Saturday, December 24, 2011
Umar's (Title of Al Farooq)
Mujahid, on the authority of Ibn Abbas related that he had asked 'Umar bin Al-Khattab why he had been given the epithet of Al-Farooq, he replied: After I had embraced Islam, I asked Mohammad: 'Aren't we on the right path here and Hereafter?' He answered: 'Of course you are! I swear by Allah in Whose Hand my soul is, that you are right in this world and in the hereafter.' I, therefore, asked Mohammad 'Why we then had to conduct clandestine activism. I swear by Allah Who has sent you with the Truth, that we will leave our concealment and proclaim our noble cause publicly.' We then went out in two groups, Hamzah leading one and I the other. We headed for the Masjid Al Haram in broad daylight. When the polytheists of Quraish saw us, their faces went pale and got incredibly depressed and resentful. On that very occasion, Mohammad attached to me the epithet of Al-Farooq.[citation needed]
Early life
Umar was born in Mecca to the Banu Adi clan, which was responsible for arbitrations among the tribes. His father was Khattab ibn Nufayl and his mother was Hantammah daughter of Khattab, from the tribe of Banu Makhzum. He was the cousin of Khalid ibn al-Walid, a general who would play an important role later in his life, and during a wrestling match between the two, Umar had his leg broken.[7] He is said to have belonged to a middle class family. In his youth he used to tend to his father’s camels in the plains near Mecca. His father was famed for his intelligence among his tribe, and is believed to have been a ruthless man and emotional polytheist who often treated Umar badly. As obvious from Umar's own statement regarding his father during his later political rule, Umar said, "My father Al-Khittab was a ruthless man. He used to make me work hard; if I didn't work he used to beat me and he used to work me to exhaustion."[8]
Death
On 23 August 634, Abu Bakr fell sick and did not recover due to his old age. There are two accounts about the sickness of Abu Bakr. One account states that 8 August 634 was a cold day and when Abu Bakr took a bath, he caught a chill. Another account indicates that, about a year before, along with some other companions, Harith bin Kaladah and Attab bin Usaid, he had eaten some poisoned food which did not affect him for a year.
Invasion of Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire
Further information: Muslim conquest of Syria
Military expansion
Once the rebellions had been put down, Abu Bakr began a war of conquest. Whether or not he intended a full-out imperial conquest is hard to say; he did, however, set in motion a historical trajectory that in just a few short decades would lead to one of the largest empires in history. Abu Bakr began with Iraq, the richest province of Persian Empire. He sent his most brilliant general Khalid ibn al-Walid to invade the Sassanid Empire.
Reign as a Caliph
After assuming the office of Caliphate Abu Bakr's first address was as follow:I have been given the authority over you, and I am not the best of you. If I do well, help me; and if I do wrong, set me right. Sincere regard for truth is loyalty and disregard for truth is treachery. The weak amongst you shall be strong with me until I have secured his rights, if God wills; and the strong amongst you shall be weak with me until I have wrested from him the rights of others, if God wills. Obey me so long as I obey God and His Messenger. But if I disobey God and His Messenger, ye owe me no obedience. Arise for your prayer, God have mercy upon you.
Other Ahadith on Virtues of Abubakr
There are many ahadith that mention the virtues and special position of Abu Bakr:Abu Huraira reported that the Islamic prophet Muhammad said, "There is not anyone who may have been kind to us, or helped us without my returning to him (his favor) except Abu Bakr. The kindness that he has shown us, only Allah will reward him for that on the Day of Resurrection. No one's property has been of benefit to me as much as Abu Bakr's. And if I were to take a Khaleel (close friend from my companions) then I would take Abu Bakr as one. But you must know that I am Allah's Khaleel.[41][specify]
Death of Muhammad
| Abu Bakr | |
|---|---|
 An imagining of Abu Bakr stopping the Meccan Mob, in a Turkish miniature from the 16th century C.E. | |
| Rightly-Guided Caliph, Warrior, Reformer, Siddiq, Disciple of Muhammad, Companion of the Cave | |
| Born | c. 573 C.E. Mecca |
| Died | c. 634 C.E. Medina |
| Honored in | Islam |
| Influences | Prophets of Islam |
| Influenced | Countless future Muslim leaders and clerics |
Military Campaigns under Muhammad
| | ||
Main articles: Battle of Badr and Battle of Uhud
In 624 Abu Bakr was involved in the first battle between the Muslims and the Quraysh of Mecca, known as the Battle of Badr, but did not fight, instead acting as one of the guards of Muhammad's tent. In 625 he participated in the Battle of Uhud which ended in a rout by the majority of the Muslims. Before the battle begun, Abu Bakr's son Abdu'l-Rahman ibn Abu Bakr, who was still non-Muslim and was fighting from the side of the Quraysh, came forward and threw down a challenge for a duel. Abu Bakr accepted the challenge but was stopped by Muhammad. His son later converted to Islam and gained fame during the Muslim conquest of Syria as a fierce warrior.
Migration to Medina
Main article: Hijra (Islam)
In 622, on the invitation of the Muslims of Medina, Muhammad ordered Muslims to migrate to Medina. The migration began in batches. Ali was the last to remain in Mecca, entrusted with responsibility for settling any loans the Muslims had taken, and famously slept in the bed of Muhammad when the Quraysh led by Ikrima attempted to murder Muhammad as he slept. Meanwhile Abu Bakr accompanied Muhammad in his migration for Medina. Due to the danger of the Quraysh, they did not take the road to Medina.
Persecution by the Quraysh, 613
Main article: Persecution of Muslims by the Meccans
For three years after the advent of Islam, Muslims kept secret their faith, and prayed in secret. In 613 Muhammad decided to call people to Islam openly. The first public address inviting people to offer allegiance to Muhammad was delivered by Abu Bakr.[citation needed] In a fit of fury the young men of the Quraysh tribe rushed at Abu Bakr, and beat him mercilessly till he lost consciousness.[28] Following this incident Abu Bakr's mother converted to Islam. Abu Bakr was persecuted many times by the Quraysh. Abu Bakr's beliefs would have been defended by his own clan, but not by the entire Quraysh tribe.
Acceptance of Islam
On his return from a business trip from Yemen, he was informed by friends that in his absence Muhammad had declared himself the Messenger of God, and proclaimed a new religion. Abu Bakr was the first baligh (post-puberty) free male to accept Muhammad's prophethood (though Shias maintain Abu Talib and other adult members of Muhammad's immediate blood family were, i.e. the Hashemites). Scholars, as well as other Sunnis and all Shi'a Muslims maintain that the second person to publicly accept Muhammed as the messenger of Allah was Ali ibn Abi Talib, though to Shias Ali always knew of Muhammad's status through pre-knowledge.[22] However, 'Ali was still a pre-pubescent child when he accepted Islam, and therefore may have been excluded from the duties of a Muslim. Also Abu Bakr was the first person outside the family of Muhammad to openly become a Muslim.[edit] Life after accepting Islam
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His conversion brought the most benefit to Islam. Abu Bakr's brought many people to Islam. He persuaded his intimate friends to convert to Islam.[23][24] and presented Islam to others in such a way that many of his friends accepted Islam.
Those who converted to Islam at the instance of Abu Bakr were:[4]
- Uthman Ibn Affan (who would became the 3rd Caliph)
- Al-Zubayr (played a part in the Muslim conquest of Egypt)
- Talha Ibn Ubayd-Allah
- Abdur Rahman bin Awf (who would remain an important part of the Rashidun Caliphate)
- Sa`d ibn Abi Waqqas (played a part in the Islamic conquest of Persia)
- Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah (who remained commander in chief of the Rashidun army in Syria )
- Abu Salama (Abdullah bin Abdul Asad)
- Khalid ibn Sa`id
- Abu Hudhaifah ibn al-Mughirah
The men were
The women were:
Most of the slaves liberated by Abu Bakr were either women or old and frail men.[27] The father of Abu Bakr asked him to for why doesn't he liberate strong and young slaves who could be a source of strength for him, Abu Bakr replied that he was freeing the slaves for the sake of Allah, and not for his own sake. According to Sunni tradition the following verses of the Qur'an were revealed due to this:[citation needed]
Early life
Abu Bakr was born in Mecca some time in 573 CE, to a rich family in the Banu Tamim clan of the Quraysh tribe. Abu Bakr's father's name was Uthman Abu Quhafa (nicknamed Abu Quhafa) and his mother was Salma Umm-ul-Khair (nicknamed Umm-ul-Khair). Abu Bakr was a thin man with white skin.[18] Tabari relates (Suyuti also relates the same through Ibn Sa'd al-Baghdadi's report) from Aisha her description of Abu Bakr:
Lineage and title
Abu Bakr's full name is 'Abd Allah ibn 'Uthman ibn Aamir ibn Amr ibn Ka'ab ibn Sa'ad ibn Tamim ibn Murrah ibn Ka'ab ibn Lu'ai ibn Ghalib ibn Fihr al-Quraishi at-Tamimi.[6] In Arabic, the name 'Abd Allah' means (servant of God). Although he is most known by his title 'Abu Bakr', he has many other titles. One of his titles was 'atiqe' (the saved one) and he was known by this title before Islam. Muhammad confirmed this title later when he said that Abu Bakr is the 'atiqe' (the one saved from hell fire by God).
islam
Abu Bakr (Abdullah ibn Abi Quhafa) (Arabic: عبد الله بن أبي قحافة; Transliteration: ʿAbdullāh bin Abī Quḥāfah, c. 573 CE unknown exact date 634/13 AH) was a senior companion (Sahabi) and the father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He ruled over the Rashidun Caliphate from 632-634 CE when he became the first Muslim Caliph following Muhammad's death.[1] As Caliph, Abu Bakr succeeded to the political and administrative functions previously exercised by the Prophet, since the religious function and authority of prophethood ended with Muhammad's death according to Islam. He was called Al-Siddiq (The Truthful)[2] and was known by that title among later generations of Muslims.
Thursday, December 22, 2011
The Zabur
This term "Zabur" is the Arabic equivalent of the Hebrew zimra, translated in the King James Version as "psalm" in Ps. 81:2 and 98:5. The Hebrew word has the meaning "song, music", as in Ex. 15:2, "The Lord is my strength and song". It along with zamir (song) and mizmor (psalm) is a derivative of zamar, meaning "sing, sing praise, make music". (Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, vol. 1, pg. 245.)
The term Tawrat is simply the Arabic equivalent for the Hebrew Torah, normally understood as the law of Moses (Hazrat Musa). The Koran gives abundant testimony to the Tawrat, so much so, that it is mentioned more than any other part of the Bible:
The Muslim Understanding of the 3 Holy Books
General Muslim understanding today of the Tawrat, Zabur, and Injil, is somewhat simplistic. Each is thought to be a revelation in the form of a written book that was given through Hazrat Musa, Dawud, and Isa (peace be upon them) respectively. But there is some divergence of opinion:
It is common knowledge that Muslims recognize four remaining holy books out of a total of 104 revelations, of which 100 are missing. Although Muslims are often taught that the 3 remaining books previous to the Koran have been altered, still, Muslims for the most part, respect those 3 holy books. The 3 holy books are known as the Tawrat, Zabur, and Injil.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
OLDEST COPY OF THE QURAN AS KNOWN TODAY
The many variant reading caused Muslim soldiers from Iraq who followed Ibn Masud's collection, and soldiers of Syria who took Ubay's collection to be the correct one, to accuse each other of lying.Uthman's reaction in 653 AD is recorded in the following Hadith: "Uthman sent a message to Hafsa saying, 'Send us the manuscripts of the Quran so that we may compile the Quranic materials in perfect copies and return the manuscripts to you'. Hafsa sent it to Uthman, Uthman then ordered Zaid bin Thabit, Abdullah bin Az-Zubair, Said bin Al-As and Abdur Rahman bin Harith bin Hisham to rewrite the manuscripts in perfect copies. Uthman said to the three Quraishi men, 'In case you disagree with Zaid bin Thabit on any point in the Quran, then write it in the dialect of Quraish as the Quran was revealed in their tongue.' They did so, and when they had written many copies, Uthman returned the original manuscripts to Hafsa. Uthman sent to every Muslim province one copy of what they had copied, and ordered that all the other Quranic materials whether written in fragmentary manuscripts or whole copies, be burned. Zaid bin Thabit added, 'A verse from Surah 33, Alizab, (verse 23) was missed by me when we copied the Quran and I used to hear Allah's Apostle reciting it. So we searched for it and found it with Khuzaima bin Thabit Al-Ansari...'" (Bukhari, VI, No.510)
VARIANT READINGS IN THE QURAN
A number of Hadith mention that several of Muhammad's (p.b.u.h.) companions wrote down their own collections of the revelations. ("Itqan I" by Suyuti, p.62)The most well known among them are: Ibn Masud He claimed to have learned some seventy Surahs directly from the prophet. Muhammad (p.b.u.h.) told other people to learn the Quran from him and three others. (Bukhari, 6, No.521) However, Surah 1, 113 and 114 were missing in his collection. (Fihrist, I, pages 53-57)
Ubay bin Kab The prophet's secretary in Medina. He is one of the other three mentioned above whom the prophet recommended as a teacher of the Quran. His collection contained two additional Surahs and an otherwise unknown verse. ("Itqan I" by Suyuti, p.65; "Masahif" by Ibn Abi Dawud, pages 180-181, also "Geschichte des Quran's" by Noeldeke, pages 33-38) His text was widely used in Syria before the appearance of Uthman's text.
THE MAN WHO WROTE DOWN THE FIRST OFFICIAL COPY OF THE QURAN
The revelations given to Muhammad (p.b.u.h.) were not written down by himself: "Narrated al Bara: There was revealed 'Not equal are those believers who sit and those who strive and fight in the cause of Allah' (Surah 4, Nisaa, verse 95). The prophet said: 'Call Zaid for me and let him bring the board, the ink pot and the scapula bone.' Then he said: 'Write: Not equal are those believers...'" (Bukhari,VI, No.512)
MAINLY ORAL TRANSMISSION OF THE QURAN FOR 43 YEARS
The revelations Muhammad (p.b.u.h.) received were passed on mainly orally for 43 years from 610 AD until 653 AD. At that time the Quran was officially written under the command of Uthman. During the first 22 years of this period the prophet of Islam was still alive. In case of doubt his followers could have consulted him immediately. Many of them also memorized the revelations under his personal guidance. More than 20 of those are mentioned by name in the Hadith. Among them were well know persons, such as Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, Ali, Ibn Masud, Abu Huraira, Abdullah bin Abbas, Abdullah bin Amr bin al-As, Aisha, Hafsa and Umm Salama. ("Itqan" by Suyuti, I, p.124) Others went over the contents of the Quran with the prophet before his death. "Narrated Qatada: I asked Anas bin Malik: 'Who collected the Quran at the time of the prophet?' He replied, 'Four, all of whom were from the Ansar: Ubai bin Ka'b, Muadh bin Jabal, Zaid bin Thabit and Abu Zaid.'" (Bukhari, VI, No.525)
FIRST WRITTEN ACCOUNTS OF THE QURAN
The revelations Muhammad (p.b.u.h.) received were written down during his lifetime on different writing materials. However, they were not bound into one single book. This is confirmed by a report that says "when people came to Medina to learn about Islam, they were provided with copies of the chapters of the Quran, to read and learn them by heart." ("Sahifa Hammam ibn Munabbih," by Hamidullah, 1979, p.64)
MEMORIZATION OF THE QURAN
During the time revelations were received by the prophet of Islam, the Muslims were encouraged to memorize them: "Narrated Uthman bin Affan: The prophet said: 'The most superior among you are those who learn the Quran and teach it.'" (Bukhari, VI, No. 546, all of Bukhari's English translations in this comparison are taken from: "The translation of the meaning of Sahih al-Bukhari", 9 volumes, by Khan Muhammad Mushin, Istanbul, 1978)
The History
STORY OF THE QURAN AND THE INJIL
By Abdullah Ibrahim
To study and understand history has always been a vital tool in developing a correct view on a wide variety of matters. In order to confirm the validity of the Injil, which is known as the New Testament, it will be necessary to look at its history and that of the Quran. In the Holy Book of Islam Christians are referred to as the people of the Injil. (Surah 5, Al Ma'idah, 47, all references refer to "The Meaning of The Holy Qur'an by Abdullah Yusuf 'Ali, Amana Publications, U.S.A., 1989) The literal meaning of the word is "Good News," or "Gospel". It is used in three ways:
Taorah
The Written Law consists of the books of the Hebrew Bible, the Tanakh. The term "Bible" is more commonly used by non-Jews, as are the terms "Old Testament" and "New Testament." The appropriate term for Jews to use for the Hebrew Bible is "Tanakh." Tanakh is an acronym for Torah, Nevi'im (Prophets) and Ketuvim (Writings).
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