Q. I found the article entitled “Disposing of papers with Qur’anic verses” rather simple-minded and xenophobic of other cultures. If God has created the earth and its inhabitants, then His creation is holy. Why should we fear how a piece of paper is destroyed even if it has some holy writing on it? Is it not unnecessary worry? May I also ask why does Islam exercise complete censorship over the products of other cultures, excluding from view all that is not entirely Islamic? Nobody really knows what God allows or disallows. We only believe that we do because someone in former times claimed to be either God’s messenger, or son or recipient of God’s words. Islam must embrace diversity and the power of women to think and do of their own accord.
Gerald Zindery
A. We certainly welcome free exchange of ideas, and we do love to know what other people think of us, our faith and practices. But I personally fail to understand how being careful with regard to how we dispose of a writing of God’s words is construed as being xenophobic of other cultures. Our action is no more than a gesture of respect of God’s words. Hence, we do not throw in a trash bin a paper carrying the text of God’s words. What has this got to do with other cultures and our attitude to them?
The problem is that Mr. Zindery interprets our attitude as one of fear, when it is simply one of respect. Fear certainly does not come into it in anyway. As Muslims, we fear no one other than God. If Mr. Zindery thinks that we fear that a paper carrying a verse of the Qur’an should not be thrown away so that it may not fall into the hand of a non-Muslim, then he is totally mistaken. The same verdict was given by past scholars who lived in Muslim countries where no one would have desecrated the Qur’an. They simply wanted to guard against any apparent disrespect to the Qur’an, intentional or not.
They said that such papers, carrying God’s name or revelation, should be disposed of by burning, burying or shredding. Today we may add recycling, wherever it is possible, and I am grateful to Mr. Zindery for pointing it out. But recycling is not available everywhere. Hence, we suggest the other methods.
Mr. Zindery argues that everything God created is holy. Does this include Satan? God says that He has created us and everything we do. Certainly human beings perpetrate some very ghastly crimes. Would these be classified as holy on the basis that it is God who has created them?
This would give an entirely new sense to the word “holy”, which, incidentally, is used in Islam only in reference to God. If Mr. Zindery says that a paper is holy because it is God’s creation, even if it carries pornographic pictures or some writing that advocates racial discrimination or some other foul idea, then the limits of holiness will stretch in dimensions that even he would not approve.
I am at a loss to understand what Mr. Zindery means when he accuses Muslims of censorship of everything that is not an Islamic product. This is true neither of Islamic teachings nor of Muslim practices. All Muslim countries are open for all sorts of products and ideas that we receive from other cultures and societies. He certainly must have a very poor view of Muslims if he thinks that we close our minds and society to every outside influence. He accuses us of censorship but he fails to give us any example of this assumed censorship, although he includes in it “all that is not entirely Islamic”.
It is clear from Mr. Zindery’s letter that he does not believe in God. We are certainly sorry for him, but it is his free choice. However, to say that no one knows what God allows or disallows is rather presumptive. He should allow that believers are as genuine in their beliefs as he is. If he thinks that we only assume to know what God wants, then he is giving himself the right to sit in judgment over others, denying them the right to believe in whatever appears to them to be the truth. It is not what anyone in the past had said about himself that we know what God wants us to do; it is our belief in God and the message He has sent to us through His messenger. It is Mr. Zindery’s prerogative not to believe in this, but likewise, it is our prerogative to believe in it. In the end, we will know who has followed right guidance and who has remained in error.
Mr. Zindery then indulges in a tirade, detailing what he wants Muslims to do in order to meet his standard of civilization. We do not want to take every point he mentions, because we do not think that such a discussion will be of much benefit. We have only included his point about women because it is typical of critics of Islam. To start with, such critics fail to distinguish between Islam and what Muslims do. Thus, if a Muslim community has a particular code of practice in any social area, they put the blame on Islam, as they consider such practice to be an implementation of Islam. They only need to look at the diversity of attitudes in Muslim countries to realize that not all of them could have originated with, or are endorsed by Islam. This is particularly true of the status of women and how they are treated in society.
If Mr. Zindery wants to know the true Islamic attitude to women, he should study Islam, not judge it by a casual look at Muslim practices. He will be surprised when he discovers that Islam accords women a much higher status than what we see in many Muslim countries. Indeed, there is nothing that he wants Islam to do with regard to women which is not already in Islam. It is the practice of Muslims that may at times fall short of what Islam requires. In fact, all Islamic teachings tend to give women a preference over men in many respects, even in those which are normally thought to be discriminatory against women. It is not our purpose to enter into a full discussion of what Islam says about women. This is planned for the near future, in a different format. But to Mr. Zindery we say only that he is invited to study the Islamic view of women, and he is certain to change his mind. In the meantime, we wish him the best.
Forgoing inheritance
Q.1. If one heir who is earning a better living than his brothers wishes to forgo part of all of his share of inheritance from their father, with the intention of helping them, can he do so? I have an impression that this is not open to him, because it affects his own children’s inheritance when he dies? Please comment.
Q.2. What is the authentic Islamic concept concerning Imam Al-Mahdi, his absence, reappearance and role in future?
S.M. Raja
Pakistan
A.1. I am sorry if I have given such a wrong impression. I am sure that what I have said is taken a little bit out of context. May be I was talking in a totally different vein, such as a parent dividing his property among his children in his own lifetime. Anyway, if I gave the impression that the reader mentions, then that was wrong. It is definitely open to anyone to make a gift to his close relatives or friends, without impairing anyone’s rights. If you are well off and wish to forgo part or all of your share of inheritance from your father to your brothers and sisters, then you are making them a gift, for which you may, God willing, earn a great reward. That reward may take the form of God’s help to your children when they need it. If this is the case, then God’s help would be far more valuable than any gift you make to your brothers and sisters.
A.2. We do not have a concept about Imam Al-Mahdi. What we have is some Hadiths which speak about the appearance of a God-fearing man who will strive hard to put an end to the Impostor who would have wreaked havoc and spread corruption. He would fight that Impostor with those who believe in the right faith. When will this happen? The Hadiths give some indications and signs, but no definite dates.
When the questioner asks about Mahdi’s absence and reappearance, he is confusing this notion of the Mahdi with the Shia’s belief concerning the 12th Imam. They hold that the Mahdi was the 12th Imam and that he was removed by God until the time when it is right for him to reappear. He would then ensure total justice on earth. There is nothing of such beliefs in the Sunni schools of Islamic thought.