Personal, - Belief in the Heavenly Books - II

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Distortion of the Injeel )Gospel(
The Injeel was also distorted and altered and is not in its original state in which Allaah The Almighty revealed it. Christians contintued altering and changing its facts so as to attain their desired worldly gains.
The distortion of the current versions of the Injeel can simply be proved if we know that they are four versions of the Injeel selected from many more versions. Such versions reported the words of Prophet ‘Eesa, may Allaah exalt his mention. Their writers are known and their names are written on them. In the library of one of the princes in Paris, a version of the Injeel – Injeel )Gospel( of Barnabas - was found. It differed greatly from the other four selected versions of the Injeel and agreed with the Noble Quran in many beliefs and principles.
After we have known for certain that those books have been distorted, then what is the meaning that the Noble Quran came to confirm in the divine books that preceded it? This simply means that the Noble Quran came to enhance and support the truth which was mentioned in the books that came before it, mainly worshiping Allaah The Almighty Alone, believing in His Messengers, believing in the reward, observing rights and justice, enjoining good and forbidding evil, and adhering to noble moral standards. Allaah The Almighty Says )what means(:}Say, "O People of the Scripture, you are ]standing[ on nothing until you uphold ]the law of[ the Torah, the Gospel, and what has been revealed to you from your Lord."{]Quran 5: 68[
Consequently, the Quran is the only way with which we can know the sound divine teachings. It is the book whose fundamental principles are preserved, its teachings are not distorted, and the Ummah received it from the angel who brings down the Revelation to the Messengers - Jibreel, may Allaah exalt his mention - who came down to the Messenger, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. This preservation was not granted to any book other than the Noble Quran. In fact, the Quran comprises the most sublime principles, methods and systems. It has all that humans need of beliefs, acts of worship, morals, and transactions. It befits all times and places. It is sufficient to create a Muslim individual, a virtuous family and a righteous society. Truthful is the one who speaks with it. Just is the one who passes judgment according to it. Guided to the right path is the one who adheres to its teachings. Allaah The Almighty Says )what means(:}There has come to you from Allaah a light and a clear Book. By which Allaah guides those who pursue His pleasure to the ways of peace and brings them out from darknesses into the light, by His permission, and guides them to a straight path.{]Quran 5: 15-16[
The Previous Divinely Revealed Books Were not Universal
The books that Allaah The Almighty revealed, other than the Quran, addressed certain people in certain times and they agreed with the Noble Quran in some rulings and laws. Allaah The Almighty Says )what means(:}And We ordained for them therein a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a nose for a nose, an ear for an ear, a tooth for a tooth, and for wounds is legal retribution.{]Quran 5: 45[
Muslims believe in what is mentioned in these books as long as it does not contradict with the Quran. They also believe that the Noble Quran is the main constitution for all people.
Characteristics of the Noble Quran
The Noble Quran has many characteristics that distinguish it from the books that came before it. Amongst such characteristics are:
• It has all the divine instructions that Allaah The Almighty revealed in the Tawraah, the Injeel, and all the teachings that Allaah The Almighty revealed.
• It supports the truth which was mentioned in these books regarding worshiping Allaah The Almighty Alone, believing in His Messengers, believing in reward, observing and establishing rights, enjoining good and forbidding evil, and adhering to noble moral standards. Allaah The Almighty Says )what means(:}And We have revealed to you, ]O Muhammad[, the Book in truth, confirming that which preceded it of the Scripture and as a criterion over it. So judge between them by what Allaah has revealed and do not follow their inclinations away from what has come to you of the truth. To each of you We prescribed a law and a method.{]Quran 5: 48[
That is to say, Allaah The Almighty revealed the Noble Quran which is truthful in all that is mentioned in it and it confirms the preceding Scriptures that were revealed by Allaah The Almighty. It is a witness over them. It explains the distortion and alteration that inflicted them. Then Allaah The Almighty ordered His Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, to judge between all people, Muslims and non-Muslims, by what Allaah The Almighty has revealed in the Noble Quran and not to follow them in disobeying Allaah The Almighty.
• Allaah The Almighty prescribed a law for every nation with its rulings and different interactions that befit its nature and inclinations in the best way. The main pillars of creeds are the same in all messages. Allaah The Almighty Says )what means(:}He has ordained for you of religion what He enjoined upon Noah and that which We have revealed to you, ]O Muhammad[, and what We enjoined upon Abraham and Moses and Jesus - to establish the religion and not be divided therein.{]Quran 42: 13[
Then when Islam came, it abrogated all other laws and methods. It established only one creed and method for all people.
• The original versions of the books that were revealed before the Quran were lost. Nothing remained of them except their translations, unlike the Noble Quran which was preserved as a whole with its Soorahs, verses, words, and letters exactly as Jibreel, may Allaah exalt his mention, recited it to the Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. In the previous books, the words of humans were mixed with the Words of Allaah The Almighty. No one can recognize the words of Allaah The Almighty from those of humans. As for the Noble Quran, all of its words are from Allaah The Almighty and they were never mixed with the Hadeeths of the Messenger or the speeches of the companions or any other person.
• None of those books can in any way be attributed to the Messenger to whom it was revealed. The Tawraah )Torah( was not written by Moosa )Moses(. In fact, it was written many centuries after Moosa. The Noble Quran is the only book that was proved to be decisively attributed to the Messenger, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, )even if he did not write it down himself, for he ordered the writers of the revelation to record every verse immediately after it was revealed to him(.
• The teachings of the Noble Quran are the Words of Allaah The Almighty that can achieve happiness to all humanity. So Allaah The Almighty Willed for it to last forever. He preserved and protected it from distortion. Allaah The Almighty Says )what means(:
•}And indeed, it is a mighty Book Falsehood cannot approach it from before it or from behind it; ]it is[ a revelation from a ]Lord who is[ Wise and Praiseworthy.{]Quran 41: 41-42[
•}Indeed, it is We who sent down the Quran and indeed, We will be its guardian{]Quran 15: 9[
The wisdom behind that is to make the Quran the argument of Allaah The Almighty over people. The Quran is for all worlds and all people. It is not for a specific people unlike the previous heavenly books. Allaah The Almighty Says )what means(:}And We have not sent you except comprehensively to mankind as a bringer of good tidings and a warner.{]Quran 34: 28[
• The Quran is the guidance that leads to all that is good. Allaah The Almighty Says )what means(:}Alif, Lam, Meem. This is the Book about which there is no doubt, a guidance for those conscious of Allaah{]Quran 2: 1-2[ Allaah The Almighty wants His word to spread and reach minds and ears everywhere. This will not be attained except if the Quran is easy to memorize and understand. Nothing in the Quran is difficult for people to understand or fulfill. Allaah The Almighty Says )what means(:}And We have certainly made the Quran easy for remembrance, so is there any who will remember?{]Quran 54: 17[
• The Quran is also the miracle of the Messenger, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. In fact, if the whole world gathered in order to produce something like what is mentioned in the Quran, they could not produce the like of it for it is as Allaah The Almighty Says )what means(:}And indeed, it is a mighty Book. Falsehood cannot approach it from before it or from behind it; ]it is[ a revelation from a ]Lord who is[ Wise and Praiseworthy.{]Quran 41: 41-42[
• The Quran is an invitation to every good matter and forbids every vice. Allaah The Almighty Says )what means(:}O mankind, there has come to you instruction from your Lord and healing for what is in the breasts.{]Quran 10: 57[
• The Quran is a cure for souls. It purifies them from their diseases. It is a remedy from disbelief, misguidance, hatred and envy. Allaah The Almighty Says )what means(:}And We send down of the Quran that which is healing and mercy for the believers, but it does not increase the wrongdoers except in loss.{]Quran 17: 82[

- PUBLISHERNajimudeeN M

Personal, - In Allah’s Hands alone - I

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The true nature of might and power
In an ultimate way, the answer to these and other similar questions is simple: Allah Almighty has willed it. This is so because nothing can happen in this world except by the permission of its mighty Creator and wise Lord, Allah, The Most High.
All of this happens because Allah Almighty, in His infinite wisdom, created laws and means )including evil( which allow certain outcomes, regardless of whether He loves it or not. This does not absolve people from their intentions and deeds, but quite the opposite. It forms the crucible and volitional test of human faith. This is known as Allah's Creative Will or Al-Iraadah Al-Kawniyah.
Allah Almighty also has what is known as the Prescriptive Will, Al-Iraadah Ash-Shar'iyah—or the Sharee`ah—which prescribes for us what Allah Almighty requires us to avoid and loves for us to do. Here Allah Almighty sets forth unambiguously what He detests as evil and what He loves and aides; namely, good, the righteous, and the good deeds they do.
Consequently, everything, good or bad, occurs under Allah's knowledge and happens only by His permission and creation. Making wars, conquests and the defeat of the weak by the physically strong, all take place by His permission because that is His Creative Will but at the intention and choice of man. Thus Allah Almighty Says in the Quran )what means(:"In the victory of Allah. He gives victory to whom He wills, and He is the Exalted in Might, the Merciful. ]It is[ the promise of Allah. Allah does not fail in His promise, but most of the people do not know .They know what is apparent of the worldly life, but they, of the Hereafter, are unaware."]Quran 30:5-7[
Reflecting upon history and reality shows us that Allah Almighty has made us into various competing communities and nations, who vie with one another for glory. Allah Almighty gives and takes from whom He pleases, even according strength to those He despises. Yet, as the preceding verses indicate, material displays of strength are deceiving. Allah Almighty has created them as an illusion for the disbelievers and those who have disregarded His signs. Strength in this world is meaningless in the next, because it cannot be truly substantial unless it occurs under God's favor.
So it might be a fair question to ask ourselves what do might and power mean for the Muslim—a person who declares: La hawla wa la quwwata illa billah, or "There is neither might nor power save with Allah?”
In the course of our answer to this, we will see that the root of the oppression that Allah Almighty mentions time and again in the Quran originates from a crucial misunderstanding of power, the illusion we mentioned previously. All the oppressors in the world perceive themselves as strong and the makers of their own destiny as well as the destiny of others. But the Quran makes clear that everything is as God wills, and that "indeed, Allah is powerful over all things" ]Quran 2:20[.
So our question develops. What is the nature of power and does Allah wish us to view it? Then what sort of concepts about power may we have to correct in ourselves when we answer our question?
Power and Devine knowledge
Consider Ibrahim, Father of Prophets, Friend of God. He approached King Nimrod, calling him to submit to Allah Almighty. But Nimrod doubted and disputed him, simply because Allah Almighty had granted him kingship )2:258(. In arrogance, Nimrod saw his kingdom and control over other people as a sign that his power made him responsible to no one. But Ibrahim, peace be upon him, insisted: "My Lord is He Who gives life and gives death." And Nimrod said: "I give life and give death."And it was true in a sense. Nimrod could decree the execution of whomever he wished in his kingdom.
But Ibrahim, peace be upon him, saw that Nimrod's argument was sheer falsehood. "Then, indeed, it is Allah who brings the sun from the East. So you bring from the West." Nimrod could not answer. Ibrahim, peace be upon him, knew the flimsiness of Nimrod's arguments, how weak a web of self-deception he had spun for himself. He recognized the difference between the violent might and meaningless power of Nimrod, and the wise and ultimate nature of true power from Allah. Prophet Ibrahim, peace be upon him, knew true power comes only from complete submission to God, not from physical outbursts and the compulsion of others.
The same is evident from the Prophet Muhammad, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, who said:"A strong person is not the one who throws his adversaries to the ground. A strong person is the one who contains himself when he is angry."]Al-Bukhari[
The believer does not wish to extend his human limitations onto other people through needless violence, harsh words, and spiteful thoughts. Allah Almighty Says )what means(:"And do not turn your cheek ]in contempt[ toward people and do not walk through the earth exultantly. Indeed, Allah does not like everyone self-deluded and boastful."]Quran 31:18[
This Quranic verse shows attributes, not of the strong, but the spiritually weak. Instead, the strong man of God is in selfless devotion to his Creator. The Prophet Muhammad, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, did not take his revenge on the people of Makkah when he conquered it. He did not raise his voice at those who disrespected him. Instead, he went against most of the expectations of what the Arabs considered to be actions of the strong and powerful at that time. In this was a sign of his real strength.
When we desire to oppose oppression, we must remember that we serve only the One who has created all things, and not the created things themselves. We have all heard the expression: "Do not fall in love with the things of this world." But it is equally true to say: "Do not fall into hatred of the things of this world.”
To succumb to either condition is to abandon our submission to Allah for surrender to the world and its illusions, which become controlling over us. It is to lose sight of ultimate purposes and ends, and out of love or hate, to focus on the temporary and miss the eternal. We lose ourselves to our own emotions instead of locating ourselves in the refuge of the All-Merciful.
It is always better to seek to live by Allah's commands than to follow our false desires. An example of this is the celebrated anecdote of Ali ibn abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, on the battlefield. His enemy fell beneath him, open to the deathblow. At that moment, he spat in Ali's face. Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, held his stroke and turned away, to the astonishment of his opponent, who asked him why. His action would have emerged not from obedience to Allah, but from personal anger, making it insincere.
Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, recognized that to strike at that moment would be to transfer his submission from the Divine to the dunya )world(, controlled by the actions of his enemy or his physical emotions. If this story is true, it goes a long way to show the solid character of Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, who wanted his heart to be moved only by Allah Almighty and for His sake alone, not the deception of this world.
He sacrificed a display of physical strength )at that moment(, so he might observe the limits Allah had established )not to kill for one's own whims or motives(. He knew that all power in this world comes from Allah alone, and this power loses its meaning if it is not used in His way. Through this type of action, Allah made him and many other Companions of Prophet Muhammad, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, of the strongest and wisest of His servants.

- PUBLISHERNajimudeeN M

Dought & clear, - Using gelatine and gelatine capsules derived from dead meator pork

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Some forms of medicine, such as gelatine capsules, in which the medicine is placed, are manufactured from collagen, which is a substance derived from the skin and bones of cattle or pigs. In our country, we import them from France and we fill them with medicine, and they are sold in the pharmacies. What is the ruling on that?
Praise be to Allah
There is nothing wrong with using gelatine or gelatine capsules for medicine and so on, if they are derived from the skin or bones of an animal that was slaughtered in the manner prescribed in Islam.
As for those that are taken from “dead meat” (i.e., that which has not been slaughtered properly) or pork, there is a difference of opinion among the scholars concerning that. According to the opinion that istihaalah is a means of purification (i.e., transformation of an impure, haraam substance into another, pure substance), there is nothing wrong with using them, because the haraam thing has turned into a different, permissible substance to which the evidence of prohibition does not apply.
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Based on this principle, alcohol is impure, even though its origin is pure. If the reason for its being regarded as impure is no longer present (such as when wine turns into vinegar), then it is to be regarded as pure. This is the basis of sharee‘ah and the basis of reward and punishment.
Based on this, the correct analogy is that this principle may be applicable to all other impurities if they have gone through a process of change. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) removed the remains of the mushrikeen from the site of his mosque, but he did not remove the soil. And Allaah says of milk that it comes“from between excretions and blood” [al-Nahl 16:66]. The Muslims are unanimously agreed that if an animal eats impure things, but it is then detained and fed with pure things, its milk and meat become permissible. The same applies to crops and fruits: if they are watered with impure water, but are then watered with pure water, they become permissible, because of the change (istihaalah) in the impure thing, which becomes pure. The converse also applies: if the pure thing changes into something impure, then it becomes impure (naajis), like water, and food when it changes into urine and faeces. So how can the change affect it when good turns into bad, but not affect it when bad turns into good, and Allaah brings forth pure things from impure things and impure things from pure things?
It is not the origin of a thing that matters, but what it is now. It is impossible for the ruling on impurity to remain when the name and character of the thing have changed. The ruling is connected to the name and character, and is present or absent depending on whether they are present or absent. The texts which deal with the prohibition on dead meat, blood, pork and alcohol do not deal with crops, fruits, sand, salt, soil or vinegar, whether in wording or meaning or text or analogy.
Specialists have stated that gelatine derived from the bones and skins of cattle and pigs has been transformed completely from the substance from which it is derived, and has acquired chemical properties other than the properties of the original matter from which it is derived. This is what the scholars call istihaalah (transformation, process to change a substance to something else)).
See:Tahreem al-Intifaa‘ bi’l-A‘yaan al-Muharramah, p. 250-255.
In the statements of the Islamic Medical Sciences Organization, which discussed the topic of “Haram and impure substances in food and medicine” in partnership with al-Azhar, the Islamic Fiqh Council in Jeddah, the regional office of the World Health Organization in Alexandria and the Kuwaiti Ministry of Health during the period 22-24 Dhu’l-Hijjah 1415 AH/22-24 May 1995, it says:
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Foods that contain lard (pork fat) in their list of ingredients, without it having been transformed (istihaalah), such as some cheeses, some types of oil, fat, ghee and butter, and some types of biscuits (cookies), chocolate and ice cream, are haraam and it is not permissible to eat them at all, because of the scholarly consensus that pigs are najis and it is not permissible to eat them, and because there is no compelling necessity to eat these foods.
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Istihaalah, which means the turning of one substance into another that has different characteristics, is the transformation of an impure substance into a pure substance, or the transformation of a haraam substance into a substance that is permissible according to sharee‘ah.
Based on that:
Gelatine that is produced from the transformation of the bones, skin and sinews of impure (najis) animals is pure (taahir) and eating it is permissible.
Soap that is produced from the transformation of fat from pigs or animals that were not slaughtered in the Islamic manner (“dead meat”) becomes pure by means of that transformation, and it is permissible to use it.
Cheese that is made by using rennet from animals whose meat may be eaten but they were not slaughtered properly is pure (taahir) and it is permissible to consume it.
It is not permissible to use lotions, creams and cosmetic products that include lard (pork fat) in their list of ingredients, unless it is proven that the fat has been transformed and turned into something else. But if it is not proven, then they are impure (najis).
And Allah knows best.

- PUBLISHERNajimudeeN M