A few days ago, the president declared a state of emergency on a few states in north eastern Nigeria due to the activities of Boko Haram that has wrecked havoc in these states. It is important that Muslims know how to understand this whole fiasco, not to debate with anyone but for themselves.

Allah makes a very profound statement in the Quran about His book. He says:

......He misguides by means of it many, And guides many by means of it, but He does not misguide anyone unless the inherently corrupt.. (Surah 2: 26)

Allah says that He causes people to be misguided by this revelation and He also guides by this revelation. So you might ask: Why would God send revelation and allow it to be used for misguidance? At the end of the ayat, Allah mentions the kinds of people that would be misguided by Allah's guidance, He says: He never misguides anyone except those who are inherently corrupt. People who have a deeply rooted corruption in themselves.

Now this corruption could take many forms, it could be psychological when people do not even realize they are been manipulated particularly in the case of young gullible minds, or emotional when people are traumatized by an incident and see the need to revenge or just outright evil/corrupt minds.

Allah says that when you come to this book with some kind of corruption like for instance in the case where you do not have complete information and you rush to conclusions. In this case, the Quran has the option for someone to manipulate it and say : this is what that means. This however can only happen when something is corrupt. The approach,intention or emotions could be the culprit of this corruption. Something corrupt has to be there for the wrong conclusions to come out.

Islamic civilization has existed for a very long time and this Quran has been studied for several centuries in different continents by millions of scholars.Each one of these scholars did not casually read it, they dedicated the whole of their lives just studying this book and none have come up with the kinds of conclusions that some people do today that lead to the loss of so many innocent lives.

For those who might think that this is Jihad, let's be clear, this is nothing like Jihad. This is nothing sanctioned by the book of Allah, it is a form of corruption and manipulation of the sacred text. It is important we muslims understand that this kind of senseless violence is a violation of Allah's book.

You see, some people read the Quran in translation and come across some ayat like those in surah taubah(9), surah anfal( or surah ahzab (33) or even surah baqarah (2).

You will find things like: Kill them wherever you encounter them..... (Surah 2:191). A person can say: hey look your Quran says kill them wherever you find them, these people are just obeying your Quran.

The question is, how come 1400 years of history and no one thinks of that same statement the same way as these kinds of people? How come they see something far more advanced, far more complex and far more contextual?

We have to study this book carefully, i say this as a person in the elementary stages of studying this book and to say i have been blown away by it, is an understatement. We have to understand this book clearly. We can't just take something out of it and quote it out of context.

I will give you a quote from the Quran, it is a complete ayah: and the worst destruction be upon those who pray (Surah 107:4). A person could present this and say : hey, this is why i don't pray.

But the next ayat clarifies it.

but are heedless of their prayer; those who are all show and forbid common kindnesses. (Surah 107:5-7)

Now if we get into the habit of quoting ayat without a proper understanding, this is the kind of corruption that can be spread. There is more to it, there is always more to what is been said. This is an unfortunate misuse of the Quran that is so common since most average muslims aren't very educated in the Quran.

We have to understand that this is a manipulation and a corruption of the pure teachings of this book.

The structures of our Sunday Quranic schools are broken so very little is actually learnt,I intend to write a thread on that soon in sha Allah and relate the kinds of reforms we need..

Social Justice and dealing with non-muslims

Islam is essentially three things, a religion, a constitution and a cause. A person who prays, fasts, gives zakat and goes to hajj is fulfilling his religion. The constitutional aspect is non-existent now, it refers to where we have a state structure that collects the zakat for distribution similar to the internal revenue service in the US. Unfortunately, many of the people clamouring for an Islamic state (some are employing illegitimate means of violence) now do not have the tools to run a state, they would run the state down within a few years. The truth is that the muslims are not ready, and if you force it down their throats they will throw up. I have written about what is needed for an Islamic state before, read here: https://www.nairaland.com/1068269/islamic-civilisation-islamic-law-reforming

Islam as a cause is what is missing in the lives of many muslims. Prophets were sent to different societies and we see that they were speaking mainly about the injustices in their societies. This is the place of the muslim, speaking up against social ills in the society whether a muslim is involved or not. For Instance:

To the people of Midian We sent their brother, Shuayb. He said,‘My people, serve God: you have no god other than Him. A clear sign has come to you from your Lord. Give full measure and weight and do not undervalue people’s goods; do not cause corruption in the land after it has been set in order: this is better for you, if you are believers. (Surah 7:85)

Here, he (peace be upon him) is talking about business corruption to a largely disbelieving audience. As muslims, we should care enough for our society and speak against the ills in it. The messenger (peace be upon him) spoke against the ills in his society such as the burying of baby girls alive, the rights of orphans and the poor, correct business practices etc.

The orphans were not muslim and the people carrying out the corrupt business practises were not muslim. Our deen came to change society for the better. The messenger (Peace and blessings be upon him) said:

"If one of you sees something wrong, let him change it with his hand; if he cannot, then with his tongue; if he cannot, then with his heart and this is the weakest faith."(Reported by Al-Bukhari)

If a bomb goes off in a church or an imam is murdered, as muslims we should speak against these forms of injustice, not to please anyone but because our religion requires that of us. We should be saddened by the murder of our brothers in palestine and also be saddened by death of innocent people killed senselessly in an attack in Jos, Muslim or not muslim.

You who believe, uphold justice and bear witness to God, even if it is against yourselves, your parents, or your close relatives. Whether the person is rich or poor, God can best take care of both. Refrain from following your own desire, so that you can act justly– if you distort or neglect justice, God is fully aware of what you do. (Surah 4:135)

However, we must create a balance, we learn in the Quran that the messenger was so worried about the fate of his people that Allah asks him whether he is going to worry himself to death.

[Prophet], are you going to worry yourself to death because they will not believe? (Surah 26:3)

But the companions of the messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said they always saw him with a smile. This is the kind of demeanor we should always have, even though he was worried about his people, he always had a smile on his face.

We should care about our society and the welfare of our community because we can not give dawah to people if we do not care about them. Dawah is a friendly invitation.

For the non-muslim

If anyone makes an obnoxious statements about muslims or Islam. The best thing is to ignore because there is no need to argue with such a person.

Make sure you fulfill the rights of your neighbours because Allah requires it of you. You change the negative impression of muslims in the mind of your neighbours simply by the acts of kindness you display.

Whatever good here is from Allah, the mistakes are mine.

Assalam aleikum.

If you guys can only follow the simplest commandment which is to love God and to love your neighbor then this world will be a happy world. But your overzealous brothers choose killing of non muslims with quotes from the same book you quoted from. Actions they says speaks louder than words.
Tell them to stop the bloodshed practiced in the past by your leaders. Let the world have peace for the sake of the innocents and for God's sake.

NOTE; To avoid being banned, please ensure that your post is not offensive to any religion

Whatever good here is from Allah, the mistakes are mine.

Are you kidding me
You must be kidding me

Honestly speaking I like the way Southern Moslems practice their religion. They are very peaceful and tolerant.
How come the Northern Moslems are so violent .
I think they need to be re-educated

this op must be a toddler

The jtf & sss should kill them all

And u are expecting me to read all that or what?Is it because Boko h,are beeing chase nw that u remember to qout ur Koran ot what is it call. Plesase give me chance to pray for JTF.

May Allah reward you abundantly for this enlightenment. It is surely on record that you have done a graet jihad by this write up alone. JazakaAllahu khair.

Lilimax: Honestly speaking I like the way Southern Moslems practice their religion. They are very peaceful and tolerant.
How come the Northern Moslems are so violent .
I think they need to be re-educated

ARE THEY EDUCATED BEFORE??

If only other Muslims though like this...

Although, I fear this is just an attempt at image Laundering by the OP

Rubbish..

You have written very well. We will be judged by our individual actions by God. If u allow yourself to be used as a religious pawn ...

Jazak Allah 4 dis wonderful write up may Allah (swt) increase ur knowledge nd deen amin barikah jumah

waleik salam....more Grace to your elbow......

Pirated form of Quran!.
We need the original copy.

Decapo: ARE THEY EDUCATED BEFORE??

Yes they are. Afterall they go to Koranic School.
It is a type of education. Isn't it?

paparazzi1987:
beacuse you get tiny brain and your post no make sense!

I think th problem we have with our Muslim brothers in th north z illiteracy,I see no reason why a religious preaching will make a man kill his fellow man,...common sense should tell sum one that killing aint right n even if th koran says so( wich. I doubt) ones human instinct alone is enough to know that it is wrong,...plz let peace reign supreme in nigeria!!!

After everything that has happened the whole islamic religion is fake to me. MAN MADE RELIGION.

Decapo: this op must be a toddler

then you must be an idiot, for refusing the truth I am sure are one of those boko haram supporters

The heat is really on them, won't you say? If not why this image laundering now?

Lilimax: Honestly speaking I like the way Southern Moslems practice their religion. They are very peaceful and tolerant.
How come the Northern Moslems are so violent .
I think they need to be re-educated

Thank u my brother,u r true son of ur father