SalamunAlaikum           

Peace Be Upon You                                   

A LETTER FROM BEIJING

In a recent discussion someone asked me. "What difference does it make if you say, when greeting in Arabic assalamu alaikum instead of salaamun alaikum. Well, it makes a lot of difference because you will be cast into hell fire for getting it wrong. One greeting is from God and the other is from Al-Bukhari and Muslim which, is falsely attributed to the Prophet. The Quran says:

"...But when you enter houses, salute one another with a greeting from God, sweet. Thus God makes clear His revelations for you..." (Quran 24:61).

As for those who greet not with the greeting from God, the Quran says. "And when they come to you they greet you with a greeting wherewith God greets you not, and say within themselves. Why should God punish us for what we say? Hell will suffice them; they will feel the heat thereof - a hapless journey' s end! (58:8).

As we know, the Quran is complete and with details. See (6:38 and 114). Thus nothing can be taken for granted. The oft-repeated word "maalish" in the Egyptian culture simply cannot fit into the Quran.

We can never find a meeting point as long as people keep clinching to the hadith to support their opinions, while I uphold only the Quran. I was also a hadith addict before, but just one sentence from the Quran was enough to shed away all my once fanatical belief of the hadith: "In which `hadith' other than this (Quran) do they believe?" as mentioned in 7:185 and 77:50. Perhaps others may need more persuasion.

God sent the Quran to guide all humanity. But the Muslims are duped into following the Hadith (oral) and Sunna (traditions), which are falsely attributed to the messenger.

The Quran has reminded us on this matter as follows: "This (Quran) is my
straight path; you shall follow it, and do not follow any other paths, lest they take you, away from the path of God. (6:153). Please read up to verse 157.

In fact God has warned us in the Quran about hadith and the hadith writers and their supporters as follows: "Some of them twist their tongues to simulate the scripture, to make you think that it is from the scripture, when it is not from the scripture; and claim that it is from God (hadith qudsi) when it is not from God. They invent lies and attribute them to God, knowingly. (3:78).

"It is those who believe not in the words of God that forge falsehood: it is they who lie!" (16:105). "Likewise did We make for every Messenger an enemy - satans, among men and jinns inspiring each other with fancy words in order to deceive..." (6:112) - Hadith is narrated in fancy words!

I can quote you many more verses from the Quran as it is a complete book and fully explained with details. Please see (6:114, 18:54, 7:52 and 6:38). However, even the prophet could do nothing more than simply convey the message of the Quran.

" . . . But the Messenger has no other charge than to convey (the message of the Quran) plainly". (24:54).

Everything depends on the individuals in their ability to accept the teachings of the Quran.

Of course I cannot accommodate everything in this short letter. Even the Prophet took 23 years to deliver the Quran to his followers. I fully understand that people are always busy, but perhaps after reading this letter some people may reflect and find the time in the comfort of their own homes, to study the Quranic verses.

Salaam,
Wadan Kassim,
Beijing, China.

Salaamun alaikum - is Arabic for Peace be upon you as found in the Quran Chapters Al Ana'am verse 6:54