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The Muslim population of the world is around one billion. Most Muslims live east of Karachi. 30% of Muslims live in the
Indian subcontinent, 20 % in Sub-Saharan Africa, 17% in Southeast Asia, 18% in the Arab world, 10% in the Soviet Union
and China. Turkey, Iran and Afghanistan comprise 10% of the non-Arab Middle East. Although there are Muslim minonties in
almost everv area including Latin America and Australia, they are most numerous in the Soviet Union, India, and central
Afnca. There are 5 million Muslims in the United States.
PORTION OF THE BOOK:
3:23 - Hast thou not turned thy vision to those who have been given a portion of the Book? They
are invited to the Book of Allah to settle their dispute but a party of them turn back and decline
(the arbitration). 366367
366 A portion of the Book. I conceive that Allah's revelation as a whole throughout the ages is "The Book". The Law of
Moses, and the Gospel of Jesus were portions of the Book. The Qur-an completes the revelation and is par
excellence the Book of Allah. (3.23)
367 The Commentators mention a particular incident when a dispute was submitted by the Jews for arbitration to the Holy
Prophet. He appealed to the authority of their own books, but they tried to conceal and prevaricate. The general
lesson is that the People of the Book should have been the first to welcome in Muhammad the living exponent of the
Message of Allah as a whole, and some of them did so: but others turned away from guilty arrogance, relying on
corrupted texts and doctrines forged out of their own fancies, though they were not conformable to reason and good
sense. (3.23)
4:44 - Hast thou not turned thy vision to those who were given a portion of the Book? They traffic
in error and wish that ye should lose the right path. 564
4:51 - Hast thou not turned thy vision to those who were given a portion of the Book? They believe
in sorcery and evil and say to the unbelievers that they are better guided in the (right) way
than the believers! 572573
572 Cf. iii. 23 and n. 366. The phrase also occurs in iv. 44. (4.51)
573 The word I have translated Sorcery is jibt, which may mean divination, sorcery, magic, or any false object of belief or
worship, such as an idol. The word I have translated Evil (here and in ii. 256) is Taguit, which means the evil one, the
one who exceeds all bounds, Satan: or it may refer to some idol worshipped by the Pagan Arabs, with whom the Jews
of Madinah were intriguing against the Holy Prophet. The Jews had taken much to sorcery, magic, divination, and
such superstitions. (4.51)
POSSESSION:
3:10 - Those who reject faith neither their possessions nor their (numerous) progeny will avail them
aught against Allah: they are themselves but fuel for the fire.
8:28 - And know ye that your possessions and your progeny are but a trial; and that it is Allah with
whom lies your highest reward. 1201
1201 A big family-many sons-was considered a source of power and strength: iii. 10, 116. So in English, a man with many
children is said to have his "quiver full": Cf. Psalms, cxxvii. 4-5: "As arrows are in the hands of a mighty man, so are
the children of thy youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them; they shall not be ashamed, but they shall
speak with the enemies in the gate." So with property and possessions: they add to a man's dignity, power, and
influence. But both possessions and a large family are a temptation and a trial. They may turn out to be a source of
spiritual downfall, if they are mishandled, or if the love of them excludes the love of Allah. (8.28)
Al-Tirmidhi Hadith
Hadith 5251
Narrated by
Muhammad ibn Labid
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "There are two things which the son of Adam dislikes. He dislikes death, but death is
better for the believer than temptation; and he dislikes few possessions, but few possessions involve less reckoning."
Ahmad transmitted it.
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