2012年2月26日 星期日

The equality between male and female

The Basic equality between male and female is confirmed in Surat an-Nahl: "Anyone who acts rightly, whether male or female, being a believer, we will give then a good life and we will recompense them according to the best of what they did" (16:97)

Another ayat, "Anyone who acts rightly, whether male or female, being a believer, will enter the Garden, provided for in it without any reckoning" (40:40)



Book: Muhammad al-Ghazali, Aisha Bewley translated, Journey thought the Qur'an: Themes and Messages of the Holy Qur'an(Norwich: Redwood Books, 1998), p.17.

2012年2月25日 星期六

Fighting for the sake of Allah not Shaytan



Muslims do not like wats, with their inevitable consequences of destruction and loss, any more than anyone else. Like everyone else we prefer well-being and stability. Peace is eminently desirable so long as people's rights are protected and their faith respected. However, when peace can only be secured at the cost of the surrender of basic rights and the acceptance of domination by unbelief, then it is not an option in spite of people's basic reluctance to fight: "Fighting is prescribed for you even though it is hateful to you. It may be that you hate a thing when it is good for you and it may be that you love a thing when it is bad for you. Allah knows and you do not know" (2:216)




The fighting which has dominated the world in recent times, fighting for national or tribal domination or to gain the wealth of weaker nations by colonising their lands, is certainly not fighting for the sake of Allah. It is fighting for the sake of Shaytan. Fighting for the sake of Allah means fighting so that the worship of Allah may be established and maintained and the worship of Shaytan overthrown.




Book: Muhammad al-Ghazali, Aisha Bewley translated, Journey thought the Qur'an: Themes and Messages of the Holy Qur'an(Norwich: Redwood Books, 1998), pp.15-16

2012年2月22日 星期三

Contemporary Muslims are in need of spirituality


伊斯蘭復興的意義與對蘇非(Sufi)的評價
Islamic societies are bereft of serenity, coherence and peace. The time has come for a religious emancipation
·       By Tariq Ramadan, Special to Gulf News
·       Published: 00:00 February 21, 2012
·       As far as Islam is concerned, it must be noted that Arab and Muslim majority societies are seriously lacking in spirituality. There is not a deficit of “religion” but of spiritual life. It can be encountered among Islamists, as well as among secularists and ordinary citizens. Religion refers to the framework, to the structure of ritual, to the rights and obligations of believers and, as such, lies at the heart of social and political debate. In the classical Islamic tradition, framework, reference and practices can — like all religions and spiritual traditions — be best seen in the light of their relation to meaning (here, to the Divine), to a conception of life and death, to the life of the heart and mind. Contemporary Islamic discourse has, however, too often lost its substance, which is that of meaning, of understanding ultimate goals and the state of the heart. Increasingly, it has been reduced to reactivity, preoccupied with the moral protection of the faithful, based on the reiteration of norms, rituals and, above all, prohibitions. But spirituality is not faith without religion; it is the quest for meaning and peace of heart as the essence of religion. Viewed in this light, Muslim majority societies are profoundly bereft of serenity, coherence and peace. The time has come for a spiritual and religious emancipation.

2012年2月19日 星期日

Recognition of Allah

Recognition of Allah alone is not sufficient. As well as having recognition, we must also say to our Lord, "We hear and obey, Forgive us, O our Lord! To Yo is the final journey's end." (2:285) Iblis's recognition that Allah was One and had created everything did not help him at all. Recognition must be accompanied by submission to Allah's commands and striving to please Him. Failure to do this will result in being banished from Allah's mercy.


Book: Muhammad al-Ghazali, Aisha Bewley translated, Journey thought the Qur'an: Themes and Messages of the Holy Qur'an (Norwich: Redwood Books, 1998)

Neutrality is Often a Virtue (以伊斯蘭觀點看待當今名嘴現象)


該文提到ㄧ個教法觀點,“tawaqquf” (توقف 非立即給與承諾)。當教法學者面對許多證據並列,但無法立即決定何者正確時,不需要對特定議題立即表態,直到找到更有說服力的證據。文中另提到對百科全書式的名嘴看法。(名嘴到最後可能也不知道他們在講什麼!?)


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By Salman Al-Oadah
Saudi scholar
Friday, 17 February 2012 13:57
Neutrality is something we should cultivate as one of our good values.
It stems from a will for balance, an acceptance of plurality, a practical spirit, and a desire to avoid taking sides with anyone without having all the facts.
Our Predecessors' Era
Our pious predecessors had a special way of expressing their neutrality. They would say: “I don’t know.”
Indeed, some of them went so far as to declare: “Half of all knowledge is to say: ‘I don’t know’.” Or: “Whoever abandons saying ‘I don’t know’ has put his knowledge in peril.”

Another way they expressed their neutrality was to say: “Allah knows best.” In this way, they defer knowledge to the One who truly knows all.
Scholars of Islamic theology and Islamic legal theory have a technical term for it: tawaqquf” (non-commitment). This is the stance taken when various lines of evidence lead in equally compelling directions so that the scholar or jurist is unable – or too cautious – to determine which is more likely to be correct. This stance of non-commitment is not a final resolution, but a provisional stance that can be abandoned in the face of further evidence.

2012年2月2日 星期四

‘Honor Killing’ Un-Islamic: Experts



OnIslam & News Agencies
Wednesday, 01 February 2012 10:27

TORONTO – Experts have agreed that honor killings, which dominated headlines after the grisly family murder in Canada, are driven by cultural and tribal reasons and are not sanctioned by Islamic teachings.
"There is nothing in the Quran that justifies honor killings,” Taj Hargey, director of the Muslim Educational Centre of Oxford in England, told CNN.
“There is nothing that says you should kill for the honor of the family."

2012年2月1日 星期三

1/31 關鍵時刻 2009加拿大阿富汗裔三姊妹詭異死亡!?


1/31日東森電視關鍵時刻,其中一個節目容提到「2009加拿大阿富汗裔三姊妹詭異死亡!?」。詳細容請見該節目影片。身為穆斯林的我們對這些被殺害的婦女們有不出來的難過,即使他們做出違犯教義的事情,也不應該與絕不能用所謂的「榮譽處決」制裁。(個人以為教育勝於刑罰,不教而殺謂之虐,當然這是另外討論議題)事實上,「榮譽制裁」不存在伊斯蘭信仰中,但兩位名嘴的評論,另我傻眼,若給國外友人聽到可是貽笑大方,



名嘴馬西屏「回教不能離婚」,所以阿富汗元配被殺害。請問該名嘴言論根據何處?伊斯蘭從未禁止穆斯林婦女不能離婚,這種基本常識,身為名嘴竟會不知?



位號稱世界文化旅遊史專家眭澔平「榮譽處決」來自伊斯蘭教義,可以請該專家拿出證據出來好嗎?古蘭經中哪條有提到父親可以針對子女執行榮譽處決? 這種與事實違背的評論,真的可以稱為專家嗎?


感覺「關鍵時刻」以純八卦的心態看待,或是以看笑話的方式戲謔,真的有從人道關懷角度來討論此議題嗎?真是欠缺深度!

在此,建議穆斯林教親們,或是非穆斯林的朋友們,拿起您的手機或是寫信向該電台申訴。名嘴不是只憑好的口才,胡亂看個資料,隨便說說,以建立個人的威望。相信關鍵時刻有許多固定觀眾群,這些名嘴在評論事件時,是否應該具備考證功夫,對於事情的評論更具深度,才對得起我們這些廣大觀眾群!


向東森電台申訴





下面是加拿大穆斯林協會的聲明,如果「榮譽處決」來自伊斯蘭價值,為何不見該協會大加讚賞!?
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(Ottawa, ON, January 29, 2012) -­ The Muslim Association of Canada (MAC) firstly mourns the deaths of Zainab, Sahar and Geeti Shafia as well as Rona Amir Mohammed. 

The defendants Mohammad Shafia, Tooba Mohammad Yahya and Hamed Shafia were charged with and found guilty of first-degree murder. It is this term – MURDER – that should be used, rather than the loaded term “honour killings”. No act of murder can result in honour. 
(謀殺不是所謂榮譽處決,任何形式的謀殺絕非是榮譽的。)
The teachings of Islam condemn the taking of an innocent life and the Qur’an asserts the sanctity of human life, regardless of gender, race, or faith. The idea of committing murder to re-establish family honour does not exist in Islam. 
(伊斯蘭譴責奪取無辜生命。古蘭經強調生命的神聖性,無論性別、種族或不同信仰皆然。這種為了重整家庭榮耀的謀殺不存在於伊斯蘭信仰中。)
MAC continues to express its commitment to battling violence against all peoples, particularly women and children. We will continue to dedicate our resources, using education as a tool, to address this issue within our communities and be part of the solution. 

Statement from Muslim Association of Canada