Islam for Women

Salaam,

my readers who keep coming back here!

After reading the book I should give some kind of final recommendation from my side. It is marvelous reading, skillfully written bringing Islamic history close to Muslims and non-Muslims alike. I appreciate the amount of time and research the author has invested in it. Only if  there were not the one thing I have been writing in my previous posts and am quite unhappy with.

After having some serious concern about Lady Aisha’s age at her marriage since it is not known, all speculation is based on Hadiths only,  I think that the positive aspect of information and positive image it gives about Islam weighs more and therefore I recommend it for interested readers.

But readers should always keep in mind that it is a fiction novel after all and not everything what the vivid imagination of Mr. Pasha (which I envy – to be honest) brought to life here is necessary word by word true.

I could not find any historical errors since for most of the events exist surviving documents around which the author has woven this historical novel. 

Ramadan Greetings

Mona

About two months ago I was asked to review a book of which I was quite curious about.  RenownedHollywood screenwriter Kamran Pasha has written a novel about the birth of Islam titled Mother of the Believers. 

Now that I had the chance actually to start reading it I finally realized what had bothered me all the time.

It is the Title of the Book!

I just finished the fist chapter but as a reader I take the opportunity to make this my opinion clear before actually reading it.  Two things bother me after the author’s note. First is the title  and secondly that he chooses to use the most controversial age of Lady Aisha at her marriage -  six years old when engaged, married at nine.

I am afraid he is ignorant of the newer historical research. From different other accounts we can reconstruct Aisha’s age to late teens or perhaps early twenties compared to the ages of Prophet’s older daughters and other Hadith’s and surviving documents.

I cannot help but thinking that Mr. Pasha is not doing a favor for Islam especially while he knows the controversy around this subject and that it is used widely against Islam as anyone surfing the internet about critical articles about Islam must have noticed. Perhaps through controversy about this he hopes to gain exposure.. bad critic is better than no critic?

On the first pages is looks to become a promising tale, worthy of a successful Hollywood writer familiar with flowery language. And please, pardon my broken English, I myself struggle living in four languages in every single day!

The Title:

The title Mother of Believers Prophet Mohammed gave to his first wife of 25 years Khadija as she was the first person to convert to Islam and was the only supporter of the Prophet at his crisis after receiving his first revelation.

Quran 33;6  “THE PROPHET IS CLOSER TO THE BELIEVERS THAN THEIR OWN SELVES, AND HIS WIVES ARE THEIR MOTHERS.”  

I believe this means  that the Prophet’s wives were like mothers to the believers and after his passing away they could not be married by anyone else later.

The Age of Aisha:

Mr. Pasha, the Marriage to Lady Aisha lasted 10 years.  6 + 10 = 16 years. Aisha was the youngest of Prohpet’s wives (the daughter of his best friend and companion) while others were in their late fifties and early sixties, mostly war widows.   His first wife Khadija as we know was 15 years his senior and the marriage lasted for 25 years with 6 children. From all his  other wives he married later he received only one boy who died very early.

For me personally it hard to believe that the early Muslim community would have accepted her as THE Mother Figure ( “I am the Mother of the Believers and this is my tale.” Aisha at the end of the first chapter)  and as far as I know Aisha’s role after the death of the Prophet  was somewhat controversial because she tried to take a role others opposed.

Pardon my Planet, I had to bring this to my readers attention. From Amazon I can see that the book is selling well and receiving good feedback. 

Salaam, for later commentary

Mona

CARTOONS, CONTROVERSY, BIGOTRY

Here we go again, the same controversial caricatures about Islam are being published!

The Islam caricature controversy hardly needs introduction, it was in prime time news all over the world in 2005. The Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten invited cartoonists to participate in a caricature contest about Islam and its Prophet. Twelve cartoons were published on 30 September 2005. One of them, a man with a black turban bomb aroused the most furious protests.

It is strange, that already half a year earlier the same cartoons appeared in an Egyptian newspaper and went unnoticed by the large public. But this time Islamic activist spread the word and organized demonstrations, called in the media that was filming live burning flags and puppets. It turned sometimes quite violent.

The Jyllands-Posten newspaper claims the idea was starting a dialog about Islam and extremism, and freedom of speech. What hardly anybody knows and even myself found out only a few days ago is, that the same newspaper refused to publish well meaning cartoons about Jesus some time earlier of fear of upsetting its readers.

Article in the British Newspaper The Guardian: Danish paper rejected Jesus cartoons

Quote: Danish paper rejected Jesus cartoons

Jyllands-Posten, the Danish newspaper that first published the cartoons of the prophet Muhammad that have caused a storm of protest throughout the Islamic world, refused to run drawings lampooning Jesus Christ, it has emerged today.

The Danish daily turned down the cartoons of Christ three years ago, on the grounds that they could be offensive to readers and were not funny.

In April 2003, Danish illustrator Christoffer Zieler submitted a series of unsolicited cartoons dealing with the resurrection of Christ to Jyllands-Posten.

Zieler received an email back from the paper’s Sunday editor, Jens Kaiser, which said: “I don’t think Jyllands-Posten’s readers will enjoy the drawings. As a matter of fact, I think that they will provoke an outcry. Therefore, I will not use them.”

The illustrator said: “I see the cartoons as an innocent joke, of the type that my Christian grandfather would enjoy.”

“I showed them to a few pastors and they thought they were funny.

But the Jyllands-Posten editor in question, Mr Kaiser, said that the case was “ridiculous to bring forward now. It has nothing to do with the Muhammad cartoons.

“In the Muhammad drawings case, we asked the illustrators to do it. I did not ask for these cartoons. That’s the difference,” he said.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

My opinion is, that here the idea is not freedom of speech but there is a political agenda. Why are the same cartoons published again, at this time when the US backed Middle East peace initiative has been jumpstarted again?

Do we need proof of Islamic extremism and terrorism, again?

And WHY back in 2005 a cartoon competition at all with the specific theme Islam and Prophet Mohammed?

The answer is very simple: because there are political interests and an agenda to portray Muslims in bad light, to fan hatred and extremism.

Why now? When the US backed Middle East initiative is on track again and Pres. Bush is determined to achieve a PEACE agreement between Israel and Palestinians in a years time?

Top news from Middle East since January is not Iraq and its messed up democratization but the closure of Gaza by Israel. (”Gaza plunged into darkness as Israeli fuel blockade takes effect· Blackouts as only power plant is forced to shut.”)

Is there an urgent need to divert the attention of the world media from it? It has worked before.

Could there be some kind of connection between the political outlook of Jyllands-Posten (the star in their logo reminds me of the Star of David), their Jewish editor Flemming Rose, whose interview can be read in the German Mazazin Der Spiegel (”I Don’t fear for My Life”) and the elusive Middle East peace?

Roughly half of the citizen of Israel reject a Palestinian state and most of them would never agree to a divided Jerusalem. Palestinians claim the eastern part with the great Mosque as the capital of their future state.

So is there a need to portray Islam as the religion of hatred and violence and they cannot be trusted and no peace deal cannot ever achieved with them?

And sadly enough this ongoing slander is bearing fruits and the image of Islam in most non-Muslim countries is at its lowest point.

If only Muslims would see through all this and not let use themselves as tools in their political game. Muslims around the world should simply ignore them.

I believe if Prophet Mohammed (p.b.u.h.) would still live today, He would not approve the violence in his name because of a few poor caricatures. His idea of not to let portray him was his fear, that the early Muslims could start to worship him as a saint. He often critisized Christians to whom Jesus was divine, The Son of God. To Muslims Jesus was a Prophet like the other prophets before him and Muslims believe in all of them.

Before Islam the Meccans had hundreds of gods, idols made of diffenent materials. In the early years it was not an easy task to teach them monotheism, that there is only one almighty unvisible God.

Salaam, may God grant us all wisdom and insight!

“The true servants of The Merciful are they who walk gently on Earth, and who, when the foolish address them, reply with (words of) peace.” (Quran 25:63)

“And insult not those whom they (non-Muslims) worship besides God, lest they insult God wrongfully without knowledge. Thus We have made fair-seeming to each people its own doings; then to their Lord is their return and He shall then inform them of all that they used to do.”(Quran 6:108)

“When you are offered a greeting, reply with a better one, or at least return it. “(Quran 4:86)

The Farewell Pilgrimage of the Prophet Muhammed (p.b.u.h.) was a significant historical event in the Muslims life. Although thousands of Muslims witnessed the Farewell (last) Sermon given by the Prophet Muhammed (p.b.u.h.), the Hadiths books reported at least three versions of the same Sermon.

For an event witnessed by over 10,000 people an accurate narration should have been available, but it has not.

In the Shiite version of the Sermon it is narrated “the book of Allah and my family”, while in the Sunnite version it is “ the Book of Allah and my Sunnah”.

Only the version that talks about QURAN ALONE is the only one that does not contradict the QURAN and does not have any political motive behind it. It is the version ignored by the sects of the Sunnites and Shiites because it does not support their political agenda.

Here are the references to the three versions of the Sermon:

1) I leave with you Quran and Sunnah, Muwatta, 46/3
2) I leave with you Quran and Ahl al-bayt (meaning the family of the Prophet) , Muslim 44/4, Nu2408; ibn hanbal 4/366; darimi 23/1, nu 3319.
3) I leave for you the Quran alone you shall uphold it. Muslim 15/19, nu 1218; ibn Majah 25/84, Abu dawud 11/56.

Sunni-Muslims count ca. 90% of the beleivers while the Shia-Muslims are less than 10 %, the rest belong to smaller Sects.

Needless to say, that this has has opened the door to interpretations, which clearly contradict the Quran. And here we find the main reason for the dividing elements in Islam.

And it is the Hadith books, where extremist find justifacation for their attacks on civilians and innocent bystanders while the Quran clearly forbids such actions. And suicide is strongly prohibited in Islam. Please read more on the right panel under the topic No. 7 What the Qur’an says about… and No. 8  Hadiths (reported Sayings by The Prophet)

“… and do not aggress; God dislikes the aggressors.” (Q.5:87)

“You shall not kill any person - for God has made life sacred - except in the course of justice, and whoever is slain unjustly, We have indeed given to his heir authority, so let him not exceed the just limits in slaying; surely he is aided.” (Q.17:33)

“If they seek peace. Then seek you peace. And trust in God for He is the One that hear and know all things.” (Q.8.61)

“.. Therefore, if they leave you alone, refrain from fighting you, and offer you peace, then God gives you no excuse to fight them.” (Q. 4:90)

“.., we decreed for the Children of Israel that anyone who murders any person who had not committed murder or horrendous crimes, it shall be as if he murdered all the people. And anyone who spares a life, it shall be as if he spared the lives of all the people.” (Qur’an 5:32)

” That (shall be so); and he who retaliates with the like of that with which he has been afflicted and he has been oppressed, God will most certainly aid him; most surely. God is Pardoning, Forgiving.” (Q.22:60)

“…You shall resort to pardon, advocate tolerance, and disregard the ignorant.” (Q. 7:199)

“…… You shall not kill - God has made life sacred - except in the course of justice. These are His commandments to you, that you may understand.”(Q. 6:151)

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The following is the first - the Sunni-Muslim version of the Last Sermon (it was Delivered on the Ninth Day of Dhul Hijjah 10 A.H. in the Uranah Valley of Mount Arafat ):

O People, lend me an attentive ear, for I don’t know whether, after this year, I shall ever be amongst you again. Therefore listen to what I am saying to you carefully and take these words to those who could not be present here today.

O People, just as you regard this month, this day, this city as Sacred, so regard the life and property of every Muslim as a sacred trust. Return the goods entrusted to you to their rightful owners. Hurt no one so that no one may hurt you. Remember that you will indeed meet your lord, and that He will indeed reckon your deeds. Allah has forbidden you to take usury (interest), therefore all interest obligation shall henceforth be waived…

Beware of Satan, for your safety of your religion. He has lost all hope that he will ever be able to lead you astray in big things, so beware of following him in small things.

O People, it is true that you have certain rights with regard to your women, but they also have right over you. If they abide by your right then to them belongs the right to be fed and clothed in kindness. Do treat your women well and be kind to them for they are your partners and committed helpers. And it is your right that they do not make friends with any one of whom you do not approve, as well as never to commit adultery.

O People, listen to me in earnest, worship Allah, say your five daily prayers (salah), fast during the month of Ramadhan, and give your wealth in zakat. Perform hajj if you can afford to. You know that every Muslim is the brother of another Muslim. You are all equal. Nobody has superiority over other except by piety and good action.

Remember, one day you will appear before Allah and answer for your deeds. So beware, do not stray from the path of righteousness after I am gone.

O People, no prophet or apostle will come after me and no new faith will be born. Reason well, therefore, O People, and understand my words which I convey to you. I leave behind me two things, the Qur’an and my example, the Sunnah and if you follow these you will never go astray.

All those who listen to me shall pass on my words to others and those to others again; and may the last ones understand my words better than those who listen to me directly. Be my witness O Allah that I have conveyed your message to your people.