Couple of questions

CHRYSALIS:

Aye, the one thing I've grasped for a habit after joining here is to fire the Wall-Of-Text-lasers  Most of the points are pretty explanatory I guess.

*Gets himself ready on Elijah's next question*

elijah-boy wrote: OK, seems like a lot to digest. I'l dedicate some time to it. For now quick question:   How quran defines the word oppression?

You're on the right track, that's where you need to look into for what Islam actually is

OK, seems like a lot to digest. I'l dedicate some time to it. For now quick question:

Edited by elijah-boy - 18 June 2010 at 10:35pm

elijah-boy wrote: :TO CHRYSALIS ---- That is reasonable. It is basically saying "If you're uncomfortable with the laws of the country you're living in, consider living somewhere else where you can live the life you see as a best fit for yourself. PLEASE point me to: a. lines in quran that say so b. if not found in quran please specify where this information comes from. c. If "a" is not an option but "b" is I would appreciate if you (or somebody else) can guarantee that quran dosen't say otherwise - that infidels should be considered as enemy, their laws should not be respected, and basically they should be killed.

So lets approach this one issue at a time. InshAllah everything you ask has a legitimate and valid reasoning behind it, some of the information you have is out-of-context, other is simply not true, but well like I said you cannot be blamed for it. I appreciate that you are trying to get your information straight from the source and trying to keep an open mind. I can only help with the issues I have read about or can research, so I may not be able to help you with all of your questions. However I hope that you still keep an open mind about the questions we cannot help you with.

I hope that Ace has inshAllah helped you with "Point c" by posting the Qur'anic verses that talk about the sanctity of human life. If there are still some things you wish to be clarified, pl post those.



First of all its important to relay that most (if not all) of Islamic injunctions and laws are based on the "utilitarian principle" i.e. maxiumum possible benefit for the maximum number of people. For that reason, Islamic Law attempts to protect the society and ensure that there is peace and stability in the society. Islam does not only aim for benefit for the 'muslim' but humanity as a whole.

This is why Muslims are encouraged to be productive elements of a society and encouraged to work with society rather than against it. This includes a non-Muslim society which a Muslim may be a part of. UNLESS of course there is tyranny and injustice being meted by the society or government. In that case it becomes a religious duty of Muslims to either

1) act against it physically (do something about it)

If a Muslim is unable to do 1), they are supposed to:

2) act against it verbally (voice out their protest and make it known that they do not condone those acts and are thus not part of it)

If a Muslim is afraid to do 2) then they are at the least supposed to:

3) Detest the act within their heart

and according to Prophet Muhammad, (3) is the weakest level of Faith i.e. Imaan. But even if the Muslim cannot do 1 & 2 due to fear, circumstances etc (weakness of faith) that is the least they can do. This is based on a Hadith i.e. saying of Prophet Muhammad. Islam considers Hadith to be an authentic part of Islamic Law.

I mentioned the above points because I had to of course point out an exception when Muslims may have to go against society or break the law of the land. (for the greater good ofcourse) FYI, the above applies to both Muslim & nonmuslim societies.

In all other cases, Muslims obey the law of the land. Copy-Pasting here:

The Covenant of Security

The Islamic religion commands believers to obey the laws of the land they live in, even if it be one ruled by nonbelievers.  Muslim jurists consider citizenship (or visa) to be a covenant (aqd) held between the citizen (or visa holder) and the state, one which guarantees safe passage/security (amaan) in exchange for certain obligations (such as obeying the laws of the land); covenants are considered sacredly binding in Islam.  The Quran commands:

And fulfill every covenant.  Verily, you will be held accountable with regard to the covenants. (Quran, 17:34)

The Quran condemns those who break covenants as not being true believers:

It is not the case that every time they make a covenant, some party among them throws it aside. Nay! The truth is most of them believe not. (Quran, 2:100)

The Islamic prophet Muhammad described the religious hypocrite as follows:

When he enters into a covenant, he proves treacherous. (Sahih al-Bukhari)

Citizenship (and visa) is called in Islamic legal parlance as a �covenant of security� (aqd al-aman).  For over a thousand years, Muslim scholars have rigorously affirmed the binding nature of the covenant of security.  This covenant of security can be of two types:

(1) a contractual agreement or

(2) a customary understanding.

Naturalized citizens in the United States enter into a contractual agreement with the government when they declare the oath of allegiance, as follows:

�I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same��

A Muslim is obliged to keep to his word, and thus this oath is religiously binding upon him.

Natural born citizens, on the other hand, do not utter any such oath, so they fall under the second category under Islamic law.  The covenant of security is considered for them a customary understanding, in the sense that even though they did not physically say an oath or sign a document of loyalty, it is understood that there exists between the citizen and the government a covenant of security; this, i.e. customary understanding, is considered by Islamic law to be just as binding as the contractual agreement.  There is no difference between the two.

So just based upon the importance of "covenants" and "religious importance of having given our word" , Muslims have to obey the laws. There are other reasoning as well. There are numerous cases from Prophet Muhammad's time when he instructed his followers to carry out their contracts with non-Muslims. He himself fulfilled all his treaties and covenants with the non-Muslims. In fact I cannot even stress properly how important it is for a Muslim to be honest and stick to his/her "word". Hypocrisy and being a "Liar" are considered one of the worst sins and attributes a Muslim can have. I believe I read a hadith that said something like 'Lying' and 'Faith' cannot remain in a believer together.

During his time, due to persecution by the pagans, Prophet Muhammad allowed (and even encouraged) Muslims to migrate to safer lands. Muslims asked an Abyssinian Christian King for sanctuary, and integrated into the Abyssinian society as peaceful citizens.

Another example from Prophet Muhammad's Life  - the Treaty of Hudaibyah:

Why I am mentioning this:  if a Muslim State or government enters into a contract of Treaty with a non-muslim government they are to carry it through no matter what sentiments/feelings they have towards it. The Muslims of Medinah signed this Treaty with the Pagans of Meccah. One of the clauses of the treaty was:

"If a Quraysh person comes to Muhammad (i.e., after accepting Islam) without the permission of his guardian, Muhammad shall return him to them, but if one of the Muhammad�s people come to the Quraysh, he shall not be returned. "

Many Muslims felt humiliated by this clause, since it was clearly unfair. Yet they still followed it. Interestingly, a Muslim in Meccah embraced Islam, managed to escape and enter Medinah. He came to a Prophet and begged to be allowed to stay. Many Muslims wanted to keep him yet the Prophet stood by his word, even though it grieved him - and returned him to Mecca per clause. Thus even though the escapee was on Muslim soil, and in their hands - the Muslims upheld their contract to the non-muslims. (This is a very common tradition, however I do not have its reference/hadith number, if any reader does . . . please do post. JazakAllah)

Well Elijah, I hope the 'sources' and 'references' you asked for as proof helped. Will wait for you to respond with any further queries/comments before moving on with other issues.

Information taken from:

http://www.loonwatch.com/2009/11/major-nidal-hasan/

Another relevant read:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/1634517.stm

Treaty of Hudaibya:
http://www.cyberistan.org/islamic/treaty28.html











Edited by Chrysalis - 18 June 2010 at 6:56am