ِ ی م م الرَّح

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The Light

International Organ of the Centre for the Worldwide

Ahmadiyya Anjuman Ishaat Islam

2017

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Editors

Amir Aziz

Abd ul Muqtadir Gordon

Gowsia Saleem &

Prof. Shahab Shabbir

Dr Robbert Bipat, MD, PhD

Kaleem Ahmed

Shahid Aziz & Mustaq Ali

Zainib Ahmad

Content

The Call of the Messiah 2

A Most Excellent Goal for Muslims 2

By Hazrat Maulana Muhammad Ali

Jamal Al-Banna’s Approach to the Quran

By H. Zakariya 6

Muslims built the Wailing Wall for the Jews

By F.M. Loewenberg 10

Jewish Magic 12

By Shahid Aziz M.Sc

Broadcasts (UK time)

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2. Live on www.virtualmosque.co.uk

‣ Friday Sermon 13:00

‣ First Sunday of month lecture 15:00.

3. Radio Virtual Mosque on Mixlr.com

www.virtualmosque.co.uk

Websites

1. International HQ

2. Research and History

3. The Woking Mosque and Mission

4. The Berlin Mosque and Mission

5. Quran search

6. Blog

Our Recent English Broadcasts

‣ . Power of prayer

‣ Sympathy of the sick

Interesting external links

‣ Maajid Nawaz of LBC tells an inspirational

story.

‣ Muslims asked to give their daughters

rights that Islam gave them 1500 years ago.

‣ Muslims are the Enemy.

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or the site's owners (or their products/services).

Some links may have research, which disagrees

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such material and provide a rebuttal. Ignoring it

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We welcome all scholarly contributions to

The Light.

I Shall Love All Mankind.

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The Call of the

Messiah

by Hazrat Mirza Ghulam

Ahmad

The Promised Messiah and Mahdi

Truth underlying the Principals of Islam

The Holy Quran teaches us that the person

of God is free from every fault and defect and

that He wishes that human beings should, by

following His injunctions, also become free

from every defect and be purified of every impurity.

Thus, He says: “And whoever is blind in

this (world) he will be

blind in the Hereafter,

and further away from

the path..” (17:72)

For, the truth is that

the eyes to see God are granted in this world,

and anyone who leaves this world without getting

the eyes to see God, shall not see God in the

next life. In this verse Almighty God has given us

clearly to understand to what height of spiritual

advancement He wants man to reach, and the

stage of perfection a man can attain by following

His commandments. How Almighty God can

be seen in this very world, is then stated in the

Holy Qur'an. Thus, it says: “whoever hopes to

meet his Lord, he should do good deeds, and

join no one in the service of his Lord (shirk).”

(18:110)

The first portion of this verse requires a

man to do صالح ‏.عمل i.e., virtuous deed free from

impurity and every contamination, by which

are meant deeds which are neither done that

they may be seen by others nor do they generate

vanity in the heart of a man that he is the

doer of such great and excellent deeds, nor are

they incomplete or defective, nor do they savour

of aught but sincere personal love entertained

towards God and are saturated with true

faithfulness and perseverance. The second portion

of the verse requires a man to abstain from

shirk. Such as setting up with God such false deities

as the sun, the moon, the stars of heaven,

the physical forces of nature, the elements or

anything else that is upon earth or the heavens.

I Shall Love All Mankind.

It includes setting too high a value upon the

physical means and placing so much reliance on

them as to consider them actually effective

without any reservation like God himself. Or,

giving an over-ridding importance to one's own

resources and efforts, for this too is a sort of

shirk. On the other hand, when a man has done

everything that lies in his power and exercised

his abilities to his best, he should still be conscious

of his utter weakness and ignorance, and

ascribe everything to the mighty power and

deep knowledge of God and not to his own

power or learning. Our soul should constantly

be in a state of perfect submission and prostration

at the Divine threshold, and thus draw His

favours and blessings. Unless we make our condition

like the

Our soul should constantly be in a state of perfect

submission and prostration at the Divine

threshold

helpless cripple

who lying in a

desert parched

with thirst, suddenly

sees a spring of sweet and clear water and

halting and limping takes himself to it, and applies

his burning lips to cool water, not parting

them until he is satiated - I say, unless we fully

realize our own utter weakness and inability

and the mighty power and beneficent grace of

God which we constantly draw upon, we are not

free from shirk and do not deserve to be called

Unitarians.

(Lecture Lahore, pages 7–8)

A Most Excellent

Goal for Muslims

A Friday Sermon by

Hazrat Maulana Muhammad

Ali

Delivered on June 4,

1920

Translated by Dr Muhammad Ahmad

President AAII, Ohio

“Surely Allah has bought from the believers

their persons and their property — theirs (in

return) is the Garden. They fight in Allah’s way,

so they slay and are slain. It is a promise which

is binding on Him in the Torah and the Gospel

and the Quran. And who is more faithful to his

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promise than Allah? Rejoice therefore in your

bargain which you have made. And that is the

mighty achievement.” (9:111)

The Contract between Allah and the

Believers

This promise is like a contract for buying

and selling property and therefore binding

upon Allah the Most Exalted. It is recognized by

the Torah, the Gospel and the Holy Quran. Who

is more truthful than Allah the Most Exalted in

keeping His promise? Those who make this

promise with Allah should rejoice, for this deal

means a great success for them. One wonders

how many Muslims sacrifice their property and

person and achieve this great success! How

many truly understand and believe in it? Selling

something means you no longer have any control

over it and someone else is the owner. Allah

the Most Exalted calls giving up ownership of

one’s life and property a mighty achievement.

People think that saving and not giving means

success but the universal message of Islam does

not measure success by our possessions. Nor

does it say that reciting the prayer, fasting during

the month of Ramadhan, performing the Pilgrimage

or paying the poor rate is the most excellent

accomplishment. Islam demands much

more from Muslims. Selling or sacrifice of one’s

property and life seems to be a very lofty goal.

When we sell something and somebody else

buys it, we no longer have any entitlement to it.

How many of us meet this standard of belief

that all we have belongs to Allah? Selling one’s

life means, using our time, faculties and

strength to measure up to this standard. People

the universal message of Islam does

not measure success by our possessions.

generally understand the meaning of spending

of one’s wealth in Allah’s way. Islam by asking

the believers to sacrifice both their person and

property has gone a step further and set up a

very excellent goal for Muslims. A nation cannot

make progress unless it has a great purpose in

front of it.

Higher Goal

The nations who set small goals cannot

I Shall Love All Mankind.

reach the highest level of progress. Only those

nations who have a higher goal in front of them

rise above the rest. If there is a mountain in

front of a man and he is determined to scale it

at his disposal, he will certainly be able to accomplish

this to some degree. An individual

who is looking for the easy way out does not attempt

to climb the mountain. To sell ones’ property

and person in God’s way is truly an excellent

goal that Islam has put before Muslims. In

fact, if we reflect we realise that our life and

property do not belong to us.

God is the real owner so we are not doing

Him a favour by returning it to Him for Allah the

Most Exalted states: “Surely Allah has bought

from the believers their persons and their property”.

(9:111)

The meaning of this statement is the believer

no longer has authority over them. He no

longer has the right to command his faculties to

do this or not to do that. He must accept Allah’s

authority over all and to use them in accordance

with His will and commandment. This is the

greater goal Islam places before Muslims. If a

goal is lofty but cannot be put into practice it

cannot be of benefit to man. There are many excellent

teachings that are not practical and only

appear to be attractive. Their objective despite

being great is impracticable. The companions of

the Holy Prophet by sacrificing their lives and

properties in Allah’s way have demonstrated

that the teachings of Islam and their objective

are within the limits of practicability. They

showed us how one can sell his person and

property.

Loftier the Goal, Greater the Purpose

I want to illustrate the importance of a goal

or purpose with another example. The Christian

doctrine tells us that God cannot be merciful

without being just or the justice of God demands

punishment unless one believes in the

atonement of Jesus Christ. If God cannot be merciful

without requiring something in exchange,

how can unconditional feelings of mercy become

a part of human character? The objective

of the believer in this doctrine is therefore

greatly diminished. On the other hand, the very

first sentence of the Holy Quran is: “In the name

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of Allah the Beneficent the Merciful”.

It tells us of the Beneficence of God, His giving

without asking anything in exchange. The

purpose of describing God’s attributes is for humans

to benefit from them and to produce in

their character, Allah’s attributes, as the Holy

Prophet’s (s) Hadith states.

Create Allah’s morals within you

What would be the source of mercy of a nation

that describes its God as being incapable of

mercy without exchange? If this is the standard

of achievement, no matter how hard someone

may try their character would fail to improve.

Because of attributing inability to be merciful

without exchange to God, unconditional mercy

fails to evolve in the national

conscience of those

who profess this doctrine.

Mercy does not mean

treating your strong foe

mercifully for one who

has the power is also capable

of enforcing it. The time to be merciful is

when the opponent is weak and vanquished and

has lost the strength to acquire anything. Now

take the example of the European nations. You

will find one principal in common. Although

they have reached the highest standard of the

teachings of Christianity, their shared goal is to

give to someone who has power and crush the

one who is without it. What could be a more

glaring example of failure of the teachings of

Christianity? After a war 1 lasting five years the

victors are not willing to show even a shred of

mercy towards the vanquished. This may seem

to be a victory but in fact is a great moral defeat.

Trust of Allah

By telling the Muslims they have given up

their persons and properties for His sake, Allah

the Most Exalted is pointing out that these

things do not belong to them. In fact, they belong

to Allah and have been given to us as a

Trust. We are only its trustees. It would be rather

strange that we continue to benefit from

them but when He who is the owner of this

Trust, demands their return we are unwilling to

return them to Him. Can a trustee refuse to return

what has been given to him for safekeeping?

Is it his right to spend out of it on his personal

needs but when directed by the Owner to

give some in charity his heart feels straitened

and he is reluctant to give? Remember that God

is the real owner. If you believe in the word of

God and want to be counted amongst the believers,

ponder upon this. Your condition is that of

a very dishonest person.

Self Reformation

How can you spread the

teachings of the Promised

Messiah when you fail to act

upon them (e.g. obeying the

Central Anjuman - editor)?

Muslims today want success without facing

any hardship. They are, however, not willing to

give back to Allah what He has placed under

their guardianship to achieve this goal. People

want to enter paradise

without spending a

penny in Allah’s way.

They complain about

the dealings of others

but fail to reform their

own. I accept that you

should make a full effort

to demand your rights. The civilized world today

is unwilling to give anything unless they are

confronted by show of power. To generate such

strength self reformation is essential. Why is the

attention of the nation not drawn towards this

in our conventions and counsels? True character

cannot be generated in this way. We are

happy to listen when others are ill spoken off

but when attention is drawn towards our own

reformation we deem it as rubbish. Muslims

should be exemplars for the rest of the world.

Their morals should have the colouring of the

Divine. That is why Allah the Most Exalted says:

“Surely Allah has bought from the believers

their persons and their property”. (9:111)

What right do they have to discard Allah’s

commandments and use their faculties and

strengths as they desire! In one way, however,

this usage can be justified as spending in Allah’s

way. It is narrated in the Hadith: “The person

who for the sake of Allah puts a mouthful to feed

his wife, it becomes charity on his part”.

We preach the Islam taught by the Holy

Quran and the Holy Prophet (s).

1

This is a reference to the World War I.

I Shall Love All Mankind.

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All that is spent in Allah’s way or with the

intent to spend in accordance with His will is for

Him. Spend for your next of kin but the intent

should be obedience

to the command of Allah

the Most Exalted.

Such expenditure for

the betterment of humanity

becomes for

Allah. If somebody spends to eat what is lawful

or to buy clothes for personal adornment as

part of God’s commandment, it also becomes

spending in Allah’s way. Spending for one’s children

to fulfil their rights also falls under this

category.

Intent, Passion and Deeds

Intentional spending is not merely hypothetical.

It is manifested through a person’s

deeds. The intensity of passion with which one

spends when a family member is in distress

should be like spending when the religion needs

it. Unless such sentiment is generated in the

heart it is to be assumed the desired spiritual

change to which Allah’s word calls has not yet

come. In short, a believer should understand

that his wealth is not his but belongs to Allah. It

has been given to him to spend in His way when

needed. For example, a person cannot be called

wise if he is ill and needs to see a physician but

fails to spend for this purpose. Our religion is in

great peril. If we do not find it in our hearts to

spend for its cause, we will regret like the patient

who destroys his well-being by not spending

to find a cure for his illness. Similarly, the

person who does not fulfil the trust of Allah in

time of need will regret.

Role of the Ahmadiyya Movement

For a person who considers Islam to be true

and has the farsightedness to take the pledge of

the Ahmadiyya Movement to keep religion

above the world, it is not hard to understand. He

must firmly accept the principle that all we have

is for Allah the Most Exalted and we are only its

custodians. The one in real need should be given

priority. Allah the Most Exalted made a man

stand up for this purpose and through revelation

drew his attention towards recognition of

the real malady affecting the Muslims. It should

The time to be merciful is when the

opponent is weak and vanquished

and has lost the strength to acquire

anything.

I Shall Love All Mankind.

be ample proof to recognize the Divine origin of

his mission that he is commanded to only take

the pledge of keeping religion above the world

from his followers.

In fact, it is the only

remedy to cure this

illness. Allah the

Most Exalted wants

for this organization

to set an example. Why do you want to act

on the contrary? Keep your responsibilities in

focus. The principle of keeping the religion

above the world firmly re-establishes you on

this Quranic principle: “Surely Allah has bought

from the believers their persons and their property”.

(9:111)

How can you spread the teachings of the

Promised Messiah when you fail to act upon

them? It is like the blind leading the blind. I am

therefore exhorting members of our small organization

to make a firm commitment in their

hearts that in time of need they will readily sacrifice

their life and property in Allah’s way. You

have already struck a bargain with God that

when needed we will be happier using our

wealth and faculties for the cause of religion.

This feeling of joy is more than the pleasure we

get out of spending for our own needs. No doubt

this commitment appears very difficult. Trade

and traffic are a source of great attraction and

become an impediment in sincerely spending

one’s person and property in God’s way.

Prayers for Advancement of Religious

Knowledge

I offer you a remedy for this. You ought to

generate this strength within you through

prayer. Supplicate with humility before God to

give you the strength to stay firm in your commitment.

We read in the Holy Quran: “And your

Lord says: Pray to Me, I will answer you”.

(40:60) Whosoever attempts to get closer to

Him, He comes to his succour and gives him

strength.

Our prayers for worldly benefits may not

gain acceptance but Allah the Most Exalted does

not let go to waste prayers for advancing religious

knowledge and striving for this purpose.

The Holy Quran states: “And those who strive

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hard for Us, We shall certainly guide them in

Our ways. And Allah is surely with the doers of

good”. (29:69)

was the youngest brother of Hassan al-Banna

(1906–1949), the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood.

This is a promise of certainty. Remain sincere

in your purpose! Allah the Most Exalted

will give you strength. The precondition is to be

passionate and humble in your prayers. If you

thus supplicate before Allah, you will get the

strength that allows you to make all these sacrifices.

This kind of passion arises in the heart

when finding oneself in distress, the soul cries

out for help from God. I am asking you to be passionate

in your prayers. The last ten days of

Ramadhan are upon us. Strengthen these prayers

with your deeds so that your example serves

to guide others. Make it binding upon you to get

up in the early part of the night. Cry before Allah

the Most Exalted to deliver Islam from its state

of abasement that its enemies want for it and

make it successful. Also pray for your own reformation.

Ask Him with humility to generate love

for Islam, God and His messenger in our hearts

and the hearts of our friends. This love and passion

for service of Islam should be above all. We

should have such spirit of sacrifice for Islam

that we are pleased to sacrifice all for it. Beseech

Him to remain united in love and harmony

and be subservient to all His commands.

Also admit that you have been remiss in your responsibility.

(Return to contents)

Jamal Al-Bana’s Approach to

Studying the Qur’anic Text

and Its Effects on Islamic

Legal Rulings: A Critical

Analytical Study (Part 1)

by Dr Habeebullah Zakariyah

International Islamic University Malaysia

Note: This article is reproduced with the

kind permission of the author from the International

Journal of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences,

Volume 2, Issue 6, July 2017

(www.ijahss.com), with minimal editing. We

are serialising it here in two parts. Gamal al-

Banna or Jamal al-Banna (1920–2013) was

an Egyptian author and trade unionist and

I Shall Love All Mankind.

The Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement concurs

in general with the principles outlined in the article,

but does not necessarily draw the same

conclusions in detail as Gamal al-Banna.

ABSTRACT: There are many different approaches

employed by scholars in studying the

Noble Qur’an (both in the ancient time and this

era) between extremism and moderation, and

between lenience and coarseness. This research

paper aims to crystallize the points of view of

Jamal al-Bana and his proposed approaches to

studying the Noble Qur’an as a divine text in addition

to unveiling his stance towards strenuous

efforts and continual contributions made by

scholars who are interested in studying the

Qur’an and its Sciences. The study also inquires

whether the approach proposed by Jamal al-

Bana for studying the Qur’an can be considered

in the present time. It also inquires whether it

has certain implications on the deduction of

Shariah rulings. This paper will follow both analytical

and critical approaches in studying the

significance of al-Bana’s approach, especially its

discussion in the light of the scientific principles

approved by scholars. The study concludes with

some findings and fruitful suggestions that can

enrich the library in general and the Islamic legacy.

I. A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF JAMAL AL-

BANA AND HIS INTELLECTUAL ORIGIN

The birth of Jamal al-Bana is traced to December

1920, in a region called Mahmoudiyyah,

the Buhairah Governorate of Egypt. Al-Bana belonged

to a renowned family with some outstanding

contributions towards the service of

Islam and its noble teachings. His father was a

prominent scholar who authored the biggest

encyclopaedia of 24 volumes on the hadiths

from the book titled, Musnad Imam Ahmad Bin

Hanbal As- Shaibani. His elder sibling is Imam

Hassan Bana, the founder of Islamic Brotherhood.

Jamal is regarded one of the most prolific Islamic

thinkers for he authored more than 100

books.

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Jamal al-Bana completed his primary and

secondary education. However, due to a quarrel

between him and an English teacher, he decided

to leave the school’s systematic study and began

to read books to educate himself in some scientific

fields until he became a famous personality

to whom reference was made.

Since al-Bana was nurtured in a well civilized

and educated Muslim family, the impact of

this environment became apparent in his great

love for reading to the extent that it became his

hobby. He loved reading very much. However,

this is not surprising because his father’s library

contained a huge amount of Islamic culture

sources in addition to literature books and educational

journals.

Jamal is regarded one of the most prolific Islamic

thinkers for he authored more than 100

books. His first book titled, Three obstacles in

the way to glory was written in 1945. In 1946,

he authored another book titled, A new Democracy.

It should be noted that al-Bana’s writings

are not confined to the Islamic thought, but they

cover some other aspects like Qur’anic studies,

Jurisprudence issues, Political and Economic issues

and so forth.

Jamal al-Bana died on Wednesday January

30, 2013 at the age of 93 at Agricultural Hospital

in Dokki after suffering from sickness.

II. CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF

JAMAL AL-BANA’S APPROACH TO

STUDYING THE QUR’AN

Before discussing the methodological principles

adopted by Jamal al-Bana in studying the

Qur’an or the Qur’anic discourse, it is worth to

prepare a prelude that will explain his method

as it is. This seems to be an important matter to

be aware of for a better understanding of his approach

to understanding the Qur’anic discourse.

According to al-Bana, the overall view of

the Qur’anic discourse is regarded as a fundamental

pillar. So, any imbalance that arises during

employing this view is considered heinous

crime against the Qur’an. Giving the exegesis of

one verse after the other without a reliance on

the governing values and the themes under discussion

prevents the understanding of the

I Shall Love All Mankind.

meaning and the intention of the Qur’an. He

said: “Interpretation of the Qur’an one verse after

the other implies cutting off its connections,

preventing it from reaching its whole meaning

as well as the effectiveness of its guidance that

results from the cohesion between one verse

and another. Moreover, it inculcates in minds an

attitude which lessens the effectiveness of the

Qur’anic discourse.

With this understanding, we can debrief his

approach employed for understanding the

Qur’anic discourse which has its impacts on his

deduction of Shariah rulings. Hence, the following

are the most important part of this approach:

III. FIRST: MAKING INTELLECT “AQL”

THE BASIS FOR UNDERSTANDING THE

QUR’ANIC DISCOURSE

No one with knowledge of Shariah and its

intents will doubt as to the outstanding roles

played by the intellect “Aql” in Islam. Indeed, Islam

honours intellect by making it the determinant

of onus.

Despite the status enjoyed by intellect, al-

Bana goes further to see the necessity of prioritizing

intellect on the Qur’anic text since the latter

is only a confirmation of the former. However,

giving the Qur’an priority over the intellect

is regarded an act contrary to the Qur’an itself.

This is because the Qur’an prioritizes the intellect.

“To implement the Qur’an, it is necessary to

make use of reason for its understanding because

the style of Qur’an can suggest more than

one meaning.”

Al-Banna confirms once again that: “whatever

is related to Shariah is supposed to be in

agreement with the intellect first, then the revelation

is only its confirmation and complement.

This makes rationality an Islamic reference

with regard to Shariah”

In his opinion, intellect is an important tool

which can eliminate the application of the

Qur’anic text when it sees no point in that application.

He said: “The use of intellect can end up

suspending the application of the Qur’anic text

or stopping it if the reasons that led to it have

ended, or as they say, “negation of ruling due to

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October 2017 The

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the absence of its reason” or the rise of ruling

due to the rise of its reason or lack of ruling due

to lack of its reason. Nothing like this is clearer

in indication that human reason is given priority

over the Qur’anic text and that its implementation

is necessary while dealing with the

Qur’an. This is what the Prophet (S.A.W.) did and

even Omar in his well-known analogical deductions

and what the companions tacitly approved

of in his deeds.

IV. SECOND: REFERRING TO THE

QUR’AN DIRECTLY

It is obvious that interpretation of the

Qur’an is given by scholars using different

styles. It can be the interpretation of the Qur’an

by the Qur’an, interpretation of the Qur’an by

the hadeeth, interpretation of the Qur’an by sayings

of companions, and interpretation of the

Qur’an by sayings of predecessors. All these

kinds of Qur’anic interpretation are the ones

considered by the pioneers

of Qur’anic exegesis who advocate

the conveyance of the

Qur’anic meaning with the

help of texts. On the other hand, scholars have

made permissible the interpretation of Qur’an

with the help of praiseworthy views.

However, Jamal al-Bana emphasizes in

many occasions that the interpretation which

serves the spirit of the Qur’an, and capable

enough to achieve the exact meaning it portrays

is the interpretation of the Qur’an by the Qur’an

without resorting to any other texts. He said:

“The only Qur’anic interpretation that is reliable

and free of defects is the act of interpreting

the Qur’an by the Qur’an. Whatever is explained

briefly in one passage will be explained in detail

in another. And whatever appears obscure

somewhere will be made evident elsewhere.”

He opines that the helping factor which plays a

huge role in explaining the meanings of the

Qur’an is to consider the context. He said: “Context

is the greatest interpreter of the Qur’an. At

this juncture, it is justifiable to say that it is very

wrong to interpret a verse without knowing

what is before and what is after. It must be interpreted

with the context put in consideration….

All this is in the Qur’an itself, so there is

no need for an external interpreter.”

. . . a better understanding of the Qur’an

entails a lack of reliance on the ancient interpretations.

. .

I Shall Love All Mankind.

In this regard, a fierce attack is launched

against the Qur’anic exegetes and jurists, for

they — according to his view — have conveyed

the Qur’anic texts in a way contrary to what it

intends.

At this point, al-Bana contends that “the interpretation

given by exegetes and rulings deduced

by jurists narrow down the broadness of

the Qur’an, make difficult what has been simplified,

make rigid what is flexible, and reject what

is made permissible by its miraculous wording.

This happened because the tyrannical spirit of

the ancient era, the ignorance that permeated

its atmosphere as well as widespread oppression

at that time did not allow freedom, equality

and exposure that the Qur’an advocates. Today,

we are bringing back to Islam its strength and

effectiveness by returning to the Qur’an directly

without being restricted by the interpretation

of the interpreters, or the jurisprudence of jurists.”

While scholars are

subjected to a harsh

campaign, it has been

somewhat tempered when the discrepancy between

the Qur’anic texts and their jurisprudence

is remitted to a jurisprudence influenced

by the environment of jurist and his society. He

stated as thus, “Jurisprudence of scholars has to

be influenced by their era and the general climate,

with no immunity from human shortcomings.

This is an act of taming the Qur’an to cohere

with their jurisprudence despite the incompatibility

of the latter with the spirit of the

former and its text. This prevents the embarrassment

of relying on narrations and warding

off pretexts.”

In this regard, it becomes obvious that a better

understanding of the Qur’an entails a lack of

reliance on the ancient interpretations. This is

because these interpretations have prevented

the understanding of the exact meanings intended

by the Qur’an by imposing themselves

as intermediary between the Qur’an and the

reader…such as the interpretation of Tabari, Ibn

Katheer, Razi and Qurtubi and even Dhilal written

by Sayyid Qutub.”

V. THIRD: LACK OF CONSIDERATION

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October 2017 The

Light 9

FOR ABROGATION “Al-NASKH” IN THE

QUR’AN

Jamal al-Bana contends in many of his

works that the issue of abrogation on which

many books were written by ancient scholars of

Qur’anic exegetes has driven them away from

the true spirit of the Qur’an and its intended

meanings.

Did Muslims build Judaism's

Holiest Site?

by F.M. Loewenberg

Middle East Quarterly Fall 2017

http://www.meforum.org/6898/is-the-western-wall-judaism-holiest-site

According to him, “the case of abrogation as

misguiding.” He goes on and states: “There is

nothing worse in indication than what jurists

refer to as abrogation with which they call for

the obstruction and solidification of hundreds

of verses.”

Al-Bana specified a chapter that is not less

than 70 pages for the issue of abrogation in his

book titled, al-Aslaan al-Adheemaan in which he

gives a lengthy discussion. He concludes claiming

that abrogation is never a Qur’anic method

to which one can be submissive or to which one

can make reference. He refutes the claim for the

existence of abrogation in the Qur’an by pointing

out that the focus of scholars on two verses

in the Qur’an whose apparent meaning indicates

the presence of abrogation does not support

their claim at all. The first is the verse 106

of chapter 2, while the second is the verse 101

of chapter 16. The verse in the Qur’anic discourse

is not in the sense of “text”, but as “miracle”,

“presumption” or “indication”.

FOURTH: LACK OF ATTENTION TO THE

OCCASIONS OF REVELATION

Al-Bana stresses that the understanding of

the Qur’anic discourse should not be related to

what the scholars of interpretation call “occasions

of revelation (Asbaab al-Nuzuul)”. He

points out that “most of the narrations about occasions

of revelation are either distorted or fabricated,

or narrated with the meaning that could

be derived for another purpose. However, exegetes

grabbed these hadeeths because they offer

solution to their problems even though they

say: “consideration is given to a general meaning

of words and not to the specific reason”.

To be continued in the next issue — Editor.

(Return to contents)

I Shall Love All Mankind.

An artist's reconstruction shows where today's Western

Wall (the area between the two dark vertical lines) lies

in relation to the temple complex.

F. M. Loewenberg is professor emeritus at

Bar-Ilan University's School of Social Work.

Since his retirement, his research interests have

focused on the history of the Temple Mount and

the Western Wall.

(Note: This research had been substantially

edited to show that Muslims supported the Jews

on many occasions. The full article can be found

at the above link. The title of the original article

is: Is the Western Wall Judaism’s Holiest Site? -

Editor)

. . . Once the Roman Empire adopted Christianity

as its official state religion in the fourth

century, the situation of Jerusalem's Jewish

community became precarious. During most of

the next three hundred years, Jews were not

permitted to live or visit Jerusalem, but there

were periods when this anti-Jewish policy was

relaxed, and Jews were permitted to live in or

visit the city. Yet there are no records of Jews

praying at the Western Wall during those years.

After the Persian and Arab conquests of the city

in the seventh century, Jews were again allowed

to reside in Jerusalem. They chose to live on

Mount Zion where they had a number of synagogues.

They even had a synagogue on the Temple

Mount but no prayer services were conducted

at the Western Wall. . . .

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October 2017 The

Light 10

. . . Early in the fourteenth century, Jews

were barred from entering the Temple Mount

by the Mamluks, who ruled Jerusalem from

1250 to 1516. . . .

Suleiman the Magnificent ordered improvements, including

clearing an area around the western side of the

retaining wall that contained the Temple Mount, which

he assigned to the Jews as a place for them to pray.

Suleiman the Magnificent ordered improvements,

including clearing an area around the

western side of the retaining wall that contained

the Temple Mount, which he assigned to

the Jews as a place for them to pray. Before that,

today's Western Wall held no religious significance.

In 1517, the Ottoman Empire captured the

city of Jerusalem, bringing to an end almost

three hundred years of Mamluk rule. Sultan Suleiman

I the Magnificent, whose reign from

1520 until his death in 1566 was the longest

reign of any Ottoman ruler, was among the most

prominent monarchs of his day. He conquered

many Christian strongholds in Europe and was

stopped only in 1529 when he failed to conquer

Vienna. He subsequently turned his attention

toward consolidating his gains in the Middle

East. In 1536, he ordered the restoration of Jerusalem's

city walls, which had been in ruin

since the thirteenth century. Later, he undertook

an extensive renovation of the Dome of the

Rock.

Suleiman adopted a positive attitude toward

the Jews of his realm. He persuaded many

who had been expelled from Spain and Portugal

a generation earlier to settle in Jerusalem. Some

believe that he encouraged Jewish immigration

in order to limit the influence of the local Arabic-speaking

population. Whatever his motives,

Jerusalem's Jews benefited from his benevolence

toward them.

I Shall Love All Mankind.

Fourteen years after he had ordered the rebuilding

of the city walls, Suleiman instructed

his court architect to prepare the area that came

to be known as the Western Wall as a place for

Jewish worship. Such a move became possible

because on January 14, 1546, a severe earthquake

hit the region. Hundreds of people were

killed. The flow of the Jordan River was stopped

for two days by a landslide. A tsunami battered

the Mediterranean coast from Acre to Gaza. The

area hardest hit by this earthquake in Jerusalem

was the Temple Mount and the quarters surrounding

it, including many of the houses that

had been built along the western wall. These

were the houses that had prevented access to

most of the western wall. Now that the approach

was blocked by ruins rather than by

houses occupied by many people, Suleiman felt

ready to instruct his engineers to clear the ruins

and to prepare a Jewish prayer site at the western

wall. . . .

Once the Western Wall had been properly

prepared as a prayer site, Suleiman issued a firman

(decree) that established the right of Jews

to pray there for all times. There are those who

claim that this royal decree was issued to compensate

the Jews for relinquishing their legal

rights to pray on the Temple Mount, but there is

no record that Jews ever relinquished those

rights voluntarily. This firman was still in effect

in the nineteenth century. In 1840, Ibrahim Pasha

of Egypt (who was also the governor of Jerusalem)

allowed the Jews "to pay visits to [the

Western Wall] as of old" but forbade them to

pave the area in front of it and cautioned them

against "raising their voices and displaying

their books there." Subsequent governors reissued

this firman in 1841, 1889, 1893 and

1909. The nineteenth-century geographer Joseph

Schwartz noted the importance of this decree

even in his days, three hundred years later:

“No one is molested . . . by the Mahomedans, as

we have a very old firman from the Sultan of

Constantinople that the approach [to the Western

Wall] shall not be denied to us, though the

Porte [the Ottoman government] obtains for

this privilege an especial tax, which is, however,

quite insignificant.”

Although Sultan Suleiman designated the

Western Wall as a central locus of Jewish prayer,

for more than four hundred years, this site was

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October 2017 The

Light 11

quite unlike the Western Wall that we know today.

From the time of its inception in the sixteenth

century until 1967, the site was only a

narrow alley—on one side were the houses of

the thickly settled Arab neighbourhood known

as the Mughrabi Quarter and, on the other, the

retaining, western wall of the Temple Mount.

The prayer area was only 4 meters wide and 28

meters long, occupying less than six percent of

the western wall's total length of 488 meters.

This small area could barely accommodate a

few hundred people. (End)

Jewish Magic

By Shahid Aziz M.Sc.

Since the time that Constantine embraced

Christianity, Christians have persecuted the

Jewish people. As the article about the Wailing

Wall, printed in this issue of The Light shows,

Sulaiman, the Magnificent, helped the Jews escape

Christian persecution in Portugal and

Spain and settled them in Jerusalem. Martin Luther

is regarded as a great reformer of Catholicism

but his statements about the Jews are full

of hatred and are extremely poisonous. One reason

for this persecution is obvious – the Jews

had beaten, humiliated and eventually put on

the Cross, the person Christians believe to be

the son of God.

But, there may have been another reason

for such persecution. One difference between

Islam and Judaism, and Christianity is that

whereas Islam and Judaism stress following the

Law, Christians believe that this is not necessary.

Jewish law commands the Jews to wash

their hands before eating. It requires ‘clean’

food is eaten and, generally stresses personal

hygiene. In ancient times, the germ theory and

sterilisation was unknown. As late as 1960s,

even the staff who prepared and served food did

not wash their hands before touching food. So,

when the Christians fell victims to water-borne

cholera and other

diseases caused

by poor hygiene

and were dying

like flies, the Jews

did not suffer.

Jews themselves

did not understand

the reason and that it was washing

that kept them alive. Christians assumed that if

they were dying and Jews were not, the Jews

must have poisoned their wells or used a magic

spell to kill them. Jews, unaware that it was the

result of following religious law which sterilised

them, were unable to explain.

In the Middle Ages, the European poor used

every part of a slaughtered animal. This included

blood which went, and still does go, to

make blood sausage. Jews made sure that all the

blood was drained from a carcase before eating

the meat. Christians could not believe that the

Jews were throwing away nourishing food or

feeding it to animals. This led them to assume

that the Jews conducted gruesome blood rituals,

which made Christians fall ill and die..

Many countries brought in laws to prevent

Jews from being farmers or craftsmen or soldiers.

This forced them into finance instead. As

many outbreaks are associated with animals

and farming, this meant that Jews were less

prone to epidemics. Even now when some illness

is found on a farm, movement of animals

and humans to that farm is stopped. This led to

greater suspicion of them. (end)

The Light thanks its readers for

their comments and articles.

They have allowed us to improve

our services to you.

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I Shall Love All Mankind.