Prophet Muhammed in Bible Song of Songs? (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam)

So I asked Ali Ataie about the mentioned of the word Prophet Muhammed (sallallahu alaihi 

wa sallam) in the Bible,  Song of Songs (sometimes called "Song of Solomon") and his rebuttal to the popular Christian arguments, and he said:

"The Song of Songs is a lyrical poem, and prophecy in embedded in poetry is quite often elliptical - in other words, there are strong indications or "echoes," to use Imam Shabbir Aly's word in lyrical poetry or prose. 

The text is not going to explicitly say, "The name of my beloved in Muhammad." Just like Psalm 20:6 - which gives an indication about the name of the Messiah "hoshiy'a Adonai Mashikho" (The Lord saves his Messiah); "hoshiy'a" is related the Yeshu'a (the saved one). 

With this in mind, Roger Alysworth identified Jesus as the object of Song 5:16 in his book, "He is altogether lovely: Discovering Jesus in the Song of Solomon." Alysworth (Pres. of Illinois Baptist Assoc) - knows how prophecy works. Unfortunately, he has misapplied it. Prophecy according to Origen contains MULTIPLE levels of meaning (exoteric and esoteric). Isaiah 7:14, for example, is claimed by Matthew to be about Jesus - but Immanuel was born in Isaiah 8? - BUT the esoteric meaning is the coming Messiah (as Matthew would say). So it "echoes" the Prophet's name -the rest of the passage describes him quite succinctly (Song 5:10-15). -"v'kollo machamadim" (All of him is praiseworthy). - All of him is Muhammad - b/c that's his name!

By the way, Song of Songs 5:16 is the ONLY occurrence of MACHAMADIM in the Hebrew Bible - the other passages that contain the word have different forms in Hebrew (pronominal suffixes, etc)."

To see how the word "Machamad" (that's how the letters are spelt in English. its not how its pronounced) is pronounced like "Muhammed", see the Rabbi read it here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wm3sZfPwv1g

Telecommunications in hadith

Abū Sa'id (RA) related a long hadith, in part of which the Holy Prophet Muhammed (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) said:

"By Him in Whose hand is my soul, the Hour will not come until wild creatures talk to men, and a man speaks to the end of his whip and the straps of his sandals (shoes), and his thigh will tell him about what happened to his family after he left".[ Aħmad, Musnad (3:84 and 85). Ħākim, Mustadrak (4:467).)

“A man speaks to the end of his whip,” could indicate that people will speak into something with a cord like speaking into a telephone. Students of physics experiment by oscillating a string to see the resultant waveforms. Also, when one shakes a whip it creates a waveform down the length of the whip. The Prophet could be showing through the motion of the whip that people in the Last Days will discover a technology using waveforms by which they will speak. This transmission using wavelengths includes all kinds of communications whether radio, television, or satellite. One’s cellular telephone in his pocket next to “his thigh will tell him about what happened to his family after he left.”

.

In fact Nike has made shoes that speak to people. (http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=980CE7D7123FF932A35752C1A9609C8B63)

Travelling to space and the Qur'an

"[I swear by] the moon when it is full, you will mount up stage by stage! What is the matter with them, that they have no faith?" (Qur'an, 84:18-20)

So I asked Mufti Muhammed Sajaad about this verse, and whether it predicts space travel, and he said:

"Regarding whether it is possible to take the meaning of the verse in al-Inshiqaq for space-travel, I believe you can, because one of the classical interpretations of this verse is that is referring to the (Holy) Prophet (sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam) ascending but the meaning of it applying to humans generally seems stronger because the sura starts explicitly addressing all humans (al-Insan).
 
Ibn Kathir says:
وقال ابن أبي حاتم: حدثنا أبو سعيد الأشج، حدثنا أبو أسامة عن إسماعيل عن الشعبي: { لَتَرْكَبُنَّ طَبَقاً عَن طَبقٍ } قال: لتركبن يا محمد سماء بعد سماء. وهكذا روي عن ابن مسعود ومسروق وأبي العالية: { طَبَقاً عَن طَبقٍ }: سماء بعد سماء (قلت): يعنون: ليلة الإسراء؟ "

Seal of Prophethood in Bible

We know that Salman al Farsi (RA) and other people, looked for the seal/symbol of the Prophet on his back, before accepting Islam. Now the question is, how did they know to look for it? Let’s see the Shama’il, about an account of Salman’s story, mentioned by Buraydah:

“He had seen the signs of Sayyidina Rasullullah (Muhammed Sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) in the books of previous Prophets that he will not accept sadaqah, but shall accept presents and gifts, and the seal of Prophethood will be between his two shoulders after witnessing the first two signs). He then saw the ‘Seal of Prophethood’ on the back of Sayyidina Rasullullah (Muhammad Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) and embraced Islam.”

So I asked Ali Ataie about a verse in the Bible which talks about a person to be born (as it talks about “will be”) with a symbol on his shoulder/back, and he said:

“Isaiah 9:6...the Hebrew "vat-hi ham-misrah 'al-shikhmo" literally, "the symbol of dominion will be upon his shoulder." The seal of the Prophet (s) was directly behind his heart which means that it was more oriented towards the left. This could refer to the extreme right portion of his left shoulder blade- which is also his back. The hadith of Imam Ali says "bayna katifayhi," between his shoulders - but I don't think that this negates the blade of the shoulder. Allahu 'Alim. 

I just checked the Lexicon Strongs' Concordance and the Hebrew word shekhem can be translated as "back" as well. In Psalm 21:12, it is translated as "back" in the King James.”

So there you go, Alhamdulillah for the blessings of Islam. We find another proof for the Prophet Muhammed (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) in the Bible. Here’s some more on the topic by Ali Ataie http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzYzBuh7aCk

Bible Isaiah Prophecy of Prophet Muhammed (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam)

Isaiah 42:1-20
(God is speaking, now notice how exact the description is of Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him). It fits like a glove, even more): Note: According to our Christian brothers they say that this is about Jesus Christ peace be upon him. This is not possible because this speaks of a prophet sent to Gentiles in Arabia! And Jesus wasnt sent to gentiles and most absolutely not in Arabia.



1 “Behold! My Servant whom I uphold,
My Elect One in whom My soul delights! 
I have put My Spirit upon Him; 
He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles. 

Mohammed brought justice to the gentiles (the Pagan Arabs at that time). He banned taking interest and the poor Arabs at that time were suffering from the interest inflicted upon them by the rich Arabs. Even once, a man whos money was taken away from him was asking around in Mecca for someone who could defend him and get him back his money which Abu Lahab took from him. The people told him that he should go see a guy named Mohammed. When he told the Prophet what had happened to him the Prophet immediately stormed to the hous of Abu Lahab and ordered him to give the man back his money and he did. Not only did he do that but also:

The Jews, in spite of their hostility to the Prophet (pbuh), were so impressed by his impartiallity and sense of justice that they used to bring their cases to him, and he decided them according to Jewish law. (Abu Dawud, Sunan Dawud) 


2 He will not cry out, nor raise His voice,
Nor cause His voice to be heard in the street. 


Abu Abdullah Al-Jadali reports that he asked Aishah about the Prophet’s manners. Her answer to him was: “He was never given to using vulgar language, and he would never deliberately do so. Nor would he raise his voice in the market place. He did not reply to a bad deed with a similarly bad one. Rather, he would forbear and forgive.” (Related by Ahmad, Al-Tirmidhi and Abu Dawood Al-Tayalisi)

Abdullah ibn Amr gives a similar report, stressing that the Prophet never used obscenities, whether by spontaneous reaction or deliberately. He then adds that the Prophet used to say: “Those of you who are best in manners are the best of you.” (Related by Al-Bukhai and Muslim)

3 A bruised reed He will not break, 
And smoking flax He will not quench; 
He will bring forth justice for truth. 
4 He will not fail nor be discouraged, 
Till He has established justice in the earth; 

Not only was Mohammed so persistent to establish Islam on earth and justice. He was even beaten severely and starved peace be upon him. For three years, almost all he had to eat were leaves and what would be snuck to him of meat from sympathizers. He was never discouraged. When beaten, and began to blead he would say:

During the Battle of Uhud, the Prophet’s incisor was broken, . His lower lip was ruptured, and he had a bleeding wound on his forehead. He was constantly drying up the blood to keep it from falling upon the ground, saying, “If any of this blood falls on the ground, Divine Punishment would descend upon them [the Quraysh].” The situation weighed on the Companions, and they implored, “Why do you not pray against them?” He replied, “I have not been sent to damn people. I have been sent as a caller and a mercy. O, God! Forgive my people for they know no better.”

When the Arab Pagans realized the threat Islam was turning into,they went to him and said that they will let him be King of the Arabian peninsula, give him all the money that he would be the richest Arab, and give him all the women he wants, all he had to do was stop calling people for Islam. What did he say? Did he hesitate?

"I sware by the name of Allah O uncle, that if they placed the sun in my right hand and the moon in my left, to force me to renounce my work, verily I would not desist thereform until Allah made manifest His cause, or I perished in the attempt." (Ibid) 



And the coastlands shall wait for His law.” 
The king of Yemmen at that time, converted to Islam secretely and was waiting for Islam to prevail.

5 Thus says God the LORD, 
Who created the heavens and stretched them out, 
Who spread forth the earth and that which comes from it, 
Who gives breath to the people on it, 
And spirit to those who walk on it: 
6 “ I, the LORD, have called You in righteousness, 
And will hold Your hand; 

We see this in Mohammeds trust in God. 

Abu Bakr was frightened when pursuers came close to the cavern in which he and Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) were hiding during their flight, but the Prophet (pbuh) heartened him, 

"Grieve not. Allah is with us." 

A guard was kept at the Prophet's house in Madinah because of the danger that surrounded him but he had it withdrawn when the Quranic verse was revealed: 

"Allah will protect you from the people" (translation of Qur'an 5:67). 


I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, 
As a light to the Gentiles, 
7 To open blind eyes, 

Any person who has the slightest idea of Islamic history knows that Mohammed did this in an undoubtful unquestionable way. The Arabs were desert nomads, the Persians passed them and didnt even bother conquering them. The Romans didnt bother conquering them also, they didnt even bother converting them to Christianity! They were in great darkness. They would go to war for the st**idest reason. One war lasted for fourty years, over what? Over a donkey. Can you imagine! Mohammed transfered this nation in less then 20 years to a nation that 100 years after his death would conquer half of the world and lead the world into the world of sciences and math.


To bring out prisoners from the prison, 
Those who sit in darkness from the prison house. 

Obviously the Arab Pagans who worshiped more than 300 Gods were prisoners of there sins and ignorance. But also, if we take the verse in a literal aspect, we find that it also fits Mohammed!

Abu Aziz, a witness who was a polytheist and POW during the Battle of Badr narrates, "They (the Muslims) ate bread and dates, and they would divide their food with me. They would prefer me to themselves, giving me the dates and eating the bread. I would return the dates to them, out of embarrasment of their actions, but they would insist that I eat them. 

And Mohammed freed hundreds of prisoners. Almost all prisoners that were taken.


So metaphorically it fits him and literally it also fits him.


8 I am the LORD, that is My name; 
And My glory I will not give to another, 
Nor My praise to carved images. 
9 Behold, the former things have come to pass, 
And new things I declare; 
Before they spring forth I tell you of them.” 

10 Sing to the LORD a new song, 
And His praise from the ends of the earth, 
You who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, 
You coastlands and you inhabitants of them!


Here we see that the Lord is going to sing a new song, meaning a new language, what else other than Arabic? Why song? Listen to someone reciting the Quran and you will know exactly why. You see, the Quran was a verbal revelation, it was no inspirational revelation like the Holly Bible. More explicitly, prophesies Isaiah "For with stammering lips, and another tongue, will he speak to this people" (Isaiah 28:11). This latter verse correctly describes the "stammering lips" of Prophet Muhammad reflecting the state of tension and concentration he went through at the time of revelation. Another related point is that the Qur'an was revealed in piece-meals over a span of twenty three years. It is interesting to compare this with Isaiah 28:10 whichspeaks of the same thing.


11 Let the wilderness and its cities lift up their voice,
The villages that Kedar inhabits. 


Who is Kedar? Kedar is Ishmaels son. Where did he inhabit? Arabia, specifcally Mecca. And the Muslims lifted up their voices in Mecca when it was finally surrendered to them and they performed the Adhan or the Muslim prayer call from the highest peaks of Mecca.


Let the inhabitants of Sela sing, 
Let them shout from the top of the mountains. 
12 Let them give glory to the LORD, 



The word Sela, can also mean rock. And if you observe the ritual of Muslims (especially during Hajj), you will see that cities (Makkah and Al-Madinah) lift up their voices and people shout and glorify Allah from top of mountains, especially Mt. Arafa. The rock is the rock that God sent to Adam from heaven, and it is located at the side of Kaba. As you know Muslim people make 7 tours around Kaba and kiss this rock while glorifying the Lord. 


And declare His praise in the coastlands. 
13 The LORD shall go forth like a mighty man; 
He shall stir up His zeal like a man of war. 
He shall cry out, yes, shout aloud; 
He shall prevail against His enemies. 


As we all know Mohammed prevailed against his enemies.



14 “ I have held My peace a long time, 
I have been still and restrained Myself. 
Now I will cry like a woman in labor, 
I will pant and gasp at once. 
15 I will lay waste the mountains and hills, 
And dry up all their vegetation; 
I will make the rivers coastlands, 
And I will dry up the pools. 


Here God is talking about the deserts of Arabia. Mountains and hills of sand are not steady, they diminish with winds and others appear. We have also come to know that thousands of years ago, rivers did exist in Arabia, but now they dont.


16 I will bring the blind by a way they did not know; 
I will lead them in paths they have not known. 
I will make darkness light before them, 
And crooked places straight. 
These things I will do for them, 
And not forsake them. 


As said above. God will make darkness light for them (the gentiles, the Arab pagans). They never had a prophet sent to them. They were lost. They used to kill baby girls, drink alcohol, gamble, they were drowning in ignorance.
After Islam they engtered the world of sciences, maths, etc and they made the worlds greatest civilisation.


17 They shall be turned back, 
They shall be greatly ashamed, 
Who trust in carved images, 
Who say to the molded images, 

‘ You are our gods.’ 


Who else is this other than the Pagan Arabs who worshiped idols and used to say to them "you are our gods"! And they were turned back every time they tried invading Mohammed and they were defeated and were shamed in front of all the Arabs (the Quraish tribe). A great example of this is the battle of Badr which was the first battle between the Pagans and the Muslims. The pagans were thousands and the Muslims were almost 300 give or take and the Muslims defeated the Pagans! Can you imagine the shame one would endure if he has an army of thousands being defeated by 300? I dont have to describe it, its common sence. And they were shamed. They thought that now all the Arabs would mock them and there bussiness would be ruined. It was the first time in the history of the Quraysh tribe that they were defeated.

Listen to what the Roman Emperor Heraclius says in a conversation with Abu Sufian (the leader of the Arab Pagans who fought and hated Mohammed) keep in mind Heraclius was a Christian:

"Heraclius called them in the court and he had all the senior Roman dignitaries around him. He called for his translator who, translating Heraclius’ question said to them, “Who amongst you is closely related to that man who claims to be a Prophet?” Abu Sufyan replied, “I am the nearest relative (amongst the group) to him.” 


Heraclius said, “Bring him (Abu Sufyan) close to me and make his companions stay behind him.” Abu Sufyan added, “Heraclius told his translator to tell my companions that he wanted to put some questions to me regarding that man (The Prophet) and that if I told a lie they (my companions) should contradict me.” Abu Sufyan added, “By Allah! Had I not been afraid of my companions labeling me a liar, I would not have spoken the truth about the Prophet. 


The first question Heraclius asked me about was: “What is his family status among you?” I replied, “He belongs to a good (noble) family amongst us.” Heraclius further asked, “Has anybody else amongst you ever claimed the same (i.e., to be a Prophet) before him?” I replied, “No.” He said, “Was anybody amongst his ancestors a king?” I replied, “No.” Heraclius asked, “Do the nobles or the poor follow him?” I replied, “It is the poor who follow him.” He said, “Are his followers increasing or decreasing (day by day)?” I replied, “They are increasing.” He then asked, “Does anybody amongst those who embrace his religion become displeased and renounce the religion afterwards?” I replied, “No.” Heraclius said, “Have you ever accused him of telling lies before his claim (to be a Prophet)? I replied, “No.” Heraclius said, “Does he break his promises?” I replied, “No. We are in a truce with him but we do not know what he will do in it.” I could not find opportunity to say anything against him except that. Heraclius asked, “Have you ever had a war with him?” I replied, “Yes.” Then he said, “What were the outcome of the battles?” I replied, “Sometimes he was victorious and sometimes we.” Heraclius said, “What does he order you to do?” I said, “He tells us to worship Allah and Allah alone and not to worship anything along with Him, and to renounce all that our ancestors had said. He orders us to pray, to be chaste and to keep good relations with our kith and kin.”


After this conversation it is reported that Heraclius said: 


“I asked you about his family and your reply was that he belonged to a very noble family. In fact, all the Apostles come from noble families amongst their respective peoples. I questioned you whether anybody amongst you ever claimed such a thing, your reply was in the negative. If your reply had been in the affirmative, I would have thought that this man was following the previous man’s statement. Then I asked you whether anyone of his ancestors was a king. Your reply was in the negative, and if it had been in the affirmative, I would have thought that this man wanted to take back his ancestral kingdom. I further asked whether he was ever accused of telling lies before he said what he said, and your reply was in the negative. So I wondered how a person who does not tell a lie about others could ever tell a lie about God. I then asked you whether the rich people followed him or the poor. You replied that it was the poor who followed him. And in fact all the Apostles have been followed by the poor in the beginning. Then I asked you whether his followers were increasing or decreasing. You replied that they were increasing, and in fact this is the way of true faith, till it is complete in all respects. I further asked whether there was anybody, who, after embracing his religion, became displeased and discarded his religion. Your reply was in the negative, and in fact this is (the sign of) true faith, when its light enters the hearts and mixes with them completely. I asked you whether he had ever betrayed. You replied in the negative and likewise Apostles never betray. Then I asked you what he ordered you to do. You replied that he ordered you to worship Allah and Allah alone and not to worship anything along with Him and forbade you to worship idols and ordered you to pray, to speak truth and to be chaste.


If what you have said is true, he will very soon occupy this place underneath my feet and I knew it (from the scriptures) that he was going to appear but I did not know that he would be from you, and if I could reach him definitely, I would go immediately to meet him and if I were with him, I would certainly wash his feet.” "


In end, please tell me, if Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him)was no prophet how could he have reacted this way when:

Anas ibn Malik, the Prophet’s servant reports: “I was once walking with God’s Messenger, and he was wearing a thick robe made in Najran which had rough edges. A Bedouin caught up with him and strongly pulled him by his robe. I could see the side of the Prophet’s neck with a clear mark made by the edge of his robe as a result of the Bedouin’s pull. He then said to him: ‘Muhammad! Give an order for me to be given something of the money God has given you.’ The Prophet turned to him, smiled and gave instructions for a payment to be made to him.” (Related by Al-Bukhari, Muslim, Ahmad and Al-Baghawi).

In conclusion, I quote George Barnardshaw when speaking about Mohammed:

"He must be called the Savior of Humanity. I believe that if a man like him were to assume the dictatorship of the modern world, he would succeed in solving its problems in a way that would bring it much needed peace and happiness."
GEORGE BERNARD SHAW, The Genuine Islam, Singapore, Vol. 1, No. 8, 1936

This is all taken from:http://www.turntoislam.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-5941.html

Hadith on Genetics Dominance

There is an excellent analysis of genetics hadiths that I found elsewhere and I confirmed with a hadith scholar who agreed with it. The word "dominant" (and similar meanings), is precisely the word used by geneticists.


The main point to notice, is that the correct translation of the hadith is that the Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) said
"...When they get together, if the semen of the man is dominant over the semen of the woman, the child is male, by the permission of Allah, and if the semen of the woman is dominant over the semen of the woman, the child is a female by the permission of Allah."

Hadeeths touched the topic under discussion:
1-- وَإِذَا سَبَقَ مَاءُ الرَّجُلِ مَاءَ الْمَرْأَةِ نَزَعَ الْوَلَدَ، وَإِذَا سَبَقَ مَاءُ الْمَرْأَةِ نَزَعَتْ
http://sunnah.com/urn/41620
This talks about the resemblance due to father/mother.

 2- وَأَمَّا الشَّبَهُ فِي الْوَلَدِ فَإِنَّ الرَّجُلَ إِذَا غَشِيَ الْمَرْأَةَ فَسَبَقَهَا مَاؤُهُ كَانَ الشَّبَهُ لَهُ، وَإِذَا سَبَقَ مَاؤُهَا كَانَ الشَّبَهُ لَهَا ‏"
http://sunnah.com/urn/31100

3-  وَهَلْ يَكُونُ الشَّبَهُ إِلاَّ مِنْ قِبَلِ ذَلِكِ إِذَا عَلاَ مَاؤُهَا مَاءَ الرَّجُلِ أَشْبَهَ الْوَلَدُ أَخْوَالَهُ وَإِذَا عَلاَ مَاءُ الرَّجُلِ مَاءَهَا أَشْبَهَ أَعْمَامَهُ ‏ ‏
http://sunnah.com/muslim/4#37

In the first 2 hadeeths the word is "Sabaqa" سبق which means
1- precede -outrun.
2- win - defeat - overpower (which also means to "dominate").
In the third hadeeth the word is "alaa" علا which means:
overpower/take over/be superior (which also means to "dominate")..
e.g:
http://corpus.quran.com/wordmorphology.jsp?location=%2823:91:17%29
Translation:
the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said: "Let her ask, for i resemblance happens because of it. when her water/discharge is dominant, the born child resembles his maternal family but if water/discharge of the man was dominant, the born child should resemble his paternal family."

The content of this narration is reported in other narrations as well and despite the slight difference of words, all narrations include the highlighted words.
They key words of this hadeeth are:
a- water [i.e. liquid] of women
b-water of men(semen)
c- dominance
d- resemblance
The topic of this hadeeth is about resemblance.

This narration goes along with the genetic science that resemblance of children is explained through the theory of dominance where only superior genes appear on the child. [This can be one of the interpretations and understanding...]
Water/discharge of women !

One major point that may cause all this confusion about this hadeeth and hence some people find it problemtic is because they tend to immeditaly understand the word "water of women" to mean ejaculated fluid that happens due to intimicay or arousing.

If we pay attention to the words used in this hadeeth we will find outstanding findings i.e. He صلى الله عليه وسلم used the word "water" in reference to the liquid of women and he did not specify it any further.
Well, there is no one better to explain one narration except the one who said it.

For this reason, let's know first what the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم meant with "water of women" since he did not specify it. Well, true that he did not specify it but he actually described it when he said in another narration " the water" of women is yellow and thin. So, what is that fluid that has such description?Simple, it is known that ejaculated discharges due to arousing or intimiacy are white.

The only liquid that is yellow is actually called "Follicuar Fluid" that is discharged at ovulation without being related to copulation or being aroused and it is directly related to preganacy. It comes out with a thin layer called follicle of which inside there is a small egg that supposed to combine with the men sperm during fertilization in order for a child to be created.

Finally, I would like you to understand that these narrations came in response to questions about why? and not to answer a question of how? In other words neither the questioner nor answerer [i.e. the Prophet] intended to explain the howness of this process. Rather, he wanted to explain why children sometimes resemble their fathers and some other times resemble their mothers.

This is proven and well explained in the other hadeeth when the Prophet clearly state that resemblence is a pure genetic when a woman delivered a black boy and the man doubted that his wife may have slept with another man as none of the family was black. When he explained it to the man he told him that a genetics of great grandfather may effect grand children. From this you know that it is obvious that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) acknowledged that determining the howness was left for us to discover but the hadeeth only provided us with the key, which is the answer to why this happen.
Allah knows the best !

"The Main Principles:
a- Quran and Sunnah must be understood according to Arabic langauge after gathering all narrations together as one narration may explain another.
b- In case a hadeeth or an Ayah is proven authentic then we find it contradicting a fact or a sensible event that is agreed on, we reconsider our understanding of the text because an authentic text cannot contradict a fact or agreed on truth.
Scientific Facts:
a. The egg is always the carrier of the X chromosome (X).
b. The spermcell of a man is the carrier of X and Y chromosomes. [i.e. It carries man and women chromosome].
c. a. Determining the gender of children depends solely on the chromosome of the spermcell of the man.
d. The combination of the "X" chromosome of the woman with the chromosome "Y" of the man creates a boy(xy). However, if the "X" chromosome of the woman combine with the chromosome "X" of the man creates a girl (xx).
e. "Y" is manly while X is womanly.

The other hadeeth
" ماء الرجل أبيض وماء المرأة أصفر . فإذا اجتمعا، فعلا مني الرجل مني المرأة ، أذكرا بإذن الله . وإذا علا مني المرأة مني الرجل ، آنثا بإذن الله
قَالَ الْيَهُودِيُّ لَقَدْ صَدَقْتَ وَإِنَّكَ لَنَبِيٌّ ثُمَّ انْصَرَفَ فَذَهَبَ ‏.‏ فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏"‏ لَقَدْ سَأَلَنِي هَذَا عَنِ الَّذِي سَأَلَنِي عَنْهُ وَمَا لِي عِلْمٌ بِشَىْءٍ مِنْهُ حَتَّى أَتَانِيَ اللَّهُ بِهِ ‏"‏ 
http://sunnah.com/muslim/4#38

The True Translation:
The Prophet said "The water of the man is white and the water of the woman is yellow. When they get together, if the semen of the man is dominant over the semen of the woman, the child is male, by the permission of Allah, and if the semen of the woman is dominant over (the link above translates it as "prevails", which means the same as "dominating", see http://thesaurus.com/browse/dominate?s=t) the semen of the woman, the child is a female by the permission of Allah.
The Jew said: What you have said is true; verily you are an Apostle. He then returned and went away. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: He asked me about such and such things of which I have had no knowledge till Allah gave me that."

Study of the Hadeeth:
a. As we know that women has no role in deciding the gender of the child when fertilization takes place and the text appears to state something that seem to contradict this fact, we need to resort to laid down principles in order to guideline our understanding. This principle state that in such case, we reconsider our understanding to the texts. How? I will explain it in the following point.

b. It is important to pay attention to the used words in the hadeeth. The key words we would like to highlight (I will translate the words of the text litterally to explain it further).
Notes:
a- The word above here means "dominant"/"dominates" as this is one of the known meaning of the word "above" ('Ala) and has been used in Quran to mean "dominant and controlled".

b. The first half of the hadeeth referred to the man and woman liquids as "water" while in the second half he became more specific as referred to it as "semen".

c. We already know that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم mentioned in other hadeeths that the "water" of women is involved in process of fertilization. Then we realized that this water has a description that does not befit ejaculated fuilds since ejaculated fluids are white in color whereas he described the color as yellow and thin.

d. The sound understanding of this text is that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم was referring in this hadeeth to the male and female chromosome of the spermcell of the man (X as the female chromosome and Y as the male chromosome). Based on this, the Prophet meant that when the male factor is dominant then it is a boy but when the female factor is domionant then it is a girl. This is what science states and this is the sound understanding that one should have beacuse the text can be understood in various ways and we know that authentic texts must be in agreement with agreed on facts.

e- He didn't know about that except what Allah told him.
what may be the cause of misunderstanding is that it is because when people "understood" it, they assumed that the word "semen " used in this hadeeth refer to man and woman' water mentioned earlier while as a matter of fact, he صلى الله عليه وسلم was referring to the semen of the man only which is always a carrier of male and female chromosomes. This is supported by the fact that the word "semen" is always exclusively for men while women liquid is always called water only.

In short, it seems according to the words and structure of what was stated, that the issue of "dominance" is purely in targeting the dominance of x chromosome (female) and y chromosomes (male), particularly because women are scientifically not classified as having "sperm"
And Allah knows the best !

Prophetic Cloak and Experts- Turkey

 
Sheikh Hamza Yusuf in the 2012 Rihla spoke about miracle of burda/cloak (which was worn by the Prophet in his isra wa l-miraj -heavenly journey) of Prophet in Turkey. He mentioned where some cloth experts studied the burda/cloak of the Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) and were shocked and concluded that it must be from heaven and that they've never seen anything like it.

See al Jazeera's video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJea_q2l25A&feature=player_embedded
 
The video is displaying a miracle, listen to it near the end. The Burda al-Nabi  was in a box alongside the Turban of Sayyiduna Uways al-Qarani, however the scientists and experts examining the two pieces found that the Burda al-Nabi  was free from any Bacteria, whilst the Turban did have some. This shocked the experts as both pieces were in the same box. 

This burdah is held in Hirka-e-Serif Camii. It is available for viewing in the month of Ramadaan only - and only after Zuhr for men (the times i went), thereafter for women. Google this name and you will see images of the Burdah (or hirka in Farsi) in a square-ish glass box.

Over the years, more and more immoral attire was being worn in front of these Holy Relics. The Curator and Director of the Topkapi Palace Museum decided that it was best only to show a few - so they re-did the whole section and put things in glass reliquaries to the side of the walls, whilst previously the area was bustling and bulging with artifacts. 

The Yogi and the Sheikh

A yogi tried to convert sheikh Safi ad-din Gazaruni and told the sheikh 'come, show me your superiority!'. But the sheikh retorted 'you show me your superiority, since you're trying to convert me'.
So the yogi soared from the ground into the air, till his head touched the ceiling. Then he turned to the sheikh and said 'now you show me your superiority'
Then the sheikh turned his face to the sky and said 'O Allah, you have given this superiority to a stranger. Grant me some miracle of like quality'.
After that, the sheikh soared from his place and flew toward the qibla (to Makkah), then north, and then reversing himself, flew to the south, finally landing in his original place. Then he sat down.
The yogi was awestruck. Placing his head at the feet of the sheikh, he said 'I cannot display such power. I can only go straight up from the ground and come back down. I can't turn in mid-air and fly to the righr or the left, but you can turn in whatever direction you wish. This is Allah's work. It is divinely inspired. What I do is both false and futile' (source Fawaid of Nizam ad-din Awliya)

Qur'an and the Big Bang

Some Muslims have been arguing that its uneducated people who don't know the Qur'an or Islam properly, and thus incorrectly say that the Qur'an mentions something similar to the big bang.

Let's see the Qur'an (Chapter 21, verse 30) "Do not the Unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were joined together (as one unit of creation), before we clove them asunder? We made from water every living thing. Will they not then believe?"


"Then He turned to the heavens when it was smoke.."
[Noble Quran 41:11]

Sheikh Hamza Yusuf mentioned that the word "smoke" was the best word as the Arabs didn't have a concept of gas at the time of the Qur'an, and the most encompassing Arabic word for gas was "smoke", and that can be used to refer to the "from the Big Bang about 13.7 billion years ago, which created a hot, dense gas of elementary particles" (http://www.learner.org/courses/physics/unit/text.html?unit=4&secNum=7)

Apart from a number of well read and qualified scholars (like Sheikh Abdullah Hamid Ali) saying that the Qur'an talks about something similar to the big bang (we can't say it exactly talks about the big bang, since the details of the big bang theory, and even the big bang theory can change. Yet the basics of what the big bang shows, corresponds with the Qur'anic description of the creation of the universe), the GREAT scholar and Wali, Sheikh Ahmed al Alawi (in A'dhab al-Manahil, p. 33.) believed that 21:30 referred to something like the Big Bang, and predicted that it would be discovered by 'those who disbelieve' to whom the verse is addressed. 

And indeed it is the non-Muslims who first scientifically proved the big bang theory.

Although the Qur'an is not a book of science, we naturally expect that it would speak about the creation of Allah swt, and thus you see similarities with some scientific facts and theories.

Allahu A'lem.

Prophet Hadith predicted tv/internet?

The Prophet Muhammed (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) predicted the internet/television phenomena?
The Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) said (by meaning): "The end of time will not come until someone will tell a lie and it will immediately reach the horizons of the Earth" 

Mentioned by Sheikh Hamza Yusuf source:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0CRY47y3dg&feature=relmfu

Obviously you need technology to do such things, and such technology was not available before (except through a miracle). Note that it talks about reaching the "horizons of the Earth" and "immediately". This is done by the Internet and television, hence the "world wide web" (www). The satellite covers the whole world. Imagine how can anyone predict such a thing 1500 years ago, especially in a desert Arab society?

Allahu A'lem

Madinah at End of Times

The Prophet said: "The Day of Deliverance! What is the Day of Deliverance?" They said, "O Messenger of Allah, what is the Day of Deliverance?" He said: "The Dajjal will come and look at Madina and will say to his companions, 'Do you see this white palace? This is the Mosque of Ahmad" (Ahmad and Hakim)
Just look at how the Masjid Nabawi (of the Prophet) looks like now and how true was the Prophet Muhammed (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) in the hadith about the Mosque looking like a white palace:

Prophet on Planes hadith

Imagine if you were 1500 years ago, in desert, with very little technology and science. Would you then be able to describe planes with much detail? Would you even be able to make predictions that humans would make flying machines? You would probably would say "no", since there was no automotive technology or engines, or any transport like it. People for 1 million years were using horses, boats and other animals to travel. Then how is it possible that an unlettered man (couldn't read or write) was able to stand in a desert and describe future technology in great detail. For 1 million years, the form of transportation was limited to horses, other animals and boats. Through divine inspirations the Prophet SAW was able to describe planes in detail (and its not like the stuff you'd think when seeing a bird by saying "oh my flying machine would have feathered wings, and a birdy nose, for air resistance). 

Hadiths (sayings) of the Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) were very accurate in predicting many things in the future, including planes (Sheikh Hamza Yusuf mentioned that one hadith spoke about the Dajjal riding a "donkey made of iron". This though iron wasn't used for vehicles at the time). 

The Prophet said:

"The Dajjāl uses a special kind of donkey possessing two enormous ears, each of which is at least 30 arms-lengths, moving in the skies, with the clouds so near he can reach them with his hand and it travels faster than the sun going to its sunset." (Mentioned in Kanz ul-`Ummal and `Uqd ad-Durrar, Imam al-Maqdisi.)



Another hadith mentioned that the Dajjāl’s donkey moves with a very high speed over land, oceans and skies. Its color is very white like the moon. Between one step and another is like the walking of a day and a night. (in Fayd al Qadir, al Manawi) 


These are clear descriptions of an airplane where the ears are the wings and the color described, aqmar, means pearly like the moon – the color of many aircraft today.

The part about eating rocks, maybe a reference to modern day exploration & extraction of oil (oil can come from rocks too http://www.fossil.energy.gov/education/energylessons/oil/oil2.html) and other energy resources. The part about fire emerging, can refer to jet planes, especially fighter jets that emit fire (jet engines burn fuel) and smoke from the opening at the back (see below).

Allah swt knows what size the planes in the future will be. Perhaps with the running out of oil, they may even use other "rocks" as fuel, maybe uranium. Technology changes over time

So these are all, some of the proofs of the truth of Islam, all praise be to Allah swt!
Source:http://eshaykh.com/hadith/dajjal-and-his-donkey/

1)  source is Hakim,

Shaytan will assault them

‎"The shaytan said "Then will I assault them from before them and behind them, from their right and their left; nor wilt Thou find, in most of them, gratitude" (7:17). Commenting on this, Sheikh Abul Abbas al Mursi said "He (shaytan) did not say that he would assault believers from above or below them; after all, above them is belief in Tawhid, and below them is surrender to Allah , and shaytan can neither approach Tawhid, nor his surrender to Allah"" (From "Subtle blessings" by Ibn Ata Illah)

Sayyidina Ibrahim and the bird

It is said (don't know source or authenticity) there once was a little bird who lived in the time of Prophet Ibrahim AS. When Prophet Ibrahim AS was put in the fire by the villagers, a little bird saw what happened and decided to put out the fire to help Prophet Ibrahim AS. The bird scooped up water from the river but it was not enough because the bird's beak was small. Larger birds in the vicinity watched and laughed at the little bird and they said " Why are you carrying the water? "
The little bird said " To put out the fire around Prophet Ibrahim AS "
The larger birds continue laughing. "How could you put out that fire with such a small amount of water? It is pointless"

Do you know what the little bird replied?

"I am sure Allah will not asked me whether I manage to put out the fire or not.But Allah will ask what have I done to stop the fire"

Hearing the answer, all the larger birds are silented.

Hijab Unveiled

Excellent free book on the Hijab and its misconceptions by Imam Afroz Ali:

http://seekersguidance.org/blog/2012/06/unveiling-hijab-free-ebook-by-imam-afroz-ali/

The Criteria of Enjoining Good and Forbidding Evil

Question: When should one be vague to avoid disputes (when one disagrees with the other person, but doesn’t say something negative in response) versus not supporting or even correcting incorrect Islamic beliefs. How does one know to choose one over the other?

Answer: Assalamu alaikum warahmatullah,

I pray this finds you in the best of health states.

This returns to the issue of enjoining the good and forbidding evil, which is a communal obligation (fard kifaya) and an essential duty in Islam. Based on the criteria outlined below, if the conditions of enjoining the good and forbidding evil are met, one must do so. Otherwise, one can be vague so as to avoid disputation of no benefit.

The Obligation and Importance

Allah Most High states, “And let there be amongst you a group inviting to virtue, commanding the good and forbidding evil—those indeed are the successful ones” (3:104).

And our Master Hudhayfa (Allah be pleased with him) relates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “By the One in Whose hand is my soul, you must certainly command the good and forbid evil, or else a punishment from Him would soon be sent upon you, after which you would call upon Him yet your supplication (dua) would not be answered.” [Tirmidhi]

Other narrations state that the punishment for abandoning this obligation is sweeping and general, afflicting both the righteous and the corrupt. Ibn Allan comments that the punishment can manifest as “the tyranny of leaders, the dominion of enemies, and other forms of tribulation.” [Dalil al-Falihin Sharh Riyad al-Salihin]

Ya Latif - how unfortunately accurate for our times! And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) swore by Allah when conveying this, and said that supplication itself is unanswered until the community returns to enjoining the good.

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) also described that when the people of knowledge in previous communities stopped condemning the evils of their societies and kept on socializing with evildoers despite the wrongs, Allah turned the hearts of the community against one another and cursed them upon the tongue of their prophets (peace and blessings be upon them). [Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi]

And to get annoyed when corrected is itself a major sin. Our Master Ibn Masud (Allah be pleased with him) said, “Verily among the greatest of sins in the sight of Allah is for a person to be told, ‘Fear Allah,’ to which he responds, ‘Mind your own business!’” [Sunan Nasa'i]

Conditions of Incumbency

While it is a communal obligation, commanding the good and forbidding evil is incumbentonly if the following conditions are met:

(1) Sound knowledge and understanding of the issue one is exhorting to. Scholars mention that anyone who takes up this obligation must know the different schools of thought on the issue at hand, such that his enjoining and forbidding only takes place with evils that are evil by scholarly consensus. This relates to clear matters that are generally known by the Muslims.

With respect to matters on which there is scholarly disagreement, although they cannot be forbidden per se, one can still offer counsel and advice (nasiha), which is often needed as certain positions are not appropriate or applicable in all circumstances.

(2) Gentleness and wisdom in one’s enjoining or forbidding. The sunna is to exhort in a manner that is general and discreet, so as to protect the feelings of the other party as much as possible. My teacher, for example, told me that if I am ever in a situation where someone else falls into backbiting, I should simply say, “Allah has prohibited us from backbiting.”

If, however, one crosses the limits or is excessive in their condemnation, the good they perform is less than their own evil.

(3) Clemency and steadfastness in the face of any difficulty one may encounter.

(4) That one feels reasonably sure that the other party will take heed and listen.That is, a condition of incumbency is that benefit is likely or expected. This condition (reasonable surety of benefit) is the opinion of Imam Bajuri, Imam Qarafi, Imam Haskafi, Allama Ibn Abidin and others.

Otherwise if one does not think they will listen, enjoining the good is recommended if there is a chance of benefit yet one is unsure. If benefit is unlikely, enjoining the good is permissible yet possibly disliked. And if one is certain that there would be no benefit, enjoining the good could be impermissible, as it might entail frivolous and useless speech and might worsen the situation (see condition 5 below).

The upshot is that one must consider the likely benefit of one’s exhortation, and if benefit is unlikely, then silence might prove more beneficial. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should say the good or remain silent.” [Bukhari and Muslim]

If one does not enjoin the good or forbid evil, then one must try to change the subject so as to end the unlawful talk; if this is not possible, one must get up and leave.

(5) That one’s advice not lead to greater harm or worsen the situation, such as leading to more sin, more unlawful talk, or the other party’s outright disdain for the religion. In such cases it would be better — or at times obligatory — to remain silent, so as to choose the less harmful of two matters. Of course, one must still hate the wrong in one’s heart.

(6) Sound intention, which is to desire nothing except that the word of Allah Most High reign supreme. This is essential and often neglected, as many people exhort others in religious matters for the sake of their own egos or out of animosity towards the other party.

One’s motivation to correct others should also be out of sincere love and care for one’s brethren. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) taught us that the basis of the entire religion is sincere and genuine concern for others (al-Din al-nasiha), and he also said, “None of you truly believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself.” [Bukhari, Muslim]

In fact, in his renowned hadith collection Riyad al-Salihin, Imam Nawawi placed the chapter on “Enjoining the Good and Forbidding Evil” immediately after the chapter on “Sincere and Genuine Concern”.

As Imam Nahlawi states, “To conclude, there is a major catastrophe that one must be careful to avoid, namely: for the person of knowledge, when enjoining something, to perceive his own dignity due to his knowledge, and the other’s lowliness due to their ignorance. If this is one’s motivation, then this evil is itself much more vile than the evil he is forbidding. Truly, no one is safe from the plotting of Satan except one to whom Allah shows his own faults, and whose insight Allah opens by the light of true guidance.”

[Nahlawi, Durar Mubaha; Khadimi, Nabulsi/Birgivi, Shuruh al-Tariqa al-Muhammadiyya; Bajuri, Tuhfat al-Murid Sharh Jawharat al-Tawhid; Ibn Abidin/Haskafi, Radd al-Muhtar ala Durr al-Mukhtar]

And Allah knows best.
wassalam
Faraz A. Khan

Taken from: http://seekersguidance.org/ans-blog/2012/06/20/the-criteria-of-enjoining-good-and-forbidding-evil/

Isra and Mi'raj Sheikh Said Nursi

Following is an excerpt from The Rays by Bediüzzaman Said Nursi (1878-1960), from The Risale-e-Nur collection:

The blessed phrases of the tashahhud were in fact a conversation between God Almighty and His Messenger on the night of the Messenger's Ascension (al-Mi'raj). What, then, is the reason for their inclusion in the canonical Prayer?

 THE ANSWER: The five daily Prayers are a sort of "ascension" for every believer who performs them. Therefore, the words to be uttered in the tashahhudmust be those spoken during the supreme Ascension of Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings. Reciting them allows us to bring into mind this sacred conversation between God and His Messenger. Through this remembrance or recollection, the meanings of those blessed words gain universality and, as such, are no longer restricted to the intellectual or spiritual level of a believer. Their sacred, comprehensive meanings may thus be conceived, and through this conception their value and light are enhanced and expanded.

For example, in order to greet Almighty God on that blessed night, the noblest Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, said: at-Tahiyyatu li'llah. This means: "O my Lord! All the glorifications made by the living beings, and all the gifts they present to their Maker, through their lives are Yours alone. By visualizing them and though my belief, I too offer them to You."

With the word at-tahiyyat, God's noblest Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, was referring to all the worship that living creatures perform through their lives; he then offered this to God. Similarly, by the word al-mubarakat, which is the summation of at-tahiyyat, he meant the blessedness, abundance and worship of the creatures, and in particular those of seeds, grains, and eggs, which are the means of blessings and abundance and which cause one to exclaim: "How great are God's blessings!" And through the word as-salawat he visualized all the particular forms of worship performed by beings endowed with spirit and who are the summation of living beings, and offered them to the Divine Court with that comprehensive meaning. Finally, through the word at-tayyibat, he meant the luminous, elevated worship of perfected human beings and the angels closest in proximity to God, who are the summaries of the beings endowed with spirit; he offered this to the One he worshipped.

On that night, God Almighty said: "Peace be upon you, O (most illustrious) Prophet!" This was an indirect command and an indication that in the future, hundreds of millions of people would say at least ten times a day: "Peace be upon you, O (most illustrious) Prophet!" This Divine greeting gave these words of salutation an extensive light and a most elevated meaning.

The noblest Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, responded to this greeting by saying: "Peace be upon us and upon all righteous servants of God!" This meant that the Messenger was hopefully and imploringly asking his Creator that in the future his vast Community and its righteous members would be favored with Islam in a way to represent Divine peace and blessings, and that those in his Community would greet one another with the words: "Peace be upon you!" "And upon you be peace!," which is a universal mark of Islam among the believers.

The Archangel Gabriel, upon him be peace, who was party to the conversation, at God's command said on that night: "I bear witness that there is no deity but God and I bear witness that Muhammad is God's Messenger." This gave the glad tidings that all of the Community of Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, would testify in the same way until the Last Day.

Through recalling this sacred conversation during the seated sections of every canonical Prayer, the meanings of its words become filled with light and gain comprehensiveness.