301.        Some ask that how can it be said that Arabic is the only language in which the miracle (and hypothetically the challenge) of the Quran was (or can become) actualized. One important reason is the greater declension of words one finds in Arabic which makes it possible to articulate complex meanings in fewer words. Also, the different forms that one verb root may take allows for multiple valid shades of meanings to be derived from one word or base, while at the same time a number of different words may have a common ultimate meaning. So basically this points to greater flexibility for classical Arabic as opposed to other languages. Continue reading →

276.        Of note: There are certain narrations mentioning that Ibn Mas’ud (RAA) had doubts about the Muawidhatayn being part of the Qur’an, or that ‘Ubay Ibn Ka’b (RAA) thought certain Du’as were actually part of the Qur’an, and a few other things of similar signification. We say these are solitary narrations, and such types of narrations cannot be used as proof in the field of determining what the Qur’an is or is not. This confuses many people among the lay Muslims, but if they understand what is the criteria for Qur’anic studies and what establishes a proof in this field, then there is no reason for such doubts to be held by any person. Continue reading →

251.        We need to remember how, in the case of most scholars of the Muslims, many of their books if not most of them have been lost, or only partially passed down to us, and their existence is known only through citations found in existing books; of course, this is lamentable in a sense, but it  is also important to consider, since if one were to rely only on the books, one would get only a partial picture of the entire collection of the scholars’ viewpoints and reasoning process. This is also why in Islam the insistence is so much on the teachers as human beings who pass down the tradition, and not merely on books that one buys or finds in a library. Continue reading →

226.  One thing to keep in mind is three aspects necessary for speech: The words which are the conveyors of meanings, the meanings (the significations) that are being pointed to by the words, and their relationships. It is only in the Qur’an that the highest of these aspects has been reached in the same work, and this has been pointed out by the scholars of Arabic language as one of the clearest signs of the linguistic miracle of the Qur’an. And some scholars have mentioned that the blending together of the words and meanings is the Continue reading →

201.  The original libertines who lived within the Muslim community said that there comes a time when the worshipper or adept reaches such a height of divine love that all the rules of the Shariah drop from him (i.e. he does not have to do them), and he only has to think about Allah, and he is able to go to Heaven directly by his thoughts, and so forth. But this is an ugly thing to say and disbelief, since the Prophets (Alayhim as-Salaam) were never above the Shariah, and whatever of elevated positions or elevated places they reached was because Allah elevated them to that place, not because of their deeds. Continue reading →

176.  Contrary to what some deviants say, Paradise and Hellfire have already been created, and this is known from the text of the Qur’an where Allah mentions their current existence, since the Arabic points to the past tense (meaning it has already been created). Thus, there is no need to go from the literal past to a figurative future without a strong reason, and this strong reason is not forthcoming, neither from the primary texts nor from the arguments of our opponents. Continue reading →

151.  There are different types of ‘intention of the heart’, which are named: As-Saanih, Al-Khaatir, Al-Fikr, Al-Iraadah, Al-Hamm, and finally al-‘Azm. It is only this last stage, where the firm intention for accomplishing the act is present in the heart, when accountability is established.

152.  There is a difference between Ma’rifah (cognizance) and Imaan (faith). The first one only involves a knowledge (even a passing one) that a certain thing is in a certain way, while Imaan is the internal acceptance and declaration that it is as such – and thus, the category of Ma’rifah may not necessarily imply Imaan. Continue reading →