When you read the Quran, seek refuge with Allah from Satan the outcast.


He has no authority over those who believe and trust in their Lord. His authority is only over those who follow him, and those who associate others with Him.  

The devil’s main concern is to make a person disobey God, no matter how. Therefore, Satan whispers to a person various sins, such as stealing, or committing adultery, lying, adulation, or disbelieving, and other sins. When a person closes the door of disobedience, Satan comes to him from another door, and the obsessive whispering of Satan for a person may be by acting the part of a loving advisor.

And he swore to them, I am a sincere advisor to you.  

Those who are righteous—when an impulse from Satan strikes them, they remind themselves, and immediately see clearly.  

Satan knows this and admits it, on the Day of Resurrection he will say to the guilty:

And Satan will say, when the issue is settled, “God has promised you the promise of truth, and I promised you, but I failed you. I had no authority over you, except that I called you, and you answered me. So do not blame me but blame yourselves. I cannot come to your aid, nor can you come to my aid. I reject your associating with me in the past. The wrongdoers will have a torment most painful.  

Imam Ibn al-Qayyim, may God have mercy on him, says: “The soul shorten the hearts from reaching the road of the Lord. It is a road only reached after its demise. People are divided into two parts, a group that their selves has triumphed over them only to annihilate them, and another group that has triumphed over their selves, so that they have yielded to their commands.”

Glory be to Him, described the human self in the Qur’an as having any one of three characteristics: Tranquil, evil-minded, and reproving.

The Tranquil Soul: Is the one that became serene through the remembrance of God and longed to meet Him; and is addressed upon death.

Return to your Lord, pleased and accepted.  

The soul then emerges from doubt to certainty, from ignorance to knowledge, from forgetfulness to remembrance, and from showing off to sincerity.

The soul that is evil-minded: Is the one that commands its owner of whatever it desires.  This is its nature except if God has guided it, steadied, and aided, so no one gets rid of the one’s evil self except with the Grace of God. 

The Messenger, peace be upon him, sought refuge from the evil of the soul, saying: We seek refuge in Allah from the evils of ourselves.

The Reproving Soul: Is ever self-blaming, yet it turns a lot between remembering and forgetting, advancing and turning away, loving and hating, being content and discontent, being satisfied and angry, and of being good and envious.

Al-Hassan Al-Basri said: “The believer is always reprimanding himself, even on the Day of Resurrection. He always blames himself, whether he was virtuous or not. If he was virtuous, then he blames himself for his dereliction.” 


He asked: What is the difference between elation and envy?

I answered: Elation is a person disliking the superiority of another person over him, and he wishes to be like him or better, so this is jealousy and it is known as “ghibta”.

…This is what competitors should compete for.  


I continued:  Envy is extremely disliking the blessings bestowed upon the envied. This is the type of jealousy that bears blame. So, when a person detests something, he feels hurt acknowledging what he hates. This becomes a sickness in his heart;  he enjoys it when the envied has their blessings taken away even if this does not result in any benefit to the envious except the single benefit of having the pain that was in his soul removed.


…But the evil plot does not encompass except its own people  

He asked: What is the difference between the evil that occurs from a man and the one that happen from God?

I countered: Evil never comes from God! Evil is not existential matters; existence is pure goodness.

 “How come?” He wanted to know.

I answered: If a person, for example, beat another person until he loses his ability to move, then he has acquired the attribute of injustice, and injustice is evil. But the presence of strength for someone who grabs a cane and uses it to hit someone else is not evil. The existence of the will that God has given to him is not evil as well.


 


His ability to move his hand is not evil.

The presence of the capacity of beating in the stick is not evil.

All of these existential materials are good, and the attribute of evil is not acquired unless it led to harm through its misuse, which is the paralysis in the previous example. Thus, based on that example, the presence of the scorpion and the snake is not evil if a person didn’t cross in front of it and was bitten by it. As such, God Almighty is not credited with evil in His actions for those are pure goodness, but rather in their effects that resulted from the misuse of this goodness by humans.

He said: What about people who were born disabled?

I answered: A fifty years old disabled person once told me: ‘I now realize the underlying blessing behind the severe accident that left me crippled. Before the accident, I intended to turn to atheism. I was too distant from God, and I was hell bent on immigrating so I can become an atheist. My injury prevented me from fulfilling my wish, and after thirty years of the accident, I thank God for it, and I see it as one of the greatest blessings that God has bestowed upon me, and that it brought me closer to Him. I am certain that my soul was wayward enough to make me not return back to God except with such an affliction. God knows the souls of His servants even before they are born.

I said to my inquisitor: Since evil is relative and not absolute, and life is a test and not a rewarding place, and the reward is as great as the amount of work. So, the trials are like someone who travels a long distance in the hope of reaching his goal and his beloved.

 “What is the evidence for the resurrection?” He wanted to know.

I explained: The evidence and phenomena of existence all indicate that there is a consistent rebuilding and creation in life all around us. The examples are abundant, such as reviving the Earth after its death by rain and other examples too.

He brings the living out of the dead, and He brings the dead out of the living, and He revives the land after it had died. Likewise, you will be resurrected.  


Did you think that We created you in vain, and that to Us you will not be returned?  So Exalted is God, the Ruler, the Real. There is no god except He, the Lord of the Noble Throne.   


Another evidence for resurrection is the interlocked system of the universe that is balanced, even the infinitesimally small electron cannot travel from one orb to another in the atom unless it gives or takes an amount of energy equal to its movement. So how do you imagine in this system that the killer escapes or that the unjust flees without punishment from the Lord of the worlds. I uttered.


Do those who perpetrate the evil deeds assume that We will regard them as equal to those who believe and do righteous deeds, whether in their life or their death? Evil is their judgment! God created the heavens and the earth with justice, so that every soul will be repaid for what it has earned. And they will not be wronged.  

I went on: Do you not notice that in this life we lose a lot of our relatives and friends and know that we will die like them one day, but we feel deep in our hearts that we shall live forever. If the human body was a material object within the framework of a material life within the material laws, there would be no meaning to this innate sense of freedom; that the spirit transcends time and overcomes death.

He asked: How can the Creator resurrect them?

I argued: Just as He created them the first time.

O, people! If you are in doubt about the Resurrection: We created you from dust, then from a drop, then from a clinging clot, then from a lump—developed and undeveloped. To clarify things for you. And We settle in the wombs what We will, for a designated term, and then We bring you out as infants. Then you may reach your maturity. Some of you will pass away, and some of you will reach the vilest age, so that after having known he may not know. And you see the earth still, but when We send down water on it, it vibrates and swells, and grows every delightful pair.  

Does the human being not consider that We created him from a drop? Yet he becomes a fierce adversary. And he produces arguments against Us, and he forgets his own creation. He says, “Who will revive the bones when they have decayed?” Say, “He who initiated them in the first instance will revive them. And He knows every creation.  

So observe the impact of Allah’s mercy: how He revives the earth after its death. That is the Reviver of the dead, and He is capable of all things.  

He challenged: And how does He hold them all accountable at the same time?

I rejoined: Just as He provides for them all at the same time.

Those who disbelieve argue with false arguments:


In dialogue that I’ve conducted with a large group of French women, who were working in an international organization, I had difficulty dealing with Muslim women of Arab descents who were among these French women. The non-Muslim French women were highly interactive and responded effectively, but on the other hand I was concerned about the Muslim women.

One of them angrily interrupted me while I was answering a non-Muslim woman who asked a question about the head covers’ ordinance in the Holy Qur’an: The head cover is not an obligation in Islam!

I challenged: Do you pray the prayers in their due time?

She answered: No, I do not pray.

I said: Then you are right. Praying for you in this case is a priority. Pray first, then come and discuss with me the subject of the head covers’ ordinance.”

I could tell that she felt very embarrassed.

Another one had interjected: But when a woman is born, she is bare headed, hence the principle is to reveal her head.

I challenged: In that case, she must come out completely naked, because she is born without any clothes.


She persisted: The head cover is retardation and backwardness.

I challenged: Is there any backwardness beyond Adam's time? Exposing the head itself is the backwardness. Go back to the photos of your grandmother on her way to school, and see what she was wearing. When the swimming suite appeared for the first time, demonstrations took place all over Europe and Australia against it because it violated instinct of traditions not for religious reasons. Therefore, the manufacturing companies embarked on making extensive advertisements using girls at the age of five wearing it at the beginning in order to encourage women to wear it. The first girl who walked out wearing it was too ashamed that she couldn't continue with the show. 


At that time, women and men used to swim in white and black swimwear covering their entire bodies.

She countered back: How did you know that?

I replied: I learned it through my university’s education. When I’ve decided to wear the head cover in high school, I had a strong desire to imitate faithful women throughout history who have taken from the veil a symbol of their righteousness, such as the blessed Virgin Mary, the mother of the Messiah and the wives of the Messenger. 

At that time, I realized that there was no way for me to find something beautiful and elegant for veiled women in the market, so I decided to study fashion design for this purpose.

I elaborated, what is the difference between the veil of the Catholic nun and the veil of the Muslim woman? If you looked at both women from the back, you wouldn’t be able to differentiate between them; not until you see them from the front, only then you could tell the difference by noticing if they wear a cross or not. This is the main difference between the Muslim and Christian’s creed.

Another one cut in: But the nun is religious, she gave herself to God and renounces marriage.

I asked: So, in your opinion, should we choose between marriage and being religious? Isn’t this an injustice against ourselves and a great disparagement? Forcing our souls to struggle between their physical needs and their spiritual ones? 

That is a slow annihilation of the soul and an eternal torment in this life and the hereafter.

She said: But the head cover is not a normal thing for us.

I smiled and said gently: I’ll tell you a symbolic story. There once was a ruler of a village who fell grievously ill, that his nose was amputate at the insistence of his personal doctor.

On the following day, the minister came in to check up on the king, but he was so startled by the sight of the nose-less king that he burst out in laughter.


 


The king was absolutely angry and ordered his doctor to cut out the minister's nose. On the third day, the assistant ministers laughed at the sight of their minister without a nose. So, the minister got offended, and told the king what had happened. So, the king ordered his doctor to chop off the noses of all the ministers.

On the fourth day, the ruler went out with his minister and assistant ministers to solve some of the people's problems, and the people laughed at them. Therefore, the king decreed that the doctor also cut out the noses of all the people and the noses of the any newly born children.

As a result, all the folks of the that village became without noses; and later on when a natural person -with a healthy nose- from another village came to visit their village, everyone pointed at him and jeered: This one has a nose. He is not a normal human being.


The group laughed out loudly at the tale, and someone said: Yes, your story has a lot of truth in it.

Another woman asked: Why does a man not cover his beard just as a woman covers her hair? Why is the dress code worn by a man different than a woman’s dress code -in Islam-? Why do they not cover their bodies in the same way?

I laughed at her question and stated: How peculiar! So why do you wear a two-piece bathing suite, and your husband swims in a one-piece trunk? 

The whole group burst out laughing. I continued: A woman covers her hair to ward off sedition; have you heard of a woman raping a man ever in your life? 

Women in your countries marsh out in protests demanding for their rights to a safe life without harassment or rape, and we have not heard of a similar demonstration done by men.

One of them had mocked: Why can't a woman be sent as a prophet?

I dared her: Would you want to be sent as a prophet?

She uttered archly: Why not?

I floored her by saying: Since your faith is this strong, and you have high endurance, vigor, and determination, then ask God to make you a prophet.

The group laughed again.

Then another lady said: What is the difference between the face cover and head cover?

I clarified: Based on my prior knowledge of their strong reverence to the Virgin Mary: The ones who wear the head cover had emulated the pious women throughout history who took the veil as a symbol of their righteousness such as Virgin Mary, the mother of the Christ, and others. 

While the women who put on the face cover are following suit with the wives of the Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him.

She said: Why does a man marry four women?

I answered: In France, how many women does a man marry?

She uttered: Only one!

I asked her: And how many mistresses does he keep?

The whole group cried out in one voice while laughing: Too many!


I continued: This situation that you are laughing at is the situation that prevailed before Islam, and Islam came to set it right; preserving the rights and dignity of women and transforming them from mistresses into wives who have integrity and rights.

She asked irritably: Who would accept to be a second wife? How can a French woman accept to be a second or third wife?

I replied quietly: Whoever accepts to become a mistress with no rights, will in fact prefer to become a wife with secured rights for herself and for her children.

A mistress lives a degrading life without rights for her and her children, and it is odd that you accept the concept of relationships without marriage and responsibilities, and children without parents or homosexuality, etc.…


while you reject a legal marriage between a man and more than one woman.


 


She persisted: Why does a woman not have the right to marry four men at the same time, just as a man does?

I clarified: A woman can marry a single or a married man as long as he has less than four wives, and that is her right. Whereas this right is not applicable to a man; as he is only allowed to marry someone who is not married, so as to protect the rights of children in lineage and inheritance.

She said: It is possible for the children's rights to be preserved by examining their DNA.

I asked her in surprise:  If you came into the world and found your mother introducing you to your father through this test, what would your psychological state be? 

Regardless, how can a woman play the wife of four men with that temperamental moodiness that she has?  Not to mention the diseases caused by her relationship with more than one man at the same time.

Another woman said: Why are men the guardians of women in Islam?

I clarified to her: That is an esteem for women and an obligation for men on the bases of taking care of her affairs and fulfilling her needs.


 


A Muslim woman plays the role of a queen that every woman on earth desires.

She countered: But she is actually not a queen.

I replied: A smart woman chooses what she should be, either an honored queen, or a toiler on the side of the road.

She challenged: Have a look at how men misused that guardianship!

I told her gently: This is not a stigma to the guardianship system, but rather to those who misuse it.

She persisted: Look at the men in some Arab countries, how they oppress their wives at home, then go out to the nightclubs to drink wine and dally with women.

I retorted: How many are they? One thousand two thousand three? Do you know the number of Muslims in any of these countries?

She said sharply: Why did the Qur’an allow them to strike the woman?

I clarified: Who said so? Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, never hit a woman in his life. As for the Qur’anic verse that spoke of the beating, it is meant to be a not severe beating in the case of rebellion, just like when you nudge your son's shoulder when you wake him up from a deep sleep so that he does not miss his test.

I continued: Let’s say that you found your daughter standing at the edge of the window to fling herself off. Unintentionally, your hands will reach out to her to grab her and push her backwards so that she does not hurt herself.


 


That is what is intended here by beating a woman, to try to prevent her from destroying her home and destroying the future of her children. Of course, that is only after several stages as mentioned in the verse.

As for those from whom you fear disloyalty, admonish them, and abandon them in their beds, then strike them. But if they obey you, seek no way against them. God is Sublime, Great.  

She said: And why does the woman not hit her husband if he misbehaved?

I explained: If she can take her right on her own, then she can do so; but that may cause another harmful effect. But the woman is weak in general; Islam has given her the right to resort to the judiciary.

The basic principle in Islam is that the marital relationship should be based upon affection, serenity and mercy.

And of His signs is that He created for you mates from among yourselves, so that you may find tranquility in them; and He planted love and compassion between you. In this are signs for people who reflect.  

She uttered: My daughter is a homosexual, and I cannot interfere with her decision.

I dared her: If she wants to throw herself into fire, would you have interfered or not?

She answered: That is the difference between you and me. You find this behavior dangerous, but I find it natural. Didn’t you hear of the relativity theory? Just as there are various theories of human origin and theories of the concept of God, likewise morality is relative and there are objective moral values. 

We, in France, find no problem in our daughters having relationships with their schoolmates outside of marriage, for example. I myself have paid my daughter’s costs for staying with her boyfriend in a nearby hotel to spare them meeting up, for example, in a nearby forest and exposing them to bandits.


I told her that having various theories and convictions does not mean that there isn’t a one true and correct theory. No matter how many concepts and theories you collectively have about the means of transportation that I’d use to get here daily, does not negate the fact that I own a black car, even if the whole world believes that my car is red, this belief doesn’t make it red, there is one truth and it is A Black Car.

It is illogical to decree the convictions of human beings based on their whims and preferences. If rape is evil for example, rather there is no doubt that rape is a breach to human rights, a violation of his values and freedom. 

This indicates that rape is evil, so is homosexuality, which is a violation of the universal laws, and adultery. 

The truth can’t be denied even if the whole world agreed to invalidate it. A misdeed is as clear as the sun, even if all human beings agreed to recognize it as valid.

And the theories of the origin of the existence do not negate the existence of one truth, which is that there is only one God the Creator the One and Only, who has neither image nor child.


 


If the entire world wanted to embrace that the Creator is embodied in the form of an animal or a person, that does not make it so, Exalted be Allah God Almighty from their claims and elevated to great heights.

Hence, your daughter's homosexuality is a wrong and disgraceful act; even if the whole world concurred that it is right. The only and explicit truth is that morality is not relative and does not change with time or place.

One of them interjected: But we must respect the opinions and theories of others.

I declared: We do respect the will of choice that God have given to everyone, but we do not respect the disgraceful behavior itself.

Another had questioned: Why did Islam prohibit adoption?

I clarified: Have you heard the story of the Australian girl who accidently learned, thirty years later, that she was adopted and committed suicide? If they told her since childhood, they would have spared her and given her the opportunity to search for her family.

Islam urges the sponsorship of orphans, and urges the sponsor of an orphan to treat him as he treats his own children, but upholds the right of the orphan to get to know his true family, to preserve his right in his father's inheritance, and to avoid mixing of lineages.

Another Muslim woman asked next: Why the savagery in the punishment for adultery, look at the French sophistication.

I countered back: Due to the French sophistication, how many millions do not know where they’ve come from? Is that sophistication or retardation?

She challenged: Why does a woman inherit half of what a man inherits?

I stated: A Muslim friend had told me one day that she strove so hard to understand this point up until the death of her father-in law. Her husband inherited twice the amount his sister did; but he had to buy some essentials that he lacked such as a house for his own family and a car. 

His sister on the other hand, bought jewelry for the amount that she got and saved the rest of the money in the bank; as her husband was obligated to provide housing and other essentials. Only then my friend understood the wisdom behind this ruling, and she thanked God.

I explained: Before Islam, a woman was deprived of an inheritance. When Islam came, she was included in the inheritance, indeed she even gets more shares than the males in some cases. Whereas the males only obtain higher proportions according to the degree of kinship and descent.

She insisted: But in many societies, women work and toil to take care of their families. The rule of inheritance here is rotten.

I contradicted: Is the malfunction in your phone, which you caused by not following the operating instructions, an evidence of rottenness in the operating instructions?

And argued with false arguments to condemn the truth:


The French woman went on with her inquiries: Islam has detracted from the woman's eligibility, by making her testimony half of the man’s testimony.

I elucidated: The testimony of a man was never accepted alone even in the most insignificant financial issues, and Muslim men did not object to that and considered it a violation of his integrity; except that the woman has the advantage in accepting her testimony alone without a man and in a more crucial subject than the testimony on small matters, and that is in the testimony to the childbirth and what it entails in inheritance and lineage. 

And call to witness two men from among you. If two men are not available, then one man and two women whose testimony is acceptable to all—if one of them fails to remember, the other would remind her.   

The testimony upon which the judiciary system relies on to verify justice on the basis of evidence does not need masculinity or femininity as a criterion to determine its truthfulness or falsehood, in order to decide whether to accept or reject it. 

Rather, its criterion fulfills the judge's assurance of the truth of the testimony, regardless of the gender of the witness, male or female, and regardless of the number of witnesses.

In any case, we must know that testifying is a mandate and a responsibility, and when God relieves a woman of it, that is to honor her not the opposite.

She said: Why does Islam endorse slavery?

I answered: There is not a single verse in the Holy Qur’an that supports slavery! Slavery, which was established before Islam, was a standard system practiced by all populations, but it was without restrictions. Islam’s fight against slavery was aimed at changing the outlook and mindset of the entire society, so that slaves become after their liberation full and active members in society without the need to resort to demonstrations, strikes, civil disobedience, or even ethnic revolutions. 

The goal of Islam was to get rid of this hateful system as quickly as possible and by peaceful measures.

She asked: How so?

I explained: Islam did not allow the ruler to enslave his people. Moreover, Islam has also granted both the ruler and his people rights and duties within the boundaries of freedom and justice guaranteed to all. 

So, slaves were gradually set free through expiations, opening the door for alms, the hasting to do good and through the emancipation of the slaves to draw nearer to the God.

The woman who bears a child to her owner was not sold and was automatically granted her freedom upon his death. In contrary, to all previous traditions, Islam has decreed that the son of an enslaved woman will be conjoined with his father, therefore he is free. 

What is more, it also decreed that the bondservant purchases himself from his master by paying an amount of money or working for a specified period.

If any of your servants wish to be freed, grant them their wish, if you recognize some good in them.  

In the battles that Muslims were forced to fight in defense of themselves, religion, and money, Prophet Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, has instructed his companions to treat prisoners of war with kindness and charity.


 


In addition, the prisoners were able to buy their freedom by paying a ransom or teaching children how to read and write. Also, the enslavement system in Islam did not deprive a child from his mother or a brother from his brother.

Islam has commanded Muslims to show mercy to those fighters who’ve surrendered.


And if anyone of the polytheists asks you for protection, give him protection so that he may hear the Word of God; then escort him to his place of safety. That is because they are a people who do not know.  

Islam had also stipulated the possibility of helping slaves to free themselves by funding them from the money of Muslims or the state treasury. The Prophet, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, had offered a ransom to free the slaves from the funds of the public treasury.

She questioned: Aren’t the pilgrimage rituals paganistic in the glorification of the Ka’aba and the other rituals?

I pointed out: Are we to interpret the regard of the citizens of any country for some monument in publishing its photos and stamping it on official papers and so on as a worshipping ritual to that monument?


There is a huge difference between pagan religions, and the aggrandizing of certain places and sacred landmarks, whether religious, ethnic or national.

She asked: Why do Muslims kiss the Black Stone?

I enlightened her: Would you scold someone for kissing an envelope that has a letter from his father?

She disregarded my question: What about throwing the stones?

I answered her: As for the throwing of stones, it is to show our opposition to Satan, and not following him. In this way, we are emulating the actions of our Messenger Ibrahim, peace be upon him, when Satan had intercepted him to prevent him from carrying out his Lord’s order and slaughtering his son. So, he casted some stones at him.  


 


Likewise, the pursuit between the two hills (Al-Safa and Al-Marwah) is following in the footsteps of Hajar (Ibrahim’s wife) when she sought to find water for her son Ismail. 

All the rituals of pilgrimage are for establishing the remembrance of God and denoting obedience and yielding to the Lord of the Worlds. They are not intended to worship stones, places nor people.

Whereas, Islam calls for one God who is the Lord of the heavens and earth and what is between them; The Creator and Sovereign of everything.

I have directed my attention towards Him Who created the heavens and the earth—a monotheist—and I am not of the idolaters.  

She exclaimed: For me, these rituals are frightening. Many Muslims died because of the excessive crowding.

I informed her: Dozens may die in this annual event due to excessive crowding, yet millions of people die annually because of alcohol consumption. In addition, victims die in greater numbers in soccer field stadiums, carnivals in South America, etc. because of big crowds. 

In all cases, death is inevitable. Meeting God is an ascertained reality. Therefore, dying while doing good deeds, is better than dying while sinning.

Malcolm X  said: “And for the first time after twenty-nine years that I’ve spent on this earth, I stood before the Creator of everything and felt that I am a complete human being. I have never witnessed in my life the sincerity of this brotherhood among people of all colors and genders. America needs to understand Islam because it is the only religion that has the solution to the problem of racism.” 

Evelyn Kobold said: “Islam is a word that means submission to God, and it also means peace. The Muslim is defined as the man who walks in his life according to the will of his Creator, and the orders of his Lord, and who lives in peace with God and His servants. Perhaps the most beautiful thing in Islam is the Divine Oneness, devoid of traditions and heretics, and its complete adherence to practical matters of life. Faith in the Qur’an is based on good deeds, and there is no faith in Islam without there being a good deed; ever! This is what one finds in the Qur’an more than once in all its chapters and verses. Islam ordained the pilgrimage on the Muslims who can make the journey, so the sick is excused; the poor, and the slaves as well. It is stipulated in the pilgrimage that the road to it be devoid of risks. There should not be disease nor injustice in it.


 


Speaking of the pilgrimage, no one can deny that its of great importance. It overwhelms the soul from soaring to the realm of supreme spiritualistic ideals, and helps it break free from the vanities of the world. It helps it turn to God with a sound heart along thousands of people of all kinds with their different nationalities, different languages and the multiplicity of their drinks and tastes. These people come from all over the world, enduring on their way all kinds of hardships, the disturbance of pathways, and the far away distances that cannot be estimated or envisioned. All of that is to only stand in one place before God, May He be exalted, approaching Him with pure hearts, eager cores, and tears a flowing.”