ANSWERED: A Few Questions on Sunnism

[TheChristian]

Peace be upon all,


I have a few questions on Sunnism that I hope can be answered, God Willing. Here are my questions:

1. Why is it good to have a beard? Is this the only way you can go to heaven if you are a male? Why does the beard supercede knowledge when it comes to leading Salat? (it was stated on AskImam.com)

2. Where does it say that you feel pain on your body, even after death? Such as a bee sting, etc.

3. What is the idea of the whale (I believe the name is Liwash, forgive me if I am wrong) holding up the earth, and the bull holding up the whale in in Ibn Kathirs tafsir of Sura Al-Qalam?


I believe that a lot of this comes from Hadiths and Sunnah, so if you could provide which ones I would be greatful. If I have more questions, I will ask. Thanks.

[sudoku]

Assalamo Ala Manitaba Al Huda

Kindly provide complete reference in your question so it is easy to search them up.

Why is it good to have a beard? Is this the only way you can go to heaven if you are a male? Why does the beard supercede knowledge when it comes to leading Salat? (it was stated on AskImam.com)

Keeping beard is categorised among the Fitrah of male, and comanded directly in Ahadith.

Read all the articles here, inshAlah that will be sufficient.

http://www.islam.tc/beard/

With regars

Where does it say that you feel pain on your body, even after death? Such as a bee sting, etc.

I think you the belief of Life after death is established, then its a minial matter whether one would feel pain or not. Since muslim believe in life after death and that every sould shall give acounts of its deeds then it is inherent that the punnishment in lieu of our transgressions have to be atleast felt.

hopefully this will help

http://www.inter-islam.org/faith/life.html

What is the idea of the whale (I believe the name is Liwash, forgive me if I am wrong) holding up the earth, and the bull holding up the whale in in Ibn Kathirs tafsir of Sura Al-Qalam?

Please quote a reference so that I may search in the library,

Wassalam o Ala Manitaba Al Huda

[Mansy]

3. What is the idea of the whale (I believe the name is Liwash, forgive me if I am wrong) holding up the earth, and the bull holding up the whale in in Ibn Kathirs tafsir of Sura Al-Qalam? .

Dear Brother I think sister Umm Essa has answered most of your question, I just want to add something concerning the statement in ibn kathir. This will also reflect on how to use primary Islamic sources. Ibn Kathir was living in a time where the isnad (that is the chain of authorities attached to a statement) was in full force. Any thing said had to be preceded by an isnaad. This is the equivalent of modern day referencing and bibliography. Any one who did not produce an isnad for a particular statement can be classified as dishonest and penalized for plagiarising. Any anecdote that was mentioned in those days had to be backed up by an isnad, even if the story is spurious. The logic behind this is that subsequent scholars by looking at the isnad can immediately recognize it to be spurious, the author had no need to spell it out literally that a story is false or fabricated. Ibn Kathir mentions a lot of these stories to make people aware that these stories are fairy tales stay away from them!!! I think if you keep this fact in mind then it will help to understand primary Islamic sources better. Hope I’m not sounding too pedantic here.
Best wishes, Mansur

[Kareem]

these questions are not how to judge ahlus sunnah wal jamaah, it is like judging Islam by asking questions like, why is the Qur'an in arabic? why is the Ka`ba square?

u should ask questions about things that defines our creed.

read aqidah at tahawiyya http://www.masud.co.uk/ISLAM/misc/tahawi.htm and the authority of Sunnah http://ccminc.faithweb.com/iqra/arti...sun/index.html

those should get you started.

[TheChristian]

Peace,

Thank you all for responding.

Kindly provide complete reference in your question so it is easy to search them up.


Keeping beard is categorised among the Fitrah of male, and comanded directly in Ahadith.

Read all the articles here, inshAlah that will be sufficient.

http://www.islam.tc/beard/

Sorry for not providing a site. I tried to give a site one other time and the link was edited to where no one could see it. I'll try again. Here is the exact spot I found it:

http://www.islam.tc/ask-imam/view.php?q=12437

I also read some of the site that you gave, since it is really long, I will read more later. I get the point of it now from the Hadiths point, thanks.

I do have another question on this. I for some reason cannot grow a beard, but only a moustache. In Sunnism, would this mean something like a sign or that I should change (since I am not Sunni, I just follow Qu'ran)? I am not going to change as I am content with my belief, but I would just like to know the Sunnis viewpoint on this.

My friend has told me some stories on like a women not being able to see Kaaba because they found out she practiced black magic and such. Would there be something similar to me?

I think you the belief of Life after death is established, then its a minial matter whether one would feel pain or not. Since muslim believe in life after death and that every sould shall give acounts of its deeds then it is inherent that the punnishment in lieu of our transgressions have to be atleast felt.

hopefully this will help

http://www.inter-islam.org/faith/life.html

Thank you, that answered my question.

Please quote a reference so that I may search in the library,

Wassalam o Ala Manitaba Al Huda

Sorry about that, again I couldn't post sites before so I'll try now

And from his narration on the authority of Ibn 'Abbas that he said regarding the interpretation of Allah's saying (Nun): '(Nun) He says: Allah swears by the Nun, which is the whale that carries the earths on its back while in Water, and beneath which is the Bull and under the Bull is the Rock and under the Rock is the Dust and none knows what is under the Dust save Allah. The name of the whale is Liwash, and it is said its name is Lutiaya'; the name of the bull is Bahamut, and some say its name is Talhut or Liyona. The whale is in a sea called 'Adwad, and it is like a small bull in a huge sea. The sea is in a hollowed rock whereby there is 4,000 cracks, and from each crack water springs out to the earth.

Dear Brother I think sister Umm Essa has answered most of your question, I just want to add something concerning the statement in ibn kathir. This will also reflect on how to use primary Islamic sources. Ibn Kathir was living in a time where the isnad (that is the chain of authorities attached to a statement) was in full force. Any thing said had to be preceded by an isnaad. This is the equivalent of modern day referencing and bibliography. Any one who did not produce an isnad for a particular statement can be classified as dishonest and penalized for plagiarising. Any anecdote that was mentioned in those days had to be backed up by an isnad, even if the story is spurious. The logic behind this is that subsequent scholars by looking at the isnad can immediately recognize it to be spurious, the author had no need to spell it out literally that a story is false or fabricated. Ibn Kathir mentions a lot of these stories to make people aware that these stories are fairy tales stay away from them!!! I think if you keep this fact in mind then it will help to understand primary Islamic sources better. Hope I’m not sounding too pedantic here.
Best wishes, Mansur

So that means that this Tafsir should be considered Fairy Tales? Sorry, no mean to offend but I wasn't sure if I comprehended what you said correctly.

these questions are not how to judge ahlus sunnah wal jamaah, it is like judging Islam by asking questions like, why is the Qur'an in arabic? why is the Ka`ba square?

u should ask questions about things that defines our creed.

read aqidah at tahawiyya http://www.masud.co.uk/ISLAM/misc/tahawi.htm and the authority of Sunnah http://ccminc.faithweb.com/iqra/art...hsun/index.html

those should get you started.

I am Muslim, but not Sunni. I am just asking questions that I would like to know.



Thanks Um-Eesaa, Mansy, and Kareem.

Peace.

[Dawud AbuSulayman]

The Christian, when did you accept Islam?

[TheChristian]

I actually believed in a lot of what Islam (again, Qu'ran alone) taught even as a Christian. But to actually accept Islam and the Qu'ran was two to three years ago.

[salman]

Salamu 'Alaykum

I know people have answered your questions but i just wished to add something:

[1] The beard is not a one-way ticket to paradise. It is possible that a man without a beard also enter heaven. This is something we cannot decide as mere men. However, as you know the Qur'an does say to follow the Messenger, even you cannot deny this and historical facts show that the Prophet did have a beard.

As for the Fatwa of Mufti Desa'i then there is some leeway to this.

I do have another question on this. I for some reason cannot grow a beard, but only a moustache. In Sunnism, would this mean something like a sign or that I should change (since I am not Sunni, I just follow Qu'ran)? I am not going to change as I am content with my belief, but I would just like to know the Sunnis viewpoint on this.

Nope, it simply means you cant grow a beard. There were companions of the Prophet who couldnt grow beards out either...

Wasalam

[TheChristian]

Peace,

The beard is not a one-way ticket to paradise.

I was asking because a Sunni friend told me this. Not that I believed it or anything, just wanted confirmation for this site.

However, as you know the Qur'an does say to follow the Messenger, even you cannot deny this and historical facts show that the Prophet did have a beard.

I believe that we should follow the messenger, but unlike Sunnis (and other Muslims that might), I do not believe that he didn't commit sin or transgress against God. Again, not disrespecting Muhammad, but I do not believe that he didn't sin or anything.

As far as the beard, that's a physical observation. God judges the heart, so I doubt the physical aspects (beard, nails, etc.) even count in regards to following the Messenger. I believe that it means to follow the Messengers ways and learning from his mistakes as well.

Thanks for your input Salman.

Peace.

[Abu 'Abdillah al-Maliki]

I actually believed in a lot of what Islam (again, Qu'ran alone) taught even as a Christian. But to actually accept Islam and the Qu'ran was two to three years ago.

So why do you call yourself "TheChristian" and not "TheMuslim"?