except for this particular instance, there is no other discrimination elsewhere in the Quran. Had this been a general principle, God would have made it explicit simply by stating that the testimony of one male witness corresponds to the testimony of two female witnesses. We have to take note of the statement that runs: Do not injure either the scribe or the witness. Otherwise you risk swerving from the right path. The pressure both the witness and the scribe labor under may be imagined and the rationale of the verse can be better understood.

BEATING WOMEN

P a g e | 115 One other verse misinterpreted happens to be Verse 34 of Sura The Women. We would like to quote here from two authors. This verse does not allude to the incontestable superiority of man, says Yaar Nuri ztrk. The reference is made to the difference between mens and womens respective constitutions. Yet, most of the commentators that have had recourse to willful misinterpretation of the Quranic verses to serve their own ends explained away the expression qawwam mentioned in the Quran to mean overlordship, justifying in this way mans despotism. The term fadribu mentioned in the Quran has been reduced to having a single meaning while it actually has more than one. Approaches that aimed to vilify woman in every instance could not have done otherwise. Fadribu, having as its root darb has more than 30 meanings, of which the most important are to strike, to beat, to exit, to go out, to take a walk (see Ibn Mansur, Lisan ul Arab, under the entry for darb). Under the circumstances, fadribu may assume the following meanings: 1- To send out; 2- To force out from somewhere; 3- To beat. The first two are certainly more rational and compatible with human psychology and law. Edip Yksels comment on this misinterpretation is as follows: While the words errijalu kavvamune alennisai should be interpreted as men watch over women or men are responsible for womens upkeep, all the commentaries in Turkish that I have come across have interpreted it to assume the meaning of sovereignty over women. Why do our commentaries attach such discordant meanings as master, lord to the Arabic word qawwam instead of attaching to it meanings like watching over, sustaining, maintaining. The root of the word qawwam, is qwm. You may go over all the verses where the derivatives of this root are used, and you will fail to find an expression meaning overlord or master. When the expression badehum in the verse in question is addressed only to men using the pronoun hum, the meaning that comes out will be Some men are superior to other men. However, this meaning is at odds with the context. On the other hand, if the pronoun hum is addressed to a mixed group of men and women, then we have God has made some men and some women superior to other men and women. Another acceptable rendering would be God endowed everyone with different merits and characteristics. The word idribuhanna in Sura The Women has been translated as beat those women. Before dwelling on this particular expression, I should like to bring to your attention an assessment of the matrimonial relations in the Quran. The following is said in 30 The Romans, 21: And among His signs is this, that He created for you mates from among yourselves, that you may dwell in tranquility with them, and He has put love and mercy between you. Verily in that are signs for those who think. Thus, the objective in marriage is love and mercy. The word daraba in Arabic has an infinite number of meanings; namely: to mint, to go on strike, to beat, to hold, to play. For instance the word idrib means to go out. The Arabic-speaking people in North Africa still use this word in this sense. While looking for the exact meaning of a word in a given context we must be fastidious and use our common sense. For example if daraba mentioned in 13 The Thunder, 17 had been translated as to beat instead of to explain, an absurd meaning would come out of it and the result would be God beats truth and falsehood in this way. On the other hand, the word nushuz in Verse 34 of Sura The Women has been translated as a disobedient, brawling woman. The word actually has a wider range of significance covering such meanings as flirting, licentiousness, illicit sexual relations. As a matter of fact when we inquire into its meaning in the given context, the second meaning seems to be more appropriate. Verse 34 of Sura The Women teaches the husband how to treat his unfaithful wife. It falls upon the husband to admonish his wife in the first place. If the woman continues to flirt with others, the husband will separate their bed. And if even this does not help and the woman begins to enter into adulterous relationships, then the husband will send her out. To beat a woman that infringes on the marriage contract would not be a solution. To part with her should be the solution even if this be painful.

WOMEN AS HEIRESSES In the distribution of the estate, money etc. of a deceased person, the written will takes precedence. The fundamentalist Islamist dared to modify this explicit statement of the Quran and asserted the principle No will has been foreseen for inheritors. According to the Quran, the will takes precedence, followed by the debts of the deceased.

P a g e | 116 In 5 The Feast, 106 and 2 The Cow, 180, we can observe the advice given regarding the execution of the will. On the other hand, in 4 The Women, 11-12 it is ordained that the sharing of inheritance takes place after settling the provisions foreseen in the will and the outstanding debts. While studying inheritance falling to the shares of men and women within the general framework of the Quran, we should do well to understand the flow of money and economic relations involved in the Quran. According to the Quran, during the enactment of the marriage contract, a man gives a certain sum of money (either in cash, gold etc.). (This money is given to the wife and not to her parents.) As the sum in question has not been determined, the woman who will be abandoning her home and may become destitute may also ask to be given a home or a car, etc. If they mutually agree on the consideration, the marriage contract takes effect. In case the womans own wealth is enough to support her, she may opt for a ring or a gift of some sort. The Quran ordains that this consideration be duly given. However, the consideration in question must be agreed upon by both parties. Moreover, the man assumes the responsibility to take charge of the support of his wife and offspring. In the case of a divorce, the support of the children and, if the mother is nursing her child, the upkeep of the female spouse also falls to the man. Thus the woman receives not only the consideration agreed upon, but also the allowance to support herself and her children. In case the widows assets are not sufficient to support her, then every god-fearing believer has the charge of contributing to her living (2 The Cow, 241). As one can readily see, the money of the man charged with many responsibilities is continually divided. And God has apportioned for the male child an inheritance twice as much as He has dispensed for the female child (4 The Women 11). Details of inheritance can be seen in Verses 11, 12, and 176 of The Women (both parents inherit one sixth of the estate in equal shares). Now, other considerations may be brought forth in our day stating that there are women who earn a living nowadays, some are even wealthy, etc. Let us remember that the first principle is what is bequeathed in the will.

WOMENS POSITION ACCORDING TO THE QURAN 32 - You shall not covet the equalities bestowed upon each other by God. Men have a share in what they earn, and women have theirs in what they earn. 4 The Women, 32 We can see that both men and women have their respective superiorities, neither of them being superior to the other in an absolute sense. To say that man is superior to woman in every respect or to claim an absolute equality between the sexes is irrational. 2 The Cow, 32 beautifully indicates the mutually complementary character of the sexes. For God well knows what He has created. Omniscient God has arranged everything according to His perfect order. This order has been secured, sometimes by the imposition of a provision and sometimes by the purposeful absence of it. The adaptability of the provisions of the Quran according to the time, the culture and the community owes its unity to the prevailing conditions to this flexibility. The traditionalist mentality that has failed to conceive this miraculous approach of the Quran has had the audacity to impose restrictions absent in the Quran.

SUPERIORITY IS NOT RELATED TO SEX BUT IN THE EXECUTION OF RIGHTEOUS ACTS 124 If any do deeds of righteousness, be they male or female, while believing, they will enter heaven and not the least injustice will be done to them. 4 The Women, 124

P a g e | 117 97 Whosoever works righteousness, whether man or woman, while believing, we will surely grant them a happy life in this world, and we will surely pay them their recompense for their righteous works. 16 The Ant, 97 The real life according to the Quran is the life of the hereafter. The life of this world is but a short journey whose ultimate end is the life hereafter. The superiority among human beings is achieved by good deeds and no distinction or discrimination is made in favor of the male population as compared to the female population.

HEADSCARF AND VEILING

Man is the only being among the mammals who is born naked and feels the necessity of putting on clothes. Mans attire has always shown variety throughout the ages according to the period, customs, climate, professions, offices, ages, etc. While there have been frequent changes in attire in the societies of Indo-European origin, Asian communities have preferred to be more conservative. The Ottomans are a good example of the variations in the attire of different layers of society. For instance, while the turban worn by the sultan had three crests, the one of the grand vizier had only two crests and those worn by the public could not have more than one. The headgear, costumes and the colors of the courtiers, the tradesmen, the members of religious ordersvaried. This was protected by law.

TRADITIONS MADE INTO RELIGIOUS PRESCRIPTIONS What was not stated in the Quran was introduced into religious practice, and customs related to a mans attire were considered to be part of his devotional lifestyle. For instance, the turban had been worn by nearly everybody at a given period of history to keep the head warm. There was nothing wrong in this. What was unwarranted, however, was attributing a religious character to it. We must go over the verses in the Quran to see what has been ordained as far as mans attire is concerned. 26 - O you children of Adam! We have bestowed raiment upon you to cover your private parts as well as to be an adornment to you. 7 The Purgatory, 26 The minimum covering for both men and women has been since times immemorial the covering of the private parts of a person as foreseen in Verses 26-22 of the Sura The Purgatory. There are three verses in the Quran that have reference to a womans attire.

THERE IS NO MENTION OF COVERING THE HEAD FOR WOMEN 31 Say to the believing women to lower their eyes and guard their private parts, and not display their ornaments (ziynet) except what is apparent outwardly, and cover their bosom with their veils (hmar). And not show their ornaments except to their husbands or their fathers or the fathers of their husbands or their sons or the sons of their husbands or their brothers or the sons of their brothers and the sons of their sisters or their women or their captives or male servants free of physical need or small children who have no sense of the shame of sex. They should not strike

P a g e | 118 their feet in order to draw attention to their hidden ornaments. And O believers! All of you shall repent to God that you may succeed. 24 The Light, 31 The Arabic word hmar means simply cover. It has a wide range of meanings. It may be any cover such as the table napkin. If it is used to cover the head, it will signify the headscarf. However, if the head had been the target, the expression should have been hmar-ur-ras meaning the covering of the head. However, in the context, one should understand the portion of the body corresponding to the bosom. Therefore it is the low-necked attire that is meant here. Even though the headscarf was the corresponding meaning, one should conclude that it was to be used to cover a womans bosom and not her head. Another important expression mentioned in the verse is the word ornaments, which, to our own interpretation should mean the bosom. This, we believe, is in harmony with the rest of the sentence in which the covering of the low neck is imperative. Moreover, striking of the feet comes next, which might attract attention to the breasts that would be wiggling as a consequence of the striking movement, considering the brassiere did not exist at that time. Then the verse makes an exception for those ornaments that are self-conspicuous. Big breasts cannot be hidden no matter what one does, as a result of physical movements of the body, or may become even more conspicuous when the dress under the effect of a strong wind sticks to the body. So the verse explains this as a natural phenomenon. We read in other verses that women nursed their children sometimes for two years. When her baby cries she may be obliged to nurse it in the presence of her next of kin like her father. This commentary provides us with the necessary elbowroom under the circumstances. One other point that corroborates our argument is the fact that this word makes no allusion to the hanging objects that adorn a woman since the verse also mentions that they can let their ornaments be seen in the presence of women. Dangling ornaments may, of course, be used to show off rather than be an object for seduction. The striking of the feet would not render conspicuous the finery or the jewelry of the woman. Moreover, there is the fact that adornments may be used everywhere. Even during prayer they may be used, so they dont have to be hidden (see 7 The Purgatory, 31). From all of these it follows that the word ornament is used to refer to the breasts of the woman.

VEILING The word tasattur, which means the veiling of a woman, does not exist in the Quran. It has come to be used in the way that it is today much later. The Arabic expression humur and its singular form hmar mentioned in the verse is a cover, any cover rather than a headscarf. The dictionaries Al Mujam ul Vasf, Al Munjid, Lisan- Arab, Tajul Arus may be consulted. The connotation of the hmar in the sense of headscarf emerged much later, following the interpretation and practices of sectarian scholarship. The Quran speaks of the bosom as the part of the body that must be covered, and not the head. The words that correspond to the headscarf worn by Arabs are mkna and nasf and not hmar, for which any dictionary of the Arabic language may be consulted.

UNIFORM It is advisable to examine the following quotation from the Quran with reference to the veiling of women: 59 - O Prophet! Tell your wives and daughters and the believing women, to cover themselves. Thus, they will be recognized and avoid being molested. God is the Forgiver, Merciful. 33 The Parties, 59

P a g e | 119 The keyword here is jilbab which means any clothing like chemise, dress, etc. In no way does it mean a covering special to any part of the body. Yet, the interpretations of traditionalist Islamists have ascribed to this word such meanings as to imply the covering of the entire body according to some, of two eyes or one eye according to others and of the body except for the face, hands and feet according to others. Had Gods intention been to see women covered from head to toe, He would have explicitly stated it. A womans covering her head and wearing the veil are nothing but later fabrications of traditionalists. For instance, God has detailed every portion of the limbs that ought to be washed during the performance of ablution. Had He wanted to set well-defined limits, He would have clearly delineated them. The Quran that gives a detailed account of the events related to the tribes in the past would surely not spare mentioning this fact in one single sentence. It is not an omission by God, far from it. It had not been His intention to put on such categorical restrictions. As a matter of fact, the approach in 33 Sura The Purgatory, 59 to the issue is manifestly flexible. The verse implies that the apparel of a woman will reveal her identity and keep her from being molested. It is told that during the era of the Prophet, there were women who went around semi-naked, with breasts generously exposed to view. Before the supremacy of Islam, it is said that the ritual of pilgrimage to the Kaaba was performed by women in a naked state (Kurtubi, al Jami-il Ahkamil Kuran.) We can deduce from the verse mentioned above that during the pre-Islamic period women were used to exhibiting their ornaments (ziynets). The decent woman, who preferred to preserve her chastity, well knew how she should dress in order to avoid harassment by men. However, regardless of the decency of her dress, a woman may be the subject of attacks. The verse addresses the woman to suggest she simply beware of indecent proposals by men who would approach her, attracted by her manifest intention expressed by her clothing. The ideal garments are left to the discretion of the wearer. Again, had it been the intention of God to lay down a categorical principle, He would have revealed the verse accordingly. The only other verse related to the veiling of women is 24 The Light, 60: 60 As for your women past the age of bearing children, who have no hope of marriage, they commit nothing wrong if they take off their garments (siyab), but in such a way that they do not display their ornaments (ziynet). But it is best for them to be modest and God is the Hearer, Knower. Such elderly women as are past the prospect of marriage, there is no blame on them if they lay aside their (outer) garments, provided they make not a wanton display of their beauty; but it is best for them to be modest; and God is one who sees and knows all things 24 The Light, 60

USE OF HEADGEAR AGAINST HEAT The veiling fashions prevailing today which involve the wearing of tcharchafs, veils and headscarves have not been described in any way in the Quran. They are the outcome of customs and traditions. It is said that in the Prophets time men and women did cover their heads. 16 The Honey Bees, 91 speaks of the garments made to protect men from the heat. The covering of heads, especially in hot climates, is an expedient measure to protect oneself against heat. Yet, for women it has assumed a religious character and became a binding duty. The prayer performed by a man wearing a turban would infinitely enhance his meritoriousness in Gods sight. The fact they are not referred to in the Quran is an obvious evidence of the absence of religious character. Those who stage demonstrations in our day candidly believe that this is prescribed in the Quran. This is coupled with the reactions of the extremists in defense of traditions and the acts of fundamentalists.

PENNED WOMEN

P a g e | 120 Having failed to find the necessary material, traditionalism had to fabricate them in order to pen up the women based on fabricated hadiths, interpretations and sectarian comments. 52 No other women are lawful for you after this nor to change them for other wives, no matter how much you admire their beauty. 33 The Parties, 52 This verse shows that the apparel worn by women did not prevent hiding the beauty of a woman from ones scrutiny. Had they been clad in tcharschafs, veiled and wearing a headscarf their beauty would certainly be camouflaged. The hadiths that served ones purpose were picked up while those that went against ones grain were ignored. In the body of the hadiths it is stated that both men and women used the same water from the same receptacle while performing their ablution (see Bukhari-Vudu, Abu Davud-Taharat, Ibn-Maja-Taharat, Nasai-Taharat), considering that the ablution involved the feet, arms up to the elbows, face and head, men and women had those parts of their bodies uncovered. Yet, the traditionalist Islamists seem to ignore these hadiths and cling to their wishful imaginings. Had there been a definite prescription as to the manner of the veiling of women it would have been explicitly stated. Yet, according to the communities and times, there have been infinite variations on the issue. In addition to the traditions and customs, the points of view adopted under the Omayyads and Abbasids lead to the development of this custom into a religious issue. One should remember that the Quran addressed all of humanity, to communities living in differing climates and having different ways of life.

ONE EYE In Shaffi and Hanbali sects, every part of a womans body including the face and hands must be covered. In Hanafi and Maliki sects the hands and the face may be uncovered under normal circumstances (Sabuni Tafsirul Ayatil Ahkam). The following have been recorded: Suudi: The woman shall veil one of her eyes and the portion of her face corresponding to that part of the covered eye. Only one eye may be left open. Abu Hayvan: Such had been the custom in Andalousia. Only one eye of the woman was seen (Abu Hayvan, Al Bahrul Muhit). The Shafi imams have also prohibited glancing at the fingernails of the woman, even when cut (Ibn Hajar al Haytami- Lawful and Unlawful in Islam). The covering made a binding duty by Islam also includes her face (fkhus syra) (Sabuni, Revai 2/156). There is no end to the absurd conclusions reached by traditionalists about the covering of women. The mentality that says that the place where a woman had been sitting a while ago should not be occupied by a man, that a woman should hold an administrative position, that a woman should be the slave of the man and that women are creatures most of whose ultimate place is hell is the essential attitude that must be condemned. The other minor details like the veiling of women is a consequence of the mentality described in Chapter 21. The wearing of a headscarf has been on the agenda only recently; it is in fact a variant of the issue related to the parts of a womans body that had to be covered. It has also been debated as to whether one or two eyes of a woman could be uncovered. May we once again remind our readers that all these comments do not appear in the Quran.

ARE FOOTBALL PLAYERS ALLOWED TO BE WATCHED? The traditional idea as to which part of a mans body must be covered is from the waist down to the knees. It is true that there is a hadith according to which the Prophets calf was exposed to view. The sectarian imams preferred to

P a g e | 121 adopt another hadith that ordained the covering of a mans body from the waist down to his knees. If one is to adopt the latter view, the football match played by men in shorts should not be watched. Another fabrication is the prohibition of wearing yellow and red (see Muslim Libas and Mishkat). Shaving the beard has been deemed contrary to religious prescriptions and sunna

A man should not cut his beard according to most of the sects. The Quran is the only jurisdiction in which there are no such absurdities by God! 51 - It is not sufficient for them that We have revealed the Book to you which is read out to them. 29 The Spider, 51

THE QURAN: A BOOK OF INCANTATIONS?

Despite the fact that there is no mention either in the sects or in the hadiths, we shall try to show the superstitions, believed by ignorant people to form a part of the religion and exploited by bigots and opportunist publishers.

HELP EXPECTED FROM SAINTS To tie a knot, to light a candle, to weave spells, etc. at the tomb of a saint are frequently encountered superstitious acts that have nothing to do with the Quran. Here is a story told by a visitor to the tomb of Gazi Osman, founder of the Ottoman Empire. I paid a visit to the tomb of Osman Gazi, on the top of the hill where the fire tower is erected. Seated on a bench surrounded by an iron fence, I was watching the beautiful view that stretched below. Suddenly I caught sight of a group of women who were trying to tie strings and pieces of cloth on the leaves of trees at the bottom of the hill. I came to realize that the leaves of the trees were decorated with innumerable pieces of cloth. I asked the people around whether they knew what they were. Someone knew the answer. Formerly guns were shot to announce the end of the fast during the fasting month of Ramadan. Pieces of cloth stuck in the gun before firing used to scatter around and came to rest on leaves. Women who believed that there should have been there a saints tomb began to tie cloth on the leaves. Women visitors at present were convinced that here lay a saint and began to visit it regularly! This devotional attitude(!) is widespread at present, and the devotees are considered to be performing a pious act that is to be rewarded. These people who take the Quran as a book of incantation believe for certain that acts like whistling in the dark, looking in the mirror at night are prescribed in the Quran. To illustrate our argument we bring to your attention to a book published by Pamuk Publishing: Kuran- Kerimin Havas ve Esrar, which gives remedies for illnesses, etc. Superstition Example 1 The sins of those who have acquired the habit of reciting these three verses in Sura The Romans and the three verses in Sura Who Stand in Row shall be pardoned by God even though their number is as many as the grains of sand in the deserts and as much as the waters of the seas. If someone writes the entire sura on a piece of paper and puts it into glassware with a narrow neck and leaves it on the doorway of a person against whom he has evil intentions, the entire household will immediately get sick. Even a person who chances to cross over the threshold of that house after the spell is cast will follow suit.

P a g e | 122 Superstition Example 2 If someone recites Sura The Female Disputant and breathes it on a sick person writhing in pain, that person will immediately find relief and go peacefully to sleep. Persons who continue to recite this sura night and day shall be protected against burglars. If the entire sura is written on a piece of paper and thrown over the crops, it will serve as a pesticide and the result will be abundance and plenty.

Superstition Example 3 If a person recites Sura Charity and breathes it on the household furniture the said furniture will be protected against breakage and loss. The word of a person who has acquired the habit to recite this sura every now and then will be received as an authoritative pronouncement. His word will be obeyed without objection. Superstition Example 4 Those wishing to become rich must recite Sura Backbiter at the end of each prayer. To censure someone, it must be recited and breathed on 101 peppers to be burned later. Superstition Example 5 - Persons who experience frequent seminal emissions at night will be cured if Sura The Knocker is recited and breathed upon alum which is placed under ones pillow before going to sleep. Superstition Example 6 A person suffering from hemorrhoids will be cured if he recites the Sura The Most High seven times at the end of his prayers. A person who carries with him the written version during the Friday call to prayer shall be protected against the evil eye and spells and cease to be an object of jealousy or envy. Superstition Example 7 If you write Sura The Day Break in its entirety on a piece of paper, in indigo ink made with well water that has never been exposed to daylight and obtained from seven different wells on a Saturday before the break of dawn, and breathed on the doorway of a house, dissension will immediately ensue in that household leading to the separation of couples. Superstition Example 8 Seven nooses are wound around an asphodel and Sura Pre-eminence is breathed upon it. At every noose is recited: God, I have tied his lust and sexual organ as well as his mind with 360 disabilities and 72 privy parts. Whereupon the asphodel is exposed to the wind. It must not be lost for one may have to undo it. Superstition Example 9 A virgin makes 17 nooses on an asphodel and the verse Ayat ul Kursi containing 17 Ms. These verses are recited 10 times and breathed onto every noose, wherepon the words: God, I have tied up in the name of Imam- Azam and the beautiful names of God, the sex or tongue and the path of .. are spoken and the virgin makes a noose each time until 17 nooses are completed. Thus the verse is recited 170 times. This asphodel on which the spell is cast is put beneath a stone in a dark place and kept there. Superstition Example 10 In order to undo a spell cast upon a man whose sexual lust had been tied down, the verse Ayat ul Kursi is written on a clean sheet and on another sheet are written the last four verses of Sura Exodus. The former verse is tied on the right arm and the latter ones on the left arm. Having performed this, the man must urinate through a hole of an axe never used before, passing his organ through it.

THE QURAN IS NOT A BOOK OF SPELLS The Quran is:

A guide that leads man to truth (Huda)

P a g e | 123 A light that sheds light on our path (Nur) A criterion that separates good from evil (Furkan) A sign for those undecided (Ilm) A miracle for the entire humanity (Ayat) A remedy for those sick at heart (Shifa) Good news for believers in distress (Bushra) A reminder and counsel for men (Zikr) A law that discloses everything explicitly (Mufassal) A source of wisdom for the thinking (Hikmat) A book that explains everything (Tbyan) An evidence proving the righteous (Bayyina) A gift for believers (Rahmet) A warning for those who opt for advancement (Zikra) A plain book for the intelligent (Kitab ul Mumin) A universal law for justice seekers (Hukum) An immortal messenger for the perpetuator of the prophethood (Rasul) A link for those that have fallen apart (Hablullah) A leader to last till eternity (Imam) A warning for the living (Kuran- Mubin) To cover up all these characteristics of the Book, multitudes of people have unfortunately been led astray by those who entertained evil intentions, who have misused it for ages, employing it as a talisman and panacea. Those that have gone astray, although they claim to be devotees of Islam, present a sore picture on the background of the above sura. God demands we abide by the prescriptions of the Quran, banning all other sources. And yet, innumerable so-called saints have been revered throughout ages. The ignorant and illiterate people have been exploited by religion-mongers. Their victims have become playthings in the hands of these miracle-mongers. The ingenuous persons spend their fortune in the hope to find a remedy for their ills and aspirations in total disregard of the Quran which is kept more often than not wrapped in solid jackets and hung on the wall as a talisman, without ever being opened. 1 Say: I seek refuge in the Lord of daybreak. 2 From the evil of what He has created.

P a g e | 124 3 From the evils of darkness as it falls. 4 From the evil of sorceresses who blow incantations on knots. 5 From the evils of the envious when they envy. 113 The Day Break, 1-5

MARIFATNAME, AN EXEMPLARY BOOK,PROTOTYPE OF LUDICROUS SCHOLARSHIP!

The book, edited and published by Bedir Publishing House with a laudatory introduction about its author, Erzurumlu Ibrahim Hakk, is an example of work produced by an abysmally ignorant and biased author, greatly acclaimed by many as being the scholar of the Sunnis. We shall be drawing on this Marifatnama and quoting some invaluable information from the incredible working of the authors imagination:

SERPENT WITH RUBY EYES THAT TERRIFY ANGELS Behind the array of angels there is a huge serpent. Its head touches the end of its tail that coils around the earth. Its head is of white pearls, his body of yellow gold and its eyes of ruby. At the root of every hair on its body are one thousand wings adored by angels. The noise emitted by this yellow serpent is higher in volume than the chorus of angels that recites its name and it unleashes terror. It may swallow the entire universe in a morsel if it ever opens its mouth. Had that giant serpent not been restrained, the roaring of its voice would have annihilated the creatures upon the earth.

ANGEL WITH SIX HUNDRED WINGS AND SIX THOUSAND FEATHERS Gabriel has six hundred wings, each of which having one hundred feathers, the length of these covering the whole distance from East to West. The wings are embellished with colored lights while the huge body is snow white. His feet reach down to the core of the earth. A single feather on his wing can topple even the highest mountain. Beneath is the fourth heaven, its color is of white silver. It is called Erkalun. The angels in this heaven are in the shape of horses. Their masters name is Kabail. He is the watchman of this fourth heaven. Below is the third heaven of yellow ruby. It is called Maun. The angels in this heaven have the shape of eagles. Their master is Saftail. He is the watchman of the third heaven.

SUN WITH HANDLES AND SHEATED MOON CARRIAGES God made for the sun a carriage of diamonds with 360 handles within the said universe and placed the sun on it. To pull the sun on his carriage from west to east, He assigned an angel for each handle to enable the angel to clasp it. For the moon God made a carriage of yellow rubies and placed the moon on it, and an angel to clasp each of the handles in order to pull the carriage of the moon from east to the west. Moreover, He created a sheath with sixty handles each of

P a g e | 125 which to be clasped by an angel. Angels that draw the carriage of the moon gradually move it away from the sun and the angels that hold the sheath strip off the sheath proportionately with the distance separating the sun from the moon so that when the sun and the moon run across each other, the moon leaves its sheath and appears as a full moon. Whereupon, as the moon is drawn nearer to the sun by the angels, they arrange the sheath in such a manner that when it is about to touch the sun, the moon reappears fully clad in its sheath. This shall go on like this till Doomsday. This is the reason why the moon is sometimes a crescent, sometimes a half moon and sometimes a full moon.

ADVICE TO WOMEN To prevent ones wife from sitting at places overlooking crowded areas, in order that she may not be tempted to mix with them. To see that your wives be dressed soberly and shun showy garments so that she stays at home rather than goes out to show herself off.

CAUSES OF POVERTY 1. Committing sins.. 2. Telling lies 3. Sleeping late in the mornings. 4. Sleeping longer than eight hours in a given 24-hour period. 5. Lying naked in bed. 6. Answering natures call stark naked. 7. Eating in reclining posture. 8. Scattering around crumbs of bread. 9. Eating without washing ones mouth when one is canonically not pure. 10. Burning onion and garlic peel. 11. Sweeping the floors at night. 12. Not disposing accumulated wastes. 13. Walking ahead of those older than himself. 14. Callinghis or her parents by their names. 15. Scratching ones teeth with a stick. 16. Rubbing hands with mud and clay. 17. Sitting on the doorstep. 18. Leaning against one of the sides of a door.

P a g e | 126 19. Performing ones ablution in the water closet. 20. Sewing unstitched piece on a dress while it is being worn. 21. Wiping off ones face with ones sleeve or hem of a skirt. 22. Keeping intact a spider web at home. 23. Tarrying when performing the prayer. 24. Leaving the mosque soon after Morning Prayer. 25. Going early to the market every morning. 26. To Lingering in the market place. 27. Buying crumbs of bread from beggars. 28. Cursing ones offspring 29. Throwing lice into the fire. 30. Leaving open the covers of containers at night. 31. Snuffing out candles by blowing on them. 32. Writing with a knotted pen. 33. Combing ones hair with a comb of which a tooth is broken. 34. Forgetting to pray for the souls of ones parents and masters. 35. Winding ones turban while seated. 36. Putting on ones long drawers while standing. 37. Getting mad and sending away a beggar. 38. Being sparing in ones consumption of ones needs. 39. Being prodigal. 40. Being neglectful in handling ones means. 41. Sleeping in a house without door. These are the contents of the bestseller of Erzurumlu brahim Hakk, Sunni sectarian Muslim. The book, written two a half centuries earlier, is still in vogue among the believers. Even muftis have praised this religious mania. Its editors have extolled its author in their prefaces. The author did not verify the truth of his hallucinations calling them evidences proven by experience.

TABARI, THE GREAT SCHOLAR AND GUIDE OF IBRAHIM HAKKI

P a g e | 127 Ibrahim Hakk bases most of his sayings on fabricated hadiths and the Sunni scholars of the past. Tabari, who lived 900 hundred years before Ibrahim Hakk, is one of the sources the latter drew upon. Tabari, like brahim Hakk, had a flowery style and an extremely rich imagination. Despite the teaching of the Quran that often makes reference to the use of ones reason and logic and encouraged scientific discoveries, the Muslims, especially in the course of the last seven hundred years, have been immersed in ignorance, and suffered to remain underdeveloped in terms of modern scientific developments. The Quran came to be considered merely as a book read for the souls of the departed. Its translation was banned. Instead, the guides that actually led the public have been the books such as those of Tabari and Erzurumlu brahim Hakk. Not even the censure leveled at Islam by atheists has been as damaging as these books.

BACKGROUND OF BACKWARDNESS IN SCIENTIFIC DEVELOPMENT Although inventions and superstitions did exist during the first couple of centuries after the death of the Prophet, there had been no proper domination by the Sunnis, Shiites and traditionalists. Evidence of this is the emergence of religious schools like the Mutazila that opposed irrationalism, espoused even by some Abbasid caliphs. The Muslim community was the most advanced and civilized community in the world in these first centuries. Almost all textbooks of history of scientific thought acknowledge that the fountainhead of the philosophical and scientific heritage of European civilization and Renaissance had been Islam. At a period when Christian communities did not have a proper library, the Muslims that had occupied Spain had erected seventy big public libraries; solely in the Cordoba library about 600,000 books shed light on intellectual life. Great scientific discoveries in astronomy, chemistry, medicine, botany and mathematics were the exclusivity of Muslim scholars. One should also note the great number of books translated by Muslims. The scholars drew upon their contents and made a synthesis of what they learned from them with their own discoveries. As a matter of fact, the works of Greek thinkers like Aristotle and Plato, that Europe has acknowledged to be the basic source of her own civilization, were made available thanks to Muslim translators. The scientific curiosity of the Muslim community was spread over a vast geographical area.

WHEN PEOPLE CHANGE THEMSELVES Why did such a community experienced a decline? 11 - Verily God does not change the state of a people till they change themselves. 13 The Thunder, 11 God chose to make a change in the superiority in terms of scientific achievements of the world, so it falls to us to look for its reasons in our own behavior. In the course of the centuries that immediately followed the Prophets death, the sole authority that governed people was the Quran. Scientific reasoning and logical thinking were encouraged and promoted by the Quran. But when the hadiths got the upper hand afterward, the hostility against the intellect became the major drawback in the development. As scientific research was based on logical thinking, one could not expect any advance in the Muslim community immersed from this time on in superstitions. Imam Ghazzali, one of the major persons responsible for the establishment of the irrational in Islam, wrote on page 83 of his book, The Way of the Wise, the following: For rational argumentation is the cause of many ills and will not do any good. Argumentation is the source of hypocrisy, envy, megalomania and pride. The consequence was the rise of a mentality that sought salvation

P a g e | 128 from the lodges where dervishes kept whirling. This state of affairs could not get rid of the prevailing ignorance and remained doomed to backwardness. Max Weber, in his book Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, writes how Protestantism shaped mans mind, which, in turn, gave rise to the capitalist system. He explained how the background was formed that made possible the development of an idea, a belief, a religious sect and a system. If similar research is conducted in the case of the development of Islam and the causes of its rise from the Bedoiuns of the desert to the highly developed civilized state, one will see that the source behind the searching mind had been the Quran. In the consequences given rise by the mental infrastructure formed by the hadiths, sectarian hadith transmitters and religious orders, one can see clearly the reason for the scientific, intellectual and cultural underdevelopment.

HAD THE WORLD BEEN ROTATING Famous Sheikh Abdul Aziz from Saudi Arabia states in his book Rational and Spiritual Evidences against the Revolution of the Earth around the Immobile Sun published by official authorities: Whoever argues in favor of this will be in a state of damnation. For such an argument is against the existence of Allah, the Quran and the Prophet. The person who claims this shall be invited to repent; if he does repent, so much the better, if not, he shall be cursed and declared a renegade and condemned to die, and his assets shall be forfeited by the treasury of the Muslim State. If, as they claim, the earth did revolve, the mountains, trees, rivers and seas could not stay where they are. We would witness that the countries in the west would be shifting toward the east and vice versa. The position of the Kbla would have changed and men could no longer detect it. Considering that none of such events takes place, this claim is not valid for many reasons difficult to enumerate. According to this treatise those that argue for the revolution of the earth and the satellites must be put to death. What is more striking is the recent date of the work: 1975. This is the consequence of having hadiths, sects and orders as reference and not being satisfied by the Quran. 6 These are Gods signs that We recite to you truthfully. In which word (hadith) other than Gods and His signs do they believe? 45 Kneeling, 6

TURNING RELIGION INTO A GAME: NASIH-MANSUH

The traditionalist Islamists have claimed that certain verses of the Quran had been abrogatedabolished (mansuh) new revelations substituting them (nash). Even certain hadiths were alleged to have abrogated them. Sectarian books have claimed that four conditions were required to abrogate a verse revealed. 1. That the verse to be abrogated must be abrogated by a new revealed verse (nash). 2. That a new verse must have been revealed to abrogate a former one (mensuh). 3. That the abrogation must be made after the revelation of the abrogating verse.

P a g e | 129 4. That there must be a glaring contradiction between the two of them. When we examine the sources available, we realize that there is no consensus about the chronological order of revelations. The same thing holds true for the order of the hadiths. Under the circumstances, we find ourselves at the mercy of sectarian imams who decide on the issue. This situation gave the imams the authority to abrogate some prescriptions of the Quran. This fact had consolidated the position of the sectarian imams as establishers of religion. As we have seen, the sectarian imams chose from among thousands of contradictory hadiths any one hadith that suited their own ends and thus felt authorized to make any change in religion that seemed them best. This liberty enabled them to overrule the Quranic prescriptions as well. The religion about which only God had incontestable authority was made through invented hadiths to appear that in it also the Prophet (in fact, authors of the hadith books) had a part. Thus the sectarian imams had usurped the power to abrogate any verse of his choice as it seemed best to him, a power only God wielded. The responsible figures, as we shall be seeing presently, tried to justify themselves by shifting the meaning of the following ayat: 106 When We abrogate any sign, or cause it to be forgotten, We bring a better or similar sign. Do not you know that God has power over all things. 2 The Cow, 106

THE MEANING OF SIGN IN THE QURAN The word ayat means evidence, sign. According to the Quran, everything created by God contains ayats: plants, men, events that happened to the tribes in the past, night and day, etc. Ayat is never used in the Quran in the sense of verse as one can see in the following verses in which the word is used in the singular: 2 The Cow, 106, 118, 211, 248, 259; 3 The Family of Imran, 13, 41, 49, 50; 5 The Feast, 114; 6 The Cattle, 4,25,35,37,109; 7 The Purgatory, 73, 106, 132, 146, 203; 10 Jonah, 20, 92,97; Hud, 64, 103; 12 Joseph, 105,; 13, The Thunder, 7, 27, 38; 15 Al Hijr, 77; 16 The Honey Bees, 11,13,65, 67, 69, 101; 17 The Children of Israel, 12; 19 Mary, 21; 20 Taha, 22, 47, 133; 21 The Prophets, 5, 91; 23 The Believers, 50; 25 The Distinguisher, 37; 26 The Poets, 4, 8, 67, 103, 121,128,139, 154, 158, 174, 190, 197; 27 The Ant, 52; 29 The Spider, 15, 35, 44; 30 The Romans, 58; 34 Sheba, 9, 15; 36 Yasin, 33, 37, 41, 46; 37 Who Stand in Row, 14; 40 The Believer, 78; 43 The Vanity, 48; 51 The Dispersing, 37; The Moon, 2, 15. As we can witness from this long list, the word ayat, which is used in plural in 2 Baqara 106, must be interpreted not as the verses as such of the Quran, but as evidences, miracles, signs of God. Once this point is made clear, the conundrum that involves abrogation of verses becomes absurd. The Quran expressed in many instances that it contained no contradictions. 82 - Do they not ponder over the Quran? 4 The Women, 82 Given the fact that there is no contradiction in the Quran, there should be no abrogation of any of its verses. Had it been otherwise of the two paradoxical statements one should have been rendered null and void As a matter of fact, if one takes the trouble to consult 2 The Cow, 105 that precedes 2 The Cow, 106, one can see that what is meant in the latter are the signs, and evidences. 105 Those without faith among the people of the Book, and those who worship idols, do not wish that good should come to you from your Lord. But God chooses whom He likes for His grace and the bounty of God is infinite. 2 The Cow, 105

P a g e | 130 The substitution of an ayat with another ayat is mentioned in 16 The Honey Bees, 101: 101 - When we substitute one sign (ayat) for another -and God knows best what He sent down- they say: You are but a forger. Indeed, most of them do not know. 6 The Honey Bees, 101 If we closely examine this verse and those succeeding to it, we can see that the reason of the above accusation of the Prophet as forger is not the mutual abrogation of the verses in the Quran. The Prophet was accused of forgery for having announced that it was God that had sent it. 103 - We know indeed that they say: It is a man that teaches him. 6 The Honey Bees, 103 To come back to 2 The Cow, 106 we cannot help witnessing the fact that the new verse is a substitute for the verse that underwent nasih, viz. forgotten. 9 Surely, We have sent down Reminder, We, We are protecting it. 15 Al Hijr, 9

THE ARABIC WORD NASIH Nasih has more than one meaning: 1) an abolishing; abolition, abrogation; 2) an effacing; effacement; 3) transcribing, pertaining to copying. According to Prof. Hseyin Atay (Investigations According to the Quran), the word should mean transcribing, copying, recording. He corroborates this with the verse: 45 The Kneeling, 29 which runs as follows: 29 For we were recording (nash) everything you did. 45 The Kneeling, 29 The verse on which the sectarians have based themselves cannot justify their contention if this meaning is kept in mind as we have already shown. (We have demonstrated that the sectarians could not get the conclusion they wanted to arrive at if abrogation were to be used in the sense that they chose.) Assuming that there was an abrogation, how could one establish which verse had abrogated which, since there is no hint about the chronological reference to their revelation? Even though you may consult the hadith books reputed to be the most reliable, you will find almost no prescription of any date. Under the circumstances, the sole authority that decides on this issue remains the sectarian imams. Yet, such a conclusion cannot be reached, given the fact that the sole owner of the Quran is God Himself. The sectarian and traditionalist Islamists, having disregarded such paradoxes, tried to impose statements of their own choice. They even dared to state that hadiths could cancel the prescriptions of the Quran. These commentators, sectarian scholars played havoc with the Quran that contains six thousand verses. For instance, the hadith that said No will for inheritors (Abu Davud-Vesaya) was used to misinterpret the Quran, which corroborated the bequeathing of ones assets to someone by will. Another instance is the rajm (stoning to death) of the adulterer/ess, a result of the attempt to nullify the Quranic verse by a so-called hadith. This issue is examined in the following Chapter 26.

P a g e | 131 6 These are Gods signs that We recite to you truthfully. In which word (hadith) other than God and His signs do they believe? 45 Kneeling, 6

THE QURAN IN SHREDS 91 As they have made Quran into shreds. 92 By your Lord, we will question them all. 93 For all their deeds. 15 Al Hijr, 91-93 85 - Then is it only a part of the Book that you believe in, and do you reject the rest? 2 The Cow, 85 To tear the Quran into pieces, that is, to accept one part and reject another, is unacceptable. Yet, this was the attempt of the partisans of the idea that certain verses had been abrogated and substituted by others. God is loath to see such dissension. God mentions the shifting of meanings of certain words by the Jews, to serve their own ends. The display of such an attempt mentioned in 2 The Cow, 41 has unfortunately failed to attract the attention of the Muslim population. Accordingly, they shifted the meaning of words as is mentioned in 2 The Cow, 106 and attempted to divide the Quran. The only solution to this problem is to take the Quran for a whole, an indivisible unity, without any additions or omissions. The traditionalist Islamists have disagreed on this point as well. According to some, there are two hundred abrogated verses, according to others, sixty; again according to others, there are but five, or three according to yet others. We shall now examine the five alleged abrogations.

THE FIVE WELL-KNOWN ALLEGATIONS OF ABROGATIONS 1. Hamr: Hamr means wine or intoxicant. In 2 The Cow, 219 we read that the profit that man would be deriving from it is inferior to the advantages of it. 90 - O you who believe! Intoxicants and games of chance and statues, and the dividing arrows are abominations of the devil. You shall avoid them that you may succeed. 5 The Feast, 90 On the other hand, in 4 Nisa 43 we read: 43 - O you who believe! Go not near prayer when you are intoxicated till you know what you say. 4 The Women, 43

P a g e | 132 It is claimed that 5 The Feast, 90 abrogated the other two verses. In 2 The Cow, 219 mention is made of (some) advantages of intoxicants, for instance, the heart may thereby profit, but then the sin that one commits in consuming is also mentioned. Likewise, it is said that a person should not perform the prayer in an intoxicated state. As a matter of fact, there are people who drink alcoholic beverages and yet do not neglect performing the prayer, which is obligatory according to the Quran. This shows that all the verses have their respective functions to fulfill, none of which having to nullify the other. 2. War and Peace: Peace is the essential and natural state according to the Quran. War, as prescribed in the Quran, is the state that becomes a necessity in case the Muslims happen to be the object of an aggression. In such a contingency a Muslim has to act, as the ensuing fight will make it necessary. Let us not forget that the Quran, when seen as a whole, presents no contradictions. Therefore, verses related to war cannot abrogate those spoken in favor of peace. Yet a Muslim will fight when the occasion presents itself. This is no contradiction. 3. The proportion of the number of the faithful to the number of disbelievers in case of a war. 65 - O Prophet! Urge the believers to fight. If there be of you twenty steadfast, they shall overcome two hundred; and if there be of you a hundred, they shall overcome a thousand of those who disbelieve, because they are a people who do not understand. 8 The Spoils of War, 65 In the following verse we read: 66 - So if there be of you a hundred steadfast, they shall overcome two hundred; and if there be of you a thousand they shall overcome two thousand with Gods permission. 8 The Spoils of War, 66 The fewer weaknesses a believer (Muslim) has, the more successful he will be, say the above verses. The essential thing in the proportion between the number of the believers and disbelievers is the superiority of those who are steadfast. Otherwise, there is no contradiction involved. Nor is it an issue of abrogation or substitution of a given verse with another. 4. Will: The Quran prescribes not only the will of a person but also the manner by which an estate is to be shared. Yet, they tried to abolish this explicit prescription of the Quran by a hadith that stated No will for inheritors. Let us draw the attention to the fact that at the end of the verses stating the shares of inheritors, we read These refer to what remains after the will is executed. So that, according to the Quran, the first thing to do is to execute the will and settle the debts, only after that will one distribute the estate of the deceased according to the prescription of the Quran. 5. Change in the direction of the Kibla: Prior to the revelation of the verse that established the direction, the Prophet used to turn his face, like the people of the Book, toward Jerusalem. Upon the revelation of 2 The Cow, 144, the Prophet altered his direction toward the Mesjid Haram (the Sacred Mosque) in Mecca. In order that there might be an abrogation, there should have been first another verse that said that the direction to turn ones face was Jerusalem, which is, of course, not the case. Prior to the revelation of the Sura 2 The Cow, 144, the Prophet and the believers turned their faces to Jerusalem not because there had been a previous Quranic prescription. Before the revelation of this verse, the direction toward which a man turned during the performance of his prayer was not prescribed by the Quran, it was the personal choice of Muhammad and his companions. 27 - And recite what has been revealed to you of the Book of your Lord: none can change His words, and none will you find as a refuge other than Him.

P a g e | 133 16 The Cave, 27

RAJM: STONING TO DEATH

Sectarian Islam tried to revoke the Quranic verses and added something alien to the Quran: namely stoning to death. What is still more terrifying was the allegation of traditionalists who argued that there was a missing link in the Quran that had to be supplemented. According to their account, the verse that treated the stoning to death of the offender accused of adultery did exist but was eaten up by a goat. In the meantime, we must not forget that all the sects without exception have vindicated this argument. Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Davudi Hanbal, Ibn Maja hold a brief for the existence of rajm. Yet, the retribution for adultery is well explained in the Quran. To introduce a new provision that contradicts the Quran shows the kind of mentality and the degree of faith in the Quran of the traditionalist Islamist. 2 - The adulteress and the adulterer should be flogged a hundred lashes (jalda) each. Do not be swayed by kindness from carrying out Gods law, if you believe in God and the Last Day. And the punishment should be witnessed by a group of believers. 24 The Light, 2 The punishment is then the flogging of the offender with a jalda, an Arabic expression meaning a stick that would hurt the skin. The Arabic words ansa, minsa, which have the signification of rod, or cudgel, are not mentioned. By this is meant that the idea was not to inflict pain to the offender but merely to expose him/her to public censure. According to the Quran, to prove adultery, the testimony of four witnesses is required. If we take into consideration that immunity of private ownership is de rigueur in Islam, it is difficult for four persons to witness the adulterous act at the same time. Yet, this is a prescription that bans the institution of brothels. While even in such a case ,God says not to be overtaken by compassion, how can a cruel punishment like stoning to death be envisaged? Moreover, in the preceding verse (24 The Light, 1) it is stressed that the verse to follow is explicit enough. This is the law of God who is never short of words (31 Luqmaan, 27); who is the Supreme Lawgiver (5 The Feast, 50); who is not forgetful (19 Mary, 64) and who has revealed the Quran in all its details (11 Hud, 1).

THE GOAT THAT EATS UP THE QURANIC VERSE The story runs as follows: The verses of the Quran written on papyri were kept in the house of Aisha, the Prophets wife. A hungry goat that had access ate them. An account of this may be read in the books of Ibn Majas Nikah; Hanbal. How can a verse of the Quran that had been completed and learned by heart vanish after the death of the Prophet? According to the traditionalist Islam, Ibn Kutayba uses the following introductory remark before tackling the problem: The goat is a holy animal. Then he continues enumerating the merits of this holy goat. God who annihilated the tribes Ad and Samud might well have a goat to repeal His verse. Ibn Kutayba, who established an analogy between

P a g e | 134 these atheist tribes destroyed by God and this event, sets a good example for the incongruous approaches of traditionalist, sectarian Islamists. A hadith falsely ascribed to Caliph Omar states: People will arise in the future who will deny the existence of rajm. These people will be religious apostates. Had I not feared the peoples allegation that Omar was making additions to the Quran, I would have introduced the rajm verse in the Quran (Bukhari, Muslim Hudud, Abu Davud).

In our opinion, even this single hadith is enough to argue against the unreliability of the books of Bukhari, Muslim and Abu Davud. According to the mentality of these hadiths, Omar feared public censure more than God.

STONING OF ADULTEROUS MONKEYS Not being content with such concoctions, Bukhari says that even monkeys having witnessed an adulterous relation between two monkeys had punished the offenders by stoning them to death. Kurtubi says that at the end of the Sura Ahzab there was a missing verse (namely the verse about rajm) and that it had been omitted by the scribes under Caliph Osman. There was no end to justifications sought to vindicate the existence of rajm. To prove their case, sectarians have tried to abrogate (nasih) the explicit provision of 24 The Light, 2. According to one rumor, there was no rajm in the Quran during the time of Caliph Omar; according to another account, it is alleged that it had been omitted during the time of Caliph Osman. And according to another legend,it was said that a goat had eaten it. Then the rajm of monkeys are reported which, according to hearsay, the companions had witnessed. All these in total disregard the explicit prescription in the Quran to this effect! According to the Quran, the Quran is a self-sufficient and complete book. According to books of hadiths and the sectarians this is not so. While the Quran preached not to be divided into factions and sermonized against sectarians, the sects have been relentless in insisting on the details to be observed during the stoning: In stoning, pebbles each of the size of a chickpea shall be used. The adulteress will be driven into a pit while the man shall be stoned standing. (Book of four sects)

TIME TO BRING THE QURAN DOWN FROM THE WALL It is to be regretted that the Quran has been hung at a lofty place and the contents only read for the souls of the departed. The sectarians argued that the Quran was a book that could only be understood by a few. Mans common sense and intellectual genius were vilified. Sectarian imams had the exclusivity of the religion. Scholars in other branches of science could not possibly conceive what was said in the Quran and were to obey the word of the sectarians rather than formulating their own opinions. 100 - And He casts uncleanness on those who will not understand. 10 Jonah, 100 10 - We have sent down to you a Book which has a reminder for you. Will you not then understand? 21 The Prophets, 10

P a g e | 135

WHAT IS MEANT BY OBEY THE MESSENGER (PROPHET)?

Traditionalist Islamists nursing their ambition to provide evidence against the Islam preached in the Quran, refer to ayats that ordain to Obey God and His messenger, and set forth such arguments as: We are told to obey the prescriptions of God and the Prophet. In the said ayats, the Prophet is referred to only with the noun rasul (messenger). 52 Those who obey God and His messenger and fear God and observe Him, these are triumphant ones. 24 The Light, 52 132 You shall obey God and His messenger, that you may obtain mercy. 3 The Family of Imran, 132 To heed the messenger means obeying God whose orders the messenger transmitted. He is the herald of God who has brought His messages to humanity. Complying with these messages connotes conformity with God and His messenger as well as with the Quran, the message transmitted. The word resul means the carrier of a message. In other words, the message is not issued by the Prophet, but by God. It is preached thereby that man can attain God only through His messenger. The person to whom allegiance is due is Gods messenger, not God directly. God establishes His link with us through His prophet (messenger). 80 - He who obeys the messenger obeys God. 4 The Women, 80 Men heed Gods words through the mediation of the Prophet. The Quran was revealed to men through him. The message was not transmitted to each individual separately. There have been innumerable people who refused to obey the Prophets message claiming that it was he that spoke and not God. Yet, it is stated in the Quran that the message transmitted through him was Gods message. Obeying God and His messenger should not be interpreted as two separate authorities, since the source is one - that is God. 114 - Say: Shall I seek for a judge other than God? When He it is Who sent unto you the Book, explained in detail. 6 The Cattle, 114

USE OF MUHAMMADS NAME IN THE QURAN

P a g e | 136 Three verses out of the four in which the Prophets name is mentioned and the fact that he is but a messenger have been stressed. 144 - Muhammad is but a messenger. 3 The Family of Imran, 144 40 - Muhammad is not the father of any man among you. He is the messenger of God and the seal of the prophets. 33 The Parties, 40 29 - Muhammad is Gods messenger. 48 Victory, 29 In the only verse in which Muhammads name is mentioned without stressing his function as a messenger coupled with belief in the Quran is made imperative in the following: But those who believe and work deeds of righteousness, and believe in that what was sent down to Muhammad is the truth from their Lord- He will remove from them their sins and improve their condition. 47 Muhammad, 2 The name Ahmad (praised) is derived from the same root as Muhammad and is one of the Prophets names mentioned in the following verse, with due emphasis on his capacity as messenger. 6 - And remember, Jesus, the Son of Mary, said: O children of Israel! I am the messenger of God sent to you, confirming the Torah before me, and giving glad tidings of the messenger to come after me, whose name shall be Ahmad (praised). 61 The Column, 6 Nowhere in the Quran do we come across a statement like: Obey God and Muhammad. Obey God and his messenger is the expression used. So, obedience to the Prophet results from his being the transmitter of the message. The emphasis of the Prophets mission as messenger has been made in all the verses except one in which the wording is: Believe what is sent down to Muhammad.

THE PROPHET WARNED HIS PEOPLE BY REFERRING TO THE QURAN The Prophet always referred to the Quran when he wanted to warn his community. When there had been an interruption in the verses being revealed and the Prophet was asked to invent something, the fact that this was not possible is plain from the verses below: 45 - Say: I do but warn you according to revelation. 21 The Prophets, 45 203 And when you do not bring a verse to them, they say Why do not you invent one? Say: I follow only what my Lord reveals to me. These are enlightenments from your Lord and guidance and mercy for people who believe. 7 The Purgatory, 203

P a g e | 137 God mentions often the fact that He sent down and revealed the Quran. Muhammads mission had been merely to convey the message, that which was revealed to him. Had the Prophet not carried out this mission, he would have failed to perform his duty as a messenger. The duty of the envoy was to transmit the message revealed unto him, and obedience to the messenger would be obedience to what God had sent down. 67 - O messenger! Deliver what is sent down to you from your Lord. For if you do not, you will not have delivered His message. 5 The Feast, 67 19 - This Quran has been revealed to me that I may warn you 6 The Cattle, 19

ABRAHAMS HADITHS? Kashif Ahmad Shahzade has the following to say about the obedience to God and His envoy. What is meant by this is obedience to the Quran, the message that God has sent. He continues to say that the Prophets lifestyle must set an example for us, but the only valid source about this is the information provided in the Quran. Shahzade indicates in Sura The Tried, 4: 4 - There is for you an excellent example in Abraham and those with him. 60 The Tried, 4 and argues that by the said verse must be understood the adoption of the morals and manners of Abraham (Kashif Ahmadzade, The Authority of Quran). If one may be permitted to make an analogy between the Prophet and Abraham in terms of their abiding by their respective customs and traditions, we must learn the customs and manners of Abrahams people and try to unearth Abrahams hadiths as well. The gist of the matter lies in the adoption of the manners of the Prophet as described in the Quran. Efforts to persuade the Prophet to fabricate things on behalf of God, in addition to the contents of the Quran, existed dukring the Prophets lifetime. The Prophet did his best to forestall this. Yet, after his decease and the era of the four caliphs, the efforts of concocting hadiths got the upper hand. 73 They had almost led you away from what has been revealed to you, that you may invent things about Us besides these revealed. 17 The Children of Israel, 73 The Quran is Gods Book. However, men heard it from the mouth of His messenger Muhammad. The following verses will make this clearer: 1 A declaration of immunity from God and His messenger to those idolaters with whom you have a treaty. 9 Repentance, 1 3 - And an announcement from God and His messenger, to the people on the day of the great pilgrimage. 9 Repentance, 3

P a g e | 138 CONFORMING TO THE VERSES OF THE QURAN IS CONFORMING TO HIS MESSENGER The announcement of God and His messenger make up the Quranic verses. The same reading may be observed in other sections of the Quran. From the beginning of Sura The Women up until Verse 13, the questions of inheritance etc. are taken up, while Verses 13 and 14 run as follows: 13 - These are the limits set by God. And those who follow the commandments of God and the messenger will be admitted to gardens with streams of water running by, wherein they abide forever. This is the greatest triumph. 4 The Women, 13 14 - Those who disobey God and the messenger and transgress His limits will be admitted to a fire and abide there forever and shall have a humiliating punishment. 4 The Women, 14 Up until the 13th verse, Gods commandments are expressed, while in the 13th and 14th verses to obey them is to obey both God and His messenger. An image of a partnership between God and Muhammad is created. The Prophet thus assumed the character of someone who had the authority to transmit or rescind those decreed by God. Certain traditionalists being aware of the contradiction reverted to a new argument that was still more terrifying, According to this argument, the hadith books in circulation were also part of the revelation. It is useless to disprove this claim since our readers have also witnessed the clash of the hadiths with the text of the Quran, let alone their conflicting character. According to the verse below the Quran is the only source that is to be obeyed. And it is again the Quran that infidels would like to see altered: 15 When Our clear signs are recited to them, those who do not hope to meet Us say Bring a Quran other than this, or change it. Say It is not for me to change it of my will. I follow only what is revealed to me. 10 Jonah, 15

THE PROPHET MAY HAVE ERRED The Prophet abides by what the Quran announces. In daily life a prophet may well err in certain things. Exposition of the errors committed by the Prophet in the Quran belies in fact the claim that the Prophets word was also a revelation to be obeyed. 37 - But you hid in your heart that which God was about to make manifest; you did fear the people but it is more fitting that you should fear God. 33 The Parties, 37 43 May God forgive you. Why did you give them permission before you could distinguish those who are truthful from the liars? 9 Repentance, 43

1-He frowned and turned away

P a g e | 139 2- Because there came to him the blind man 3- How do you know? He may purify himself. 4- Or He may take heed, and benefit from the message. 5- As to one who regards himself as self-sufficient, 6 You gave him your attention 7 Though it is not your concern if he should not grow. 8 As for him, who comes to you striving, 9 And is also fearful 10- You ignored him. 80 He Frowned, 1-10 In the above instances, we observe the criticisms leveled against the Prophet. The justification of an abused claim according to which whatever was uttered by the Prophet outside the context of the Quran should be considered refuted. His lifestyle also has been made into a source of abuse. Even his manners before he became a prophet were made part of his cult. Yet, his pre-prophetic life was far from being exemplary (sunna) as the Quran suggests: 7 - He found you astray and guided you. 93 Early Hours of Morning, 7 52 We have revealed to you the Quran by Our command. You did not know what the scripture was before, nor faith. 42 Consultation, 52 We read in the verses that the Prophet, before he received the visit of Gabriel who conveyed the revelation to him, was not on the right path and had no faith. Under the circumstances, how can one consider his past manners to be exemplary (sunna) for believers. The following verses caution those who assign the books of hadiths the reverence due to Gods own words. 79 - Then woe to those who write the Book with their own hands, and then say: This is from God, to traffic with it for a miserable price! 2 The Cow, 79

THE QURAN HAS NO COUNTERPART 88 - Say: If all the humans and jinns come together in order to produce a Quran like this, they would surely fail, no matter how much assistance they lent one another. 17 The Children of Israel, 88

P a g e | 140 While God announces that the Quran has no counterpart, the sectarian Islamists find similarity between the hadiths and the Quran (see Abu Davud Kitab Sunen). Had this been so, one is inclined to ask the reason why the Prophet had been reluctant to see his sayings recorded. 1 - O Prophet! Why do you prohibit yourself what God has made lawful for you, just to please your wives? 66 Prohibition, 1 While according to this verse the Prophet cannot make things lawful or unlawful even for himself, the intervention of other people having like intentions can hardly be reconciled with the Quran. This is the error committed by the traditionalist interpretation that chooses to act according to a given verse of the Quran taken out of context and fails to conceive the Quran as a whole. THE QURAN AS THE SOURCE OF WISDOM 151 Such as the sending of a messenger from among you, to recite Our revelations to you, and cleanse you, and teach you the Book and the wisdom, and what you did not known. 2 The Cow, 151 It is alleged that the word wisdom includes the sunna and the hadiths, which is utterly preposterous. Wisdom is attributable to the Quran: 1 - These are the verses of the Book of Wisdom. 10 Jonah, 1 2 - By the Quran full of Wisdom. 36 Yasin, 2 4 - And verily it is in the mother of the book in our presence. Honorable and full of wisdom. 43 Vanity, 4 Moreover, the Sura Isra after enumerating what is lawful and unlawful and the prohibitions is followed by the following verse: 139 - These are among the wisdom your Lord has revealed to you. 17 The Children of Israel, 39 Wisdom attributed to Gods revelations mentioned up until the 39th verse of Sura The Children of Israel stated that one should not set up any other God (22nd verse); that one should serve none but Him and do good to parents (23rd verse); the manner that one should behave toward ones parents (24th verse); and the fact that God knows what is in our mind (25th verse), and give to the near of kin his due and to the needy and the wayfarer, and squander not wastefully (26th verse) The Quran is the book of reference in which both sunna and wisdom can be found. The limits of God as set in the Quran are wisdom, which also implies obedience to His messenger, the Prophet. The Quran revealed to Mohammad was communicated to us by his mouth. Most of the verses begin with the imperative say, addressed to him. To obey the message is to obey God and His messenger at the same time. If Gods revelation is not complete, what would the

P a g e | 141 function of the Quran be? Why should God leave His message incomplete to be completed by other sources? Had God intended to give us additional injunctions, He would certainly have increased the thickness of the Book. In fact, it is mentioned in the Quran that the Book contains all the details necessary to be known. To give an example of such details, please note that the Quran enjoins the man who finds himself in a difficulty, to eat, without trespassing the limits, the meat of animals slaughtered in the name of other divinities, and the meat of the dead animal, pork etc., a very exceptional case surely. Given this fact how can we presume that God left loopholes in His book? Whatever He has not enjoined His creatures, He has left to the discretion of His servants.

THE MESSENGER AND COMMANDER 59 - O you who believe! Obey God and obey His messenger and those charged with authority among you. If you differ in anything among yourselves, refer it to God and His messenger, if you do believe in God and the Last Day. That is best and the most suitable for final determination. 4 The Women, 59 Man is a gregarious being. In the shared life of communities men are obliged to formulate common principles to stick to and in certain cases are forced to adopt critical decisions, like in the case of a declaration of war or the signing of a peace treaty. The messenger (the Prophet) used to make critical decisions as the head of the community which the community could not help but obey. After his death, the persons of authority charged with the governing of the community were expected to be shown reverence and be obeyed. However, in no way did this obedience allow the addition of new precepts to those of Gods laid out in the Quran. We read in the Quran that everything has been made clear in it, and every detail has been explained and that religion was tantamount to what the Quran propounded. Had the obedience foreseen in the Quran included the interpolation of new principles making certain things lawful and others unlawful, we would have the following illogical picture: among the edible items is the prohibition of the consumption of pork, blood, the flesh of dead animals and animals slaughtered in the name of any entity other than God. Had obedience to the Prophet also included imposition of new religious principles, items such as mussels, shrimp and the flesh of donkeys would have been banned and carried the same effect as those laid down in the Quran. Yet, this is exactly what the sectarians argue. Yavuz Sultan Selim, who had taken over the title of caliph, might well have added to the list of prohibitions the flesh of chicken, veal and bonito, then what would have happened? This mentality may be carried even further as a person of authority may one day crop up claiming that he is entitled to abrogate certain things laid down in the Quran and to add others instead.

OBEDIENCE TO GOD=OBEDIENCE TO THE QURAN=OBEDIENCE TO THE MESSENGER Every Muslim having faith in the Islam preached in the Quran knows that he is to obey Muhammad, Gods messenger. The only source that the Prophet has bequeathed to us is the Quran. All other books, including the hadith books, are full of slanders. The authorities that claim that God, the Quran and the Prophet must be severed from each other are on the wrong path. Given the fact that we cannot possibly establish contact, the issuer of the message, and the transmitter of it, the only thing that remains for us is the Quran. 51 - It is not sufficient for them that We have revealed the Book to you which is read out to them.

P a g e | 142 29 The Spider, 51

THE PROPHET TURNED INTO IDOL

One of the greatest tricks the corrupters of religion had recourse to was to deceive people by turning what was to be revered in religious terms into mere idols. 80 Nor would He command you to set up angels and the prophets as lords. Would he order you to disbelieve after becoming submitters. 3 The Family of Imran, 80 The deceivers try to taunt the innocent faithful people, asking them such questions as Can it be that you do not love Christ? How can you deny the presence of Muhammad? In the face of such challenges, the candid people whose love for the prophet is not adulterated remain puzzled. To instill into the brains of ingenuous persons the idea of worshiping things other than God has been their secret aim. The traditionalist Islamists attempt at this has been writing books of baseless hadiths collected at random suiting their own ends. 50 - Say: I tell you not that with me are the treasures of God, nor do I know what is hidden, nor do I tell you I am an angel. I but follow what is revealed to me. 6 The Cattle, 50 The verse explicitly points out that the Prophet is a human being like all of us and owes allegiance to what is revealed in the Book.

TO ANTAGONIZE PROPHETS 285 - We make no distinction among any of His messengers. 2 The Cow, 285 According to this verse of the Quran we are not allowed to set any of the prophets, such as Abraham, Moses, Noah and Christ, against each other. Nor are we allowed to utter that our Prophet is the greatest of all. Despite this explicit verse of the Quran, Muslims also erred in this as have the Jews and the Christians. They invented cock and bull stories, saying that had it not been for the Prophet, mankind would not have existed. It was thanks to him that we were created,

P a g e | 143 etc. No such thing is written in the Quran. It was alleged that the Prophets substance was not of ours as it was pure light (nur), that he had bargained with God about the number of daily prayers that the faithful should perform. The Prophet was made into an object of sexual fantasies and it was said that he had the power to curse people to disable them. According to another fabricated hadith, while all the prophets would be in a panic in trying to save their skin on Doomsday, our Prophets concern would be limited to the salvation of his followers. Those that have contrived this socalled hadith have acted impiously and discriminated Muhammad against the other prophets. Some of them even went so far as to categorize the prophets. They classified the prophets as follows: 1. Muhammad; 2. Abraham; 3. Moses; and, last but not least, 4. Jesus Christ. 7 - He found you astray and guided you. 93 Early Hours of Morning, 7

According to this verse Muhammad seems to have been on the wrong path before the Quran was revealed to him. The same idea is also expressed in the following verse: 52 So We have revealed to you the Quran by Our command. You did not know what the Scripture was before, nor faith. 42 Consultation, 52 Again some traditionalists claim that the Prophet was already Muslim even before he received the revelation, committing thereby a grave error. However, it is no surprise to see such extravagant ideas as these people cannot conceive of any other image than the one they have in their own minds. Another exaggeration is the allegation that among the ancestors of the Prophet there had been no pagans and that this genealogy went back as far as Adam. Yet, we read in the Quran that Abrahams father had been an idolater. If we suppose that Abraham happened to be among the ancestors of Muhammad, we should conclude that the argument is wearing a bit thin. On the other hand, the traditionalist mentality in trying to prove its case dodges the issue and claims that Abrahams father was in fact his stepfather or uncle, etc. This does not refute the explicit statement of the Quran in which it is said that it had been Abrahams father.

GOD PRAISES MUHAMMAD The point that the traditionalist Islamist fails to understand is that Muhammad has no need for such flattering. He is praised already in the Quran for his superior morals. The fact that God has appointed him His envoy and praised him in His Book is enough to make him a superior being. The fact that he had been on the wrong path before he received the revelation or that one of his forefathers had been an idolater does not in the least vilify him. It is written in the Quran that one is responsible for ones own doings. The son of a prophet is no greater than any of his fellow creatures, nor is a person whose father had been a heathen discredited for that. The mentality that is inclined to evaluate people according to their genealogy has been led astray in this instance also. Muhammad has been praised in many instances in the Quran as in the following verses: 113 - For God has sent down to you the Book and Wisdom and taught you what you did not know (before); and great is the grace of God unto you. 4 The Women, 113

P a g e | 144 4 - And you stand on an exalted standard of character. 68 The Pen, 4 107 - We sent you not but as a mercy for all creatures. 21 The Prophets, 107 2 - That God may forgive you your faults in the past and those to follow; fulfill his favor to you, and guide you on the straight way. 48 Victory, 2

One can see that the Prophet is praised in many an instance in the Quran. In Verse 107 of Sura The Prophets, he is qualified as being a mercy for all creatures. Had the legend according to which all the worlds had been created for the sake of the Prophet had been true, then it would have stated that our Prophet was mercy for all the world.

HAIR WORSHIP Another perversion is worshipping the hair of the Prophet. A single hair alleged to have been trimmed from the beard of the Prophet kept in mosques is to be exposed to the view of the faithful once a year during the month of Ramadan. The faithful are allowed to kiss the cloth in which it is wrapped. Those who level censure against Christians for their adoration of their icons, act in the same way.

BEWARE OF BEING ONE OF THE HERD An infinite number of so-called saints, sheikhs and ulama (legal Islamic scholars) have also been turned into idols, let alone the Prophet. 104 - O you who believe! Do not say Raaena (be our shepherd) you should say Unzurna (watch over us), and listen. 2 The Cow, 104 By this the community is told not to address the Prophet saying Guide us like the shepherd guides his flock. Yet in actual practice, the sects expect the disciples to allow themselves to be guided by their sheikhs. The man that the Quran describes is he who thinks, employs his mind, embraces what is taught by the Quran; who loves the Prophet keeping him remote from all idea of partnership with God and who does not divide Gods power and distribute it between other entities. It is the duty of the Muslim to put God, the Quran and the Prophet into their proper places. Those who conferred the power to issue decrees (which belongs exclusively to God), to the Prophet, also falsely attributed the hadiths they fabricated to him, contributing to the adulteration of the religion. The result was the introduction into the religion of elements alien to the Quran, a good many of them conflicting with Its contents. The imagination of the fabricators ran so wild as to conceive such absurd fantasies as the one according to which the whole creation had come about for the sake of the Prophet. We feel confident that had Jesus witnessed the extravagant exaggerations about himself, he would

P a g e | 145 have gone mad, so would have the Prophet, had he been imparted with the hadiths attributed to him and with the legend of Moses bargaining with God for his sake.

LESSONS TO BE LEARNED FROM JEWS AND CHRISTIANS

There have been in the past instances of idolization of prophets and saints, concoctions of manuals and divisions among the devotees into factions against the explicit warning of Gods admonitions. The objection raised by the clergy to printing and translating the Bible is an example of the biased approach of fanaticism. It is true that by the invention of printing, the number of books marked a tremendous increase, contributing to the education of the public at large; however, it is also a fact that differences of opinions and dissensions among the public followed a similar trend. Men were henceforth asking questions and calling to doubt the tenets inculcated into their brains. They read, understood and prayed in their own tongues. Under the circumstances there was no more need to consult priests to be enlightened on religious issues. This was naturally to the detriment of the clergy. In order to keep them immune, the religious precepts should be the exclusivity of the clergy. It was the clergy that had forestalled and retarded the development of sciences. The division into factions and sects of the clergy led to untold bloodshed. The public who tried to pray in its own tongue was subjected to the ordeal of excommunication, of granting of indulgences, of papal inquisitions to combat so-called heresies. The Suras The Cattle, 154, and The Purgatory, 145 are in the same vein. Despite the fact that the Jews had in their hands the revelation that had been sent down to them through Moses, they created additional authorities under the names of Mishna and Gamara. The fanatics of Judaism had much in common with those of Islam. 44 - Surely we have sent down the Torah, having guidance and light. By it did the prophets who submitted themselves (to God) judge for the Jews and the rabbis and the doctors of law, because they were required to guard the Book of God and they were witnesses 5 The Feast, 44 47 The people of the Gospel shall judge in accordance with Gods revelations therein. And those who do not judge in accordance with what God has revealed are transgressors. 5 The Feast, 47

TRINITY

P a g e | 146 The oldest New Testament in our hands today is a Latin translation. This Gospel, originally revealed in Aramaic, is no more. We do not know what the original words were that found their equivalent in Latin as Father and Son. However, even in the Latin version we observe that these words are used not only for Christ but also for the whole of mankind. Every one of Gods creatures is referred to as Son and God, Father. 45 - So that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. Bible - Matthew 5:45 17 - I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God. Bible - John 20:17

The expressions son and father are but metaphorical expressions. 35 - Jesus heard that they had cast him out and having found him he said: Do you believe in the son of man? New International Bible, John 9:35 35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and when He had found him, He said to him, Do you believe in the Son of God? The New King James Version, John 9:35 We invite you to pay attention to the transformation of the expression Son of Man mentioned in the first Gospel into Son of God in the King James Version. In the following verse in the Gospel according to Matthew it is interesting to note the adulteration of the expression father: And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Bible- Matthew, 23:9

THE CHURCH IS THE MAIN RESPONSIBLE BODY We observe that no man is to be called father on earth since the only father is the One who is in heaven. Father is the biological begetter of man. It is our belief that the expression translated with the word father here must have corresponded to a word that connoted the Creator. However, the translations are not to blame in the first place, since an impartial observer must have interpreted the expression, taking into consideration its metaphorical meaning. The interpreters of Catholic and Orthodox sects are of the opinion that the name son is metaphorically used for believers and in the true sense for Jesus. This debatable issue is rendered still more difficult since the original Gospel is not available, whereas the Quran is there in its original form. Therefore, it easy to sort out what is foreign to the Gods revelation. We must be reminded here of the fact that the church was the clergy. The tribunal that decided to put Christ to death consisted of rabbis. The greatest injury inflicted to the revealed religions has been by certain rabbis, priests and imams. 31 - They take their rabbis and their monks to be their lords in derogation of God.

P a g e | 147 9 Repentance, 31 34 - There are indeed many among the rabbis and priests, who in falsehood devour the substance of people and hinder then from the way of God. 9 Repentence, 34 It is a pity that the Muslims listen to these words as if a fairy story were being told. These stories are in fact parables told to set an example for the future of mankind. The clergy had been ascribed the attribute of divine authority while in Islam imams assumed the divine authority having the power to issue fatwas, ijtihads and sectarian decrees! Just like in the case of Christianity that does not fail to find pretexts for justifying the ways that the Catholic and Orthodox clergy have adopted, so have the Islam of traditionalists. Desmond Tutu, the Nobel Prize winning priest from South Africa, has the following to say about how the Church exploits religion for material ends. When the missionaries came over to Africa we had our lands and they had their Bible. Then they told us to close our eyes and pray. When we opened our eyes, however, we saw that the Bible was in our hands and the land was in their possession. There are examples to follow in all these for the Jews and the Christians as well as for the Muslims. The followers of these three religions cannot truly understand their religion unless they shove away the sects and their chiefs. What is preached today is neither the religion of the original Bible, nor of the Torah, nor of the Quran. The dictates of the sects, the saints and rabbis have replaced them. What was human was disguised in a holy garb, so that the holy was coupled with human interpolations. Another perversion in religions has been to mystify the manifest truths of the scriptures by willful shifting of the meanings of words. 13 - They alter the words from their places and neglect a portion of that whereof they were reminded. 5 The Feast, 13 75 - Seeing that a party of them heard the words of God, and perverted it knowingly after they understood it. 2 The Cow, 75

ALLUSIONS TO MUHAMMAD IN THE TORAH AND THE GOSPELS An instance of the alterations made in the Torah and the Gospels is the misinterpretation of passages that made allusions to the advent of Muhammad. 7 - And I will shake all nations, so that the treasures (Himada) of all nations shall come in and I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord of Hosts. 8 - The silver is mine and the gold is mine, declares the Lord of Hosts. 9 - The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of Hosts. And in this place I will give peace (shalom), declares the Lord of Hosts. Haggai 2:7-9 The Hebrew word himada mentioned under Verse 7 of Haggai stems from the same root as H M D. in the Arabic language which is the root of the name Muhammad carrying more or less the same meaning. Thus the name of the Prophet or the meaning of his name is mentioned with reference to a glorious event that was to take place in future. The advent of Muhammad that succeeded the Bible and addressed his message announcing Gods existence for billions of years was that glorious event. The word shalom (peace) in Verse 9 also comes from the same root as the word Islam.

P a g e | 148 15 If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father and He will give you another Helper (Paraclete) to be with you forever Bible - John 14:15-16 7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper (Paraclete) will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment. John 16:7-8 20 He confessed and did not deny, but confessed: I am not the Christ. 21 And they asked him: What then? Are you Elija? He said: I am not. Are you the Prophet? And he answered: No. John 1:20-21

WHO CAN BE THE ONE THAT IS SAID TO COME AFTER CHRIST AND PREACH ONE GOD? According to the quotations above, it is clear that another prophet was expected. The history has not witnessed any other person who assumed the qualities of a prophet other than Muhammad. The fact that the words peryclitos and Muhammad have the same connotation must not be interpreted as pure coincidence. Prof. Maurice Bucaille has criticized the interpretation according to which the word paraclete meant the Holy Spirit (Gabriel) and contended that the word paraclete made allusion to a prophet whose advent had been foretold. The point, according to him, is not a question of inspiration by the Holy Spirit, but has the connotation, as in Greek, of spreading among men. The Greek words aquo and laleo can be interpreted as having to do with physical bodies having the organs of hearing and speech, which cannot be ascribed to the Holy Spirit. Therefore, he says, the paraclete in the Gospel according to St. John refers to a physical being like Christ himself endowed with the senses of hearing and speaking. The Greek text definitely requires this. He is convinced that Christ had foretold the advent of a prophet that was to succeed him, a person endowed with the sense of hearing and speech through which he would be communicating Gods message to mankind. The available texts treatment of the Holy Spirit seem to have been altered on purpose with a view to changing the meaning inherent in the message that heralded the advent of a prophet after Jesus Christ. This was due to the wishes of the clergy to see Christ as the last of the prophets.

TRUE AND FALSE PROPHETS 15 - Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheeps clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 - You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? 17 - So every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 - Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

P a g e | 149 20 - Thus you will recognize them by their fruits. Matthew 7:15-20 Nowhere in any of the gospels it is said that no other prophet will come. The following criteria is given in the gospel: Examine the fruit and distinguish the one who is a liar. If no other prophet had been predicted to come after Jesus Christ, he might have said Whoever comes after me claiming to be a prophet, he is a liar. The method that Jesus suggested to tell the true and false prophets apart is sufficient proof of the advent of a prophet after Jesus. This fact should constitute acceptable evidence for the Christians. Somebody who came after Jesus, who believed in one God, who put his trust in God, who loved Him and was instrumental in establishing societies that had got rid of their idols, could not be any person other than Muhammad. Despite all these explicit evidences and signs in the Old Testament and the New Testament, rabbis and Christian clergy have vied with one another to hush them up.;The viewpoints of the Catholic or Orthodox churches, the Pope in Rome and the archbishops whose names are not mentioned in any one of the gospels seem to be more authoritative than the scriptures for the majority of the Christian population. We vent our anger at popes and archbishops, the Catholic and Orthodox sects; yet, we have a natural affection for the Sunni and Shii sects, the hadiths and the sectarian imams!

THE QURAN AND GOVERNMENT

Those wanting to impose their own personal opinions have exploited God and religion in order to be able to seize the political power. Despite the fact that women also can rise to power and become president within the framework of the Quran, the traditionalist Islam introduced something that did not exist in the Quran and deprived women of this right. Another lie concocted was the fact that the Quraysh tribe was to be the sole place where leaders would come from. Later, the Ottoman caliphs had sheikhulislams (religious leaders) issue fatwas suiting their ends and exploited the sects they belonged to so as to consolidate their position on the throne. An example of the corruption under the Ottomans is the qualification of the sultans as being Gods Shadow, Caliph, our Lord. This was more than a mere embellishment!

BASIC PRINCIPLES Decisions about subjects left to our discretion without going beyond the general limits set in the Quran were supposed to be reached by those in power. Yet, in practice, things were different, since acts purely human came to be considered derived from divine revelation. The principles laid down in the Quran have a general application; they are universal and Muslims cannot dodge them. For instance, the institution of caliphate may be abolished since it does not figure in the Quran, but adalat (justice) and shura (consultation) cannot be done away with regardless of any change in time and place. 38 - Who decide their affairs by mutual consultation. 42 Consultation, 38

P a g e | 150 159 Therefore, you shall pardon them, and ask forgiveness for them, and consult them. 3 The Family of Imran, 159 Consultation was imposed even to the Prophet. This meant that no individual could have absolute power. The consultation was to be accompanied by mercy. It should be interpreted in present day terms as direct democracy or representative democracy. Justice is one of the basic principles of the Quran:

8 - O you who believe! Stand up as a witness for God in all fairness, and do not let the hatred of a people deviate you from justice. Be just. 5 The Feast, 8 8 - God does not forbid you from being kind and acting justly towards those who did not fight over faith with you, nor expelled you from your homes. God indeed loves those who are just. 60 The Tried, 8 The affairs of the community shall be entrusted with qualified people, ordains the Quran. 58 - God commands you to render back your trusts to those to whom they are due; and when you judge between man and man, that you judge with justice. 4 The Women, 58 The person to govern the believers shall be chosen from among the believers. 59 - Obey God, and obey His messenger and those charged with authority among you 4 The Women, 59

NO COMPULSION IN RELIGION One other point of divergence between the Quran and traditionalist Islamists is the latters application of severe penalties to people reluctant to follow the precepts of Islam. This is against the Quran: 256 There shall be no compulsion in religion; the right way is now distinguished from the wrong way. 2 The Cow, 256 The Quran, whose clear precepts have been brushed aside, became some sort of a talisman wrapped up and hung on the walls of houses to keep off evil; a brief portion of Its contents is now recited during daily prayers and in graveyards for the souls of the departed. People who did not perform the daily prayers and keep fast were subjected to severe punishments, in total disregard of the verse that announces that there is no compulsion in religion. A consequence of this approach has been the progressive estrangement of a category of people from religion.

P a g e | 151 SULTANATE NOT RECONCILABLE WITH THE QURAN Royalty and sultanates are regimes not favored by Islam. The Quran dictates that the authority be entrusted with the person (man or woman) qualified for the office. Administration of the state is entrusted not with the competent and qualified in the traditional system of succession from father to son. The system of a republic conforms much more to the Quranic mentality. There is no trace of caliphate in the Quran. What people conceive as shariah today is not Islam as such, but Sunni and Shia sects. The name of the religion is Islam. All other denominations such as Sunna, Hanafi, Shia, Shafii or Alawi are heresies.

GREATEST ENEMIES OF ISLAM AS DESCRIBED IN THE QURAN Those determined to perpetuate their own authority, their exploitation of women and whose motto is shariah are the archenemies of Islam as outlined in the Quran. Their regime is based not on the precepts of the Quran but on traditions, whims of the moment and Arab customs. Their existence is filled with harrowing experience of the risk faced once they stand deprived of what they conceive to be religion, the only means of exploitation. They accuse their enemies of favoring Semitism, and as being Freemasons, heretics, trying to cover up realities. Today we see the angelic faces of the Sunni and Shia sects. If they find the right medium and favorable milieu they shall not delay in showing their true faces. We can expect to see the occurrence of events similar to those we have witnessed in Afghanistan. The recent atrocities committed by Hizbullah in Turkey will not be uncommon. Enslavement of women, prohibition of music and drawing will follow. The Afghans have not invented a new sect. The regime they tried to impose was simply the application of sunna. According to the Hanafi sect, a person who does not perform his daily prayers is flogged until he resumes his prayers, while in the other three Sunni sects anyone who rejects performing his daily prayer is put to death. All atheists as well as those who make the apology of Islam as propounded in the Quran will be killed. Fasting shall be compulsory. Women shall cover, most probably, every inch of their body

THE QURAN AND THE SECTS

God is the unique source of religion. The Quran is His revelation. But, according to the sectarians Islam is made up of God + the hadiths + the companions of the Prophet + the decrees of sectarian imams + the fatwas and the opinions of other imams that succeeded them. Between the two divergent points of view there can be no middle way. For a Muslim that sticks to the Quran, a third way, which would involve a marriage between the religion preached in the Quran and the religion preached by the sects cannot even be thought of. Such an attempt might, in a sense, pave the way for opportunists who are ready to issue decrees next to those of God. If one ever ventures to think that a hadith, an established tradition or a convention may be considered as part of the religion, the principle of the Qurans selfsufficient attribute will of necessity be corrupted.

A NEW SECT?

P a g e | 152 Sects ventured to make additions to the Quran under the Omayyads and Abbasids, a few hundred years after the death of the Prophet. To come forth with the idea of formulating a new sect would be inappropriate, to say the least. The hadiths invented in the past reflected, of necessity, Arab mentality and customs. To try to hammer out a new sect would be the declaration of the former act. To have recourse to a compromise and try to find a middle path would be against the revealed religion. Is it your intention to fabricate new hadiths or sects to the detriment of the old ones? Setting up new sects is but the repetition of the same error. The only thing to do is to stick to the Quran and take it as the only pillar of religion. What one has in need of is not to invent new sects but try to understand religion within the framework of the Qurans context. It is often witnessed that in every new era people come forth with new ideas declaring that they have found the middle path, which is the path. We are inclined to believe that in our populist movements of today such figures may well make their triumphal entrance into the scene. The middle-path guides that will turn up with populist concerns may speak in the following manner: Well, to avoid shaking hands with women is certainly absurd; but can one forego the use of the headscarf? There is no harm in stoning Satan during the pilgrimage. By having recourse to such and such expressions they may try to find a third way. What should be done is not to find a third way between the sects and the Quran. Peoples attempt to add their ideas to Gods commandments means ignoring Gods monopoly over religion. It is time now to face reality in the face of all that has gone by and leave aside all additions. The Quran is here waiting to be re-opened and the contents put into execution. The traditionalists, who will witness the implementation of such a scheme, will, of necessity, be fluttering about like bats seeking refuge in the dark at dawn.

METHOD TO BE ADOPTED The important thing is to decide on the method to be adopted. In the course of centuries man has substituted his whims, idiosyncrasies, aspirations for Gods revealed religion, mixing them with traditions, populist tendencies and personal opinions. Making additions to what is revealed is as precarious as leaving certain prescriptions out from the context. Another significant step, which calls for insurmountable difficulties to be solved, is to try to adapt Gods ways to the present day lifestyle. People who fail to understand that Gods intelligence surpasses all human conceptions, spend useless efforts to this end. One may say that 95% of the Quran tallies with our contemporary way of life. For the remaining 5%, man should beware of inventing solutions. There is no other way but to abide by the dictates of the Quran. The origin of the errors committed by sectarians lies in ascribing religious attributes to the opinions, traditions and customs under the Omayyads and Abbasids, displaying thereby their populist tendencies. Those who are preaching today a middle path risk facing the same errors. In this reconciliation, who will mediate? Men are made of flesh and bones, whereas Islam is the exclusivity of God, the unique source of everything. To act contrary to this axiom would mean impiety. Religious issues must be tackled methodically by scholars. If the exclusive authority remains with Gods Book solely, the populist or traditionalist approaches will not blossom. The religion revealed by God without the need for any supplementary considerations will remain exclusive to Him. 114 - Say: Shall I seek a judge other than God? When He it is Who sent unto you the Book, explained in detail. 6 The Cattle, 114

ALL HADITHS SHOULD BE CONSIDERED UNFOUNDED

P a g e | 153 The principle that even the hadiths cannot not be considered as a source of Islam should provide enough evidence that sectarian decrees must not be taken for Gods words. To be able to tell apart what has been truly revealed and what is a concoction has become impossible. Even though a given hadith may in fact be an authentic one as long as it does not conflict with the Quran or it stands to reason, it cannot have the validity of a religious precept. 115 - The Word of your Lord is complete in truth and in justice. None can change His words. He is the Hearer, the Knower. 116 If you obey the majority of people on the earth, they will divert you from the path of God. They follow only conjecture, they only guess. 6 The Cattle, 115-116

MORE ORTHODOX A MUSLIM THAN MUHAMMAD? The seekers of the middle path who insist on interpolating at least a select number of hadiths in the great work must not deceive themselves. The addition of even one single hadith would gradually pave the way for the addition of the whole body of hadiths ever collected! There is a category of people who are clean-shaven although, in principle, they must wear a beard, who listen to music although they are supposed to turn a deaf ear to unlawful sounds; they even go so far as to establish radio stations and broadcast music; who engage women speakers and see that women deputies raise their voices in the Grand Assembly and sit side by side with men although there should in principle be segregation. They even argue in defense of sectarianism and fight against the Islam as presented in the Quran. There is a wide gap between what they advocate and their practices. They try to explain away their practices as a tactic for disseminating the message. Had the circumstances been favorable, they say, we could justify the sectarian views related to the growing of a beard, the prohibition of music and the segregation of women. The public at large, ignorant of the deductions based on hadiths and unable to assess the value of the explanations provided by the pseudosectarians are bound to reach false conclusions about Islam.

TALIBANS REPRESENTATIVE OF SUNNIS Those interested in learning all about the sunna sects may revert to the system applied by the Talibans, and persons who want to know everything about Shia would do well to study the way of the Shiites of Iran today. They are not an exaggerated version of the sects. Sects are deviations. Yet the Talibans in Afghanistan and the Shiites in Iran are selfconsistent. The true intellectuals and the enlightened must, as soon as possible, differentiate between the Quran as such and the interpretations of sectarians. Attacks directed at these groups by unbelievers will contribute to their consolidation. The public watching these attacks risks identifying the sects with Gods revealed religion. This is a great danger. The only remedy is the differentiation between the real religion revealed and the sectarian inventions. Once the Sunni sects are thoroughly understood, Islams real value will come to the fore.

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TRUE BELIEVER

Imams who conduct services in mosques, muftis, and sectarian sheikhs do not figure in the Quran. Yet, the majority of the public at large has always identified these figures with religion and has seen them as representatives of the established religion. Under the circumstances there remain but two alternatives: 1 Those who acknowledge the Quran as the unique authority, the true believers; and 2 Those whose paths are those determined by sects. There are no religious institutions in Islam. So that you must regain your self-confidence in Gods presence, doing away with all intermediaries and intercessors. Unlike the Islam of the sectarians, the Islam as propounded in the Quran has many common traits with democracy (see Chapter 30). The people who have turned away from the practice of Islam in the face of sectarian dissensions and practices, some of whom abandon religion altogether and become atheists outright, will re-embrace their fate once the Islam of the Quran prevails and resumes its domination. Unless the champions of Islam propounded in the Quran spend efforts to this end, the hodjas, the religion mongers and the trickster sheikhs will continue to exploit the naive lay public. 34 - There are indeed many among the rabbis and priests, who in falsehood devour the substance of people and hinder them from the way of God. 9 Repentence, 34 Men enjoying some authority in religious matters are liable to turn into merchants exploiting their congregations. People often forget that Muhammad was the only sacred figure. Yet, the number of sacred figures other than the Prophet proclaimed to be paradise-dwellers is not inconsiderable. No one is allowed to utter such trivial and groundless platitudes as the spiritual supremacy of figures like Imam Rabbani, Imam Ghazzali, Abdulkadir Geylani, Imam Humayni, etc. Only God knows who is favored by Him. The undiscerning followers of sects came to believe in the stories concocted about the founder of the Hanafi sect, Abu Hanafi, who was said to have seen God in his dreams more that one hundred times. Islam must be saved at all costs from the monopoly of these religion mongers, these impostors who consider themselves spokesmen of God.

DONKEY CARRYING A LOAD OF BOOKS 5 The likeness of those who were charged with the Torah, then failed to uphold it is like the donkey carrying parts of holy books. 62 The Congregation, 5

P a g e | 155 Some of those who profess to abide by the Quran carry in fact hundreds of books of canonical law and hadiths. Regardless of their positions and offices, be they caliphs, heads of religious departments of governments or figures shrouded in the garb of sainthood, these people are but representatives of sects and are not the faithful followers of the Quran. The same reverence is shown to saints in Christianity about whom endless miracles are told. Their tombs are visited. There is no end to the their exploits in proof of their self-sacrifices, the glorification of Christ being the point of culmination of such stories. Among the religion mongers there have been party leaders, deputies and religious leaders whose profiteering has been legendary. The true believer is the one who obeys solely what is prescribed in the Quran. The public, driven away from the Quran, was led by the nose to serve the interests of a certain class of people, by guiding them to the labyrinths of fabricated sects and sacred items. To prevent the public from coming into direct contact with the Quran, its translation was banned, while thousands of fabricated religious sources were created. The public was misled into believing the perpetrators of these acts to be the true representatives of religion. On the other hand, a large class of people came to think that if this was what they called religion, one could not possibly live up to it and had to abandon it altogether. Having thus remained aloof from religion, their guilty conscience prevented them from performing the requirement of the religion of the Quran. Therefore, it is imperative and vital that this class of people come back to re-embrace their religion by taking stock of their predicament. Once the true believers become the proponents of the true religion as put forth in the Quran, the imposters will be disposed of. In this process the only path to follow will be the path preached by the Quran. 105 - We have sent down to you the Book in truth, that you may judge among the people in accordance with what God has shown you. 4 The Women, 105

IS PLURALITY THE ANSWER?

What was the driving force behind the wish to kill prophets for the sake of handmade idols, if not traditions? 170 - When they are told: Follow what God has revealed, they say, No, we follow only the ways of our fathers. What if their parents lacked understanding, and were not guided? 2 The Cow, 170 We understand from the above verse that people were obsessed by their ancestral heritage of traditions they could not abandon despite clear injunctions of the Quran to the contrary. The Quran addressed man to use his intelligence and not to follow what he received from his forefathers.

PROPHETS ARE REFORMISTS The history of religions is the story of the clash between intellect and traditions. Every prophet has the mission to make radical changes in his community. He conveys the messages he receives from God, and the faithful obey Gods

P a g e | 156 commandments in the light of the dictates of reason. In doing this, he disposes of the customs and traditions that clash with the revealed message. The disbelievers accuse the prophets of treachery and betrayal of ancestral traditions, denying all rational thinking and logic. To refute a novelty they need nothing but discord between what has been revealed and their actual practices. Blindfolded imitation of the ways of the forefathers is the motto among these people. Noah was addressed in the following way:

24 We never heard of anything like this from our ancestors. 23 The Believers, 24 The Prophet Hud was interrogated as follows: 70 - They said: Do you come to us that we may worship God alone, and give up the cult of our fathers? 7 The Purgatory, 70 And the prophet Salih was asked the following question: 62 - Do you forbid us the worship of what our fathers worshipped? 11 Hud, 62 The following was the address to the Prophet Shuaib: 87 - They said: O Shuaib! Does your prayer command you that we leave off the worship which our fathers practiced? 11 Hud, 87 And they said to Abraham: 74 - They said: No, but we found our fathers doing thus (what we do). 26 The Poets, 74 Moses received the following answer: 36 We have never heard of this since our ancestors. 28 The History, 36 The Prophet Muhammad was ascribed the following qualification: 43 - This is simply a man who wants to divert you from the way your parents used to worship. 34 Sheba, 43

GLORIOUS ANCESTORS The Quran says that truth can only be reached by reason and based on Gods Book.. The defenders of the traditionalist Islam, opponents of this thesis of the Quran, do their utmost to obliterate this conjecture, deviating the naive peoples

P a g e | 157 rational and logical tendencies towards the acceptance and adoption of sectarian dictates transformed into deepseated traditions. The devotees of these traditions, who have replaced Gods revelation with man-made religion, argue, on the grounds that the majority of the believers have acted in emulation of their ancestors, that their forefathers could not have erred in their practices, so ipso facto they must be duly obeyed. 20 Yet, some people argue about God without knowledge, without guidance, and without an enlightening book. 21. And when they are told, Follow what God has sent down, they say, No, we follow the ways that we found our parents doing. 31 Luqmaan, 20-21 We observe from the above verses that the ways of our ancestors were opposed to Gods revelation at the time of the Prophet, in total disregard of the verses of the Quran which they tried to replace by an infinite number of fabricated sources defying intellect as such.

PURSUE NOT THAT OF WHICH YOU HAVE NO KNOWLEDGE 29 This is a Book that we have sent down to you, that is sacred, that they may meditate on Its signs, and that men of understanding may receive admonition. 38 Sad, 29 36 Do not follow that of which you have no knowledge. Verify the ear, the eye, the heart; each will be questioned. 17 The Children of Israel, 36 The exponents of sectarian and traditional Islam have always contended the uselessness and disadvantage of intelligence and reason in religion. Reason contradicts religion, according to them. No wonder that is so, since numerous absurdities and inconsistencies concocted could not possibly stand up to reason. The masses have been led to face a dilemma: either they will deny reason and accept religion or they will stick to their reasoning faculty and deny religion. The Quran announces that evidence attesting to Gods existence may be obtained by deductive reasoning. However, the Quran does not limit the use of intelligence to evidence that prove Gods existence. Reaching the conclusion that God exists through the working of ones intelligence is proof that the Quran gives importance of the intellect and of Gods providing man with the capacity of finding out evidence when he uses his brain.

PLURALITY AMONG THE HINDUS A person born into a Hindu family will believe that there is an infinite number of divinities incarnated in the cows around. It seems very natural for him to think along the lines of his forefathers. A child born into a practicing Christian family will find it only natural to think that Christ is God incarnate as preached by Catholicism and Orthodoxy. The traditionalist Islamist stands justifiably against such conceptions and in proof quotes the following verses of the Quran: 116 If you obey the majority of people on the earth, they will divert you from the path of God. They follow only conjecture, they only guess.

P a g e | 158 6 The Cattle, 116 106 - And most of them believe not in God without associating others as partners with Him. 12 The Joseph, 106 As one can see from these verses, to fall in line with the majority may, more often than not, cause people to swerve from the right path. It has often been the case that the minorities were right in their judgment. God has not allowed us to find out truth by having recourse to the majority but has encouraged us to use our brains. You can find in the manner by which a traditionalist Muslim tries to point out the errors committed by a Hindu or a Christian delivering discourses like the above by reference to this and other verses. When traditionalist sects who use the right criteria in advising Hindus and Christians are called back to the Islam preached in the Quran, they prefer to take refuge behind their status as partisans of the majority, faithful to their historical past. Nevertheless, the traditionalists know how to admonish those who had been led astray and taken Christ for the Son of God and the calf for the refuge of divinities. They were the self-same people who had come up with the support of the majority behind them to stick to their old customs and traditions.

FOR THE SAKE OF TRUTH Individuals are required to defend their religion and must not fear to be cast out. Prophets who stood firm in their beliefs and suffered for their cause while trying to spread their messages are good examples. A great majority of people are afraid of being excommunicated, and prefer to stick to the established faith and traditions. If these people are comparatively near to the so-called devotee, so much the worse. 36 Is not God sufficient for His devotee? Still they frighten you with others apart from Him. 39 The Throngs, 36

SIMPLICITY

There are persons to whom we preach the Islam of the Quran who react to the wide divergence between it and the Islam of the sectarians by saying: You are simplifying the religion. How can religion be so easy to practice? and accuse those who defend the Islam of the Quran by subjectivism, attempting to suit it to their own ends. However, all that they do is but to display their ignorance of the verses of the Quran. According to the Quran, there is nothing complex about Islam. If you are advocating a difficult and complex religion, it is not the Islam of the Quran;.for it is as simple as the religion of Abraham. 78 - He has chosen you, and has imposed no difficulties on you in religion. 22 The Pilgrimage, 78

P a g e | 159 GODS SPOKESMEN Sectarian bigots who dared to act as spokesmen of God showed Islam, Gods grace, as if it were a curse upon mankind! They presented it as if it ran counter to human nature, logic, science and justice. One hundred and fourteeen basmalas (beginning verse of the suras) and hundreds of other verses recite and reiterate Gods compassion and generosity. The bigoted traditionalist mentality has represented Islam as a product of freakish thought, encumbering it with impediments and condemning the sobriety and simplicity inherent in religion. Music of the Quran taken by some as a sort of incantation was enough to lull the traditionalists bigoted mentality. 185 - God wishes ease and not hardship for you. 2 The Cow, 185 28 - God wishes to lighten your difficulties, for humans are created weak. 4 The Women, 28 Islam involves no difficulties and the Quran is not an inaccessible book. Those whose motto has been The Quran is a sacred book and it is not for everybody to understand it, served no other purpose than to move people away from it. They seem to be blind to the Qurans address, which is directed to mankind and not to a happy few! The idea behind this was certainly to monopolize it and make it exclusive to a select group of sheikhs and imams who were to guide the people. Thus the Omayyad and Abbasid interpolations were not to be questioned. The contradictions and difficulties created under them were to perpetuate. To prove the contrary and the accessibility of the Quran to all, the following verse which is repeated four times in the sura The Moon is glaring evidence: 17 - And we have indeed made the Quran easy to understand and remember: then is there any that will receive admonition? 54 The Moon, 17, 22, 32, 40

WALLS ERECTED BETWEEN THE QURAN AND US The Quran addresses mankind. It is the guide for all. It is made easy as the above quoted verses testify. Otherwise how could men receive advice from a book they did not understand? By making the Quran inaccessible, believing that they glorified it, they contradicted it unwittingly! We should like to quote here from a book entitled Saadet-i Ebediyye (Eternal Bliss) whose author is Hseyin Hilmi Ik, a proponent of the Ikclar order: Faithfulness means obeying the commandments. Reciting the Quran is a prayer. To understand it is not prescribed. To understand the Quran requires the acquisition of seventy-two auxiliary and eight fundamental pieces of knowledge. Only then can one absorb the wisdom concealed in it, providing God allows it, of course, by His grace. To say that it is within reach of every individual would be incorrect. To penetrate the secret meaning of the Quran requires ten years of study for a person who is talented and fifty years for someone of average intelligence, while for us, whose intelligence is mediocre, one hundred years. Wisdom, according to the Sharia, corresponds to the acquisition of useful knowledge. In other words, what is meant by useful knowledge is that body of religious knowledge and erudition that leads one to God. There is no need to draw attention to the crass ignorance, primitivism, foolishness and inanity reflected by the above lines, representative of the bigoted mind.

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HOW DID THE BEDOUIN UNDERSTAND THE QURAN? According to Hseyin Hilmi, to understand the Quran has nothing devotional about it. Yet an individual of average intelligence may have access to it after a study of fifty years. A critic has the following to say to these inanities: Had the scholars taken the trouble of consulting the Quran, they would have seen nowhere such prescriptions. It is true that their intelligence is so poor that they cannot understand the plain admonitions of the Quran. They do not realize that the Quran addresses the illiterate mass of people. The Meccans were not in a position to learn 72+8 auxiliary fundamental pieces of knowledge before they had the privilege to have access to the Quran. These so-called scholars might penetrate the erudition of the Quran had they ever taken the trouble to consult it with a light heart. Yet, they had already reached a satanic decision, according to which understanding the Quran was denied them. However, one must differentiate between I dont understand the Quran, and I cant understand the Quran. And last but not least, to impute lack of intelligence to those who are willing to have access to it by saying: Since I dont understand it, how can others do so? One of the main reasons of the revelation was to do away with idols, divinities, priests, clergy and sanctified individuals who interceded between God and man. We cannot but witness the working of intercessors like sheikhs, sectarian imams, traditionalists and canonical scholars. 3 Absolutely, the religion shall be devoted to God alone. Those who have taken protectors other than Him, say We worship them that they may bring us nearer to God. Surely, God will judge between them in that in which they differ. Surely, God does not guide any liar, unappreciative. 39 The Throngs, 3

ADVICE FOR THE DAILY LIFE OF SPOUSES We shall try now to give a brief account of a matrimonial life according to the sectarian. This will give us a good idea how difficult life has been rendered thanks to the ingenuous fabrications of the sectarian mind. The couple should get out of bed with their right foot first. Good deeds require the primary use of the right foot, for the use of the left foot leads to the carrying out of evil deeds. One should do well to wear a headgear before entering the bathroom. Speaking in the bathroom is banned and if anyone asks something while one is in the bathroom, the question should remain unanswered. Man must give up the habit of urinating standing but do so in a crouched position. If either of the spouses is to take a bath, he or she should keep a loincloth on. A person should acquire the habit of covering his/her private parts even when alone in the bathroom. Although there is no one around, one should be conscious of the omnipresence of angels. In the course of taking a bath one should take care that one washes first the right shoulder while continuing to recite the Arabic prayers as foreseen in the relevant books. To clean the teeth with miswak is obligatory. Proper care of teeth must not be neglected. According to certain scholars, filling teeth would cancel the ablution. The man will remain dirtu. In the case of decay of a tooth, it must be pulled out and false teeth used. False teeth should be taken out during ablution and washed well since otherwise the polluted state of its wearer will continue. When a man is to perform his daily prayer, he would do well to wind his turban, which should preferably be seven meters long. A man must wear only green, black or white colors. Yellow or red must be avoided. The spouses should eat seated on the ground and avoid eating at tables, modern inventions. In the seated position on the ground the right leg

P a g e | 161 shall be bent while the left shall remain folded beneath the buttocks. The meal is served in one single dish. Utensils like forks or spoons should be avoided. The best way of eating would be the use of ones three fingers. It is advisable to start a meal with salt. Water during the meal should be drunk in three gulps. The use of the right hand in eating is an absolute necessitysince things eaten with the left hand go to the belly of Satan. Upon the conclusion of the meal, three fingers shall be licked starting with the thumb, for this is sunna, which must be obeyed. A man must look in the mirror, check whether his beard has grown longer than allowed. Care must be taken not to trim it shorter; for, then he would assume to be too handsome. Mans application of collyrium at the outer corner of the eye and his parting his hair down the middle are commendable. The wife should let her hair grow full length and must not have it cut. To have her eyebrows plucked is a great sin. If she happens to go out, she must make sure that a next of kin accompany her if she intends to go at a distance longer than 90 kilometers. However, it is best for her to stay indoors. When she goes out, she should not forget to cover herself and refrain from dabbing on perfume. It is best for her to cover her entire body and wear gloves. Many scholars have advised that the cut nails of a woman must be buried in the ground considering that they are a part of her body, making sure that they are not seen by males. Given the fact that watching TV is a controversial issue, it is best not to have a TV set at home. All controversial things must be avoided, according to the sects. Music, stringed instruments and especially a womans voice are banned. Sexual relations must take place with clothes on since otherwise angels may be offended. The sight of sexual organs must also be avoided by the couple. When entering or leaving the house one must make sure that the first step must be with the right foot. Dogs should not be let in for fear of offending and keeping away the angels. Beds or couches must touch the ground and be without legs. One must take ablution before going to sleep. It is said that a person who dies clean in his sleep will go to paradise as a martyr. The sleeping position shall be as follows: the right hand shall be placed beneath the head while the sleeper lies on his right side. Lying flat on ones belly is the worst position imaginable. A person who sleeps prone must be warned by either of the spouses to change his/her position.

INTERMINABLE ADVICE All these prescriptions are enough to show how religion has been rendered difficult by sectarian books. This system preached by them obstructs the natural living of an individual. The same attitude may be observed in other religions. 57 Subsequent to them, We sent Our messengers. We sent Jesus, the son of Mary, and gave him the Gospel, and put into the hearts of his followers compassion and kindness. But they invented monasticism which had not been prescribed for them by Us, except for seeking the pleasure of God. Yet they did not observe it as it should have been rightly observed. 57 The Iron, 27 The sectarians have filled every second of a man with obligations to be performed, giving them a religious character. Yet, many of these obligations they have imposed were quite often not practiced by their fabricators. 286 God does not burden a soul beyond capacity. 2 The Cow, 286

P a g e | 162 6 - God desires not to place a burden on you but He wishes to purify you and that He may complete His favor on you, so that you may give thanks. 5 The Feast, 6 8 We will direct you to the easiest path. 87 The Most High, 8

KEYS TO COMPREHEND THE QURAN

Let us go over our basic principles related to the manner in which a subject must be conceived and interpreted according to the Quran: The Quran is the only source of Islam. One should never forget that the Quran is Gods Word and was revealed to man in order that he may have understanding. Every single point must be conceived within the entire context of the Quran. To properly understand something mentioned in a given verse, all related verses must also be examined (partial acknowledgement of the Quran is tantamount to its flat denial). We must take for granted the fact that there are no contradictions or paradoxes in the Quran. Anything not included in the Quran has no religious connotation. Once we follow this precept, we shall have got rid of 90% of the interpolations. Anything that is not banned in the Quran is lawful. If you come across points that seem unclear to you, you must find a way to consult someone who firmly believes that the Quran is the only source of Islam and is familiar with the Arabic language and to look for it in the Quran. In doing this, you must make sure to examine the different contexts in which a particular word was used. In trying to understand the Quran, we must not forget that our major aids are our intelligence and conscience, and that the greatest obstacles are traditions, customs, adoption by the greater mass of the public and public censure. Once we have seen the basic principles, we are now going to take up 10 examples that will facilitate how we are supposed to understand a problem pointed to in the Quran:

1) Can a woman lead a congregational prayer? 2) Can a menstruating woman recite the Quran? 3) Smoking? 4) The Call to Prayer in Languages Other than Arabic? 5) Whom to marry?

P a g e | 163 6) Parents Share in Inheritance 7) Situation of Jews and Christians 8) Can a State compel men to perform their prayers? 9) Good Morals 10) Is Paradise an Eternal Abode? 1) Can a woman lead a congregational prayer? We read in the Quran that the Prophet did lead congregational prayers (The Women, 102). So that prayers can be performed either individually or in congregation. In the case of the latter, the leader may be either a man or a woman. There is no prohibition in the Quran for a woman leading the congregation during the prayer. It is interesting to note in passing that in the Quran there is no mention of salaried imams or muezzins.

2) Can a menstruating woman recite the Quran? The only verse that refers to the condition of a menstruating woman is the following: 22 They ask you about menstruation. Say: It is harmful. So keep away from women during menstruation, and do not approach them until they are relieved of it. 2 The Cow, 222 As one can see this is the only sexual prohibition. God does not prevent a menstruating woman from reciting the Quran, performing her daily prayers or interrupting her fast. A menstruating woman may enter a mosque and perform her prayer. The woman has thus been kept away from God by the spokesmen of God for a length of time approximately equal to 1/6 of her lifetime.

3) Smoking? There is no mention in the Quran against smoking. Therefore, those points left to a mans discretion should be carefully weighed by the individual, and the pros and cons should be considered by himself. Considering that for food experts processed white sugar and white bread are hardly wholesome, they should also be mentioned among the list of prohibitions based on a general principle such as Anything injurious to health is religiously banned, which would have complicated the practice of religion.

4) The Call to Prayer in Languages Other than Arabic? The call to prayer is indicated in the Quran but the manner by which it is to be performed is not indicated. The language in which it must be made is not prescribed. So the essential thing is the invitation, no matter how it is done. It may well be in English, in Japanese or in any other language. In this context we must remind our readers that the Quran must be conceived within the framework of the integrity of the Quran when trying to understand a particular issue.

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5) Whom to marry? Idolaters are to be shunned in choosing ones mate. 221 - Do not marry idolatrous women unless they believe; a slave woman is better than an unbelieving woman even though you may like her. And do not give your daughters in marriage to idolaters, unless they believe. A slave who is a believer is better than an idolater even though you may like him. 2 The Cow, 221 A Muslim man or woman is not allowed to marry someone who is in unlawful relations with their mates. 3 The adulterer will end up marrying an adulteress or an idol worshiper, and the adulterers will end up marrying an adulterer or an idol worshiper. This is prohibited for the believers. 24 The Light, 3 Additionally, the cases in which marriage is forbidden are given below: 22 And do not marry the women who were previously married to your fathers. What happened in the past is now past. It is shameful and abhorrent, and an abominable act. 23 Prohibited for you are: your mother, daughters, sisters, fathers sisters, mothers sisters, brothers daughters, sisters daughters; foster mothers, foster sisters; your wives mothers, the daughters of the wives you have slept with who are under your charge- but in case you have not slept with them there is no offence- and the wives of your own begotten sons, and marrying two sisters at the same time, what happened in the past is now past. God is Forgiver, Merciful. 24 Also forbidden are married women. 4 The Women, 22, 23, 24 We have above the persons whom we are not allowed to marry. A Muslim is allowed to marry, for instance, Jews and Christian believers. It is to be noted that in order to come to a decision on a certain issue we have to go over the entire Quran. For example, a person who studies only Sura The Women and has not analyzed Sura The Cow may think that he/she may marry an unbeliever.

6) Parents Share in Inheritance The essential thing to consider in the distribution of ones estate is the will of the dying person. To distribute the inheritance according to the will and pay off the outstanding debts are the first things to do. With reference to the parents share, we have the following prescription in the Quran: 11 - For parents a sixth share of the inheritance to each, if the deceased left children. If no children and the parents are the heirs, the mother has a third. If the deceased left brothers or sisters the mother has a sixth after the payment of legacies and debts. 4 The Women, 11

P a g e | 165 The parents receive 1/6 of the inheritance while the mothers share increases up to 1/3 if the deceased has no children.

7) Situation of Jews and Christians There is nor prescription in the Quran about whether Jews and Christians, who still stick to their creed after the revelation of the Quran, are doomed and will go to hell or will not be admitted to paradise, contrary to the pronouncements of the sectarians. 62 Surely, those who believe, those who are Jewish, the Christians, and the converts; anyone who believes in God, and the Last Day, and leads a righteous life will receive their recompense from their Lord. They have nothing to fear, nor will they grieve. 2 The Cow, 62 The fact that one can marry Jews and Christians, that the state of affliction among the Muslims in the wake of the war lost by the Christians in the Sura The Romans show how the mentality that condemns them to hell contradicts the Quran. It is to be also noted that among the Jews and Christians are also persons that have strayed: 113 - They are not all the same; among the followers of the scripture, there are those who stand, who recite Gods revelations through the night, and they fall prostrate. 3 The family of Imran, 113

8) Can a State compel men to perform their prayers? Despite the fact that prayers have been ordained to man, no punishment is foreseen in this world for those who fail to perform them. Their case is to be dealt with in the hereafter. There is no compulsion in religion, ordains the Quran. 256 There shall be no compulsion in religion; the right way is now distinguished from the wrong way. 2 The Cow, 256 21 Remind them, you are surely a reminder. 22 You are not a warden over them. 88 He Who Besieged, 21-22

9) Good Morals One can easily deduce from the contents of the Quran that good morals are a necessary consequence of a believing soul. Such meritorious qualities as generosity, modesty and courage are often mentioned in the Quran. It is a fact that religion is not made up solely of prayers and the credo. In this also the sole source is the Quran itself. Let us take as an example the issue of being trustworthy. The Quran you will consult in this case will display for you many verses about it. 8 - Those who faithfully observe their trusts and their covenants

P a g e | 166 23 The Believers, 8 34 - And fulfill the promise; you will surely be questioned about the promise. 17 The Children of Israel, 34

10) Is Paradise an Eternal Abode? According to the Quran it is an eternal abode. 57 - Those who believe and do deeds of righteousness shall soon be admitted to gardens with rivers flowing beneath, where they will abide forever. 4 The Women, 57 108 - Where they will abide forever, never wanting to change. 18 The Cave, 108 As one can see, all basic information has been provided in the Quran. 89 - And We have sent down to you the Book explaining all things, a guide, a mercy and glad tidings for those who submit. 16 The Honey Bees, 89

FAITH, PRAYER, ALMS, FASTING AND PILGRIMAGE

There have been no controversial points between sectarians on the questions of Gods unity, compassion, omnipotence, the hereafter and fundamental creeds, exceptions being made of certain heretics in the minority who exalted Ali, son-in-law of Muhammad, or of the incarnation of God in sheikhs. Yet there has been a wide divergence of opinions between the religion propounded in the Quran and the religion preached by sectarians on the issue of God as the unique lawgiver. According to the Quran, the only lawgiver is God, and the Quran embraces the totality of Gods commandments to the believers. The sectarians, however, first dared to represent Muhammad as Gods assistant in the establishment of Islam, later adding the Prophets companions, then the sectarian imams and certain sheikhs who were to assume the garb of reference sources. They contributed to the creation of a religious code outside the scope of the Quran. This sounded a discordant note in terms of religious practices. Whether a given act was lawful or not depended on the approval or disapproval of an imam whose opinion was equated with the word of the Quran. For example, God forbade the drinking of blood, the eating of dead animals, adultery and homicide. The sectarian imams added to this list of prohibitions, the consumption of mussels, the chiseling of statues, mens wearing gold trinkets. The

P a g e | 167 majority of these were supposedly based on hadiths. Thus Gods authority to impose prohibitions was shared by mortals. One of the great scandals that took place had to do with faith. Two groups of opponents emerged. According to one, the Quran was a product of creation, while for the other it was eternal. This clash of opinions gave rise to no inconsiderable antagonism between the parties. The Sunnis arrived at a conclusion, according to which the Quran had existed from eternity. The Sunni view that transformed the Quran, the only source of Islam, into one of the numerous reference sources of religion, that dared cancel Quranic verses claiming that on which they had been written were eaten by a goat, displayed its illogicality by attributing the Quran to eternal existence. Irrelevant additions were made to Islam, those making the additions convinced that they were authorized to perfect it. Among such absurd contentions was, for instance, the question as to whether Gods compassion and grace had existed per se from eternity in God and with God or were created afterward. Comments made in hadiths that gave the impression that God was not omnipotent caused problems for the various sects but the controversies were eventually ended.. The general public, followers of these sects, has certainly no idea of such hadiths, among which Gods feeling the cold of His finger on the back of the Prophet and Gods lighting up paradise by uncovering His calf are not only funny but also exceedingly preposterous. Such religious considerations have provided the unbelievers with stuff for ridiculing the religion. The interpolation in the religion of such concepts as agony in the grave, and descriptions of hell and paradise outside the context of the Quran and the taking them for a part of the religion should be considered heretical approaches with respect to the hereafter. We must dispose of such unfounded creeds remaining outside the Quran.

PRAYER (SALAT) AS COMMANDED IN THE QURAN Correct interpretation of the prayer commanded to the faithful is of great importance for the Islam of the Quran. The traditionalist mentality conceives that what is preached in the Quran is not sufficient to understand its due performance. This concern of traditionalists demonstrates that they are ignorant of what religion is. One should take care to accept certain principles for oneself and try to conceive it in that framework. Once the source of religion is made clear in the mind, we should try to understand the way to pray, how to keep the fast etc. with reference to it. In other words the way prayer must be performed will be conceived in the light of the knowledge one will draw from that source. One should not attempt to formulate the source in the image of ones own mind. If one sees any discrepancy between what is practiced and what is actually preached in the Quran, one should do well to understand what is stated in the Quran and not try to change its contents. Prayer has been described to its minutest detail in the Quran. Yet, this failed to satisfy the commentators who felt themselves compelled to add further details. However, we do not claim that certain things are unlawful. For instance, reciting the Sura Fatiha, the first Sura, the opening chapter of the Quran, in every prayer is not a binding duty, yet doing so is commendable. The error lies in the fact that this obligation was introduced later on and that the Quran did not contain it. To say that a particular act has not been explicitly stated for the performance of the prayer does not mean that that act is against the Quran. The only thing is that one should know that it is not ordained by God. For instance, the error is not in reciting the verse Fatiha as such, but in saying that its recital whenever one gets up during the prayer is ordained by God. We advise you to pay attention to our comments on this issue as we proceed. Now, the following are the steps one should follow in the performance of the ritual prayer:

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ABLUTION AND RITUAL TOTAL ABLUTION Ablution is mentioned in the Quran only as a prerequisite to precede the performance of prayer. Otherwise, there is no requirement for being in ritual purity when one steps in a mosque, for reciting the Quran and for any worship other than salat, the ritual ordained in the Quran. The following two verses mention the ablution one performs before the prayer and the total ritual ablution necessitated after sexual contact. Whatever we are expected to know are then contained in the following two verses. 6 - O you who believe, when you rise up for prayer, wash your face and your hands up to the elbows, and rub your head, and your feet till the heels. And if you are in a state of ceremonial impurity (junub) due to sexual contact, then purify yourself. And if you are sick or on a journey, or one of you comes from the privy, or you have had contact with women and you cannot find water, you shall observe tayammum (dry ablution), by touching the soil, then rubbing your face and hands. God desires not to place a burden on you but He wishes to purify you and that He may complete His favor on you, so that you may give thanks. 5 The Feast, 6 43 - O you who believe! Go not near prayer when you are intoxicated till you know what you say. Nor after sexual contact without bathing. If you are ill, or on a journey, or come from the privy, or contacted women, and you cannot find water, you shall observe tayammum (dry ablution), by touching soil, then rubbing your face and hands. God is Pardoner, Forgiver. 4 The Women, 43

1) Reason for performing ablution before the prayer and for the total ritual ablution. We can deduce from the contents of the above verses that both kinds of ablutions are required before performing the salat (ritual prayer), 5 Sura The Feast, 6 states that ablution must be performed before prayers and in 4 The Women, 43 it is made clear that a person who had sexual contact should not perform the prayer unless he/she washed his/her entire body.

2) When to perform the ablution At the end of each of the above verses it is indicated how to proceed when water necessary for performing the ablution is not available. The state that annuls the canonical purity is made clear: when one has just relieved nature and returning from the gait (Arabic word meaning pit) used for a water-closet or privy; we have avoided using the word bathroom where one can perform things other than merely relieving nature. No other act or state can necessitate the renewal of ablution such as bleeding or eating of camel flesh.

3) When to perform the ghusl (total ritual ablution)

P a g e | 169 Contacting women (coition), the state of junup (denoting in Arabic the state of one who has had a sexual relation) necessitates the entire washing of the body before one can perform the prayer. In no other state is one commanded to take a bath. The word junub whose root is janp means togetherness, proximity, that is sexual contact.

4) How to perform the ablution In the beginning of Sura 5 The Feast, 6 the manner of performing ablution is described. In the text, the imperative wash is followed by direct objects face and hands up to the elbows, and the imperative rub is followed by direct objects the head and feet down until the heels. Were someone to say to you Wash the bathroom and the kitchen and wipe the hall and the entrance, you would surely understand that the entrance must be wiped and not washed. Yet, for some reason or other all the Sunnis interpreted the rubbing act that preceded the direct object feet as washing rather than wiping. Nor can we deduce from the order in which the direct objects are quoted the rubbing act as an interim act and that it is reserved solely for the head. For, in the sequence, we have first the face and hands, which is followed by the head before going down to the feet. Therefore the imperative wash cannot possible apply to feet. The conventional practice is due to the interpretation of fabricated hadiths. Among the Shiites, for instance, the feet are rubbed by hand according to their hadiths. It is not our aim to refute the hadiths by reference to other hadiths, but to show the contradiction between the sects. Sleyman Ate, who draws attention to the fact that many a companion used to rub their feet during the performance of ablution, gives an account of the Arabic version of the act as follows: God Almighty has commanded us to wash two principal body parts: the face and the arms. The imperative wash is followed by direct objects the face and the arms. He ordered that the two body parts be rubbed; namely, the head and the feet down to the heels. It follows that the face and the arms are to be washed. Likewise, the two direct objects of the imperative rub are the head and the feet. These are then the two body parts to be rubbed. There is a fine point that supports this. The first of the two direct objects following the imperative wash refers to a single body part while the second one indicates a pair (i.e. two hands). Likewise, the first of the two direct objects that follow the imperative rub refers to a pair (i.e. two feet) (Sleyman Ate, Encyclopedia of the Quran, Vol. 1, Ablution). While performing the ablution, the face and the arms up until the elbows are washed; the head and the feet up to the heels are wiped. That is all. However, anyone who chooses so may rinse his mouth, wipe the nape of his neck, wash his feet including the heels, while reciting verses or special devotional lines. One thing is certain, all these are not binding. God has made clear the manner the ablution is to be performed.

5) The total ablution (for ceremonial impurity) We already made it clear that this total ablution is required after sexual contact. Two Arabic words explain what we are supposed to do. In Sura 5 The Feast the word tahara means to be cleansed and in Sura 4 The Women the word ghusl means to wash. There are no detailed accounts of what one is to do, no such imperatives as wash this part and that part of your body up to this and that level. Rinse your mouth three times and clean your nose by inhaling water into your nostrils and blowing it out three times, Do not leave a speck of your body unwashed, pour water first over your right shoulder then over your left one. Given the fact there are no such indications, one should understand from the verb gasala, merely to wash. The word tahara is cleansing. Anyone who takes a bath is considered to have performed the total ablution. Even a child would understand what the command Wash! means. And yet grown people are at a loss to interpret the command, without realizing the fact that their lack of understanding results from their own incapacity to comprehend the bare reality. To compensate for their shortcomings, they blame the Quran and accuse it of insufficiency while referring to books wherein such details are supplied to supplement it.

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6) What to do when water is not available Under normal conditions, the scarcity of water is not a daily occurrence. When exceptionally no water is available, man is told to perform the ablution by tayammum, i.e. rubbing ones hands with earth and applying them on ones face and hands.

KIBLA In Sura 2 The Cow, 144, 149, 150, Muslims are commanded to turn toward Mescidi Haram (Mecca) while performing the prayer. If a performer of prayer cannot properly determine which way to turn, he may still perform his prayer knowing of the omnipresence of God (2 The Cow, 115).

APPAREL AND CLEANLINESS There is no particular prescription for the clothes to wear during the performance of the prayer (salat). A person performing the prayer individually may wear anything. When daily prayers are performed in congregation, a person must wear his/her beautiful apparel (see 7 Purgatory, 31) From 2 The Cow, 125 and 22 The Pilgrimage, 26 it is understood that the place where prayer is performed must be kept clean.

PRESCRIBED TIMES FOR THE SALAT In 4 The Women, 103 it is said: Prayers are commanded for believers at stated times. Salat (prayer) is a worship during which the individual is in the presence of God. There is no doubt about the fact that the Quran has indicated the exact times when one is to perform ones prayer. We are referring to those binding prayers as ordained by God. Salat (ritual prayer) is a praiseworthy prayer. It is a way of turning oneself toward God and remembering Him. In this sense it is a prayer that can be performed any time; however, not every prayer that one can perform is binding. For instance, if he/she so feels, a man/woman may perform salat even at midnight although this is not required of him/her. There is no doubt that the Prophet and his companions did perform prayers at times other than the appointed times. Nevertheless, the traditionalist mentality, ignoring the fact that the only source of religion was the Quran, conceived and declared that some of these prayers were binding, others being sunna. Instead of reverting to the Quran, they preferred to emulate the companions of the Prophet and of those near him. According to the Sunnis the number of times that a man shall perform the salat is 5; namely, before the break of dawn, at noon, in the afternoon, in the evening and at night. On the other hand, for the Shiites this number is three. In former times this number had been two or three among the Kharidjis. The prayers that have not been explicitly indicated in the Quran may well have been performed by the Prophet himself, the Caliphs or the Shiis. It is certainly commendable that one prays outside the appointed hours, but they should not be considered as binding. The error is partly due to the misinterpretation of hadiths. Now we are going to discuss the names and the hours of performance of salats as declared binding in the Quran.

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DAWN PRAYER (Salat Al-Fadjr) The Arabic word salat means to establish a link (with ones Creator). Used together with the word ikama for performing the ritual prayer. The dawn prayer is mentioned in Sura 24 The Light, 58 with the name al-fadjr. The word alfadjr means the time from daybreak until the rise of the sun. The time is referred to in the following Sura: 114 - And keep up prayer at the two extremities of the day at the approach of the night. Surely good deeds take away evil deeds. 11 Hud, 114 The Arabic word nahari means day and layl night; tarafayn nahari means the two extremities of the day. On the other hand taraf means side, end, extremity, contiguity. What is meant then is the dawn and the sunset which comprise the early morning and the evening prayers. To make it clearer the expression zulafan minal-layl (at the approach of the night) is used to signify the time portion in which night is bordering on the day. The dawn prayer is mentioned in Sura 24 The Light, 58 in which also the time of prayer is indicated. The time is also referred to in Sura Hud, 114. In other words the time for the morning prayer is the time that extends from the first rays of the day until the rise of the sun.

EVENING PRAYER (Salat Al-Isha) It is mentioned in Sura 24 The Light, 58 that the word isha means the time extending from sunset until the darkness sets in. The same word is also mentioned in the 12th sura, verse 16, and the 79th sura verse 46. 58 O you who believe! Permission must be requested by your dependants and those who have not yet reached the age of puberty. On three occasions: before dawn prayer, at noon when you change your clothes and after the evening prayer. These are your three times of undress. 24 The Light, 58 Some translators interpreted the evening prayer as late-night prayer. The reason may have been the disrobing of persons when they are back home from the last prayer of the day they have performed. However, the word isha means clearly the evening time. Therefore the expressions night prayer or late-night prayer are not correct. The times for the dawn prayer and the evening prayer are foreseen in Sura 11 Hud, 114. When one of the prayers is performed at dawn the other will be the prayer performed symmetrically in the evening. The time of the evening prayer is the approach of the night, too. Moreover, there is another verse that refers to the time of the evening prayer:

78 - You shall observe prayer at the decline of the sun till the darkness of the night and the recital of the Quran at dawn. Surely the recital of the Quran at dawn is witnessed. 17 The Children of Israel, 78 The expression the declining of the sun (duluk ul-shams) means, of course, the sunset. So the time extending from sunset until the darkness sets in is the time during which one can perform ones prayer. It is interesting to note that the

P a g e | 172 time of dawn is also stressed along with the evening prayer in the continuation of the verse. The reciting of the Quran at dawn also seems to be considered important. The times indicated for prayers are inherent in the names of the prayers, i.e. the dawn prayer and the evening prayer. Moreover, the times for prayers are foreseen in 11 Hud, 114. In 24 The Light, 58 the fact that the dawn prayer is the first prayer and the evening prayer is the last prayer is implied.

THE MIDDLE (OR MOST EXCELLENT) PRAYER (Salat Al-Wusta) It is stated in the Quran: 238 - Guard the prayers and the middle (the most excellent) prayer and stand up truly obedient to Allah. 2 The Cow, 238 There are no other verses indicating the times for prayers other than the verses in which the times for the dawn prayer and the evening prayer are indicated, and the above verse. With the one being at one side, the other at the other side of the day, the salat al wusta must take place between these prayers. Given the fact that in all cultures the day is the time that man wakes up and the night is for the night rest, this salat is to be performed during the day. (In 17 The Children of Israel, 79, the midnight prayer was commanded only to the Prophet.) According to another view, the word wusta also means the most excellent and does not refer to a salat particularly, but to keeping the prayers and performing them in the most excellent manner. The word wusta is also mentioned in the following suras: 2 The Cow, 143; 5 The Feast, 89; 68 The Pen, 28 and 100 The Gallopers, 5. An examination of it in these contexts will reveal the true meaning of the expression. As one can see, there is no mention of salat performed five times a day. Nor is it made clear what is to be recited during the performance of prayer, while bowing or prostrating. Even we do not encounter any indication in the hadiths whether a prayer should be long or short. Many particulars came to be formed by the private opinions of the sectarians. There are a great number of hadiths about the Prophets performing prayers of long and short duration. The sectarians have limited the act that had been left to the discretion of the individual and compelled their imitators to act likewise. It is clear in the Quran that there are no particular verses dictated by the Quran to be recited during certain phases of the prayer, whether standing, bowing or seated. As a matter of fact, had the hadiths been correctly interpreted, the conclusion would not have differed. The sects have overcrowded the requirements of prayers with their own inventions. On the other hand, one cannot derive from the hadiths the traditional five times of the prayer. There are some hadiths proving the Prophet keeping the number of times to three. The Shiites for instance, who perform the salat three times a day, relate the fact to their own body of hadiths. The Shiite attempt at combining the five times into three may have originated from the idea of a compromise of the two schools. Nowhere in the Quran do we come across an expression for combining the prayers. It is clear that the binding prayers are those ordered in the Quran. What makes a prayer performed on time is its being executed at the apportioned time and not the number of bowings or prayers recited in the course of it. Like the Shiites, the Sunni sects Shafi, Maliki and Hanbali have tolerated the combining of the prayer times. Some thought that this should be left to the discretion of the individual, and for some, to certain special circumstances.

P a g e | 173 However; for, anybody who feels like performing it more than a certain number of prayers, may well go ahead. The determination of the number of prayer times at five is the suggestion of the Sunni sects. Had the number been really 5, the fact should have explicitly been stated in the Quran. Considering that in Sura 17 The Children of Israel, 79 a special midnight prayer had been commanded for the Prophet only, if God so desired He would certainly have laid down the times of prayers to five. The conventional performance of prayers at other times, like in the afternoon and late at night, the exact time of which is uncertain, has ended by imposing them as binding with a view to putting into an order the acts of remembering God and repeating His name. To make the times of these prayers a binding duty is unacceptable. 17 - So glory be to Allah when you enter the evening and when you enter the morning. 18 And to Him be praise in the heavens and the earth, and at the time of noon. 30 The Romans, 17-18 CAN A PRAYER SKIPPED BE PERFORMED AT ANOTHER TIME? The minimum number or prayers has been indicated; however, but the number of prayers that can be performed is not limited. It may be five or more. Those who witnessed the performances of the Prophets companions at other times as well (for instance, in the afternoon and at night) ended by declaring them also binding. Were we to deduce from the habits of certain people the number of times one should pray, there would be many more salats supposedly commanded like the evvabin, kushluk and kusuf prayers. In conclusion, the number of times is stated in the Quran and it must be considered a principle. God has left no missing part in His Book. As a matter of fact, the pilgrims perform the salat three times a day. Considering that minute particulars are stated in the Quran about the requirements for the performance of the ritual (including what a person who had to have his hair trimmed should do), why is there no mention of anything anywhere in the Quran about the shortening of the number of prayers during the pilgrimage? Had the number commanded been five, why is it not stated so?

WHY FIVE TIMES? The fact that the number of times of the salat foreseen to be performed was not five and the traditional performance of the supplemental prayers in the afternoon and at night were not binding had already been advocated by the Kharidjies and the members of the religious school, Mutezila. Those who tried to prove that the number of times that salat was to be performed in the course of a day was five had also concocted a fabricated hadith according to which, as we have already said, the Prophet, during his ascension to the presence of the Almighty, receives the message that the number of prayers is fifty. Whereupon, the Prophet, on his way back, runs across Moses who finds the number too high and advises him to refer to God so that He may make a reduction in the said number. Upon request, God reduces the number. But Moses, still not satisfied with the result, asks him to go and renew his plea, which he does. After many such comings and goings the number is reduced to five, at which the Prophet is reluctant to go any further despite the fact that Moses insists on it. According to this hadith, it appears that God is incapable of assessing the potential of man and the Prophet is an ignoramus, while Moses proves to be his advisor and the regulator of Gods schemes and the savior of the Muslim community. The conclusive evidence of the number 5 is based therefore on this fabricated hadith. The fact that there are hadiths dating prior to the ascent to heaven of the Prophet that say that the number of prayer times was but two, one in the dawn and one at evening (see Bukhari) is evidence that the number had been augmented following the ascent. If that had been the case and the number was two, why then does the Quran not mention that the number had been brought up to five afterward? One might assert only that the middle prayer had been added afterward as stated in Sura The Cow, 238. Why are the afternoon and night prayers not clearly indicated in the Quran?

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SCOPE OF THE SALAT Salat is performed with a view to remembering God (20 Taha, 14). However, it is performed in stated times and on a clean state, i.e. having performed ablution. It is a prayer performed even when there is a war going on. 102 - When you are with them, and stand to lead them in prayer, let one party of them stand up with you, taking their arms with them; when they finish their prostrations, let them take their position in the rear. And let the other party come up which has not yet prayed and let them pray with you 4 The Women, It appears that salat existed even from the time of Abraham (14 Abraham, 40). Even the heathen people who had captured the Kaaba, where Abraham used to pray, performed the ritual prayer, though in a strayed fashion (8 The Spoils of War, 35). The habit to pray had been abandoned afterward because of the lust of past generations. 59 - But after them there followed a posterity who missed prayers and followed after lusts; soon, then, will they face destruction. 19 Mary, 59 The salat involves three main acts: namely, kyam (standing up), ruku (bowing) and suju (prostration). Although there is no mention in the Quran about the obligation to recite it while performing the salat, we are told that the Quran is described as a remembrance (zikr) of God. This is an indication that in performing the salat the Quran is our guide. His compassion, beneficence, grace, creation of hell and paradise, among other things, and omniscience are all mentioned in the Quran. In performing the salat we are not obliged to recite the Quran in the Arabic language. While there is not even the mention of the obligation to recite the verses of the Quran, how are we to deduce that what is to be recited should be in Arabic, since a person who keeps on repeating words he has learned by memory is unable to concentrate on the words his lips pronounce? In this way, the automatic repetition of verses in a language other than ones own risk having their meaning lost. You may have witnessed many performers of the salat confess to have been thinking about other things while their lips kept repeating the words learned by heart. 43 - O you who believe! Approach not prayers while intoxicated until you can understand all that you say 4 The Women, 43 The above verse indicates the importance of a clear mind during the salat in which Gods name is to be pronounced and the individual is obliged to understand what he is saying. If understanding is important, how can a man, who speaks no Arabic, understand what he is reciting? What difference can there be between a person whose mind is clear reciting verses the meaning of which he does not understand and the intoxicated whose mind is clouded? The Quran commands man to ask for help from God with patience (2 The Cow, 45). How can a man who performs his salat not, in his vernacular, ask for help from God? Do those who are against the performance of salat in ones own tongue not prevent the fulfilment of this command? All the minor formal details in the performance of the salat may be duly obeyed, but real communication of the individual between him and his God is thus hampered due to Arabophilia. To summarize:

1) During the salat one praises God, therefore ones consciousness must be clear (20 Taha, 14).

P a g e | 175 2) Salat requires pious reverence and awe (23 The Believers, 2). 3) Salat restrains a person from evil deeds (29 The Spider, 45).

Praying in ones vernacular is essential for the establishment of communication between the individual and his Creator. If you accept the fact that not everybody can learn the Arabic language, praying in ones tongue becomes indispensable.

18 - The places of worship are for God, so invoke not any one along with God. 72 Jinn, 18 It is worth remembering that help is asked only from God and not from prophets, from so-called awliya (saints) and from the departed.

NUMBER OF RAKATS DURING THE SALAT There is no concept of rakat in the Quran. Had God so wanted He would have indicated the number of rakats during the salat. Rakat is the unit of prayer consisting of kyam (standing), ruku (bowing) and suju (prostrating). Now the number of times expected to be repeated during a salat are in general practice as follows: at the Morning Prayer, two rakats, at the noon prayer, four rakats and at the evening prayer, three rakats. These numbers may also be interpreted to mean any number of times a person wishes to perform. It is clear that these numbers have again been set down by sectarians as a binding duty. The companions and the Prophet himself may have performed a definite number of rakats, especially during congregational prayers just to render the ritual uniform so as to avoid confusion. Likewise, certain acts during prayer like raising ones hands to ones ears before starting the prayer, saluting by turning ones head to the right and to the left, and in certain sectarian practices, to slap ones knees to indicate the end of the salat are in this category. These acts may be performed, as there is nothing against them in the Quran. But to transform them into binding requirements is wrong. A person may perform a salat consisting of ten rakats in three minutes while another may perform a salat consisting of just one rakat for hours on end. There is no reason indicated for the importance of the number of rakats. God has not compelled us to count the number of rakats during the prayer. Some have deduced from the indication that there is nothing wrong with shortening the duration of salat during wartime as mentioned in Verses 101, 102, 103 of Sura The Women that the salat should be performed at least in two rakats. Given the fact that a shortened prayer consists of one rakat, the entire prayer should be of two rakats. They bring as evidence to this the following facts: as the Prophet led two congregations, two rakats were performed in all. We are of the opinion that shortening of prayer does not entail the reduction of the number of rakats but of the duration of the prayer. A salat of one rakat may last hours while a salat of two rakats may take less than a minute. The shortening does not refer to the reduction in the number of rakats but in the duration of the prayer. In war the damage that the enemy may inflict is related not to the number of rakats but to the duration of the prayer. As we have already noted there is no mention of rakats in the Quran. The reason why we reckon a prayer in terms of rakats must be due to our conventional habits. The expression la junahoun in the Quran in Sura 4 The Women, 103 translated as There is no blame is also used elsewhere to dispel the anxiety of Muslims. For instance, in Sura 2 The Cow, 198 the same expression is used to indicate that the pilgrims may freely circle Safa and Marva. Even in the absence of this verse there would have been no obstacle for the circling by the Muslims of these areas. Likewise, with reference to the

P a g e | 176 shortening of the salat, the question is to indicate that there is no inconvenience in doing so. Otherwise, there is no verse indicating the duration. It may be that Muslims have felt uneasy to have performed the salat shorter in wartime and that they were comforted by this expression. In Sura 2 The Cow, 198 also the expression la junahun is used meaning that it is no sin to seek the bounty of the Lord. Logically speaking the number of rakats cannot possibly contribute to the essence of salat. The name of God is not recited more when the number of rakats is more. A person may spend longer time during a rakat and repeat the name of God as many times as he thinks fit. Those, who limited the number of rakats, thought that the same salat must not be repeated more than once they thus limited the times that Gods name was to be recited. So, God has left to the discretion of the individual to choose the number of rakats he will perform.

LEVEL OF VOICE The prayers recited during the salat must be not too loud nor said to oneself. 110 Do not utter your salat (prayers) too loudly, nor secretly; you shall use a moderate tone. 17 The Children of Israel, 110

FRIDAY SALAT (CONGREGATION) The verses that refer to this salat are as follows: 9 O you who believe! When the call is proclaimed to prayer on Friday (the day of Congregation) hasten earnestly to the remembrance of God and leave off business that is best for you if you but knew! 10 And when the prayer is finished then you may spread through the land and seek of the bounty of God. And continue to remember God frequently that you may succeed. 11 When some of them come across a business deal, or some entertainment, they rush to it and leave you standing! Say What God possesses is far better than entertainment or the business. God is the best provider. 62 The Congregation, 9-11

From the above we understand that: 1 Friday, (the day of congregation) is the day of assembly and when the call to prayer is heard man must abandon his work and proceed to perform the congregational prayer; 2 It is clear that the time set for it is during the working hours, between the morning (fajr) and the evening (isha) prayers. 3 Upon the conclusion of the prayer everybody goes back to his work; so it is not a holiday. 4 It must be performed in congregation, unlike the other salats that can be performed individually.

P a g e | 177 5 No distinction is made for man or woman. (Not even in the hadiths can one come across such a prohibition.) The Ommayads and Abbasids invented the rumor that the Friday prayer is for men only.

SALAT IN WARTIME Verses 101, 102 and 103 of the Sura The Women describe the prayer to be performed during a war. In such an eventuality, while one group performs the prayer, another group will be on the watch. The praying individuals shall not abandon their weapons (weapons may be set aside during torrential rains, sickness, wounding); at the end of the prayer the name of God is pronounced.

SALAT WHEN AN ENEMY ATTACK IS EXPECTED 239 - If you fear to pray while walking or riding, but when you are in security, remember God in the manner He has taught you, which you knew not before. 2 The Cow, 239 This shows clearly that the prayer must be made at the appointed times regardless of the circumstance.

SALAT AT FUNERALS Although there is no particular prescription for the performance of salat before the coffin of a dead person, in Verse 84 of Sura The Repentance it is indicated that no salat must be performed for traitors who betrayed Muhammad. Therefore we must deduce that salat may be performed at the funerals for persons who did not betray Muhammad.

CALL TO PRAYER There is no prescribed call to prayer in the Quran. Whenever a congregational service is to be held, as in the case of Friday prayer, it is only too natural that a call be proclaimed (62 The Congregation, 9). As the manner the call is to be made has not been described, the call may be made either in ones own tongue or in Arabic, whether by human (man or woman) voice or through loudspeakers. There is no mention of call to prayer dictated by the Prophet following a revelation. According to the hadiths, those who came to pray too early complained of having been obliged to abandon work and the latecomers of having missed the congregational performance. Various suggestions were made to find a middle course. Following a dream (see Abu Davud as Sunan), the human voice gained precedence. According to another hadith, Bilal has added on his own initiative, the words As-salatu hayrun Minan Nawm (prayer is more favorable than sleep) to the call to prayer for the dawn prayer. It follows from this that the call to prayer could be executed according to circumstances, as it was not a binding duty commanded by the Quran. We have been saying that whatever is not dictated by the Quran is left to the discretion of the individual. The reason why we have thought it advisable to remind our readers of this fact since traditionalist Islamists have maintained that the call to prayer cannot be in the vernacular but must be in the Arabic

P a g e | 178 language. Actually this is the expression of their own idea (true or not) without any foundation in religion. Something is certain; the call to prayer has not been revealed and is left to the discretion of the individual.

REMEMBRANCE OF GOD AFTER SALAT 103 Once you complete your salat (prayer), you shall remember God while standing, sitting or lying down on your side. 4 The Women, 103 God should also be remembered after the performance of salat. As foreseen in the Sura The Women, 103, individuals have developed the habit of remaining seated after the conclusion of the prayer to remember God. This is all very well. But we must remember this is not a binding duty and we are free to remember God also in other postures.

ALMS, CHARITY The Quran describes the contribution for Gods approval using various expressions, such as alms, charity or feeding of the poor (74 The Hidden, 44); who strive with their goods (4 The Women, 95). Although we have been told to use part of our assets for the benefit of the poor, nowhere in the Quran do we come across the prescription of a definite amount like 1/40. It was the sects that had determined this rate. However, this corresponded to cash in gold or silver. According to the assets involving camels, sheep etc. the rates differed. For instance the rate of the crop was 1/10. If the water you use to irrigate your field was brought from somewhere else the rate fell to 1/20. All these rates are not mentioned in the Quran. It is worth while to make a note of the fact that the said rates are irrational. Why should a person who is a possessor of gold and silver give 1/40 of his assets while a farmer gives 1/10 of his assets? Are farmers richer than the possessor of accumulated wealth? Or is farming a more lucrative source of income than commerce? How are the rates for possessors of camels and sheep evaluated, and in what do these differ? The word infak is mentioned in the Quran, which means both to spend for Gods sake and for spendings destined for other purposes: 36 - The unbelievers spend (infak) their wealth to hinder from the path of God and so will they continue to spend. 8 The Spoils of War, 36 On the other hand, the word sadaqa (alms, charity) is used only for spendings made for Gods sake. 103 - Of their goods take alms (sadaqa) that you may cleanse and purify (zaka) them 9 Repentance, 103 Here the Arabic words sadaqa and zaka seem to be synonyms, spendings made in the path of God signifying purification. While we can equate the sadaka (charity) with zekat (alms), we can also interpret the zekat in broader terms. In this sense, zekat would mean a purification to which all our potentialities would contribute. An individual can make donations of all his assets and perform thereby the duty commanded to him while he can at the same time perform this duty by enabling others to benefit from his store of knowledge. The Quran makes the following statement about the persons to whom one may donate ones assets.

P a g e | 179 177 - For your relatives, for orphans, for the needy, for the wayfarer, for those who ask and for the ransom of slaves. 2 The Cow, 177 115 - They ask you what they should spend (infak). Say: Whatever you spend that is good, is for parents and relatives and orphans and those in want and for wayfarers, and whatever you do that is good. God knows it well. 2 The Cow, 115 173 - For those in need, who are engaged in the service of God, who are not able to move about in the land. The unaware may think that they are rich due to their dignified appearance. You can know them from their faces, they beg not importunately. God is surely cognisant of good things that you spend (infak). 2 The Cow, 173

60 - Alms (sadaqa) shall go to the poor, the needy, the workers who collect them, those hearts that have been recently reconciled, those in bondage, those in debt, in the cause of God, and to the wayfarer. Such is Gods commandment. God is all-knowing and most wise. 9 Repentance, 60 The persons to receive alms are indicated. The amount or the rate is not mentioned with a mathematical proportion in the Quran, but it is said: 219 - And they ask you what they should spend (infak). Say What you denote. God thus clarifies His signs, in order that you may consider. 2 The Cow, 219 In the Quran the portion to be spent as alms (zekat) is not expressed in ratios, like 1/40, 1/10, etc. In some translated versions the expression used is excess, and beyond your needs. In the Arabic version the word used is afw, of which the literal meaning is pardon, forgiving. What is actually meant however is donation. Those who are interested in further possible significations of this word are referred to the following verses: 2 The Cow, 187; 3 The Family of Imran, 152-155; 5 The Feast, 95-10;, 9 Repentance, 43; 42 Consultation, 40; 64 Mutual Blaming, 14. The Quran condemns stinginess and commands that we give to our kind what He has made a gift of to us for His sake. The Quran makes private property lawful but commands man to use his intelligence to bring about social balance by freely giving away what He has provided us with. The Quran teaches us that the poor have rights to our assets (Sura 70 The Heights, 24-25) and that by giving to them a portion of our assets we purify (zekat) ourselves. 7 - God has favored some of you over others in the means of subsistence. But those who have been favored with more do not give of their means to their dependents so that they may become equal with them. Do they deny Gods beneficence? 16 The Honey Bees, 7 34 - O you who believe! There are indeed many among the rabbis and priests who in falsehood devour the substance of people and hinder them from the way of God. 9 Repentance, 34

P a g e | 180 The person who will dispose of his assets for Gods sake shall not forget that the real owner of his assets is God. He will bear in mind all the verses to this effect in the Quran and perform this devotional act. As one can deduce from the above quoted verses, this donation will continue until everybody becomes socially equal to each other. Is it worthwhile to note that we should take care that our charities are not intercepted by swindler religionists. In this devotional scheme everybody will make his contribution suiting his relative standing. 7 - Let the man of means spend according to his means: and the man whose resources are restricted let him spend according to what God has given him. God puts no burden on any person beyond what He has given him. 65 Divorce, 7 God ordains that our spending in the way of contributions may be both open and concealed, although He prefers the latter alternative. 22 And spend of what We have given them, secretly or openly. 13 The Thunder, 22 271 - If you give alms openly, it is well. But if you do it secretly and give to the poor, that is better. 2 The Cow, 271 However a man giving alms must not show off. 262 Those who spend their substance in the cause of God and follow not up their gifts with reminders of their generosity or with injury, for them their reward is with their Lord: on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve. 263 Kind words and the covering of faults are better than charity that hurts. God is Rich, Kind. 264 O you who believe! Cancel not your charity by reminders of your generosity or by injury, like those who spend their substance only to show off, but believe neither in God nor in the Last Day. 2 The Cow, 262-263-264 Fabricators of principles have laid down a rule according to which in order that alms are given, an asset must have remained for at least a year in the possession of a person. Most of the rich people, owners of holdings, never let their riches lie idle but keep them running. Considerations like debtors are not supposed to give alms, or no alms should be given from raw material used in the production process are not valid, for holding owners and factory owners who produce on a credit basis will not be obliged to give any alms while the housewife who has on her arms golden bracelets will have to give away 1/40 of them and the farmer 1/10 of his harvest. According to another interpretation of traditionalists, no alms are supposed to be given for transportation means. That means a person owning a luxury car will be exempted from alms while the farmer who gathers 10 kg of tomatoes will have to give away one kg. All this remains outside the context of the Quran. 92 - By no means shall you attain righteousness unless you give of that which you love and whatever you give God is fully aware thereof. 3 The Family of Imran, 92

P a g e | 181 FAST AS PRESCRIBED IN THE QURAN The following verses contain everything about the prescribed fast: 183 O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you. That you may learn selfrestraint. 184 For a fixed number of days, Iif one is ill or traveling, an equal number of other days may be substituted. Those who have difficulty to do it should compensate by feeding a poor person. But it is better for person who gives more of his own free will,. And it is better for you that you fast, if you only knew. 185 Ramadan is the month in which the Quran was sent down, as guidance to man, also as clear proof and a standard. Those of you who witness this month shall fast. Those who are ill or traveling may substitute the same number of other days. God wishes convenience, not hardship for you, so that you may complete prescribed period, and to glorify God for guiding you, and be grateful. 187 Permitted to you on the night of the fasts is the approach to your wives, they are your garments and you are their garments. God knows what you used to do secretly among yourselves; but he turned to you and forgave you. So now approach to them, and seek what God has ordained for you. Eat and drink until you can discern a white thread from a black thread by the dawn. Then complete your fast till the night appears. 2 The Cow, 183, 184, 185, 187

To summarize:

1. Fasting is a binding duty (2 The Cow, 183). 2. Fasting is kept in the month of Ramadan (2 The Cow, 185); Ramadan is the month in which the Quran was revealed. Ramadan is a calendar month. The whole thing may be calculated by observation of the movements of the moon. However, today we do not have to observe the phases of the moon since they are observed with modern instruments. 3. Those who cannot keep the fast for reasons of health or travel may break their fast and compensate for it later (2 The Cow, 184). It is worth mentioning here that there is no evidence in the Quran about a mans obligation to fast for 61 days should he break his fast without justification. This is an fabricated story concocted by hadiths and sects. There are certain cases, however, in which a fast must be kept as a retribution;.namely, with reference to certain shortcomings in the performance of the Hajj (2 The Cow, 196), like the two months fasting for having caused, by mistake, the death of a believer, and for having failed to emancipate a believing slave (4 The Women, 92). In Sura 5 The Feast, 89 it is foreseen for those who have broken their oath to keep the fast as an expiation; the same thing is mentioned in Sura 5 The Feast, 95 with reference to those who kill game while on pilgrimage. In Sura 58 The Female Disputant, 4, two months of successive fasting has been foreseen for those who put down their wives by calling them their mothers or sisters. One can see that for the expiation of certain offenses fasting is ordained. Had there been a punishment for breaking ones fast on purpose, the Quran would have mentioned it. Moreover, among the offenses mentioned above, the probability of the occurrence of some is infinitesimal. 4. The individuals who would have difficulty in keeping the fast are commanded to effect redemption by feeding a poor man. Certain sectarians tried to restrict the state of difficulty in keeping the fast to such excuses as old age or

P a g e | 182 incurable diseases. Such interpretations are again interpolations in Gods commands. Had God so desired He would have made such a restriction Himself. Muslims are expected to assess their situations keeping in mind Gods proximity to them and will remember that fasting is better as laid down in Sura 2 The Cow, 185. 5. The time to begin fasting is daybreak. The indication is the discernment by the eye of a white thread from a black one; the simile is said to have its origin in the semblance of the horizon as a thread. The end of the fasting is the end of the day as stated in Sura The Cow, 187. 6. Husbands may approach their wives at night time during the month of Ramadan (2 The Cow, 187). Fasting without eating or drinking anything and being abstinent in sexual intercourse are commanded upon us during the time in the course of which the fasting is a binding duty. Bleeding, vomiting, swearing, quarreling reported to invalidate a fast have no justifiable grounds, they are fabrications.

HAJJ (PILGRIMAGE) The Hajj is described in the following verses: 2 The Cow, 158, 189, 196, 198, 199, 200 and 203; 3 The Family of Imran, 97; 5 The Feast, 1, 2, 95, 96, 97; 9 Repentance, 3; 22 The Pilgrimage, 25, 26, 27, 28, and 29.

To summarize: 1 Hajj is the pilgrimage to the Kaaba. According to the Quran men and women have to perform the Hajj at least once in the course of their lifetime provided they are able to do so. (3 Ali Imran, 97). Those who can afford it are commanded to go on pilgrimage. Sectarians tried to restrict the meaning of affording. This is unacceptable; for, had He wanted to do so God would have made that restriction. The verb to afford may have more than one meaning, such as not to be a slave, to be rich enough to bear the cost involved and last but not least to be in good health. Yet all these meanings are rather subjective. Individuals are to decide whether they are in a position to perform the pilgrimage by appealing to their conscience. 2 The Hajj is a ritual dating back to the time of Abraham (22 The Pilgrimage, 26, 27). 3 In Sura 2 The Cow 197 it is said that the months of pilgrimage are well known. Attention must be drawn to the fact that the word months is in plural. Yet, in our day, the pilgrims restrict the time during which they will perform the pilgrimage and create stampedes with serious consequences. The pilgrimage is a custom known since Abraham. When one speaks of spring, the months of March, April and May come to mind, for instance. The said months of pilgrimage were also the months during which fighting was banned. Tribes around the Kaaba observed this ban. Even the heathens that succeeded Abraham kept observing this custom with a few exceptions and considered themselves as the protector of the Kaaba. They viewed those months as months when their trade would thrive. We can deduce from the contents of Sura 8 The Spoils of War, 34-35 that they considered themselves guardians as well. The fact that the sacred months mentioned in Sura 2 The Cow, 194 (after two verses, the Hajj is mentioned), the fact that fighting in the sacred months is a great offense mentioned in Sura 2 The Cow 217 in which it also is made clear that hindering from Gods way and denying Him and the Sacred Mosque and turning its people out are still graver with God, the fact that in the Sura 5 The Feast, 2 pilgrimage is mentioned, together with the Sacred Month, and the fact that in Verse 97 of the same sura, the Sacred Month and the Kaaba are mentioned together make it clear that the Sacred Months are the months during which the Hajj is performed.

P a g e | 183 In Sura 9 Repentance, 2-36 we read that the months in question are four successive months and in Sura 2 The Cow, 189 that the said months are lunar months. All this points to the fact that the pilgrimage can be performed in the course of four successive months during which fighting is banned. The first of these months is called in Arabic Dhu-lHijjah which means the month of pilgrimage. The names of the following months, respectively, are Muharram, Safar and Rabiulawal. The word Rabiulawal is a compound word made up of the word rabiul (four) and awal (first) which is followed by the month called Rabiulahir which means the succeeding four. Rabiulawal owes its name to its being the fourth and last of the Sacred Months. Considering that the first month of the lunar calendar is Muharram, the month called Rabiulahir is the fourth month of the lunar calendar. This explains why the name of this month is the succeeding fourth one. If one fails to see that the month Rabiulawal is the fourth of the Sacred Months, one cannot see clearly why the month Rabiulahir is the succeeding fourth. This proves once more that the beginning of the Sacred Months is Dhuli Hijjah and the last is the month of Rabiulawal. Thus, the pilgrimage is a devotional act performed in the space of time of four months. 4 Quarreling, the perpetration of evil deeds and sexual relations are forbidden during the Hajj (2 The Cow, 197),

5 During the Hajj the individual is forbidden certain things that are lawful (like sexual intercourse). . Ihram means, in fact, that the individual abstains from certain things (like sexual contact) during the pilgrimage. However, the word refers today to the garment that the pilgrim wears during the Hajj. The Quran has no such connotation. One other thing that is prohibited during the Ihram is hunting; Sura 5 The Feast, 95 mentions that the pilgrims shall not kill game. However, this is restricted to hunting on land. Pilgrims may go fishing. To whomever kills game intentionally, the compensation is the like of what he kills from the cattle, as two just persons will judge, as an offering to be brought to the Kaaba, or the compensation is the feeding of the poor or the equivalent in fasting (5 The Feast, 95). 6 In case an individual infringes on the law that prohibits the land hunt, he has to offer a sacrifice the kind of which is to be determined by two persons. He may also compensate for his offence by keeping the fast or feeding the poor (5 The Feast, 95). 7- Umra means visit. The hajj is performed at a prescribed date while umra may take place at any time. In Sura 2 The Cow, 196 we read Accomplish the pilgrimage and the visit for God. In other words, the event must not be an occasion of political propaganda, exploitation of personal interests, etc. Following the conclusion of the ritual of pilgrimage the pilgrim makes sacrifices and is commanded not to shave his heads until the offering reaches its destination. The individuals who are sick or have an ailment of the head may effect compensation by fasting or giving alms or sacrificing. And when he is secure, whoever profits by combining the visit with the pilgrimage should take whatever offering is easy to obtain. If he cannot afford it, he should fast three days during the Hajj and seven days on his return. This is for those whose household is not in the Sacred Mosque (2 The Cow, 196). 8 The sacrifice requires the pronunciation of the name of God. A portion of the meat of the slaughtered animal is eaten by the person making the sacrifice, and the rest is distributed among the poor (22 The Pilgrimage, 28). During the ritual one must purify oneself from all pollution, and vows made must have been performed (22 Hajj, 29). Sura 22 The Pilgrimage, 29 says that the individual should accomplish his needful acts of cleansing. The Hajj being the place of encounter of huge crowds, the hygienic rules must be observed. Sura 48 The Victory, 27 may be evaluated in this light wherein it is said that the faithful will enter the Sacred Mosque, if God pleases, in security, head shaved and hair cut short. The circling of the Kaaba will be accomplished in a cleansed state (22 The Pilgrimage, 29). On the other hand, the place where the pilgrimage ritual is to take place must be kept clean and in a pure state (22 The Pilgrimage, 26). 9 When one comes down from Mount Arafat to Mesai Haram, God will be praised (2 The Cow, 198).

P a g e | 184 10 Then pardon will be asked for from God (2 The Cow, 199). 11 Following the completion of the ritual, God will be praised with heart and soul (2 The Cow, 200). 12 God will be praised during the appointed days. But if anyone hastens to leave in two days, there is no blame on him. And whoever wants can stay longer (2 The Cow, 203). 13 Sura 2 The Cow, 159 says that the Safa and Marwah are truly among the signs of God; so whoever makes a pilgrimage to the House or pays a visit to it, there is no blame on him if he goes round them. Yet, the sectarians have fabricated the running between the two hills and made it appear as a binding duty. The elderly and the disabled are compelled to do this despite the fact that this is not mentioned in the Quran. The transportation of the elderly on stretchers serves to benefit the stretcher-bearers. However, although this is not commanded, there is no blame for those who would prefer to do it as the Quran suggests. 14 There is no such thing as the stoning of Satan. The execution of the duty of pilgrimage in the space of time that is spread over four months, the recognition of the fact that shuttling between Safa and Marwah is not compulsory will make the ritual of pilgrimage a safe and secure act during which thousands of people will not lose their lives. This has been a cause of the death of multitudes. Strange rituals performed around the Black Stone also are not indicated in the Quran. On the other hand, contrary to what has been said by commentators, a woman may well go on the Hajj by herself, a person may use perfume and wear any appearal with or without seams. The zamzam water, caps and prayer rugs that the pilgrims on their return are said to be obliged to bring home have no foundation.

LIST OF INTERPOLATIONS
Below is a list (200 examples) of typical interpolations made to the Quran. These additions have been presented as part of the body of religious percepts. Some among them may have been useful and wholesome considerations although without any religious foundation. For instance, cleaning of teeth with miswak may be useful. But this must not be taken as if ordained by God. We may, of course, enumerate many principles related to the individuals health, etc.; however, they should not be made into religious principles. Thus, persons may, at their discretion, put on long robes and avoid eating shrimp, but this has nothing to do with religion. All interpretations not based on the Quranic text and are qualified as sins, charitable acts, makruh, haram, sunna are additions. You may have a better idea of the extent of interpolations once you go over the following 200 examples.

THINGS NOT CONTAINED IN THE QURAN 1. Saying that the Quran being is not self-sufficient and that there is need for additional speculations. 2. Taking the hadiths as a source for Islam. 3. Sectarian scholars pronouncing fatwas or ijtihads (canonical jurisprudence).

P a g e | 185 4. Practices conforming to sectarian dictates. 5. Equating sects with the religion. 6. Reciting the Quran for the sake of its music without understanding the text. 7. Using the Quran as a book of prayer recited for the souls of the departed. 8. Contributing authority to the Prophet outside the scope of the Quran. 9. The fact that God created everything for the sake of Muhammad. 10. Competition between prophets. Supremacy of some prophets aover other prophets. 11. Imitation of the ways and manners of the Prophet even before his prophethood. 12. The belief that the Quran has missing points which can be found in other books. 13. To announce certain select devotees to be Muslim saints and visit their tombs with all sorts of reverential rituals. 14. To idolize the sheikhs of religious orders. 15. Establishing a type of communication with the sheikhs by a special ritual called rabta. 16. To claim that only the Sunnites or the Shiites are to go to paradise. 17. To declare the Jews and Christians as the future dwellers of hell. 18. To adopt Arabic customs and traditions as religious practices. 19. To come forth alleging to be reformist with a view to changing the Quranic religion. 20. To formulate religious precepts ascribing them to the Prophet. 21. To claim that the vote of the majority always prevails. 22. To interpret the continuity of sects as evidence of their genuineness. 23. The Hanafi sect. 24. The Shafi sect. 25. The Hanbali sect. 26. The Maliki sect. 27. The Jafari sect. 28. All Sunni and Shii sects. 29. Any sect like Maturidiya, Ashariya. 30. A canon book called Majalla. 31. To deny reason and favor apishness.

P a g e | 186 32. Hostility against science. 33. Hostility against the arts. 34. To abide by the rules that the book entitled Sahihi Bukhari lays down. 35. To abide by the rules of the hadith book entitled Muslim 36. To abide by the rules of the hadith books Kutub-i Sitte or other such books. 37. To venerate individuals to whom religiosity is ascribed other than the Prophet. 38. The allegation that all of those who had the privilege to set eyes on the Prophet (sahaba) were on the right path. 39. The wearing of the headscarf. 40. The wearing of the veil. 41. Segregation of men and women. 42. The fact that a woman is not allowed to travel alone. 43. The wrong and absurd belief that a woman can never repay the debts she owes to her husband even if she were to lick him from head to foot when he is in a deplorable state covered with pus. 44. If prostration was permitted to any entity other that God, the wife should prostrate herself before her husband claimed the hadith. 45. That a woman cannot become a head of state or an administrator. 46. That women have no right to vote for the governing body of the government. 47. That womens voices must not be audible to men. 48. That women are not allowed to perform the Friday salat. 49. That women is not allowed to perform salat, fast, recite the Quranor enter a mosque during their period. 50. Covering women with all sorts of outer garments. 51. That it is forbidden for women to shake hands with men. 52. That a man is not allowed to sit in a chair previously occupied by a woman whose warmth is still preserved. 53. That a woman cannot stay in an enclosed space where there are men. 54. That women are considered along with dogs and pigs to invalidate the salat of a praying man. 55. That the majority of women are doomed to go to hell. 56. That women are evil by nature. 57. That women lack intelligence.

P a g e | 187 58. That women must be keptindoors. 59. That it is forbidden for women to wear perfume. 60. That women are not allowed to use makeup. 61. That a wife must obey her husband as a slave does. 62. That a woman is required to have sexual relations whenever her husband calls her. 63. That two female witnesses equal one male witness. 64. That a woman must have her parents permission in order to get married. 65. Stoning to death of the adulterer. 66. That the papyrus on which the verse regarding adultery was on was eaten by a goat. 67. Arguments about killing adulterers being practiced even among monkeys. 68. Prohibition of a mans wearing golden ornaments. 69. Prohibition of men wearing silk. 70. Prohibition of use of golden and silver utensils and plates. 71. Prohibition of sculpture. 72. Prohibition of drawing and painting. 73. Prohibition of chess. 74. Prohibition of musical instruments and music. 75. Prohibition of consumption of seafood like mussels, shrimp, etc. 76. Prohibition of eating the flesh of donkeys, horses or wild animals 77. The fact that kidneys and rams testicles are abominable to eat. 78. The fact that smoking is religiously unlawful. 79. That there is a separate list containing things considered to be abominable (makruh). 80. That the sexual act must take place under covers. 81. The prohibition for the couple to look at each others sexual organs. 82. Prohibition of masturbation. 83. Prohibition for women to use birth control. 84. That an individual should keep his/her sexual organs covered even when taking a bath lest the angels be offended. 85. Circumcision of men.

P a g e | 188 86. Circumcision of women. 87. The sunna of letting beards grow. 88. The prohibition of trimming a beard. 89. The sunna according to which the hair had to be parted from the middle of the scalp. 90. The sunna regarding the oiling of hair. 91. The sunna of applying henna to hair and beard. 92. The sunna of applying mascara to the eyes for men. 93. That lying face down is a satanic act. 94. To sleep on a mattress spread on the ground. 95. To use ones right foot going out of the house or getting up from the bed. 96. To enter a soiled place like a WC with the left foot. 97. Saying that canonical purification of the body can only be performed using water after defecating. 98. The obligation for men to crouch when urinating. 99. The relieve yourself in the direction of Mecca. 100. The fact that eating with the left hand is a satanic act. 101. To wind a turban. 102. To use miswak to clean the teeth. 103. To wear a robe with a long skirt reaching down to ones feet. 104. For men to wear a loose dress (antari). . 105. To wear shalwar (a type of wide trousers) as sunna. 106. To interpret as a meritorious act the wearing of white, green or black raiment. 107. The prohibition to wear yellow or red. 108. To consider eating dates or squash as meritorious acts. 109. To eat seated on the ground. 110. To eat from the same dish with others. 111. To eat with three fingers. 112. To drink water in three gulps. 113. To drink water in a seated position.

P a g e | 189 114. To lick ones fingers after having eaten with them. 115. Not to use perfumes containing alcohol. 116. Not to use eau de cologne. 117. To kill black dogs. 118. Not to let dogs into the home. 119. To cover the mirrors at night. 120. To perform black magic with or without the use of the Quran. 121. To write on and wear amulets. 122. To use the Quran as a book of magic. 123. To believe that whistling is a satanic act. 124. To knock on wood or wear trinkets against the evil eye. 125. To take fortunetellers and magicians for religious figures. 126. Feasts celebrated at the end of the holy month of Ramadan and on the occasion of sacrifices. 127. To avoid passing underneath a ladder and to consider black cats, black dogs as ominous signs and to melt lead against the evil eye. 128. To believe that there are special days on which linen can be washed and sexual intercourse can be performed. 129. To recite the Mevlit (poem written to celebrate the birth and the death of the Prophet) for the souls of the departed. 130. To hold ceremonies for the soul of the dead on the 7th, 40th and 52nd days after death. 131. Stories concocted about the suffering that the dead is to be subjected to after burial. 132. Rumors about the bridge of Srat from this world to paradise, more slender than a hair and sharper than a sword and a persons traversing it riding the animal he sacrificed in this world. 133. The belief that a person who cannot avoid his urine from sprinkling on his clothes shall undergo excruciating torture in the grave. 134. To fast in the place of a dead person. 135. To go on Hajj in the place of a dead person. 136. That tears shed after a death will cause his soul to suffer beyond endurance. 137. To predict the hour of the Day of Judgment. 138. The Muslim Messiah, Mahdi.

P a g e | 190 139. The Antichrist. 140. To say that Dabbe has the ears of an elephant, eyes of a hog and head of an ox. 141. The Second Coming of Christ. 142. The belief that Agog and Magog are Turks. 143. Racism, superiority of the Arabic race. 144. The belief that Agog and Magog are the homunculus. 145. To set down prayer hours not indicated in the Quran. 146. To proscribe a certain number of rakats as a binding duty. 147. The requirement of performing the salat by reciting verses in the original Arabic language. 148. Prohibition for women to conduct the congregational prayer. 149. To have to repeat always the same thing during the kneeling and prostrating in the course of the performance of the salat. 150. The obligation to recite the fatiha at every rakat. 151. The obligation to sit and recite attahiyyat at the end of the salat. 152. To make a long list of the particular requirements during the salat not mentioned in the Quran. 153. To make a detailed description of the praying man with regard to his posture,such as how he will place his hands). 154. That the compensation of a willfully broken fast is two months without interruption. 155. Special salats like the taravih (the superfluous night service during the month of Ramadan performed immediately after the prescribed night service of worship, consisting of twenty genuflections with an interval for rest and breathing after each two or four acts), and the congregational prayers at the end of the month of fasting and at the festival of sacrifice. 156. To put people in misery by restricting the period of Hajj to a short space of time. 157. The stoning of Satan during the Hajj. 158. To slaughter animals at the Festival of Sacrifice. 159. To believe that certain restrictions start after the Hajj. 160. Calling holy the water from the well zamzam, to pray over sugar or salt for luck. 161. To give zakat (alms, charity) as 1/40 of ones assets. 162. To assign special rates for zakat for camels, sheep and agricultural products. 163. The belief that one invalidates his ablution by certain acts other than natures call.

P a g e | 191 164. The belief that total ablution (ghusl) is required not only after sexual intercourse but also by other causes. 165. To make the order of acts during the performance of ablution strictly binding. 166. To say that rinsing ones mouth and blowing ones nose during the major ablution is a binding duty. 167. The requirement of washing ones heels along with the feet. 168. Details such as the obligation of pouring water three times each to the right and left of a person performing the total ablution. 169. The requirement of total ablution before reciting the Quran. 170. Saying that one sins when he/she goes about not having performed total ablution. 171. The nullification of ablutions for a person who has a tooth filled. 172. The nullification of ablutions for men/women having a tattoo. 173. Martyrdom for those having died in an earthquake or a flood. 174. Martyrdom of those having suffered stomach pains. 175. That the earth is supported by an ox or a fish. 176. The belief that earthquakes occur when the fish shakes its tail. 177. The fact that the moon is unattainable. 178. To define the setting of the sun as the loss of the sun as a guide for prostrating. 179. The belief that the eclipses of the sun and the moon occur when they are drawn by carriages equipped with handles. 180. Existence of angels in the form of bulls, lions and eagles. 181. Accounts related to the 600 wings of Gabriel. 182. Gods opening His calf in paradise. 183. Gods touching the back of the Prophet. 184. Gods coming down on earth on special days to shake the hands of His creatures. 185. The bargaining between God and the Prophet for the reduction of the times of salat from 50 down to 5. 186. Institution of the caliphate. 187. The sultanate and the making the subjects into slaves of the political power. 188. Classes of clergy. 189. To sanctify the Arabic language and ascribe sanctity to the Arabic letters.

P a g e | 192 190. To terrorize people with the countries outside the dominion of Islam (Dar-ul Harb). 191. To loot and disregard the rights of people living outside the dominion of Islam. 192. To beat or kill persons who refuse to perform salat. 193. To compel people to fast and beat those who fail to do so. 194. To beat women who have put on makeup and go around uncovered. 195. To kill the renegades (of Islam to other religions). 196. To flog the renegades (even those who convert from one sect to another). 197. To make conquests merely for the sake of looting. 198. To beat drunkards. 199. To use force and compel people to abide by religious rules. 200. To call Islam by the names of sects, etc.

THE REAL CONTENTS OF THE QURAN

We have seen some two hundred examples of interpolations. Now we shall go over another two hundred examples that are mentioned in the Quran. 1 Gods existence and unity. 2 To believe in one God without associating any partner to Him. 3 God is compassionate and merciful and all forgiving. 4 Love and fear of God. 5 God is the creator of everything. 6 Gods perpetuation and control of creation. 7 God is omniscient, omnipresent; He sees and hears everything. 8 God is perfect in that He lacks nothing 9 God is eternal; He existed before time and will exist forever. 10 God begets not nor is He begotten. 11 God is sublime and transcendent. 12 All praises are due to God only.

P a g e | 193 13 God predominates everything and is ever the winner. 14 God is the nourisher of man. 15 The unerring promise of God. 16 God the creator and sustainer, as well as the extinguisher of life on earth. 17 God never errs nor forgets. 18 God is endowed with all the beautiful names. 19 God loves the believers. 20 God has explained everything down to the last detail in the Quran. 21 God is the only authority as regards religion. 22 The Quran contains everything. 23 The Quran covers everything as far as religion is concerned. 24 The Quran is preserved by God. 25 There is no contradiction in the Quran. 26 The Quran is complete and nothing in it is lacking. 27 The Quran is a remembrance, a guide and a mercy to mankind. 28 The Quran guides one on the path of the truth. 29 The Quran contains detailed information. 30 We should meditate the Quran. 31 Reading and reciting the Quran are meritorious acts. 32 To remember God frequently. 33- To pray for Gods sake only. 34 The fact that the truest friend is God. 35 To take refuge in God and pray to God. 36 To believe in all the past prophets. 37 To love and revere the Prophet. 38 The Prophet makes decisions only according to the Quran. 39 Muhammad is the last of the prophets. 40 The fact that the Prophet ascribes nothing to God unless He has revealed it to him.

P a g e | 194 41 To perform the salat regularly. 42 To stand, to bow, to prostrate while praying. 43 To turn toward the direction of Mecca while performing the salat. 44 To perform ablution before the salat. 45 If one has had sexual intercourse, to perform total ablution before the salat. 46 When water is unavailable to perform ablution to use earth and rub it against the body. 47 Importance of pious reverence (hushu) while performing the salat. 48 Stated times of the salat. 49 The congregational salat performed on Friday. 50 To perform the salat in all modesty and not to make a show of. 51 To repeat the name of God during the salat. 52 To repeat the name of God even after the salat. 53 To fast in the month of Ramadan. 54 Prohibition of eating, drinking and sexual intercourse during the length of fast. 55 Beginning and end of fast. 56 What a person should do if he is unable to fast. 57 To spend ones assets for the cause of God. 58 Distribution of goods among the orphans and destitute. 59 Not to rub in a favor made. 60 To give away things from ones heart. 61 To go on pilgrimage and perform the Hajj. 62 To praise God during the Hajj. 63 To purify oneself and perform ones vows. 64- To complete the Hajj and Umra rituals for the sake of God. 65 Prohibition of sexual intercourse and quarrels during the Hajj. 66 Prohibition of hunting during the Hajj. 67 Retribution for hunting during the Hajj. 68 To command what is appropriate.

P a g e | 195 69 To avoid irrelevant acts. 70 To fight for the cause of God. 71 To fight both with ones assets and life. 72 To fight guided by the principles of the Quran. 73 Not to be afraid from being reproached. 74 Prohibition of usury. 75 Not to make errors in weighing and measuring. 76 Not to do injustice. 77 To avoid prodigality. 78 Not to act miserly. 79 Not to kill man and the retribution for it. 80 Not to steal, and the punishment of it. 81 To avoid mischiefmaking, and its punishment. 82 Not to commit adultery and its punishment . 83 Not to falsely accuse a woman of adultery. 84 Prohibition of lesbianism and homosexuality. 85 Condemnation of magic. 86 To take refuge in God from Satan 87 Not to be on friendly terms with Satan. 88 To realize that Satan is mans enemy. 89 Mention of satanic apprehensions and delusions. 90 Not to fear Satan. 91 To implore God only. 92 To pray to God. 93 To ask forgiveness from God. 94 Not to lose hope in God. 95 To repent immediately after committing a sin. 96 To be patient.

P a g e | 196 97 To compete in patience. 98 Not to contend on a subject of which one is ignorant. 99 Not to follow anything blindly. 100 To abide by agreements. 101 Not to violate an oath. 102 Act of atonement for violating an oath. 103 Not to administer an oath for mischievous ends. 104 Not to avoid injustice even in the case of ones next of kin. 105 Not to act unjustly for a personal end. 106 To be tolerant and forgiving. 107 To return the goods belonging to orphans to their owners. 108 To treat orphans kindly. 109 Not to maltreat orphans. 110- Not to overvalue life on the earth. 111 The ultimate aim is God. 112 To live for the cause of God. 113 To realize ones powerlessness in the presence of God. 114 To rely on God alone and not on ones power and strength. 115 To abide by Gods revelation wholeheartedly. 116 To realize that nothing can take place unless God permits it. 117 Detailed depiction of hypocrites. 118 Explanation of derision and mockery that believers have been exposed to. 119 Description of hatred felt against believers. 120 Condemnation of mischiefmaking. 121 Condemnation of pride. 122 Condemnation of ingratitude. 123 Condemnation of acts done without thinking 124 The fact that a person not using his brain will perish.

P a g e | 197 125 The error to believe that the truth is what the majority thinks. 126 Ancestor worship cannot lead one to truth. 127- To be a mere imitator without using ones intelligence is an error. 128 Drunkenness is an abomination. 129 To worship stones is a satanic act. 130 Fortunetelling by arrows is a satanic act. 131 To believe in the Last Day. 132 Description of the Last Day. 133 Description of Paradise. 134 Description of the beautiful things in Paradise. 135 Description of hell. 136 Description of torture in hell. 137 The eternal existence in paradise and hell. 138 To lead ones life always conscious of the existence of paradise and hell. 139 Gods mercy is of even higher importance than Paradise. 140 The fact that it is easy for the One who created man to re-create him. 141 God will not cause anyone to suffer on the Last Day unless he sends first an envoy. 142 God will not pardon anyone associating partners to Him but may pardon perhaps all other sins according to His discretion. 143 The dwellers of Paradise will be in bliss while those inhabiting hell will be remorseful. 144 The fact that there will be no fatigue or boredom in Paradise. 145 Description of men styling themselves as representatives of religion who are in fact embezzlers. 146 Examples of deification of religious figures. 147 Prophethood of Moses and his receiving the Torah. 148 Prophethood of Christ and the revelation of the Gospels. 149 Prophethood of David and his receiving the Psalms. 150 The fact that there are many other prophets that are not mentioned in the Quran. 151 Adam and the stories about him.

P a g e | 198 152 Noah and the stories about him. 153 Abraham and the stories about him. 154 Solomon and the stories about him. 155 Moses fights with the Pharaoh. 156 Christ and his mother, Mary. 157 Josephs parables and his interpretation of his dreams. 158 Mention of Jacob. 159 Mention of Ishmael and Isaac. 160 Mention of Zulkarnein and Lukman 161 The ordeals of the Prophets. 162 Struggle of Prophets to overcome the ordeals. 163 Not to hope for salvation even though one may be the father or son of a prophet. 164 Punishment of people who fail to have faith in the prophets. 165 To treat ones parents well. 166 To meditate upon the creation. 167 To analyze and examine Gods creations in the sky and upon the earth. 168 Not to eat the flesh of animals slaughtered in the name of divinities other than God, dead animals or pork. 169 Not to announce unlawful the sustenance God has provided. 170 To avoid committing sins either openly or in secret. 171 To join those who turn toward God. 172 Not to be divided and severed. 173 To be solid and unyielding against threats directed to God. 174 Not to be aggressive. 175 To fight against aggressors for the cause of God. 176 To be lenient in avenging oneself. 177 To think and do beautiful things. 178 To give things into the custody of reliable and dependable persons. 179- To regard consultation essential for administration.

P a g e | 199 180 To question oneself. 181 To greet someone who greets one. 182 Not to take for granted the information originating from suspects. 183 To arbitrate between parties about a dispute among the believers. 184 Brotherhood of believers. 185 Not to divide into factions in religion. 186 The fact that in religion there is no compulsion or coercion. 187 Not to avoid giving testimony. 188 Not to grow lax and to know that a believer is superior to a nonbeliever. 189 Ones effects and kin must not hinder an individual from remembrance of God. 190 Faith in the real life hereafter. 191 The fact that honey has a healing effect. 192 Attention drawn to mathematics. 193 Description of the relativity of time. 194 Description of the expansion of the universe. 195 The fact that the earth, the moon and the sun rotate. 196 The fact that two waters that combine do not mix. 197 Description of the winds effect on pollenization. 198 Attention drawn to earthquake faults on the earths crust. 199 The fact that the sky is like a protected roof. 200 The fact that everything has a certain measure.

P a g e | 200

SUBJECTS OUTSIDE THE CONTEXT OF THE QURAN

We have been drawing your attention to an important point ever since the beginning of our book: the fact that the Quran gives the details of what God deems is necessary to be known by His servants. Whatever is believed to be absent is left to the discretion of the individual. Yet, the sectarians have invented things they believed necessary to be added to the existing text. Every act prohibited by religion is an evil act and man must certainly avoid it. But everything that we deem to be evil is not necessarily prohibited by religion. Even though our judgement is correct we are not in a position to ascribe it a sacred character. One must bear in mind that God gave man the liberty to make his own judgement and discern good from evil. Despite this, traditionalists who lacked the required insight failed to understand this act of the Most Gracious and dared to make interpolations thinking thereby they were compensating for His omissions. 101 - O you who believe, ask not about things which if made known to you would give you trouble. If you ask about them when the Quran is being revealed, they will be made known to you. God has overlooked them. God is forgiving, forbearing. 5 The Feast, 101 Everything that the Quran has left out of its context is overlooked by God. The fact that God brings in no clarification on a particular subject means that it is left for our opinion. This is a confirmation of His forbearance and forgiveness, as it is said at the end of the verse. Let no one dare therefore to render difficult the practice of religion that God has revealed. Additions made to the Quran have complicated the religion and caused many to avoid it. We shall give you some typical examples of such interpolations that do not exist in the Quran. Here are a few typical questions and their short answers. 1- Question: Is the wearing of a silk shirt permitted? Answer: There is no clause prohibiting the wearing of silk either by men or women. 2 - Question: Can women wear makeup? Answer: No entry in the Quran to this effect; so every woman can do what she likes in this respect. 3 - Question: Is circumcision a binding duty? Answer: Nowhere is circumcision mentioned in the Quran. This custom of Jewish origin has lingered among the Muslims, but it has not been made compulsory, so one may choose to have his children circumcised or not. 4 - Question: Is tattooing permitted? Answer: There is nothing against this in the Quran. A tattoo does not prevent the individual from performing his/her ablution. 5 - Question: Which hand must one use in eating? Answer: No indication about this in the Quran. 6 - Question: Is masturbation forbidden? Answer: There is no prohibition against this.

P a g e | 201 What are banned in the Quran as regards sexuality are adultery and homosexuality. 7 - Question: Is conception control forbidden? Answer: Nothing pro or con to this effect in the Quran. 8 - Question: Should one recite Quranic verses upon the decease of someone? Answer: Again there is nothing for or against it in the Quran. The Quran may be recited whenever one feels like it. The custom of reciting the Quran on the 1st, 7th and 52nd nights is not mentioned in the Quran. 9 - Question: Can one make use of pigskin? Answer: The Quran commands us not to eat pork. There is no harm in using its skin. 10 - Question: Which food should be eaten first during the breaking of ones fast? Answer: Nothing is particularly prescribed in the Quran. Therefore, anything may be eaten.

PRAYING IN THE VERNACULAR AND THE LAST WORDS

We have tried to point out that in order to know what religion is, one has to revert to the essential source of it, viz. the Quran. It has been our objective to stress the fact that our attempt is not to reform in religion, but rather to sort out the additions made to it in the course of centuries and go back to the real source of Islam. We have established that many of the said additions were the consequence of hadiths taken literally, alleged sayings or acts contributed falsely to Muhammad. These hadiths, whose authenticity was doubtful, had been, in the hands of sectarian imams, instruments that served to alter even the prescriptions of the Quran disregarding their method of collection. We have proved that the so-called hadiths presented contradictions not only with the Quran Itself but also among themselves, and with reason reaching the conclusion that the only source of Islam was the Quran and could not be anything else. To consolidate our argument we have had recourse to evidence that demonstrated the way the hadiths had been concocted and fabricated. We have substantiated our thesis with certain facts, among others the fact that none of the Caliphs had decreed the copying of hadiths, pointing to the most renowned transmitters of hadiths. We have tried to clarify the background and the authors of the later speculations whose responsibility had been the Omayyads and the Abbasids in whose hands religion had undergone transformation, and show with profuse examples all the foreign elements interpolated into Islam. Last but least an important point of which we mentioned shortly before is now waiting to be settled before we end our discourse. Prayer in the vernacular will be our next and last contention. PRAYER IN THE VERNACULAR The Quran was revealed in the Arabic language. Yet, Arabic never had the privilege of being a holy language as such. The Quran explicitly states that throughout the ages prophets had been sent to enlighten mankind in their respective languages. The Torah was revealed in the language spoken by the tribe of Moses, and Jesus addressed his people in his own tongue. Lots exhortations and Noahs sermons were delivered in their respective tongues. What is holy about them is the fact that all had their origin in God. The Arabic language can be used to convey any message, both pagan and religious. Arabic is not the special language of God, nor is it the language spoken in paradise; the Arabic characters are not special to God and are not the characters employed in paradise, yet Arabic racism and nationalism have tried to represent them so. The reason why the Quran is in Arabic is the fact that it was first addressed to the Arab people. The

P a g e | 202 conveyance of the message to the Americans or Englishmen can be only in the English language. Therefore, it has to be translated. On the other hand, words and concepts mentioned in the Quran existed long before the revelation of the Quran. What was holy was not the words or the concepts the Quran contained but what God had made of them. A curious instance of the misunderstanding due to ignorance of a language is the following: The Bedouin women with tambourine and cymbals in their hands kept chanting. The theme was the delicious taste of the camel meat and the various methods of cooking it. Eref Sencer Kuuba, head of the Ottoman Military Organization who had organized the ceremony, noticed tears in the eyes of some of the soldiers. Eref Bey, who had perfect knowledge of the Arabic language,e asked them the reason of their affliction: My boy! What can be the reason of your sorrow? The soldier replied: The beautiful melody and intonation of the Quran that is being recited. Eref Bey touched by the candidness of the man told him: My boy, what you are listening to is not the Quran but the qasida about the delicious taste of the camel flesh to be presently served to them. So, wipe off your tear. (Cemal Kutay, Trke badet, p. 61). THE CREATOR OF ALL THE LANGUAGES OF ALL TRIBES 22 - And among His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the variations in your languages and your colors. Verily in that are signs for those who know. 30 The Romans, 22 48 Had God willed, He would have made you one congregation. But He wished to test you by that which He gave you. So try to excel in good deeds. To God you will all return, so He will inform you of that wherein you differed. 5 The Feast, 48 13 - O people! We created you from a single pair of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may recognize one another. The best among you in the sight of God is the most righteous. 49 The Rooms, 13 All languages are Gods creation. Men are not supposed to wipe out this fact. Every language has its beauty. No language has the privilege of being holy. When God addressed the angels and spoke about the superiority of Adam over them, He taught him the names of things. Describing things by reference to words and using words in thinking is what makes a man superior to other living beings. However, the essential thing in making use of words is mans awareness of his speech, which, in turn, depends on rational thinking. God desires that man use his intelligence in religious issues, that he thinks carefully and inquires into the mystery of things and that His book be mans guide. How can a man think about Gods statements unless he knows what it is all about? How can he ever put into practice His prescriptions unless he knows them? It is only too reasonable for a man to experience religion for what it is. The sectarian Islamists have seen no inconvenience in rendering in tongues other than Arabic what they gleaned from the religion and the books of Islamic catechism. Even they did not contend that learning the Arabic language was a binding duty. Those who judged that there was no inconvenience in writing and preaching in ones own tongue were against the translation of the Quran in other tongues. The objective was the intercession of a class of religious people who had been brought up and trained according sectarian views. Had the

P a g e | 203 Quran been translated into ones own vernacular, the individual could be in a position to come in direct contact with God, and to reject sectarian mediators. The translations of the Quran began to appear after a millennium despite the opposition of the traditionalists who could not accept the fact that the Quran was not their exclusivity. The reason why the Islam as given in the Quran did not come to the fore under the Ottomans was not only the despotic regime but also the prohibition of the Qurans translation. The printing of it was also banned since it was considered to be a sin. The calligraphers had assumed this task and only a limited number of houses that could afford to buy it acquired it, only to wrap it in special cases and place it in a lofty place or hang it on the wall. When they took it down to read it, the meaning was not sought; only the incantation of it pleased the reader and the listeners with tears in their eyes. The people were instructed by the sheikhulislam, sheikhs and imams. The instructors were Sunni subjects of the sultan, the caliph of Islam. In this way the Sunni view of life dominated. To announce that the Quran is untranslatable is utterly wrong. Newspapers, proponents of traditionalist Islam, strongly argue against the translation of the Quran and claim that one need not understand what the Quran says. In a newspaper there was the following recommendation: We do not advise our public to read the translation of the Quran. Reading the translation of the Quran is detrimental to the individual, far from being beneficial to him. It is a perversity to advice people to understand the Quran. It is incumbent upon us to keep the Quran at home as an amulet to bring ones household good luck. Those who claim that the Quran must be understood are but perverts. This is the mentality that rules over the conviction according to which the Quran had to be translated and understood. To understand the Quran is Gods commandment. To compel people, whose vernacular is not Arabic, to pray in the Arabic language, to claim that God would like us to recite things whose meanings we have no inkling of is a consequence of the sanctification of the Arabic language and makes the religion a series of incongruous and absurd rationalities. There is no doubt that we can turn toward God, pronouncing words whose meaning we know. CONCLUSION We have tried to demonstrate so far the reasons why extra Quranic sources cannot be taken seriously. The method is obvious. The thing to do is to leave aside everything except the Quran. Religion is the Quran. Regardless of the authority of the person, no one is allowed to make any additions to it, nor can omit anything from it. Our objective is to convince people that the Qurans authority must be restored once again to its original position. Daring to share Gods authority and exclusivity is unacceptable. God has no partner in the establishment of religion. Our main objective is to enable men to return to the religion they had forsaken for lack of understanding it and for having been mystified by the teachings of the traditional Islamists. To achieve this will also thwart the actions of bigots and the attempts of those who try to impose their own views as if they were the Lawgiver. One must beware of those who speak in the name of religion and try to check their words by reverting to the Quran. We can plainly see that we must beware of being deceived and whenever we suspect the truth of things we must consult the Quran. Given the fact that the Quran is a consistent Book that explains everything to the minutest detail; it is a mercy, good news, a light and a guide for mankind. And we will be questioned according to the Quran. 43 So hold fast to that which had been revealed to you. Surely you are on the right path. 44 And surely it is a reminder for you and your people. You will surely be questioned about it. 43 Vanity, 43-44