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Dr Kaukab Siddique | Editor-in-Chief Jamada al-awwal 15,1431/ April 30, 2010 # 18

Meaning of 'AQL and JARIYA in Hadith: Attacks on Hadith based on ignorance. Please scroll all the way down..

Report on American Zionism by Kaukab Siddique: 3 items.
In response to UNITE Against ZIONISM launched by Jamaat al-Muslimeen.
Zionist counterattack targets Prophet Muhammad, pbuh. How should Muslims respond?

Here is Jon Stewart of The Daily Show on April 22. He thinks Prophet Muhammad, pbuh, should be parodied. When all other religions are willing to accept abuse, ridicule and blasphemy, why shouldn't Muslims, he asks? He was ticked off by Comedy Central's refusal to show a cartoon of Prophet Muhammad, pbuh, on the South Park program after a threat was received from some Muslims.

Jon Stewart is a Jew and a Zionist. He trivializes all religion but hates Islam above all. Remember, the Jew who is a Zionist is your worst enemy, be you a follower of Muhammad, pbuh, or of Jesus. No Muslim has harmed Stewart but he insists on Insulting the most valuable of all humans, the best of men, Muhammad, pbuh. This bigotry and hatred is carried out in the name of "freedom of expression."

It is no coincidence that Jon Stewart does not ridicule the Jewish holocaust story. Nor does he delegitimize the Jewish terrorist entity known as Israel. Thus Stewart's claim in the name of freedom pf expression is no more than a ploy to defame and blaspheme.

Abu Lahab's wife? Hirsi Ali is carrying on a campaign of systematic abuse and blasphemy against Prophet Muhammad, pbuh.
Following the South Park cartoon incident, she was given the exposure she needed by the Wall Street Journal. The WSJ is the flagship publication of Zionist capitalism, comparable to the left wing Zionist New York Times.

Writing in the Wall Street Journal of April 27, Hirsi Ali urges Americans to make so many pictures of Muhammad, pbuh, that Muslims would not be able to respond. In other words, she wants to degrade Islam to the level of other religions in America.

How to respond: Muslims should take these steps:

First: Pray to Allah Almighty to take the fear of humans and love of dunya out of our souls. Then:

Pakistani News Alert
Defamation Campaign Against Khalid Khwaja, Defender of 5 US Muslims handed over by CAIR to intelligence agencies.
Kidnaper and fake "Taliban" leader are the same, New Trend discovers.

On April 28, 2010 New Trend interviewed Sis. Shamama, wife of Khalid Khawaja, the human rights activist who has been kidnaped by gangsters in North Waziristan. Sis. Shamama told us in detail the methodology which is being used by the kidnapers to defame Khawaja along with threats to kill him.

Asia Times published a detailed report on the kidnaping which turned out to be wrong and defamatory. The kidnaper who calls himself Usman Punjabi pretended to be a Taliban leader named Umar and called Asia Times' Saleem Shahzad to create the impression that Khalid is working for the military against the Taliban. His comments as "Umar" appeared in Asia Times' report written by Saleem Shahzad.

Sis. Shamama discovered that the calls to her home, demanding ransom and threatening death, were from the same number from where "Umar" was calling Asia Times. Saleem Shahzad now realizes that there is no "Umar." Shahzad is to be lauded for admitting his error.

Kidnaping of opponents by the Pakistani intelligence agencies is quite widespread, New Trend reporters say. It started under General Musharraf and is now totally out of control. Khalid Khawaja is a real problem for the authorities because he is standing against American attempts to arrest the 5 American Muslim youths as "terrorists," because he wants Pakistan's High Court to rule on US drone attacks on Pakistani Islamic villages. and because he filed suit to deny the handing over of three Taliban leaders to the US.

Pakistan Muslim League wants dictator to be tried. See charge sheet against General Musharraf for crimes against humanity. Please scroll down.

From Imam Badi Ali [North Carolina]:

Only ONE Spotlight this time: Think! A mind is like a garden: Feed it and weed it. Take care of your mind. Cleanse it and clear it.


Unite Against Zionism: Jamaat al-Muslimeen Shoora [item 1]

Letter to Home & Garden TV on Tel Aviv Related Publicity Material
from Sis. Aisha, Jamaat al-Muslimeen, New York City

This is a copy of a letter I had written to Home and Garden Network (HGTV), a cable television station, after it had nonchalantly aired a program featuring an Israeli searching for her own residence:

I viewed the April 4th episode of House Hunters International about a woman moving into her own apartment in Tel Aviv, Israel.

You showed great insensitivity by featuring an episode in an area of the world wrought with controversy. Israel is really occupying Palestine. The Israeli government routinely conducts genocidal activities against the Palestinians to maintain its grip on stolen land!

Airing such an episode shows what a cavalier attitude you hold about world issues. These Israelis, just like the ones featured in this episode, have no issue with living on property for which Palestinians were murdered.

I suggest that you never air such an episode, again!

Unite Against Zionism: Jamaat al-Muslimeen Shoora [Item # 2]

Letter Published in the Herald of Brownsville, Texas from Shoora leader Roberto Solano
Pro-Israeli Krauthammer's Ideas are anti-people and Confused

Editor:

Charles Krauthammer wrote an article that at least shows he is highly confused and a supporter of ideas disloyal to the American people. Israel has been a source of problems to the United States since Day One, when it used terrorism to create the state of Israel.

Israel used terrorism in 1947 to steal land. It used terrorism in 1967 to seek more land.

It is even to this day terrorizing people like vice president Biden when he recently visited Jerusalem.

President Clinton got the nearby country of Egypt to stay friendly with Israel while Israel has done nothing to promote peace.

While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was talking to Vice President Biden his staff were planning a Pearl Harbor by asking for the building of more houses in the territory that it had been agreed should go to the Palestinians.

And the advocates of Zionism then, like General Custer at Little Big Horn, are claiming they are the victims. Please give a break from your Zionist propaganda.

People like them have forced our government to take a second look at Israel and the U.N. partition of Palestine.

Israel was a 20th century South African apartheid and racism was a blunder. The South African government was dismantled and apartheid done away with. The same needs to be done with Israel's Zionist policies. The whole area should be made into one democracy (preferably American-style democracy) where all ethnic groups, races and religions are treated in a manner in which none gets preferential treatment.

Let's correct the mistakes of the past. Let us all work together toward real peace. A permanent peace that can only be reached in a spirit of equality and justice.

Robert Solano

Brownsville (Texas)



Unite Against Zionism: Jamaat al-Muslimeen Shoora [item #3]

WRITE! for Justice, International Law, and Human Rights in Palestine

Wall Street Journal & Zuckerman's support for occupation.

[From Sis. Caroline, our Christian friend in Florida.]

In a series of op-eds this week, the Wall Street Journal editorial page has repeatedly sided with the forces of occupation over Palestinian human rights and international law. On Monday, occupation loyalist Richard Haass minimizes the urgency and regional importance of a resolution to the conflict in 'Palestine Peace Distraction' (4/26). On Tuesday, Bret Stephens largely faults Palestinians for the failure to resolve the conflict while maintaining that 'Peace Processes Never Work' (4/27).

In today's op-ed, 'Obama's Jerusalem Stonewall' (4/28) Mortimer Zuckerman employs a one-sided and false narrative to support the continued construction of illegal settlements in occupied East Jerusalem. He argues that "in every peace agreement that has ever been discussed" that large settlement blocks in East Jerusalem would become part of Israel -- when in reality -- virtually the entire international community opposes such claims in annual UN Resolutions, not to mention the 2004 ICJ decision and numerous existing UN Security Council Resolutions.

Please WRITE! and let the Wall Street Journal wsj.ltrs@wsj.com know that its editorial page should minimally serve as a forum for serious and informed debate which includes Palestinian human rights -- and not simply as a public relations service for those who support the illegal occupation in almost every respect.

For further information:

Juan Cole: Top Ten Reasons East Jerusalem Does Not Belong to Jewish-Israelis
http://www.juancole.com/2010/03/top-ten-reasons-east-jerusalm-does-not.html

Gisha: Frequently Asked Questions -- The Threat of Deportation from the West Bank
http://www.gisha.org/index.php?intLanguage=2&intItemId=1728&ntSiteSN=119

NAD-PLO: Israeli Violations of the Road Map -- Annual Summary 2009
http://www.nad-plo.org/news-updates/NSUIsraeliRMViolations_Anual%202009_.pdf

UN Security Council Resolution 252 (1968)
http://domino.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/d744b47860e5c97e85256c4000501d6/46f2803d78a0488e852560c3006023a8?OpenDocument



News Analysis

Elections in Sudan Confound Critics

By Hodari Abdul-Ali

Special to NEW TREND

As we await the results of the elections held in Sudan April 11-15, 2010, the first multi-party elections in 24 years, several things are already clear about this milestone event in the history of Africa's largest country. These include:

1) The campaigning and balloting process went much smoother and peacefully than critics of the government in Khartoum anticipated. Even in Darfur, voting took place without violence. Despite widely reported criticisms by European and some U.S. election monitors, those from the African Union, Arab League, United Nations, Organization of Islamic Countries and east African regional organizations reported that the balloting was "free and fair".

2) The National Congress party (NCP) led by President Omar Al-Bashir enjoys far more genuine support than western antagonists wanted to acknowledge. While in Khartoum during the election, this writer saw signs on cars stating in Arabic "Kulu na Maa ka" (We are all with you!). He did not have to "rig" the elections in order to win.

3) Because several opposition parties have shallow support and didn't campaign vigorously, they cried "foul & fraud", opting to boycott the elections rather than expose their weakness and disunity. There were some irregularities to be sure, but these were due primarily to logistical challenges of getting the right ballots to the polls in a timely fashion in a huge country lacking good infrastructure outside of its capital, Khartoum.

4) The Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) is a disorganized and disheartened party, reflected in the mixed signals sent throughout the electoral process. The inherent contradiction with the SPLM is that at the same time it is a) a partner in the government of national unity in Khartoum with the NCP; b) the ruling party in the government of southern Sudan (GOSS) in Juba; and c) an ally with several northern opposition parties.

As a result of these varied agendas, their Secretary General Pagan Amum announced a boycott of the elections in the northern part of the country, and then shortly after SPLM Chairman Salva Kiir announced that the SPLM would only withdraw its presidential candidate Yasir Arman and not compete in Darfur.

This partial boycott disappointed its northern opposition allies who wanted a total boycott. It also disappointed its supporters who wanted Arman to compete to the end as an alternative to President Al-Bashir. Nonetheless, Arman remained on the ballot and reportedly garnered many votes, particularly in the south. GOSS President Kiir publicly announced after the election that even he voted for President Al-Bashir!

5) Southern Sudan has real problems that are becoming harder to ignore and cover up.

Voter intimidation of independent candidates in southern Sudan, that is those not endorsed by the SPLM, was widely reported. The only apparent political killings that took place in Sudan were reportedly at the hands of GOSS soldiers.

Widespread poverty and hunger is spreading throughout the 10 southern states that would constitute an independent South Sudan if voters opt to secede in the referendum scheduled for January 2011. International aid organizations are already sounding the alarm bells.

Massive corruption and nepotism on the part of the SPLM led GOSS has caused even international donors to withhold promised funds to help rebuild and expand the poor infrastructure in the south. A short visit to Juba left this writer appalled at how little there is to show for the billions of dollars of oil revenue that has accrued to the GOSS since the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) was signed in January 2005 ending decades of war and mandating a split of oil revenues between Khartoum and Juba.

Deadly violence between ethnic groups in southern Sudan is accelerating, with far more people killed in the south than in Darfur since the beginning of 2009 up to now.

What all of this portends is that those who have schemed and plotted for the breakup of Sudan, are having second thoughts because southern independence would be a disaster for southerners, as well as Sudan in general and Africa as a whole. The fraudulent International Criminal Court (ICC) indictment last year of President Al-Bashir did not have the intended effect of driving him from power. In fact, it helped to increase his popularity! In spite of western sanctions, Khartoum is continuing to grow it economy with trade with its African neighbors, Arab gulf states, India, Malaysia and of course, China.

The U.S. and Europe must still deal with President Bashir as crucial decisions loom ahead concerning the referendum next year on whether the south will vote to separate or remain a part of Sudan. President Bashir has indicated that he will work harder even at this point to encourage unity, but will accept the results of the vote. Unity is still the best option for Sudan!



Hodari Abdul-Ali is a prominent African-American Muslim and a distinguished Peace Activist for Sudan. His book services are well known in the Washington, DC-Maryland area. New Trend readers might remember him from our report on his historic visit to the Muslims and Dalits of India.



Pakistan:

Jamaate Islami's comment on Benazir's murder, Suffering of Masses, Honoring Dr. Israr, Musharraf's flight

by Shamusddin [to New Trend from Lahore]

LAHORE, Apr. 28: The Jamaat e Islami chief Syed Munawar Hasan has demanded twenty years disqualification for politicians holding fake degrees along with recovery of all the benefits drawn by them from the public exchequer.

The legislators holding fake degrees are guilty of fraud and deserve a strong deterrent action as simple unseating is no punishment, he said while talking to media after addressing a reference in memory of veteran Islamic scholar and founder of the Tanzeem e Islami, Dr Israr Ahmed.

The reference was organized by the Islami Jamiat e Talaba. Those who paid homage to the great scholar included senior journalist Mujibur Rahman Shami, Tanzeem e Islami chief Hafiz Aakif Saeed and IJT chief Syed Abdur Rashid.

Syed Munawar Hasan said the fake degrees should also be a matter of concern for the political parties accommodating such elements.

Syed Munawar Hasan stressed that the elements obstructing the implementation of the Supreme Court 17- member bench judgment on NRO should be issued contempt notices. The JI would hold a mass campaign in support of the Supreme Court if this judgment was not implemented, he said.

Asked about the UN commission report on Benazir Bhutto's murder, Syed Munawar Hasan said, the general practice in such cases was to see who was the beneficiary. He said the President was putting the blame on others to hide his crime although previously he had said he knew the assassins of Benazir Bhutto.

He said President Zardari had been in power for two years but had not brought the assassins in the dock. Instead, Musharraf was given a safe exit with protocol and was made a roving professor.

Paying homage to Dr Israr Ahmed, he said the life mission of the deceased was the establishment of Deen and the deceased struggled for that with the Holy Quran as the pivot throughout his life.

Hafiz Aakif Saeed said that God Almighty had fashioned Dr Israr Ahmed to plead for Islam and his father was proud of that.

Mujibur Rehman Shami said Dr Israr Ahmed was a great preacher of islam and his services for Deen would be remembered for ever.

JI condemns proposed raise in POL, gas, electricity charges

LAHORE, Apr. 28: Jamaat e Islami deputy Secretary General Dr Farid Ahmed Piracha has warned the ruling junta of strong public reaction against a fresh raise in POL, electricity and gas rates from May one, on IMF dictation.
During the last two years, the electricity tariff had been raised by 35 per cent, gas charges by 22 per cent and POL rates by 30 per cent which had pushed the common man to the point of starvation, he said in a statement on Wednesday.
Farid Piracha said the rulers were not prepared to cut their lavish spending, bring back their wealth abroad or give up US slavery but they were conveniently passing on the entire burden on to the masses. Accordingly, there had been sharp rise in poverty, lawlessness, corruption, load shedding and unemployment.
He said the ruling parties should realize that they had to go the masses for fresh mandate and the IMF would come to their help at that time.

Efforts to Put General Musharraf on Trial
General Musharraf Attacked Red Mosque-Jamia Hafsa under Zionist Pressure

PML - N Prepares Charge Sheet Against Musharraf

http://www.pmln.org.pk

By Iftikhar A. Khan

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, 9 June 2008 (Dawn) - The Pakistan Muslim League [PML-N] has formulated a 10-point charge-sheet for a resolution to impeach [criminal, outlaw, tyrant] Pervez Musharraf and hopes that its [PML-N] coalition partners [PPP, ANP, JUI-F and others] will move it if Gen. (retd) Musharraf does not resign.

This was announced by PML-N leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan at a press conference at the party's central secretariat here on Sunday.

The charge-sheet has the following allegations:

1. Gen. Pervez Musharraf imposed [illegal Army] Martial Law in the country twice, subverted the Constitution and violated the oath taken by him as Army chief. He kept the elected Prime Minister [Muhammad Nawaz Sharif] behind bars in the Attock Fort, [illegally] detained judges of the superior courts [Supreme Court and High Courts] with their family members and imposed [military] dictatorship at gunpoint.

2. He planned and undertook the Kargil misadventure, concealing it from the elected government, sacrificing some 800 [Pakistan Army] officers and men of the Army in the process.

3. He used Pakistan Army as his personal force, tried to corrupt it and gave promotion to his blue-eyed officers. He used the Army for different unconstitutional and illegal actions meant to prolong his rule, badly affecting the credibility of the national institution.

4. He pushed the Army into an undeclared war against its own people without seeking approval from the Prime Minister, Cabinet and Parliament, which has so far resulted in the killing of over 1,000 Army men. Suicide bombings in reaction have also claimed lives of a large number of Pakistanis.
5. He blackmailed and subjected different people to torture and abuse, using the National Accountability Bureau [NAB] to form a [PML-Q] political party.

6. He got Nawab Akbar Bugti killed in cold blood to implement the threat he had earlier hurled on him and congratulated the people involved in the killing after the act.

7. Thousands of Baloch political workers were made victims of enforced disappearance, with their family members still unaware of their whereabouts. Various Baloch leaders, including Akhtar Mengal, were implicated in false cases and jailed.

8. The Lal Masjid [Red Mosque of Islamabad] was attacked on the pressure of external powers [the Israeli-Zionist Bush-Cheney Junta of War Criminals], resulting in the death of hundreds of innocent boys and girls.

9. Over 650 of the [Pakistani and Afghan] people illegally picked up from different parts of the country were handed over to the United States in return for dollars. This he [Traitor Musharraf] admitted in his book.

10. He set new examples of cronyism, nepotism, corruption and
favoritism. During his eight years in power, Gen. Musharraf made billions of rupees as his close associates got massive contracts from NHA, OGDC, PIA, besides earning billions of rupees in defence deals.

Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said these are not mere allegations, but
substantial evidence is available which would be presented in
Parliament during impeachment proceedings.

He opposed the idea of giving a safe exit to Musharraf and said it was a fit case for trial under Article 6 of the Constitution. He said the reconciliation offer by Musharraf at this stage is meaningless as it would be a folly to give more time to an unreliable and controversial person.

He said the PML-N would formally demand formation of a commission on the Kargil episode during the budget session so that those responsible for the misadventure could be brought to book.

He rejected claim by Musharraf that he had not lobbied to become Army chief, but did not give details.

However, answering a question, he said he was amongst those who had supported Musharraf at that time. He said the final decision was taken by the then Prime Minister on the basis of records provided by the Inter Services Intelligence [ISI] and the Military Intelligence [MI].

"Nobody had recommended him [Dictator Musharraf] as Martial Law administrator," he remarked.

7 Point Charge-sheet Against Musharraf

1.He started Kargil without the approval or even knowledge of the govt., hence effectively derailed the peace process initiated by the elected govt. It isolated Pakistan and sabotaged more than 50 years of struggle of the Kashmiris and the Kashmiri cause .it also neutralized the nuclear deterrent and demonstrated to the people of the world the irresponsibility of Pakistani army generals. Kargil has damaged Pakistan in every which way one can think of.

2.The coup of 1999 was a crime punishable under article 6 of the
constitution. It was well planned and well rehearsed. The subsequent hijacking story is utter bullshit. he controlled everything from the cockpit of that aircraft.

3.Ok,he was the victor and with help of some corrupted and immoral generals he was able to overwhelm the elected govt., fine he was welcomed by some quarters but whatever he has done with people of Pakistan during almost 9 years has compounded his crimes. he screwed the administration system of the country only for the perpetuation of his rule. the local govt. system which he installed, resulted to worst kind of oligarchy and the rural Pakistan is bleeding. Most of us here on this forum are probably quite unaware of the havoc this local govt. system has wrecked.

4.He abducted , handed over and sold Pakistani Citizen. The numbers are in thousands. nobody knows where these people are. for this crime only he should be hanged several times.

5. He was criminally negligent after the earthquake. he showed up at Margalla towers, climbed atop the rubble under which there were alive as well as dead bodies. Later on he appointed one of his crony to head the organisation responsible for rehabilitation and reconstruction, consequently huge amounts of money was embezzled. That led to a great human tragedy about which nobody talks.

6. He removed and imprisoned the Chief Justice of Pakistan on flimsy charges. The supreme court of Pakistan reinstated the Chief Justice and declared his actions to be unlawful.

7. He then abrogated the constitution and imprisoned not only Chief Justice but all other Judges who refused to take oath under his PCO.

His rule brought innumerable miseries to the people of Pakistan. He has been the most corrupted, callous ,immoral and ruthless ruler of the country and people were subservient to his whims and wishes. It is high time, he be tried otherwise Pakistan would never be able to get rid of imprudent, self-righteous Napoleonic idiocy of military regimes.



Why the rise in al-Qaeda Attacks in Iraq?

Excerpts from Ned Parker's report.

Secret prison for Sunnis revealed in Baghdad

By Ned Parker
The Los Angeles Times
April 19, 2010

Reporting from Baghdad

Hundreds of Sunni men disappeared for months into a secret Baghdad prison
under the jurisdiction of Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's military office,
where many were routinely tortured until the country's Human Rights Ministry
gained access to the facility, Iraqi officials say.

The men were detained by the Iraqi army in October in sweeps targeting Sunni
groups in Nineveh province, a stronghold of Al Qaeda in Iraq other militant
groups in northern Iraq. The provincial governor alleged at the time that
ordinary citizens had been detained as well, often without a warrant.

Worried that courts would order the detainees' release, security forces
obtained a court order and transferred them to Baghdad where they were held
in isolation. Human rights officials learned of the facility in March from
family members searching for missing relatives.

Revelation of the secret prison could worsen tensions at a highly sensitive
moment in Iraq. As U.S. troops are withdrawing, Maliki, a Shiite, and other
political officials are negotiating over the formation of a new government.
Including minority Sunni Arabs is considered by many to be a key to
preventing a return of widespread sectarian violence. Already there has been
an increase in attacks by Al Qaeda in Iraq, a Sunni extremist group. The
alleged brutal treatment of prisoners at the facility raised concerns that
the country could drift back to its authoritarian past.


Hadith Studies by Kaukab siddique, PhD

Weak Translation of Hadith Misleads Readers: A Comment on the Meaning of 'Aql and Jariya

In his translation of Sahih Bukhari, Dr. Muhsin Khan translates hadith number 826 (in volume 3, section XVII, on Witnesses) as follows: "Narrated Abu Sa'id Al-Khudri. The Prophet said: 'Isn't the witness of a woman equal to half of that of a man?' The Women said, 'Yes'. He said, "This is because of the deficiency of a woman's mind." The Arabic is fazalika min nuqsan-e-aqaleha which should be translated as: "That is owing to her lack of understanding." The translation of 'Aql as "mind" is incorrect. The term "mind" is a platonic concept which refers to innate ability. 'Aql is the word for understanding, sense and wisdom which is acquired through experience and development of educational abilities. The mind is fixed and unchanging; Understanding can be developed. The term "mind" has to do with the idea that some people are born with intelligence and some are not: In its essence it is a racist concept.
We can try to define the meaning of the word "aql" by looking at its usage in the Qur'an. It is used to refer to an ability which learns from observation and which works though experiencing the wonders of God's creation:

And of His signs is this: He shows you the lightning for a fear and a hope, and sends down water from the sky, and thereby quickens the earth after its death. Surely in that are signs for people of understanding (liqaumin-yyaqiloon).
The Qur'an 30:24

And the difference of night and day and the provision that Allah sends down from the sky and thereby quickens the earth after her death, and the ordering of the winds, are signs for people of understanding (liqaumin-yyaqiloon).
Sura 45:5

These verses are meant for the general audience of the Qur'an. Anyone who is willing to use his understanding and look at the heavens and the earth can perceive the underlying power which makes the universe possible. These verses are not aimed at some special elite which has a "mind" which others lack. Certainly women are not excluded from the audience of these verses. No honest commentator would be able to claim that the signs of God mentioned in these verses are not available to women because women are deficient in their "minds"! Any person, man or woman, can perceive the ayat (signs) of Allah and arrive at conclusions about God's Oneness, Creativity, Power, and Nurturing Love.
Dr. Muhsin Khan has made a major blunder. He did not realize that the holy Prophet was actually urging the women to gain understanding. He was not saying that they are deficient by nature and will always remain so! When a teacher says to a student: Your understanding of the book is weak, you are deficient in your analysis; think, don't cheat, etc; the teacher is actually urging the student to gain the understanding which he/she lacks. Islam came to educate people, to raise them from out of the marshes of ignorance, not to condemn them.

If Dr. Muhsin Khan had looked at other hadith in the same chapter of Bukhari's Sahih, he would have realized two things:
1. The holy Prophet did not reject the witness of one woman even as opposed to a man's.
2. He did not think that women are deficient in their minds.
In hadith number 827 and 828 we are told that the holy Prophet abrogated a marriage on the basis of ONE WOMAN'S WITNESS who had testified that in their infancy she had suckled both the husband and the wife. The narration indicates that the male narrator did not want to accept the woman's witnessing but the holy Prophet would not countenance his hesitation. (Incidentally the woman was black and a slave from the Era of Ignorance, which also indicates the revolutionary Islamic concepts of equality of all races and peoples along with equality of male and female.)

Further on in the same chapter of Bukhari's Sahih, we have a lengthy narration of the slander which was spread against hazrat 'Ayesha (radi Allahu unha) by the hypocrites. In the narration we find hazrat Ali urging the holy Prophet to ask for one woman's witness and the holy Prophet going through the process of asking one woman without saying that two women are required. (The Qur'an then confirmed this witnessing by affirming the noble character of the blessed 'Ayesha.) The words of the narration are:

"'Ali ibn Abi Talib said: O messenger of Allah! Allah has not put restrictions on you, and there are many women other than she; yet you may ask the young woman (Barera) and she will tell you the truth. On that the messenger of Allah, peace and blessing of Allah be on him, called Barera and asked her: 'O Barera! Did you ever see anything which raised your suspicion? Barera said: No. By Allah who has sent you with the Truth, I have never seen anything wrong in her except that she is young and sometimes sleeps after having kneaded the dough and the goat comes and eats it. On that day the messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be on him, stood up to give the khutba and asked the people to support him against Abdullah ibn Ubayy ibn Salul. The messenger of Allah said: Who will support me against that person who has hurt me in the matter of my family? By Allah I know nothing but good about my family, and they have accused a man about whom I know nothing except good and he never entered my house except in my company."

Those who have read their hadith books carefully know that Barera was a freed slave woman. In fact, she had been freed by hazrat 'Ayesha and used to spend her time with hazrat 'Ayesha as her companion, friend, and helper. In both hadith the witness of one woman is accepted by the Prophet, and the question of their 'deficient mind' is not raised. The reason for acceptance was that Islamic education had given women mental maturity and understanding. By the time the slander against hazrat 'Ayesha occurred, the Muslim community had strengthened its roots. When the verse about two female witnesses was revealed in Sura al-Baqarah, the Islamic community had just begun in Medina. Our male commentators have built their weak position on Sura al-Baqarah while completely ignoring Surat un-Noor where hazrat 'Ayesha's example was used by Allah to indicate the equality of males and females before the Law for all times to come. Dr. Muhsin Khan has also slipped in his translation of the word jariya. He translates it as "woman-servant" which though better than laundi (female slave), as some Urdu language translators put it, is still off the mark. The workd jariya simply means a young woman or girl. Barera was not a slave or a servant. (Bukhari's Sahih attests that the holy Prophet's household did not have a servant, male or female) She had been freed by hazrat 'Ayesha. Somehow Dr. Khan could not see that the word jariya occurs three times in hadith 829 referring to hazrat 'Ayesha herself. (As hazrat 'Ayesha points out, she was a young woman at that time and weighed very little; hence the camel driver did not know if she was sitting in the curtained seat atop the camel or not and moved on without her.) Thank goodness that Dr. Khan does not claim that hazrat 'Ayesha was a slave girl too! I hope he will look up the story of Barera and find out that she had been freed. (Freed slaves often lived with those who had freed them in a system of wilayya because they had no family systems of their own.)

I am not trying to condemn all of Dr. Khan's translation. Readers however should notice how many different factors can come in to create misgivings and misunderstanding about Hadith. We all have much to learn. Those who are translating holy books into English are often very deficient in their English; however, they are not willing to face the fact that they are deficient in their understanding of English. Inshallah, we can learn from each other. Let them tell us where we make mistakes in Arabic, and let them listen to us where we point out their mistakes in English. The language of the people is an essential vehicle for the dissemination of a message. The Qur'an was revealed in Arabic to a people who spoke Arabic. Similarly, Islam in America must be conveyed by people who can speak and understand the idiom of the American people.

And if We had sent the Qur'an in a foreign tongue, they would have surely said: if only its verses were expounded (so that we might understand). What! I foreign tongue and an Arab?--Say to them (O Muhammad): For those who believe it is a Guidance and a healing; and as for those who disbelieve, there is deafness in their ears, and it is blindness for them. Such are called to from afar.
The Qur'an 41:44

2010-04-30 Fri 19:20:55 cdt
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