|
Fizzil posted:Its anecdotal but might as well share it, my understanding for Qadi is that you are hired as one after completing your education. The hierarchy here is sorta is similar to any other court system i think. But from a conversation i had with a Yemeni guy, Qadis over there are a whole caste of their own, they intermarry and their children inherit the role and basically occupy the role of a judge or arbitrator in inter/intra-clan relations. I assume its radically different depending on how developed the country is. I believe in Yemen the Sayyid's customary take on the role of Qadi, both because of tradition and also because their birth puts them outside the tribal system and hence makes them more objective arbitrators.
|
#
?
Feb 29, 2016 07:18
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 17, 2024 02:28 |
|
|
The origin of this question is weird and has to do with my love of the Philosophy of Religion and Theology despite being 100% an historical materialist. Basically I'm an atheist into theology a la Benjamin. So a question that has always bothered me about Islam, and I assume I am missing something. So as the set up to this, god in Islam has god in Christianity beat for a number of theological reasons. As example, the Islamic conception of god as a single unity. Implicit in either conception of god is the notion that god is perfect. Am I correct so far? So many years ago I took a college course on Middle East history where the teacher--an Iraqi Muslim--covered the rise of Islam. During that section of the course, the religion itself was briefly discussed and he brought up this thing that puzzles the poo poo out of me to this day. So according to him, part of the belief system is that the Mohamed at some point actually talks god out of forcing people to pray to him more than three times a day. Is this part of Islamic practice/belief? Or was this instructor crazy? If it is the case, I am kind of disappointed because god being talked out of anything betrays the fundamental assumption that god, lacking of nothing, is perfect, and any "choice" he made originally incapable of error and thus immune to mortal negotiation of a commandment.
|
|
#
?
Mar 2, 2016 19:23
|
|
|
As the story I've heard goes, God instructs Muhammad to pray fifty times a day. Muhammad is then advised by Moses to haggle with God to get that number down. So Muhammad goes back and does so and gets God down to five prayers a day. The way I've heard this justified is that God still gets his fifty prayers because each of a person's actual five is magnified ten times in God's sight. But I'm phone posting and one of the Muslims here should be able to explain this better. EDIT: it comes from Bukhari, from an account of Muhammad's night trip into heaven: Sahih Bukhari, Vol 1, Book 8, Number 345 posted:Then I passed by Abraham and he said, 'Welcome! O pious Prophet and pious son.' I asked Gabriel, 'Who is he?' Gabriel replied, 'He is Abraham. The Prophet added, 'Then Gabriel ascended with me to a place where I heard the creaking of the pens." Ibn Hazm and Anas bin Malik said: The Prophet said, "Then Allah enjoined fifty prayers on my followers when I returned with this order of Allah, I passed by Moses who asked me, 'What has Allah enjoined on your followers?' I replied, 'He has enjoined fifty prayers on them.' Moses said, 'Go back to your Lord (and appeal for reduction) for your followers will not be able to bear it.' (So I went back to Allah and requested for reduction) and He reduced it to half. When I passed by Moses again and informed him about it, he said, 'Go back to your Lord as your followers will not be able to bear it.' So I returned to Allah and requested for further reduction and half of it was reduced. I again passed by Moses and he said to me: 'Return to your Lord, for your followers will not be able to bear it. So I returned to Allah and He said, 'These are five prayers and they are all (equal to) fifty (in reward) for My Word does not change.' I returned to Moses and he told me to go back once again. I replied, 'Now I feel shy of asking my Lord again.' Then Gabriel took me till we '' reached Sidrat-il-Muntaha (Lote tree of; the utmost boundry) which was shrouded in colors, indescribable. Then I was admitted into Paradise where I found small (tents or) walls (made) of pearls and its earth was of musk." (God in Christianity: also a "single unity"; but that's for the Liturgical Christianity thread) Bolocko fucked around with this message at 22:18 on Mar 2, 2016 |
|
#
?
Mar 2, 2016 22:07
|
|
|
It was Jesus, not Moses, in some accounts.
|
|
#
?
Mar 7, 2016 22:45
|
|
|
One of the unspoken side-benefits of being an imam is easy access to adorable kittens, apparently. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_3tgDIJsbc
|
|
#
?
Mar 22, 2016 22:40
|
|
|
Those are adorable! Mosque kittens need to be a thing everywhere. Please let this spread to churches as well.
|
|
#
?
Mar 23, 2016 18:27
|
|
|
So Asharis Assemble is an interesting site. It's one of the better-written progressive viewpoints that I've run across and gets posted on the progressive_islam subreddit a lot. I had intended to mention a few of their articles before but apparently forgot until this moment. They're primarily based around the Hanafi school of thought, but are fairly open to viewpoints that aren't trying to keep people from their own exploration. The people who write it tend to deal pretty harshly with the anti-intellectual, anti-questioning stand that many fundamentalist (and even mainstream) Muslims take. One of the things I really like is their stance against the too-common view that we are incapable of interpreting Islam for ourselves. This is a huge thing. "Trust the scholars, listen to the scholars, do what they say" is pretty common, and it's something I've never particularly liked. In this post about the Study Quran that came out, the author comments: quote:The Moulanas, imams and so-called ‘students of knowledge’ have destroyed the intellectual capacity of Muslims. My advice to the lay people is to read, analyse, deduce and reflect for yourself. Another one of the articles I like is this one that talks about use of the word Kaafir and the implication behind it, as well as the general trend in declaring that someone/something isn't Muslim or isn't doing it right. The author makes good points about that, but the paragraph that really gets me is this one that talks about the damage that's caused when we assume things are set in stone. While mainstream Muslim scholars seem to try to fit the time with the ruling, this author's point of view (and mine) is that we should reassess the ruling in the light of the time we're in. A dynamic vs. stagnant approach, so to speak: quote:Ultimately, these matters are best handled by those have spent their lives in this quest. But we must have a pragmatic approach. Nothing can be set in stone. That is the very nature of rational truth. If we accept the Quran’s message absolutely, then we have to accept that as time goes by, the application of a legislation changes. Unfortunately, we have become stagnant in our research and intellectual discovery as Muslims. We are consistently told by our peers that all our research is done and all opinions are set in stone. The dynamic nature of the Quran as truth dictates to us rationally that we must revisit rulings according to time and place. The sheer stagnation of intellectual discourse and discovery in our faith today simply reminisces to a bygone era. The previous rulings and relevance of them apply today, the same way Isaac Newton’s works apply today. The baton has not been passed on. If scholars are truly the inheritors of the Prophets, then in today’s age, we’ve inherited nothing but a parrot’s speech. We have to be in a constant state of flux. For example, just to say something is Ijma of the scholars (consensus) does not make it right. Tendai fucked around with this message at 21:25 on Mar 25, 2016 |
|
#
?
Mar 25, 2016 21:21
|
|
|
I think a lot of the stagnation in Islam comes from genuine fear of being misled or 'straying from the path'. It is commonly said among Muslims that Christianity and Judaism are no longer the 'true paths' because the word of God has been changed by mortal hands, in order to suit their needs. While God has said (citation needed) that His words in the Qur'an will never suffer that fate, a lot of Muslims are still understandably wary. We've all heard the 97/98/99 sects of Abrahamic religions on Judgement day story, so that tells us that there will be many Muslims have been, and will continue to be, misled. In order to prevent this from happening to them, a lot of Muslims like to stay in their bubble which has been culturally handed down, a bubble they've been thought is the correct path, which leads to stagnation and a decline in our religious culture and ideology. Just my armchair sociology theory on it.
|
|
#
?
Mar 26, 2016 21:25
|
|
|
Zakmonster posted:I think a lot of the stagnation in Islam comes from genuine fear of being misled or 'straying from the path'. It is commonly said among Muslims that Christianity and Judaism are no longer the 'true paths' because the word of God has been changed by mortal hands, in order to suit their needs. While God has said (citation needed) that His words in the Qur'an will never suffer that fate, a lot of Muslims are still understandably wary. We've all heard the 97/98/99 sects of Abrahamic religions on Judgement day story, so that tells us that there will be many Muslims have been, and will continue to be, misled. In order to prevent this from happening to them, a lot of Muslims like to stay in their bubble which has been culturally handed down, a bubble they've been thought is the correct path, which leads to stagnation and a decline in our religious culture and ideology.
|
|
#
?
Mar 26, 2016 22:47
|
|
|
What is the Islamic view on reproductive health? Is it seen as OK to get doctors to help you start a family? In vitro fertilisation? Hormone treatments? Sperm donors?
|
|
#
?
Apr 4, 2016 11:26
|
|
|
BattyKiara posted:What is the Islamic view on reproductive health? Is it seen as OK to get doctors to help you start a family? In vitro fertilisation? Hormone treatments? Sperm donors? In vitro is allowed. Sperm donors aren't allowed, if a man is sterile or cannot produce sperm the family can adopt children. Abortion is generally a big no in many muslim majority countries unless the mother's health is at risk, some do allow early pregnancies to abort (i'd like to think that, but i'm not sure about it). Edit: i said surrogacy is allowed, but i am wrong it isn't. I may have confused it with wet-nursing which is a totally different thing but is apparently allowed. Fizzil fucked around with this message at 01:27 on Apr 7, 2016 |
|
#
?
Apr 7, 2016 00:59
|
|
|
Yeah, because of the whole heritage and the importance of blood relations (see the earlier discussion in here about adoption), I kind of thought that things like surrogacy and sperm donation would probably be on the trickier side, particularly the latter. Generally-speaking, Western imams (I can't speak for the situation in Muslim-majority countries) are okay with abortion to an extent; medical need is never questioned (that I've seen), for example. Beyond that, it's going to depend on the exact scholar and the exact situation, because abortion is just as tense a topic for Muslims as anyone else.
|
|
#
?
Apr 7, 2016 14:55
|
|
|
Tendai posted:Oh no, you're definitely right about that on some level. The problem is that the majority of mainstream Islam chooses to take exploration and discovery out of the hands of the general people who practice and focus it in the hands of scholars who often have a nationalistic or personal viewpoint to push, and any Average Muslim like me who questions this is beaten down with the "LISTEN TO THE SCHOLARS" stick and told we can't possibly know enough. That same site goes into a few articles on "The Real Reason People Leave Islam" and if I remember right, that's one of them, the crackdown on personal interpretation and, by extension, non-literalism and re-interpretation of meaning to fit modern knowledge. Checking in  I am around still but working feverishly on my book.Yes, the problem Muslims face today is that most of our scholars are from countries whose regimes strictly control what they can think and say, so Islam gets distorted in a very weird way. If they dont pander to the regime or undereducated masses, they (or their families) are threatened with imprisonment or even death. You can see a stark difference in Islamic interpretations among scholars of the "same schools of thought" who live in countries that allow the freedom to question, theorize and speak their minds for themselves without repercussions. Amun Khonsu fucked around with this message at 07:58 on Apr 28, 2016 |
|
#
?
Apr 28, 2016 07:50
|
|
|
Exactly. There's a lot of political and nationalist and other bullshit tied up into it that makes it incredibly difficult. Then that attitude of not questioning gets transmitted to the ordinary Joe Muslim and it just stifles thought even in places where it is safe (in terms of the government) to question and interpret differently. Only somewhat related, but I always liked Warith Deen Mohammed's take on developing legal schools of thought outside of the traditional ones: quote:As a Sunni Muslim, you’ve never positioned yourself within any particular madhab. Do you follow any particular school and how, if at all, do you instruct your pupils about the madhab system?
|
|
#
?
Apr 28, 2016 15:51
|
|
|
I've been thinking about giving the Qu'ran a read. Is there any consensus on which Qu'ran is a good translation? There's enough heated debate in this thread that I want to make a decision for myself about the treatment of women and the like. I can get to the Hadith and the Biography of the Prophet later. How do they relate to each other in terms of hierarchy? I understand whatever is the newest is the most important and that overwrites earlier passages, but when was the biography written and how do you date back Hadiths?
|
|
#
?
May 1, 2016 18:00
|
|
|
Hazzard posted:I've been thinking about giving the Qu'ran a read. Is there any consensus on which Qu'ran is a good translation? There's enough heated debate in this thread that I want to make a decision for myself about the treatment of women and the like. I can get to the Hadith and the later. Hadith scholarship is large and complex, particularly when you get into whether a particular hadith is considered legitimate or not. This actually kind of breaks down a little how it works in a way that isn't filled with incomprehensible Arabic and other terms: http://personal.carthage.edu/jlochtefeld/islam/hadith.html Just keep in mind that between Sunni and Shi'a and even within those groups, what's considered sahih, or legitimate, is disputed. Then comes the fight about how binding they are, ranging from the strict conservatives who believe we should literally follow in the footsteps of the Prophet, and on the other hand the strict Qur'anists who say "eh, we don't believe in any of them." Even among "generic Muslims" there's a definite uncertainty at times. Hierarchy... Qur'an first, then the hadith. Except you also have to take abrogation into account and the intricacies of that are another argument: https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Naskh_%28tafsir%29 Also, which biography are you referring to? The earliest biographies are more collections of stories and reports on actions rather than a single solid text. I don't know much about them or their English availability, unfortunately. Tendai fucked around with this message at 18:32 on May 1, 2016 |
|
#
?
May 1, 2016 18:28
|
|
|
Tendai posted:Also, which biography are you referring to? The earliest biographies are more collections of stories and reports on actions rather than a single solid text. I don't know much about them or their English availability, unfortunately. I recall some Islamic scholars referring to a book, I think called the Summah, but I can't find it now. They called it the biography of the Prophet, which I assumed was more or less considered a definitive biography of his life, in the vein of Caesar's.
|
|
#
?
May 1, 2016 23:39
|
|
|
Hazzard posted:I recall some Islamic scholars referring to a book, I think called the Summah, but I can't find it now. They called it the biography of the Prophet, which I assumed was more or less considered a definitive biography of his life, in the vein of Caesar's. They're considered "biographical" but not a biography as such.
|
|
#
?
May 2, 2016 00:45
|
|
|
Hazzard posted:I've been thinking about giving the Qu'ran a read. Is there any consensus on which Qu'ran is a good translation? There's enough heated debate in this thread that I want to make a decision for myself about the treatment of women and the like. I can get to the Hadith and the Biography of the Prophet later. This is perhaps the best modern translation that I have found. http://www.amazon.com/Quran-Oxford-Worlds-Classics/dp/0199535957
|
|
#
?
May 2, 2016 02:36
|
|
|
Another etiquette question! Just learned that one of the co-workers had a babay. Really happy for her, I know she was trying to get pregnant for a long time. Now, are there any rules on greeting new babies? Will I insult some Islamic rule if I send her a card and a gift? Are there any gifts that are inapropriate? We are talking girl baby, Indian muslim living in UAE, in case that makes a difference. Trying to stay in touch since I've decided to take another stint there myself, will move in October. Are there any kind of baby rituals in Islam? Some kind of name ceremony or presenting the baby?
|
|
#
?
May 30, 2016 12:37
|
|
|
BattyKiara posted:Another etiquette question! Just learned that one of the co-workers had a babay. Really happy for her, I know she was trying to get pregnant for a long time. Now, are there any rules on greeting new babies? Will I insult some Islamic rule if I send her a card and a gift? Are there any gifts that are inapropriate? We are talking girl baby, Indian muslim living in UAE, in case that makes a difference. Trying to stay in touch since I've decided to take another stint there myself, will move in October. Depends on the underlying culture, but the religion itself doesn't call for anything specific... no baptism or anything like that. Don't send a dirty card, I guess? Or do if she's chill and cool and the baby's dad would also find it funny?
|
|
#
?
May 30, 2016 15:09
|
|
|
Tendai posted:I'm guessing you mean the sunnah, which kind of ties into the hadith. The hadith is what Muhammad said, and the sunnah is what he did, to put it really simply. The sunnah can also include things he said, so basically it's like the sunnah is the overall "example of Muhammad" while the hadith refers specifically to things he said and does not include things he did or unspoken things or the like. Surely hes talking about Ibn Hisham's sira?
|
|
#
?
May 30, 2016 21:31
|
|
|
Svartvit posted:Surely hes talking about Ibn Hisham's sira?
|
|
#
?
May 31, 2016 14:37
|
|
|
Classical Arabic biographies are almost always written by a muhaddith relaying oral tradition as far as I know. In my experience, even when you read tabaqat or something similar you will get to know the subjects through often fantastical anecdotes complete with isnad and all.
|
|
#
?
May 31, 2016 21:55
|
|
|
PT6A posted:Do you think that people who were raised Muslim in the context of a Muslim-majority culture have more leeway with regard to straying from orthodoxy than converts do? It amazes me, for example, that historically Muslim communities in Europe and Central Asia basically allow alcohol, but it's strictly forbidden in a lot of other Muslim communities. Do you feel like you'd catch more poo poo for something like that compared to, for example, a Bosnian muslim? How would you feel about it personally? The opposite actually. But it also depends on the skin colour. White converts get the hardest time and high pressure to be 100% orthodox. A white convert can be a Muslim for 20+ years and in the eyes of no whities/no converts, they will always be n00bs who are walking in for the first time. Muslim borns are quick to lecture and "teach" converts how to do things correctly. There is a bit of "lol this silly newb" but there is also a HUGE pressure to be perfect. In Muslim born eyes, since this person has chosen to be a Muslim, that means they agreed 100%, and want to live the 100% Muslim lifestyle. For many Muslims that 100% lifestyle is the orthodox root. When a convert doesn't practice it 100% orthodox, they are looked down and often not considered "true" Muslims. White converts who don't go orthodox are often as seen as those whities who are coming in and "ruining" Islam; making it their own religion and thus not actually following the word of God. You have no idea how many stories of "Ah, but you see, you can't pray in English. You have to pray in Arabic. What do you mean your Arabic is awful? Sure, if you pray wrong your prayers aren't valid BUT I KNOW THIS ONE CONVERT who learned how to pray in Arabic perfectly in just TWO hours! He kept doing it over and over and over again! Now is his studying to be a scholar and mashAllah, he wears a Azhar Jubba, and a a kufi, and fasts every other day, and prays 10 times a day!" I hope I got the lingo right. I am rusty on my Islamic clothing words.
|
|
#
?
Jun 3, 2016 02:02
|
|
|
DrNewton has pretty much hit it on the head. I get much more poo poo for being non-Orthodox than someone who isn't a convert, I don't know how much skin color plays into it but that's just through lack of observation on my part. There's the assumption that I'm just saying I'm a Muslim or trying to be cool because I don't wear a headscarf and I smoke pot. While dudes who I've known who were born into Muslim families most definitely didn't prescribe to orthodox Muslim interpretations of modesty, and drank like goddamn fishes, and didn't get blinked at.
|
|
#
?
Jun 5, 2016 02:32
|
|
|
Tendai posted:DrNewton has pretty much hit it on the head. I get much more poo poo for being non-Orthodox than someone who isn't a convert, I don't know how much skin color plays into it but that's just through lack of observation on my part. There's the assumption that I'm just saying I'm a Muslim or trying to be cool because I don't wear a headscarf and I smoke pot. While dudes who I've known who were born into Muslim families most definitely didn't prescribe to orthodox Muslim interpretations of modesty, and drank like goddamn fishes, and didn't get blinked at. You are a convert and smoke pot? Oh my gosh, I like you. I have thought about converting since high school, but the pressure to be orthodox was too much so I never did. Kind of nice to see some non converts who went the orthodox path.
|
|
#
?
Jun 5, 2016 05:14
|
|
|
Depending on who you listen to and where you live, Ramadan may have started as early as right now, so Ramadan Mubarak everyone  I hope it's wonderful for you all.
|
|
#
?
Jun 5, 2016 15:17
|
|
|
Probably shouldn't have had premarital morning sex and that glass of wine with brunch today, then. WHELP. 
|
|
#
?
Jun 5, 2016 16:11
|
|
|
No worries have a hit. According to google it doesn't start till the 7th here so I can continue to eat bread and tomatoes all day.
|
|
#
?
Jun 6, 2016 02:22
|
|
|
Tendai posted:Depending on who you listen to and where you live, Ramadan may have started as early as right now, so Is any allowance made for latitude when it comes to fasting? There's like 5 hours of darkness in June where I live.
|
|
#
?
Jun 6, 2016 12:59
|
|
|
bitterandtwisted posted:Is any allowance made for latitude when it comes to fasting? There's like 5 hours of darkness in June where I live. I'm not Muslim, but I've read about this. The consensus is that people in areas with no/very little darkness are allowed to use Mecca daylight times. There's probably an app for that. Where exactly the line is drawn and wether your situation qualifies is not something a consensus exists for.
|
|
#
?
Jun 6, 2016 13:10
|
|
|
bitterandtwisted posted:Is any allowance made for latitude when it comes to fasting? There's like 5 hours of darkness in June where I live.
|
|
#
?
Jun 6, 2016 14:48
|
|
|
bitterandtwisted posted:Is any allowance made for latitude when it comes to fasting? There's like 5 hours of darkness in June where I live. Just do the 19. In another 6 or so years you'll only have to fast for like 4 hours. 
|
|
#
?
Jun 6, 2016 14:48
|
|
|
Yeah Ramadan for the years I was in Alaska and the calendars synced in a way that it was in winter was so easy. Oh okay I just don't eat for five hours. Whereas in the Lower 48 I spend the first week pretty sure I'm going to die.
|
|
#
?
Jun 6, 2016 14:49
|
|
|
I drank coffee just now because if I didn't, my patients would probably die. That's a decent excuse, right?  I am a terrible Muslim. Don't follow my example. 
|
|
#
?
Jun 6, 2016 15:35
|
|
|
Ramadan Qareem people who are so great at answering my questions
|
|
#
?
Jun 6, 2016 16:31
|
|
|
Fuzz posted:I drank coffee just now because if I didn't, my patients would probably die. That's a decent excuse, right?  to me.
|
|
#
?
Jun 6, 2016 16:38
|
|
|
http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/12/opinions/orlando-shooting-moghul/index.html I thought this editorial was so right loving on in terms of what needs to be done within the community (in the US at least). Between being a member of the LGBT community and being a Muslim, the last twenty-four hours have been kind of heavy. I did get the chance to say "...Alaska?" when someone told me to go back where I came from, though. I don't think they were ready for that.
|
|
#
?
Jun 13, 2016 18:22
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 17, 2024 02:28 |
|
|
Are muslims more prone to being radicalized, than followers of other religions? I've googled, but only find one-sided sources, either for or against Islam. http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2011/03/10/islam-makes-believers-susceptible-radicalization.html https://www.quora.com/Why-is-Islam-a-religion-since-its-the-most-prone-to-radicalization-and-terrorism http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-10-06/jensen-radicalisation-is-happening-in-islam,-not-christianity/6828820 http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jan/14/the-role-of-islam-in-radicalisation-is-grossly-overestimated And this video, which shows an Islamic sholar conducting a survey among his listeners: At 3:47 - https://youtu.be/bV710c1dgpU?t=228 quote:"How many of you believe that the punishments described in the Quran and the Sunaa, whether it is death or it is stoning for adultery, whatever it is, if it is from Allah and his messenger, that is the best punishment ever possible for human kind, and that is what we should apply in the world? Who agrees with that?"
|
|
#
?
Jun 14, 2016 11:48
|
|
