By Mufti Taqi Uthmani (db)
Translated by Ebrahim Saifuddin
Question:
After request by the United States of America, Pakistan is thinking of sending its troops to Iraq to assist the U.S. army. Is it permissible for the Government of Pakistan to send its troops to Iraq to assist the U.S. army?
By Mufti Muhammad Yusuf Ludhyanwi رحمۃ اللہ علیہ
Translated by Ebrahim Saifuddin
Q: What is the ruling regarding videogames, which are now prevalent in our society, if no betting or rewards for winning a game are involved in it and they normally consist of various things including sharpshooting etc.
The Infamous Surah at-Tauba
By Ebrahim Saifuddin
The Issue
This surah is one of the most popular surahs of the Noble Qur’an among the non-Muslim propagandists. One of the first verses they will quote, in their attempt to prove violence against non-Muslims in the Qur’an, is from Surah Tauba. The verse quoted is the 5th verse and is as follows:
فَإِذَا انسَلَخَ الأَشْهُرُ الْحُرُمُ فَاقْتُلُواْ الْمُشْرِكِينَ حَيْثُ وَجَدتُّمُوهُمْ وَخُذُوهُمْ وَاحْصُرُوهُمْ وَاقْعُدُواْ لَهُمْ كُلَّ مَرْصَدٍ فَإِن تَابُواْ وَأَقَامُواْ الصَّلاَةَ وَآتَوُاْ الزَّكَاةَ فَخَلُّواْ سَبِيلَهُمْ إِنَّ اللّهَ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ
Faitha insalakha alashhuru alhurumu faoqtuloo almushrikeena haythu wajadtumoohum wakhuthoohum waohsuroohum waoqAAudoo lahum kulla marsadin fain taboo waaqamoo alssalata waatawoo alzzakata fakhalloo sabeelahum inna Allaha ghafoorun raheemun
So, when the sacred months expire, kill the Mushriks wherever you find them, and catch them and besiege them and sit in ambush for them everywhere. Then, if they repent and establish Salah and pay Zakah, leave their way. Surely, Allah is most Forgiving, Very-Merciful. – [Qur’an 9:5]
After quoting this verse the non-Muslim propagandist claims that the Qur’an commands Muslims to kill all mushriks (polytheists) wherever they can find them. They try to imply that Muslims are to carry out some sort of a seek and destroy mission against the polytheists. Unfortunately honest non-Muslims who are sincere to knowledge fall prey to this propaganda.
In this article we will go through a little about Surah Tauba, its historical context and reason for revelation to establish why the Qur’an says “kill the mushriks wherever you find them” and whether the Muslims are really required to carry out a seek and destroy mission against the polytheists.
What is Bid’a?
By Ebrahim Saifuddin
Today some people have completely forgotten the concept of bid’a in Islam. It is important therefore to go over this concept and clarify misconceptions some of our brothers and sisters have. Some have defied years of scholarship and invented their own definitions for the term. The objective of this article is to clarify and explain bid’a in Islam.
Taraweeh – 20 Rak’ah or 8 Rak’ah?
By Ebrahim Saifuddin
With the commencement of Ramadan, the time to argue over matters established by the pious predecessors has arrived once again. The topic of argument is whether taraweeh consists of 20 or 8 rak’ah. Scholars have written myriad of books on this topic with overwhelming evidence, yet our ghair muqallideen brothers and sisters try to insist that it is 8 rak’ah.
