24 June 2012

Seerah of Muhammed*
*: May the peace blessings and Mercy of Allah be upon him
TMQ: Translation to the nearest meaning of the Qur’an

Cutting the hands of the thief

A'isha, the wife of Allah's Apostle*, reported that the Quraish were concerned about the woman who had committed theft during the lifetime of Allah's Apostle*, in the expedition of Victory (of Mecca). They said: Who would speak to Allah's Messenger* about her? They (again) said: Who can dare do this but Usama b Zaid, the loved one of Allah's Messenger*? She was brought to Allah's Messenger* and Usama b. Zaid spoke about her to him (interceded on her behalf). The colour of the face of Allah's Messenger* changed, and he said: Do you intercede in one of the prescribed punishments of Allah? He (Usama) said: 'Messenger of Allah, seek forgiveness for me. When it was dusk. Allah's Messenger* stood up and gave an address. He (first) glorified Allah as He deserves, and then said: Now to our topic. This (injustice) destroyed those before you that when any one of (high) rank committed theft among them, they spared him, and when any weak one among them committed theft, they inflicted the prescribed punishment upon him. By Him in Whose Hand is my life, even if Fatima daughter of Muhammad were to commit theft, I would have cut off her hand. He (the Holy Prophet) then commanded about that woman who had committed theft, and her hand was cut off. 'A'isha (further) said: Hers was a good repentance, and she later on married and used to come to me after that, and I conveyed her needs (and problems) to Allah's Messenger*.

End of Hijra

The Prophet* in the Hadith related by Al-Bukhari and Muslim on the authority Ibn 'Abbas that reads, "There is no Hijrah after the conquest of Mecca (but there is jihad and intention of jihad)." Nevertheless, the Prophet (peace be upon him) left the door wide open for later Muslims generations to work hard. In the same Hadith, he said, "…  and when you are called for Jihad, you should immediately respond to the call." Accordingly, practicing jihad and participating in the Islamic activity will never come to an end.

Story of the young Imam and his new clothes!

Narrated Amr bin Salama:

We were at a place which was a thoroughfare for the people, and the caravans used to pass by us and we would ask them, "What is wrong with the people? What is wrong with the people? Who is that man? They would say, "That man claims that Allah has sent him (as an Apostle), that he has been divinely inspired, that Allah has revealed to him such-and-such." I used to memorize that (Divine) Talk, and feel as if it was inculcated in my chest (i.e. mind) And the 'Arabs (other than Quraish) delayed their conversion to Islam till the Conquest (of Mecca).

They used to say." "Leave him (i.e. Muhammad) and his people Quraish: if he overpowers them then he is a true Prophet. So, when Mecca was conquered, then every tribe rushed to embrace Islam, and my father hurried to embrace Islam before (the other members of) my tribe. When my father returned (from the Prophet) to his tribe, he said, "By Allah, I have come to you from the Prophet for sure!" The Prophet afterwards said to them, 'Offer such-and-such prayer at such-and-such time, and when the time for the prayer becomes due, then one of you should pronounce the Adhan (for the prayer), and let the one amongst you who knows Qur'an most should, lead the prayer." So they looked for such a person and found none who knew more Qur'an than I because of the Quranic material which I used to learn from the caravans. They therefore made me their Imam ((to lead the prayer) and at that time I was a boy of six or seven years, wearing a Burda (i.e. a black square garment) proved to be very short for me and had a tear in the rear (and my body became partly naked). A lady from the tribe said, "Won't you cover the backside (bottom) of your reciter for us?" So they bought (a piece of cloth) and made a shirt for me. I had never been so happy with anything before as I was with that shirt.

Hudaibiyah Peace Treaty and Conquest of Mecca

That is the story of the conquest of Mecca and the decisive battle that exterminated paganism once and for all. The other tribes in the Arabian Peninsula were waiting and closely watching the final outcome of the bitter struggle between the Muslims and idolaters, already convinced that the Holy Sanctuary would not fall but in the hands of the righteous party. It had been a conviction deeply established in their minds ever since the elephant army of Abraha Al-Ashram advanced from Yemen intending to destroy the Sacred House 50 years before.

Al-Hudaibiyah Peace Treaty was the natural prelude to this great victory in which people believed deeply and over which people talked a lot. The Muslims in Mecca, who had feared to declare their Faith in public, began to appear and work ardently for this new approach of life. People began to convert into Islam in hosts, and the Muslim army that numbered 3000 only in the previous Ghazwah, now came to reach 10,000 in number. In fact, this decisive change provided people with the keen insight to perceive things and the world around them as a whole in a different perceptive. The Muslims were then to steer the whole political and religious affairs of all Arabia. They had monopolised both the religious supremacy and temporal power. The whole post-Hudaibiyah phase had been well-fledged in favour of the new Islamic movement. Streams of the desert Arabians began to pour in paying full homage to the Messenger of Allah*, embracing the new faith and then carrying it to different quarters for propagation.

Fiqh part 6 (Proof and Chain of Narrators)

How do we know that the Amazon Jungle exists? Unless you go there will you really know it exists for sure - 100%? Or could there be a global conspiracy trying to hoodwink you (and others) into believing in the Amazon Jungle? If you believe it because you were taught this – where did they get the information from? Who told them? How do we know what is real and what constitutes evidence or proof for each and every one of us? Could real life be a dream and could our dreaming be real – similar to the film ‘The Matrix’? There are some people that do believe this! Next time you come across people who really believe this ask them if they want a slap in the face and if that feels real or not!! (Lol)

Oral and Written Tradition

There is a difference between the Oral and Written tradition. People in the Western countries put a lot of emphasis on things written down and regard that as better evidence; whereas Eastern traditions put a lot of emphasis on the passing down of information orally. This has changed in recent centuries but was traditionally a stronger form of preserving information. After all, that is how the Qur’an has been preserved with a backup of written preservation.

We explored this idea like a spider’s web, or string from a central point radiating out, with no chance of overlapping. This is similar to the concept of Hadith narrations from person F, who heard from person E, who heard from person D, who heard from person C who heard from a Companion (person B) who heard the Prophet (person A) say so-and-so!

The same so-and-so was heard from person K, who heard from person J, who heard from person I, who heard from person H who heard from a Companion (person G) who heard the Prophet (person A).

The same so-and-so was also heard from person P, who heard from person O, who heard from person N, who heard from person M who heard from a Companion (person L) who heard the Prophet (person A).

At no point in history did the paths of persons F or P or K ever overlap, nor persons F with O-J; nor did person E overlap with persons I-J-K or N-O-P, etc. Yet the so-and-so is the same – is this a proof that it is correct? How many more chains / strings are needed to convince somebody?

If you have only 1 written historical document how sure can you be that it is authentic??

Main Topic: Aqeeda (part 6) recap believing in Allah

It is vitally important that we firmly believe in Allah more than just having ‘faith’ that Allah exists. We should be different to the Quraish at the time of the Prophet*, or the people at the time of Ibrahim – who all said that they will continue with their worships because they are following their forefathers. How is our belief any different to this? As Muslims, Allah commands us to ‘KNOW’ that there is but one Allah. We must be sure individually for ourselves – it is not good enough to just hope in Allah without certainty. The five pillars of Islam are built upon the firm foundations of the Aqeeda – a rock solid belief. How do we get at this belief? Are there any questions that we shouldn’t ask in Islam and how inquisitive should we be in search for the Truth? What is our reason for believing in Allah – is this an active firm belief or a sense of hope, faith and trust? How we can know that Allah truly exists, or is our belief in Him like a superstition – a level of belief or ‘faith’ similar to believing in ghosts or aliens.

Language of Maths

We also talked about assumptions we make about what we see around us and the language we use. Using the example of apples we explored whether 1 + 1 = 2. According to Mathematics is does but are there real life situations where this is true?

Attributes of Allah

Many people consider their concept of ‘God’ or Allah as a being that can do anything. There are many terms to address the attributes of Allah including Omnipotent (All-Powerful), Omniscient (All-Knowing), Omnipresence (being present everywhere). We posed the question that is often used by atheists and non-believers in a Divine Creator that, if God can do anything, can He:

- build a wall over which he cannot jump

- make a stone that he cannot lift

- make a square-circle

Superheroes

We started off the study circle by talking about Superheroes, like Captain America, Batman, Superman, Spiderman; or the recent TV series Heroes; even touching upon mythical gods of previous cultures (Hindus and Greeks). There is often a need for limited humans like us to project power onto other beings – and super-powers to other super-beings. This reflects our own limitations – something we will come back to later. We recapped how Muslims should have a belief in Allah that is beyond superstition and ‘leap of faith’. Allah talks about this type of belief in the Qur’an: "Were they created by nothing? Or were they themselves the creators? Or did they create the heavens and the earth? Nay they have no firm belief." Quran [TMQ 52:35-36]

Logical, Scientific and Rational thought

Scientific (empirical) evidence is one type of evidence – and is based on theory tested by experiment and observation. That is things that can be tested (experimented upon).

Logical approaches are based on sound premises and a valid structure to argument (like mathematics). For example, the statements that all men are mortal combined with the observation that Abdul is a man rationally means that necessarily Abdul is mortal. Our acceptance of the concept that human beings are the product of a mother and father, allows us to establish, on analysis of this concept and its rational extension, that Aisha had a great great grandfather. None of these conclusions are scientific, for they do not involve the application of the scientific method. Yet all of them are rational.

We discussed evidence and Proof and why rational thinking is superior to scientific thinking – as we can not always measure things so it does not mean things do not exist. Humans made inferences and deduce things from what we see and weigh things up. Not everything is testable! In summary, Logical thought  is based on assumptions, Scientific thought is observation and experimentation and Rational thought is based on what is sensed and the reality around.

Arguments about the nature of matter, universe and Allah: The limited nature of existence

When we look around us at everything we can sense one factor is shared by these things, and that is that they are all limited. By limited we mean that they have restrictions, a starting point and an ending point, and they have definable attributes i.e. they are all finite. Man is born and he dies. There is no-one alive who will not die. During his life span, he will grow to a certain height, weight and volume. The universe is defined as all the celestial planets. All these objects have certain mass, shape, volume and so on. The life span of a star may be very long, but a point in time will come when it will cease to exist. The universe is large, but still a finite space. No scientist could ever prove using hard facts that the universe has no bounds. In fact when we say that the universe arose from the Big Bang and expanding they inherently admit it is finite in size, otherwise it could not expand! There is nothing in reality which is unlimited. No matter how hard we try, man is unable to find anything unlimited around him. All he can perceive is the finite and limited.

A further attribute of everything around us is that they are all needy and dependent in order to continue existing. They are not self-sustaining or independent. Man has needs he has to satisfy in order to survive. He has organic needs - must eat and drink if he is to survive, and if he does not he will die. We see the need and dependency in plants and animals. They depend on other parts of the food chain for their existence. The water cycle is dependent on the sun, which is dependent on the laws of the galaxies and of burning mass, and so on... Nothing man can perceive is self-subsistent. So things exist, but do not have the power of existence. They cannot control when they die or when other bodies die.

What being limited and Dependent means

Thus what we see is that everything around us is limited and finite. Everything that is limited and finite is dependant and everything that is dependant is dependent upon something greater than itself. Applying this to everything we see will bring us to a conclusion. If everything in the universe is dependant because it has not the power of being in existence on its own accord, and is also finite and limited, then what is everything dependant upon for its existence? Hence, two possibilities exist:

·         That is either all finite and limited objects depend upon each other in an infinite chain of inter dependencies (infinite regression). Or,

·         There is a first cause a sole Creator upon which everything depends.

To explain this further we can understand this by way of analogy. Consider a set of dominoes for example, for the final domino to fall it is dependant upon the domino before it, and for that domino to fall over it is dependant upon the domino before it. Now imagine if there was an infinite number of dominoes…… would any of the dominoes fall over? The answer is no, none of the dominoes would fall over. Now to view any aspect of the universe we would see that something is already in existence in essence the last domino has fallen over. Thus meaning that finite things are not dependant upon each other in an infinite chain. Therefore, there needs to be a first cause or a sole Creator upon which everything depends and itself being independent. Now, we have noted that everything that is finite and limited is also dependant, hence, for something to be independent it would need to be infinite and unlimited. This is whom we Muslims call Allah the sole Creator, self subsistent, and completely unique and different from creation. Allah says "Declare, Allah is one and only, Allah is self sufficient (needy of nothing but upon which everything depends), Neither Allah begets nor was he begotten, And there is nothing equal to or comparable unto Allah" [TMQ 112]

Limits of Science

Science cannot prove the existence of God. Not because it requires ‘faith’ but because of the limitations of the scientific method itself. As for rational evidence for the existence of God, that has been furnished, debated, refined and presented centuries ago. The Kalam Cosmological argument for example – was developed by Muslim scholars as early as the 11th century CE.

We cannot try to limit Allah with our limited understanding of the Universe

The only rational and intellectual solution to the question of creation is that there is a Creator that has accounted for all that we see and perceive. Ration tells us that nothing can be created without a creator. Ultimately, there must be a Creator who is unlimited in every aspect. Hence, we cannot ask if Allah can build a wall over which he cannot jump, or make a stone that he cannot lift or make a square-circle – as these would be putting limits onto Allah and confining Him to our limited understanding of the universe and its laws. Allah is beyond this and not subject to these laws as He created them. So the questions do not make sense.

Belief in Allah is not a superstition nor a mythology, but is a definite fact that is established upon the use of the mind and is felt within every person. Hence, looking at any planet in the universe, contemplating on any phase of life, or comprehending any aspect of man provides a conclusive evidence for the existence of a Creator. "Verily in the Creation of the heavens and the Earth and the alternation of the night and the day the are indeed signs for a people who depth and thinking" Quran [TMQ 3:190]

Who Created Allah?

When we ponder on the limited things all around us, we see that it is not azali (eternal - limitless), otherwise it would not have been limited! Therefore, it must be created by something else, which is the Creator of all things (that include man, life and the whole universe/cosmos). This “Creator”, is either:

         i.            created by someone else,

       ii.            creator of himself, or

      iii.            azali (eternal - limitless) whose existence is indispensable (wajib ul-wujood).

It is absolutely false that he is created by someone else (as in option i), because he would then be limited. Also, he would not be the creator and would have been created. Who created him would be like the question of the dominoes we already talked about. This who-created-who (like chicken and egg) could not go on for infinity and must have a start point. Hence, we can exclude this option that Allah was created by someone else. It is also false that he is the creator of himself (as option ii) and could not be rationally considered as the Creator. As for being self-created, the ramification of which would be he is created by himself and creating himself at the same time (simultaneously). This is simply absurd. He cannot be both existing and not-existing at the same time (simultaneously) in order to create himself! Hence, we can exclude this option that Allah created himself. Hence, the creator must be azali (eternal - limitless) whose existence is indispensable (option iii – nothing else fits rationally). He is Allah.

To 'Know' as a command on every soul

The Islamic Belief (Aqeeda) and subsequently the Islamic way of life has an intellectual basis – based on thinking and the mind. Therefore, Islam is neither a religion nor a set of values and rituals that arise from Blind Faith. Rather, Islam is an intellectual belief from which emanates a comprehensive system of life, be it for individuals or society.

Firm Conviction in belief in Allah against hope or leap of faith in Allah

Muslims should have a belief in Allah that is beyond superstition and ‘leap of faith’. Allah talks about this type of belief in the Qur’an: "Were they created by nothing? Or were they themselves the creators? Or did they create the heavens and the earth? Nay they have no firm belief." [TMQ 52:35-36]

Design Theory

We then explored the second strand of evidence (proof) of the existence of Allah (Creator). This is based on the theory of Divine Knowledge or Divine Design behind existence.

The story of Abu Hanifah and the boat

Imam Abu Hanifa (a great scholar of Islam) was known for his intelligence and so there came to him a group of atheists asking him to prove the Existence of Allah. Imam Abu Hanifa said, "Let me think," then he remarked, "I am thinking about a loaded ship that was tied to a port. The cargo unloaded itself without porters and the ship sailed away without a captain from port to port.” (Upon hearing this,) the atheists declared, "How can you say something like this! This is impossible. We cannot believe in it.” Imam Abu Hanifa replied, "If you do not believe in this then how do you believe in the sun, the moon, the stars, the sky and the earth – how can you believe that all these came into existence without an Originator?" Allah points out this intellectual proof in His Saying, "Were they created by nothing or were they themselves the creators?" [TMQ 52: 35]

The knock on the door

When we hear a knock on a door there are so many things we can learn from that, but the essence for this discussion is that the knocking gives us an indication that someone is making the sound. By contemplating on the Universe, our existence and mortality we can reasonably assume that we have been created by Allah. Not such a huge jump.

The pile of stones on the beach

Likewise, we talked about walking along the beach and finding a neat pile of stones stacked upon each other. Reason would tell us that this is unlikely to occur purely by chance but that someone constructed it in that fashion. Who is this Constructor or Designer – Muslims would call Him Allah. This is a rational conclusion not a far-fetched obscure unlikely theory…like what the atheists have.

Footprints and the sky and mountains

A further simple example was a story of a Bedouin who was asked, "How do you know your Lord?" The Bedouin could only reply with (the example of) that which was before him, so he said, "Droppings tell of a camel. Foot-prints tell of a traveller. The sky, the earth with mountain passes, seas with waves -do they not tell of the All-Hearer, the All-Seer?"

! THINK !

Anyone who has a mind (the mental faculty) can comprehend from things that can be sensed that they have a creator. This is because what is noticed in all of them is that they are imperfect, weak and dependent, so they are definitely created. Therefore, it is sufficient to draw one's attention to anything in the universe, life and humankind to conclude from that the existence of the Creator and Organiser. Hence, looking at any celestial body of the universe, contemplating upon any facet of life, or comprehending any aspect of man, indicates definitely of the existence of Allah. Therefore, we see that the Qur’an draws attention to these things and orders humans to ponder upon them, their surroundings, and what is related to them, and to conclude from his pondering the existence of Allah. Thus man looks at things how they are in need of other things, so he definitely concludes from this the existence of Allah, the Creator. There are hundreds of Qur’anic ayah expressing this meaning:

"Behold! In the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alteration of night and day, these are indeed signs for men of understanding." [Aali-Imran: 190]

"And of His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the difference of your languages and colours. Behold! herein indeed are signs for men of knowledge." [Ar-Rum: 22]

"Will they not look at the camels, how they are created! And the heaven, how it is raised! And the mountains, how they are set up! And the earth, how it is spread!" [Al-Ghashiya: 17-20]

"So let man reflect, from what he is created. He is created from a gushing fluid, that is issued from between the loins and ribs." [At-Tariq: 5-7]

"Behold! in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the difference of night and day, and the ships which run upon the sea with that which is of use to men, and the water which Allah sends down from the sky, thereby reviving the earth after its death, and dispersing all kinds of beasts therein, and in the ordinance of the winds, and the clouds obedient between heaven and earth are signs (of Allah's sovereignty) for people who have sense." [Al-Baqarah: 164]

In addition, there are so many ayah that call upon man to ponder deeply upon things and their surroundings and that which is related to them, thereby concluding from that the existence of the Creator, the Organiser. Thus belief in Allah is firmly established through reason and clear evidence.

Hence, there should be no element of ‘leap of faith’ or ‘blind faith’ like the people at the time of Ibrahim or the Quraish at the time of the Prophet. As Muslims, we should think and come to a rational conclusion in the existence of Allah and this should be done by everyone who can think!

Value of Actions

We very briefly talked about what is considered ‘good’ and ‘bad’ and where these concepts come from. But we mainly chatted about praying (or doing any good action or deed) with or without belief. Hence, a Muslim who believes in Allah and does good deeds requested by Him will get huge reward (i/A) but another person without belief in Allah may do the exact same action / deed but get no reward as they lack belief. So, all actions should be related to and stem from the belief. This is what Allah will be looking for first after we die – WHAT DID WE BELIEVE IN!!

Therefore, we are spending so much time talking about our belief and why this should be firm and unshakeable. When we do get tested by Allah, some people who do not have firm belief may have greater doubts about life and Allah if their belief is based upon a hereditary system (from their parents). It doesn’t necessarily mean their actions will be less rewarded by Allah but having a firm foundation for belief (upon which the five pillars of actions are built) could mean the actions are done with greater conviction.

Time Travel, TARDIS and Dr Who

Most people are familiar with the popular children's television show called Doctor Who. This is about an alien (Time Lord) who looks like a human being and travels throughout the universe in a special time travelling machine which also distorts the dimensions of space.  This machine is known as the T.A.R.D.I.S. (TARDIS = Time and Relative Dimension in Space).  This program introduces children (and adults - who is your favourite Doctor Who?!) to many ideas and concepts which include, for the purposes of our discussion, the ability to travel through time and outside of space.  For example, we are informed in authentic narrations (hadith) and the Prophet* travelled from Mecca to Al-Quds (Jerusalem) and then through and outside the universe to the seven heavens, and back all in the same night.  We're also told that the Prophet actually saw the punishment of people in Hellfire as well as hearing the footsteps of people in Paradise.  The question is how could he have witnessed these if the Day of Judgment has not happened -- and this is not to do with the Knowledge of Allah because these were witnessed events?  By thinking about the limited nature of the universe, and the limited nature of the things which make up the universe including the physical objects (stars and planets) and the dimensions of the universe (time and space) we can answer questions like 'What was there before Allah' and 'Where is Allah'?

'What was there before Allah’; 'Where is Allah'?

As we discussed previously and demonstrated through a rational approach, we live in a universe that is limited.  Necessarily, this universe was created and that Creator must be unlimited and not bound by the limits of this universe.  Therefore, Allah is not confined by the dimensions of time and space.  Hence, it would be wrong to suggest that 'Allah is everywhere' - which is a belief called pantheism - a common misconception amongst people who don't think about this deeply. This gives rise to concepts that Allah is everywhere and in everything (including trees and rocks and dirty places), and so some people would use this to justify worshipping these objects claiming that they are part of God or contain God.  By claiming that 'Allah is everywhere' we are in fact limiting His existence and defining it within the realms of our dimensions of space.

It would be better to consider that Allah is 'outside' our dimensions of space -- if we can try to get our heads around that.  The problem is with our language and as we do not have any words in the language to express how somebody could be outside/not bound by the concept or constraints of space.  Words like inside, outside, beyond, where, up, down are all relative and related to space - so how can we describe something which is beyond this!? But that is indeed what/where Allah is!

The same idea is related to the question about ' what was there before Allah?' - as the words before, during, after are all specifically related to time.  Whereas, Allah is beyond time as He created time and made it unidirectional in our universe.  Hence we cannot ask what was there before time as the question doesn't make sense as there is no 'before' when time was created.  Therefore, there is no time before the Big Bang or creation of the universe.  Hence, it is perfectly possible for Allah to be separate from time and space (acknowledging that separate is still related to space!).

'There is none like unto Him’

Therefore, by thinking of all of these things Muslims have a unique and pure perspective and understanding of Allah and Tawhid.  This looks at the true Glory and Majesty of our Creator.  Hence, the only appropriate ways in which we can try to describe Him are by the descriptions He gives if Himself and the comparisons He makes.  We don't have the words in our language to properly address this but Allah does mention in the Quran that 'there is none like unto Him'!  Simply put, that is the best description.

The Absurdity of the Atheist

We then revisited some elements of the design theory, but focusing on the concept of chance and probability.  There is an old saying which states that "an atheist must have stronger belief than a person who believes in God, because the atheist must have looked under every stone and every leaf for him to not believe in God!" but we find that the modern disbelievers put their entire trust in science all this idea of chance as being the source and creator of the universe, and life and human beings.  This is obviously a false situation if we are to analyse it rationally.  The creation of the universe by chance (although we have already said it cannot occur by itself) would be similar to believing that a whirlwind swept through the streets and through a garage that had lots of car parts on the floor.  After the whirlwind had left there would be a fully functioning perfectly formed car (Bugatti if you like) with its engine running ready to hit the road with no mess on the floor! Patently, nobody would believe this yet why do atheists think this is what happened with the universe -- even though we have said it cannot happen?

One of the reasons why it is quite possible that these people refuse to believe in an Almighty Creator is because if they did believe in one they would have to have some sort of relationship with the Creator.  This would involve finding out what He wants from us and what we have to do in return.  People would have to take responsibility for their beliefs and base any actions on these beliefs.  People are afraid of this and these responsibilities and so would prefer to avoid the obvious answer -- which is belief in an Almighty Creator.  Because, if you acknowledge an Almighty Creator that you will still need to answer the 3 Fundamental Questions about Life:

·         Why am I here (alive)?

·         Where did I come from?

·         What happens when I die (as we all will die)?

Implications of Believing in Allah

The idea and question of ‘God’ has serious implications because the answer obtained becomes the very basis by which we understand the creation and purpose of man, life round us and the whole existence of the universe. Therefore, the method used should not only be the rational thought but the comprehensive and agree with reality. Anything hypothetical or emotional should be rejected since their basis disagrees with ration and reality.

The Islamic Belief and subsequently the Islamic way of life has an intellectual basis. Therefore, Islam is neither a religion nor a set of values and rituals that arise from Blind Faith. Rather, Islam is an intellectual belief from which emanates a comprehensive system of life, be it for individuals or society. To understand the unique system that Islam offers necessitates the explanation of the Islamic belief i.e. the belief in God, Allah in Arabic, and the Word of God, the Qur’an.

Some people will never accept the Truth or any level of Proof

Children’s Feedback: None this week   : (
But we did talk about the Shahnam Charity Event (Saturday 25 August)
http://www.shahnam.org/

Homework:
Seerah: How many were in the Prophet's army for the Battle of Hunain (Huwazim)?
Belief - Do humans need Prophets or Messengers?