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Begin
with the Name of Allah WHO is Most Loving and Most Merciful. |
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English
Translation Of Sura Al-Rahman
In the name of Allah the Beneficent the Merciful. 1.
The Most Affectionate |
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Answers of Questions About Islam Raised By Non Muslims Question: Why is a man allowed to have more than one wife in Islam? i.e. why is polygamy allowed in Islam? Answered by Dr. Zakir Naik. 1. Definition of Polygamy Polygamy means a system of marriage whereby one person has more than one spouse. Polygamy can be of two types. One is polygyny where a man marries more than one woman, and the other is polyandry, where a woman marries more than one man. In Islam, limited polygyny is permitted; whereas polyandry is completely prohibited.
The Qur’an is the only religious book, on the face of this earth, that contains the phrase ‘marry only one’. There is no other religious book that instructs men to have only one wife. In none of the other religious scriptures, whether it be the Vedas, the Ramayan, the Mahabharat, the Geeta, the Talmud or the Bible does one find a restriction on the number of wives. According to these scriptures one can marry as many as one wishes. It was only later, that the Hindu priests and the Christian Church restricted the number of wives to one. Many Hindu religious personalities, according to their scriptures, had multiple wives. King Dashrat, the father of Rama, had more than one wife. Krishna had several wives. In earlier times, Christian men were permitted as many wives as they wished, since the Bible puts no restriction on the number of wives. It was only a few centuries ago that the Church restricted the number of wives to one. Polygyny is permitted in Judaism. According to Talmudic law, Abraham had three wives, and Solomon had hundreds of wives. The practice of polygyny continued till Rabbi Gershom ben Yehudah (960 C.E to 1030 C.E) issued an edict against it. The Jewish Sephardic communities living in Muslim countries continued the practice till as late as 1950, until an Act of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel extended the ban on marrying more than one wife.
The report of the ‘Committee of The Status of Woman in Islam’, published in 1975 mentions on page numbers 66 and 67 that the percentage of polygamous marriages between the years 1951 and 1961 was 5.06% among the Hindus and only 4.31% among the Muslims. According to Indian law only Muslim men are permitted to have more than one wife. It is illegal for any non-Muslim in India to have more than one wife. Despite it being illegal, Hindus have more multiple wives as compared to Muslims. Earlier, there was no restriction even on Hindu men with respect to the number of wives allowed. It was only in 1954, when the Hindu Marriage Act was passed that it became illegal for a Hindu to have more than one wife. At present it is the Indian Law that restricts a Hindu man from having more than one wife and not the Hindu scriptures. Let us now analyze why Islam allows a man to have more than one wife.
As I mentioned earlier, Qur’an is the only religious book on the face of the earth that says ‘marry only one’. The context of this phrase is the following verse from Surah Nisa of the Glorious Qur’an: "Marry women of your choice, two, or three, or four; but if ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly (with them), then only one." [Al-Qur’an 4:3] Before the Qur’an was revealed, there was no upper limit for polygyny and many men had scores of wives, some even hundreds. Islam put an upper limit of four wives. Islam gives a man permission to marry two, three or four women, only on the condition that he deals justly with them. In the same chapter i.e. Surah Nisa verse 129 says: "Ye are never able to be fair and just as between women...." [Al-Qur’an 4:129] Therefore polygyny is not a rule but an exception. Many people are under the misconception that it is compulsory for a Muslim man to have more than one wife. Broadly, Islam has five categories of Do’s and Don’ts: i. ‘Fard’ i.e. compulsory or obligatory ii. ‘Mustahab’ i.e. recommended or encouraged iii. ‘Mubah’ i.e. permissible or allowed iv. ‘Makruh’ i.e. not recommended or discouraged v. ‘Haraam’ i.e. prohibited or forbidden Polygyny falls in the middle category of things that are permissible. It cannot be said that a Muslim who has two, three or four wives is a better Muslim as compared to a Muslim who has only one wife.
By nature males and females are born in approximately the same ratio. A female child has more immunity than a male child. A female child can fight the germs and diseases better than the male child. For this reason, during the pediatric age itself there are more deaths among males as compared to the females. During wars, there are more men killed as compared to women. More men die due to accidents and diseases than women. The average life span of females is more than that of males, and at any given time one finds more widows in the world than widowers.
India is one of the few countries, along with the other neighbouring countries, in which the female population is less than the male population. The reason lies in the high rate of female infanticide in India, and the fact that more than one million female foetuses are aborted every year in this country, after they are identified as females. If this evil practice is stopped, then India too will have more females as compared to males.
In the USA, women outnumber men by 7.8 million. New York alone has one million more females as compared to the number of males, and of the male population of New York one-third are gays i.e sodomites. The U.S.A as a whole has more than twenty-five million gays. This means that these people do not wish to marry women. Great Britain has four million more females as compared to males. Germany has five million more females as compared to males. Russia has nine million more females than males. God alone knows how many million more females there are in the whole world as compared to males.
Even if every man got married to one woman, there would still be more than thirty million females in U.S.A who would not be able to get husbands (considering that America has twenty five million gays). There would be more than four million females in Great Britain, 5 million females in Germany and nine million females in Russia alone who would not be able to find a husband. Suppose my sister happens to be one of the unmarried women living in USA, or suppose your sister happens to be one of the unmarried women in USA. The only two options remaining for her are that she either marries a man who already has a wife or becomes public property. There is no other option. All those who are modest will opt for the first. In Western society, it is common for a man to have mistresses and/or multiple extra-marital affairs, in which case, the woman leads a disgraceful, unprotected life. The same society, however, cannot accept a man having more than one wife, in which women retain their honourable, dignified position in society and lead a protected life. Thus the only two options before a woman who cannot find a husband is to marry a married man or to become public property. Islam prefers giving women the honourable position by permitting the first option and disallowing the second. There are several other reasons, why Islam has permitted limited polygyny, but it is mainly to protect the modesty of women. |
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Answers of Questions About Islam Raised By Non Muslims Question
: How can you prove the existence of hereafter, i.e. life after death? Answered by Dr. Zakir Naik. 1.
Belief in the hereafter is not based on blind faith? Many
people wonder as to how a person with a scientific and logical
temperament, can lend any credence to the belief of life after death.
People assume that anyone believing in the hereafter is doing so on the
basis of blind belief. My
belief in the hereafter is based on a logical argument.
There
are more than a thousand verses in the Glorious Qur’an, containing
scientific facts (refer my book "Qur’an and Modern
Science-Compatible or Incompatible?"). Many facts mentioned in the
Qur’an have been discovered in the last few centuries. But science has
not advanced to a level where it can confirm every statement of the
Qur’an. Suppose
80% of all that is mentioned in the Qur’an has been proved 100% correct.
About the remaining 20%, science makes no categorical statement, since it
has not advanced to a level, where it can either prove or disprove these
statements. With the limited knowledge that we have, we cannot say for
sure whether even a single percentage or a single verse of the Qur’an
from this 20% portion is wrong. Thus when 80% of the Qur’an is 100%
correct and the remaining 20% is not disproved, logic says that even the
20% portion is correct. The existence of the hereafter, which is mentioned
in the Qur’an, falls in the 20% ambiguous portion which my logic says is
correct.
Is
robbing a good or an evil act? A normal balanced person would say it is
evil. How would a person who does not believe in the hereafter convince a
powerful and influential criminal that robbing is evil? Suppose
I am the most powerful and influential criminal in the world. At the same
time I am an Intelligent and a logical person. I say that robbing is good
because it helps me lead a luxurious life. Thus robbing is good for me. If
anybody can put forward a single logical argument as to why it is evil for
me, I will stop immediately. People usually put forward the following
arguments:
a. The person who is robbed will face difficulties Some
may say that the person who is robbed will face difficulties. I certainly
agree that it is bad for the person who is robbed. But it is good for me.
If I rob a thousand dollars, I can enjoy a good meal at a 5 star
restaurant.
b. Someone may rob you Some
people argue that someday I may be robbed. No one can rob me because I am
a very powerful criminal and I have hundreds of bodyguards. I can rob
anybody but nobody can rob me. Robbing may be a risky profession for a
common man but not for an influential person like me.
c. The police may arrest you Some
may say, if you rob, you can be arrested by the police. The police cannot
arrest me because I have the police on my payroll. I have the ministers on
my payroll. I agree that if a common man robs, he will be arrested and it
will be bad for him, but I am an extraordinarily influential and powerful
criminal. Give
me one logical reason why it is bad for me and I will stop robbing.
d. Its easy money Some
may say its easy money and not hard-earned money. I agree completely that
it is easy money, and that is one of the main reasons why I rob. If a
person has the option of earning money the easy as well as the hard way,
any logical person would choose the easy way.
e. It is against humanity Some
may say it is against humanity and that a person should care for other
human beings. I counter argue by asking as to who wrote this law called
‘humanity’ and why should I follow it? This
law may be good for the emotional and sentimental people but I am a
logical person and I see no benefit in caring for other human beings.
f. It is a selfish act Some
may say that robbing is being selfish. It is true that robbing is a
selfish act; but then why should I not be selfish? It helps me enjoy life. 1.
No logical reason for robbing being an evil act Hence
all arguments that attempt to prove that robbing is an evil act are
futile. These arguments may satisfy a common man but not a powerful and
influential criminal like me. None of the arguments can be defended on the
strength of reason and logic. It is no surprise that there are so many
criminals in this world. Similarly
raping, cheating etc. can be justified as good for a person like me and
there is no logical argument that can convince me that these things are
bad. 2.
A Muslim can convince a powerful and influential criminal Now
let us switch sides. Suppose you are the most powerful and influential
criminal in the world, who has the police and the ministers on his
payroll. You have army of thugs to protect you. I am a Muslim who will
convince you that robbing, raping, cheating, etc. are evil acts. Even
if I put forth the same arguments to prove that robbing is evil the
criminal will respond the same way as he did earlier. I
agree that the criminal is being logical and all his arguments are true
only when he is the most powerful and influential criminal. 3.
Every human being wants justice Each
and every human being desires justice. Even if he does not want justice
for others he wants justice for himself. Some people are intoxicated by
power and influence and inflict pain and suffering on others. The same
people, however, would surely object if some injustice was done to them.
The reason such people become insensitive to the suffering of others is
that they worship power and influence. Power and influence, they feel, not
only allows them to inflict injustice on others but also prevents others
from doing likewise to them. 4.
God is Most Powerful and Just As
a Muslim I would convince the criminal about the existence of Almighty God
(refer to answer proving the existence of God). This God is more powerful
than you and at the same time is also just. The Glorious Qur’an says: "Allah
is never unjust
[Al-Qur’an 4:40] 5.
Why does God not punish me? The
criminal, being a logical and scientific person, agrees that God exists,
after being presented with scientific facts from the Qur’an. He may
argue as to why God, if He is Powerful and Just, does not punish him. 6.
The people who do injustice should be punished Every
person who has suffered injustice, irrespective of financial or social
status, almost certainly wants the perpetrator of injustice to be
punished. Every normal person would like the robber or the rapist to be
taught a lesson. Though a large number of criminals are punished, many
even go scot-free. They lead a pleasant, luxurious life, and even enjoy a
peaceful existence. If injustice is done to a powerful and influential
person, by someone more powerful and more influential than he, even such a
person would want that person perpetrators of injustice to be punished. 7.
This life is a test for the hereafter This
life is a test for the hereafter. The Glorious Qur’an says: "He
who created Death And life that He May try which of you Is best in deed;
And He is the Exalted In Might, Oft-Forgiving" [Al-Qur’an
67:2] 8.
Final justice on day of judgement The
Glorious Qur’an says: "Every
soul shall have A taste of death: And only on the Day Of Judgement shall
you Be paid your full
recompense. Only he who is saved Far from the Fire And admitted to the
Garden Will have attained The
object (of life): For the
life of this world Is but
goods and chattels Of deception." [Al-Qur’an 3:185] Final
justice will be meted out on the Day of Judgement. After a person dies, he
will be resurrected on the Day of Judgement along with the rest of
mankind. It is possible that a person receives part of his punishment in
this world. The final reward and punishment will only be in the hereafter.
God Almighty may not punish a robber or a rapist in this world but he will
surely be held accountable on the Day of Judgement and will be punished in
the hereafter i.e. life after death. 9.
What punishment can the human law give Hitler? Hitler
incinerated six million Jews during his reign of terror. Even if the
police had arrested him, what punishment can the human law give Hitler for
justice to prevail? The most they can do is to send Hitler to the gas
chamber. But that will only be punishment for the killing of one Jew. What
about the remaining five million, nine hundred and ninety nine thousand,
nine hundred and ninety-nine Jews? 10.
Allah can burn Hitler more than six million times in hellfire Allah
say in the Glorious Qur’an:
"Those
who reject Our signs, We shall soon Cast into the Fire; As often as their
skins Are roasted through, We
shall change them For fresh skins, That they may taste The penalty: for
Allah Is Exalted in Power, Wise" [Al-Qur’an 4:56] If
Allah wishes he can incinerate Hitler six million times in the hereafter
in the hellfire. 11.
No concept of human values or good and bad without concept of hereafter It is clear that without convincing a person about the hereafter, i.e. life after death, the concept of human values and the good or evil nature of acts is impossible to prove to any person who is doing injustice especially when he is influential and powerful.
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Answers of Questions About Islam Raised By Non Muslims Question: Does Islam believe in several gods because the Qur’an uses the word ‘We’ when God speaks in the Qur’an? Answered by Dr. Zakir Naik. Islam is a strictly monotheistic religion. It believes in and adheres to uncompromising monotheism. It believes that God is one, and unique in His attributes. In the Qur’an, God often refers to Himself using the word ‘We’. But this does not mean that Islam believes in the existence of more than one God. Two types of plural In several languages, there are two types of plurals, one is a plural of numbers to refer to something that occurs in a quantity of more than one. The other plural is a plural of respect. a. In the English language, the Queen of England refers to herself as ‘We’ instead of ‘I’. This is known as the ‘royal plural’.b. Rajiv Gandhi, the ex-Prime Minister of India used to say in Hindi "Hum dekhna chahte hain". "We want to see." ‘Hum’ means ‘We’ which is again a royal plural in Hindi. c. Similarly in Arabic, when Allah refers to Himself in the Qur’an, He often uses Arabic word 'Nahnu' meaning ‘We’. It does not indicate plural of number but plural of respect. Tawheed or monotheism is one of the pillars of Islam. The existence and uniqueness of one and only one God is mentioned several times in the Qur’an. For instance in Surah Ikhlas, it says : "Say
He is Allah the One and Only." |
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Answers of Questions About Islam Raised By Non Muslims Question: If a man is allowed to have more than one wife, then why does Islam prohibit a woman from having more than one husband? Answered by Dr. Zakir Naik. A
lot of people, including some Muslims, question the logic of allowing
Muslim men to have more than one spouse while denying the same ‘right’
to women. Let
me first state emphatically, that the foundation of an Islamic society is
justice and equity. Allah has created men and women as equal, but with
different capabilities and different responsibilities. Men and women are
different, physiologically and psychologically. Their roles and
responsibilities are different. Men and women are equal in Islam, but not
identical. Surah
Nisa’ Chapter 4 verses 22 to 24 gives the list of women with who you can
not marry and it is further mentions in Surah Nisa’ Chapter 4 verse 24
"Also (prohibited are) women already married" The
following points enumerate the reasons why polyandry is prohibited in
Islam: 1.
If a man has more than one wife, the parents of the children born of such
marriages can easily be identified. The father as well as the mother can
easily be identified. In case of a woman marrying more than one husband,
only the mother of the children born of such marriages will be identified
and not the father. Islam gives tremendous importance to the
identification of both parents, mother and father. Psychologists tell us
that children who do not know their parents, especially their father
undergo severe mental trauma and disturbances. Often they have an unhappy
childhood. It is for this reason that the children of prostitutes do not
have a healthy childhood. If a child born of such wedlock is admitted in
school, and when the mother is asked the name of the father, she would
have to give two or more names! I am aware that recent advances in science
have made it possible for both the mother and father to be identified with
the help of genetic testing. Thus this point which was applicable for the
past may not be applicable for the present.
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Brief Introduction Of Islam The Qur'an is a Message from God almighty to the whole of humanity. It was transmitted to the humankind from God almighty via angel Gabriel who conveyed the message to the Prophet peace be upon him in sections over a period spanning approximately 23 years (610 CE to 622 CE). The Prophet peace be upon him was 40 years old when the Qur'an began to be revealed to him, and he was 63 when the revelation was completed. The language of the original message was Arabic, but it has been translated into many other languages. Islam comes from the root word salam, which means peace. It also means submitting your will to the will of God almighty. In short Islam means peace acquired by submitting your will to the will of God almighty. Many people have the misconception that Islam is a new religion. That came into existence 1400 years ago and that Prophet Muhammed peace be upon him was the founder of the religion. In fact Islam has been here since time immemorial since time began since man set foot on this earth and Prophet Muhammed peace be upon him is not the founder of the religion of Islam but is the last and final messenger of God almighty. No Muslim is a Muslim is he does not believe in Jesus peace be upon him, in Adam peace be upon him, in Moses peace be upon, in Noah, in Abraham, in Ishmael, in Isaac in Joesph in David peace be upon them all. If any Muslim rejects faith in any of these messengers he seizes to be a Muslim. But what we believe is that these messengers they were only sent for a particular group of people at a particular time period, and their complete message was not sent for the whole of humanity but was only send for a specific group of people at that time period. For example if you read the holy Qur'an, the Holy Qur'an says in Surah Al Imran chapter number 3 verse number 49 "Prophet Jesus (peace be upon him) was sent as a messenger to the children of Israeli". That means according to the Holy Qur'an Prophet Jesus peace be upon him was only sent for the children of Israeli. And if you read the Bible
a similar message is given. In the New testament in the Gospel of
Matthew chapter number 10 verses 5-6 Jesus peace be upon him tells his
12 disciples "That go ye not into the way of the Gentiles".
Who are the Gentiles? The non Jews the Hindus the Muslims. "Go ye
not into the way of the Gentiles in to the house of the Samaritans you
shall enter not but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israeli.
And Jesus peace be upon him further says in the New testament in the
gospel of Matthew chapter number 15 verse number 24 "That I have
not been sent but as a messenger to the lost sheep of the Children of
Israeli" But Prophet Muhammed peace be upon him according to the holy Qur'an in Surah Al Ahsab chapter 33 verse number 40 says that "Muhammad peace be upon him is not the father of any of you men but is a universal messenger and is the seal of the Prophets and God is all knowing and full of Knowledge" The Glorious Qur'an says that Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him is the last and final messenger of God Almighty. And the Qur'an says in Surah Al Umbeya chapter number 21 verse number verse 107 "That we have not sent Muhammad but as a mercy to the whole of humanity." So Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him was not only sent for the Muslims or the Arabs but was sent to the whole of Human kind. And further the Glorious Qur'an says in Surah al Saba chapter 34 verse number 28 "We have sent these as a universal messenger giving glad tidings to men. And warning them against sin yet most of them do not understand." This is a brief introduction to Islam and the Qur'an. You can continue to read the Qur'an online by clicking here |