Fatwas Part One-Hundred-and-Six

Issued by: Dr. Ahmed Subhy Mansour, translated by: Ahmed Fathy

My Respectable Christian Wife

Published in December 16, 2018

Question: … Dear Sir, … I admire you on a personal level; you are a great thinker, and I admire your books, writings, and videos very much; may the Lord God make you and myself among the dwellers of Paradise after obtaining His mercy … My question is as follows: I am married to a very respectable and religious Christian woman; whenever she sees me watching your great videos or reading your archive for hours on end, she often poses several question to me about the Quran and about Allah; she seems inquisitive and eager to know many things. I'm seriously thinking of trying to convince her to convert to Quranism as the Only True Islam; how am I to do this in an attractive, enticing, thought-provoking manner which will appeal to her logical mind and to her heart? Any ideas? … Thank you …    

Answer:

 May the Lord God bless both you and your wife and grant you happiness; may the Lord God guide you and our person through His Straight Path of righteousness. We do not think it proper to try to convince her of anything at all; instead, you should treat her with due respect, kindness, tenderness, and love; she should notice all the time your good behavior, your piety, and your adhering to justice/fairness within dealing with others and with her; she should admire your good character, your avoiding all types of injustices, your adhering to peace, charity, and good deeds, your acts of worship, your glorifying the Lord Allah and reading he Quran, your avoiding consuming ill-gotten money, your forbearance/patience in times of ordeals and hardships, etc. You should make her understand that this is your applying Islam which is not known to the Muhammadans. Thus, she can choose for herself without pressure; please do not push her into a conversion. It should be enough for you to win her heart and earn her respect (and respect for your religion) even if she keeps her own religion. May the Lord God bless your family.

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Looking for a Wife (1)

Published in December 17, 2018

Question: … Dear Sir, … I'm a 28-year-old bearded single man; I live in Cairo, Egypt; I have my own apartment and I'm in search for a good Egyptian wife who is religious, veiled, and has memorized some Quranic Chapters......... My cellular no. is as follows:......... … Thank you …  

Answer:

 Anyone who is interested can call you, but without interference from our person; we receive many marriage ads and our responsibility is confined to publishing them on our website upon request from their senders.

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The Religion of Children

Published in December 17, 2018

Question: … Dear Sir, … I agree with your Quran-based view that a Muslim woman can marry a non-Muslim man; yet, what religion will be taught to my children (if I'd have any in the future) if I would marry a non-Muslim man one day?! … Thank you …

Answer:

  We have mentioned before in previous fatwas about the same topic that spouses in mixed marriages or mariage mixte (i.e., when the husband and the wife have different religious affiliations) should bring up and teach their children within a high moralistic level and higher values: honesty, integrity, truthfulness, uprightness, freedom, mercy, peace, justice, courage, charity, tolerance, mutual respect, rejection of all types of injustices, etc. This is Islam in terms of behavior. As for Islam in terms of belief within one's heart/soul in monotheism as per the Quran, this will be (or not) the personal choice of children when they come of age; they should choose freely to follow Quranism, the religion of the non-Quranist parent, or any other religion (including atheism) without being pressurized by their parents. We do believe that in most cases, if children are brought up that way, most probably, they will easily choose monotheism (within Quranism) on their own accord.

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The Quran and the Aramaic Tongue

Published in December 17, 2018

Question: … Dear Sir, … Some Arab and non-Arab researchers assume that the original tongue/language of the Quran was Aramaic and not Arabic; they assume that the Aramaic origin can be traced when one removes dots from Arabic letters of the Quranic words!  … What do you think of this hypothesis?! … Thank you …    

Answer:

  Ancient tongues of the East (or the Orient) have one origin or ancestry; many dialects metamorphosed into full-fledged tongues/languages; for instance, Arabic and Hebrew share the Aramaic origin/root. These tongues borrow terms/words from one another and share common linguistic features within mutual influence; hence, the Arabic tongue (as well as the Quranic tongue) contains words whose origin are Persian, Aramaic, or Hebrew. The Quranic tongue (and using the Quran in prayers and other acts of worship) has maintained the usage of classical Arabic until now; other ancient tongues died out after they branched into other languages; e.g., Latin is no longer spoken now, but it is the root/origin of the Romance languages: Italian, Spanish, and French. By the way, the classical Arabic (of the Quran) has NOT stopped any dominance of several Arabic dialects in many countries; for instance, Egypt has different varieties/dialects of (vernacular) Arabic in the capital, Cairo, and in the governorates of Upper Egypt, Lower Egypt, and Sinai. Many Arab countries have their own Arabic dialects; e.g., several dialects exist in Arabia today.       

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Changing the First-Name!

Published in December 18, 2018

Question: … Dear Sir, … Are we obliged (as a religious duty) in Islam (i.e., Quranism) to proselytize to urge people to convert? Will God reward me for doing this? I'm of Arab origin; in the West country where I live now, I managed to convince a male friend to convert to Islam; I seized the chance of his searching for God and for True Religion. After his conversion, should he change his first name (i.e., his Christian name)? What is your own opinion? … Thank you …      

Answer:

 We hope that his conversion is to Quran-only Islam, which is real monotheism of (There is no God but Allah), without deifying mortals and things/items or mausoleums besides the Lord God; proselytizing Quranism is peaceful jihad/striving for the Lord God's sake and He will reward those who strive for His cause, provided they bear patiently with hardships, discrimination, and persecution they will face. You are not responsible for the outcome; i.e., if people were convinced or not of embracing Islam. Make sure you have understood Quranism very well by studying our archive within our Quranism website; you should also ponder deeply on the Quran all your life. As for your friend, he does NOT have to change his first-name at all.

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Witnesses of the Marriage Contract

Published in December 18, 2018

Question: … Dear Sir, … I never found any Quranic verse(s) about the importance of the presence of witnesses to sign marriage contracts! Witnesses are useless (in my view) if there would be machines to verify fingerprints or even eye-prints of the husband and the wife within registering their marriage contract within an online database .......... and then, marriage contracts/certificates or papers would be produced automatically; there will be no need for witnesses, then. What do you think? Is this witness-less type of marriage OK or not?   … Thank you …      

Answer:

 Marriage has been known before the descent of the Quran; within the topic of marriage, the Quran merely corrects some faults within practices related to it. The differences between marriage (i.e., matrimony) and fornication (i.e., a grave sin) are (1) the presence of witnesses, (2) drawing marriage contracts, and (3) the husbands paying dowries to their wives. To remove one or more of these three conditions of valid/legal marriage in Islam is to commit the sin of fornication by allowing a man and a woman to live together. We advise you to read more within our archive and watch all our subtitled-into-English YouTube videos before posing repeated questions. We advise you to watch our "Quranic Moments" episodes about the methodology of the Quranic legislations; one of the episodes is about marriage; conditions of legal marriage (and divorce) in Islam are found in our article, in English, titled "Contradictions in Divorce Legislations between The Quran and The Sunnite Jurisprudence", found on this link:          http://www.ahl-alquran.com/English/show_article.php?main_id=15977

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Quranists and Protestants!

Published in December 18, 2018

Question:  … Dear Sir, … Many non-Quranists (and some atheists) describe Quranists (mockingly?) as the 'Protestants' of the religion of Islam; what is your stance regarding this description? I do believe that the similarity between the Egyptian Protestant Evangelists and the Egyptian Quranists is that they center their faith around a Book: the Bible and the Quran, respectively. Both Protestants and Quranists seek new readings of their holy text............. What do you think?   … Thank you …        

Answer:

 This description has been told to our person in Egypt and in the USA ad infinitum ad nauseam. We beg to differ; Quranists never resemble the Protestants of any denominations or churches, East and West. All Quranists never deify mortals, whereas the Christian Protestants deify Jesus. Most faith tenets of the Protestants contradict the Quran; e.g., they assume that Jesus was killed/crucified and as if he were immortal; the Quran asserts that Jesus, a mortal prophet, died a natural death and he was NOT murdered. The Bible is a book of lies and falsehoods and never part of the divine revelation. By the way, Quranists never engage into the politics; in contrast, Protestants (since Martin Luther) have been engaged into politics more often than not; in fact, we have written (in English) in 1988 a comparative study which proves that the Protestants share common features with Wahabis in terms of history, origin, and faith tenets. When this study was submitted by us to an institute in the USA, it was rejected.  

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Sufi Festivals and Celebrations

Published in December 19, 2018

Question:  … Dear Sir, … I dislike your negative view of Sufi feasts, festivals, and celebrations! What harm could be done when peaceful people get together to celebrate, engage in trade, get acquainted, get married, etc. within such occasions?! … Thank you …      

Answer:

 Within our encyclopedia of Sufism, we explain how heterosexual and homosexual promiscuity/immorality spread in such feasts during the Mameluke Era; besides, such Sufi feasts celebrate entombed saints/gods, and this is sheer polytheism prohibited in Islam; food items (e.g., slaughtered animals) offered at Sufi shrines and mausoleums are also prohibited. This applies to Sunnite and Shiite feasts celebrating their saints; such feasts are typical of all earthly/terrestrial, man-made religions protected by clergymen who consume ill-gotten money and prohibited food items. Socializing, trade, and get-togethers within brotherly affection can be done away from such polytheistic festivals. Abraham warned his people against such paganism within their feasts: "And he said, "You have chosen idols to worship alongside with Allah, out of affection for one another in the worldly life. But then, on the Day of Resurrection, you will disown one another, and curse one another. Your destiny is Hell, and you will have no saviors."" (29:25).        

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Sacrificial Animals

Published in December 19, 2018

Question: … Dear Sir, … I've performed Hajj (i.e., pilgrimage) in 2011 and a Saudi sheikh there told me not to have a sacrificial animal slaughtered on my behalf (with my money) since my Hajj took three days only and I had to leave (I was alone, by the way)  … I took his advice, but now after converting to Quranism, I feel I have missed an important ritual of Hajj! Should pilgrims offer sacrificial animals only if they perform pilgrimage in groups and when they stay 10 days or more?! Are they allowed (or not) to eat from this meat? Should they donate all of this meat to the poor and the hungry ones? What do you think? … Thank you …   

Answer:

  It is NOT obligatory that every pilgrim should offer sacrificial animals; in most cases, there are no longer poor, hungry people inside Mecca or among today's pilgrims who are mostly rich and afford to travel and perform pilgrimage; it is better for pilgrims to feed the hungry and the poor in their respective countries. The Saudi authorities impose exorbitant prices and fees on pilgrims; such authorities should offer sacrificial animals for free to feed all pilgrims and to feed the poor and the needy. Billionaires of the KSA should participate in this; they should feed the hungry and the poor inside and outside the KSA. Of course, rich pilgrims can offer sacrificial animals and feed the poor in their respective countries, and they can consume some of the meat of such sacrificial animals.    

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Difficulties within Pondering the Quran

Published in December 19, 2018

Question: … Dear Sir, … I try now to ponder the Quran on my own as you have advised me; yet, some Quranic verses and some Quranic Chapters (e.g., 37, 51, 77, & 79) could not be comprehended by me; I searched within your great website to see your ponderings on them but my search yielded no results; what pieces of advice would you give me to be able to ponder the Quran on my own? Are there any references/books or other websites you can recommend for me?  … Thank you …     

Answer:

  We never trust any websites or books of others who are non-Quranists. We advise you to read our scattered articles (in English) about Quranic terminology, found on our page here: (http://www.ahl-alquran.com/English/profile.php?main_id=1). Please wait for our coming articles about pondering the Quranic Chapters 37, 51, 77, & 79. We refer you to our book, in English, titled ''How to Understand the Holy Quran", found on this link:             http://www.ahl-alquran.com/arabic/book_main.php?main_id=121

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Distinguished?

Published in December 20, 2018

Question: …  Dear Sir, … What is meant by being (distinguished) within the Quranic verses 33:69 and 3:45? Any ideas? …  Thank you …        

Answer:

  The Lord God says the following in the Quran: "O you who believe! Do not be like those who abused Moses; but God cleared him of what they said. And God made him distinguished." (33:69); "The Angels said, "O Mary, God gives you good news of a Word from Him. His name is the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, distinguished in this world and the next, and one of the nearest." (3:45). The term (distinguished) here describes an outstanding person with high stature and people directed themselves to him to seek help and advice.

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The Arabic Word and Name (Sahar)!

Published in December 20, 2018

Question: … Dear Sir,  … My wife gave birth recently to a baby-girl; she insists on naming her (Sahar); I dislike the name because it bears the connotations of witchcraft and sorcery! My wife insists that this name means (the charming one); what is your own view? Names of persons will affect them negatively or positively, right?! … Thank you …

Answer:

  You have expressed a wrong view; witchcraft and sorcery in Arabic are referred to by the term (Sehr) and not (Sahar); the Quranic/Arabic word (Sahar) refers to staying late by night to perform acts of worship until dawn. It refers to the pre-dawn time (see 54:33-38, 11:81, and 15:65-66); by the way, (Sahar) is a good name for your daughter. Besides, names never influence anyone negatively or positively; life is not a work of fiction; besides, one never chooses one's first-name given to one upon being born, you know.

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My Quarrelsome Mother-in-Law!

Published in December 20, 2018

Question: … Dear Sir, … Since day one of my marriage, I sensed that my mother-in-law hates me! She and I live in the same house; she wants her son (my husband) to devote more time to her more than the time he spends with me; she wants him to get her the same presents, gifts, clothes, sums of money, groceries, etc. just like me! By the way, she has her own very good monthly income. She rebukes her son very severely when he buys me anything! When I told my mother-in-law that the salary of her son will not be enough to cover all expenses if he would gratify her everything she wants, she threatened me to convince him to marry another woman! This is because in the first two years, I did not get pregnant! Later on, the Lord God answered my fervent prayers and I gave birth to a male baby; yet, my mother-in-law grew more jealous as my husband cares more for me and for the baby and expresses his love to me every day! She complains that he does not dedicate enough time for her! Within his absence now, she plainly tells me how she hates my guts! She quarrels with me over trivial matters, and she yells and screams at me all the time! This increased when I gave birth to a female baby recently; she repeats to me that if I will not convince my husband to purchase all her needs at his own expense, she will convince him to marry another woman to spite me! … What am I supposed to do?! She has turned my life into veritable hell! Any advice?!…  Thank you …    

Answer:

  All of us must apply the higher values and the high moralistic level we find in the Quran: "Good and evil are not equal. Repel evil with good, and the person who was your enemy becomes like an intimate friend. But none will attain it except those who persevere, and none will attain it except the very fortunate." (41:34-35). You should adhere to patience; try to please your mother-in-law and treat her kindly as if she were your own mother; you should try to appeal to her good side; excuse her jealousy and be charitable to her; she might suffer from any psychological and/or physical problems related to menopause or the senile age. In fact, most mothers-in-law feel jealous when their sons get married and are busy with their wives. Bear in mind that one day, you will be a mother-in-law yourself when your children marry. Be kind towards your mother-in-law and the Lord God will reward you; your own future daughter-in-law will treat you kindly in return.

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About the Verse 14:43

Published in December 21, 2018

Question: … Dear Sir, … What is the meaning of this verse: "Their necks outstretched, their heads upraised, their gaze unblinking, their hearts void." (14:43)? … Thank you …

Answer:

  This verse depicts the status of unjust sinners/criminals on the Last Day upon Resurrection; they will feel utter humiliation, fear, and sorrow. The same meaning is repeated and explained here: "So turn away from them. On the Day when the Caller calls to something terrible. Their eyes humiliated, they will emerge from the graves, as if they were swarming locusts. Scrambling towards the Caller, the disbelievers will say, "This is a difficult Day."" (54:6-8).

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The Tongue of the Angels

Published in December 21, 2018

Question: … Dear Sir,  … What is the tongue/language used by the angels when they spoke to human beings as per the Quranic stories? … Thank you …     

Answer:

  Of course, when some of the angels took a human form to speak to Abraham and his wife, Lot, and Zachariah, and when Gabriel spoke to Mary, they used the tongues of their human addressees. As for the Hereafter, there will be unified, universal expression and sentiments understood and used by all human beings and all angels.  

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About the Verse 2:61

Published in December 21, 2018

Question: … Dear Sir,  … What is the meaning of this Quranic phrase: "..."Would you substitute worse for better?..." (2:61)? … Thank you … 

Answer:

  This question was posed by Moses to the Israelites in Sinai as they longed for the Egyptian food items, demanded from Moses to make the Lord God grant such items to them, and refused the quail and the manna granted to them by the Lord God; thus, they wanted ordinary food items they used to consume while enslaved and persecuted by  Pharaoh and rejected the luxurious food items provided specially for them by the Lord God.

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Disbelief and Ignorance!

Published in December 22, 2018

Question: … Dear Sir, … I've read a historical narrative in a Sunnite book (and a similar but slightly different one in a Shiite book) that some Quranic verses were omitted from the copies of the Quran during the era of the four pre-Umayyad caliphs............What do you think? … Thank you …

Answer:

  This is utter blasphemy, disbelief, and ignorance; real monotheists never seek to undermine the Quranic verses or accuse the Quran of being incomplete or lacking; they only know that they do not understand fully some verses and implore the Lord God to grant them the right understanding as they ponder them. Polytheists attribute lies and falsehoods to the Lord God and to His Book, the Quran, as they deny and reject its verses and seek Satan's lies instead of the Divine Truth: "And who does graver wrong than he who fabricates lies and attributes them to God, or calls the truth a lie when it has come to him? Is there not in Hell a dwelling for the disbelievers? As for those who strive for Us - We will guide them in Our ways. God is with the doers of good." (29:68-69); ""Shall I seek a judge other than God, when He is the One who revealed to you the Book, explained in detail?" Those to whom We gave the Book know that it is the truth revealed from your Lord. So do not be of those who doubt. The Word of your Lord has been completed, in truth and justice. There is no changing to His words. He is the Hearer, the Knower." (6:114-115). The narrative you mention in your message contradicts these verses: "Praise be to God, who revealed the Book to His servant, and allowed in it no distortion. Valuable..." (18:1-2); "...It is an invincible Book. Falsehood cannot approach it, from before it or behind it. It is a revelation from One Wise and Praiseworthy." (41:41-42); "Surely We revealed the Message, and We will surely preserve it." (15:9). The Lord God preserves the Quranic text; it was revealed in its entirety into the heart/soul of Muhammad during the Night-Journey (http://www.ahl-alquran.com/arabic/book_main.php?main_id=112). Shortly before his death, Muhammad wrote the entire Quranic text himself (in the arrangement of Chapters you see now in all copies of the Quran) as per the Divine inspiration he received.   

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Looking for a Wife (2)

Published in December 22, 2018

Question: … Dear Sir, … My name is Fryad; I am a 30-year-old single man; I live in a Kurdish town in northern Iraq and have a university degree in marketing and a good job; but I am not rich; I'd like to contact a good woman who is willing to be my wife; my email address is as follows: fryadarf0@gmail.com … Thank you …    

Answer:

  Anyone who is interested can contact you, but without interference from our person, of course.  

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A Complaint from Yemen

Published in December 22, 2018

Question: … Dear Sir, … I address this letter to the Yemeni President Mr......... My scholarship money was never sent to me; I obtained my MA degree mostly on my own expense; I have no money left for my PhD studies at the University of..........and my stay in ........ … I beseech your help to cover my expenses as promised by the Yemeni university which will give me the post of a professor upon my return home. Enclosed are my certificates, papers, and degrees........ … my email address is as follows: mahdi.mohammed34@gmail. com  …  Thank you …  

Answer:

  We publish this letter of complaint upon the request of its male sender, and the responsibility falls upon him for the truthfulness of his claim. Yet, we cannot help be astonished at the amount of grammatical/syntactical and stylistic mistakes (in Arabic) within this message, as the sender has obtained his MA degree!

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We Are against the Shiite Religion

Published in December 23, 2018

Question: … Dear Sir, … You always focus on criticizing and undermining the Sunnite religion and the Sufi one; you rarely do that to the Shiite religion; why do not you specify books/articles to criticize it in the same manner?! … Thank you …        

Answer:

  Of course, as a Quranist thinker, we are against the Shiite religion in the same manner in which we oppose the Sufi and Sunnite ones; the three of them contradict Islam (i.e., the Quran). We focus on Sunnite Sufism because as a historian, this is our specialization and field of study when we were a professor at Al-Azhar University; we have refuted Sufism in our PhD thesis and proved how it contradicts Islam. We focus more on the Sunnite-Wahabi religion because it is the root of religious terrorism worldwide now, and our criticism of the Shiite religion is included in many paragraphs and lines incorporated in several books and articles of ours. One day (God willing), we will specify entire books/articles to undermine and refute the Shiite religion.