Mu’min vs. Muslim

 

49:14 THE BEDOUIN say, “We have attained to faith (Mu’min).” Say [unto them, O Muhammad]: “You have not [yet] attained to faith (not Mu’min); you should [rather] say, ‘We have [outwardly] surrendered (Muslim)’ – for [true] faith has not yet entered your hearts…

قَالَتِ الْأَعْرَابُ آمَنَّا قُل لَّمْ تُؤْمِنُوا وَلَكِن قُولُوا أَسْلَمْنَا وَلَمَّا يَدْخُلِ الْإِيمَانُ فِي قُلُوبِكُمْ وَإِن تُطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ لَا يَلِتْكُم مِّنْ أَعْمَالِكُمْ شَيْئًا إِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ

The words Muslim and Mu’min are differentiated in Qur’an and by the Prophet’s sayings, these are different people with different definitions and virtues, different ranks:

33:35 VERILY, for all men and women who have sur­rendered themselves unto God (Muslims), and all believing men and believing women (Mu’min)…

إِنَّ الْمُسْلِمِينَ وَالْمُسْلِمَاتِ وَالْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ وَالْقَانِتِينَ وَالْقَانِتَاتِ وَالصَّادِقِينَ وَالصَّادِقَاتِ وَالصَّابِرِينَ وَالصَّابِرَاتِ وَالْخَاشِعِينَ وَالْخَاشِعَاتِ وَالْمُتَصَدِّقِينَ وَالْمُتَصَدِّقَاتِ وَالصَّائِمِينَ وَالصَّائِمَاتِ وَالْحَافِظِينَ فُرُوجَهُمْ وَالْحَافِظَاتِ وَالذَّاكِرِينَ اللَّهَ كَثِيرًا وَالذَّاكِرَاتِ أَعَدَّ اللَّهُ لَهُم مَّغْفِرَةً وَأَجْرًا عَظِيمًا

 

Muslim is whom other Muslims are at peace with his tongue and his hand (deeds), and Mu’min (Safe Trustworthy) is whom all people’s blood and belongings  are safe from, said the Prophet.
الجامع الصغير. – لجلال الدين السيوطي
المجلد السادس >> فصل: في المحلى بأل من حرف الميم

المسلم من سلم المسلمون من لسانه ويده، والمؤمن من أمنه الناس على دمائهم وأموالهم
التخريج (مفصلا): أحمد في مسنده والترمذي والنسائي والحاكم في المستدرك وابن حبان في صحيحه عن أبي هريرة، الطبراني في الكبير عن واثلة
تصحيح السيوطي: صحيح

There are two Darajat (Gradations) of safety provided by the followers of Muhammad peace be upon him, lower level with Muslim and higher with Mu’min (Safe Trustworthy).

Mu’min is a noun derived from the verb Amana or safeguarded or kept safe. Mu’min is a believer in Allah, with him or her people find safety and security for their lives and belongings.

Mu’min is not a man with beard nor a women with head cover.

Muslim is a lower gradation of safety, he or she provides safety for other Muslims from his or her words and his or her dealings e.g. does not use harsh angry language and does not steal or fornicates or usurps.

Q: What are the origins of the word Mu’min?

A: Al-Mu’min is one of the Divine Names and Attributes of Allah i.e. the Giver of Safety.

لسان العرب

المُؤْمِنُ في صفة الله الذي آمَنَ الخلقَ من ظُلْمِه، وقيل: المُؤْمن الذي آمَنَ أَوْلياءَ عذابَه

Mu’min is not the English language equivalent of the word “believer” in Christianity and Judaism, Mu’min means the person who was entrusted to carry certain knowledge i.e. profess the existence of Allah and the beings from the spiritual world; in other words Mu’min is a sanctuary to safekeep such knowledges within his or her own person and safeguard for those around, while keeping the people and their blood and belongings away from his or her reach to usurp.

This form of safety is called Iman, in the language of Qur’an and it has Darajat (Gradations):

Iman has seventy or so branches: The most important the saying “No deity other than Allah” and the least the removal of harmful things from the roads.
الجامع الصغير – لجلال الدين السيوطي
المجلد الثالث >> فصل: في المحلى بأل من حرف الألف

الإيمان بضع وسبعون شعبة: فأفضلها قول لا إله إلا الله، وأدناها إماطة الأذى عن الطريق، والحياء شعبة من الإيمان
التخريج (مفصلا): صحيح مسلم وأبو داود والنسائي وابن ماجة عن أبي هريرة

A Mu’min removing trash and harmful things from the walkways provides a measure of safety for people, and that is a part of his or her Iman as opposed to fetishes turned into religious symbols e.g. beards and scarves.

Almost all commandments in Qur’an are issued to the Mu’min, male or  female, and not to Muslims directly, following a few samples:

 

Order of Jihad is to the Mu’min not to Muslim:
4:94 [Hence,] O you who have attained to faith (Mu’min), when you go forth [to war] in God’s cause,

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ إِذَا ضَرَبْتُمْ فِي سَبِيلِ اللّهِ

5:35 O YOU who have attained to faith (Mu’min)! Remain conscious of God, and seek to come closer unto Him, and strive hard (Jihad)  in His cause, so that you might attain to a happy state.

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ اتَّقُواْ اللّهَ وَابْتَغُواْ إِلَيهِ الْوَسِيلَةَ وَجَاهِدُواْ فِي سَبِيلِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ

Again keep trustworthy in presence of Allah for the prophets and for the people, not to betray for Allah hates the betrayers:

8:27 [Hence,] O you who have attained to faith (Mu’min), do not be false to God and the Apostle, and do not knowingly be false to the trust that has been reposed in you;

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ لاَ تَخُونُواْ اللّهَ وَالرَّسُولَ وَتَخُونُواْ أَمَانَاتِكُمْ وَأَنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ

Any sins might be attributed to  a Mu’min except lying and betraying said the Prophet.

معجم الطبراني الكبير – للإمام الطبراني

باب الظاء >> عبد الله بن مسعود الهذلي >> باب

حدثنا علي بن عبد العزيز ثنا أبو نعيم ثنا سفيان عن منصور عن مالك بن الحارث عن عبد الرحمن بن يزيد عن عبد الله قال كل الخلال يطوي عليها المؤمن إلا الخيانة والكذب

 

For all these matters the Prophet ordered spread of Salaam (standing phrase: Peace be with you) amongst the Muslims to psychologically condition them to provide safety for other Muslims. Lowest levels of safety at that declaration, but when you read Salaam to someone, you are assuring him that he is safe from your words and your hand. If you cannot provide such measures of safety then stay silent and do not fake this declaration.
زيادة الجامع الصغير، والدرر المنتثرة – للإمام السيوطي
كتاب “زيادة الجامع الصغير”، للسيوطي >> حرف الهمزة

إذا لقي الرجل أخاه المسلم فليقل: السلام عليكم ورحمة الله.
(ت) عن رجل من الصحابة

 

Tha’lab said: Mu’min is by the heart, Muslim upon the tongue.
لسان العرب

قال ثعلب: المؤمِنُ بالقلب والمُسلِمُ باللسان

Many generations of Muslims come to pass to bear fruits of Iman in unborn Mu’mins, near or far future. People do not become Mu’min overnight, it did not even happen with the Prophet peace be upon him, he worked hard with his people to produce a small nucleus of Mumins (First thirteen years of Makkan period). Nations as a whole might strive hard and long to give birth to a Mu’min.

Mumin subsists solely upon Allah and yearns nothing of the people, while Muslim has relationships with people and thus expectations and yearnings from people while does also rely on Allah. This is their major difference, hence a large gap.

So Muslim might struggle to make people safe from his evil, but Mu’min is at a statioinary Maqam (Rank) which people find safety with him.

This Rahi (Author) found many instances of ancient Muslims’ writings who were not able to and refused to call themselves a Mu’min, and that word was reserved for special very few, and they all considered themselves as Muslims i.e. at lower ranks. Some said to call one’s Self Mu’min is an arrogant conduct!

 

© 2016-2002,  Dara O Shayda

 

 

 

Life Expectancy

Even up to 1900s the average life expectancy was 31 years. Many factors resulted in short life span but what mattered for many communities was early marriages to maintain a population that could function as an organized society i.e. to farm and manufacture and secure and so on.

It is not for us to judge those marriages. We should only judge our own affairs with women and children in our own households, not what those millions of people did centuries back.

 

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_expectancy

Era Life expectancy at birth
in years
Life expectancy at older age
Paleolithic 33 Based on the data from recent hunter-gatherer populations, it is estimated that at 15, life expectancy was an additional 39 years (total 54), with a 0.60 probability of reaching 15.[11]
Neolithic 20 [12]-33 [13]
Bronze Age and Iron Age[14] 26
Classical Greece[15] 28
Classical Rome[16] 20–30 If a child survived to age 10, life expectancy was an additional 37.5 years, (total age 47.5 years).[17]
Pre-Columbian North America[18] 25–30
Medieval Islamic Caliphate[19] 35+ Average lifespan of scholars was 59–84.3 years in the Middle East[20][21] and 69–75 in Islamic Spain.[22]
Late medieval English peerage[23][24] 30 At age 21, life expectancy was an additional 43 years (total age 64).[25]
Early Modern England[14] 33–40
1900 world average[26] 31
1950 world average[26] 48
2010 world average[27] 67.2

Age of Consent Laws

Source: http://chnm.gmu.edu/cyh/primary-sources/24

Age of Consent Laws

Annotation

Information on the ages used historically in western age of consent laws is not readily available. This table has been compiled from a combination of historical and contemporary sources. By 1880, the first date chosen, many western nations had established an age of consent for the first time, typically of 12 or 13 years. By 1920, when the influence of reform campaigns that established a new link between the age of consent and prostitution had run its course, most had revised their age upward, to 14 or 15 in European nations, and 16 in the Anglo-American world. In the last decades of the 20th century, states and nations with ages below those averages amended their laws to move closer to them. In Europe that growing conformity owed much to moves toward greater European integration. Given that the rationale for the age of consent has remained essentially unchanged in its emphasis on the need to protect ‘immature’ children, the table highlights the shifting and various definitions of childhood employed across time and cultures.

Source

Date compiled from the following sources: Hirschfeld, Magnus. The Homosexuality of Men and Women. Translated by Michael Lombardi-Nash. Amherst, New York: Prometheus Books, 2000; Killias, Martin. “The Emergence of a New Taboo: The Desexualization of Youth in Western Societies Since 1800.” European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research 8 (2000): 466; Odem, Mary. Delinquent Daughters: Policing and Protecting Adolescent Female Sexuality in the United States, 1885-1920. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1995; “Worldwide Ages of Consent,” AVERTing HIV and Aids, www.avert.org/aofconsent.htm (accessed November 29, 2007).

Primary Source Text

Age Limit in Age of Consent Laws in Selected Countries

1880 1920 2007
Austria 14 14 14
Belgium 16 16
Bulgaria 13 13 14
Denmark 12 12 15
England & Wales 13 16 16
Finland 12 16
France 13 13 15
Germany 14 14 14
Greece 12 15
Italy 16 14
Luxembourg 15 15 16
Norway 16 16
Portugal 12 12 14
Romania 15 15 15
Russia 10 14 16
Scotland 12 12 16
Spain 12 12 13
Sweden 15 15 15
Switzerland various 16 16
Turkey 15 15 18
Argentina 12 13
Brazil 16 14
Chile 20 20 18
Ecuador 14 14
Canada 12 14 14
Australia
New South Wales 12 16 16
Queensland 12 17 16
Victoria 12 16 16
Western Australia 12 14 16
United States
Alabama 10 16 16
Alaska 16 16
Arizona 12 18 18
Arkansas 10 16 16
California 10 18 18
Colorado 10 18 15
Connecticut 10 16 16
District of Columbia 12 16 16
Delaware 7 16 16
Florida 10 18 18
Georgia 10 14 16
Hawaii 16
Idaho 10 18 18
Illinois 10 16 17
Indiana 12 16 16
Iowa 10 16 16
Kansas 10 18 16
Kentucky 12 16 16
Louisiana 12 18 17
Maine 10 16 16
Maryland 10 16 16
Massachusetts 10 16 16
Michigan 10 16 16
Minnesota 10 18 16
Mississippi 10 18 16
Missouri 12 18 17
Montana 10 18 16
Nebraska 10 18 17
Nevada 12 18 16
New Hampshire 10 16 16
New Jersey 10 16 16
New Mexico 10 16 17
New York 10 18 17
North Carolina 10 16 16
North Dakota 10 18 18
Ohio 10 16 16
Oklahoma 16
Oregon 10 16 18
Pennsylvania 10 16 16
Rhode Island 10 16 16
South Carolina 10 16 16
South Dakota 10 18 16
Tennessee 10 18 18
Texas 10 18 17
Utah 10 18 16
Vermont 10 16 16
Virginia 12 16 18
Washington 12 18 16
West Virginia 12 16 16
Wisconsin 10 16 18
Wyoming 10 16 16

How to Cite This Source

“Age of Consent Laws [Table],” in Children and Youth in History, Item #24, http://chnm.gmu.edu/cyh/primary-sources/24 (accessed June 14, 2016). Annotated by Stephen Robertson

Response to Shakir on Jihad

Shakir wrote:

There have been many VIOLENT Jihad (bloodshed,use of weapons etc.) during the time of the Prophet.

This statement is actually not correct, the modern Arab has made us believe that violent Jihad was often-occurring during the life of the Prophet, but is not a correct statement. The occurrences were no larger or smaller than the usual ancient Arab skirmishes among their own.

As a matter of fact the population of the Arab prior to the advent of Prophethood was decimated to a few, and they used to brag about their tribes’ numbers of gravestones (see Tafsir Takathur).  The population of the Arab exploded after the advent of the Prophethood indicating that the original common violence between the Arab was greatly reduced due to the proper implementation of Shariah.

So do not believe in the lies you are told.

Shakir wrote:

I was wondering WHO are supposed to participate in VIOLENT Jihad?

Mu’min i.e. the Believer who has a rank in piety and observant of Allah’s nearness (Qurb) and thus minimizes the bloodshed. The orders for the Jihad were not issued to Muslims, they were issued to Mu’min. Order of violent Jihad was not for settling tribal affairs or economic advantages. The individual Mu’min is self-disciplining in regards to his ability to inflict pain and suffering and therefore entrusted with limited exposure to warfare.

For many the Prophet peace be upon him forbade Jihad e.g. Abu Zar in the famous Hadith which you know about quite well. Not every believer can meet the standards of justice and restraint required to brandish a weapon.

Shakir wrote:

And AGAINST WHOM?

And for WHAT PURPOSE/INTENTION?

Jihad in its violent form are due when the populations are not allowed to worship Allah and read Qur’an or practice their religion. For example in the USSR until recently, and in parts of China and these days in Myanmar.

If you are able to conduct your religious affairs, read Qur’an and maintain prayers, even if you are abused and harassed you are not allowed to fight a physical fight. You are to persevere and forgive.

If mosques are burnt and Qur’an distribution forbidden and you are not allowed to exercise your freedom to preach and talk about your religion, then Jihad is mandatory in its violent form until such freedoms are restored.

The violence in Jihad is for institutions and governments not for the ordinary bigot who hates Muslims as do common folk.

To kill others to grab their land, or have upper hand over them or control their economy or subjugate them as inferior race, are away from the Jihad of any form.

Examples are those Muslim murderers you see in USA and EU attacks; where we are welcomed in America/Canada/EU and protected by their institutions, given rights to build houses of worship and publish our spiritual works and religious beliefs, and our women and children safe at home and work and school, yet the ignorant criminal in our midst commits heinous crimes under the false banner of Islam! And cowardly does so in restaurants and sidewalks against the unsuspecting innocent bystanders.

 

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ كُونُواْ قَوَّامِينَ بِالْقِسْطِ شُهَدَاء لِلّهِ وَلَوْ عَلَى أَنفُسِكُمْ أَوِ الْوَالِدَيْنِ وَالأَقْرَبِينَ

4:135 O YOU who have attained to faith! Be ever steadfast in upholding equity, bearing witness to the truth for the sake of God, even though it be against your own selves or your parents and kinsfolk.

Shakir we worship Allah, we do not worship Muslims nor Middle Easterners nor Sheikhs, we do not worship Jihad, we only answer to Allah for our religion and no one else. If you can practice that exclusivity, then you found the very beginning of the Path. And how hard to find the beginning of the Path…

Salaamaat,

Dara

 

 

 

 

Jihad

Salaam Sayyidi and Salaam everyone,

There have been many VIOLENT Jihad (bloodshed,use of weapons etc.) during the time of the Prophet.
I was wondering WHO are supposed to participate in VIOLENT Jihad?

And AGAINST WHOM?

And for WHAT PURPOSE/INTENTION?