Minhaj wrote: |
Salam all;
One of the questions in the "combat kit" which you may be familiar with: "Surah 2:143 shows that Allah (swt) gave an order for the Muslims to change their Qibla from (Bayt Al Maqdis in Jerusalem) to the Kabah in Mecca. However, there is no Quranic verse that shows the first order that Allah gave to make the Qibla towards Jerusalem. Does this not prove that there are revelations to Prophet Muhammad besides the Qur???????????????¢??an?" I had responded to this before, but an Arab-speaking Sunni did not address my points about "kanat" and 5:3, nor did he explain why believers in Alalh would find it hard to follow a qiblah already followed by those who received scriptures from the same God. In short he simply provided the same interpretation as that presented in the question, without actually rebutting. It is not necessary to debunk him beyond showing that the question is not actually an "argument of death", but I would like an opinion on what I have written (especially about "kanat" since most translate it as "it was"). The example of subjunctiveness I got from: http://arabic.tripod.com/Verbs11.htm RESPONSE: ???????????????¢??The fools among the people will say: What has turned them from their qiblah which they had? Say: The East and the West belong only to Allah; He guides whom He likes to the right path.???????????????¢???????????????? 2:142 ???????????????¢??And thus We have made you a medium (just) nation that you may be the bearers of witness to the people and (that) the Messenger may be a bearer of witness to you; and We did not make the qiblah that which you formerly observed but that We might distinguish him who follows the Messenger from him who turns back upon his heels, and this was surely hard except for those whom Allah has guided aright; and Allah will not make your faith to be fruitless; most surely Allah is Affectionate, Merciful to the people.???????????????¢???????????????? 2:143 ???????????????¢??Indeed We see the turning of your face to heaven, so We shall surely turn you to a qiblah which you shall like; turn then your face towards the Sacred Mosque, and wherever you are, turn your face towards it, and those who have been given the Book most surely know that it is the truth from their Lord; and Allah is not at all heedless of what they do.???????????????¢???????????????? 2:144 It is important to note that the sequence from 2:135 to 2:145 refers to Jews and Christians. From this we see it is logical to assume that the ???????????????¢??fools???????????????¢???????????????? in 2:142 refers either to the Jews and/or Christians (who see that Allah has changed their qiblah) or to spectators who see that Allah has changed the qiblah of Muhammad and expects People of the Book to follow. The phrase ???????????????¢??will say???????????????¢???????????????? in 2:142 suggests that they will complain after the impending announcement of 2:144. 2:143 is likewise a prelude to 2:144 in that it is preparing the Muslims for the commandment. ???????????????¢??We have not made the qiblah that which you formerly observed but that???????????????¢????????????????¦???????????????¢???????????????? indicates that Allah has designated a new qiblah but has yet to confirm it. This is similar to 5:3 where Allah says that He has ???????????????¢??perfected the system???????????????¢???????????????? though there are still more rulings to come. The perfect verb ???????????????¢??perfected???????????????¢???????????????? was used at the beginning of the Sura, and it applies to the forthcoming commandments or else it should have been mentioned at the end of the last. According to 2:144 the qiblah which Muhammad had once observed was the Sacred Mosque, but it is evident that this was his choice (2:115, 2:144). This explains why the Sacred Mosque is a qiblah which he would like (2:144). It should be noted that ???????????????¢??Indeed We see the turning of your face to heaven???????????????¢????????????????¦???????????????¢???????????????? further indicates the freedom of choice which Muhammad enjoyed (though he had chosen another for strategic purposes). ???????????????¢??We did not make the qiblah???????????????¢????????????????¦???????????????¢???????????????? in 2:143 could be read as ???????????????¢??We have made the qiblah???????????????¢????????????????¦???????????????¢???????????????? meaning that the new official qiblah (the Sacred Mosque) has been appointed as a test for believers. That is to say, Allah decided to appoint the qiblah so that He could expose the unbelievers. Obviously those who actually believed in Allah would have no trouble following a qiblah already followed by the People of the Book (who in theory follow the same God), thus the "former qiblah" would be Mecca. Note also that Jerusalem was the present qiblah at the time, so again it cannot be the "testing" qiblah referred to. ?????'¢????????????????¦this was surely hard for the believers???????????????¢????????????????¦???????????????¢???????????????? could be translated as ???????????????¢??this is surely hard for the believers???????????????¢???????????????? because the Arabic word ???????????????¢??kanat???????????????¢???????????????? is a perfect verb employed in the subjunctive mood. For instance, perfect verbs are often used for past tense, but in 18:107 the same perfect verb is used in future tense. Perfect verbs can be used in the present and future tenses when included in hypothetical situations such as in 4:11 and 18:107 (19:5 is another example where context must decide how it is rendered). E.g.: صَعُبَ عَلَيْهِ الأَمْرُ sa"ub(a) "alay-h(i) ('a)l-'amr(u) = (he/it) has been hard on him the matter (masc.) Translation: the matter has been hard on him This was the indicative mood. صَعُبَ عَلَيْهِ الأَمْرُ sa"ub(a) "alay-h(i) ('a)l-'amr(u) = (he/it) was hard on him the matter (masc.) Translation: the matter would be hard on him This is the subjunctive mood. Since 2:143 is talking of a commandment which has not come (2:144), the situation is as hypothetical as that in 4:11 or 18:107 (i.e. if people do not have enough faith, they will fail the test). The phrase ???????????????¢??will say???????????????¢???????????????? (an imperfect verb) in 2:142 confirms that the verse is talking of the future. Thus, the test is ongoing and has not been decided since it has yet to be implemented, but the test itself is difficult such that believers will find it so. However, Allah will not let faith go unrewarded. 2:144 begins with the word ???????????????¢??indeed???????????????¢???????????????? (qad) confirming that this ayah is the ???????????????¢??peak???????????????¢???????????????? of the build-up. The actual commandment to follow the Sacred Mosque as the official and permanent qiblah begins the great test. It seems that Muhammad formerly sometimes or always observed the Sacred Mosque as his qiblah, but at some stage (perhaps after his disassociation with Mecca) he integrated with the People of the Book and changed it to Jerusalem. Evidence for their qiblah can be found in the Bible (for instance I Kings 22-44, II Chronicles 6:18-21, II Chronicles 7:12, 20:9;18, Daniel 6:10-11 and Jonah 2:4;7;2). This would have been a wise strategic decision, although in 2:145 it is made clear that the People of the Book would have trouble accepting the new law. Thanks for reading; Salam. |
Minhaj wrote: |
Salam all; |
Minhaj wrote: |
One of the questions in the "combat kit" which you may be familiar with:
"Surah 2:143 shows that Allah (swt) gave an order for the Muslims to change their Qibla from (Bayt Al Maqdis in Jerusalem) to the Kabah in Mecca. However, there is no Quranic verse that shows the first order that Allah gave to make the Qibla towards Jerusalem. Does this not prove that there are revelations to Prophet Muhammad besides the Qur???????????????¢??an?" |
Minhaj wrote: |
I had responded to this before, but an Arab-speaking Sunni did not address my points about "kanat" and 5:3, nor did he explain why believers in Alalh would find it hard to follow a qiblah already followed by those who received scriptures from the same God. |
Minhaj wrote: |
In short he simply provided the same interpretation as that presented in the question, without actually rebutting. It is not necessary to debunk him beyond showing that the question is not actually an "argument of death", but I would like an opinion on what I have written (especially about "kanat" since most translate it as "it was"). |
Minhaj wrote: |
The example of subjunctiveness I got from:
http://arabic.tripod.com/Verbs11.htm RESPONSE: ???????????????¢??The fools among the people will say: What has turned them from their qiblah which they had? Say: The East and the West belong only to Allah; He guides whom He likes to the right path.???????????????¢???????????????? 2:142 ???????????????¢??And thus We have made you a medium (just) nation that you may be the bearers of witness to the people and (that) the Messenger may be a bearer of witness to you; and We did not make the qiblah that which you formerly observed but that We might distinguish him who follows the Messenger from him who turns back upon his heels, and this was surely hard except for those whom Allah has guided aright; and Allah will not make your faith to be fruitless; most surely Allah is Affectionate, Merciful to the people.???????????????¢???????????????? 2:143 ???????????????¢??Indeed We see the turning of your face to heaven, so We shall surely turn you to a qiblah which you shall like; turn then your face towards the Sacred Mosque, and wherever you are, turn your face towards it, and those who have been given the Book most surely know that it is the truth from their Lord; and Allah is not at all heedless of what they do.???????????????¢???????????????? 2:144 |
Minhaj wrote: |
It is important to note that the sequence from 2:135 to 2:145 refers to Jews and Christians. From this we see it is logical to assume that the ???????????????¢??fools???????????????¢???????????????? in 2:142 refers either to the Jews and/or Christians |
Minhaj wrote: |
(who see that Allah has changed their qiblah) or to spectators who see that Allah has changed the qiblah of Muhammad and expects People of the Book to follow. The phrase ???????????????¢??will say???????????????¢???????????????? in 2:142 suggests that they will complain after the impending announcement of 2:144. |
Minhaj wrote: |
2:143 is likewise a prelude to 2:144 in that it is preparing the Muslims for the commandment. ???????????????¢??We have not made the qiblah that which you formerly observed but that???????????????¢????????????????¦???????????????¢???????????????? indicates that Allah has designated a new qiblah but has yet to confirm it. This is similar to 5:3 where Allah says that He has ???????????????¢??perfected the system???????????????¢???????????????? though there are still more rulings to come. The perfect verb ???????????????¢??perfected???????????????¢???????????????? was used at the beginning of the Sura, and it applies to the forthcoming commandments or else it should have been mentioned at the end of the last. According to 2:144 the qiblah which Muhammad had once observed was the Sacred Mosque, but it is evident that this was his choice (2:115, 2:144). This explains why the Sacred Mosque is a qiblah which he would like (2:144). It should be noted that ???????????????¢??Indeed We see the turning of your face to heaven???????????????¢????????????????¦???????????????¢???????????????? further indicates the freedom of choice which Muhammad enjoyed (though he had chosen another for strategic purposes). |
Minhaj wrote: |
???????????????¢??We did not make the qiblah???????????????¢????????????????¦???????????????¢???????????????? in 2:143 could be read as ???????????????¢??We have made the qiblah???????????????¢????????????????¦???????????????¢???????????????? meaning that the new official qiblah (the Sacred Mosque) has been appointed as a test for believers. That is to say, Allah decided to appoint the qiblah so that He could expose the unbelievers. Obviously those who actually believed in Allah would have no trouble following a qiblah already followed by the People of the Book (who in theory follow the same God), thus the "former qiblah" would be Mecca. Note also that Jerusalem was the present qiblah at the time, so again it cannot be the "testing" qiblah referred to.
?????'¢????????????????¦this was surely hard for the believers???????????????¢????????????????¦???????????????¢???????????????? could be translated as ???????????????¢??this is surely hard for the believers???????????????¢???????????????? because the Arabic word ???????????????¢??kanat???????????????¢???????????????? is a perfect verb employed in the subjunctive mood. For instance, perfect verbs are often used for past tense, but in 18:107 the same perfect verb is used in future tense. Perfect verbs can be used in the present and future tenses when included in hypothetical situations such as in 4:11 and 18:107 (19:5 is another example where context must decide how it is rendered). E.g.: صَعُبَ عَلَيْهِ الأَمْرُ sa"ub(a) "alay-h(i) ('a)l-'amr(u) = (he/it) has been hard on him the matter (masc.) Translation: the matter has been hard on him This was the indicative mood. صَعُبَ عَلَيْهِ الأَمْرُ sa"ub(a) "alay-h(i) ('a)l-'amr(u) = (he/it) was hard on him the matter (masc.) Translation: the matter would be hard on him This is the subjunctive mood. Since 2:143 is talking of a commandment which has not come (2:144), the situation is as hypothetical as that in 4:11 or 18:107 (i.e. if people do not have enough faith, they will fail the test). The phrase ???????????????¢??will say???????????????¢???????????????? (an imperfect verb) in 2:142 confirms that the verse is talking of the future. Thus, the test is ongoing and has not been decided since it has yet to be implemented, but the test itself is difficult such that believers will find it so. However, Allah will not let faith go unrewarded. 2:144 begins with the word ???????????????¢??indeed???????????????¢???????????????? (qad) confirming that this ayah is the ???????????????¢??peak???????????????¢???????????????? of the build-up. The actual commandment to follow the Sacred Mosque as the official and permanent qiblah begins the great test. It seems that Muhammad formerly sometimes or always observed the Sacred Mosque as his qiblah, but at some stage (perhaps after his disassociation with Mecca) he integrated with the People of the Book and changed it to Jerusalem. Evidence for their qiblah can be found in the Bible (for instance I Kings 22-44, II Chronicles 6:18-21, II Chronicles 7:12, 20:9;18, Daniel 6:10-11 and Jonah 2:4;7;2). This would have been a wise strategic decision, although in 2:145 it is made clear that the People of the Book would have trouble accepting the new law. Thanks for reading; Salam. |