• Latest
  • Trending

Restoring progressive Islam is the need of the hour in Sri Lanka

May 11, 2019
Beware of education agents

Beware of education agents

December 7, 2023
Keel of 4.000 T Sri Lankan floating dock laid at Goa Shipyard

Keel of 4.000 T Sri Lankan floating dock laid at Goa Shipyard

December 7, 2023
Seychelles declares State of Emergency after explosion and flooding

Seychelles declares State of Emergency after explosion and flooding

December 7, 2023
ChatGPT

Wikipedia’s most searched topics in 2023 revealed

December 7, 2023
Air Arabia to launch new route to Sri Lanka

Air Arabia to launch new route to Sri Lanka

December 7, 2023
Bangladesh won six international elections in November 2023

Bangladesh won six international elections in November 2023

December 7, 2023
The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL)

Sri Lanka to receive about $600m ADB funding post-IMF approval

December 7, 2023
How Israel is squeezing 1.8 million Palestinians into an airport-sized area

How Israel is squeezing 1.8 million Palestinians into an airport-sized area

December 7, 2023
Putin shakes hands with UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed at the airport in Abu Dhabi, December 6, 2023.

Putin makes rare foreign visit to UAE as Ukraine war grinds on

December 7, 2023
Samir Shah of Indian origin chosen to head the BBC

Samir Shah of Indian origin chosen to head the BBC

December 7, 2023
Air Astana

Air Astana launches direct flights to Sri Lanka

December 7, 2023
Hand grenade found from Dehiwala building

Hand grenade found from Dehiwala building

December 6, 2023
  • About Us
  • Advertisements
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
Thursday, December 7, 2023
No Result
View All Result
NewsIn.Asia
  • Home
  • Around South Asia
    • All
    • Afghanistan
    • Bangladesh
    • Bhutan
    • China
    • India
    • Maldives
    • Myanmar
    • Nepal
    • Pakistan
    • Sri Lanka
    Beware of education agents

    Beware of education agents

    Keel of 4.000 T Sri Lankan floating dock laid at Goa Shipyard

    Keel of 4.000 T Sri Lankan floating dock laid at Goa Shipyard

    Air Arabia to launch new route to Sri Lanka

    Air Arabia to launch new route to Sri Lanka

    Bangladesh won six international elections in November 2023

    Bangladesh won six international elections in November 2023

    The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL)

    Sri Lanka to receive about $600m ADB funding post-IMF approval

    Air Astana

    Air Astana launches direct flights to Sri Lanka

    Hand grenade found from Dehiwala building

    Hand grenade found from Dehiwala building

    Digitized national birth certificate

    Sri Lanka issues its first digitized national birth certificate

    Rain. Image credits - Max Bender @maxwbender / Unsplash

    Weather forecast for Sri Lanka; Cyclonic Storm “MICHAUNG” update to Sri Lanka

  • World
    • All
    • Japan
    • Russia
    • United Kingdom
    • United States
    ChatGPT

    Wikipedia’s most searched topics in 2023 revealed

    Air Arabia to launch new route to Sri Lanka

    Air Arabia to launch new route to Sri Lanka

    The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL)

    Sri Lanka to receive about $600m ADB funding post-IMF approval

    How Israel is squeezing 1.8 million Palestinians into an airport-sized area

    How Israel is squeezing 1.8 million Palestinians into an airport-sized area

    Putin shakes hands with UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed at the airport in Abu Dhabi, December 6, 2023.

    Putin makes rare foreign visit to UAE as Ukraine war grinds on

    Samir Shah of Indian origin chosen to head the BBC

    Samir Shah of Indian origin chosen to head the BBC

    Rizz

    Oxford’s Word of the Year 2023 announced

    Moody's

    Moody’s cuts China credit outlook to negative, cites lower growth, property risks

    UK unveils tougher visa rules in a bid to cut migration

    UK unveils tougher visa rules in a bid to cut migration

  • Business
  • Politics
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
    • All
    • Books
    • Gaming
    • Movie
    • Music
    • Series
    Taylor Swift

    Who is Spotify’s most-streamed artist of 2023?

    Disneyland. Image credits - Kon Karampelas / Unsplash

    The sad, lonely secret behind America’s never-ending wave of Marvel movies and Disney reboots

    The musician and entrepreneur announced he "decided to give up smoke." Image credits - Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

    Snoop Dogg giving up smoking weed?

    Blockbusters bring gangsters to Bollywood

    Blockbusters bring gangsters to Bollywood

    3rd Bangladesh Film Festival illuminates Colombo

    3rd Bangladesh Film Festival illuminates Colombo

    Jason Derulo

    Jason Derulo sued for sexual harassment by fellow singer

    Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia’s Vrindaban Gurukul for new-age learners

    Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia’s Vrindaban Gurukul for new-age learners

    Jawan is releasing on 4000 screens internationally. It is the widest release for an SRK centric film (Credit: Red Chillies Entertainment)

    This actor is so huge his fans lined up at 4.30 a.m. to watch his new movie

    Instagram. Solen Feyissa @solenfeyissa / Unsplash

    New report reveals highest earners from Instagram posts

  • Lifestyle
    • All
    • Fashion
    • Food
    • Health
    • Science
    • Travel
    Travelers ready to set sail on cruises at record levels next year

    Travelers ready to set sail on cruises at record levels next year

    Visas. Image credits - ConvertKit @convertkit

    Free Sri Lankan visa for 7 countries: Regulations issued

    Airline / Flight

    Malaysia to allow visa-free entry to Chinese, Indian nationals from December 1

    Disneyland. Image credits - Kon Karampelas / Unsplash

    The sad, lonely secret behind America’s never-ending wave of Marvel movies and Disney reboots

    ‘Nas Daily’ signs agreement with Sri Lanka Tourism

    ‘Nas Daily’ signs agreement with Sri Lanka Tourism

    Travel. Image credits - Sacha Verheij / Unsplash

    The 24 best places to go in 2024

    SriLankan Airlines

    SriLankan Airlines introduces self-check-in kiosks, baggage drop at BIA

    Gasping for air: Delhi’s smog-laden winter  

    Gasping for air: Delhi’s smog-laden winter  

    World’s first whole-eye transplant hailed as breakthrough

    World’s first whole-eye transplant hailed as breakthrough

    Sri Lanka’s Pekoe Trail wins British Guild of Travel Writers Award

    Sri Lanka’s Pekoe Trail wins British Guild of Travel Writers Award

    Trending Tags

    • Golden Globes
    • Mr. Robot
    • MotoGP 2017
    • Climate Change
    • Flat Earth
  • Tech
    ChatGPT

    Wikipedia’s most searched topics in 2023 revealed

    Whatsapp. Image credits - AARN GIRI / Unsplash

    Protect your chat using secret code : New WhatsApp feature

    Google is deleting old Gmail accounts: Here’s how to save yours

    Google is deleting old Gmail accounts: Here’s how to save yours

    FILE PHOTO: The Apple Inc logo is seen hanging at the entrance to the Apple store on 5th Avenue in Manhattan, New York, U.S., October 16, 2019. REUTERS/Mike Segar

    Apple unveils its fastest iMac and MacBook Pro models yet

    Instagram. Solen Feyissa @solenfeyissa / Unsplash

    Instagram testing new feature that lets you add photos and videos to other people’s posts

    WhatsApp will soon allow users to use two accounts on one phone

    WhatsApp will soon allow users to use two accounts on one phone

    Trending Tags

    • Sillicon Valley
    • Climate Change
    • Election Results
    • Flat Earth
    • Golden Globes
    • MotoGP 2017
    • Mr. Robot
  • Coronavirus
  • Videos
  • Home
  • Around South Asia
    • All
    • Afghanistan
    • Bangladesh
    • Bhutan
    • China
    • India
    • Maldives
    • Myanmar
    • Nepal
    • Pakistan
    • Sri Lanka
    Beware of education agents

    Beware of education agents

    Keel of 4.000 T Sri Lankan floating dock laid at Goa Shipyard

    Keel of 4.000 T Sri Lankan floating dock laid at Goa Shipyard

    Air Arabia to launch new route to Sri Lanka

    Air Arabia to launch new route to Sri Lanka

    Bangladesh won six international elections in November 2023

    Bangladesh won six international elections in November 2023

    The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL)

    Sri Lanka to receive about $600m ADB funding post-IMF approval

    Air Astana

    Air Astana launches direct flights to Sri Lanka

    Hand grenade found from Dehiwala building

    Hand grenade found from Dehiwala building

    Digitized national birth certificate

    Sri Lanka issues its first digitized national birth certificate

    Rain. Image credits - Max Bender @maxwbender / Unsplash

    Weather forecast for Sri Lanka; Cyclonic Storm “MICHAUNG” update to Sri Lanka

  • World
    • All
    • Japan
    • Russia
    • United Kingdom
    • United States
    ChatGPT

    Wikipedia’s most searched topics in 2023 revealed

    Air Arabia to launch new route to Sri Lanka

    Air Arabia to launch new route to Sri Lanka

    The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL)

    Sri Lanka to receive about $600m ADB funding post-IMF approval

    How Israel is squeezing 1.8 million Palestinians into an airport-sized area

    How Israel is squeezing 1.8 million Palestinians into an airport-sized area

    Putin shakes hands with UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed at the airport in Abu Dhabi, December 6, 2023.

    Putin makes rare foreign visit to UAE as Ukraine war grinds on

    Samir Shah of Indian origin chosen to head the BBC

    Samir Shah of Indian origin chosen to head the BBC

    Rizz

    Oxford’s Word of the Year 2023 announced

    Moody's

    Moody’s cuts China credit outlook to negative, cites lower growth, property risks

    UK unveils tougher visa rules in a bid to cut migration

    UK unveils tougher visa rules in a bid to cut migration

  • Business
  • Politics
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
    • All
    • Books
    • Gaming
    • Movie
    • Music
    • Series
    Taylor Swift

    Who is Spotify’s most-streamed artist of 2023?

    Disneyland. Image credits - Kon Karampelas / Unsplash

    The sad, lonely secret behind America’s never-ending wave of Marvel movies and Disney reboots

    The musician and entrepreneur announced he "decided to give up smoke." Image credits - Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

    Snoop Dogg giving up smoking weed?

    Blockbusters bring gangsters to Bollywood

    Blockbusters bring gangsters to Bollywood

    3rd Bangladesh Film Festival illuminates Colombo

    3rd Bangladesh Film Festival illuminates Colombo

    Jason Derulo

    Jason Derulo sued for sexual harassment by fellow singer

    Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia’s Vrindaban Gurukul for new-age learners

    Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia’s Vrindaban Gurukul for new-age learners

    Jawan is releasing on 4000 screens internationally. It is the widest release for an SRK centric film (Credit: Red Chillies Entertainment)

    This actor is so huge his fans lined up at 4.30 a.m. to watch his new movie

    Instagram. Solen Feyissa @solenfeyissa / Unsplash

    New report reveals highest earners from Instagram posts

  • Lifestyle
    • All
    • Fashion
    • Food
    • Health
    • Science
    • Travel
    Travelers ready to set sail on cruises at record levels next year

    Travelers ready to set sail on cruises at record levels next year

    Visas. Image credits - ConvertKit @convertkit

    Free Sri Lankan visa for 7 countries: Regulations issued

    Airline / Flight

    Malaysia to allow visa-free entry to Chinese, Indian nationals from December 1

    Disneyland. Image credits - Kon Karampelas / Unsplash

    The sad, lonely secret behind America’s never-ending wave of Marvel movies and Disney reboots

    ‘Nas Daily’ signs agreement with Sri Lanka Tourism

    ‘Nas Daily’ signs agreement with Sri Lanka Tourism

    Travel. Image credits - Sacha Verheij / Unsplash

    The 24 best places to go in 2024

    SriLankan Airlines

    SriLankan Airlines introduces self-check-in kiosks, baggage drop at BIA

    Gasping for air: Delhi’s smog-laden winter  

    Gasping for air: Delhi’s smog-laden winter  

    World’s first whole-eye transplant hailed as breakthrough

    World’s first whole-eye transplant hailed as breakthrough

    Sri Lanka’s Pekoe Trail wins British Guild of Travel Writers Award

    Sri Lanka’s Pekoe Trail wins British Guild of Travel Writers Award

    Trending Tags

    • Golden Globes
    • Mr. Robot
    • MotoGP 2017
    • Climate Change
    • Flat Earth
  • Tech
    ChatGPT

    Wikipedia’s most searched topics in 2023 revealed

    Whatsapp. Image credits - AARN GIRI / Unsplash

    Protect your chat using secret code : New WhatsApp feature

    Google is deleting old Gmail accounts: Here’s how to save yours

    Google is deleting old Gmail accounts: Here’s how to save yours

    FILE PHOTO: The Apple Inc logo is seen hanging at the entrance to the Apple store on 5th Avenue in Manhattan, New York, U.S., October 16, 2019. REUTERS/Mike Segar

    Apple unveils its fastest iMac and MacBook Pro models yet

    Instagram. Solen Feyissa @solenfeyissa / Unsplash

    Instagram testing new feature that lets you add photos and videos to other people’s posts

    WhatsApp will soon allow users to use two accounts on one phone

    WhatsApp will soon allow users to use two accounts on one phone

    Trending Tags

    • Sillicon Valley
    • Climate Change
    • Election Results
    • Flat Earth
    • Golden Globes
    • MotoGP 2017
    • Mr. Robot
  • Coronavirus
  • Videos
NewsIn.Asia
No Result
View All Result
Home Around The World

Restoring progressive Islam is the need of the hour in Sri Lanka

Editor by Editor
May 11, 2019
in Around The World, Politics, Sri Lanka, Top Story
Reading Time: 4 mins read
2 0
A A
Share on WhatsApp

By Ameen Izzadeen/Daily Mirror

Colombo, May 10: The Easter Sunday terror attacks have opened the Pandora’s Box of questions on various aspects of Islam, its teachings and commands, amid an avalanche of Islamophobia, hate speech, distrust and scorn.

When the 9/11 terror attacks happened, a similar wave of Islamophobia swept the United States and the Americans began to ask questions about Islam and its alleged association with violence. Some white supremacists went to the extent of promoting nuking the Muslims.

ADVERTISEMENT

In Sri Lanka’s mainstream and social media, a topic that was being discussed with much interest and the ridicule it rightly deserved is the reward of 72 virgins for the killers of hundreds of innocent people, including children. Does Islam preach this? Religious scholars will not be able to answer this question.

The best they could say is that the Quran, the primary source of Islamic teachings, does not say anything about 72 virgins.

True, it is not found in the Quran, which, the Muslims believe, is a compilation of the messages the Prophet received from God throughout his 23-year ministry, during which he and his followers suffered persecution, ostracisation, attacks and exile.

But the promise of 72 virgins is found in a book of Hadeeth, a term that refers to the sayings of the prophet and his traditions. Some Ulemas or religious preachers will not have the intellectual courage to admit this.  This is because they still believe that Sunni Islam’s six main Hadeeth books were compiled by ‘infallible’ imams, even after modern-day Hadeeth scholars have dismissed thousands of ahadeeth — plural of hadeeth — as fake or falsely attributed to the prophet.

The so-called reward of 72 virgins is found in a hadeeth book called Jami’ al-Tirmidhi, also known as Sunan al-Tirmidhi.

Notwithstanding the presence of fake ahadeeth, both the Sunni and Shiite streams have their own canons. The Sunnis have six and the Shiites two.

It must be said here that in Islamic history, one of the biggest scandals is hadeeth literature. Islam’s first four Caliphs, who assumed leadership of the Muslim community after the prophet’s death, opposed attempts to compile the sayings of the prophet.

The first to compile a book of hadeeth was Imam Bukhari, who was born in Bukhara in Uzbekistan some 200 years after the prophet had passed away. By this time, Islam had been highly politicized with rulers misusing and misinterpreting religious teachings to consolidate their hold on power.

From the people who he met, during his 16-year travel through the Arab-Persian region, Imam Bukhari began collecting the sayings correctly or falsely attributed to the prophet. The process began when he was only 16. He collected some 600,000 ahadeeth and, sifting through this large volume, he selected only about 7,000. His students claimed the selection was made on strict criteria such as the reliability of the chain of narrators or Isnad which usually goes all the way to the time of the prophet. Imam Bukhari’s compilation came to the public domain through a disciple’s disciple, after his death.

Following Imam Bukhari, several Hadeeth collectors appeared. They claimed they adopted a similar method to select or reject the sayings attributed to the prophet.

Today, the hadeeth literature is analysed by intellectuals who say some ahadeeth are fake and incompatible with the Quran.

An enlightened and famous hadeeth scholar was Sheik Muhammad Nasir-ud-Dīn al-Albani , who died in 1999 in Jordan. He opposed extremism and did not associate himself with any school of thought. He spent his scholarly life identifying thousands of fake ahadeeth found in the so-called canons.

The learned sheikh had classified the hadeeth on 72 virgins as ‘Munkar’ which means it needs to be denounced. Hadeeth scholars acknowledge that fake ahadeeth were the creation of the Zanadiqah or the heretics, sectarian fanatics, favor seekers, storytellers, ignorant ascetics and hyper-zealous preachers.

Using modern research methodology, Muslim academics have deducted that some ahadeeth do not conform to the text and the spirit of the Quran while some contradict each other. For instance, they point out that hadeeth literature about the punishment in the grave after one’s death was contrary to the Quranic teachings, just as the carnal claim of 72 houris for the martyr.

It needs to be stressed here that, according to the Quran, those who kill innocent people while killing themselves are not martyrs, but serial killers of humanity as a whole.

Suicide bombing is a late 20th century innovation or bid’a and it needs to be rooted out from Islam, though a handful of theologians have taken pains to endorse it strictly in the context of a fight against an occupying force or an invading army.

Given the damage ISIS and its followers have caused to Islam by their un-Islamic acts, the priority for Muslim theologians today is to gear Islamic learning towards intellectualism and rational thinking.

Intellectualism demands respect for opposing views and ideas, while reason or rational thinking will enable to weed out false ahadeeth, such as the myth about the 72 virgins.

Rational thinking and intellectualism are not new to Islam. Described as the Mutazila or the rational school of Islamic theology, it flourished from the 8th to the 10th century in Iraq, the seat of the Abbasid caliphate. It was during this period that the Muslim world reached the peak of learning, making major strides in medicine, astronomy, mathematics, law, philosophy and literature.

The fall began with the emergence of the Ash’ari theology, named after its founder Abu al-Hasan al-Ash’ari. It grew as a counterforce to the Mutazila and soon dominated Sunni Islam, producing in its wake Jihadi Imams such as Ibn Taymiyyah, Abdul Wahab and Syed Kutub.

These imams’ teachings have become a manual for modern-day terror groups such as ISIS.

To address the multiple problems the Muslims of this country face, mainstream Muslim scholars, both religious and academic, representing different groups, need to unite to bring about a progressive Islamic theology based on the rationalist and traditionalist foundations.

This is perfectly in tune with the spirit of Islam.

In the wake of the Easter Sunday massacres, the need to de-radicalize those who are romanticizing with a dangerous and inhuman suicide ideology has become not only a security priority but also a religious responsibility upon every right-minded Muslim theologian and civic-conscious Muslim in Sri Lanka.

In Singapore, I understand, the de-radicalization process is carried out with the help of local Muslim scholars. Singapore’s state policy and surveillance systems aimed at communal harmony have also helped that nation to curb hate speech, inflammatory preaching and avert terror attacks.

(The article had appeared in Daily Mirror under the title: Mainstream Muslims must unite to about a progressive Islam)

 

 

Related Posts

Beware of education agents
Around The World

Beware of education agents

December 7, 2023
Keel of 4.000 T Sri Lankan floating dock laid at Goa Shipyard
Defense

Keel of 4.000 T Sri Lankan floating dock laid at Goa Shipyard

December 7, 2023
ChatGPT
Around The World

Wikipedia’s most searched topics in 2023 revealed

December 7, 2023
Air Arabia to launch new route to Sri Lanka
Around South Asia

Air Arabia to launch new route to Sri Lanka

December 7, 2023
Bangladesh won six international elections in November 2023
Around The World

Bangladesh won six international elections in November 2023

December 7, 2023
The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL)
Around South Asia

Sri Lanka to receive about $600m ADB funding post-IMF approval

December 7, 2023
  • Electricity

    Power cut schedule for today in Sri Lanka: Uninterrupted power supply

    60455 shares
    Share 24204 Tweet 15105
  • Registration open for National Fuel Pass

    6648 shares
    Share 2696 Tweet 1647
  • Foreign Currency Official Exchange Rates from Central Bank of Sri Lanka

    2147 shares
    Share 865 Tweet 534
  • 16 hour water cut in several parts of Colombo

    926 shares
    Share 392 Tweet 223
  • WATCH : Yohani’s first live performance in India

    792 shares
    Share 329 Tweet 193
  • About Us
  • Advertisements
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact

© 2022 All rights reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Around South Asia
    • Afghanistan
    • Bangladesh
    • Bhutan
    • China
    • India
    • Maldives
    • Myanmar
    • Nepal
    • Pakistan
    • Sri Lanka
  • Around The World
  • Breaking News
  • Business
    • Exchange
  • Climate Change
  • Governance
    • Crime
    • Diplomacy
    • Defense
    • Human Rights
    • Politics
    • Strategic Affairs
  • Lifestyle
    • Books
    • Entertainment
      • Arts
      • Cinema
      • Gaming
      • Music
      • Movie
      • Series
      • TV
    • Health
    • Fashion
    • Food
    • Travel
  • Culture
    • Ethnicity
    • Gender
  • Development news
  • Economy
  • Education
  • Environment
  • Coronavirus
  • History
  • National
  • Offbeat
    • Media
    • Music and arts across South Asia
  • Recommended
    • Headlines
    • Highlights
    • Top Picture
    • Top Story
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Sports
    • Football
    • Cricket
      • LPL
      • IPL
    • Tennis
    • Formula 1
    • NBA
  • Tech
    • Instagram
  • United Nations
  • Weather
  • World
    • Japan
    • Russia
    • United States
  • Videos

© 2022 All rights reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

https://www.vudols.com/

- mersin escort - Antalya korsan taksi -
deneme bonusu
- deneme bonusu veren siteler - Goley90 Giriş - youtube izlenme satın al - buy youtube views - Vozol - buy instagram followers - istanbul escorts - beşiktaş escort - beylikdüzü escort - postegro - Kiralık Bahis Sitesi