Many Muslims believe that prophet Muhammad or someone special can help them on the Day of Judgment. However, the Quran makes it clear that no one, including Prophet Muhammad, can intercede and help anyone on that day. This is proven in verses 82:17-19.
And what can make you know what is the Day of Recompense? Again, what can make you know what is the Day of Recompense? It is the Day when a soul will not possess for another soul [power to do] a thing; and the command, that Day, is [entirely] with Allah. (82:17-19)
According to verse 46:9, prophet Muhammad doesn’t know what will happen to himself let alone anyone else. His job was just to warn people.
Say, “I am not something original among the messengers, nor do I know what will be done with me or with you. I only follow that which is revealed to me, and I am not but a clear warner.” (46:9)
According to verses 7:188 and 10:49, prophet Muhammad had no power of good or harm to himself and he had no knowledge of the unseen.
Say (O Muhammad), “I hold not for myself [the power of] benefit or harm, except what Allah has willed. And if I knew the unseen, I could have acquired much wealth, and no harm would have touched me. I am not except a warner and a bringer of good tidings to a people who believe.” (7:188)
Say (O Muhammad), “I possess not for myself any harm or benefit except what Allah should will. For every nation is a [specified] term. When their time has come, then they will not remain behind an hour, nor will they precede [it].” (10:49)
According to verse 39:19, God makes it clear that no one can save anyone else who is in Hell.
And fear a Day when no soul will suffice for another soul at all, nor will intercession be accepted from it, nor will compensation be taken from it, nor will they be aided. (2:48)
And fear a Day when no soul will suffice for another soul at all, and no compensation will be accepted from it, nor will any intercession benefit it, nor will they be aided. (2:123)
The fact that no intercession will exist is reiterated in 2:254.
O you who have believed, spend from that which We have provided for you before there comes a Day in which there is no exchange and no friendship and no intercession. And the disbelievers – they are the wrongdoers. (2:254)
According to verse 9:80, even if prophet Muhammad asks 70 times for God to forgive someone, God will not forgive.
Ask forgiveness for them, [O Muhammad], or do not ask forgiveness for them. If you should ask forgiveness for them seventy times – never will Allah forgive them. That is because they disbelieved in Allah and His Messenger, and Allah does not guide the defiantly disobedient people.
According to verse 9:113, prophet Muhammad and believers are forbidden from praying for polytheists, even if they were close relatives.
It is not for the Prophet and those who have believed to ask forgiveness for the polytheists, even if they were relatives, after it has become clear to them that they are companions of Hellfire. (9:113)
Do you have to pronounce God’s name before eating anything?
Most Muslims believe that you must pronounce God’s name only before slaughtering animals to make the meat halal. However, according to verse 6:118, you must pronounce God’s name before eating any food.
So eat of that upon which the name of Allah has been mentioned, if you are believers in His verses. (6:118)
This verse does not restrict the pronouncing of God’s name on animals so as to produce halal meat. As a matter of fact, it doesn’t even say you’re supposed to pronounce God’s name before slaughtering any animal. This verse indicates that one should mention God’s name before eating.
Reason for pronouncing God’s name before eating
The spiritual reason for pronouncing God’s name on our food before eating it is to constantly remember and be appreciative of God’s blessings on us. This is explained in verse 16:114.
Then eat of what Allah has provided for you [which is] lawful and good. And be grateful for the favor of Allah, if it is [indeed] Him that you worship. (16:114)
This act of showing appreciation to God by reciting God’s name before we eat would not belong to us if only people who slaughtered animals had to recite God’s name.
Similar statement in the Torah / Bible
In the Torah / Bible, we find a similar commandment in Deuteronomy 8:10.
… “When you have eaten and are satisfied, bless (praise) the Lord your God for the good land He has given you.” … (Deuteronomy 8:10)
In this verse, however, it says to bless “after the meal” and not before the meal.
Conclusion
You must pronounce God’s name before eating anything, not just meat. In Christianity, this is called “saying grace” which is a statement of appreciation of the food one is about to eat.
What really is “halal” food?
Most Muslims believe that meat can only be eaten if it is “halal” meat and that “halal” meat is only meat from an animal that had God’s name pronounced on it just before slaughtering it. However, according to the Quran, the recitation of God’s name, e.g. bismillah, is required before eating all food and is not required before slaughtering an animal.
Popular definition of “halal” meat
Most Muslims believe that “halal” meat is meat that had God’s name pronounced on it just before slaughtering it. Some Muslims will add additional requirements such as a particular way the animal is slaughtered to minimize suffering and expedite death. These requirements are nowhere to be found in the Quran. Jews have a similar understanding with the concept of “kosher” meat.
Quranic definition of “halal” food
The Quran makes it clear that all food is halal except for specific ones, e.g. pig, alcohol, running blood, and except for ones in certain conditions, e.g. animals gored to death or rotting carcasses.
Do not prohibit the lawful and vice versa
By changing the meaning of verse 6:118 to prohibit eating meat that isn’t considered “halal” meat, one would find himself in violation of verse 16:116.
And do not say about what your tongues assert of untruth, “This is lawful and this is unlawful,” to invent falsehood about Allah . Indeed, those who invent falsehood about Allah will not succeed. (16:116)
As you can imagine, prohibiting something that God never prohibited can have serious consequences. In verses 6:148-150, we see that some people prohibited something that God never prohibited. God told Muhammad not to agree with them.
Say, [O Muhammad], “Bring forward your witnesses who will testify that Allah has prohibited this.” And if they testify, do not testify with them. And do not follow the desires of those who deny Our verses and those who do not believe in the Hereafter, while they equate [others] with their Lord. (6:150)
Prohibited food and meat
Verses 2:173, 5:3, 6:145, and 16:115 make it clear what food is halal (lawful) and haram (prohibited).
Prohibited to you are dead animals, blood, the flesh of swine, and that which has been dedicated to other than Allah, and [those animals] killed by strangling or by a violent blow or by a head-long fall or by the goring of horns, and those from which a wild animal has eaten, except what you [are able to] slaughter [before its death], and those which are sacrificed on stone altars, and [prohibited is] that you seek decision through divining arrows. … (5:3)
The food of the People of the Book
According to verse 5:5, we see that God made it lawful for Muslims to eat the food fo the People of the Book (Jews and Christians).
This day [all] good foods have been made lawful, and the food of those who were given the Scripture is lawful for you and your food is lawful for them. … (5:5)
In general, we know that non-Muslims do not pronounce the name of God before killing an animal. Nevertheless, according to verse 5:5, God has made their food lawful for Muslims. This further proves that God does not require Muslims to pronounce God’s name before slaughtering an animal. However, if we eat food, e.g. steak, that originated from a Christian slaughterhouse, which God has allowed us to do, then we would still have to pronounce God’s name on it before eating it to comply with the requirement in verse 6:118.
Conclusion
Halal meat and halal food is any food that isn’t prohibited in 2:173, 5:3, 6:145 and 16:115
Do you have to pronounce God’s name before slaughtering an animal?
Some Muslim scholars argue that since verse 22:36 indicates that God’s name should be uttered before slaughtering animals, then not doing so would render the meat non-halal and forbidden for consumption. On first impression, their claim seems valid. However, upon closer inspection and considering the context of neighboring verses, we discover the correct meaning of the verse as explained below.
And the camels and cattle We have appointed for you as among the symbols of Allah; for you therein is good. So mention the name of Allah upon them when lined up [for sacrifice]; and when they are [lifeless] on their sides, then eat from them and feed the needy and the beggar. Thus have We subjected them to you that you may be grateful. (22:36)
There are a few important points to note:
This verse speaks about the ritual of animal offering / sacrifice during the Hajj. The surah containing this verse is called “Hajj” and if we start reading from verse 27, we see the subject of these related verses has to do with the hajj and hajj rituals. This means that the rules given in these verses apply only during the hajj.
While the animals are lined up during the Hajj, those observing the Hajj should commemorate the name of God on these animals. The people who are pronouncing God’s name are the people who are observing the Hajj, not the people who are slaughtering the animals. The utterance of God’s name is not associated with the actual slaughtering.
To further prove that the uttering of God’s name on these animals during Hajj has nothing to do with make makes meat halal, we note that God’s command to utter His name while the animals are lined up is no different from God’s command to those observing Hajj to constantly utter and commemorate God’s name throughout the Hajj. This is indicated in the following verses
And proclaim to the people the Hajj [pilgrimage]; they will come to you on foot and on every lean camel; they will come from every distant pass – That they may witness benefits for themselves and mention the name of God on known days over what He has provided for them of [sacrificial] animals. So eat of them and feed the despondent poor. (22:27-28)
And remember God during [specific] numbered days. (2:203)
But when you depart from ‘Arafat, remember God at al- Mash’ar al-Haram. (2:198)
And when you have completed your rites, remember God … (2:200)
The verses above indicate that God should be commemorated during every step of the Hajj. Commemorating and pronouncing God’s name on the animals while they are lined up for sacrifice is just a continuation of the rule to constantly commemorate God’s name throughout the entire Hajj from beginning to end.
Conclusion
You do not have to pronounce God’s name before slaughtering an animal.
Is slaughtering the only approved way of killing an animal for food?
Some Islamic scholars claim that slaughtering is the only Islamic way of killing animals for food. However, this is nowhere stated in the Quran. Some people justify their claim by saying that blood is prohibited for consumption and that slaughtering is the only way to remove all blood from a dead animal. Obviously, that argument is false and can easily be verified. If you buy a cut of meat from any “halal butcher”, then take it home and place it under running water, you will always see blood come out, which was presumably slaughtered according to the Islamic way.
Blood
When an animal is slaughtered, the main arteries in the neck are severed. This drains from the body all the blood that was in the main arteries. However, the body of all animals contains a vast number of tiny veins and millions of capillaries. Capillaries are the smallest of the body’s blood vessels. Some of them are only one cell thick. The blood in the very small blood veins and capillaries will not all be drained from the flesh of the slaughtered animal. Much of the blood will remain trapped in the flesh regardless of the method of killing.
Running Blood
Verse 5:3 states that eating “blood” is prohibited. If this means that even a speck of blood was prohibited for consumption, then all meat would be prohibited, which can’t be true since verse 22:36 indicates that, during the hajj, animals are to be sacrificed to be eaten. Fortunately, verse 6:145 clarifies that the type of blood that is prohibited is “running blood”.
Say, “I do not find within that which was revealed to me [anything] forbidden to one who would eat it unless it be a dead animal or blood spilled (running blood) out or the flesh of swine – for indeed, it is impure – or it be [that slaughtered in] disobedience, dedicated to other than Allah. … (6:145)
God knows that there will always be blood trapped in all flesh and that we will never be able to flush it all out. For that reason, God made it clear in 6:145 that the prohibition is against “running blood”.
Any meat we buy from any “halal butcher” will not contain running blood but will always contain trapped blood. Similarly, the meat we buy from any supermarket will not contain running blood but will contain trapped flood.
Food of the People of the Book
If God decreed slaughtering to be the only lawful way to kill an animal, then why did God allow us in verse 5:5 to eat the food of the People of the Book as long as we pronounce God’s name on it before eating it when we have no idea how it was killed?
Animals killed by trained birds of prey and dogs
Similarly, if God decreed slaughtering to be the only lawful way to kill an animal, then why did God allow us in verse 5:5 to eat animals killed by trained birds of prey and dogs? These animals are already dead when we take them from the mouth of the birds and dogs.
Fish
Similarly, if animals had to be slaughtered, how can we eat fish since fish are not slaughtered? Like the meat of cattle, fish contain traces of blood when we buy them. We can remove some of the blood by running the fish under running water but not all.
Conclusion
God never decreed that slaughtering is the only lawful way to kill an animal.
Slaughtering does not remove all blood from a dead animal
The prohibition from God is against “running blood” and not trapped blood which is impossible to flush out completely.
Ini adalah terjemahan dari versi bahasa Inggris dari dokumen ini. Google Translate digunakan untuk sebagian besar terjemahan ini. Kalau terjemahhannya terdengar sedikit aneh, itu sebabnya.
Informasi di bawah ini adalah ringkasan dari dokumenter House of Saud oleh PBS Frontline. PBS (Public Broadcasting Service) adalah penyiar publik televisi non-komersial yang didanai oleh rakyat Amerika.
Informasi yang disajikan di bawah ini adalah untuk tujuan pendidikan dan perbandingan. Tak satu pun dari informasi dibawah merupakan pendapat pribadi.
Pendiri Wahabisme dan Keluarga Suku Al Saud
Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, pendiri “Wahhabisme,” bentuk Islam yang keras, tiba di negara bagian tengah Najd di Arab pada tahun 1744 untuk mengumumkan pengembalian ke Islam yang “murni”. Dia mencari perlindungan dari amir setempat, Muhammad ibn Saud, kepala keluarga suku Al Saud, dan mereka membuat kesepakatan. Al Saud akan mendukung bentuk keras Islam al-Wahhab dan sebagai imbalannya, Al Saud akan mendapatkan legitimasi politik dan uang pajak dari pengikut al-Wahhab.
Saudi Arabia adalah tempat suku-suku yang berperang satu sama lain. Tidak ada persatuan di antara kelompok-kelompok itu.
Saudi pada tahun 1900
Di antara para pengembara, syekh dan amir adalah keluarga Al Saud.
Abdul Aziz ibn Al Saud ingin menyatukan suku-suku.
The information below is a summary of the PBS Frontline documentary House of Saud. PBS (Public Broadcasting Service) is a non-commercial free-to-air television public broadcaster funded by the American people.
The information presented below is for educational and comparative purposes. None of it is personal opinion.
The Founder of Wahhabism and the Al Saud Tribal Family
Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, founder of “Wahhabism,” an austere form of Islam, arrives in the central Arabian state of Najd in 1744 preaching a return to “pure” Islam. He seeks protection from the local emir, Muhammad ibn Saud, head of the Al Saud tribal family, and they cut a deal. The Al Saud will endorse al-Wahhab’s austere form of Islam and in return, the Al Saud will get political legitimacy and regular tithes from al-Wahhab’s followers.
Arabia was a place of warring tribes. There was no unity among the groups.
Arabia in 1900
Among the nomads, sheikhs and emirs was the family of Al Saud.
Abdul Aziz ibn Al Saud wanted to unite the tribes.
If you’ve got many songs in Google Play Music, it can be difficult to manage which songs are in which playlists. Google Play Music doesn’t show you a list of playlists a particular song is in, if any. To create such a list, here’s a solution that works.
In the excerpt above, we see that the song “Santa Baby” is in the Christmas playlist but the song “True Blue” is not in any playlist. You can then find a playlist to the the latter song in so you don’t forget that you have that song.
Posting content on WordPress can be time consuming without the right technique. By default, copying and pasting images isn’t possible. Images need to manually be uploaded, resized, and optimized for performance. And even if you do that, they’re still not optimized for global performance because they aren’t on a CDN (content delivery network). To simplify posting content on WordPress, I’ve found the following setup and workflow to be best.
Managed WordPress Hosting
You can be cheap and try to manage hosting a WordPress site yourself. But, you’ll likely get frustrated as you can’t keep up with vulnerabilities that can slow down or break your site. You can get affordable managed WordPress hosting on GoDaddy. They’ll take care of upgrades and remove insecure plugins for you.
Install the Free JetPack Plugin
This plugin is critical, especially for performance. Among other things, you can enable performance optimization to automatically resize, optimize and host all images and static files (CSS, JS) on WordPress’ content delivery network. A 3.5 MB image instantly gets optimized to a fraction of that size, e.g. 120 KB. This plugin is an absolute must.”
Many people use pressure-treated wood posts but though they are cheaper, they do have downsides includng:
they can rot and decay
they can warp and bend, especially if you leave them out in the sun and don’t finish the fence right away
attaching 2x4s to them require toenailing or toescewing nails and screws at an angle or using metal brackets for 2x4s
if you attach 2x4s to the post and later decide you want to move them up or down, it’s a hassle
Steel posts have holes all along the length on both sides so screwing 2x4s into them are very easy. This saves a lot of time and money from not having to buy a bunch of brackets. Furthermore, there’s no worry about it warping due to the elements.
Here’s one way to secure an item using rope that locks tension in the rope. It’s a variation of the Trucker’s Hitch. It involves creating a loop (butterfly knot) and then looping the free end of the rope twice through the loop. For the first, fixed end, I use a ring hitch knot which easily ties the first end of the rope to an anchor without it loosening. No matter how hard you pull, the knot won’t loosen.
Here’s how to tie a ring hitch for the first end.
Loop the rope end through an anchor point
Create two loops
Stick the end through the two loops and tighten
Here’s how to tie the butterfly knot.
And here’s how to use the butterfly knot to create a super tight rope line.
Loop the free end through an anchor point
Loop the free end through the butterfly knot twice
The summer weather in Orlando appears to be unpredictable with possible hot and sunny mornings followed by torrential thunderstorms in the afternoon.
Bring a heavy duty poncho
It can rain heavily for 15 to 30 minutes then completely stop at which time activities and attractions will resume. It may be worth it to wait out the rain.
Hotel
Extended Stay America on Universal Blvd
Location is great next to the heart of the tourist area
The rooms are spacious with a king size bed, kitchenette with full-size fridge, sofa and dining table.
The bathroom lights are an ugly bright daylight white
Bring your own dish sponge
Laundry is available on site at a cost of $2.00 per wash and $2.00 per dry
wi-fi is weak. You can pay extra for fast wi-fi or just use your phone as a hot spot.
