Ong Tiong Meng emailed a forwarded message regarding a Penang Malay businessman-politician comment about the "immigrant" Malaysian Chinese, and Yee Kok Chin smsed about the need for the Muslims to be tolerant to non-Muslims, quoting an unidentified verse of the Quran in the process. Both were done during the fasting month. I immediately responded to them. Kok Chin, an ex-Wakil Rakyat, acknowledged, but no response came from Tiong Meng, my good golf buddy. While one touched on race, the other touched on Islam. But since both elements touch, in Malaysia, the same person - a Malay - the following posting will approach it from the religious stand point, because it is the more powerful perspective.
This morning, Thursday 9th. October, I'm in my fourth day of the non-obligatory 6-day Syawal fasting encouraged in Islam. I feel the appropriateness of posting this blog, for my own conscience as much as for my friends' perusal.
Much of the misunderstanding regarding the nature and true teaching of Islam to-day is simply because of ignorance. Unfortunately in this country, too many of the Malays who inherit Islam from their ancestors do not themselves possess the complete understanding of the religion that they actively practice and hold dear. The lack of knowledge of Islam has meant that misconceptions are commonplace.
The Malays hold on to Islam fiercely, if not with real enlightenment. Many may deliberately break the "hukum" (Islamic law) on "solah"( daily prayers) and"saum"(obligatory fasting in Ramadan) and we attribute it to human failure. Just as we have "bad" Christians, so we have "bad" Muslims. But insult Islam, and they will show the Malay word in the English dictionary - "amok". Just refer to the Natrah riots in Singapore in the 50's and the racial riots of 13 th. May, 1969 in KL and some other places.
This raw nerve was touched again recently when a certain Chinese politician went round asking the Muslim worshippers in certain areas to lower down the "azan", the call to prayers. Don't deny this happened, because beside the witnesses, she also made postings in the internet that have been retrieved.
What is the true Islam ?
Islam in Arabic means "submission" - in this case submission to the will of God, the God of All Creation. "Allah" is just Arabic for "the Divine". I'm probably one of the few Malays in this country who can say that I don't see any problem with the Malay-Language Bible referring to God as "Allah".
Islam is a religion of peace. The traditional greeting of a Muslim is "Peace be unto you".
Muhammad s.a.w. did not invent Islam. He is simply accepted as the last of the Messengers of God, bringing finality to the religion of the Prophet Ibrahim ("Abraham" in the Christian and Jewish Scriptures) Islam recognizes in the oneness of religion of all the Prophets mentioned in the Scriptures of "the People of the Book" - the Jews and the Christians, right from Adam to Abraham to Moses and Jesus. Believing the "Injil" ( the original version of the Christian Gospel ) and the "Taurat" ( the original version of the Jewish Torah ) in fact is part of the tenets of Islam. The only hitch is that the Muslims believe both Good Books have been altered by the hands of men.
The Quran is believed to be God's words to Muhammad s.a.w. brought down by the arch-angel Jibril (Gabriel) in order that he can spread the message of God. The Revelations occurred over a period of 23 years, the first verses revealed in Mecca when he was 40, and the last verse in Medina 9 days before he died.
The writing of the Revelations was started in Muhammad's s.a.w. lifetime. The full compilation in the arrangement as instructed by Muhammad s.a.w. in the Mushaf (book), as it is known today, was undertaken by the First of the Rightly-Guided Khalifah, Abu Bakr, who succeeded as the Leader of the Muslims upon Muhammad's s.a.w death. The third Khalifa, Uthman, made sure only copies of Abu Bakr's Mushaf were used in all the lands under Islamic rule at that time. By then Islam had spread beyond the Arab Peninsula to as far as present-day Uzbekistan.
The divinity of the Quran has been put to scrutiny for 1,400 years. I urge Tiong Meng and Kok Chin to look up to just 2 of the numerous publications debating this issue. Please refer to "the Bible, the Quran and Science" by Maurice Bucaille, the French surgeon, published 1978 North American Trust Publications, and "Al Quran the Ultimate Miracle" by Ahmad Deedat, the South African, published 1983 K.M.Salih, Marsiling Drive, Singapore.
The Quran remains the guide and inspiration for all Muslims who number to-day at 1.8 bilion or 25 % of humanity. Its laws, moral precepts and narratives are the primary sources of Islamic Law.
The "Sunnah" ( the Way of the Holy Prophet) ,comprising his words and deeds, form the second most important source of Islamic Law. In fact without Muhammad's s.a.w. explanations the true meaning of the Quran would not have been possible.
The Sunnah has many famous sayings from the highly authenticated compilations of Bukhari and Muslim. Among them:
"The most excellent Jihad is for the conquest of the self."
"The ink of the scholar is more holy than the blood of the martyr."
"One learned man is is harder on the devil than a thousand ignorant worshippers."
"Actions will be judged according to intentions."
"Assist any person oppressed, whether Muslim or non-Muslim."
"When the bier of anyone passes by you, whether Jew, Christian, or Muslim, rise to your feet."
Other than the Quran and the Sunnah, the ulama' and mufassirin have agreed that consensus among the Learned, analogical deduction, and reasoning should contribute to the fatwa. This was done even when Muhammad s.a.w. was alive.
There is no priesthood in Islam. Even a child, if he has greater knowledge of the Quran than his elders, may lead them in prayer.
To become a Muslim, one need only to profess:
"There is no god but God; Muhammad is the Messenger of God."
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