I have been told that Islam is not a peaceful religion and that the Qur’an is a book filled with ranting and ravings from Muhammad, peace be upon him. So are there any verses in the Qur’an that would tell me that people of Islam do not want war and death?
Thank you for your message, which shows that you are a person who does not accept what is said without questioning its truth. This is the mark of an intelligent person. What you have been told about the Qur’an is certainly untrue.
It is the word of someone who either does not know what he is talking about, or someone whose grudge against Islam blinds him to the truth.
It is as the saying goes: The proof of the pudding is in the eating. You only need to open the Qur'an, and read to realize that what it calls for is peace, not war. Besides, the Qur’an is not Muhammad’s book; it is God’s book. A person who wants to know what the Qur’an says should start with an objective outlook and read it, seeking some help where he finds difficulty.
I suppose we would agree that if we have it on highly reliable authority that Beethoven stated that he did not write one of the best symphonies the world attribute to him, we need no further proof to strike it off the list of his musical works. Similarly, if we have a reliable statement by Shakespeare that he did not write Hamlet or King Lear, we can no longer attribute that play to him. Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, has always maintained that he did not write or compose the Qur’an, which is universally agreed to be a book of surpassing literary excellence. Yet Muhammad’s own statements, which we know to be his, are also superb.
So, how can anyone attribute the Qur’an to Muhammad when he has repeatedly disclaimed any part in its authorship? Besides, the Qur’an provides numerous proofs that its only author is God Almighty.
These begin with its style, which is unlike any human writing, and include its subject matter and different statements.
The Qur’an certainly speaks about war and jihad. But when we take all statements in the Qur’an about war, and also take into consideration the circumstances prevailing at the time of the revelation of each, and relate this to the final statements, we are bound to have a firm conviction that war in Islam is a defensive one. But we have to add here that its being defensive does not mean that Muslims must wait until they are attacked before taking to arms. It means that they may take measures to remove the threat of aggression.
I do not wish to go into what the Bible say about war, but you undoubtedly realize that human beings often resort to war without justification.
You only need to look at what the US and UK has been doing over the last couple of years to realize this. Hence, a religion that provides a code of living, as Islam does must address the possibility of war. The Qur’an certainly does so, and the code it provides is more civilized than any in the whole history of humanity, even in our modern times.
Scholars in our area differ as to which is more important: Jihad against non-Muslim forces occupying our land and enforcing secular laws, or pilgrimage. Please advise.
This question should never be put in this way. Pilgrimage is a duty only on those who are able to undertake the journey. Ability includes being safe and leaving one’s family in safety. In a situation where the Muslim community is not safe because of the oppression of an occupying force, no Muslim may leave his family without protection. Moreover, the safety of the whole community is at issue here. Hence, all resources should be put into the effort to liberate the Muslim community.
Having said that, I may add that such efforts need not necessarily mean fighting. Perhaps the community suffering such oppression needs to make its case known all over the world and pilgrimage provides a means of publicity, either through individual efforts or through a formal delegation undertaking the publicity efforts aiming at mobilizing international support. Thus, those who travel abroad for this purpose, whether to pilgrimage or to other places, share in the jihad of their community. If we put the question for a strict ruling of which of the two modes is preferable, we are liable to have an erroneous answer.
Could you please explain in detail what are the jinn, Shaytan, Iblis and what are the angels? How are they created and what sort of life span do they have? Some people mention that the angel of death is called Izraeel. Is this true?
The Qur’an tells us of the existence of the angels. Therefore, we believe in them, because if a person denies anything that is mentioned in the Qur’an, he is a non-believer. What we are told about the angels, in the Qur’an, is that they were created before the creation of human beings, and they always obey God and do his bidding. They glorify Him all the time and they pray that He forgive human beings that believe in Him. They may take a material form or even appear in the shape of human beings, as happened with the angels who appeared to Mary to give her the news of her forthcoming pregnancy and childbirth. We are also told in the Qur’an that the angels live in heaven and come down to earth when God instructs them to do so.
They have different grades and positions as well as different tasks. Their chief is Gabriel who is the angel who brings down Divine revelations to prophets and messengers. One of them is assigned the task of causing death, while another is in charge of blowing the Trumpet, which signals the end of life on earth and the beginning of the Day of Judgment. Some of them carry Allah’s Throne, while others watch over human beings and record their deeds. Some have the task of bringing comfort and enjoyment to the dwellers of heaven, while others are in charge of tormenting those condemned to hell. When believers fight for Allah’s cause, God sends angels to strengthen their resolve to fight the enemies of Allah.
Although most people believe that the angel of death is called Izraeel, there is no mention of that name anywhere in the Qur’an, or the Hadith. There is not even an authentic report recording his name. When the Prophet, peace be upon him, refers to him he invariably speaks of ‘the angel of death”.
We learn from the Qur’an that God has created a different type of creatures known as the jinn whom we cannot see. We are required to believe in the existence of the Jinns and in what has been mentioned about them in the Qur’an. As the Qur’an tells us, the jinns have been created of fire, although they need to have, after their creation, the qualities of fire. They were created before man, and they can see us while we cannot see them. They are required to believe in God and His messenger in the same way as we are, and they will be accountable for their deeds just as we will be. In other words, they may deserve reward or may incur punishment.
God tells us that Hell will be full of the jinn and human beings as well. The message of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, has been conveyed to them, as was the message of the Prophet Moses. Some of them have been good believers while others have been disobedient to Allah. They have their own races and classes. Some of them have been made subservient to the Prophet Sulaiman when they had to do his bidding, making for him works of art. The knowledge is limited, because God has withheld certain things from them as He has kept these unknown to us.
When Sulaiman died, they continued to do the tasks he had appointed for them until they realized that he had died after worms and insects had eaten part of his stick on which he had inclined. Only when he fell down they realized that had they known better, they would not have continued in their hard labor. We also know that they used to climb into the sky to learn some information from angels. Qur’an tells us that they were prevented from that.
The Shaytan or Satan is the non-believers among the jinn. The first of these was Iblis. Some people imagine that Iblis was an angel and he was transformed into Satan after he had disobeyed Allah. This is totally untrue. Had he been an angel, he would not have disobeyed Allah. Angels simply do what God bids them and can never disobey Him. Moreover, God states clearly in the Qur’an that “Iblis was one of the jinn and he disobeyed the order of his Lord.” The Qur’an also mentions that Iblis has been created out of fire, as were all the jinn.
From what is mentioned about Satans in the Qur’an we know that Satan is the first of most hardened enemy of mankind. Satans procreate and all their offspring are of the same devilish nature. Allah has given Satans a chance to try to seduce human beings, but He has not given them the ability to benefit or harm human beings. Nor has He given Satan an irresistible power, but He has given them simply the ability to scheme. Their work is that of seduction, making evil things appear tempting. What we also know about Satan is that he lets down his followers and gives them no support even at the time when they badly need any type of help they could have.
We do not have any authentic information about the life span of angels or jinn. That is something that does not matter much to us. I hope I have given you the type of information you require.