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WOMAN IN ISLAM

Most Muslims speak with pride in pointing out that women received certain rights at the time the Quran was revealed to Prophet Mohammad. Just over a hundred years ago, in England, in 1850, women were finally allowed the right to own property. In 1857, divorce became accessible by the formation of the court for Divorce and Matrimonial Causes. Muslim women have had these rights for fourteen hundred years.

However, in practical terms, in today's Islamic world, the majority of women are treated by men as second class citizens. Such a status for women is not attributable to the laws in the Quran but to religious laws other than the Quran. This is in spite of the fact, that the Quran came to us through Prophet Mohammad's mouth and that God informs us in the Quran, that it is complete, perfect, fully detailed and the only source of religious law for the submitters (Muslims). An attempt will be made in this article to give some examples, inshallah, to display the great disparity between what the Quran advocates versus accepted practices, which have given women the low status in Muslim countries.

EQUALITY OF MEN & WOMEN

Their Lord responded to them: 'I never fail to reward any worker among you for any work you do, be you male or female - you are equal to one another. Thus, those who immigrate, and get evicted from their homes, and are persecuted because of Me, and fight and get killed, I will surely remit their sins and admit them into gardens with flowing streams.' Such is the reward from GOD. GOD possesses the ultimate reward. 3:195

The believing men and women are allies of one another. They advocate righteousness and forbid evil, they observe the Contact Prayers (Salat) and give the obligatory charity (Zakat), and they obey GOD and His messenger. These will be showered by GOD's mercy. GOD is Almighty, Most Wise. 9:71

GOD promises the believing men and the believing women gardens with flowing streams, wherein they abide forever, and magnificent mansions in the gardens of Eden. And GOD's blessings and approval are even greater. This is the greatest triumph." 9:72

The submitting men, the submitting women, the believing men, the believing women, the obedient men, the obedient women, the truthful men, the truthful women, the steadfast men, the steadfast women, the reverent men, the reverent women, the charitable men, the charitable women, the fasting men, the fasting women, the chaste men, the chaste women, and the men who commemorate GOD frequently, and the commemorating women; GOD has prepared for them forgiveness and a great recompense. 33:35

RELIGIOUS LAWS NEVER AUTHORIZED BY GOD

The Quran prohibits even Prophet Mohammad from issuing any religious teachings other than the Quran or explaining the Quran in verses 69:43-47 and 75:16-19. The religious scholars, however, in defiance of the Quran have created religious laws never authorized by God.

MENSTRUATION

The following verse deals specifically and only with sexual intercourse during menstruation. However, most women through teachings of the scholars abstain from their daily religious practices (fasting, salat) during menstruation.

They ask you about menstruation: say, 'It is harmful; you shall avoid sexual intercourse with the women during menstruation; do not approach them until they are rid of it. Once they are rid of it, you may have intercourse with them in the manner designed by GOD. GOD loves the repenters, and He loves those who are clean. 2:222

DRESS CODE

O prophet, tell your wives, your daughters, and the wives of the believers that they shall lengthen their garments. Thus, they will be recognized (as righteous women) and avoid being insulted. GOD is Forgiver, Most Merciful. 33:59

Tell the believing men that they shall subdue their eyes (and not stare at the women), and to maintain their chastity. This is purer for them. GOD is fully Cognizant of everything they do. 24:30

And tell the believing women to subdue their eyes, and maintain their chastity. They shall not reveal any parts of their bodies, except that which is necessary. They shall cover their chests, and shall not relax this code in the presence of other than their husbands,.....They shall not strike their feet when they walk in order to shake and reveal certain details of their bodies. All of you shall repent to GOD, O you believers, that you may succeed. 24:31

The verses quoted above are the only verses in the Quran giving the dress code for women - to lengthen the garments and to cover the chest. The Muslims of today have created unreasonable dress code for women based on tradition and customs in the name of God and Islam. There is also, no mention in the Quran, that the head should be covered for men or women.

POLYGAMY

If you deem it best FOR THE ORPHANS, you may marry their mothers - you may marry two, three, or four. If you fear lest you become unfair, then you shall be content with only one, or with what you already have. Additionally, you are thus more likely to avoid financial hardship. 4:3

You can never be equitable in dealing with more than one wife, no matter how hard you try. Therefore, do not be so biased as to leave one of them hanging (neither enjoying marriage, nor left to marry someone else). If you correct this situation and maintain righteousness, GOD is Forgiver, Most Merciful. 4:129

Verse 4:3 makes it clear that the ONLY condition for polygamy is for the sake of orphans, while verse 4:129 discourages polygamy even for that one exception. A law which allows men to marry a second time without meeting the condition of orphans stands in violation of the Quran.

TAKING CERTAIN VERSES OUT OF CONTEXT

O you who believe, when you transact a loan for any period, you shall write it down. An impartial scribe shall do the writing. No scribe shall refuse to perform this service, according to GOD's teachings. He shall write, while the debtor dictates the terms. He shall observe GOD his Lord and never cheat. If the debtor is mentally incapable, or helpless, or cannot dictate, his guardian shall dictate equitably. Two men shall serve as witnesses; if not two men, then a man and two women whose testimony is acceptable to all. Thus, if one woman becomes biased, the other will remind her. It is the obligation of the witnesses to testify when called upon to do so. Do not tire of writing the details, no matter how long, including the time of repayment. This is equitable in the sight of GOD, assures better witnessing,and eliminates any doubts you may have. Business transactions that you execute on the spot need not be recorded, but have them witnessed. No scribe or witness shall be harmed on account of his services. If you harm them, it would be wickedness on your part. You shall observe GOD, and GOD will teach you. GOD is Omniscient." 2:282

Financial transactions are the ONLY situations where two women may substitute for one man as witness. This is to guard against the real possibility that one witness may marry the other witness, and thus cause her to be biased. Unreasonable laws have been made and continue to be made abusing this verse, giving women a lower status in society.

WOMAN AS LEADERS

One of the controversial issues in Islam is the woman's role in the political system. Can a woman take the leadership role? Is it prohibited? The Quran provides clears answer to thses questions.

The God gives the story of Belquees or the Queen of Sheba (27:22-44) in the Quran. Her history in the Quran is of woman in a leadership position. She was democratic ruler who consulted with her people before making decisions (27:29).

After witnessing what God gave Solomon, Sheba became a submitter (Muslim), while still the Queen of Sheba.

She was told, "Go inside the palace." When she saw its interior, she thought it was a pool of water, and she (pulled up her dress) exposing her legs. He said, "This interior is now paved with crystal." She said, "My Lord, I have wronged my soul. I now submit with Solomon to God, Lord of the Universe." 27:44

The Quran thus provides us a precedent that a woman can be in a leadership position including the head of a nation.

CONCLUSION

Belief in God mandates that we believe God. God has stated in his proven, final scripture, the Quran, that it is complete, fully detailed and the only source of religious guidance. As submitters (Muslims) we have to accept God's assertion and look to the Quran and God for guidance.

ALLAHU AKBAR

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SECTS IN ISLAM

The Quran condemns all sects. All sects in Islam, whether Sunni, Shias, Ahmaddis, Wahabbi's have disagreements about hadith/sunnah attributed to the prophet. However, these same sects have no disagreements about the Quran.

It is sources of religious law, stories, conjecture, etc. outside the Quran which have created these sects. At the end of this article three "authentic" hadith have been produced about the last sermon of the prophet. The different versions/conjecture gave rise to sects.

The followers of Nation of Islam claim to be Muslim but they follow sources outside the Quran for their religious laws. The other sects of Islam ( Sunni, Shias, Ahmaddis, etc.) do exactly the same thing - they follow sources and religious scholars, instead of the Quran.

[6:159] Those who divide themselves into sects do not belong with
you. Their judgment rests with GOD, then He will inform
them of everything they had done.

[30:32] (Do not fall in idol worship,) like those who divide
their religion into sects; each party rejoicing with what they have.

[42:14] Ironically, they broke up into sects only after the
knowledge had come to them, due to jealousy and
resentment among themselves. If it were not for a
predetermined decision from your Lord to respite them for
a definite interim, they would have been judged
immediately. Indeed, the later generations who inherited
the scripture are full of doubts.

The last sermon of the prophet witnessed by the thousands has three versions. The versions the references are listed below.

1) I leave with you Quran and Sunnah.
Muwatta, 46/3

2) I leave with you Quran and Ahl al-bayt.
Muslim 44/4, Nu2408; ibn hanbal 4/366; darimi 23/1, nu 3319.

3) I leave you for the Quran alone you shall uphold it.
Muslim 15/19, nu 1218; ibn Majah 25/84, Abu dawud 11/56.

Because the majority of the Muslims follow conjecture (hadith and sunnah) instead of Quran alone (17:46) as our Creator has commanded the "Muslims" are divided into sects. These sects are there because of differences and disagreements on Hadith rather than disagreements over the Quran.

ALLAHU AKBAR

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ONE OF THE GREAT MIRACLES

PROOF FOR THE WORLD
QURAN, THE UNALTERED, COMPLETE WORD OF GOD

For the first time in history, we have a built-in proof that the Quran is the unaltered, original and complete word of God. A proof that is verifiable by anyone. So powerful is the proof, that in a few generations it will become obvious, that any religion or any group of people, which advocates faith, as a pre-requisite or basis for belief will immediately be exposed as a false religion. Since we now have proof, blind faith is no longer valid.

"You shall not accept any information, unless you verify it for yourself. I have given you the hearing, the eyesight, and the brain, and you are responsible for using them." (17:36)

The mathematical structure of the Quran was discovered by Dr. Rashad Khalifa, an Egyptian born American biochemist, in the 1970's. Dr. Khalifa, started translating the Quran into English with the determination to find an explanation for the mysterious initials prefixing 29 Suras. He initiated an extensive research on these initials (for example: the Arabic letter "Qaaf" in Suras 42 and 50), after placing the Quranic text of the initialed Suras into a computer. His objective was to find a mathematical pattern which would explain the significance of the initials, although he had no idea where and what to look for. After several years of research, Dr. Khalifa published his first results in a book entitled MIRACLE OF THE QURAN, Significance of the Mysterious Alphabets (Islamic Productions), in 1973. It was in 1974 that Dr. Khalifa discovered that there was a common denominator in the initials and throughout the Quran - the number 19. Subsequently Dr. Khalifa published, THE COMPUTER SPEAKS: GOD'S MESSAGE TO THE WORLD (Renaissance Productions, 1981), QURAN: Visual Presentation of the Miracle (Islamic Productions, 1982); and the translation of the Quran in English (Islamic Productions, 1989). All these publications are good tools to verify the mathematical structure. (The books can be ordered from ICS, PO Box 43476, Tucson, Az 85733-3476).

SOME SIMPLE FACTS

1. The first verse (1:1), "Basmalah" consists of 19 Arabic letters.

2. Each of the four Arabic words of "Basmalah" are repeated in the Quran in multiples of 19 in numbered verses.
The first word..."Ism" (Name).....occurs...19 times
The second word.."Allah" (God)....occurs...2698 times (19x142)
The third word..."Al-Rahman" (Most Gracious)...57 times (19x3)
The fourth word.."Raheem" (Most Merciful)..114 times (19x6)

The above can be verified by the following:

A. In the Concordance of the Quran by Abdul Baqy on page 362 the word ISM is listed with 19 occurrences. The peculiar spelling of the word ISM as BISM is repeated in the Quran three times in verses 1:1, 27:30 & 11:41. (1+1+27+30+11+41 + number of occurrences 3 =114 or 19x6)

B. The count of the word ALLAH can best be verified by Dr. Rashad Khalifa's translation of the Quran which carries the cumulative total occurrences of ALLAH on each page. Abdul Baqy gets the same count when the numbered verse 1:1 is included in his count.

C. On page 307 on Abdul Baqy's concordance we find AL REHMAN to be 57 as total occurrences.

D. The word AL RAHEEM is listed on page 307 as occurring 95 times, while RAHEEM is listed on page 309 as occurring as 20 times. The total occurrence is 114 (95 -1 + 20 = 114). AL RAHEEM in verse 9:128 is not counted (Note: verses 9:128 & 129 were falsely injected into the Quran after the death of the prophet. The subject will be discussed in another topic).

3. The Quran consists of 114 suras, which is ...19 x 6

4. The total number of verses in the Quran is 6346, or 19 x 334. 6346 is the total of 6234 numbered verses and 112 un-numbered verses (Basmalah)
Also 6 + 3 + 4 + 6 = 19

5. From the missing Basmalah in sura 9 to the extra Basmalah in sura 27, there are precisely 19 suras.

6. The first revelation (96:1-5) consists of 19 words and 76 letters (19 x 4)

7. First sura revealed (sura 96) consists of 19 verses and 304 Arabic letters (19 x 16).

8. The Quran mentions 30 different numbers.(Eg: 300 & 9 in verse 18:25). The sum of the 30 numbers is 162,146 or 19 x 8534.

9. The sum of all verse numbers where God "Allah" is mentioned is 118,123 or 19 x 6,217.

QURANIC INITIALS

There are 29 suras in the Quran with prefixed initials. All the initials are linked to the common denominator - 19.

"Q" (Qaaf) is initialed in suras 42 and 50. In both the suras,"Q" is repeated 57 times or 19 x 3.

"Nun" (Noon) is initialed in sura 68 and the name of the letter is spelled out as - "noon wow noon" - in the original text. The total count of "Nun" is 133 or 19 x 7.

"S" (Saad) is initialed in suras, 7, 19, 38, and the total occurrence in the three suras is 152 or 19 x 8.

"Y.S" (Ya Seen). These two letters are prefixed in Sura 36 and the total occurrence for both of them is 285 or 19 x 15.

"H.M" (Ha Mim). These letters prefix suras 40 through 46 and their total occurrence in the seven "H.M" initialed suras is 2147 or 19 x 113.

"`A.S.Q" ('Ayn Seen Qaf). These initials constitute Verse 2 of sura 42 and are repeated in the sura 209 or 19 x 11 times.

"A.L.M" (Alef Laam Mim). These most frequently used letters in the Arabic language are prefixed in six suras - 2, 3, 29, 30, 31 and 32 and the total occurrence of the three letters in each of the six suras in 9899 (19x521), 5662 (19x298), 1672 (19x88),1254 (19x66), 817 (19x43) and 570 (19x30) respectively.

All other Quranic initials, without exception, show similar patterns of being multiples of 19.

GEMATRICAL VALUE

When the Quran was revealed, 14 centuries ago, the numbers known today did not exist. Alphabets of Arabic, Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek languages were used as numerals with a value for each alphabet. For example, "alef" had a value of 1, "wow" had a value of 6, etc. The total sum of the 19 letters of "Basmalah" is 786, a number known to muslim masses all over the world by God's will. It is beyond the scope of this article to give the mathematical patterns in the Quran, taking into consideration the Gematrical Value of Arabic letters. Only one example will be given. The total sum of the 14 Arabic letters which participate in the formation of Quranic initials in 29 suras is 693.....693 + 29 = 722 or 19 x 19 x 2.

COMPLEX NUMBERS

The use of a computer becomes mandatory in certain complex aspects of the mathematical miracle of the Quran. For example, the sum of the number of verses in each of the 114 suras plus the sum of every single verse number in all the suras is equal to 339,644 or 19 x 17,876.

If we take the same number used in getting the total of 339,644 and put them all, side by side, from the first sura to the last sura, we obtain a 12,692 digit number. The number 12,692 is divisible by 19 (19 x 668). But more importantly, the entire 12,692 digit number is also a multiple of 19.

7 1234567 286 1234....285286 200 123......5 12345 6 123456.

OVER IT IS NINETEEN (74:30)

We now know the meaning of verse 30 of sura 74. God has chosen the number nineteen as his signature on his creation - the Glorious Quran. Anyone who cares to study and verify the mathematical structure of the Quran will know with certainty that such a book can never be authored by anyone, other than by God. When this mathematical structure is taken together with the literary excellence of the Quran, one can appreciate God's assertion in the following verses in the same sura 74, that this is one of the God's great miracles.

Absolutely, (I swear) by the moon.
And the night as it passes.
And the morning as it shines.
THIS IS ONE OF THE GREAT MIRACLES. (74:32-35)

REASON FOR THE MIRACLE OF QURAN

Verse 74:31 gives five reasons for the miracle of the Quran with number 19 as the common denominator.

1. To disturb the disbelievers.
2. To convince the Christians and the Jews (that this is divine scripture).
3. To strengthen the faith of the faithful.
4. To remove all traces of doubt from the hearts of Christians, Jews, as well as the believers; and
5. To expose those who harbor doubt in their hearts, and the disbelievers; who will say, "What did God mean by this allegory?" (or "So What?").

NEW ERA IN RELIGION

With mankind having a verifiable proof, that the Quran, the Final Testament, is the unaltered word of God, we have entered a new era in religion. Verse 17:36 quoted above mandates, that we use our hearing , eyesight and brain to verify all information, including the miracle of the Quran by ourselves.

This new era also mandates that we seek proof for any religious law or practice dictated upon us. What makes the religion of Submission (Islam) so easy, is the proof, we now have, that the Quran is the unaltered and complete word of God. As submitters (Muslims) to God, we have to accept God's assertion in the Quran; that the Quran is complete, fully detailed and the only source of religious law.

ALLAHU AKBAR

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