Friday, March 27, 2009

Is crescent-moon and stars has any influence or significant value in Islam


Taking these to be the symbols of Islam is a wrong assumption. This wrong notion is normally based on what is known of Christianity i.e. no cross no Christianity. This does not apply to Islam.

The crescent-moon and star have no religious implications nor are they part of the fundamentals or basic teachings of Islam. Their origin can be traced back to the Ottoman Empire (Turkish Caliph­ate) which adopted them for some historical reasons.

But there is no basis for it in the Qur'an and Sunnah. Howev­er, it is considered as Mubah i.e. tolerated most especially as it can be useful in identifying mosques in some areas where the architectural structures of a mosque and a church appear the same.

The symbols sometimes arouse confusion among non believers as they may mistakenly associate Muslim with the practice of worshipping the moon God. Allah almighty has denied this 1400 years ago through the revelation in Quran which says;

"And from among His Signs are the night and the day, and the sun and the moon. Do not bow down (prostrate) to the sun nor to the moon, but only bow down (prostrate) to "Allah" Who created them, if you (really) worship Him.”[Holy Quran 41:37]




Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Why do we need Punishment under shariah law

The purpose of punishment under the Shari'ah is to discourage those who are not conscious of God's will from committing crime or vice (i.e. protection of innocent in this world).



Although ultimate justice is in the Hereafter, Islam is not only for peace in the Hereafter but also in this world. Lack of this balance gives rise to conflict (as in the West) between social order and individual freedom.

In any society, there is a maximum degree of crime and immorality it can reasonably tolerate. Shari'ah is to therefore protect the good, and not the bad. Society as a whole is more important than an individual criminal


Punishment is also to make evil/bad recognised as undesirable (e.g. punishment of children) just as reward is to teach desirable deeds.(it is one of known psychological method in learning) If it is fair to leave punishment to God, why do we reward the good? Sympathy in the West seems to be more with the criminal than with the victims, which leads to proliferation of crimes.


Punishment under Shari'ah is a command from Allah. Similarly in the Old Testament, the 10 Commandments of Moses and their respective legal punishments, e.g. Deuteronomy 22:22, which says that if a man is caught having intercourse with a married woman, both of them must die.

Every responsible parent punishes his or her child if it misbehaves or is disobedient.


Jesus himself found it necessary to inflict punishment on the moneychangers and animal-sellers in the Temple (John 2:13-16). He made a whip and drove them out of the Temple, and upset the tables of the moneychangers, accusing them of turning the place into a market.


The fact that he did not ignore them or leave them to God implies that the bad deserve punishment, as a correction of undesirable deeds.


ISLAM UNTUK SEMUA DAN INDAHNYA ISLAM DENGAN DAKWAH

Erti Hidup Dengan Memberi, Erti Bijaksana Dengan Hikmah