Q. 30: How many wives Prophet Muhammad had besides Khadija? What are their names, if any?

A.The Holy Prophet did not marry any other woman in the life time of Khadija. After her death, he married 12 wives, nine of whom were alive at the time of his death. Their names were (1) Sauda (2) Aaisha (3) Umme Salma (4) Zainab binti Jahash (5) Safiyya (6) Hafsa (7) Maimuna (8) Zainab Ummul Masakin and (9) Umme Habiba.

Q. 31: He died as a Prophet, but where or in which country did hedie and was buried?

A. He died at Medina andwas buried there. Medina is in Hejaz, which nowadays is a part of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Q. 32: How old was Muhammad the Prophet when he died in 632 A.D, and when he started Islam?

A.The Holy Prophet died at the age of 63. He was 40 years old when he started preaching Islam.

Q. 33: Who buried him?

A. He was buried by Ali bin Abi Talib (cousin and son-in-law of the Holy Prophet) assisted by3 family-members and two companions (Usama and Shaquran).

Q. 34: Did Muhammad the Prophet arise as Christ from the dead?

A.The Holy Prophet of Islam did not arise from the dead in the sense which you have in mind, nor did, for that matter, arise Christ. It is a long argument, and a short letter is not a place for this discussion.

Q. 35: Who wrote the Qur’an and in which year?

A.The Qur'an is not the work of any human being; it is the Revelation from Allah revealed to the Holy Prophet of Islam (S.A.W.W.) So, you may say that Allah is the author of the Qur'an.

As soon as a revelationwas received , the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.W.) used to dictate it to one of the official Scribes. The Qur'anwas revealed during 23 years between 610 and 632 A. D.

Q. 36: I would like to know the languages into which the Qur'an has beentranslated?

A.The Qur'an has been translated in more than 100 languages. It is difficult to give a list of them. The Qur'anhas been translated into almost all the languages of Asia and Europe.

Q. 37: Is it a sin reading the Bible?

A. Well, the Bible is a collection of Old Testament and New Testament. First five books of old Testament are said to have been written by Hadrat Musa (A.S.), but in fact, the books were compiled 1000 years after Hadhrat Musa (A.S.). The New Testament is named "The Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ", but not a single book is claimed to have been written by him.And the authorship of even 4 gospels is shrouded into obscurity and nobody is sure who was, for example, the author of the 4th Gospel. Therefore, if you read Bible with a belief that these books are authentic,true and written by the prophets to whom they are attributed, it will be wrong.

Also, if your knowledge of the alterations, misinterpretations,, forgeries and additions of the Bible is not complete, you should not read them as they may create confusion in your mind.

On the other hand, if you have adequate knowledge ofIslam, and a fair idea of the background of the Bible as I have mentioned above, you may read it.I advise you to read our book "Qur'an and Hadith" which will give you some idea about the compilation of the Bible.

Q. 38: What is Sura Yaasin' generally held to signify?

A. "Sura Yasin"is said to be 'the heart of the Qur'an'. It exhorts the faithful in many ways to abstain fromSatanic schemes and to wholeheartedly follow the right Path shown by Allah through His last Prophet Hadhrat Muhammad Mustafa (S.A.W.W.).

Q. 39: Who succeeded as Caliph after Muhammad?

A.The Muslims became divided into two groups: The bigger group following Abu Bakr, the other following Ali bin Abi Talib (A.S.).

For details see "Imamat" which is available from this Mission.

Q. 40: A certain community believes to such an extent that Hazrat Ali (A.S.) is greater than the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.W.) and probably as great as God.I shall be extremely obliged if you will please supply me with necessary text and satisfactory explanation so that this absurd notion could be checked.

A. It will help a great deal ifI make one thing clear at the start. According to their belief, Hazrat Ali (A.S.) was god; and this "hereditary god-ship" has now come to the present Aga Khan IV.

And their constitution says that whenever and wherever the words "Hazrat Ali", "Maula Ali", "Imam Hussain", etc., are used the real meaning is "the present Aga Khan".

Their Kalema says: "Ameerul-Momeneen Ali Allah", i.e. "Ameerul-Mome-neen Ali is Allah".

(The English and Gujarati translationshave been twisted to hide their actual belief from others. The translation (quite wrongly) isgiven as "Ali is From Allah".)

What all the declarations mentioned in your letter boil down to is that H. H. Aga Khan IV is the god; he is superior to the Holy Prophet of Islam; he can change the sheriat.

"Hazrat Ali' is not Ali bin Abi Talib" but H. H. Aga Khan IV; their 'Imam' is not a successor to the Holy Prophet but a god; their 'book' is not the Qur'an, but the ginan; and their Ibadat is not that of the general Muslims, but some secret rites of their own. Therefore, even when they use the words 'Imam' or 'sheriat' they mean thethings which are quite different from the Imam or sheriat as known to us. Consequently, when the words, used by the arguing parties, are used for different meanings, the argument can nevercome to an end .

Therefore, you should not worry too much about such "absurd notions".

So , if, according to them, Hazrat Ali was god, he naturally would be superior to the Holy Prophet; La Haula wala Quwwata Ilia Billah.

In fact, the claim that "Hazrat Ali was greater than the Holy Prophet" is just rubbish. Hazrat Ali spent every moment of his life obeying the commands given to him by the Holy Prophet; his fondest claim was that he was the first to follow the footsteps of the Holy Prophet. His lectures and letters in 'Nahjul-Balaghah' are full of such references for the whole world to see.

So , according to his own claims, Hazrat Ali was a follower, helper, and successor of the Holy Prophet. He himself never claimed more than that. Any body claiming any thing else has the responsibility to prove it from the books known to the Muslims.

Imam Raza (A.S.) has explained the cause of their misunderstanding in a lengthy Hadith, a gist of which will not be out of place here. Imam (A.S.) said that "these astray unbelievers" did not get this idea into their brain but because they overestimated the value of their own selves.

This led them to believe whatever got into their brains without seeking guidance from the representatives of Allah. This continued and in the end "they belittled the honour of Allah and thought nothing of His dignity and degraded His great prestige, as they did not know that Allah is the Omnipotent Himself, "Ghani" (Above every need) Himself, that His Power is not borrowed (from someone else) nor is His Wealth to be exhausted"

"Then they looked to a servant of Allah whom He had given some special powers to show his nearness with Him...

Then the Imam (A.S.) gives the example of some people who sought an audience with a certain King andwere told that the King would pass in a procession with all his knights and nobles through that avenue. They were also told that when they saw the King, they were to bow down and show their allegience to him;and also that they were not to include anybody else in that courtesy.

"They promised to do accordingly. Then, lo, there came a knight of the King resplendent in the court robes and armour. These people thought that must be the King. They salutedhim like the King, and even when he said that he was just a servant of the King they refused to listen - because they did not know the splendour of the King . They were dazed with the entourage of the Knight and said that nobody could be above him.

"They, inspite of the warnings given them by the said Knight and other persons, persisted in their folly. Then the King reached there, saw theirinfidelity and ordered them to be imprisoned and punished.

"Likewise, when these "Ghulat" saw Hazrat Ali - a servant of Allah who was raised in dignity by Allah - they thought Allah too small to have a servant like Ali, and considered Ali too big to have any Lord and God. They called him by a name which was not his (i.e. they called him "Allah").Hazrat Ali and his followers forbade them (from this belief) and said: "O people, Ali and his children are the honourable servants of Allah but they are created and they have no power except that which has been given them by Allah, the Lord of the Universe; and they possess nothing except that which has been bestowed upon them by Allah; and they do not have any power about death, life or resurrection, nor on any closing or opening, nor on any movement or stillness except that which has been given to them by Allah, and that their Lord and Creator is above all the attributes of the creatures, and that anybody who thinks about them (or about any of them) that they are gods, then he is unbeliever (kafir) and has gone astray from the right path".

"But these people refused to listen and revolted against Allah and blindly continued in their rebellion. In the end their hopes (with Allah) were shattered and their aim remained unfulfilled and they got their punishment from Allah"

In fact, such ideas, were propagated by a certain Abul-Khattab during the days of Imam Jaffer Sadique (A.S.) Imam (A.S.) cursed him and ordered the Shias not even to talk to him as he had become "Mushrik" (poly-theist).

Mr. Hollister says that Mohammed s/o Ismail s/o Imam Jafer Sadique (A. S.) used to befriend him despite theabove mentioned "Lanat" and became influenced by his ideas.

Such peopleare called "Ghali" (pi."Ghulat"), i.e. the people who claim such virtues for Nabi or Imam which are not theirs, like godship, creation, etc.

Other groupwas called "Mufawwidha" (Delegators). They believed that Allah created Muhammad (S.A.W.W.) and Ali (A.S.) and delegated all His powers to them.So , it is they who created and sustained (Rizk) the world.

When somebody told Imam Jafer Sadique (A.S.) about this belief, Imam told him to go to him and recite this Ayat of the Qur'an: "Or do they assign to Allah partners who have created anything as He has created, so that the creation seemed to them similar? Say, Allah is the Creator of all things, He is the One, theSupreme and Irresistible". (Qur'an, 13:16)

When the said man went to him and recited this Ayat, he could not reply and remained as though his mouth was filled with stones".

And , if inspite of all these things, somebody still claims that Hazrat Ali (A.S.) was god, he should be reminded of Sura Tauhid:

“Say Allah is one Allah, having no need (or imperfection); He did not beget (anyone) and was not begotten (by anyone); and there was none equal to Him".

Hadhrat Ali (A.S.)was begotten by Abu Talib and Fatima binti Asad; he himself begot 35 children. He needed food and drink; he needed rest and sleep; he married; he was born and was martyred.

Allah says in the Qur'an, refuting the belief of godship of Hazrat Isa (A.S.), that he used to eat food. Eating and drinking show the 'need' to sustain the body by replacing its spent cells which in its turn shows the constant change' (Need and change both being impossible for Allah). So, taking food shows that Hazrat Isa (A.S.) was not God, Does not this very argument show that Hazrat Ali (A.S.) also was not God?

It will not be out of place to mention that H. H. Agakhan III had written a book, "Khoja Qaumna Mazhab na Ketlak Mul Tatwo tatha kirya sam-bandhi nano Pustak", in which he described the faith and sheriat which was to be followed by the Khojas. There he gives his own designation as "Khoja no Peer". In that booklet, he says that, God is not surrounded by anything; He is not made of anything neither he has begotten anyone; nor was He begotten by anyone".

Was it not strange that after describing such attributes for God in 1894, he claimed godship forhimself in 1908 as can be seen from the judgement of Haji Bibi case. Surely, he was surrounded by so many things including his living place, hisclothes and what not; he was made of flesh, bone, etc.; he was the son of his parents and father of many children. And still he is thought to be agod !

Here I should quote another Hadith of Imam Raza (A.S.) which very thoroughly shows the fallacy of such ideas: -

Our8th Imam once described the attributes of Allah. A man said that he knew a certain person who claimed to be a Shia and believed that all these attributes belonged to Hazrat Ali (A.S.) and that he was the God, the Lord of the Universe.

When Imam (A.S.) heardit he trembled (with the fear of God) and said: "Allah is above all things which people believe to be a Sharik (partner) of him; Allah is high above all such talks of the "Kafirs". Was not Ali eating as others ate, and drinking (water) as others drank and marrying as others married, and was not he subject to all needs of body as others were?And , moreover, he was praying humbly, showing humility before God, and was turning with his body and soul towards God. Can a person with such attributes thought to be God? And, if he was God, then there is none among you who is not god, because all of you share with Hazrat Ali these attributes (which are in fact ample proofs that the person concerned is a creature not a creator)".

HereI should mention an episode of about 1000 years ago.

A man during the Ghaibat-e-Sughra claimed that the 12 Imams were gods, and that he was their prophet. Husain bin Rauh (A.R.) declared that that man was claiming the Imams to be god, so that he could pave the way for his own godship, by claiming at a later day that the Imam's soulhad been incarnated in his own body.

And it happened as predicted.So , you see, such people who have been led to believe in godship of any of the Imams are like toys in the hands of those who use them for their own purpose.

And the purpose can be seen in the Translation of their old Dua (now out of print) which is given by Justice Russel in the famous Haji Bibi case, and which runs as follows: -

"True declaration - God is Holy, Thanks to God. Praise to God. There is no God but God.

God is great.There is no might or power except that of God, the High, the Great, the Merciful, the Magnanimous, the God, the Great Holy Providence (who is) in the district of Chaldea, in Persia, in human form, descended from the seventy-seven Patras (ancestors) and Who is the forty-eighth Imam (Spiritual Chief), the tenth Naklanki Avtar, our Master, Aga Sultan Mahomed Shah, the Giver. Then you are to prostrate. Then say 'Hak Shah' (i.e. O Shah, Thou art true)."

Q. 41: They also argue that the Imam can change the "Furu" and not the "Usul"

of Islam.

A. So far as the Ismailis are concerned, their "Imam" means "god" And god can do whatever helikes ! The Sheriat of the Holy Prophet was perfected by Allah during the days of the Holy Prophet. See Sura Maida where it says:

"Today I made perfect your religion for you, and completed my Blessing upon you..."

This Sheriat is upto Qiyamat and is not to be changed orcancelled . The Holy Prophet hassaid: The 'Halal" of Muhammad is "Halal" upto Qiyamat and "Haram" of Muhammad is "Haram" upto Qiyamat.

The Imams elaborated it and made it clear, but they were not to change it. The Ismailis believe that the Sheriatwas cancelled by one of the ancesors of H.H. Aga Khan, Hasan Ala Dhikrihissalam (the great-grandson of Hassan bin Sabbah) who ruled in the Castle of Almut from 1162 A.D. to 1166 A.D. During this short reign in a month of Ramadhan (on 17th) he went on 'Mimber' and declared that from then on the Sheriat was cancelled; ordered his followers to break their fast which they promptly did by eating, drinking and merry-making. One of their poets praises it in the following lines:

“Hasan Ala Dhikrihissalam removed the fetters of the Sheriat from the neck of the people by the grace ofGod’’.

So that is their real tenet and belief for the last 8 centuries.Whenever they pose themselves as abiding to the rules of Sheriat as in Pakistan or India. (or very recently in East Africa), it is just for the sake of politics so that they may not be despised by the Muslim Community.

Q. 42: The same community also argued that Imam Hasan (A. S.)was not given Imamat because Hazrat Ali (A.S.) knew that Imam Hasan's descendants were not to survive, and, therefore, the Imamat was given direct to Imam Husain (A.S.).

A. This trash is worse than the talk of the pagans of Mecca who claimed that our Holy Prophet was "Abtar" (without any descendant). The pagans according to their own way of life, thought that claim to be justified, because they did not give any importance to a daughter, and, the Holy Prophet's sons did not survive.

But the Ismailis' talk is worse than that because Imam Hasan (A.S.) had at least 8 sons and 7 daughters. Out of those8 sons, the descendants of two (Zaid and Hasan Muthanna) are still found in thousands and thousands. (Vide the books of Ansab-e-Aal-e-Abi Talib).

Our last Mujtahid, Marhum Aqua Sayyid Mohsin Al Hakeem Tabatabai, was one of them.And their genealogy is not in dispute like that of Hasan Ala Dhikrihissalam who happens to be among the ancestors of H. H. Aga Khan, and who was a descendant of Hasan bin Sabbah (admittedly a Persian of non-Arab origin). Justice Arnold in his famous judgement of Khoja case (1866 A.D.) (of which H. H. Aga Khan II was very proud and wrote that the said judgement "established" the position of Aga Khan 1) had also established the lineal descent of Hasan Ala Dhikrihissalam from Hassan bin Sabbah.

And while we are on this subject, we might better mention that at least upto 1866 A.D, Imam Hasan (A.S.) was believed by the Ismailis to be the 2nd Imam.

Mr. Justice Arnold, in the said judgement gives the list of the first seven Imams, according to the belief of the Ismailis and mentions Imam Hasan (A.S.) as the second Imam.

But Justice Russel in Haji Bibi Case (1908) says about Imam Hasan (A.S.) that he was a peer, not an Imam.

The question is when was the name of Imam Hasan (A.S.) dropped from this list and who omitted it and why?

Q. 43:I have been told that after we die, we still feel pain if someone touches us.But as the soul has left the body (after our death) how can we feel pain?

Because we feel pain because we are alive, (that is because have soul).

A. The body does not feel anything; but the soul feels the pain if the bodyis mishandled just as the parents are pained to see their child mishandled though they themselves are not touched. As the soul remained in that body, it developed a kind of attachment withit which causes this feeling of pain even after being removed from it.

     

             

Q. 44: If a man knows nothing about Qur'an nor about praying and he is a Muslim and if he fasts, does he get any "God's Reward" or not and why?

A. If a Muslim knows nothing about the Qur'an nor about prayers but keeps the fast during the month of Ramadhan properly, he will get "Reward" of fasting butwill be punished for his neglect of prayers.

Q. 45: We believe that our 12th Imam is alive but he is "Ghayab". We also believe that when our Prophet died, he left two things to guide us, namely Qur'an and Ahlul-bait.Till 11th Imam, two things were going along together.Now, we have Qur'an but why not our Imam in person?

A.

1. You say thatthis question was asked by the Ismailis . Whatright these people have to quote this Hadith of the Holy Prophet when their 48th Imam expressly told them to forget about Qur'an because it was 1300 years old and was in Arabic; they were ordered to follow, instead, the Ginan which was in an Indian language and only 500 years old?

2. There is a difference between the Qur'an (whichcan be found in every house) and the Imam (who naturally would be in a certain place).Thus even in normal conditions the Imam would not be available to everyone everywhere.

3. At least since the days of6th Imam, the work of Tabligh was done through the authorised "Wakils" (agents). The systemwas perfected during the Imamat of Imam Musa Kazim (A.S.) and is still working.

4. Since the inception of that system, it was made clear to all the Shias that they were to approach those "Wakils". Our present Imam (A.S.) has clearly ordained in numerous letters to all the Shias before the start of the "Ghaibat" that, thenceforth, his Shias were to approach the scholars of religion, because "they are my representatives for you, and I am the Representative of Allah for them; anyone who rejects their words rejects my words, and whoever rejects my words rejects the words of Allah and whoever rejects the words of Allah would go into the Fire (of Jahannam)".

5. Of course, "Ghaibat" has made a difference. Previously, the representatives of Imam had a liberty to ask his guidance even on minor things, even If those thingswere already fully explained by previous Imams or the same Imam. Now that liberty is lost.

Our present lmam (A.S.) still guides the scholars, BUT ONLY WHEN THE MATTER OR THE QUESTION IS SUCH WHICH WAS NOT CLEARED PREVIOUSLY. If any previous Imam or Alim has already thrown light on that question, the present Imam remains silent and lets the scholars find the answer by their own research.But if the question is a new one and the Alim is unable to solve it by himself Imam (A.S.) invariably always guides the Ulama in that respect.I could have given you many examples of which I am personally aware, but I am not at liberty to narrate them.

So , you may rest assured that our 12th Imam (A.S.) personally guides the Shias through those who have achieved spiritual perfection and whom he guides whenever It is necessary.

Q. 46: Can we have a direct contact with our Imam?

A. Yes. If any Ithna-Asheri isreally anxious to meet him (A.S.) personally, he should spend 40 Tuesday nights at Masjid-e-Sahla (near Kufa), or 40 Thursday nights (Shab-e-Juma) at the grave of Imam Husain (A.S.) in prayers and remembrance of Allah. At the end of thatperiod he will surely see and meet the Imam (A.S.).

Q. 47: Can you, please; direct us with reference to Qur'an when, why and where our Imam was "Ghayab"?

A.

1. When and Where? Well, what is the use of seclusion if peopleare made aware of his "whereabouts"? So, the question "Where" cannot be answered if you mean "where is he?". But if you mean "where was he living at the time of Ghaibat?", then I may tell you that he became Ghayab from "Samarra" in the year 329 Hijrah.

2. Why? Here is a Hadith from Imam Jafer Sadique (A.S.) explaining about Ghaibat some 200 years before that event: -

Abdullah bin Fadhl heard Imam Jafer Sadique (A.S.) talking about the "seclusion" and its long period in which every man of wrong belief would start doubting (even the existence of Sahib-ul-Amr). Abdullah asked the reason of ghaibat, to which Imam replied:

"The reason of his "Ghaibat" is the same as of the ghaibat of other representatives of Allah before him.Verily its reason will not be clear until after his re-appearance; as the reason of the actions of Khidhr (i.e. damaging the boat, killing the child and repairing the wall) was not explained to Musa (A.S.) until the time came for them to separate. O Son of Fadhl, this is an Amr from Amr of Allah, a secret from the secrets of Allah, and hidden thing from the hidden things of Allah; and when we know that Allah is Hakeem (Creator of wisdom) we confirm that all of his actions are based upon wisdom though its reason at the time might be unclear to us.(Ihtijaj, Volume II, p. 140).

So , you see that the actual reasons cannot be known till our Imam (A.S.) ends his seclusion. Then, we will know the facts.

Still, the following reasons which have been mentioned in the Hadith of Imams right from Ameerul-Momeneen upto our present Imam (A.S.) will throw some light on this question of 'Ghaibat': -

1. He is in seclusion so that when he stands to put the world on right path, heis not bound by an oath of allegiance to anybody.

2. Safety of his life.

3. Testing the strength of the Iman of believers, as was done in the case of Hadhrat Nuh (A.S.) when the coming of the floodwas repeatedly postponed and each postponement saw many so-called 'faithfuls' deserting Hadhrat Nuh (A.S.) and becoming kafir.

You have not put "How" in your question; butI think I should reply this question also, to make the picture clearer. Ghaibat does not mean that our Imamhas got an invisible body. The meaning of Ghaibat is that people, even when he is among them, do not recognise him. Here is a Hadith from Imam Jaffer Sadique (A.S.) on this subject: -"And why do these people think it strange? Verily, the brothers of Yusuf were Asbat - the children of the prophets - they made business transaction with Yusuf, and bought things from him and talked with him and they were his brothers and he was their brother - and they did not recognize him until Yusuf told them, "I am Yusuf". So why does this cursed Ummat reject the idea that at a certain time Allah may want to hide his Representative.

Surely, Yusuf was the ruler of Egypt (and, thus, a famous man) and there was between him and his father a distance of only 18 days journey and had Allah wanted to reveal to Yakub where Yusuf was, He had power to do so (By God, when they got the good news of Yusuf, Yakub and his children covered that distance in 9 days only).So, why does this Ummat think it objectionable if Allah wanted to do with His Representative what He did in case of Yusuf, i.e.

the 12th Imam may be visiting their markets, walking on their floors and yet they would not recognize him till Allah allows him to disclose his personality, as He did to Yusuf when he said, "And did you know what you did with Yusuf and his brother when you were ignorants?". They said, "Say, Art thou Yusuf?" He said, "I am Yusuf and this is my brother"(Biharul-Anwar Vol. 13)

So far as the question of long life on this earth is concerned the following Ayat about Hazrat Yunus is to the point: "And, verily, Yunus is from among the Apostles; when he fled to the boat. And had he not been from those who say the Tasbih, he would have stayed in its stomach till the day when they would be resurrected"

This ayat clearly shows that but for his Tasbih, Yunus would have stayed in the stomach of the fishtill Qiyamat. Then what is strange if a man stays on the earthtill Qiyamat?

Then there is the long life of Hadhrat Nuh. According to Qur'an, he preached to his people, before cursing them, for 950 years. Then came the Flood and he lived long after the Flood. In all he lived 2500 years. Compare it with the age of our presentImam which at this time is 1132 years only and you will not see any cause for objection.

Q. 48: What is the main difference between Islam and Christianity?

George Chiteri, Mombasa, Kenya.

A. In this connection, first letme explain that, according to Islamic belief, Jesus Christ was a prophet sent by God to guide the children of Israel unto the right path. His Prophethood continuedtill the arrival of Muhammad, (S.A.W.W.) the Last Prophet sent by God.

Thus Islam and Christianity both have come from the same source; but the difference is that Christianity was for a specific tribe and for a specific period, while Islam has come for all mankind for upto the last day of the world.

By the passage oftime many such things had crept into Christianity which had made it necessary to send anotner Prophet to remove those wrong ideas and beliefs. ForExample: -

1. The Muslims believe that there is only one God. The Christians, while claiming to have the same belief, actually believe in3 gods: God, Christ and Holy Ghost. They want to reconcile both their claims by saying that these3 are 'one' and at the same time '3'.

How this strange arithmeticis believed is beyond comprehension. They say thatfirst you believe it then you can understand it.

2. The Muslims believe as theyhave been taught in Qur'an: -

"Say, He is God, The One and Only; God, the Eternal, Absolute; He be-getteth not, nor is He begotten;And there is none like unto Him".

The Christians believe that God begot a son who was Jesus Christ.Thus God became a father. And as Christ also is a god and he is called "the son of god", so god became ason also.

How God became father of Jesusis not explained . The only argument is that Jesus was born without father, so Allah was his father.

To this claim, the Qur'an replies: -

"The example” of Jesus before God is as that of Adam; He created him from dust, then said to him, "Be" and he was"

If Jesuscan be claimed to be "son of God" because he had no father, Adam has far stronger claim to be the son of God because he had neither father nor mother.

3. The Muslims believe that every man is responsible for his own actions. No manwill be punished for other's sin. Qur'an says, "that no bearer of burdens can bear the burden of another"

The Christians on the other hand believe that as Nabi Adam ate from the tree in Jannat, he committed a sin; and that sin has been inherited by everyhuman-being ; thus every person is born with that sin and will be punished for it.

It is also diametrically opposed to the Muslims belief that all children are born free from every sin and disbelief.

4. Resulting from No. 3, the Christians believe that it was to remove that sinfrom mankind that Jesus Christ died on the cross. Now anyone, believing that Jesus Christ died on the cross for atonement of the sins ofmankind, will automatically become free from every sin and thus will be saved from punishment.

Muslims emphatically refute this belief, because itis based on the wrong and illogical assumption of the "original sin" of Nabi Adam.

5. Christians believe that one of their gods (i.e. Jesus Christ) died and again became alive after 3 days.

The Muslims' God is the Creator of death and life. Death cannot reach him.

Resulting from these differences, many, other differences have arisen.But I think this much is enough for this letter.

Q. 49:Is Islam related in anyway with the Chritianity?

A. You have asked about the relationship between Islam and Christianity. Being a Muslim, you must be aware that Allah sent 124,000 prophets beginning with Hadhrat Adam (A.S.) and ending with our Holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.W.). All these prophets came from Allah and brought His message. Asthey all came from one Allah, their basic faith (e.g. Unity of God, His Mercy and Justice, the Day of Judgement, etc.,) was always the same.But the rules of prayers, of family system, etc., etc., changed according to the needs of the time.

Consequently, five new sheriats were sent one after another through Hadhrat Nuh, Ebrahim, Musa,Isa and Muhammad Mustafa (peace of Allah be on them). Every later sheriat abrogated and cancelled the previous one. Thus, the sheriat of Hadhrat Muhammad Mustafa (S.A.W.W.) cancelled the sheriat of Hadhrat Isa (A.S.) and all the previous sheriats.

In thisbackground you may easily understand the relationship between these two religions; Islam and Christianity both came from the same source, but Islam was sent to cancel all the previous religions including Christianity.

Q. 50: What is the message of Islam to the non-Muslims?

A. The message of Islam to the non-Muslimsis found in the following ayat of the Holy Qur'an:-

"Say, O People of the Book, come on the word agreed between us and you; that we shall worship none but Allah and that we shall ascribe no partner unto Him and that none of us shall take others for lords besides Allah". (Ale-lmran: 64).

Q. 51: Why is Islam and Ahmadiyyas not same in their beliefs?

A. Here also there are many differences; but the basic differences are as follows: -

1. Muslims (without exception) believe that Hadhrat Muhammad (S.A.W.W.) is the Last Prophet. No prophet is ever to come after him.

The Ahmadiyyas (commonly known as Qadianis) believe that Mirza Ghu-lam Ahmad of Qadian (died in 1908 A. D.) was prophet.

2. The Muslims believe that Imam Mahdi will re-appear before Qiyamat and that Hadhrat Isa (A.S.) will come as one of his followers to help him.

The Qadianis believe that Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani was Imam Mahdi and Nabi Isa - all in one, like the "3-in-1" god of the Christians.

3. The Qadiani's belief about angels and Satan appears to be quite different from the belief of the Muslims.

There are otherdifferences which it is not possible to explain in a short letter.

Q. 52: I am really confused about my attitude towards the Ahmadiyya Sect.

What shouldmy standpoint be? Is it merely a dissidentgroup which differs in its opinions as to the interpretation of certain Islamic beliefs or do its contentions differ fundamentally with the basic Islamic tenets?And if so how should we (Muslims) regard them?

A. Ahmadias (commonly known as Qadianis) differ with the Muslims in many of the basic tenets, the most important one being the finality of Prophethood.

Also they do not believe in 'Malaika,' and resurrection of the dead. There are many items inreligion which are called "Dharuriyaat-e-Deen", i.e., such Basic Tenets which are known to every Muslim as part of religion. Take for example, the5 times prayers, Fast of Ramadhan, Hajj of Kaaba, etc.

If any person rejects even one of Dharuriyaat-e-Deen, he according to the unanimous belief of the Muslims, becomes Kafir, though he may be reciting "La llaha Illallah Muhammadun Rasulullah".

The belief that our Holy Prophet was the last Prophet and no other prophet is to come afterhim, is one of the Dharuriyaat-e-Deen. Anybody or any sect rejecting this belief is Kafir.

(For details, see "Muhammad IsThe Last Prophet" published by this Mission.)

Q. 53: ("Note: This letter was sent to Mr. Jamifur Rahman Rafiq, Chief Missionary of Ahmadiya Mission of Kenya, Nairobi. No replywas ever received ).

"During the Agricultural Society Show of Mombasa you told some Shia youths that Abdul Hamid bin Abil-Hadid (who wrote one of the commentaries of Nahjul-Balagha) was Shia.

WhenI asked you whether you had seen that commentary, you told me that you had not seen it but that you depended upon a book prepared by your headquarters in which he is mentioned as Shia.

I gave you an old issue of the "Light" (March-June, 1967) in which your claim that Ibn Abil-

Hadid was Shiahad been shown to be completely against his own declarations.

For your information, we have in our Mission's Library the Mash-hadi edition of Nahjul- Balagha; and I have in my personal library all 20 volumes of the Sharh of Nahjul-Balagha by Ibn Abil-Hadid; and our Mombasa library has the Egyptian edition of Nahjul-Balagha (with foot notes by Mufti Mohammad Abduh).

You are welcome to see all or any of the above editions at any time.

Then you showed me an Arabic writing in the same book of yours purporting to be a letter of Ameerul-Mumineen Ali bin Abi Talib, some of whose sentences praised the First and Second Caliphs as 'Siddique' and 'Farooque'.

The writer of your book has given the reference of Nahjul-Balagha. When you showed me thatwriting I knew that it was not in Nahjul-Balagha. Still I wanted to check your reference once more and I copied the said "quotation".

Now,I have checked the whole book and no such or similar paragraph is in Nahjul-Balagha.

Now you have two tangible items to check the reliability of your writers:

(a) They wrote that Abdul-Hameed Ibn Abil-Hadid was Shia - while he himself writes in the same book that he was a Mutazilite and propounds the beliefs of Baghdadi Mutazilites from the beginning of his book to the end.

(b) They claim a "quotation" to be from "Nahjul-Balagha" while there is no such wording in Nahjul-Balagha.

If your writers can mislead you so blatantly inmatters which can easily be checked what trust can you put in them in other matters?

Q. 54: I write this letter in reply to your advertisement in the Uganda Argus of13th November, 1969.I am a student of Islam at Makerere University College and at present I am faced with many unanswered questions, theological, historical and others about Islam. For example, "Western critics claim that Sufism was borrowed from Christianity or other religions outside Islam"' and not within Islam itself.

I am not satisfied by answers given by my lecturer in Islamics, partlydue to the fact that he is a Christian and also his knowledge is western orientated.

I am also interested, and have been thinking for some time on the following topic: - "ISLAM AND NOT MOHAMEDANISM".

Therefore, I shall be most grateful if you send me literature (free or otherwise) so that I could get answers to my questionsand also defend my religion Islam from some pamphleteers and critics.

A. So far as Sufism is concerned, it is almost certain that itwas borrowed from the sources outside of Islam. Muhaddith Dehlavi was of the opinion that first Sufis were from Kharijites.

Others trace its origin to Hasan Basri who, undoubtedly, was against Ali bin Abi Talib, a factwhich must be remembered in view of the later generations' assertion that he got his training from Ali.

I think the point of contention is not that whether Sufism sprung from within Islam or it was imported from outside. The only point of argument is whether itwas borrowed from Christianity or Hinduism.

I think that both groups are partially right, because Sufism has taken something from both.

Your idea of "Islam and NOT Muhammadanism" is quite right. Islam is thereligion which was brought by all the prophets beginning from Hadhrat Adam (A.S.) and ending with Hadhrat Muhammad Mustafa (S.A.W.W.). All the prophets and apostles brought the same faith (e.g., Unity of God, His Mercy and Justice, Day of Judgement, etc.Etc.). Of course, their Sheriats concerning mode of prayer, family system, penal code, etc., etc., were changing in response to the maturity of humanity; but the basic faith was never changed.

Therefore, to give Islam the name of "Muhammadanism" is very misleading andabsolutely wrong . Islam was and is the Religion of Allah, not of Muhammad (S.A.W.W.).

I hope this will be sufficient to your needs.

Q. 55: Can a Sunni Muslim pray with Ismailis or Bohras in the same Mosque?

Bukere Suleman, Entebbe (Uganda)

A. I am not aware whether the Ismailis or Bohras will allow you to enter Jamat Khanas or mosques during prayer time.

Moreover, Ismailis do not pray like other Muslim Sects. They have an entirely different way of "Bandagi" which has no resemblance with Muslims' prayers.