UI – Part 468 – Islam – Sin – Enormities

Can a Muslim ever really be or remain a Muslim? In fact as a Muslim, remaining so, their destiny may only be Hell. 

Living a life as a follower of the Islamic religion (ideology), when your sin nature can only be forgiven by daily repentance and saying the Shahadah, it is most improbable, or nigh unto impossible, that all sins are forgiven or even noticed. Considering the sins as outlined by Islam, of which there are enormities and lesser sins, what human cannot be sinful. Even the Quran tells us that Isa (Jesus) was the only ‘perfect’ human being, and thus everyone else sins.

Jesus – The Word of Allah

Jesus is the Word of God, because Allah, according to Islamic Scripture, created him by saying Be and he was, as the son of the Virgin Mary. By the Word of Allah Jesus was born. He was strengthened with the Holy Spirit (Sura 2:87, 253). He performed miracles (see Sura 3 – The Family of Amran, Section 5 – Birth of Jesus and His Ministry).  Islam denies the divine nature of Jesus informing those who study the Quran that Allah intervened and had the Jews capture a person other than Jesus, thinking it was Jesus, and crucifying that individual. In any fashion plans for killing Jesus were thwarted, Allah making his own plan to frustrate the Jews. (Sura 3:55). The Quran informs too that Allah is the best when it comes to deception (Sura 3:54). The claim is Jesus lived to a ripe old age and died a natural death.  Footnotes to this Sura (3) in The Holy Quran, interpreted into English by Maulana Muhammad Ali, offer an interesting commentary on the verses referencing Jesus and words applied to Christ such as ‘Messiah,’ ‘Holy Spirit,’ exalted, and ‘miracles’ (speaking as a baby, healing the sick, making the blind see, the lame walk, healing lepers, enabling the deaf to hear, raising a person from being dead).  Rational arguments are proffered, it is suggested, in denial of Biblical facts.  But for the most part the Quran accepts that Jesus lived a perfect life, a life without sin. They attribute a similar life to the mortal Muhammad, and with earlier prophets.  Yet it is problematic for me that Muhammad did not sin; or he may have and said Allah forgive me multiple times every hour.

The Reliance

An important book for Muslims is The Reliance of the Traveller, A Classic Manuel of Islamic Sacred Law (‘Reliance’), interpreted by Nuh Ha Min Keller. Taking the Quran and Hadiths, words and practices of Muhammad, this text spells out for the Muslim all their requirements for being a true Muslim. It aides in the interpretations of the underlying materials that comprise the tenets and Laws of Islam. The book is referenced, for index purposes, using letters of the alphabet. Book ‘P’ is titled, Enormities. They are defined, “as any sin entailing either a threat of punishment in the hereafter explicitly mentioned in the Quran or Hadith, a prescribed legal penalty, or being accursed by Allah or His messenger.” Avoiding the ‘enormities’ will acquit a Muslim of their wrongdoings and provide passage to Paradise (Sura 4.31). The lesser sins, not the grave ones (I interpret ‘grave’ sins as included in the ‘enormities), can be forgiven by repeating the Shahadah. It takes much more to overcome the ‘enormities,’ if indeed that it at all possible.

What is intriguing to me is denial by Islam of Original Sin, that sin which invaded all humans in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve disobeyed God. Yet they go on and on about sin. So they all sin, except Jesus.

There is a long list of ‘enormities.’  I will note many. To include: intentionally killing a human-being, sorcery, not performing required prayers, not abiding by charitable requirements, disrespecting one’s parents, accepting usury, lying about the Prophet, breaking a fast during Ramadan, fleeing from combat in Jihad, fornification, leaders who mislead their followers, drinking alcohol or gambling, arrogance, pride, conceit, vanity, and haughtiness, bearing false witness, sodomy and lesbianism, misappropriating the spoils of war, taking property by deceitful means, theft, lying, suicide, eating pork, bragging about your good deeds, disbelieving in destiny, listening to people’s private conversations, cursing others, disobeying your leader, making pictures, attacking another’s ancestry, wive’s rebelling against their husbands, women wearing make-up, men wearing silk or gold, arguing, not praying in the mosque on Fridays, ingratitude, spying on other Muslims and revealing their weaknesses, and envy.  If a Muslim fails to wash off their urine, on their person or clothing, they too have sinned. Muhammad apparently said that having any vestiges of urine on your person will cause torment in one’s grave. Now Allah is prepared, if a Muslim repents for their sins, to change the bad deeds for good deeds, like self-correcting your exam paper of any errors (see Sura 25:70).

Christ Followers

As an aside, those who have faith in Christ, their sins forgiven, the punishment for sin borne by Jesus on the cross, admit to their sin nature and become transformed, as if born anew, to live a life purposed for God. It does not mean they never sin again, but that they have been made right with God and make every effort to avoid sin. Intent matters.

Unbelievers

In Islam those that do not comply with the Sharia are kafirs, an unbeliever, who then must be executed for their unbelief. Obligations for a Muslim are outlined by the scholars. Failure to satisfy these obligations is considered an act that entails leaving Islam. That is apostasy. In the Reliance such acts are defined (pages 596-598), and those that commit such acts are subject to being killed at the directive of the “Caliph or his representative.” The apostate, if alive, can return to Islam when “he states two Testifications of Faith (the Shahadah)…though he is disciplined.”  But if the Muslim continues in unbelief their impurity is too great. Hell awaits.

Here is what the Reliance says, pg 595 o8.1, “When a person who has reached puberty and is sane voluntarily apostatizes from Islam, he deserves to be killed.”

How pure must the mind of a Muslim be to avoid transgressions? If the Muslim does not ask forgiveness for each and every sin, leaving any on the table, they are destined for the Fire. I am not making this stuff up; it is in the books upon which Islamic scholars, the Imams, Mullahs, Sheikhs, and teachers rely and are commanded to use in guiding Muslims.

Sensitivity

We now know it does not take much to upset a Muslim and have him crying out ‘persecution.’  It also takes very little for a Muslim to be an unbeliever, subject to the harshest penalty in Islam. So why be a Muslim? They must have death-o-phobia, which I equate to Islam-o-phobia, that forces them to remain.

Retaliation

‘Retaliation’ is a term most of us think of as getting even, or retribution. It is used in Islam, and is obligatory in many instances, in cases of murder, the murderer should be put to death. (Sura 2:178). In the Reliance on this topic there are exceptions to a death penalty for murdering another human (o1.2 – not subject to retaliation), worthy of note, 1.) Against an insane person, 2.) a Muslim for killing a non-Muslim, 3.) a Jew or Christian who kills an apostate from Islam, 4.) a father or mother for killing their children, or grandchildren, and 5.) to a descendent for killing someone whose death would otherwise entitle the descendant to retaliate, such as when his father kills his mother. 

In my world any of these murders, even as retaliation, is a crime, a crime against humanity, a crime against God. Common Law, not Islamic Law, would demand appropriate penalties for these crimes. They are enormous sins as well.
Many Sins

The Quran, the Reliance, and general knowledge reveals the magnitude of possible sins.  To get to the front of the line, even in the line, to enter Paradise, as a Muslim, sins need to be brought before Allah and requests made to be forgiven.  One Shahadah for the lesser sins.  But for the enormities many Shahadahs are required, as well as avoidance of recurrence.  Once, twice, maybe even a third time, and then it becomes even too much for Allah to grant forgiveness.  You can say your Shahadahs all day long but according to the many texts used to guide Muslims you are relegated for the fire of Hell.  How is salvation possible?

There is one answer and that is dying in the cause of Allah.  A martyr in Islam dies fighting, in war, in battle, against the infidels, while attempting to expand the territory for this ideology.  In the All for Allah world effort, committing Jihad, as directed in Sura 9, and dying, can provide a position at the front of the line at the gates to Paradise. Are all sins forgiven?  For that I have no answer, but suspect not.  Allah can still decided. As a suicide bomber/terrorist, I believe any Muslim that takes that route has been duped. Killing a Muslim, even oneself, is an enormity of huge proportions, and when dead saying the Shahadah even once is not going to occur.

Islam is hopeless, joyless and a trip to Hades alone.  

Grace and Peace