Fatwas: Part Twenty-One

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

Quranist Friday Sermons

Published in January 27, 2017

Question: … Dear Dr. Mansour, … We've been waiting for a long time for you to recommence uploading Quranist Friday sermons on your YouTube page … I know that you are too busy with your writings and researches, but we in bad need of your words in your great sermons that are source of inspiration … Thank you …  

Answer:

   May God come to the aid of us all; we hope that we will soon enough be able to record and upload more videos of our sermons.  

-----------------------------------------------------          

This Divorce Is Not Valid or Legal

Published in January 27, 2017

Question: … Dear Sir, … If a husband verbally divorces his wife, but without two or more witnesses and without divorce papers, is this divorce deemed valid or not as far as Quranism is concerned? … If this husband pronounced the words ''I thereby divorce you!'' to his wife, can he atone for it to return to her? … Thank you …      

Answer:

  This verbal divorce is never valid or true in Islam; please read our book about divorce legislations between the Quran and Sunnite fiqh. By the way, until now, Azharite clergymen and the head of Al-Azhar are unable to totally comprehend and grasp the Quranic divorce legislations until now; they had better look for another job away from preaching. 

--------------------------------------------------------                     

Your Marriage Is Valid and Legal

Published in January 28, 2017

Question: … Dear Sir, … When I got married, my parents paid the dowry instead of me, despite my refusal … The reason of my refusal was that I have doubts on the source of money: I tend to think it was ill-gotten money … Is my marriage, then, deemed legal as far as Quranism is concerned? … Thank you …     

Answer:

    Paying a dowry is one of the conditions of legal, valid marriages in Islam, regardless of the source of money (legal or illegal) or of its being yours alone or your parents' money. If their money helped in your marriage this does not influence the legality of your marriage, whether their money is ill-gotten or not. They are going to be judged by God, and this is none of your concern, as you are blameless. Supposing that their money is ill-gotten, this never influences the legality of your marriage at all. God bless you.     

-----------------------------------------------------                    

This Is Polytheistic Disbelief!

Published in January 28, 2017

Question: … Dear Sir, … I wonder about the validity of invoking Muhammad and his blessed family when I implore, supplicate, and pray to God when I'm faced with ordeals in life … This is traditionally done by Shiites and Sunnites among the masses … Is this OK to be done by me, since I do not deify the Prophet and his family members? … What do you think?  … Thank you …      

Answer:

  This is polytheistic disbelief in God; because it contains invoking dead mortals whom one assumes to be immortal and can offer or send help to anyone. God in the Quran commands us to implore, supplicate, and pray to Him without mediators or intercessors, because He is Near to those who supplicate and invoke Him. You cannot possibly invoke mortals, because this deifies them as immortal deities used for 'convincing' God to help you. There is nothing called intercession or mediation in Islam. All mortals, including prophets, will defend their souls on the Day of Judgment. All might, omnipotence, and dominance are only for God alone; this is not shared by any mortals at all like the so-called 'saints' or any prophets and their family members. By the way, the best way to implore, supplicate, and invoke God is to use phrases in the Quranic verses; some of such Quranic phrases were uttered by prophets and recorded in the Quran. Please re-read our previous fatwas about the ways/phrases derived from the Quranic text to implore, invoke, supplicate, and pray to God.     

-----------------------------------------------------                    

Eloquence of the Quran

Published in May 5, 2013

Question: …  Dear Sir, … I find sometimes that the gender and number of some nouns and adjectives in the Quranic text do not match, as required by Arabic rules of grammar? … Could you explain this to me? … Thank you …    

Answer:

  This non-matching is OK in Arabic rules that have many exceptions to serve different styles of writing, and we assert here that grammatical rules of Arabic tongue were formulated in the Abbasid Era and the Quranic eloquence has nothing to do with these rules. The Quranic tongue is unique and differs in many ways from the Arabic tongue that has undergone many changes with the passage of centuries. Arabic grammar rules cannot be used as criteria to judge the Quranic text. We refer you to our previous fatwas and articles on that topic.  

-----------------------------------------------------                    

Murdered Prophets

Published in December 25, 2011

Question: … Dear Dr. Mansour, … The Quran asserts that Jews have murdered some prophets … What are the names and number of those prophets? … Thank you …      

Answer:

   The number and names you ask about are never mentioned in the Quran, and we never use the Old Testament as a source of anything as far as Quranism is concerned; therefore, we are not to tackle or surmise about this topic, as we will not reach any definite answers at all. We are only to believe, as per the Quran, that some ancient Jews did murder some of them and some of those who demand justice be applied. The Old Testament in the Bible is never a source of information for us, Quranists, about true or false prophets, and it seems to be written by many authors; as the image of prophets in it is very distorted, and the same applies to the New Testament, as the Quran negates that Jesus was killed at all.     

-----------------------------------------------------                    

My Wife Beats Me!

Published in January 30, 2008

Question: …  Dear Sir, … I have a major problem … My wife beats me often; for she usually gets furious easily and her bad manners and foul temper makes me feel afraid of her  … Any advice? … Thanks …

Answer:

  Within Islam, a wife should treat her husband kindly and a husband is required to do the same thing; if she declines to do so, you can ask her to repudiate herself from you in court, or both of you can agree on divorce/separation. 

-----------------------------------------------------                    

Discothèques

Published in September 15, 2011

Question: … Dear Dr. Mansour, …  What is the best way within Islam to deal with those persons who would open discothèques, casinos, night-clubs, and wine shops within a neighborhood whose residents refuse the presence of such places inside their district? Are we to stop such projects from being established in the first place, or should we leave them alone and avoid them totally? … Thank you very much for your time …    

Answer:

   Crimes are of two types: one type includes crimes/sins punished by any state authority that applies Quranism, such as theft, fornication, adultery, murder, slandering married women by accusing them of performing extramarital sex, raiding in the manner like highwaymen, and terrorizing peaceful, innocent civilians. The other type of crimes/sins include ones that have no punishment or penalty exacted by human beings on offenders; their penalty is in the Afterlife in case of non-repentance: giving false testimonials, drinking wine, eating prohibited food items, disbelief, and polytheism of any type. In case of the existence of a given country that applies Quranism and has a parliament of fairly and freely elected representatives or MPs, this parliament can issue laws to ban certain activities and/or to force offenders to pay heavy fines or to confiscate certain locations/shops. Sharia laws of corporal punishments of offenders/sinners cannot be applied if the sinners declared their repentance in public/in court. Please read our book titled "The Seven Principles of the Real Islamic Sharia and How to Apply Them" found (in English) on this link:

http://www.ahl-alquran.com/arabic/book_main.php?main_id=80        

-----------------------------------------------------                    

  No Inheritance Distribution for a Living Person 

Published in January 29, 2017

Question: … Dear Sir, …  Could  Quranist Muslim man distribute all his money and possessions to his future inheritance before he actually dies? … I'm afraid that after my death, inheritors would adopt traditional wrong Sunnite ways in distributing of inheritance bequeathed to them …  Thank you …     

Answer:

 As long as you are alive, you have no inheritance to be bequeathed to anyone; inheritance money is called as such when you are dead, and all your money and possessions would be distributed as per Quranic sharia laws (paying debts first, shares specified in the Quran, etc.). However, you can distribute any money of yours to anyone while you are alive, but as gifts, donations, alms, zakat for God's sake, or grants to whomever you like, but not inheritance, while bearing in mind that one is responsible before God about one's deeds and that one is to adhere to wisdom, justice, and piety. 

-----------------------------------------------------

 Sanctification of Printed Copies of the Quran

Published in January 29, 2017

Question: …  Dear Sir, …  Some Sunnites kiss copies of the Quran in reverence, and some stand up upon seeing one carrying a copy of the Quran approaching them … Is this OK or a pagan tradition? … Thank you for your time …    

Answer:

  This deification of items and sanctification of copies of the Quran is pagan customs; kissing those copies has nothing to do with Islam. To revere and honor the Quran truly is to believe faithfully in it while discarding any other opposite creeds and notions; for instance, if one would read verses denying intercession, should one believe them or deny them to support Sunnite, Sufi, and Shiite myths of 'saints' and immortal human beings and creatures mediating and interceding on their behalf on Doomsday?! Hence, one's stance shows if one denies the Quran in disbelief or believes faithfully in in. God says the following about deniers of the Quran: "What is the matter with them that they do not believe? And when the Quran is read to them, they do not bow down? In fact, those who disbelieve are in denial. But God knows what they hide inside. But God knows what they hide inside. So inform them of a painful punishment." (84:20-24).      

-----------------------------------------------------                    

Play with Women

Published in May 16, 2015

Question: … Dear Sir, … Is it OK in Islam for women and men to play football together in mixed groups? There should be no sexual desire or lascivious intentions here, I know … Thank you for your time …      

Answer:

   It is OK as long as no sexual touches, words, or innuendoes are there (i.e., small, minor sins or mistakes) to urge fornication (a grave, major sin), men and women can practice any sport or play games together. Indeed, all relations between men and women should be based on good intentions and chastity, as in any respectable human society. 

-----------------------------------------------------                    

Painfully Insulting Atheist Articles

Published in June 21, 2009

Question: … Dear Dr. Mansour … Could you, if you have time, write articles to refute atheist insulting ones posted in Modern Discussion Marxist website …It is painful not to refute such insulting words … You are the one qualified to respond and undermine atheist notions insulting to the Quran … Thank you …     

Answer:

  Our dear fellow, we have no time and we urge you not to pay heed of such persons ignorant of God. We waste no time to debate with deniers of God, and the Quran commands us to avoid and move away from those ignoramuses. If any of them wanted to get to know the Truth, this is easy and accessible, but their minds are saturated with falsehoods; atheists are eager to write articles to make people driven away from the Path of God. we respect their freedom of expression as much as we expect others to respect ours. All of us, mortals, will gather before the sight of God on the Last Day to settle our religious disputes and differences. 

------------------------------------------------------    

Stark Naked on the Day of Resurrection

Published in October 14, 2015

Question: …  Dear Sir, … I wonder if it is true that all human beings will be resurrected stark naked before one another … Is that true? Would we have our same bodies with the same faces, brains, organs, digestive organs, lungs, etc.? Or would we have new immortal bodies of different kind? …Thank you in advance for answering me …   

Answer:

  We have written before that souls are ethereal, and once inside their bodies again upon Resurrection on the Last Day, they take the same faces and features fully, and this is discerned from the Quran as people who knew one another will recognize their faces. Everyone will flee from everybody (see 80:34-37) because of the unimaginable fright, and no one will care about nakedness at all because each of us will be too frightened, including prophets, and this debunks the myth of any human intercession on the Last Day. Remember that in case of natural disasters (e.g. hurricanes or earthquakes), frightened people flee their homes while not thinking for a second of they are well-dressed or not or even dressed at all; let alone the huge indescribable fright when Doomsday comes.

--------------------------------------------------------                    

Pains of an Immigrant

Published in April 4, 2014

Question: … Dear Sir, … Ten months ago, I fled religious persecution and I immigrated to Australia, with my small children, but my husband is still in Egypt and will catch up with us months later … Living alone and facing the unknown, I'm shattered psychologically… I fear the future; wondering what lies in store for me … I'm depressed and my English is bad; I still cannot communicate with people around me … I seldom know people of Arab origin to help me  … I'm suffering alone and need your advice … How can I get nearer to God? … I need the Almighty's help indeed … Any soothing words?      

Answer:

  Our dear daughter, we ourselves have passed a terrible first year once we immigrated; we faced so many hardships alone, away from our family, establishing our roots in a new homeland, shattered with nostalgia to a former homeland we can never see again. But we relied on God, implored Him for help, and we had to face every trouble and manage to get through and learn alone everything we can. We have been determined to succeed and surmount all obstacles and hardships; all the while imploring, supplicating, and beseeching the Almighty in our prayers. This is immigration for God's sake, to stop being religiously persecuted, and so, God will help you as He helped us. Make an effort to learn Australian English and make your children learn it; try to get a job and acquire new friends. Read the Quran a lot and focus on verses talking about immigrating for God's sake, trusting with deep faith that years from now, you will be relieved and happier, thinking of the first year in Australia with contentment and how such hardships drew you closer to God. Thank the Almighty for every trial and tribulation, and for His bounties and blessings as well. You should cherish every moment of freedom in your new homeland.  God bless and help you; keep in touch.   

-----------------------------------------------------                    

Two Questions

Published in May 30, 2013

Question: … Dear Sir, … Can one increase inheritance shares stipulated in the Quran for relatives and progeny in order to make sure the more needy ones are given more? Or this might incur God's wrath as violation of the Quranic rules? Why Jews and Christians do not perform pilgrimage to the Kaaba in Mecca, despite the fact that Abraham was the one to build its walls, and he is an acknowledged prophet and patriarch in their Bible's Old Testament … Thank you …    

Answer:

   It is OK to divide shares differently in written wills, as we infer from the Quran, for those well-off who can afford it in a way that achieves justice to all inheritors and not to create injustices among them. Before Islam and until Muhammad's death, People of the Book (Jews and Christians) in Arabia performed pilgrimage to the Kaaba, but the cursed caliph Omar Ibn Al-Khattab who led Arab conquests, a vile crime in Islam, fought People of the Book as well and drove them out of Arabia, while preventing them from ever entering Mecca for pilgrimage. Within the later eras, the practice of preventing non-Muhammadans entering Mecca went on as Arabs divided the world into camp of war and camp of peace, with the former related to non-Muhammadans and the latter to countries of the Muhammadans. This resulted in deep-seated hatred and animosity during the Middle Ages between followers of the three Abrahamic religions and People of the Book disregarded the Kaaba as much as thy hated Arabs.  

-----------------------------------------------------                     

The Fleeing Wife

Published in November 30, 2013

Question: …  Dear Dr. Mansour, … I'm an American Muslim man of Arab origin … I got married in a mosque to an American young woman who retained her religion  … Years later, unsettled disputes and quarrels between us reached an impasse, and she left my house and adamantly refused to come back … I want to divorce her in a way that is Islamic and legal … What shall I do? Any advice? … Thank you…    

Answer:

 You married her legally means that you paid a dowry to her and there were witnesses who signed the marriage contract. Legal divorce in Islam means she has the right to stay for three-month waiting period at your house, with witnesses knowing of it. if this three-month waiting period is over without having sex with her and without reconciliation, divorce papers are signed by you and her as well as by the same witnesses. if she refuses to return home for this period of time, she gets no right to make you spend money over her during this waiting period stipulated in the Quran. the aim of this period is to seek reconciliation and to make sure a wife is not pregnant. After three months, and three menstrual periods, a wife is sure to be not pregnant. If found otherwise, the waiting period lasts until she delivers her baby, while you spend money on all her needs, and she should remain at your house, and if separation occurs officially in documented papers, you should spend on the needs of the child and your ex-wife, wet-nursing, etc. If your American wife refuses to maintain such Quranic laws, it is not your fault, as she would be the one to cede her rights. But make sure from her that she is not pregnant. If she hides being pregnant, it is not your fault as well.      

-----------------------------------------------------                    

Al-Badawi, Again

Published in October 26, 2011

Question: …  Dear Sir, … Having read your book titled "Al-Sayed Al-Badawi between Truth and Myth", I beg to differ … He is a true saint and a holy man; I saw him twice in my dreams/visions as an ally of God, among the good men linked with Him … and I felt that he was a Sunnite and not a Shiite, What do you think? … Thank you …    

Answer:

  This fraudulent mortal whom you deem as 'saint' was a Sufi Shiite spy of the Fatimids in Egypt, and he used to deify himself and to deify Prophet Muhammad. After his death and his failed plots to make Egypt return to the Fatimids, he was proclaimed a saint by both Sufi Shiites and Sufi Sunnites at the time in Egypt. All Sufism contradict Islam (the Quran) and its sharia, principles, and tenets. Your dreams are part of the subconscious because you have been influenced too much by myths you hear and read about him. to revere and honor a mortal as an immortal being after his death is sheer polytheism. You should repent from this sin. Yet, we assert here that Sufis of today are peaceful ones who never engage in politics apparently. They have one merit lacking in Sunnites and Shiites, they never coerce others to follow their religion and they respect pluralism. Shiites and Sunnites commit the sins of religious military strife, sectarian violence and massacres, and compulsion in religious matters. We hope peaceful people who support religious freedom to cooperate with Quranists to intellectually and peacefully undermine Wahabism (i.e., Sunnite Salafism) which threatens peaceful Quranists, Sufis, Christians, Baha'is etc. worldwide.     

-----------------------------------------------------                     

Immigration of a Wife

Published in July 10, 2013

Question: …  Dear Sir, … If a married Quranist woman is threatened to lose her life and is severely persecuted, and lives perpetually in danger, can she immigrate and leave her husband, without telling him? …Thank you …    

Answer:

  Immigration to flee religious persecution (inflicted by your husband or from others) is a duty stipulated in the Quran for real believers in Chapter Four, and those who can immigrate and do not will go to Hell. Otherwise, if one refuses to immigration to seek better life or jobs, it is OK to remain in one's homeland. You can leave your husband only after self-repudiation (ransoming yourself by returning to him all money and dowry, etc. to seek separation legally in court) or getting a divorce in court. Then, you can immigrate and think where to go and how to settle and so on. 

-----------------------------------------------------                    

Yes, But on One Condition

Published in April 10, 2013

Question: …  Dear Sir, … I'm an atheist from an Iraqi-Christian origin who live in the West… I like very much your website and your ideas of Quranism … Can I marry a Quranist woman, if I find any in my country? … What do you think? … Thank you …    

Answer:

   We have written before many times that any Muslim woman can marry any non-Muslim or non-Quranist man (i.e., Sunnite, Shiite, Sufi, Buddhist, deist, Baha'i, Christian, Hindus, Jewish, atheist, agnostic, etc.) as long as he is a peaceful, non-violent man, because marriage in the Quran entails peaceful behavior, mutual trust, security, and respect (this is Islam in terms of demeanor) and never entails shared faiths in terms of religion. The prohibited marriage in Islam (Quranism) is to get married to polytheistic disbelieving aggressors/transgressors (e.g., like terrorists, murderers, and criminals of all types) because this is polytheism/disbelief in terms of violent demeanor. It is not permissible for a peaceful man to marry a female terrorist, and likewise, a peaceful woman cannot marry a male terrorist. 

-----------------------------------------------------                    

Karbala Massacre

Published in November 18, 2015

Question: …  Dear Sir, … I like very much your book about the history of the Karbala massacre and the dispute between Shiites and Sunnites ever since … Could you please video a brief summary of it to make ideas of this book spread in cyberspace? Most people are too lazy to read long books of history, and they would prefer to watch a video on that topic to get well-informed and stop clinging to myths … Thank you …   

Answer:

  Thank you, our dear son, for you kind words and encouragement. We may put your suggestion into consideration one day; but we have no money to produce more videos and this is the reason why we stopped making videos after 50 episodes uploaded on YouTube of our program named ''Exposing Salafism''. We are too poor, but we hole that later on, we can produce more vides soon. We pray and implore the Almighty to make us among witnesses of that era, in which we live, during the Last Day.