The International Islamic Propagation Center is a Fraud?
Ahmad Safi
Assalamo Alaikum:
I am posting this message on behalf of my friend Tasmin
Ahmad, who sent it from Karachi, Pakistan.
Please post/direct any queries to him at his address given
in the end of the post.
Wa Jazakumullahu Khairan.
Ahmad Safi
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The International Islamic Propagation Center is a fraud!
I have found that the International Islamic Propagation Center
(IIPC) is propagating a very distorted interpretation of the
Holy Qur'an. Apparently they have a *lot* of money, touching the
limits of extravagance. All this appears very strange for a
charitable organization. Hmmmm....
Given below is my perception of the IIPC, and their
preacher, Mohammad Shaikh, after attending a lecture hosted by
IIPC at the Bahria Auditorium in Karachi on the evening of
Friday, the 3rd of January, 1997.
The lecture was delivered by Mohammad Shaikh, who has taken a
Da'wah course with Ahmed Deedaat of South Africa. He has also
done some research on his own, and now delivers lectures based
on his research. In his research and lectures he ignores all
ahadith, and relies solely on the Qur'an. This alone is a very
radical thing to do, and would not make a lot of sense to anyone
with even a basic understanding of Islam. As we all know, the
Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) in his last sermon on the last Hajj
stated the he is leaving two things behind for all the Muslims,
which, if we hold fast to them, we will never loose our way:
they are the Qur'an and the Prophet(s.a.w)'s sunnah. To
completely ignore the sunnah is to say that no hadith that
reaches us today is at all reliable. It is to mock at the hard
and painstaking work of the thoroughly learned and devoted Imams
and muhaddaTHeen of the early Islamic history.
But that is not all! Allow me to share with you the twisted
interpretation of the Qur'an that Mohammad Shaikh preached in
his evangelist-style lecture on the 3rd of January. First I shall
describe what he preached, and then I shall attempt to show why
he is very wrong. I will also not quote any hadith to prove his
mistake, and will prove my point solely from the Qu'ran, so that
those who have been "conditioned" by his previous lectures will
find my reasoning less objectionable.
The topic of the lecture was "What Al-Qur'an says about Bani
Israel Children of Israel." Shaikh first informed us that the
bible states that Jacob's (prophet Yaqub p.b.u.h) name is also
Israel. Then he told us that according to the bible, the children
of Israel had lost their way, and Jesus Christ (p.b.u.h) was sent
to them by God. After that he went through several ayat from the
Qur'an, with his own translation of the ayat (he did not mention
where he got the translation, so I assume it was his own). Several
people objected to his incorrect translations several times, but
were not listened to (but that is besides the point I wish to make
here).
He gave a brief list of some of the ways in which Allah has
addressed different kinds of people in the Qur'an, including
Bani Israel, people of the book, the believers, etc.
Then he gave his translation of Suratul Fatiha, and stressed on
the last ayat, which he translated as follows:
7. The path of those YOU have blessed over them other than YOU
were angered over them and they did not go astray.
He then asked us who were the blessed people according to the
Qur'an? And he gave us the surprise "answer" by quoting ayat from
the Qur'an and his own "translation" of them as follows:
Al-Baqarah-2 : 47
YA - BANI - ISRAEEL!
OH! CHILDREN OF ISRAEL!
"Remember the blessings that I have blessed over you and surely
I have favoured you over the worlds.
Jasiya-45 : 16
And without doubt, WE gave BANI-ISRAEL CHILDREN OF ISRAEL AL-
KITAB/THE BOOK & AL-HUKM/THE GOVERNMENT & ANNUBUOWAH/THE
PROPHECY & WE gave them sustenance from the good and WE have
favoured them over the worlds.
Therefore, according to him, we pray in every rakah of the five
prayers every day, to be guided to the path of Bani Israel.
In a similar way, he "translated" a number of other ayat
relating to Bani Israel, and concluded that we, the Muslims of
THE FALLACY
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Shaikh has conveniently linked ayat 7 of Suratul Fatiha with
ayat 47 of Al-Baqarah, ignoring ayat 6 of Suratul Fatiha, and
ayaat 54, 61, 64, 74, 85, 86, and so on of Suratul Baqarah and
also some relevant ayaat in other surahs.
You can refer to the ayaat I mentioned above, and an authoritative
translation of their meaning and interpretation of your choice. I will
use Abdullah Yusuf Ali's translation here. You will see that in
Suratul Fatiha, we pray as follows:
6. Show us the straight way,
7. The way of those on whom Thou hast bestowed Thy Grace, Those
whose (portion) is not wrath, and who go not astray.
Ayat 7 is a continuation of ayat 6, and provides further
qualification for the prayer made in ayat 6. We pray to be
guided to the straight path, and that is all. Those who have
been on the straight path are described in ayat 7, and in their
footsteps we ask to be guided. The ayaat from Suratul Baqarah
that I listed above (which Shaikh ignored, or ignored their
context,) clearly show that although Allah had been merciful and
generous with Bani Israel and had blessed them more than any
other nation at that time, and repeatedly so, yet Bani Israel
repeatedly lost their way. Their way is NOT the straight way, so
how can ayat 7 of Suratul Fatiha imply that we be guided to Bani
Israel's way?
Moreover, Shaikh probably has not read the following very very
wonderful ayaat with an incredible punch-line, or has not been hit
by their meaning as they relate to ayat 6 of Suratul Fatiha:
Suratul An-aam (6)
83. That was the reasoning about Us, which We gave to Abraham
(to use) against his people: We raise whom We will, degree after
degree: for thy Lord is full of wisdom and knowledge.
84. We gave him Isaac and Jacob: all (three) We guided: and
before him We guided Noah, and among his progeny, David, Solomon,
Job, Joseph, Moses, and Aaron: thus do We reward those who do good:
85. And Zakariya and John, and Jesus and Elias: all in the ranks
of the Righteous:
86. And Isma'il and Elisha, and Jonas, and Lot: and to all We gave
favor above the nations:
87. (To them) and to their fathers, and progeny and brethren: We
chose them, and We guided them to a straight Way.
It is the straight way mentioned in Suratul An-aam ayat 87, the
straight way of the prophets and messengers of Allah, that we
pray to be guided to when we recite ayaat 6 and 7 of Suratul
Fatiha in every rakah of the daily five prayers (at least):
6. Show us the straight way,
7. The way of those on whom Thou hast bestowed Thy Grace, Those
whose (portion) is not wrath, and who go not astray.
The Ambya (prophets) of Allah are the ones upon whom Allah
bestowed His Grace, and whose portion was not wrath, and who did
not go astray.
This is a far cry from wanting to be (mis)guided to the way of
Bani Israel!
ARE MUSLIMS BANI ISRAEL?
On the question of equating the Muslims of today with the
children of Israel, I would like to point out that in the
Qur'an, Allah has addressed Bani Israel just as he as addressed
the Ashab-al-kitab (people of the book): i.e. he has invited
them to the message of the Qur'an, as it confirms the message they
received earlier, and asks them to submit to Allah and to become
Muslims:
Suratul Baqarah (2)
40. O children of Israel! call to mind the (special) favor which
I bestowed upon you and fulfil your covenant with Me as I fulfil
My covenant with you and fear none but Me.
41. And believe in what I reveal, confirming the revelation
which is with you, and be not the first to reject faith therein,
nor sell My Signs for a small price; and fear Me, and Me alone.
Since Allah is asking Bani Israel to accept the new revelation,
and to believe in it, i.e. to become Muslims, this means they
are not Muslims.
THE LAST NAIL
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Shaikh said in answer to a question that if his interpretation
were incorrect, there would be contradictions in his lecture
(this, according to the Qur'an, he said); and there IS a
contradiction, right there in the beginning: why does he pray to
be guided to the way of Bani Israel when he thinks we ourselves
ARE Bani Israel? I am sure he will come up with another warped
logic to answer that question, but I believe that the truth does
not need a warped logic to understand it. This much is clear from
reading the Qur'an. The truth is always simply beautiful.
By: Tasmin Ahmad
e-mail: tah...@khi.fascom.com
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Ahmad Safi
sa...@rpi.edu