Shaheen Sb,

 Without religion, we would have been without a standard of right and wrong. Over a period, moral values given to us by religion, permeated society and became part of our laws. So, it is not surprising that we find many people who may not be outwardly religious, but are kind, honest, just etc and many displaying outward piety who are scoundrels.

 Belief for many people is simply cheap talk or worse hatred for others who do not believe as they do, and often irrelevant to what makes one "righteous". "Religions are, for the most part, bad– but religion is not." So, please do not confuse religion with the nonsense that goes with it but try to understand religion in its essence. It is religion which has given even the atheists the criterion of right and wrong and without religion, we are without an anchor and will drift into ways that will spell our destruction. The role that religion has played, is examined in the following article: Science and Religion

 Who is to blame when the Quran endorses several religions and paths, but our scholars have developed a theology of exclusivism? The Quran endorses even Buddhism which is agnostic about the existence of God but has a strong moral code. Who is to blame when the Quran values deeds above beliefs, but our scholars place mere verbalising of beliefs once in our lifetime as guaranteed to make us enter Heaven?  So, there is a religion of the Book (which is all that is good) and a religion of the people and what they have made of it which is for the most part bad. The part that is good will always guide those who seek guidance, and these will be successful in this life and the Hereafter. The world is a place of testing to find those who are best in their deeds and this test is not a simple one except for those who have a heart that is sound/pure.

 إِلَّا مَنْ أَتَى اللَّهَ بِقَلْبٍ سَلِيمٍ 

 (26:89) "But only he (will prosper) that brings to Allah a sound heart.

 There is an impulse for good and an impulse for evil and those who respond to the impulse for good and resist the impulse for evil are those who will believe and strive on the path that is steep. This is true for everyone irrespective of their religion.

 I have argued before, that if we believe that Islam is the best religion, then all other things being equal, a muqallid Mushrik is superior to a muqallid Muslim, because inspite of following Islam, the Muslim is only equal to a Mushrik in his deeds. So, who is better, depends on who is better in his deeds, and who has made progress on the path of purifying his heart and his beliefs.

The state of jahiliya before Islam, refers to ignorance of the religion of Allah among the pagan Arabs, but does not refer to the Jews and the Christians simply because they are the people of the Book. This definition is beyond debate. It does not refer to the state of the accomplishments of the people in any field, be it the arts, or the sciences.

The people who became Muslims, came from among the people of Jahiliya mostly. The sterling character of persons such as Umar bin Khattab and Abu Bakr Siddiq or the villainous character of people like Abu Jahl and Abu Lahab is common to all people. People like Umar bin Khattab, Abu Bakr Siddiq and other Vanguard Muslims, were attracted to Islam because of their inherent good qualities which Islam polished further to make them what they became. A religion can only polish the diamonds but cannot turn brass into gold. This limitation is explicitly stated in the Quran. There are people “who will not believe” no matter what, and every person in whom God finds any good, will be made to listen to the message (8:23).  The others are as if their hearts are sealed and they are deaf and blind. (45;23) “Then seest thou such a one as takes as his god his own vain desire? Allah has, knowing (him as such), left him astray, and sealed his hearing and his heart (and understanding), and put a cover on his sight. Who, then, will guide him after Allah (has withdrawn Guidance)? Will ye not then receive admonition?”

Jahiliya means ignorance and the article is based on the author’s ignorance. Sample the following:

“For example, hajj was made possible every year because of the tribal mores that forbade killing within that month. Before the pilgrimage was Islamised as the ‘hajj’, the society therein had evolved some laws which they put into practice.”

 Kaba was built by Ibrahim (AS) and Ismail (AS) and the hajj was ordained by Allah and was practiced since the day the Kaba was built. The rituals and practices were also as prescribed. The four-month period of Hajj during which all violence and killing was prohibited or also goes back to the practice since the days of Ismail. Kaba was a place of sanctuary ever since it was built.

 The people later paganised the kaba. Religion followed the familiar path of commercialisation and pandering to the people’s weaknesses. “Shirk” is the greatest and most unforgivable sin because in its purest form, it is pandering to one’s own desires and lusts or paying obeisance to anything that promises to satiate one’s desires and dreams without a thought to what is right.  The attractiveness and commercial value of a place of pilgrimage is maximised following the very familiar model of successful marketing. To sell successfully, the customer must be provided with a wide variety of choice and merchandise advertised as guaranteed to fulfil the desires and dreams of the people in this world itself.

Muhammad (pbuh) restored the original position of Kaba as a place of worship for the One and only God. There was no need to alter the practices that did not change since the days of Ibrahim and Ismail. If the author had read the Quran, or had some knowledge of it, he would have known this.

 Take the relationship between Hazrat Khadija and Muhammad (pbuh). Hazrat Khadija was the first to accept Islam, the foremost among its supporters and one who gave all she had to Islam. She was a wife in the best of Islamic traditions, who honoured her husband and had implicit faith in him more than he had in himself. It was Khadija who reassured him that he was a true prophet when he was in doubt. The regard for Khadija continued after she died, and she remained the most loved one amongst all his wives. Now to speculate in the manner the author has done on the relationship, is to expose himself as an ignoramus at best, or as just another Islamophobe.

 It was George Bernard Shaw who said that marriage is legalized prostitution. A person of similar bent of mind is likely to say that “Mehar” is the “vulva price”. Such notions are not derived from the Quran and are a product of profane minds. What if the profane mind belongs to some Maulana and what he says, finds itself into the Books of the Muslims? The test of whether Islam teaches the same is whether such notions are found in the Quran.

 Ghulam Mohiyuddin Sb is quite right. There is nothing original in the author’s article or in the comments of Mr Hamza. They say what the anti-Islam Christian Missionaries have been saying for the last 200 years and what the Islamophobes among the atheists have since picked up from the same sources.

I endorse Naseer and Ghulam Mohiyuddin saheban

Naseer Ahmad sb:  “The article is utterly nonsensical. It is based on loose conjecture rather than facts and God knows to what purpose!”

Ghulam Mohiyuddin sb: “As I said before, denial of Jahiliyyah is very important to those who are carrying on a vile campaign of hate against Islam.”

In order for the writer to note the important point is that Hazrat Khadeeja (may Allah be pleased with her) remained a successful business woman even after the advent of Islam.  She was not denied of participation in business; and thus she became a role model for all Muslim women to come—and this is how the Muslim scholars deduce the ruling of Islam allowing women participation in business. If any Muslims feel pride in this right given by Islam, I think this should not be thought with the specs of supremacism. I think Muslims do not deny that Hazrat Khadeeja was a successful business woman even before the announcement of Islam in Arabia. If there is anything as such, the writer should have produced evidence.

If something was done in front of the beloved Prophet (peace be upon him) and he did not forbid it, it was and is still taken as valid and lawful practice. Indeed Muslim women of this age should follow Hazrat Khadeeja as a whole and not only for business. The way she spent her life in obedience to Allah and His beloved Prophet (peace be upon him) should also be followed by today’s women.  

The second point for the writer is that when any Muslim scholars say “girls were burnt alive in pre-Islamic era”, they do not mean all girls were burnt alive. Instead they refer to some tribes which in pre-Islamic era used to burn their daughters alive, the historians and muhaddetheen unanimously agree with the view that the tribe of Tameem used to burn girls alive while there is some disagreement over the names of other tribes. When Islam came and spread it laid a great impact on stopping such a vile practice of tribe of Tameem.

Arshad sb may accept non-Muslim historians, if not Muslims. If it is so, then he should see “Lammens, Henri (1987) [1929]. Islam. Belief and Institutions. London: Methuen & Co. Ltd. p. 21” which also authenticates the view that the tribe of Tamim used to burn its daughters alive, while there is disagreement about the names of other tribes.