Qardawi and The Women(82)  
 
  Among the many magnificent verses of the Quran, some verses make a bigger impact upon one's mind more than others. This is especially the case with Sura Al Nisaa (The Women) verse 82: "Do they not study the Quran with care. If it were than God, they would surely have found many contradictions in it"

Because the Quran comes from God, who is Almighty and Perfect, there are no contradictions in it whatsoever. But all other books of guidance which are written by mortal human beings like Yusuf al Qardawi, can never be perfect and must have contradictions. This is a necessary and precedent condition for all books, authored by all human beings, feigning to give instructions for Man's faith and belief.

From this it follows that if any book has contradictions, then that book does not reflect the Truth revealed by God.

Who is Yusuf al Qardawi? Qardawi is a famous "guru" or scholar from Egypt who is quite in vogue among many Muslim intellectuals. He has written many books, including the famous "Al halal wal haram fil Islam" or "The lawful and the prohibited in Islam ". He is also highly regarded as a poet.

  WRITING AN INPERFECT BOOK TO EXPLAIN A PERFECT QURAN? As the title suggests this book by Qardawi seeds to clarify what is lawful and prohibited in Islam. Perhaps Qardawi does not realise the meaning of the following verse: "..WHEN HE HAS EXPLAINED IN DETAIL WHAT HE HAS FORBIDDEN FOR YOU." Sura 6:119.

God says he has already explained in detail what is forbidden in Islam. So if we write a book to further explain what is forbidden and permitted, does it not mean that we do not believe God's teaching in that verse?

The Quran which is perfect and has no contradictions (as mentioned in Sura 4:82) is not sufficiently clear for Qardawi and therefore he has to write another book - which, because it is man made, must have contradictions (Sura 4:82 again) - to explain the perfect Quran.

God gave the prophet Muhammad the following verse: "Say, "IT IS GOD WHO SHOWS THE WAY TO THE TRUTH. Then who is more worthy of being followed - He who guides to the Truth or he who cannot find the path until shown the way? What is wrong with you? How do you judge? Sura 10:35

So do we listen to God who always guides us to the Truth or do we listen to Yusuf al Qardawi, a mere mortal, who himself cannot find the way unless God shows him the way. What is wrong with some of us? How do we judge?

  THE FIRST CONTRADICTION But to be fair let us look at Yusuf al Qardawi's book "The lawful and the prohibited in Islam" (Publisher: Shorouk International (U.K) Ltd. 1985. Author: Yusuf al Qardawi. Translated into English by Kamal EI Helbawy, Moinuddin Siddiqui and Syed Shukry).

On the back cover of this book the translators say; "This book ANSWERS ALL THE QUESTIONS which may face Muslims today.. ". But on the inside cover, the reviewer, one Sheikh Ahmad Zaki Hammad contradicts this by saying, "..IT CANNOT by itself fill the gaps,
meet the challenge or answer the multitude of questions that face the Muslim community." Hence the point is proven. Only the Quran has no contradictions. All other man made books of guidance must have contradictions. But let us read further into Yusuf al Qardawi's
book which is so full of inconsistencies.

  SCHOLARS GET REWARDED FOR MAKING MISTAKES In the Introduction to this book, Qardawi pays tribute to old scholars before him. He says, "If they (the scholars) made mistakes in a ruling they will have a reward, while if they were correct, their reward will be twice as great."

This is fantastic! Qardawi's scholars can have their cake and eat it. They get rewarded even if they make a mistake. A win and win situation. Even kindergarten children know that this cannot be true. Real life shows that mistakes do not bring rewards. Mistakes can bring disaster. If we repeat the mistakes of the old scholars, our society may have to pay a high price and we may also be condemned by God.

There are no rewards for mistakes. Instead, if we make mistakes God has told us to ask for forgiveness: "`..Our Lord DO NOT CONDEMN US if we forget or make mistakes. Our Lord, and protect us from blasphemy against you.. "' 2:286. BETTING ON HORSE AND CAMEL RACIG IS ALLOWED

In Chapter 1 , Qardawi agrees with Ibn al Qayyim who says, "He (God) has prohibited gambling but has permitted betting on forms of competition which are useful
for the Muslims' religious striving, such as horse and camel racing and competing in marksmanship."

By the same yardstick, betting on motorcar and motorcycle racing should be allowed today, besides betting on horses! ! Fortunately it is not allowed and it is a blasphemy against God and the Messenger because nowhere in the Quran does God allow betting on horses and camels, for any purpose whatsoever.

"O you who believe! Truly intoxicants and gambling and divination by arrows are an abomination of Satan's doing, avoid it and you may be successful. Assuredly Satan desires to sow enmity and hatred among you with intoxicants and gambling, and to hinder you from the remembrance of God and salat prayer. Will you not then desist?" Surah 5:90-91.

God and His Messenger are telling us that gambling is the work of Satan. Since when are the works of Satan '"useful for the Muslims' religious striving "? Of course the
immediate retort will be that the Quran is only the general idea, you need the hadith to explain the real meaning of the verse; or you need the asbab'ul nuzul to understand the true meaning of this verse. Qardawi and his supporters will say all this just to justify horse betting!!

But can the Messenger have allowed anything at all other than the Quran. Definitely not. "'This is a revelation from the Lord of the Universe. Had he (Muhammad) uttered anything else and attributed it to Us, We would have seized him by the right hand and cut off his arteries. We would have stopped the revelation (Quran) to him. None of you could have helped him. This (Quran) is a reminder for the righteous. We know, some of you reject it. It (the Quran) is but sorrow for the disbelievers". Surah 69:43-50.

The prophet could never have uttered anything other than the Quran for our guidance.

  LONG LIST OF DIETARY PROHIBITIONS BY QADAWI In Chapter 2, Qardawi quotes Bukhari (a compiler of hadith) who says that the Prophet forbade the eating of animals with canine teeth and birds with talons. Again these are
not found anywhere in the Quran. And as quoted in Surah 69: 43-50 the prophet cannot forbid anything other than what was revealed to him in the Quran.

God and His Messenger reiterate this message to us in the following verse: "'Say, "I do not find in this revelation f Quran) given to me any food that is prohibited for any eater except carrion, running blood,
the meat of pigs for it is dirty and the meat of animals blasphemously dedicated to other than God. If one is forced to eat these without being malicious or deliberate then your Lord is forgiver, most merciful." Sura 6:145. If anyone asked the Messenger what they could eat, this is what the Messenger was COMMANDED to say.

For example "'fugu" or puffer fish is a prime delicacy in Japan. But the puffer fish is also one of the most poisonous fishes in the world. If the poisonous bile is not expertly removed, fugu can kill. But the Japanese have been eating "fugu" since they discovered how good it was. Similarly aboriginal people in tropical jungles and other places have thrived on monkeys" foxes, .flying foxes, snakes and crocodiles since God created them.

All these animals and insects are not prohibited in the Quran. God and His Messenger told us, "They ask thee what is lawful for them. Say, "Whatever is good is lawful for you.." Surah 5:4.

"Today whatever is good is lawful for you..". Surah 5:5.

Hence the aboriginals in the Amazon have been eating a certain species of large rat not only because it is the major source of protein in their jungle, but also because it is good for them. This is the natural state in which God created them. And Islam is the natural religion. Similarly Arabs eat insects like locusts and dhab lizards (it is in the authentic hadith), because it is good for them. According to the Quran they are not Forbidden.

  PROPHET EATING DEAD FLESH In Chapter 2 Qardawi says the prophet said that if any animal shot with an arrow had run away and died in the woods, the sahabah (companions of the prophet) could eat the animal's meat that is not decayed, up to three days after the animal had disappeared.

But in the earlier part of the same chapter Qardawi says that some sahabah ate from a dead whale which they found on a beach for 22 days. They came and told the prophet about it. Not only did the prophet say it was alright but he also asked for some of the whale meat (now 23 days old) and the sahabah went back and got some for the prophet to eat.

The Greenpeace people will vouch that dead whales on the beach can stink almost a mile away even within a few days. Common sense tells us that this story cannot be true (unless they salted or smoked the meat - but this does not appear to be the case).

But God told His Messenger ,
"And He committed the sea to serve you, you eat from it tender (fresh) meat and extract jewellery which you wear" Sura 16:14.

God is telling us that we eat tender fresh meat from the sea. No one eats 22-day-old dead whales. This is another careless contradiction by Qardawi which also casts a slur on the good Prophet.

  STATU ES AND CARVINGS God and the Messenger did not forbid making statues or having carvings in the home. Even Qardawi quotes a hadith which says the Prophet had a statue in his house. But in Chapter 3 Qardawi quotes the following and attributes it to the Prophet:

i. the angels do not enter a house in which there are statues (or figures) - Ihya ulum ul Dinii. "Among the people receiving the harshest punishment on the Day of Resurrection will be the makers of figures" - Muslim
We know these hadith are false because from Sura 69: 43-50 quoted earlier we know the Prophet could not have said this. God revealed to us, "We subdued the jinns to work at his (Solomon's) disposal... They (the jinns) made anything he (Solomon) wanted including niches, STATUES, deep pools and heavy pots.." Sura 34:1 2-1 3.
Solomon was a Prophet endowed with very special powers including the control of jinns. With these special powers Solomon, a Prophet of God, asked the jinns to make statues for him. The angels did not stop from entering Solomon's house and neither will Solomon be punished on the Day of Resurrection.

Perhaps realising this Qardawi says it is permitted to keep disfigured statues in our house! ! To illustrate this Qardawi says the Messenger kept a statue in his house. The angel Gabriel refused to enter the Messenger's house until the Messenger defaced the statue by breaking off the statue's head.

This story is too ridiculous even to contemplate. If God wanted to forbid statues, what is the Messenger doing with a statue in his house in the first place? And why would the Prophet want a headless statue? What did he do with
the broken head? There is no prohibition against statues in the Quran. What we cannot do is idol worship or idolize anything or anyone. For example we cannot idolize "gurus" like Qardawi who freely label this as forbidden and that as permitted.

"They have set up their religious leaders and scholars as Lords, instead of God. They were all commanded to worship only one God. There is no go except he. Be He glorified high above having any partners" Surah 9:31.
The Jews and the Christians made this sad mistake. Are the Muslims going to do the same also?

  CONCLUSION To summarise, Yusuf al Qardawi's book "Al halal wal haram fil Islam" is quite thoroughly useless. As we have clearly seen it is the Quran that holds True and Supreme. We do not need Qardawi or anyone else to tell us what is permitted and what is forbidden because the Quran is only too clear: "..WHEN HE HAS EXPLAINED IN DETAIL WHAT HE HAS MADE Forbidden FOR YOU." Surah 6:119.

As we have just seen, Qardawi's book cannot stand up to the Quran. The "guru" has failed. Furthermore the Quran has no provision for "gurus" and "sheikhs" to impart religious knowledge to anyone. In fact the Quran strongly discourages "gurus", "auliyas", religious leaders etc:

"Absolutely the religion should be devoted to God alone. Those who set up aulia (friends of God) besides him say, "We idolize them only to bring us
closer to God, because they are in a better position". God will judge them regarding their disputes. God does not guide such liars, disbelievers". Surah 39.3.

Despite God calling them liars and disbelievers, this is exactly what people say. We must have "gurus" to bring us closer to God. But God tells us that to depend on "gurus" and "auliyas" like Qardawi can be quite disastrous. The following verse throws more light:

"Why then did the idols they set up to bring them closer to God fail to help them? Instead they abandoned them. Such were the false gods they idolized such were the innovations they fabricated". Surah 46:28.

Still many people will keep on following Qardawi as their "guru" or "sheikh" who can be referred to for religious ruling. His devotees also boast that he is a poet of some repute.

To drive home the final point let's refer to a verse from the Quran where God says, "As for the poets they are followed by the strayers." AI-Shu'arra 26.224. Enough said.