Muhammad Quotes
God has not created anything better than Reason, or anything more perfect, or more beautiful than Reason…. God’s wrath is caused by disregard of it.
the love of reason and intellectual pursuits carried Islam scholarship to the highest levels until “reason” was limited by the fundamentalist religious leadership, both in scope and methodology, to that which was consistent with a narrow view of Islam and the world. Then decline and stagnation took over and drove most of the Islamic world to its present state.
Muhammad, 571-632, Prophet and Founder of Islam, Quoted in Allama Abdullah Al-Mamun Al-Suehrawardy, The Sayings of Muhammad, 1938
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
This verse has been one of the bases of Muslim theocratic states like Iran’s claim to legitimacy. The word “govern” is sometimes translated as “judge.” In the context of the 6th century, there were no separation of powers as we know them and judging, governing and legislating were melded.
Traditionally Islam was a religion of faith and since it was spread to illiterate and uneducated people, it was dogmatic and literal. Reason and logic was not a part of the theology originally. As Islamic societies developed intellectually, the theology matured and reason and logic was overlaid from the science and the technology to the religion. There were many very sophisticated philosophers and theologians until Islam closed intellectually and went into its decline. Just as there were few Islamic scientists and philosophers during the Enlightenment there were few theologians who appreciated the role of logic. Those few, like Abduh, had to become reformers and modernists and return to the era when Islam was as more modern than Christianity and most other religions.
This sura is interpreted in two ways. For many modern Muslims it means that in discussions and debates on religion with non-Muslims, do not back off, and if you do it is a religious transgression. Defend the faith. For the fundamentalists and extremists, they interpret the same sura in physical warlike terms. So if there is a fight or battle with disbelievers, retreating from the battlefield is not only cowardice and perhaps a crime under military regulations as it is in the West, but it is in Christian terms a mortal sin for which there one will go to hell. So the most religious of Muslims will fight to the death using this sura as their guidance. On the other hand, Muhammad himself as the military and civil leader of Islam made strategic retreats. In the history of almost all warfare between the West and Muslims—especially the Arabs—courage on the battlefield has been lacking and the Israelis, British, French, Americans, and Hindus of India all observe this military weakness and accounting for this is built into their military doctrine.
This is a very Jeffersonian type statement.
Martyrs to most Muslims are people who die when defending Islam, which includes under the definitions of the Muslim Fundamentalists murdering innocent civilians including women and children. In addition to ascending directly to heaven, the male martyr gets 72 virgins in Paradise.
Muhammad was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet, sent to preach and confirm the monotheistic teachings of Adam, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and other prophets. He is believed to be the final prophet of God in all the main branches of Islam, though some modern denominations diverge from this belief. Muhammad united Arabia into a single Muslim polity, with the Quran as well as his teachings and practices forming the basis of Islamic religious belief.
