Re: Fwd: I'm tempted to convert to ISLAM

THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH

Dear Rock

You quoted out of context the following verses:

>Sura 9:29 reads: "Fight those who do not believe in Allah, nor in the
>latter day, nor do they prohibit what Allah and His Apostle have prohibited,
>nor follow the religion of truth, (which is Islam that abolishes all other
>religions) of the people of the Book, (meaning the Jews and the Christians)
>until they pay the jizya (the tax imposed upon them) with willing submission
>and feel themselves subdued. (with humiliation and submission to the
>government of Islam.)" (Commentary in parenthesis is from the Tafsir
>Al-Jalalein. i.e., Al-Jalalein Interpretation of the Koran.)

These verses have been revealed with reference to a particular
historical context. Reading them divested from that historical context
is like you taking a picture out of your desk, covering the top part
of the picture with your hand and asking "why is this picture ugly, I
can only see my shoes in it".
In order to help you form a view of the historical context in which
most of the verses that have military reference, can be understood I am
copying one of my posts which I wrote before in another place on this
ng:

Dear V S Rawat


You said:



>You conveniently not mentioned that Mohammed himself was
>from this Quraish Tribe of Mecca (clan of Hashim). He
>himself had ditched his own relatives and community.


You seem to have good knowledge of the life of my beloved prophet
Mohammad. However, you don't seem to know that Mohammad was driven
out
from Mecca to seek refuge in Medina. That his property and the
properties of all the Muslim who were with him was confiscated by
Quraish which was indeed his tribe as you rightly say. Your knowledge
of his life should include the fact that Muhammad remained in Mecca for

thirteen years before emigrating to Medina amid a plot to assassinate
him on the same night of his emigration night.
If you are an honest, fair-minded seeker of the truth I am sure you
will
recognize that for those thirteen years Muhammed's only fault was that
he preached the religion of Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Moses, Jesus and
all
the prophets mentioned in the bible to his people in a peaceful manner.

All historical sources agree that the first three years of his
prophetic mission were spent inviting people to Islam secretly. That
after three years he went to Mount Safa near the Ka'ba and called
each tribe by name and informed them of his mission as a messenger
calling them to abandon all forms of idolatry and to go back to the
worship the God of Abraham and all the prophets of his offspring.
I am sure you will remember that His tribe Quraish started persecuting
Muhammad and his followers from that moment onwards to the extent that
they killed the first martyrs in Islam a slave called Yasir, and his
wife Sumayya who were murdered under torture in front of their son
Ammar.
I hope that you will also remember that around the fifth year of the
prophets ministry 15 men and women had to emigrate to Abyssinia to
escape persecution (the first Habasha Hijra). That they returned the
next year after news that the persecution has abated. That because of
renewed persecution 70 men and women had to emigrate on year seven of
the prophets Ministry back to Abyssinia where they faced questioning by

King Najashi at first and then given asylum by him.
That from year 7 till year 10 the Quraish imposed a harsh boycott on
Muhammad and his clan(Banu Hashim) whom you mentioned in your reply.
That very soon after the end of the boycott both Muhammad's uncle and
protector Abu Talib the Chief of the Banu Hashim clan and Khadeeja the
wife and financial aid of Muhammad died and he was left with no
protection in Mecca. That due to the lack of any protection in Mecca he

left for Ta'if, a neighboring town with some influential people living
in it, hoping to receive some form of support or protection but to his
dismay he was stoned and expelled in the most humiliating manner. That
he took refuge by a dilapidated wall outside Ta'if and prayed the
famous most beautiful prayer ever made by a prophet to His Lord in such

circumstances saying:
"O Allah I complain to thee my lack of energy, shortage of ideas and
the fact that they (mankind) have lost all respect for me. O you most
Merciful of all! Who do you leave me to? To friends on whom I depend
or to enemies who attack me. However, in the health you bestowed on me
there is some more room (for serving you) . I seek refuge in the noble
light of thy countenance, due to which the heavens and the earth have
become illuminated and the affairs of this world and the next have been

established, that thy anger may not descend on me nor your displeasure
befall me. Nevertheless, the privilege is yours to reproach me until
you are satisfied and there is no power nor might except with Allah the

most High the Magnificent."
I hope that you will remember that he (Muhammad) could not enter Mecca
again until he sent his slave and adopted son Zaid Ibnul Harith to
seek the protection of Mut'im Ibnu 'adi a notable of Quraish who
was moderate in his positions towards Muhammad and his followers.
Quraish did all the above to Muhammad and the Muslims before any
sanction for self defense was given to the Muslims. The only form of
self defense they were allowed was emigration.
I hope you will remember that over the last two years of Muhammad's
ministry in Mecca around 71 men and two women from Medina accepted
Islam and met the prophet during the pilgrimage season pledging to
protect him and his followers if they emigrate to Medina, which is
exactly what happened.
Now you need to remember that on the night of his secret flight from
Mecca to Medina the Quraish had plotted to assassinate Muhammad using
forty young men from forty Quraishi clans so that Banu Hashim would
not be able to retaliate his assassination.
All these thirteen years of persecution leading to the flight of
Muhammad and his followers to Medina were not enough for Quraish. As
soon as they realized that Muhammad had succeeded in finding a safe
haven in Medina they decided to confiscate all the belongings of the
Muslims in Mecca.
An honest researcher would study the battle of Badr with this
background in mind. Some of the belongings of the Muslims were sent to

be sold in Syria in a merchant caravan lead by Abu Sufian a prominent
leader among the Quraish leadership. Muhammad received sanction from
God in a verse still to be read in the Holy Qur'an confirming this
particular import.
"22:39 To those against whom war is made, permission is given (to
fight), because they are wronged;- and verily, Allah is most powerful
for their aid;-

However, the caravan managed to elude the Muslims by changing route,
but Quraish who was so used to bullying the Muslims and abusing them
continuously couldn't resist this opportunity to teach them a lesson
for daring to attempt an attack on one of their caravans to Syria.
It is true that the Muslims went out to attack Quraish's commercial
caravan. However the caravan escaped and Quraish could have returned to

Mecca without bloodshed; but they didn't and insisted on attacking
the Muslims who gave them a terrible surprise by winning the battle and

killing around seventy of Quraish's soldiers including some of its
most prominent leaders.
This was the only battle with Quraish in which the Muslims were not on
the defensive. In Uhud and the Trench Quraish and its allies were
attacking Muslims in their safe haven hoping to uproot them once for
all. The Jewish tribes have unfortunately allied themselves with the
persecutors of the Muslims, after signing agreements with the prophet
to live peacefully with the Muslims in Medina.

Now back to the verses. As you can see from the above Mohammad started
preaching the religion of Abraham at the age of 40. Between forty and
fifty three years of age the idol worshippers of Mecca waged continuous
war on Muhammad and his followers. Quraish (Muhammad's larger tribe
which declared war on him and his followers) killed Muslims who did not
have a clan to stand for them and persecuted the rest in the worst
manner possible. This war on Islam culminated in a plot to assassinate
Muhammad after he managed to sneak, in small groups, all his followers
to the safe haven of Medina. He, his companion Abu Bakr and his cousin
Ali were the last to remain in Mecca.
When Muhammad, Abu Bakr and Ali (being the last of the Muslims) arrived
safely in Medina, the idolaters of Quraish decided to go and confiscate
all their belongings in Mecca, another chapter in this war against a
group of people whose only fault was to say there only one God and
Muhammad is the last of his messengers (the capstone).
As you can see for thirteen years the Muslims' only allowed self
defense was emigration to Abyssinia twice and finally to Medina. Even
after they arrived in Medina the idolaters of Quraish did not stop
their economic war against the Muslims. In the post above you will
notice that I discussed the first military encounter between the
Muslims and the idolaters at the wells of Badr. I have explained very
clearly that the Muslims went out to confiscate a trade caravan lead by
Abu Sufian which contained revenue made by selling the belongings of
the Muslims in Mecca. Although the Muslims missed the caravan, the army
of the idolaters insisted on attacking the Muslims and giving them a
lesson. The Muslims, because of a previous promise by Allah to bring
Muhammad's army under hisf feet won the battle against all the odds.
You need to understand dear Rock that from now on Quraish waged too
major battles on Medina to extirpate Islam from its roots but failed
(the battle of Uhud and the battle of the trench). The Muslims simply
defended their safe haven Medina. In Uhud the Muslims had a severe
military set back but managed to survive. In The Trench the Muslims
resisted a ten thousand man army from most of the tribes of Arabia by
digging a trench around the plain borders of Medina. Quraish surrounded
Medina for about a month but failed to break into the city. On the last
night of their encampment around Medina God sent a strong wind which
extinguished their fires and threw away their tents and their water
containers. Quraish got scared feeling that God had finally come to the
support of Muhammad so they made their way back to Mecca.
After one year only of this encounter in which God won the battle for
the Muslims without them having to fight, Muhammad had a dream which he
knew was from God that he was performing pilgrimage to Allah's House
(the Ka'ba) in Mecca. So he and the Muslims set out in the white
clothes of pilgrims to a hostile Mecca which only last year made an
attempt to extirpate Islam from Medina.
The Meccans met him on the outskirts of Mecca and asked him to turn
back and not to attempt to enter Mecca against their will. After give
and take the two parties concluded a peace treaty which sounded more
favorable to the Meccan idolaters than to the Muslims. They agreed on
the following
a)-That Muhammad and the Muslims should turn back and return to Medina
that year (year 6 after the emigration from Mecca to Medina known as
Hijra).
b)-The Muslims will be allowed to perform their pilgrimage the
following year.
c)- Any Meccan Idolater who decides to join the Muslims in Medina has
to be returned to Mecca.
d)-Any Muslim who decides to renounce Islam and return to Mecca should
be allowed to do so freely.
c)-For the duration of the treaty (10 years) the Muslims will not
attack Quraish or any of its allied tribes and vice versa.
This treaty is historically known as the treaty of Hudaibia, the place
were Muhammad and the Muslims pitched their camp in the outskirts of
Mecca.
What is famous about this treaty is that most of the companions of the
prophet found the terms of the treaty unnecessarily in favor of
Quraish and felt humility at having to turn back and not perform their
pilgrimage to Allah's Holy House, first built by Abraham and his son
Ishmael, when every idolater in the whole world was allowed to visit
it.
The following year (year 8 )Muhammad and the Muslims performed the
pilgrimage as agreed with Quraish. A year later, Quraish broke their
treaty with the Muslims and attacked a tribe allied with the Muslims
killing some of its men. Muhammad marched on Mecca with ten thousand
saints, who worked during the day and kept vigils during the night.
Mecca had no way of resisting Allah's army so Abu Sufyan went out to
the Muslim camp facing Mecca on the night of their arrival and declared
Islam himself.
In the Morning the Muslim army entered the city without fight except
for one group of fanatics who decided to stand to a Muslim detachment
and took were routed without difficulty.
Muhammad reentered his beloved homeland a victor after he left it a
fugitive. Every body gathered near the Ka'ba to hear Muhammad's
verdict on Quraish who persecuted him and his followers for thirteen
years and pursued him to Medina with war after war to uproot him, his
followers and the religion of his great great father Abraham.
When he(peace and blessings be on him) finished breaking the idols
inside the Ka'ba and around it he stood and spoke to the people of
Mecca, his own cousins who did every thing in their power to hurt him.
He said:
What do you think I am going to do with you?
They answered: You're a noble brother, the son of a noble brother.
He said off you go, you are free.
Not a single person killed in retaliation. Just go you are free.
Immediately, every body in Mecca became a Muslim except for a few stiff
necks who went to Tai'f, near Mecca and started regrouping and
planning with the local leadership to surprise the Muslims with a
counter attack. However, the Muslims did not rest for long in Mecca
before they marched on Ta'if . On the way to Ta'if the Muslim army
was ambushed and sustained heavy losses but continued to Ta'if and
subdued it without much resistance. Immediately after the fall of these
two major cities to the Muslims, delegations from all over Arabia
started to arrive in Mecca declaring their desire to enter Islam and
giving their oath of fealty to the prophet.
The verse you, Rock, quoted must be read in the context of the above.
When the Qur'an urges the Muslims to kill the idolaters, it is within
this historical context i.e. a continuous war on Islam and the breaking
of treaties with the Muslims. The verses you quoted refer to this short
period after the Muslims entered Mecca without war and subdued Ta'if
after minimal resistance.
The verses are urging the Muslims to purge all those pockets of
resistance, which remained here and there. Although the verses are
referring to the combatants as the idolaters but they are not urging
the Muslims to fight them because of their religious convictions as
much as they are urging the Muslims to fight them because of their
insistence on continuing to wage war against the Muslims.
Having established the historical context in which the verses were
revealed, we can now look at the verses in question. For example:
>Sura 9:29 reads: "Fight those who do not believe in Allah, nor in the
>latter day, nor do they prohibit what Allah and His Apostle have prohibited,
>nor follow the religion of truth, (which is Islam that abolishes all other
>religions) of the people of the Book, (meaning the Jews and the Christians)
>/***until they pay the jizya***/ (the tax imposed upon them) with willing submission
>and feel themselves subdued. (with humiliation and submission to the
>government of Islam.)
The verses here are urging the Muslims to fight anybody who is refusing
to pay their Jizya, which is a tax levied from citizens of the Muslim
state who are not Muslim themselves in return for the protection of the
Muslim army.
That may sound horrible if you are a prejudiced person. But if you
think of the fifteen million Muslims in Europe refusing to pay any of
their taxes and insisting to do so, what do you think would likely
happen to them? Think of those extremist groups who are supporting
terrorist activities against Europe not paying some of their taxes how
would any European government deal with them. Omar Bakri is already
out, Abu Hamza and Abu Qatada in jail and so on and so forth.
The following verses are self explanatory:
>Sura 8:39 And fight them on until there is no more tumult or oppression and
>there prevail justice and faith in Allah altogether and everywhere; but if
>they cease verily Allah doth see all that they do.
Fight them until they stop oppressing Muslims and accept justice. If
they cease i.e. stop waging war on Muslims, then leave them to Allah
who will judge them for their deeds.
>Sura 2:190 Fight in the path of God those who fight you, but do not
>transgress limits, for God does not love transgressors.
Put simply fight back those who are fighting you.

>Sura 2: 217 They ask thee concerning fighting in the Prohibited
>Month. Say: Fighting therein is a grave (offence); but graver is it
>in the sight of Allah to prevent access to the path of Allah to deny
>Him to prevent access to the Sacred Mosque and drive out its members.
>Tumult and oppression are worse than slaughter. Nor will they cease
>fighting you until they turn you back from your faith if they can.
>And if any of you turn back from their faith and die in unbelief their
>works will bear no fruit in this life and in the Hereafter; they will
>be Companions of the Fire and will abide therein.
>Sura 8:39 And fight them on until there is no more tumult or
>oppression and there prevail justice and faith in Allah altogether and
>everywhere; but if they cease verily Allah doth see all that they do.

The verses above are saying that people who continue to persecute
Muslims and prevent them from performing pilgrimage to Allah's House
are committing a graver crime than fighting in the Holy precinct around
the Ka'ba which was prohibited from the time of Abraham. Such people
will be punished by God on the day of judgment if they do not repent
and seek forgiveness in due time (i.e. before they die).

>Sura 22: 39 To those against whom war is made permission is given (to
>fight) because they are wronged and verily Allah is Most powerful for
>their aid.
The verse above is giving sanction to the Muslims to defend themselves
against those waging war on them.

>Sura 2:191 And slay them wherever ye catch them and turn them out from where
>they have turned you out; for tumult and oppression are worse than
>slaughter; but fight them not at the Sacred Mosque unless they (first) fight
>you there; but if they fight you slay them. Such is the
>reward of those who suppress faith.
The verses above are urging the Muslims to fight the Meccans who
persecuted the Muslims and drove them out of Mecca. It doesn't apply
to a Muslim who was given asylum by a country like the France, Germany
or any European state is doing to Muslims.

>Sura 9:35 The number of months in the sight of Allah is twelve (in a
>year) so ordained by Him the day He created the heavens and the earth;
>of them four are sacred; that is the straight usage. So wrong not
>yourselves therein and fight the pagans all together as they fight you
>all together. But know that Allah is with those who restrain
>themselves.
Again the verses above are referring to those who are united in waging
war against the Muslims, namely Quraish and its allies.
>Sura 9:5 But when the forbidden months are past then fight and slay
>the pagans wherever ye find them and seize them beleaguer them and lie in
>wait for them in every stratagem (of war).
The verses here are simply instructing the Muslims to resume operations
as soon as the three months accepted by all the Arabs as a period of
ceasefire. We are still talking about the same state of war imposed by
the idolaters of Mecca and their allies against the Muslims from the
moment of its birth.

I am sure you will shrug your shoulders in disbelief saying, it is
impossible; how can I forget about all my prejudices. What about all
those books written by Norman Calde Muwta. How can I remove them from
my head.
My advice for you is to think about the Coptic Christians in Egypt,
Tariq Azeez and his Christian people in Iraq, the Churches in Syria,
turkey etc. If the interpretation of the verses above as you have been
made to understand, why have their been churches all over the Islamic
world from before Islam up until today. The Nativity Church is a simple
example, even if you were one of the most ignorant people in the
Christian world you would have know of its uninterrupted existence from
the time of its building.
I hope you will remember one incident in the history of Islam which
will make your head swim.
Some Muslims in the seventh year of the prophets ministry in Mecca, as
I mentioned above, emigrated to Abyssinia where they were granted
asylum by King Najashi who was a devout Christian, against a request
for extradition of the Muslim emigrants, by representatives of Quraish.
The king listened to the case of the Muslims with great sympathy and
refused to send the Muslims back to Mecca saying the following to their
representative:
"Not for a mountain of Gold will I give them to you Amr"
He ordered the presents sent to him by Quraish to be returned with
their delegation. Long after the Muslims returned to Mecca and settled
in Medina, Muhammad received news of the death of King Najashi. He said
to the Muslims: "a brother of yours has died today" and he lead the
Muslims to perform a funeral prayer for the soul of King Najashi.
Most Muslim scholars assert that the king had embraced Islam. But I
haven't come across any clear evidence confirming this view.
Whether he embraced and practiced Islam or whether he died as a
Christian, Muhammad and the entire Muslim congregation did hold a
funeral prayer for his soul and called him as a brother.
Dear Rock I am tired I leave the rest for you to research.

Regards
RRR
THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH

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