Monday, June 29, 2015

ADAKAH MANUSIA BEBAS ATAU TIDAK?




ADAKAH MANUSIA BEBAS ATAU TIDAK?
Oleh: Kassim Ahmad
19 Jun, 2015

            Mengikut enam rukun iman yang diajar kepada kita oleh teologi tradisional, rukun ke-6 itu percaya kepada qada dan qadar, iaitu determinisme Tuhan. Anehnya, rukun iman ini berbeza dengan rukun iman yang terdapat dalam Quran. Dalam Quran (4: 136) rukun yang ke-6 (percaya kepada qada dan qadar, determinisme Tuhan) tidak ada.  Jadi, rukun iman itu lima saja.
            Walaupun Tuhan itu Maha Mengetahui, ini tidak bermakna manusia tidak bebas. Tuhan tahu dari azali segala apa yang berlaku. Umpamanya, dia tahu saya akan menulis artikel ini pada waktu ini, tetapi yang tulis itu saya. Kalau saya tidak mahu tulis pun boleh, dan Dia tahu. Jadi, kita tidak harus mengelirukan dua perkara yang berbeza. Pertama, pengetahuan Tuhan; kedua, perbuatan Tuhan. Walaupun Dia tahu saya akan tulis artikel ini hari ini, yang tulis itu saya, bukan Dia. Ini menjadikan manusia bebas. Perbuatannya tidak ditakdirkan. Ramai orang tidak fahan perkara ini.
Salah satu hujah kaum ateis itu terbit dari  pengeliruan antara dua perkara ini. Jika Tuhan ada dan Dia Maha Berkuasa, mengapa Dia tidak menghalang kejahatan daripada berlaku? Memang Tuhan mengajar kita supaya tidak melakukan kejahatan, tetapi kalau Dia juga bertindak menghalang kejahatan yang manusia lakukan, bermaknalah manusia tidak bebas. Ini bersalahan dengan kehendak-Nya memberi kebebasan kepada manusia.
            Perhatikan apabila Tuhan memberitahu para malaikat Dia hendak menciptakan seorang khalifah di Bumi, malaikat bantah dengan berkata, “Adakah Engkau hendak meletakkan di sana seorang yang membuat kerosakan serta menumpahkan darah, sementara kami bertasbih memuji Engkau dan mengkuduskan nama-Mu? Jawab-Nya, ‘Aku tahu apa yang kamu tidak tahu.’” (Lihat Quran, 2: 30)
            Nyatalah dialog di atas sebuah kiasan. Ia tidak berlaku seperti it. Ia mengkiaskan  penciptaan manusia sesuatu yang amat hebat, tetapi lagi amat  berbahaya – seolah-olah Tuhan mempertaruhkan reputasi dan prestij-Nya di situ! Bolehkan manusia melaksanakan tanggungjawab dan amanah yang Tuhan berikan kepadanya untuk memerintah dunia dengan baik? Kalau dia gagal melaksanakan misi yang diberi oleh Tuhan kepadanya, bagaimana? Bukankah in akan membuktikan kegagalan Tuhan pula? Dengan segala akibatnya kepada seluruh alam? Siapa akan menyembah-Nya lagi selepas itu? Tiada siapa boleh membayangkan hal ini. Mesti inilah sebabnya failasuf Perancis Jean-Paul Sartre dilaporkan berkata, “Man is condemned to be free!”  (Manusia tidak ada pilihan kecuali menjadi bebas!)  
            Jadi, pengetahuan Tuhan harus dibezakan dari perbuatan-Nya. Penciptaan alam raya perbuatan Dia. Setelah manusia lahir di dunia, aktiviti manusia turut membentuk dunia ini.
            Ambil frasa “dengan izin Allah”. Tiada satu pun boleh berlak, kecuali dengan izin Allah. (Quran 10: 100; 6: 59). Ini bermakna semuanya dalam pengetahuan Dia. Allah izin sesuatu perkara berlaku, kerana itu sudah termaktub dalam Lohmahfuz  atau pengetahuan Dia, atau jika di alam manusia, kerana ia dikendaki manusia. Jika Dia tidak izin, maka tidak ada kebebasan bagi manusia. Maka itu, lahirnya manusia di dunia satu peristiwa yang besar dan menggerunkan, kerana ia boleh menghancurkan dunia, seperti yang didakwa oleh malaikat. Tetapi, jawapan ringkas Tuhan kepada bantahan ini: “Aku lebih tahu daripada kamu.” Yakni, Tuhan optimis tentang manusia.
Di satu lokasi lain, Tuhan menawarkan amanah (memerintah dunia) kepda langit, bumi dan gunung, dan mereka tidak menerima amanah ini kerana takut tidak upaya menanggungnya, tetapi manusia terima, dan Tuhan mengkritik manusi sebagai zalim dan jahil. (33: 72). Kalau kita bandingkan kritikan Tuhan ini, ia nampaknya bersalahan dengan optimisme Tuhan terhadap kebolehan manusia yang telah kita sebut di atas. Ini bermakna kritikan itu tidak mutlak.
            Sejarah manusia di bumi menajdi saksi. Walaupun manusia telah membuat kerosakan dan menumpahkan darah dalam dua peperangan besar, dia juga telah membina tamadun-tamadun yang hebat silih-berganti, dan sekarang di ambang kehidupan di angkasa lepas.
            Satu soalan: mengapa umat-umat bukan Islam (Amerika Syarikat dan Rusia) yang telah berjaya menghantar roket ke angkasa lepas? Jawapannya dalam Quran juga. “Jika kamu beralih< Dia akan menggantikan kamu dengan kaum lain, dan mereka tidak akan bertindak seperti kamu.” (47: 38)

KASSIM AHAMD seorang penulis Malaysia bebas. Laman webnya www.kassimahmad.blogspot.com 

                

AD

Friday, June 26, 2015

UMNO TANGGUH PERHIMPUNAN AGUNG




UMNO TANGGUH PERHIMPUNAN AGUNG

Oleh: Kassim Ahman
27 Jun, 2015

            Dalam satu kenyataan semalam,  Presiden UMNO Najib mengumumkan Majlis Tertinngi UMNO telah menangguh Perhimpunan Agung Tahunannya sehingga 18 bulan untuk menumpu kepada perkhidmatan kepada rakyat, mengurangkan ketegangan dalam parti serta membuat persediaan untuk mengahadapi pilihanraya umum ke-14.
            Soalan yang perlu ditimbulkan oleh ahli UMNO dan rakyat, adakah Perhimpunan Agung menghalang perkara-pekarang yang disebut oleh Najib sebagai alasan penangguhan? Betulkah Perhimpunan Agung akan menghalang perkhidmatan kepada rakyat? Betulkah Perhimpunan Agung akan menghalang persediaan untuk menhadapi pilihanraya umum akan datang? Saya fikir sebaliknya. Perhimpunan Agung akan membaiki semua itu.
            Dalam Perhimpunan Agung, Presiden UMNO dan Perdana Menteri bersama-sama menteri-menteri lain boleh memberi taklimat kepada para wakil dan seterusnya kepada rakyat . Para wakil boleh menegur, bertanya dan memberi cadangan kepada  ahli-ahli MT dan Jemaah Menteri. Ini semua akan membolehkan ahli-ahli MT dan Jemaah Menteri memberi perkhidmatan yang lebih baik kepada rakyat serta memperkuatkan UMNO untuk menghadapi pilihanraya umum akan datang.
Sebaliknya, penangguhan akan menimbulkan banyak masalah dan menambah kritikan rakyat kepada kepimpinan Najib, seperti yang telah disuarakan oleh bekas Perdana Menteri Tun Dr. Mahathir..
            Kita nampak Najib dan MT takut hendah menghadapi para wakil. Ada kelemahan-kelemahan yang hendak mereka sembnyikan dari para wakil dan  rakyat. Tetapi, seperti kata pepatah, berani kerana benar, takut kerana salah. Kita nasihatkan beranilah berdepan dengan para wakil, sampaikan taklimat tentang keadaan Kerajann dan parti, terima teguran mereka yang membina dan cadangan mereka yang baik. Ini akan memperteguhan parti dan akan membawa parti mencapai kemenangan yang lebih besar di masa hadapan.
            Saya membuat kritikan ini kerana saya sayang kepada UMNO. Saya juga ahli UMNO sejak 1986. Saya ahli, tetapi saya bukan pakturut. Tuhan Sendiri mengarah saya menyerukan kebaikan dan melarang kejahatan. Persis inilah yang saya kena lakukan. Saya harap Najib dan Majlis Tertinggi UMNO akan dengar kritikan saya.  

KASSIM AHMA seorang penulis bebas Malaysia. Lama web beliau www.kassimahmad.blogspot.com  
UMNO

Sunday, June 14, 2015

HUDUD LAW, AGAIN!





HUDUD LAW, AGAIN!

By: Kassim Ahmad
17 March, 2015

            Some Muslims pride themselves for upholding what is called the hudud punishments. Do they really know what they are talking about? They think it is God-ordained law. Are they right? They should remember the lessons of history. Did the Jewish Prophet Moses bring the religion of  what is now known as Judaism? The answer is: No. Did Prophet Jesus, also a Jew,  bring the religion of what is now known as Christianity? Again the answer is: No. Did Prophet Muhammad, an Arab, bring the religion of Sunnism and Shi’ism? Again the answer is: No.
            Human history is littered with errors that came to be accepted later as "facts". We are not talking of small errors. We are talking of big ones. That explains the rise and fall of nations. One author has described this historical evolution as "recurring, multilinear, yet ascending." That means on the whole we are progressing, but the line of progress is not ascending linear, but multilinear, sometimes ascending, sometimes descending.  
            Let me cite just one authority, Prof. Mohammad Hashim Kamali. This paragraph is taken from his book, Punishment in Islamic Law: An Inquiry into the Hudud Bill in Kelantan (Kuala Lumpur: 2000) is very telling: “When we compare the Quranic usage of hadd (in the sense of limit) with the use of this term in fiqh, we notice that a basic development has taken place, which is that the term hadd has been reserved to signify a fixed and unchallengeable punishment that is laid down in the Quran or Sunnah. The concept of the ‘separating or preventing limit’ of the Quran is thereby replaced by the idea of fixed punishment.” (p. 46)
            There you have another example of a major error made by great scholars. That is precisely why the Quran warns us of idolizing leaders or scholars. We could be kind if we choose to pardon them by saying that it was their understanding, or their ijtihad, which must be reviewed by the next generation.
            The term hududu’l-Lah (God’s boundaries) occurs in the Quran 14 times, none of which refer to fixed punishments, as understood by some Muslim jurists. One scholar opioned that, “The unchangeability of the hadd punishement is supported by the interpretation of the Quranic verse: ‘These are the limits of Allah. Do not transgress them.’” (2: 229) The verse does not actually mean what he says it means.
            Let us take some of the so-called hudud punishments. Cutting of the head for apostasy, when the Quran advocates complete freedom of belief, some 1,400 years ahead of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; stoning for adultery, cutting of the hand for theft are three of the six or seven of the so-called fixed punishments propounded by Muslim jurists.  Take note these run counter to the fundamental teachings of the Quran.
            Take note also that the divine order to our courts is to judge among people with justice. (See Quran, 4: 58) Surely God Who decrees upon Himself mercy (Quran, 6: 12) cannot enact such archaic and barbarous laws.
            The term ‘hudud’ul-Lah’, meaning the boundaries of God, simply means in every action there is a boundary that one should not overpass. Take the case of eating: one must eat to survive, but he must not overeat. In between there is a boundary set by God that he should not cross. As in the case of eating, so in all cases of human activities. It is sometime called ‘The Golden Mean’, the middle path.
            See how even great scholars have made mistakes! That is precisely the reason why God warns us of idolizing leaders. It is incumbent upon succeeding generations to re-evaluate the legacies they inherit from the older generations.  
            It is to be remembered that Muslim jurists of the four schools differ much in their views. We need not go into them. We should take note that these punishments are taken from the Torah.  They crept into the so-called sunnah/hadith, or Prophetic traditions, i.e. traditions ascribed to Prophet Muhammad. Muhammad’s name is so great among Muslims that anything said to originate from him is sacrosanct.
             We should also note that the Quran has two dimensions, the historically-bound, and the universal. The historically-bound will be surpassed when the historical context no longer  prevails. They will pass over into the universal. The two universal principles are: equal punishment, and merciful punishment. The first means punishment equalling the crime, and the second means lightening the punishment, up to and including pardon. We can see that the two universal principles have been imbibed into all modern civilized societies. 
             Take not that Brunei has last year declared that it would implement Hudud punishments, with the exception, according to reports, that Brunei royalty is exempt from them. 
            The final and unchallengeable proof that there is no such thing as the hudud fixed punishments is that they are nowhere mentioned in the Medina Charter promulgated by Prophet Muhammad himself when he migrated to Medina.
--------------------------------------------
KASSIM AHMAD is a Malaysian freelance writer. His website is www.kassimahmad.blogspot.com



Tuesday, June 09, 2015

THE PROBLEMS OF TAFSIR

This critical essay was written back in 2011. I do not remember publishing it here. I am doing so now. -- K.A.




THE PROBLEMS OF TAFSIR:
MISUNDERSTANDING, MISREPRESENTATION, AND DIFFICULTIES
IN CLASSICAL AND MODERN WORKS –
A SHORT NOTE

By: Kassim Ahmad
18 May, 2011

1.      Is the Quran easy or difficult?
            The Egyptian Muslim scholar, Dr. Rashad Khalifa, translated verse 17 of Surah 54 (Al-Qamar)  as followes: “We have made the Quran easy to learn . Does anyone of you wish to learn?” (Quran: The Final Testament, 2000)
This verse is repeated four times time in this Surah, but it does not occur in any other Surah.  Of course, there are many verses pointing to the straightforwardness and unimbiguity of the teachings of the Quran. [1]
Other translators translate the same verse thus:-
 “And We have indeed made the Quran easy to understand and remember ...” (Abdullah Yusof Ali: 1989).
 “And in truth,  We have made the Quran easy to remember ...”(Marmaduke Pickthall: The Meaning of the Glorious Quran: 1930).
“And certainly We have made the Quran easy to remember ...” (Maulana Muhammad Ali: The Holy Quran: 1st Ed. 1917: New 2002 Ed. revised).
“Hence, indeed, We have made this Quran easy to bear in mind ...” (Muhammad Asad: The Message of the Quran: 1980).
“And We have made the Quran easy to understand and to remember ...” (Hazrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad: The Holy Quran: 1988 ).
“We have made the Quran easy to learn ...” (Edip Yuksel et all, Quran: A Reformist Traslation: 2007).
The Arabic word yassarna does mean “to make easy”, but the verb lilzikr means “to remember”, not “to learn”. Thus, one alternative is to conclude that the Quran is easy to remember (because of its style) , but not to learn (since it contains the profoundest thoughts). This understanding is in line with the meaning of verse 7 of Surah 3 (Ali-‘Imran) where the verse stipulates two types of verses: the muhkamat verses that are clear in themselves, and the mutasyabihat verses that are allegorical, whose meanings are known only to God and the experts, or the elect.
Yet, it stands to reason that the teachings of the Quran should be easily understood, as they are a guide to the whole of mankind.
Thus, we must conclude that the Quran is both easy and difficult to undersand. It is easy because it contains important teachings that must be accessible to all. It is also difficult because it also contains profound teachings that are inaccessible to the ordinary person.  The attitude of the believer, as is stated in verse 7 of Surah 3, is that: “They say, ‘We believe in this – all of it comes from our Lord.’” The beliver or rather the Muslim submits to those teachings, although he is not able to logically reason them out.
Therefore, it must be concuded here that there is no a perfect translation of the Quran. It is not possible. It must be translated anew by every generation.  Every generation must understand and interpret the Quran in terms of the available knowledge. Since knowledge increases with time, so will men’s understanding of the Quran. The Quran itself states that it contains 90% more content than previous scriptures. [2] 
2.      Misrepresentation of its meanings
The best modern English translation is by the Egyption scholar, Dr Rashad Khalifa, that I have quoted above.  Not only is the language modern and simple; the translation has many other merits absent from most traditional tafsir. He avoids putting his subjective arbitrary thoughts into the text, the most obvious example is verse 59 of Surah 4 where traditional tafsir states obedience to God means holding on to the Quran, while obedience to the messenger means holding on to the so-called Hadith/Sunnah. While the phrase “those in authority among you” is usually interepreted to mean obediece to a so-called clerical class (ulema) that actually does not exist in Islam. The bifurcation of knowledge into the so-called secular and religious came with the influence of Christianity.
Dr Khalifa’s researches also unveiled what has come to be known as Code 19. [3] This Code has shown the awesome mathematical complexity of the composition of the Quran that puts its authorship to be beyond the ability of any human or group of humans. [4]
There are many other firsts by Dr Khalifa. These are (a) the extremely important discovery of the Code 19 that I have mentioned above, (b)  the correct translation of verse 87 of Surh 15 regarding the so-called “seven-oft-repeated verses” of traditional tafsir. Rashad correctly translated it as “the seven pairs and the great Quran.”, the “seven pairs referring to the 14 sets of muqattat letters  standing at the head of several chapters in the Quran, and (c) the correct translation of the Quranic phase dabbat’ul min’al-ard  (“a creature made of earthly materials”) and pointing to the creation of the computer. [5] He also has 38 appendices that are informative and useful.
3.      Errors in Rashad’s Translation
 Having said these, the translation suffers from many errors. The most glaring is Rashad’s claim that verse 81 of Surah 3 on the “Messenger of the Covenant” refers to him. The word covenant (Ar. ‘ahdan or mithaq) refers to three types of covenants to God: by mankind as a whole, [6] by prophets, [7] and by believers. [8] The verse in question (3: 81) refers to the covenant of the People of the Book, specifically the Jews and the Christians (for generally it includes all previous prophets), to believe in the last prophet, i.e. Muhammad. The advent of Prophet Muhammad is foretold in both the Old and the New Testmants,[9] , in fact, in all previous scriptures.
Rashad’s argument that “The main function of God’s Messenger of the Covenant is to purify the scriptures and unify them into one universal message to this world from the Creator and Sustainer of this world.” cannot be accepted, simply because that has already been done, explicitly as well as implicitly (in the case of Code 19), by the Quran that Muhammad brought.  As the Quran itself beautifully and succictly puts it, it “confirms and supersedes” all previous secriptures. [10]
There is no doubt that Rashad’s discovery of Code 19 is a major breakthrough in the interpretation of the Quran. As I have stated above, the Quran has to be interpreted anew by every generation. As knowledge increases, every generation will increase its understanding of the Quran. After all, the Quran with its first command to mankind “to read in the name of the Lord, Who creates,” wrought a major revolution in man’s thinking.   Before the Quran, men lived in a Pre-scientific Age – the Childhood of Mankind, we may say. After it, the Scientific Age began – the Adulthood of Mankind. Such is the revolution wrought by the Quran!
4.      Two sources of authority
Rashad is responsible for the so-called “Quran Alone” movement because of his book debunking the totality of Hadith. [11] While many hadiths are fabrications foisted on the great name of Prophet Muhammad, many are also in line with the teachings of the Quran. [12] The word ‘hadith’ is used in the Quran to mean  three things:  (a) ‘news’ or ‘matter’, (b)  ‘message’,  and (c) ‘story’. In verse 3 of Surah 66, the Prophet trusted some of his wives with a matter (hadithan). The Prophet wrote the great Medina Charter, the Hudaibiyyah Agreement and many letters to Kings of that time. There were all done by him as leader of the then Muslim community.
Moreover,  the Quran itself stipulates two sources in the famous verse 59 of Surah 4. It is strange that a man of Rashad’s intelligence should have missed this point!
5.      The Quran has two contexts    
The Quran has two contexts: historical and universal. This very important truth was  discovered by the Sudanese founder of the Republican Brotherhood, Mahmood Mohamad Taha, (d. (executed) 1985), in his booklet, The Second Message of Islam, first published in 1967, and published in an English translation by Abdullahi An Na’im in 1987. [13]
Actually, it is wrong to attribute two messages to the Quran. The Quran is a single unified scripture, but it has two contexts: the historical and the universal. Take this verse on punishment for thievery: “As for the man and the woman addicted to theft, cut of their hands as a punishment for what they have earned ... But whoever repents after his wrongdoing and reforms. Allah will turn to him (mercifully). Surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.” (5: 38-39). In all cultural areas of the world in those times, punishment was very severe. The verse immediately following indicate the universality of Islam when the principles of punishment given are (a) justice, and (b) compassion.
It is strange that lawyers of those days failed to realize the significance of the verse immediately following. This has given rise to what is known as fixed (so-called had) punishments. There are no such thing as fixed punishments, as punishements must vary according the crimes as well as to the times.
6.      The question of the “end of the world”
Another doubtful thing about Rashad’s interpretation is his claim that the muqataat letters  gave him the date for the “end of the world” in 2280 (1710 AH). This matter is connected to what is called the Resurrection. Is the word to be understood literally, or as a metaphor for a major change in the world system? Although God is Power Absolute, He does not act illogically. The literal physical rising of billions of individual humans from the graves is a messy thing that cannot be attributed to a Wise Creator.  It is stated in the Quran that man will, at the right time, live in outer space, [14] and that in Paradise ,  he will ascend yet higher and higher. Therefore, it is not likely that the world will end in 269 years’ time, counting from today (2011). Furthermore, accoding to the computation of scientists, the universe will last another 100 billion years from now. [15]
The event called resurrection is closely connected to God’s judgement. The concept of God’s judgement is also referred to in the Quran as man’s own judgement of himself. [16]  Also the billions of individual men and women of the present, past and the future are actually of one self (Ar. nafsun wahidah), according to the Quran. [17] Therefore, concepts of the “Last Day”,  “Resurrection”, Divine judgement, “Hereafter” must be understood metaphorically, not literally. The “Last Day” or the “Hereafter” is the period after the present time (future generations), “Resurrection” is a new beginning, although continuous from the old being, and Divine judgement, as I have already stated, is men’s own judgement of themselves. Such an understanding of these related concepts would reveal their beauty, order and harmony, that can logically be attributed to the activity of an Ever-active and Perfect Creator.    
7.      The false doctrine of abrogation
It is not necessary to say much on the so-called doctrine of abrogation, when certain verses of the Quran are said to be abrogated by others. It is a misreading of the Arabic word ayat which here means ‘message’. [18]
8.      The missing ‘Basmallah’ in Surah 9

Dr Rashad Khalifa has given an excellent explanation of this strange phomenon of the missing ‘Basmallah’ in Surah 9. [19] It is God’s sign that He witholds His authority for this Surah because it has been tempered with. This tempering is proved by many sources, including the hadith! Moreover, it proves that the Quran is forever divinely- protected from corruption by an inernal mechanism!  It is truly awesome! [20]
9.      What is man?
Reflect on this verse: “How can you disbelieve in God when you were dead and He gave you life, then He puts you to death, then He brings you back to life, then to him you ultimately return?” (2:28).  A son ‘A’ was potential in a newly-married couple. The verse calls him “dead”. Then he came to life. Then he died. Then he came to life again (was resurrected). Finally, ‘A’ returned to God.
The Quran also likens death to sleep, when a man has no consciousness. [21] He resurrects him when he wakes up. Thus life and death, death and life is the natural cycle of an ever-recurring event in the Universe. It does not stop until the Universe exhausts itself and collapses into ruin for loss of energy. At that time, in the far, very far, future, olny God remains. [22]
It is clear that what returned to God is the spark of the Divine Spirit that was infused into the man when he was born, i.e. the min ruhi of the Quran. [23] The life, the nafs of the Quran not only dies, but is a single one for the whole of humankind. Therefore, a human being is mortal, dying when his time comes, but humankind is immortal, partaking in the Divine Spirit.  Therefore, the human being is simultaneously mortal and immortal.
Rashad also errs when he refers to God’s creation of the Homo sapiens, the khalifah of the Quran as a “temporary god”. [24] The creation of this new being is described by on historian as a momentous event. [25] It was strongly objected to by the angels, the angles’ knowledge being limited to animals. God’s reply to the angles was that He knows better. Of course, God knows better; He gave man the ability to know the Universe, and challenges the angels to prove that they have that ability. The angels’ failure prompted God to ask the angles to do what He prohibits all created orders from ever doing: bowing down to other than to Him! [26]
This beautiful allegory shows the All-Knowing nature of God, as well as man’s elevated position in the Universe. To this order of God, one of the angels disobeyed and that angle automatically became Satan, the Rebel-in-Chief! This shows that disobedience to God makes a disbeliver, bound for Hell. God put Adam and Eve in Paradise and warned them against going near the tree of moral knowlege. But they were duped by the devil to disobey God and God punished them by banishing them to the Earth, a temporary habitation for all human beings. The Tree of Moral Knowledge is dangerous because man may make the wrong choice, in which case he invites destruction upon himself. This is proved by the many wars that men have inflicted upon themselves, especially the two World Wars. God forbid a Third Word War! In this war,  nuclear weapons would surely be used, inviting near-total destruction  of modern civilization!
10.  Was Abraham the original messenger of Islam?
I want to mention a last point regarding Rashad’s statement that Abraham was the original messenger of Islam. [27] Is this true? What is clear is that all God’s messengers from the time of Adam through Idris (Enoch), Noah and others before Abraham brought to their national communities the religion of submission, i.e. Islam of that stage of human development. When Abraham came, God gave him the rituals of Islam (prayers, fasting, obligotary charity (zakat) and pilgrimage to Mecca). Abraham also prayed for the sending of Prophet Muhammad, the last prophet, to complete the message of Islam. [28]   
11.  Man’s limited knowledge
within his potential ability to know the world
Although I consider Dr Rashad Khalifah as one of my many teachers, and a friend as well, I practise critical reading, in line with the divine command “to read in the name of your Lord who creates.” So I do not dismiss Rashad’s many contributions to tafsir just because he made one serious error about the Messenger of the Covenant.
As I said above, the Quran contains the most profound thoughts. None knows the meanings of the allegorical verses except God and those who have made a profound study of them. [29] I have already pointed to some of Rashad’s erros in these matters. I shall go no further, except to state that there are many things in the Quran that we still do not understand or fully understand. God’s creativity is indescribably vast. It is limitless. The Quran states that if the oceans were ink, it would not be able to write down God’s words, even if the ink supply were doubled! [30]  We have to be patient; if we sincerely persevere to understand, God will surely help us. Moreover, the methodology of traditional tafsir (“the hadith interprets the Quran”) is neither adequate, nor logical. Muhammad’s mission was to receive and deliver the message to mankind. Its explanation is God’s task. [31]  We need a scientific methodology to interprete thew Quran.  I have worked this out and submitted it for comment and criticism in my book, Hadis – Jawapan kepada Pengkritik. [32]  

Kassim Ahmad is a Malaysian author. His website is www.kassimahmad.blogspot.com



 














[1] For examples, “H. M. And this enlightening scripture.  We have sent it down in a blessed night, for We are to warn. In it every matter of wisdom is clarified.” (44: 1-4). “An Arabic Quran, without any ambiguity …” (39: 28)
[2] Quran, 34: 45.  That previous scriptures only contained a bit of what was to be revealed in the Quran was corroborated by Jesus Christ, who said : “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of Truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears, he will speak; and he will tell you things to come. He will glorify me, for  he will take what is mine and declare it to you.”  (John, 16: 12-14)

[3] See Rashad’s translation, Appendix 1.
[4] Quran, 2: 23-24.
[5] Quran, 27: 82.
[6] See Quran, 7: 172.
[7] See Quran, 3: 81.
[8] See Quran, 57: 8.
[9]  There are several prophecies about the coming of Prophet Muhammad in both the Old and the New Testaments. Here we give two. “So the Lord said to me (i.e. Moses), ‘I will send them a prophet like you from among their own people; I will tell him what to say, and he will tell the people everything I command. He will speak in My name and I will punish anyone who refuses to obey him.’” (Deutronomy, 18: 17-19) “(Jesus said): ‘I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of Truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears, he will speak; and he will tell you things to come. He will glorify me, foe he will take what is mine and declare it to you.’”  (John, 16: 12-14)
[10] Quran, 5: 48.
[11] See his Quran, Hadith, and Islam (U.S.A.: 1982).
[12] See Kassim Ahmad, Dilema Umat Islam: Antara Hadis dan Quran (Malaysia: 2002).
[13] See his book, Towards an Islamic Reformation (Syracuse University Press: 1992); pp x-xi.
[14] Quran, 3: 132; 57: 21.
[15] See Frank J. Tipler, The Physics of Immortality, New York, 1994.
[16] See Quran, 17: 13-14; 75: 14.
[17] Quran, 4: 1.
[18] See the translation by Mauana Muhammad Ali, Note 106a.
[19] See his translation, Appendix 24.
[20] See Appendix 24 in Rashad’s translation.
[21] Quran, 39: 42.
[22] Quran, 55: 26-27; 28: 88.
[23] Quran, 15: 29; 38: 72.
[24] See Quran, 2: 30.
[25] J.M. Roberts, History of the World, (!990: London); p. 36.
[26] See Quran, 2: 34.
[27] See Appendix 9 of Rashad’s translation.
[28] See Quran, 2: 129.
[29] See Quran 3: 7.
[30]  Quran, 18: 109; 31: 27.
[31] Quran, 55: 2; 79: 19.
[32] This book was published in Malaysia in 1992. See Kassim Ahmad, Hadith: A Re-evaluation (U.S.A.: 1997); pp 126 ff.