Dear Mr Kazmi
You said:
By
saying what you said, you have acknowledged that
there are many "issues" with the religion, but
it is better to find a solution than to keep the
rant "on" that there are "issues".
I applaud your
courage in admitting there is a huge problem and
to sincerely look for a solution. It is only
the defeatist mentality that gives up on a
solution.
You also said:
Our text, like all other "holy" texts have
multiple embedded and implied meanings, as an
example, the meanings portrayed by Akhtar
Shirazi are not the same as Feroz Karmally,
rather they are diametrically apart, however,
each of these guys claim that they have invested
thier life understanding the meaning of these
words............"WHO OF THESE TWO PORTRAY THE
TRUTH?" ...Akhtar or Feroze or none of them.
surely, both cannot be right.
No one is right,
except God. Before you jump on me by saying
"and you know what God says", you might want to
investigate the following :
God says Quran is
kitaabul mobeen (a clear book, without
ambiguity). If we humans come up with different
meanings, we should check out why we are wrong -
God is never wrong.
There are a number
of ways one can analyze:
Expound on a text,
giving ones own opinion (what scholars are
doing)
Critical thinking
- try to play the devils advocate and knock
holes in an argument
Look at and convey
the literal meaning
Investigation to
determine the true meaning.
God never asked us
to give our opinion on HIS book, or to criticize
it. Neither can the Quran's meaning be conveyed
literally. Our job is to investigate, and this
means use the Quran to find out what it means.
God backs up His
statement that Quran is fully detailed and clear
by giving us a system to find the correct
meaning everytime. When we all have the correct
meaning, we will have the solution to our
problems.
Here are the 3
steps:
1) Look at the
literal meaning (Sura 3:7)
2) If there is
more than one meaning, and there can certainly
be in a language as rich as arabic, then
look at the
context (4:82)
3) If you still
have more than one meaning, look at it in light
of the whole book (5:101)
If you try this
system you will invariably end up with one
meaning. However there is one condition, that
you have to take the Quran as the only source,
no hadith, no scholar opinions (17:46)
Using this method,
we find the correct understanding to issues we
have trouble with (e.g. harsh islamic
punishments). Quran does not tell us to cut off
the hand of the thief but to cut (as in mark).
It discourages capital punishment for murder
(definitely disallows killing for apostasy) or
adultery (how can you half-stone someone to
death, the punishment for a freed slave woman),
or jihad (60:8 God does not forbid you from
befriending those who do not fight you) etc.
It is the other
sources that have caused the problem, and the
association of a human with God. We know what
the problems are, what the solution is. Based on
what I read between you and Mr. Chaudhry, I
conclude that the two of you realize this but
want to sweep it under the carpet because it
seems like such a tough job to take on the
entire establishment. Courage comes from God but
we have to make the first step.
The religion has
been hijacked and corrupted. Until it is fixed
religion and state cannot mix. Even when it is
fixed, God's gift of freedom dictates that
people adopt religious practices based on reason
and logic that furthers their well being.
God forbid I
should be so ignorant as to give my own opinion
and pass it on as the truth. There are enough
people already doing it. Those who are not part
of the solution are part of the problem.
Regards
Feroz