Fatwas Part One-Hundred-and-Twenty-Eight

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

Debts of Deceased People

Published in June 2, 2019

Question: … Dear Sir, …  A man died and he had some debts (about 14000 US$); are the inheritors responsible for settling the late man's debts or not? Any ideas? … Thank you …    

Answer:

 Of course, inheritors must settle such debts before the distribution of the rest of the money among themselves as per the shares mentioned in the Quran. If the money left by the deceased man is not enough to settle the debts, the money should be divided in percentages to settle the debts partially. If the deceased man left no money at all; the supposed inheritors should never settle any debts at all as they will not receive any money in the first place: "That no soul bears the burdens of another soul." (53:38).

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Fasting in Bairams and for 6 Days in Shawwal!

Published in June 3, 2019

Question: … Dear Sir, … Some Sunnite scholars assume it's very wrong to fast during any of the days of the Lesser and the Greater Bairams and during Shiites feasts in the lunar month of Muharram; yet, they encourage people to fast for any 6 days in the lunar month of Shawwal (which follows Ramadan); why is that? Any ideas? … Thank you …

Answer:

 Please do not pay attention at all to Sunnite myths, prohibitions, and fabrications; there are no religious feasts in Islam; they exist only in terrestrial/earthly religions of the Muhammadans, Christians, and others. One can perform any extra acts of worship anytime (fasting, prayers, etc., while dedicating them only to Allah) to gratify the Lord God and to be among the Forerunners on the Judgment Day and in Paradise.

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The Night of Decree, Again!

Published in June 3, 2019

Question: … Dear Sir, … So, the Night of Decree is – as you say! – when Gabriel and angels carry fates imposed on human beings for one year, from the lunar month of Ramadan to the next one; yet, this, I think, contradicts God's Omniscience; I mean, why would fates descend annually anyway?! ........ You might be mistaken in your understanding of the Quranic Chapter 97 ...........  … Thank you …

Answer:

 We do not misunderstand the Quranic Chapter 97. The present tense in 97:4 about the descent of the angels shows that this event occurs annually every Ramadan; this does NOT contradict the Omniscience of the Lord God; you have no right whatsoever to question the Divine Will or the deeds of the Lord God: "He will not be questioned about what He does, but they will be questioned." (21:23). For more information about the Night of Decree, you can (re)read our book, in English, titled "The Night-Journey Is The Night of Decree", found on the following link:

http://www.ahl-alquran.com/arabic/book_main.php?main_id=112

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The Sign of Prostration on the Forehead!

Published in June 3, 2019

Question: … Dear Sir, … In your old videos, the sign of prostration is visible on your forehead; it's disappeared in recent videos; why? You did not stop praying, I suppose!  … Thank you …    

Answer:

 That we perform prayers or not is none of your concern; this is a private matter and we never allow anyone to interfere in it; what we display to people/audience is Quranist thought as the Only True Islam, and they are free to accept or reject Quranism; the Lord God will settle our disputes in faith on the Last Day. There is nothing in Islam called the sign of prostration on the forehead. In 48:29, those who prayed with Muhammad had signs of prolonged prayers on their faces; yet, not all of them will enter into Paradise; only those pious ones among them. This is clear in the last part of 48:29. By the way, the arch-enemies of Islam in our modern era are the Wahabis/Salafists whose puckered skin on their foreheads makes a huge sign/mark of too much prostration; they sometimes burn a  circle on their foreheads or use makeup to fake it before cameras of the media and eyes of onlookers. By the way, we take pride in never missing any of the daily prayers since we were a seven-year-old child. Unintentionally, this led to a mark/sign on our forehead for a while; it is gone now because for the last two years, we can no longer prostrate our head on the ground for health reasons; we sat at our desk for more than 30 years, writing constantly, and this has caused pains now in our backbone and knees; we pray while sitting on a chair now. The Lord God knows that we tried to prostrate many times before, but unbearable pains occurred as a result. We pray while sitting on our chair as part of ease/facilitation required by the Quran. We implore the Lord God to accept our prayers and we adhere to concentration, piety, and reverence within our prayers as much as we can. The Lord God does not burden a soul beyond its capacity, as you know.

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About the Crescent!

Published in June 4, 2019

Question: … Dear Sir, … I live in CA, the USA; the two main mosques there differ concerning the last day of Ramadan; one of them considers the last day of the fasting month is the 29^th and it celebrates the Lesser Bairam today; the other mosque considers today as the 30^th of Ramadan! Should I fast the 30^th day or consider it as the 1^st day of Shawwal?! Should I choose whimsically or what? Will the Lord Allah forgive me?! Am I to see the crescent myself or what?! What if I cannot?! In Egypt, the 30^th of Ramadan is also the 1^st of Shawwal in the KSA and the Gulf monarchies! ...............   … Thank you …      

Answer:

 You do not have to see the crescent or follow any Arab state (Egypt or the KSA) at all in deciding the last day of the lunar month of fasting. In fact, we ourselves follow the astronomical calculations; this means that where we live, in VA, the USA, Tuesday the 4^th of June is the 1^st of Shawwal; Ramadan as per astronomical calculations is 29 days in this lunar/Hijri year 1440. Of course, there are nothing called Bairams or feasts in Islam. Of course, acts of worship are a personal, individual matter dedicated only to the Lord God within the aim of attaining piety. Countries, presidents, and kings have nothing to do with this. You can choose if you will fast a 30^th day or not; it is up to you. You should not follow any whims of any clergymen or presidents. Manipulating the days of Ramadan and the timing of its beginning and its end is done for political reasons since the Mameluke Era until now; see our three-part article, in English, about Ramadan and its timing, on the following three links:

http://www.ahl-alquran.com/English/show_article.php?main_id=17291

http://www.ahl-alquran.com/English/show_article.php?main_id=17299

http://www.ahl-alquran.com/English/show_article.php?main_id=17300

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Abraham's Fear

Published in June 4, 2019

Question: … Dear Sir, … The Lord God says the following in the Quran: "When Abraham's fear subsided, and the good news had reached him..." (11:74); did the Lord God's prophets/messengers feel any fear? Why? How come? Any ideas?! … Thank you …      

Answer:

 You must bear in mind that all of the Lord God's human prophets/messengers are mortals; they are like all human beings: they love, hate, despair, get surprised, feel afraid, etc. Abraham in the context of 11:74 saw angels who took a human form and felt afraid when they never ate the food brought before them; he felt afraid as they told him how they were sent to destroy and punish the sinful, disbeliving people of Lot; he was mightily surprised when they told him that his old, barren wife will get pregnant with Isaac.

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The Meaning of Thankfulness towards Allah

Published in June 4, 2019

Question: … Dear Sir, … What is the meaning of being thankful to the Lord God as per the Quranic verse 1:2 and praising the Lord Allah? How is this expressed in prayers and other acts of worship? Any ideas? … Thank you …      

Answer:

 We refer you to our four-part article, in English, titled "Quranic Terminology: Being (Un)Thankful to the Lord God", on the following four links:

http://www.ahl-alquran.com/English/show_article.php?main_id=18466

http://www.ahl-alquran.com/English/show_article.php?main_id=18471

http://www.ahl-alquran.com/English/show_article.php?main_id=18476

http://www.ahl-alquran.com/English/show_article.php?main_id=18489

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About Seeing the Crescent, Again!

Published in June 5, 2019

Question:  … Dear Sir, … A man in Sana'a, the Yemeni capital, fasted 29 days of Ramadan but when he went to another city, he discovered that Ramadan there is 30 days! This discrepancy is due to the different orders of the Houthis and the legitimate government in different parts of Yemen. Was Ramadan 29 or 30 days this year?! How would we see the crescent to determine this exactly?! Any ideas? … Thank you …      

Answer:

 One does not have to see/examine the crescent at all; it is enough to examine astronomical calculations via the internet; Ramadan of 1440 A.H. was 29 days only as per these astronomical calculations. Political reasons make some governments manipulate this to show opposition or agreement with the KSA (or other Arab countries or rivals). One should never follow the ways of the corrupters who assume authority and rule; their ways always violate Quranic sharia of the Lord Allah.    

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The Day of Calling

Published in June 5, 2019

Question: … Dear Sir, … How come that in 40:32-33 we see the believing Pharaonic prince knowing about the ancient prophets/messengers and knowing about the Last Day and calling itthe Day of Calling? Who would 'call' who on the Day of Judgment? Any ideas? … Thank you …   

Answer:

 The context of 40:28-35 about the speech delivered by the believing prince in the palace-court of Moses' Pharaoh shows that he had a measure of knowledge of the previous Divine Scriptures. All Divine Books of the Lord God contain warning about the Day of Judgment. The term (the Day of Calling) refers to the fact that all human beings will be forced to gather in one location; many of them will call one another but in vain, as they will feel frightened: "The Day when a person will flee from his brother. And his mother and his father. And his consort and his children. Every one of them, on that Day, will have enough to preoccupy him." (80:34-37); "On the Day when the Trumpet is blown, everyone in the heavens and the earth will be horrified, except whomever God wills; and everyone will come before Him in humility." (27:87); "And they say, "We have believed in it." But how can they attain it from a distant place? They have rejected it in the past, and made allegations from a far-off place. A barrier will be placed between them and what they desire, as was done formerly with their counterparts. They were in disturbing doubt." (34:52-54).

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To Frighten David?!

Published in June 5, 2019

Question: … Dear Sir, … Have the Lord God frightened David in the context of 38:21-25? Why is that?! Any ideas? … Thank you …     

Answer:

 The Lord God has not sent people to David to frighten him; those people came to him as an arbiter/judge; they came suddenly to him in his seclusion and it is natural that he would feel afraid of their sudden presence before him; he might have thought they desired to attack him; he thought this is a test from the Lord God; he asked His pardon and prostrated in humility, and the Lord God has forgiven him. This Quranic story, which comes in the context of praising David, shows the piety of David and we should draw a moral lesson from it. The Lord God says the following in the Quran: "Has the story of the two disputants reached you? When they reached the walls of the mihrab? When they entered upon David, and he was startled by them. They said, "Do not fear. Two disputants; one of us has wronged the other; so judge between us fairly, and do not be biased, and guide us to the straight way." "This brother of mine has ninety-nine ewes, and I have one ewe, and he said, 'Entrust it to me,' and he pressured me with words." He said, "He has done you wrong by asking your ewe in addition to his ewes. Many partners take advantage of one another, except those who believe and do good deeds, but these are so few." David assumed that We were testing him, so he sought forgiveness from his Lord, and fell down to his knees, and repented. So We forgave him that. And for him is nearness to Us, and a good place of return." (38:21-25).

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Slight Errors

Published in June 6, 2019

Question: …  Dear Sir, …  I've noticed some slight grammatical errors plus misspellings (and missing letters in few words) in your recent Arabic articles; why is that? Let me exemplify this:..........  …  Thank you …        

Answer:

 Thank you for notifying us; please keep doing this; at the age of 70, we sometimes make unintentional mistakes while writing on the keyboard of our laptop. We thank other people who notify us about similar mistakes to correct them, especially our dear fellow Egyptian Quranist friend Dr. Mustafa Hammad.

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The Angels and Marital Sex!

Published in June 6, 2019

Question: … Dear Sir,  … I find the hadith about angels cursing wives (all night long!) who refuse to grace their husbands' beds to be a laughter-inducing text authored by patriarchal scholars of fiqh to force women to submit to men in bed anytime and to encourage men to rape their wives by forcing them to have sex if these wives are unwilling to make love for some reason or the other; what do you think?  … Thank you …

Answer:

 Of course, you are right; we have refuted this laughter-inducing hadith in one of our early YouTube episodes of our show titled "Quranic Moments" about Quranic legislations regarding women.

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The Lord God's Holy Names in the Quran

Published in June 6, 2019

Question: … Dear Sir, … Some of the Lord God's Holy Names/Epithets are combined repeatedly in the Quranic text; does this signify anything to you? Any ideas? Does this refer to aspects of Omnipotence or the Lord God? …  Thank you …

Answer:

 When two or more Holy Names of the Only One and True Lord God, Allah, are mentioned together, this means that they explain, elucidate, and detail each other. This is a very long, detailed topic which we hope to cover one day within lengthy articles on our Quranism website.

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Deifying Hussein by Shiites

Published in June 7, 2019

Question: … Dear Sir,  … I came from a Shiite background; I tend to think that it is OK in Islam (and not against Islam as you wrote in your previous writings) to mourn Hussein (i.e., the son of Ali Ibn Abou Talib and Fatima the daughter of the Prophet Muhammad) annually within the memory of his assassination as he revolted against the unjust Umayyads and aimed to establish the Islamic rule......... The Quranic Chapter 85 celebrates the death/martyrdom of believers who were persecuted, as you know.......... … Thank you …     

Answer:

 We beg to differ; it is never part of Islam to mourn the loss/death or murder of anyone at all; this is part of the Shiite religion of Satan. Hussein and his parents are never mentioned in the Quran, let alone any celebration or commemoration of them or of any other historical figures. Shiites deify Hussein and his brother, father, and mother; they also deify Muhammad. This is utter polytheism; when we see a spade we call it a spade. The Shiite worship Hussein in their mosques dedicated to his name; they perform acts of worship in his name; they made Hussein their immortal deity alongside with the Lord Allah. This has nothing to do with the Quranic Chapter 85. Hussein was a mortal human being; as per history, he never revolted against injustice; his sole aim within fighting the Umayyads was to impose himself as the new ruler/caliph; he sought the wealth and the crown and he never sought to establish any Islamic rule at all; please stop believing in Shiite mythology. History books tell us that for several years, Hussein received money regularly from the Umayyads so that he would not rebel against them; this means he consumed ill-gotten money of the unjust ones and Arab conquerors. Please read (with open-mindedness) our book about the massacre of Karbala and the assassination of Hussein.

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About Textolatry!

Published in June 7, 2019

Question: … Dear Sir,  … The masses in the Arab world do not understand the Quran but they worship and deify its text; this is called textolatry. They do not differ very much from those who worship tombs/mausoleums! No one among these masses care to try pondering on the Quranic verses!................. … Thank you … 

Answer:

 We beg to differ; we do not think that the Muhammadans worship/deify the Quranic text; in fact, they have discarded and abandoned the Quran; they merely assume to draw benediction from putting copies of the Quran in their houses, shops, cars, etc. Of course, Quranists never deify the Quranic text. Quranists believe in the fact that the Quran is the Dominant Lord God's Word; Quranists read it and this is an act of worship; pondering its verses is another act of worship and so is reading them during prayers and supplications. These religious duties do NOT indicate the deification of the Quranic text.

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A Question of Inheritance

Published in June 7, 2019

Question: … Dear Sir, … A childless wife died recently and she is survived by her husband and two brothers; how would her money be distributed among them within inheritance shares as per the Quranic sharia laws?  …  Thank you …    

Answer:

 Half of her money should be given to the husband/widower; the rest of the money is to be divided in two equal halves among the two brothers.

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About Taha Hussein, Again!

Published in June 8, 2019

Question: … Dear Sir,  …  I was reading a book by the late Egyptian thinker and author Taha Hussein (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taha_Hussein), but my brother saw me and informed my father that I read books of the 'heretics' and 'infidels' who opposed the Quran! My father told me about his objection to my reading books of Taha Hussein ......... I beseech you, Sir, to tell me the truth about Taha Hussein; did he ridicule Quranic verses?! Was he an atheist or not?! The Arabic websites mention that he only criticized pre-Islamic poetry as false poems composed in the Abbasid Era; I saw no views of him about the Quran. Why would my father and brother hate this author, then?! Any ideas?  … Thank you …    

Answer:

 We surmise that your family members are influenced by Salafist propaganda against Taha Hussein and other Egyptian authors who were influenced by the European philosophy and thought. We do not think that Taha Hussein ridiculed the Quran at all; he did not say he was an atheist; he wrote literature and he composed critical books of history and philosophy. About his views on poetry, we refer you to our article, in English, on this link:

http://www.ahl-alquran.com/arabic/show_article.php?main_id=17655 

 We quote this passage from this article: (Many linguists of the Arabic tongue and historians cast doubt on many poems of the pre-Islamic era based on stylistic analyses; the origin of Arabic grammar depended on these poems and listening to desert-Arabs who never mingled with non Arabs after the Arab conquests to infer grammatical rules. There were two rival schools of grammar in Iraq: that of Basra and that of Kufa. Scholars of each one quoted poems to assert their viewpoints; some historians accuse such grammarians of fabricating poems and ascribing them falsely to the pre-Islamic era. Stylistic analyses show that many such poems were in fact influenced by prosody and poetry meters of the Abbasid Era. This led the Egyptian thinker and writer Dr. Taha Hussein cast doubt on the whole of pre-Islamic poetry.)

 We quote here our previous two fatwas about Taha Hussein:

(1)

Poetry of The Pre-Islamic Era

Published in July 6, 2017

 Question: … Dear Sir, … Within the book of Taha Hussein titled "On Pre-Islamic Poetry", the author claims that some of the verses he quotes match some Quranic verses; what do you think of that? … Thank you …   

Answer:

  The best amusement and diversion for Umayyad and Abbasid caliphs was to hear poetry recited to them and they used to handsomely reward poets with thousands of dinars and dirhams when poets praise them in lines of verse. Moreover, narrative poems  were so popular that many poet used to compose poems and ascribe them to poets of  pre-Islamic era. This created a problem especially when lexicographers and grammarians of Arabic (during the Abbasid Era) went to deserts of Arabia to record vocabulary and anecdotes from Desert-Arabs and Bedouins who presumably had the 'pure' tongue. Two grammatical schools rivaled in that respect, within political influence and favor of Abbasids, and there was a popular demand for more verse 'remembered' from the pre-Islamic era. One of the poets was Hammad who, when exposed and scandalized, admitted to the caliph Al-Maamoun his guilt of composing poems and ascribing them to pre-Islamic era poets to get financial rewards. Hence, views of Taha Hussein in his book about poetry of the pre-Islamic era are invariably wrong, we assure you; he was not a researcher in history; he was a literary figure who took poems at their face value as if they were authentic original poems.  

(2) 

Taha Hussein Again!

Published in April 28, 2015

Question:  … Dear Sir, … Who are the Azharite sheikhs that persecuted the late francophone Egyptian Azharite thinker Taha Hussein? … Thank you …        

Answer:

  Who are the sheikhs that persecuted us, Dr. A. S. Mansour, within the periods 1977-1980 and 1985-1987? No one remembers the names of these Azharite leaders who persecuted ourselves nor the names of those who persecuted Taha Hussein, because these persecutors had no scientific contributions or books of any kind, and after they died, they went into the dustbin of history and sank into oblivion. Who knows the names of our Azharite persecutors: Abdel-Rahman Al-Kordy, Saad Dhallam, M. Al-Saady Farhoud, Ibrahim Al-Fayoumi, and Khouleif? They were head professors of Al-Azhar University who did all their best to persecute our person and inflict all possible penalties on us. No body now would remember their names. At one time, we wrote a memo to Farhoud, the head of Al-Azhar University in the 1980s, telling him that even after we resigned from our post there, history will immortalize our name because of our books that will outlive us, while his name will sink into oblivion as he wrote no books at all and he could not even write any. This is what occurred once Farhoud retired: no one ever remembered him, while he saw our name rising into fame inside and outside Egypt despite being persecuted. The owner of the pen who writes what is useful to people has his/her name immortalized since there will be people who read them in many generations. Those in authority will lose it by death or by any other means. Glorified be the name of the Immortal King and Creator of heavens and the earth.   

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About the Quranic Verse 17:39

Published in June 8, 2019

Question: … Dear Sir, … Does God threaten Muhammad in 17:39 to throw him in Hell?! How and why is that? Have I rightly understood 17:39? Any ideas? … Thank you …  

Answer:

 Muhammad was never infallible; Muhammad did not embody Islam; the context of 17:39 is within commands given to Muhammad in 17:22-39, including to avoid polytheism: "Do not set up another god with Allah, lest you become condemned and damned." (17:22); "That is some of the wisdom your Lord has revealed to you. Do not set up with Allah another god, or else you will be thrown in Hell, rebuked and banished." (17:39). See our two articles, in English, about the myth of infallibility:

http://www.ahl-alquran.com/English/show_article.php?main_id=16369

http://www.ahl-alquran.com/English/show_article.php?main_id=18655

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Greetings at Lunch Table?

Published in June 8, 2019

Question: … Dear Sir, … I entered into my house one day and I found my family (i.e., my parents and brothers) sitting at the lunch table, and when I greeted them by the phrase (Peace be with you!), my elder brother scolded me while quoting to me a hadith about never to utter greetings at meal-time! This hadith cannot be true; this is never part of Islam, right? Any ideas? … Thank you …  

Answer:

 We never believe in any hadiths, as you know. What you did is never prohibited in Islam at all; this Quranic verse proves it: "There is no blame on the blind, nor any blame on the lame, nor any blame on the sick, nor on yourselves for eating at your homes, or your fathers’ homes, or your mothers’ homes, or your brothers’ homes, or your sisters’ homes, or the homes of your paternal uncles, or the homes of your paternal aunts, or the homes of your maternal uncles, or the homes of your maternal aunts, or those whose keys you own, or the homes of your friends. You commit no wrong by eating together or separately. But when you enter any home, greet one another with a greeting from God, blessed and good. God thus explains the revelations for you, so that you may understand." (24:61).

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My Lazy Brother!

Published in June 9, 2019

Question: … Dear Sir, … I am an Egyptian-American woman.....After immigrating to the USA, my marriage was a failure and it ended in divorce. So that I would not live alone, I made every possible legal effort to bring my younger brother here in the USA. Sadly, my brother became a major source of troubles to me! In fact, he is such a thorn in my side and a veritable headache! He is very lazy; he refuses to work; naturally, he has no money of his own at all; he sleeps all day long and he spends his nights before the PC screen watching porn! I cook his meals, wash his clothes, clean his room,...etc. and he never helps me at all! To top it all, he assumes the role of the 'man of the house'; i.e., he cusses me and yells at me; he gives me orders about what he likes to eat...etc. This ingrate forgets that I am spending my money on him and that I brought him to the USA! I am sick of him! I am tired of this situation! What shall I do? Any advice? … Thank you …        

Answer:

 You are the reason behind his behavior; your spending money lavishly on him is the cause of all your troubles. The only solution at hand is simple: You have to throw him out of your house. Your lazy, dependent brother must suffer and must experience hunger and thirst so that he would learn how to survive; this is the only way to reform himself. You must sever all ties with him after throwing him out of your house; he has to face life and to rely on himself to survive. This is the only solution; can you do it? If you cannot, you must know that you are behind his failure and that he will destroy your life after destroying his own.