Thursday, June 5, 2008

Another irony

How is it that, whenever one quotes "peaceful" ayahs from the Quran such as this one*:
And do not take life--Which Allah has made holy--Except for just (and true) cause. And if anyone is killed wrongfully, We have given his heir the right (to demand justice within due limits or to forgive): But let him not exceed the limits in the matter of taking life; Verily, he (too) is helped (by Islamic law).
it is never "out of context," and yet when one quotes something like this**:
But when the forbidden (four) months are over then fight and kill the (distrusted) pagans wherever you find them, and catch them, attack them, and stay waiting for them in every stage (of war); But if they repent, and establish regular prayers and practice regular charity, then make it easy for them: Verily, Allah is Often Forgiving, Most Merciful."
it is always "out of context"? Especially when it is paired with this one***:
Let there be no force (or compulsion) in religion: Surely--Truth stands out clear from error: Whoever rejects evil and believes in Allah has held the most trustworthy hand-hold that never breaks. And Allah is All Hearing, All Knowing.
If Islam is truth, does it stand out clear from error? If so, how?



*17.33, trans. Syed Vickar Ahamed
**9.5. "Pagans" is often rendered simply "unbelievers," i.e. non-Muslims.
***2.256.

5 comments:

Dawg said...

After looking over most of your posts I am most impressed by you knowledge of the Bible and the Quran.

May I ask what your faith is?

Nashida Hakim said...

Thank you for the compliment!

I prefer not to say what my faith is. I want my readers to judge the ideas and text based on the textual merits, not whether the author is a Christian, Muslim, or other.

Dawg said...

I respect that!

Did you see my post called "What would you do for your faith"?

I would like your perspective on that post.

Anonymous said...

"If Islam is truth, does it stand out clear from error? If so, how?"
The answer is quite simple Nashida, Islam is NOT the truth! If it were so it wouldn't have these two extremes. On one hand Quran preaches that to kill an innocent being is like killing an entire civilization, and on the hand it preaches that its OK to kill provided they meet certain criteria. My question to Muslim is usually what is the definition of "innocent"?

Nashida Hakim said...

Anonymous, I appreciate the comment! Would you care to develop your points further? They could be material for another post; email me if you'd like to be published here.

I see what you are getting at; my original intent was to challenge Muslims to answer my questions, to start a discussion.