The session has just started. Please feel free to join us with your questions.
After the session has ended, you can view the whole dialogue by clicking Recent Sessions, or later on Archive.
For feedback and suggestions, please e-mail us at EngLivedialogue@islamonline.net.
Yours,
Islamonline Live Dialogue Editing Desk
Name
Hosam
-
Profession
Question
What is the role of religious leaders on respecting the sanctities of religions?
Answer
Thanks for your question.
The leaders of Muslim communities have a role to perform. Their greatest task is to secure the mentality of people, to bring peace to their hearts, to help them to avoid grudges, hatred, fanaticism and extremism.
The basic role of any religion is to perfect people's behavior, to cement the relationship between human fellows, and not to escalate evil tendencies towards others or to consider others as opposite not complementary.
The role of the Muslim scholars, rabbis in Judaism, priests in Christianity, monks in Buddhism and Hinduism and other religions leaders is to enhance moral values and help people to act morally, to do good and avoid bad and crooked behaviors, and to teach them to be sociable, loveable and tolerant, and not to stuff them with hatred towards other religious communities. Sacred Houses of worship, holy Scriptures, religious symbols should be respected.
Name
Aslam
-
Profession
Question
How could we reach mutual understanding and peaceful coexistence among multi-faith communities?
Answer
Dear Aslam, thanks for your good question and we ask Allah to strengthen your faith and ours.
Mutual understanding between people regardless of their religion, ethnicity, class, color or language is central to Islam. As you know Allah created people different in many aspects though all of them go back to one origin and they all were created from the same substance as Almighty Allah says, " And of His signs is this: He created you of dust, and behold you human beings, ranging widely!" (Ar-Rum: 20)
Also, He Almighty says, "O mankind! Be careful of your duty to your Lord Who created you from a single soul and from it created its mate and from them twain hath spread abroad a multitude of men and women. Be careful of your duty toward Allah in Whom ye claim ( your rights ) of one another, and toward the wombs (that bare you ). Lo! Allah hath been a Watcher over you." (An-Nisaa': 1)
Allah created people and varied between them in minds, thinking abilities, perceptions, inclinations, etc. Our world shall remain distinct with multi-faith, multi- ethnicity, and multi-intellectuality till the Day of Judgment. So, we should always adjust ourselves with this fact of creation. Allah says, "And if thy Lord had willed, He verily would have made mankind one nation, yet they cease not differing, save him on whom thy Lord hath mercy; and for that He did create them." (Hud: 118-119)
The Muslim should tolerate different cultures, religions or social backgrounds and know how to deal with them in worldly matters keeping his religion deep in his heart, never sway. We may take support from the following Qur'anic verse "And Allah citeth an example for those who believe: the wife of Pharaoh when she said: My Lord! Build for me a home with thee in the Garden, and deliver me from Pharaoh and his work, and deliver me from evil doing folk".
(Al-Mumtahinah: 11)
This verse teaches us that we should cope with people who are different from us and whom we cannot spare dealing with them. the wife of Pharaoh lived with her husband Pharaoh who declared himself as absolute god and her iman was never touched or undermined. The beauty, comfort, luxury of Pharaoh's court never made her lazy or unable to practice her religion. So, in the West, the Muslims should keep their iman intact, be nice in behavior when dealing with others and show a good example whatever the reactions of others are. The Muslim should be open to any culture unless it is a total opposition of his religion or it violates the code of halal and haram. We hold religions dearer than anything in our life. We cherish it because it is our crutch and support without which we lose ourselves and turn to be hopeless and empty.
Mutual understanding will help us build bridges with others and avoid the trouble of mistrust, tension and atrocities. Good understanding will help us also to appreciate our shared community and to cooperate in what is good.
Name
Ahmad
- Egypt
Profession
Question
What is the relationship between sacredness and freedom of speech? Some would say freedom of speech ends at the boundary of any sacred idea, symbol, etc. Others would say that this freedom that allowed me to say whatever I want, even about the most sacred things to others, is in itself sacred! Therefore, people sometimes never meet on a common ground. From a theological point of, how do theologians defend their stance against the argument mentioned above? Thank you for your time and patience.
Answer
Dear Ahmad, may Allah bless you and strengthen your iman.
Here I will talk specifically about the Islamic point of view and I will prove intellectually that sacredness is absolute and freedom of speech is relative as it has boundaries.
Freedom of speech cannot step out all boundaries, human or sacred. It is bounded by responsibility. I am not free unless I am responsible; I am not free unless I respect other people's freedom. I am not free if my freedom touches or harms the freedom of others. Everything in our life including our hearts, brains, and blood circulation are under tough and strict roles. The wheel is free to move but not to come out of the axel. We do respect freedom of speech and call for it whatever it causes us. But the freedom of speech as we understand it should be qualified and regulated so as not to be loose and unguided.
The Qur'an tells us that there is no compulsion in religion. Islam also teaches us that everyone is born free with a natural disposition to be directed either way, bad or good or to remain as pure as when the baby was born. `Umar ibn Al-Khattab said to `Amr ibn Al-`As, the governor of Egypt by then, "how do you enslave people when their mothers gave birth to them as free!".
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) never denied anyone to speak freely. `Umar ibn Al-Khattab, the second Caliph, was cut off when he was giving Jumu`ah speech by a lady who corrected his idea and he willingly accepted her correction and declined to her opinion.
Freedom of speech as presented by seculars and atheists in the West does not admit any boundaries or limitations. The results of this are the wars we see in many parts of the world, open free sex, increase in the number of crimes, illegitimate children, changing one's sex, etc.
The freedom of speech as understood by the secularists give the right to some artists to upset the Muslims around the globe under the pretext of freedom of speech while there are some issues in Europe that cannot be questioned.
Name
Ibraheem
- United Kingdom
Profession
Student
Question
Assalam Alaykoum professor Abu Laylah.
What are the criteria that are used by Muslim scholars to say that both Gospel and Law are corrupt?
Salam Alaykoum.
Answer
Dear Ibraheem, the Muslim scholars based their studies of the Gospels and the Torah on the basis of the Qur'an and Sunnah. In the Qur'an Allah told us that He sent the Torah to Moses to guide his people and the Gospel to Jesus to guide his followers but these two Books later suffered corruption and alteration, which was done in word and meaning. The Muslims have produced many important writings about this issue. They read the Torah and the Old Testament books and the New Testament collection and focused attention on the differences, contradictions, mistakes that were crept into. I name here few works for you to check:
1. An-Nawuabakhti, Al-Araa' Wad-Diyanat
2. Ibn Hazm, Al-Fisal fi Al-Milal wa An-Nihal, volumes 1 and 2.
3, Ibn Taymiyyah, Al-Jawab As-Sahih liman Baddala Dina Al-Massieh.
4. Al-Ghazali, Ar-Rad Al-Jamil.
You can consult Dr. Abu Laylah's the Qur'an and the Gospels and Christianity from the Islamic point of view (PhD thesis, Exeter univrsity, England, 1983).
Name
.Umar
- United Kingdom
Profession
Lecturer
Question
Dear professor Abu Layla,
Asslam Alaykoum,
Will you please shed some lights on this issues. Do the Old and New Testaments consider prophets to be infallible as they are in Islam? Jazakoum Allah Khayr.
Answer
Thanks for your question.
The answer very briefly "no" since they have reported something that violate the infallibility of prophets. King David is a case in view; they reported that he had hundreds of concubines in his court and he plotted to take his army major's wife by sending him to war to be killed. They reported also that Allah's Prophet Lut had sexual relationship with his two daughters. Of course this behavior does not at all fit the status of infallible prophets or even a wise man. These are just examples and this forum does not fit for talking in details about this issue.
Name
Maryam
- United Kingdom
Profession
House wife
Question
Dear respected scholar,
How about the non-Muslim people who do charitable things for the Muslim and African countries such as Bill Gates of Microsoft. Is there any kind of reward for them in the Hereafter. Jazaka Allah Khayr
Answer
Thanks for your question.
Dear Maryam, Allah commands us in the Qur'an to do good:
"The likeness of those who spend their wealth in Allah's way is as the likeness of a grain which groweth seven ears, in every ear a hundred grains. Allah giveth increase manifold to whom He will. Allah is All Embracing, All Knowing. Those who spend their wealth for the cause of Allah and afterward make not reproach and injury to follow that which they have spent; their reward is with their Lord, and there shall no fear come upon them, neither shall they grieve." (Al-Baqarah : 261-262)
"And feed with food the needy wretch, the orphan and the prisoner, for love of Him, (saying): We feed you, for the sake of Allah only. We wish for no reward nor thanks from you." (Al-Insan: 8-9)
Any good thing we do in life Allah appreciates it and rewards it most generously. If the non-Muslim spends purely for the sake of god or for the sake of humanity and helped the needy, disabled, sick, or illiterates to come out of their difficulties and pains Allah immediately rewards and blesses the doer.
It is reported in the Sunnah that our Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) appreciated the non-believers' kindness of heart and generosity. He praised the king of Abyssinia for his kind nature and love of justice and charity and he sent some of his followers to live under the protection of this Christian king.
Also, the Prophet accepted the gifts from the ruler of Egypt who was a Coptic Christian. Those who are helping the poor and needy Muslims in Africa or any other place purely for humanitarian reasons are rewarded by God immediately.
In the Hereafter, the question is different. Charity is not the only thing required by God, defending truth, being faithful to God, to believe in Him and accept His guidance that was sent via His prophets are also weighed.
Name
Editor
-
Profession
Answer
Finally, we would like to thank our guest for speaking to Islamonline viewers today, and we also thank all those who participated in this dialogue. We apologize for not being able to accommodate all the questions within the time allocated to this session. We request our readers to join us in the upcoming sessions.
