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

We Have Nothing to Do with Them

Published in March 9, 2017

Question: … Dear Sir, … A newspaper in the Algerian capital has published an article accusing some members of the Ahmadiyya, Shiite, and the Quranism sects of proselytizing and trying to influence the cultural elite members … The newspaper article talks disparagingly about Quranists as Sunna-deniers and 'heretics', who use social media and cyberspace to proselytize, as per fatwas of non-Algerian Quranist leaders living in the West … The article ends in the possible hunting down of Quranists and that authorities arrested few members of the Ahmadiyya sect … What do you think? … Thank you …

Answer:

  Of course, we hear every now and then about the emergence of any group that calls itself Quranists, but they have nothing to do with our IQC in VA, USA. Indeed, such groups have different ideas and tenets that contradict our Constitution of Quranist, published in English on this link:

 http://www.ahl-alquran.com/English/show_article.php?main_id=15303   

In addition, we never recruit or commission anyone to proselytize anywhere; the main aim of our IQC is to call peacefully and intellectually to religious reform with our writings published online. We assert here as well our support for all weak, oppressed parties worldwide and we stand against all tyrants and aggressors, and this is our peaceful intellectual jihad for God's sake.

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Religious Education of Children

Published in March 10, 2014

Question: …  Dear Sir, … I'm the mother of two children who live in Egypt, and my kids are being taught religion in the primary school … How can I teach them about Quranism, as the true religion of God, and at the same time make them learn curricula of religious teachings of Wahabism to pass the exams? … I fear they may get confused and shocked or hate their social milieu  … Any advice? What am I supposed to do? What do you personally think of that problem? … Thank you  …  

Answer:

  It is of vital importance to teach your kids higher values, ethics, and morals and about the true meaning and application of the testimony of Islam (There is no God but Allah), with simple words and logic suitable to their age, in order to make them learn never to deify, glorify, or sanctify any mortals and to perform good deeds toward others, and treating everyone kindly, as well as acts of worship dedicated only to God. The use of storytelling is an excellent method to inculcate anything inside children's minds; hence, you can use Quranic stories of prophets to narrate them to your kids in simple ways to teach them about the essence of Islam (There is no God but Allah) and how it is polytheism and disbelief to worship human beings. Of course, you can choose any material from our archive to narrate to your kids in a simple way that suits their mentality and their age-group, and we implore the Lord to guide you and your kids to His Path.    

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A Simple Question

Published in March 3, 2017

Question: … Dear Sir, … I wonder if the Quranic verses 107:4-5 and 2:7 apply only to disbelievers or also to non-practicing 'Muslims' as well … What do you think? … Thank you …      

Answer:

 Thank you for your good question, our dear daughter. God says in the Quran: "God has set a seal on their hearts and on their hearing, and over their vision is a veil. They will have a severe torment." (2:7);  "So woe to those who pray. Those who are heedless of their prayers." (107:4-5). This means that disbelievers who reject the Quran (even if they declare they believe in it) are those polytheists who take up 'holy' allies (i.e., saints) beside God by deifying, glorifying, and sanctifying mortals (saints, prophets, messengers, imams, monks, clergymen, etc.), and those polytheists may perform prayers, pilgrimage, etc. but retain their polytheistic tenets and rituals as well. Hence, the Quranic verses you quote apply to all of the Muhammadans (i.e., Sunnites, Shiites, and Sufis) and indeed most human beings past and present. 

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Unregistered Temporary Marriages

Published in March 8, 2017

Question: … Dear Sir, … I'm a Quranist young man over 30 years old who lives in the UK but of Egyptian origin … and I'm still a virgin and take pride in my chastity … Yet, I'm burning with sexual desire; in the society I live in, having sex with women for free is so easy and available and I resist so many temptations … I cannot get married because most UK women prefer to have boyfriends instead of husbands … I cannot get married to any Egyptian woman because there are so difficult measures to bring her to the UK; besides, I'm too poor to pay so many costs that Egyptian brides and their families demand nowadays, and I hate Salafist/Wahabi background of Egyptian and Arab women … Most European and British women feel animosity toward marriage and possible divorce and hard measures and laws regarding all that … They tend to change their boyfriends daily! Besides, they would hate to marry a Muslim Middle-Eastern man like me! They tend to think that men of my background are savage and brutal! … Most women around me are adverse to the idea of marriage and are indeed atheists and they would hate to marry believers in God … Some women may admire my character and personality, yet they insist on being a girlfriend not a wife, and I cannot commit the sin of fornication, of course … Some other women are ultra-feminist who would not accept to marry me unless I obey them blindly, and I cannot do that … Seeking legal marriage is extremely difficult in the UK … What shall I do? I can no longer live in celibacy … Any advice?  … Thank you …     

Answer:

  Of course, your problem is recurrent among religious persons who immigrate to the West countries. The solution is easy: It is OK and legal in Islam to perform unregistered (temporary or lasting) marriage (Known as Urfi marriages in Arabic) by writing a marriage contract in a paper with two witnesses (or more) to sign it, while giving the pride a valuable present (a ring or the like) and a dowry (any sum she agrees to have), while agreeing with her that this is just like her cultural norms of boyfriend/girlfriend relations, as she can end this marriage anytime she likes. This temporary unregistered marriage lasts as long as both parties agree to make it last, and it ends when both parties agree to put an end to it. Ending it entails informing the signing witnesses of the fact that it ended. This way, you are not going to commit the sin of fornication. May God bless, guide, and protect you.    

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The Setting of the Sun

Published in March 7, 2017

Question: … Dear Dr. Mansour, … An Atheist friend of mine asked me about the Quranic verse 18:86, as he tells me that it is a wrong verse as all of us know that the sun does not orbit the earth; it is the other way round. What do you think about the real or figurative  meanings of 18:86? … Another Salafist friend of mine mocks me as a Quranist, as he says that if Quranists assert that Quranic verses interpret and explain one another (without needing Sunna hadiths etc.), how we could understand 18:86 from within the Quran … I searched for any ideas on your website archive about 18:86 but I found nothing … Please give me a brief reply …  Thank you for your time …      

Answer:

  God says in the Quran: "Until, when he reached the setting of the sun, he found it setting in a murky spring..." (18:86), and the meaning is clear; the man in this Quranic story walked until he reached the extreme west of the Ancient World at sunset at the horizon of the Atlantic ocean, and he saw sunset when the sun looks red over the water of the ocean, and at the location he reached, he found people who included those who were disobeying God and those who were obedient ones. This is inferred from the Quranic text itself using one's reasoning mind without using any other sources beside the Quran. This does not contradict the scientific fact that the earth orbits the sun.  

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Do Not Worry or Feel Saddened

Published in March 6, 2017

Question: … Dear Sir, … I feel extremely worried about my future in this life; I'm a Quranist Saudi Arabian youth  … How a Quranist like me can live within the Sunnite society filled with sins, injustices, oppression, and blasphemies? How can I get married one day and be able to raise my children as Quranists? I desire to marry any unveiled young liberal-minded woman one day who would not be a Sunnite Wahabi person, but my Wahabi brothers and family members mock this wish and accuse me of not being 'manly' enough! They do not know that I'm a Quranist … How can I protect my children, if I ever get any, from the dominant Wahabi influence, since they will be taught religion classes at schools?! The contradiction between my beliefs and life around me is driving me crazy, to the extent that I prefer not to get married now or to marry after I immigrate to any West country where I can live as a true Quranist … I need a soothing word from you … God bless and reward you for guiding me to true Islam  …Thank you …    

Answer:

 Please, our dear son, do not worry too much about your future in this life which is not known to you or to anyone except God. rest assured that there are thousands of unmarried Quranists in the Arab world who think about the same problem, even some of them have suffered persecution and managed to immigrate, while some live without much trouble at their plate, and they can cope fairly well with being different from the vast majority of their Arab societies as far as religion is concerned. Some encounter problems and solve them after much time and effort, but emerge victorious at the end. You really have no troubles or problems until now, so do not worry too much. The KSA is on the verge of collapse, we assure you, and God will destroy and smite its Wahabism-based regime soon enough. As for your marriage, you can find a well-educated cultured wife who shares many of your views in life and with merits and character traits that you prefer, and you might convince her to convert to Quranism. Of course, most young people of your generation are fed up with the obscurantist tedious views expressed by official Wahabi sheikhs, and to disobey and contradict such views is very easy. As for your having children one day, you will try to bring them up as Quranists and raise their awareness from their infancy, but eventually, they will choose for themselves as they grow up and you have to accept that. Your duty is to raise them as per higher values and moralistic values. Do not worry too much, if you please; God does not burden any soul beyond its capacity.          

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The Quran and The Torah

Published in March 5, 2017

Question: … Dear Sir, … Is the Quran considered to be an addition to the Bible, especially the Torah? I mean, for instance, can we apply teachings of the Old Testament that the Quran does not refute, such as observing the Sabbath and following the Ten Commandments? … What do you think? … Thank you …      

Answer:

  First of all, the Quran is not revealed as an addition or correction to any scripture before it of any type. The Torah (deemed lost now and has nothing to do with the Bible of today) is described in the Quran as perfect in itself: "Then We gave Moses the Scripture, perfect for the righteous, and explaining everything clearly, and a beacon, and mercy, that they may believe in the encounter with their Lord." (6:154). The same description is used to describe the Quran as a Complete Book in itself that assert the prophecies about it in the Torah: "O Israelites! Remember My blessings which I bestowed upon you, and fulfill your pledge to Me, and I will fulfill My pledge to you, and fear Me. And believe in what I revealed, confirming what is with you; and do not be the first to deny it; and do not exchange My revelations for a small price; and be conscious of Me." (2:40-41); "Allah, there is no God but He, the Living, the Eternal. He sent down to you the Book with the Truth, confirming what came before it; and He sent down the Torah and the Gospel." (3:2-3). Of course, there are differences between the Quranic sharia and the Torah sharia, in some details and not in essential monotheistic faith tenets: "And We revealed to you the Book, with truth, confirming the Scripture that preceded it, and superseding it. So judge between them according to what God revealed, and do not follow their desires if they differ from the truth that has come to you. For each of you We have assigned a law and a method. Had God willed, He could have made you a single nation, but He tests you through what He has given you. So compete in righteousness. To God is your return, all of you; then He will inform you of what you had disputed." (5:48). Hence, do not worry about applying any teachings in the Old Testament, as you do not have to; be concerned instead with how to apply the Quranic guidance and teachings in your life as much as you can.  

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Meaning of Avoidance

Published in March 4, 2017

Question: … Dear Sir, … What does avoidance mean in the Quranic verse 73:10? … Am I to avoid the unjust ones or to advice and rebuke them? … Thank you …   

Answer:

  God says in the Quran: "And endure patiently what they say, and withdraw from them politely." (73:10). This means that avoidance and withdrawal politely is a way to deal with aggressors who verbally insult one or physically harm one by forgiving them and staying away from them, as part of Islamic tolerance and pardoning those who trespass against believers; and such higher values of the Quran entail patience and seeking to gratify God in piety, and the command in 73:10 has been addressed to Prophet Muhammad and to all real believers after him, especially those who remind people with the Quranic teachings.       

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The Change in the Testimony of Islam

Published in March 3, 2017

Question: … Dear Sir, … When people began to add names of mortals (Muhammad and Ali and so on) to the testimony of Islam (There is No God but Allah)? In which eras did that occur and why? … Thank you …    

Answer:

    We will tackle this point in our book serialized now on our website, before publishing it wholly on our archive of books later on, titled "The Emergence and Development of the Earthly Religions of the Muhammadans".

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The Tree of Jonah

Published in March 3, 2017

Question: …  Dear Dr. Mansour, … As for the Quranic verse 37:146, some interpreters of the Quran assume that it was a gourd tree that emerged miraculously over Jonah after the whale threw him out of his inside, and yet, the gourd grows as a plant and not on trees … What do you think? What does 37:146 mean? What does it refer to as far as trees are concerned? … Thank you …     

Answer:

  God says in the Quran "And We made a Yaqteen tree grow over him" (37:146). The so-called ancient interpreters of the Quran never knew the real meanings of Quranic terminology; they focused on fabricating balderdash and nonsensical endless talks and details about things never mentioned in the Quran. The Quranic stories are meant to draw moral lessons from them, and the Quranic term 'tree' refer to any plants of any type not just literal trees. It is not important if the term ''Yaqteen'' means gourd or not or any other tree type; this is of minor importance. What is really important is to draw the good lesson from the story of a prophet (i.e., Jonah) who made a mistake and was punished by God and then God accepted his sincere repentance, and He made a tree grow over him to protect him once he was thrown out of the whale. The story of Jonah is repeated in the Quran so that Muhammad would pay heed and never to disobey God. The same lesson must be heeded by all real believers in all eras.      

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People Insulting Us!

Published in January 20, 2013

Question: …  You are such an ignoramus and an arch-enemy of the Holy Prophet Muhammad! … You are such a clownish figure, Mansour! … How dare you disobey God by denying Holy Sunna and hadiths?! … May God smite you and strike you dead! … God will tear you to pieces! Once Holy Jihad reaches the West, we will certainly murder you, like a cockroach under our feet! …          

Answer:

  These are phrases from several email messages that we receive daily; we thank the senders for their 'Sunnite politeness' that reflect their excellent Wahabi education and its influence. God will settle our differences and disputes in religion on the Day of Resurrection. 

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Funny Messages

Published in March 18, 2015

Question: Message (1): … Dear Sir, … Please give me a brief answer regarding your stances toward enslavement, the testimony in prayers, ruling systems, Naskh, why we pray five times daily, why all hadiths are deemed by you as fabrications, etc. … … Thank you … Message (2): you are a crazy infidel imposter who aims to destroy our Holy Religion to seek money from the USA!         

Answer:

 Message (1) reflects the lazy readers who never desire to take some time to read our archive and demand brief summary to be consumed like sandwiches of fast food, whereas Message (2) reflects Arabic spelling mistakes of the Muhammadans and their inability to refute Quranism and the Quranic facts we infer from Quranic verses. Wahabis have no other option but to verbally abuse us as our writings infuriate them and undermine their earthly religion. May God guide them and us to His Righteous Path.  

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To Our Great Surprise

Published in February 23, 2017

Question: … Dear Sir, … The Quranic verses about Muhammad (such as the ones in the Quranic Chapter 9 and the Quranic Chapter 33) are to be taken as source of drawing moral lessons only (like the rest of Quranic stories about prophets, as per your own view), or as part of Quranic sharia laws … Thank you for your time …     

Answer:

  Of course, all Quranic stories (of prophets and others) are for drawing moral lessons, and the verses covering the story of Muhammad are no exception to this rule, and his story is not part of Quranic sharia laws and legislations. Quranic stories of prophets in particular assert their being mortal human beings and indicate the fact that the divine revelation of their message is essentially one: (There is no God but Allah). Their stories assert another important fact: deeds, notions, stances, and words of disbelievers are the same in all eras, especially in repelling people away from the Path of God. Hence, we draw these useful lessons if we really seek guidance in the Quran as the only source of guidance in Islam. The Quran is miraculous in proving to us that deeds, notions, stances, and words of disbelievers are one in all eras; the disbelievers ascribe falsehoods and lies to God and to His religion and thus intentionally denying and misinterpreting His Verses in His Book/Scripture. This applies to the Muhammadans past and present: descriptions of disbelievers in the Quranic stories, who were smitten by God, apply to them literally: homosexual relations are prohibited in the Quran in the story of Lot and his people, and we find homosexual practices spread within the societies of the Muhammadans in the Middle East especially in the Gulf countries, and people of Shueib were deceiving swindlers in their trade, as per the Quranic story, and the Muhammadans commit such deceit in local trade in many countries when they buy and sell goods. God warns in the Quran against polytheism by deifying mortals, and the Muhammadans deify Muhammad and his household and many imams, sheikhs, and clergymen as saints and worship at their mausoleums. This means that the Muhammadans now and in the past has repeated all sins against which God has warned in the Quranic stories of past disbelievers who rejected the message of prophets. It is funny and surprising to us indeed that the Muhammadans assume they are the only guided ones on the surface of the Earth and worry too much about propagating their Wahabism to people in the North Pole and in African jungles.        

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The Cursed Al-Shafei

Published in April 7, 2015

Question: …  Dear Sir, … I'm grateful to you because I converted to Quranism months ago because of you … But let me ask you about something; you focus your criticism on Wahabism/Salafism which has been the direct result of the Ibn Hanbal doctrine, why do not you focus also on criticizing and refuting the other three Sunnite doctrines, especially Al-Shafei who set the rule of making the fabricated hadiths overruling and replacing the Quranic verses … Why do not you criticize the Shiite notions as you do the Sufi ones?  … Thank you …   

Answer:

  We beg your pardon, but if you have read our archive carefully, you would have known that we have written years ago that Al-Shafei, the cursed man, was the imam who first established the pillars of the Sunnite religion and asserted for the first time the notion of hadiths replacing the Quranic verses. We focus on Wahabism because it is more dangerous and is the root of religious terrorism and massacres worldwide (falsely in the name of Islam), and besides, our refutation of it applies to the rest of the earthly, man-made, fabricated religions and sub-doctrines of the Muhammadans.  

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Successors on the Earth

Published in August 18, 2014

Question: … Dear Sir, … Does the Quranic phrase ''successors on the earth'' refer to Muslims (or Quran-believing people) only or to all humanity at large? … Thank you for taking time to answer me…     

Answer:

 God says in the Quran: "It is He who made you successors on the earth… " (6:165); "It is He who made you successors on earth…" (35:39). This phrase means that generations who inherit and succeed previous generations. For instance the people of Noah who were saved in the Ark were succeeded by many generations that include nations of today's world from their descendants: "But they denounced him, so We saved him and those with him in the Ark, and We made them successors… " (10:73); God says the following about Noah: "And We made his descendants the survivors." (37:77). God has said the following to the generations that witnessed the Quranic revelation in the 7^th century A.D.: " We destroyed generations before you when they did wrong. Their messengers came to them with clear signs, but they would not believe. Thus We requite the sinful people. Then We made you successors on earth after them, to see how you would behave." (10:13-14). This means that these generations were successors to their predecessors and other generations succeeded them until our modern age, and there will be generations to succeed ours until the Last Day or the end of days; glorified is His Holy Name Who will inherit the earth and the universe.

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A Bad Husband

Published in September 22, 2010

Question: … Dear Sir, … She is married to a guy for few years. They moved to the USA couple of years ago, and since then the guy's sex obsession has been on the rise. At first, he would demand that she tell stories about her having sex with other people they know and that excites him. He even had sex with her when she is on her period, and he forced her to watch porn movies with him and replay the scenes with him. She is devastated, but she is here in a foreign land with him and the two kids, and she doesn't speak English, and she is not sure how to live on her own. Finally, he told her he wants to marry another woman and that the three of them will have sex together at the same time in one bed. She told him that she thinks that this is prohibited in Islam, but he wants proof. She confided in me to ask you about that situation. … What is your opinion … Thank you …  

Answer:

  All sexual acts between a husband and a wife are OK in Islam (even a husband's enjoying two wives in one bed simultaneously) as long as these acts are done while prior mutual consent is assured and no one is forced to do anything; yet, it is prohibited in the Quran for a husband to have sex with his wife on her period, whether he forced his wife or not, but in that case he is the sinner to blame and not the wife who is forced. It is not prohibited for a man to marry more than one wife, as long as there is nothing forced on any parties involved. As for our advice, the wife in the case of that question is to choose between two options: to refuse to gratify her husband and bear the undesired consequences and suffering alone in a foreign land after being separated from him, or to please him within limits (to a certain extent as much as she can bear) while trying to reform him gradually so as not to leave room or allow the chance for him to marry another woman or to cheat on her, especially that the West societies are permissive as far as having sex is concerned and the sin of fornication is spread. In brief, she is not to blame (in terms of Quranism) if she choose either of the options; she has to decide her own destiny in this life. We tend to think that she might bear patiently with him until he, as virile youth, cools down after a while, so as to care for the kids and their future; the husband might get more reasonable as he grows older and might get ashamed and feel sorry for what he used to do. We sincerely implore the Lord for the sake of this wife and wish her all the happiness.        

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Chair of the Dominant Lord

Published in February 15, 2007

Question: …  Dear Sir, … We do not mean to be critical of the Quran; what does the term ''Chair'' mean in the Quranic verse 2:255 mean? What is meant by a ''throne'' or a ''chair'' of the Lord? … Thank you for your time …    

Answer:

 A chair or a throne is a figurative term in the Quran denoting in Arabic full dominance, control, and authority of the Lord God over the whole universe without His feeling any burdens at all: "…His Throne extends over the heavens and the earth, and their preservation does not burden Him. He is the Most High, the Great." (2:255).  

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Throne of the Dominant Lord

Published in January 14, 2007

Question: …  Dear Sir, …  What does the Quranic term "Throne" mean in Quranic verses 11:7 and 69:17 in relation to God? … Thank you  …    

Answer:

   God says in the Quran: "It is He who created the heavens and the earth in six days, and His Throne was upon the waters…" (11:7)  "…while eight will be carrying the Throne of your Lord above them that Day." (69:17). This means that the term ''Throne'' refers figuratively to the full dominance, authority, and control of God the Creator of all things over the whole universe once created, during all its eras, and after its destruction. The reference to water in 11:7 indicates that water is the essential element of the miracle of creation and of how God controls the universe, if we may venture to say so. All people are free agents during their lifetimes so as to be judged and questioned in the Hereafter on the Last Day about how we used such freedom of choice, because life is a test for humanity. During the Day of Resurrection, and even during the moment of one's death, one loses this freedom of choice and action and the Dominant Lord will judge all human beings: "The Day when they will emerge, nothing about them will be concealed from God. "To whom does the sovereignty belong today?" "To God, the One, the Irresistible."" (40:16). The dwellers of Hell will still be losing their control and freedom of choice and action as they will be in eternal suffering and torment in spite of themselves, whereas the dweller of Paradise will regain their freedom of action and choice as they will enjoy for eternity. This dominance of the Lord God in the Hereafter is reflected in the Quran by using the passive voice regarding actions being done to people on the Last Day or the Day of Judgment. As for this life, one of the aspects of human power and dominance is that no one can read one's mind at all, except the Dominant Omniscient Lord Who will divulge all sentiments, deeds, and secrets, that were hidden before during one's lifetime, on the Day of Resurrection: " On that Day you will be exposed, and no secret of yours will remain hidden." (69:18); one's deeds will be the material of which one's resurrected body is made to be fit for either Hell or Paradise. This topic of resurrection will be further tackled in our coming writings published on our website.      

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Harvest of One's Lifetime Upon Dying

Published in November 11, 2015

Question: … Dear Dr. Mansour, … I need to ask you about those who mixed bad deeds with good ones; would angels of death bring them glad tidings of entering Paradise or tell them about their entering Hell after the Last Day? … Could you please explain to me your opinion in that respect? …Thank you …    

Answer:

  God says in the Quran: "Others have confessed their sins, having mixed good deeds with bad deeds. Perhaps God will redeem them. God is Forgiving and Merciful. Receive contributions from their wealth, to purify them and sanctify them with it; and pray for them. Your prayer is comfort for them. God is Hearing and Knowing." (9:102-103). This means that those who mixed bad deeds with good ones have the chance (ONLY during their lifetime on earth) to sincerely repent, and if they attain such repentance and achieved it I a way deemed acceptable to God, they will be forgiven and will know it when the angels of death bring them glad tidings of Paradise when they take their souls. As for those whose repentance is not sincere or true and is deemed unacceptable to God, and for those who never repented at all before death, angels of death will tell them about their dwelling in Hell when they take their souls. "Others are held in suspense, awaiting God's decree, as to whether He will punish them, or accept their repentance. God is Aware and Wise." (9:106).

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Asking for Help

Published in February 13, 2009

Question: … Dear Sir, … I'm a postgraduate studies student who is planning to get the MA degree and later on the PhD degree in the same field of history like you at Al-Azhar University … Can you help me in specifying a topic for my MA thesis? What are your pieces of advice that can be offered to me? What books am I to focus on? What is your view of research methodology in papers on topics of Arab and Muslim history? … Thank you …   

Answer:

  You can read and re-read carefully our entire archive published online, with a special focus on historical articles and books to get inspired about your choice of topics for your MA and PhD theses, and we advise you to read our articles on research methodology and tools in relation to history.