BaKhabar, July 2013, Page-6 [Sex and Religion + Saving The Planet, One Drop At A Time]

What is The Main (Principal) Name of GOD ALMIGHTY and What He Says about Jesus Christ?

.... By Tanwir Phool*

The main or principal name of GOD ALMIGHTY is "ALLAH". There is no plural of this word. Similar word is also available in the New Testament(Gospel). It is an opinion that this word means "Al-Elah" i:e "The Deity". The word "Elah" stands for "Deity" and "Al" for "The" in Arabic. In the Old Testament , the names of GOD ALMIGHTY are "JEHOVAH " and "YAHWEH" which are nearer to pronunciation of "ALLAH".
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The Gospels tell us about the last words of Jesus. According to Gospels(the New Testament) there are three different versions of the last words uttered by Jesus on the cross.The reason is that ,only translations of Gospel are available instead of the original text revealed on Jesus.
According to Mark (15:34-35), Jesus yelled with a great shout "Eloi,Eloi, lama sabachthani?". Through the centuries, according to interpreters the last words of Jesus meant "My GOD, my GOD, why have You forsaken me?"

In Hebrew it is "Eli,Eli, lama azabtani?" while in Aramaic "Elahi,Elahi,lema sebaqtani?".
The word "Elahi" is available in Arabic which means "My Deity" or "My GOD".This word is also available in Psalms of David in the same meanings(the text of Psalm 22:2 in Aramaic).
According to Mark,followed by Matthew(27:46-47) the element of screaming has further been emphasized that some of those present at the moment would have understood that he(Jesus) was calling for the prophet Elijah.

According to John(19:30) "As Jesus took the wine,he exclaimed:'It is finished' and bowing his head,he handed over his spirit."

According to Luke(23:46) there is a third and different version of the last words of Jesus "And shouting with a great shout Jesus said 'Father into thy hands I commit my spirit."

It is obvious that the scene of death of Jesus in past tense can't be described in a book revealed on him in his life time.It is only a historical statement which has been added to Gospel.

Let us discuss the word "father" quoted in translation of Gospel.There is a word "Rab" which means "Preserver, Cherisher, Sustainer, Master, Deity or Lord".This word was also used for "father" and its plural is "arbaab"(verse No.31 of surah No.9 of the last book of GOD ALMIGHTY).When used for GOD ALMIGHTY there is no plural of this word.
Jesus had used the same word for GOD ALMIGHTY which was wrongly translated as "father" by the interpreters.GOD ALMIGHTY is far away from eating,drinking and sexual relations.Those who eat and drink are subject to death and He will never die.He is The Creator and all others are His creatures who are subject to death.Adam was born without father and mother and Jesus was born without father as GOD ALMIGHTY is Omnipotent(Having Power over all things).According to verse No.59 of surah No.3 Aal-e-Imran (The Family of
Imran):" The similitude of Jesus before GOD ALMIGHTY is as that of Adam; He Created him from dust,then Said to him "Be": and he was."

There are two categories of prophets; "Rasool" and "Nabi".The word "Rasool" is derived from Arabic word "Irsaal" which means "to send".This is used for a Messenger of GOD ALMIGHTY Blessed with a Book, such as Moses,David,Jesus and Mohammed (Peace be upon them).

"Nabi" is an assistant/deputy to "Rasool" such as Aaron,Solomon,Zachariah and John(Peace be upon them). The word "Nabi" is derived from "Naaib" which means "deputy or assistant".
"Rasool" has also the powers of "Nabi" as such he is greater than "Nabi". Every Rasool is also a Nabi but it is not necessary that every Nabi is also a Rasool. No Rasool was killed or murdered as he was sent specially by GOD ALMIGHTY. However,other prophets who were not "Rasool" but only "Nabi",were murdered such as Zakariya (Zachariah) and John(Peace be upon them).Jesus was also a "Rasool"(Messenger of GOD ALMIGHTY Blessed with a Book) as such it was not appropriate for him to be killed/murdered ,but another person of the same resemblance was crucified in his place.Verses 156 to 159 of surah No.4 "An-Nisa"(Women) of the last Book of GOD ALMIGHTY tell as under:

"That they rejected faith;that they uttered against Mary a grave false charge;that they said(in boast),"We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary,the Messenger of GOD;but they killed him not,nor crucified him.Only a likeness of that was shown to them.And those who differ therein are full of doubts,with no (certain) knowledge. But only conjecture to follow,for of a surety they killed him not;nay,GOD Raised him up unto Himself; and GOD is Exalted in Power,Wise, and there is none of the people of the Book but must believe in him before his death,and on the Day of Judgment he will be a witness against them."

GOD ALMIGHTY is also called "Rahmaan"(The Most Merciful) and there is no plural of this word also.The last two verses of surah No.17 "Bani Israel"(The Children of Israel) tell as under:
"Say,'Call upon Allah,or call upon Rahmaan: by whatever name you call upon Him,(it is well): for to Him belong the Most Beautiful Names.Neither speak your prayer aloud,nor speak it in a low tone,but seek a middle course between.Say,Praise be to Allah(God Almighty),Who begets no son,and has no partner in (His) dominion:nor (needs) He any to protect Him from humiliation:Yea, magnify Him for His Greatness and Glory !"

In verse No.82 of surah No.5 God Almighty(Allah) Admires the Christians and Says,"Nearest among them in love to the Believers will you find those who say,"We are Christians": because amongst them,there are men devoted to learning,and men who have renounced the world,and they are not arrogant."

GOD ALMIGHTY(ALLAH) Sees the Faith of inner heart and Says in verse No.62 of surah No.2: "Those who believe and those who follow the Jewish(scriptures) and the Christians and the Sabians,any who believe in GOD ALMIGHTY(ALLAH) and the Last Day,and work righteousness,shall have their reward with their Lord, on them shall be no fear,nor shall they grieve."

Also published at http://bit.ly/13qG75p

Modes of Islamic Microfinance

.... Dr Obaidullah on Zakat, Waqf and Islamic Microfinance

... By Aalif

The conceptual framework for Islamic microfinance requires that the contracts and transactions between the multiple parties involved in the process are Shariah-compliant. Most importantly, they must not violate the prohibitions against riba and gharar. While there seems to be a consensus on the meaning of these prohibitions, there is less agreement on the interpretation and manifestation of the prohibited elements in real-life situations. Further,Shariah-compliance of the contracts in form in no way provides an insurance against exploitation. Several observations are in order.
1. Rates on micro-murabaha and micro-ijara financing are deemed Shariah-compliant while interest rates are not. However, both can be and often are exploitatively high.
2. In case of participatory modes e.g. mudharabah, musharakah and mudharaa the sharing ratio could be unfairly biased against the poor beneficiary because of their low bargaining power. Similarly, in case of fee-based modes, e.g. wakala, hawala the agent-MFI may charge an exorbitant fee for the same reasons.
3. The permissibility of salam (sale of non-existent produce) is linked to the economic benefits it confers on poor farmers in need of pre-cultivation financing. However, salam can often involve exploitation when the advance price paid to the poor farmer is artificially pegged at low levels due to his/her weak bargaining power.
4. For Islamic modes of finance involving multiple contracts, e.g. murabaha and ijara, Shariah-compliance often requires careful sequencing of contracts to ensure that profits are associated with risk-bearing. However, in the context of microfinance involving large number of repetitive contracts involving small values, adherence to desired sequencing become practically impossible.
5. When MFIs price a benevolent transaction, e.g. qard and kafala (they are permitted to charge actual costs without any element of profits) they may actually be passing the costs of their inefficiencies to their beneficiaries.
6. When pawnshops provide qard that is backed by collateral or rahn and charge custodial fee from the borrower, it may well be a case of disguised riba, especially when the quantum of fee moves in direct proportion to quantum of loan.
A mechanism to redress the above undesirable possibilities may be found in the following:
1. Prudential regulation of markets to ensure healthy and adequate competition among the players and thereby, remove abnormal and/or illegal profits through mispricing.
2. Creative fiqhi solutions (for instance, replacement of murabaha with istijrar may bring in the required flexibility in settlement of repetitive transactions in microfinance)
3. Vigilance by Shariah scholars to prevent disguised riba (for instance, scholars may ensure that custodial fees are delinked from quantum of loan or that actual administrative costs recoverable from the beneficiary in qard are not overstated)
4. Identifying appropriate organizational structure (in case of earlier salam example, a farmer’s cooperative may replace the vendor and thus prevent exploitation of individual farmers by the latter)
Notwithstanding the varied nature of Islamic modes for microfinance, the fact remains thatmurabaha remains overwhelmingly popular among IsMFIs. Its popularity is attributable the following reasons:
1. Murabaha is simple. The straightforward calculation of the installments for repayment is more easily comprehensible by the beneficiary. In contrast to this, the payments under a partnership-based mode are uncertain and therefore, less favored.
2. In contrast, partnership-based modes are demanding on the part of the beneficiary in terms of the need for proper book-keeping and ascertainment of the financial results of the business. Financial illiteracy acts as a constraint. Further, the beneficiaries may be justifiably reluctant to share info relating to all aspects of their business with the MFI.
3. Murabaha is familiar. For conventional MFIs venturing into Islamic MF and usingmurabaha, the transition is least demanding. Among all Islamic products, murabaha comes closest to interest-bearing micro loans.

From Sadaqa: Islamic Social Finance