Archive of posts filed under the Theology category.

Edip Yuksel’s articles on theology

Why Trash All the Hadiths?

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When followers of hadith and sunna cannot defend the nonsensical and contradictory hadiths (narrations) abundant in their so-called authentic hadith books, they suggest picking and choosing those hadiths that are not contradictory to the Quran. The following brief argument with a Sunnite shows how deceptive and meaningless this apparently innocent suggestion. We call these people compromisers, or Selective Sunnis. Let’s now follow a debate between a Selective Sunni and a Monotheist Muslim:

Eternal Hell and the Merciful God?

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Suffering in an eternal Hell creates a contradiction between this divine justice, since eternity can not be equal to an evil committed during the limited life span of a human. However, eternal punishment in a life time of a non eternal Hell avoids such a contradiction. After receiving an equivalent punishment, the chief evil-doers like those referred in verse4:48, will be eliminated from existence. They will end up in Hell and Hell will end up in oblivion, eternally.

Theometer or Sectometer

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Between November 3 and 10 of 2008, I traveled to UK and Turkey to deliver four lectures; first two at Oxford University, the third at Muslim Institute in London and the fourth one in Istanbul Book Fair. I had prepared a test containing 45 multiple choice questions just the night before my travel. I duplicated them on both sides of a single sheet and I distributed to the audience before the lecture… They were asked to write their name, age, occupation, email address, favorite authors, and their sectarian affiliation. It was a bit awkward to test an audience that consisted of students and professors at one of the world’s top universities. The multiple-choice test proved to be a powerful instrument to deliver the message of Islamic Reform under the light of the Quran. The correct answer for each multiple choice question was the E option, and for the Yes or No questions was the B option. So, it would take me a few seconds to evaluate the tests after they were returned to me.

Islamic Theory of Evolution

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Will Durant, an American historian, reminds his readers that medical books authored by Ali Ibni Sina (980-1037) and Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi (844-926) were both used as textbooks in European universities for centuries, and that in 1395 Razi’s book Kitab al-Hawi was among the nine textbooks used by the University of Paris. The same book informs the reader that Avicenna’s Qanun fil Tibb, a science encyclopedia, was a main textbook at Montpelier and Louvain universities until the mid-17th century. We should mention two important Muslim scientists who had immense impact on scientific enterprise in Europe: Abu Bakr ibn Tufayl, known in the West as Abubacer (1107-1185) and philosopher Abu al-Walid Muhammad ibn Rushd who became famous in the West by the name Averroes (1126-1298).

What was the Name of the Last Prophet: Muhammad or Muhammed?

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In summary, according to the teaching of the Quran, the name of the last prophet could not have been Muhammad; it was MUHAMMID, similar to the linguistic form of Muallim (teacher) or Musawir (designer). It is not the prophet who deserves the praise, but it is Allah (the god), our Lord, the One, the Initiator, the Designer, the Compassionate, the Living, the Eternal, the Almighty, and the Omniscient God. Praise is to the Lord of the Universe.

Errors in English Translations of the Quran

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Errors in English Translations of the Quran (From the Introduction of Quran: a Reformist Translation, Brainbow Press) On the following pages, you will find several comparisons between our translation and that of traditional orthodox English renditions of the Quran. By the word “tradition,” we refer to the works that heavily rely on hearsay reports such …

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Myth of Moderate Drinking

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Many correlations are ignored by the so-called researchers. For instance, studying the impact of wine consumption on health, without taking into account the income, health insurance, diet, lifestyle, genetic make up, and environment of wine-drinkers, will not produce a reliable cause-and-effect relationship. Interestingly, some of the health benefits attributed to alcohol have been listed for grape juice, though in higher doses. Even if alcohol or any other drug had some economic, social and even health benefits, the Quran reminds us of the proven fact that their harms outweigh their benefits.

Letter to Signs Magazine

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Personally, I consider myself lucky to have met Rashad and assisted him in Masjid Tucson. I was a Sunni political activist and author advocating Sunni Islam in books published in Turkey before 1986. I was tortured and imprisoned for four years because of my articles in magazines calling for an Islamic revolution in Turkey. After a year long correspondence and debate with Rashad I came to the conclusion that the Quran is the only source of guidance. It was no surprise that my acceptance of the Quran alone brought excommunication, attacks from religious media and death threats from my previous readers.

Eternal Hell and Merciful God?

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Suffering in an eternal Hell creates a contradiction between this divine justice, since eternity can not be equal to an evil committed in during a limited life span of a human. However, eternal punishment in life time of a non eternal Hell avoids such a contradiction. After receiving an equivalent punishment the chief evil-doers like those referred in verse 4:48, will be eliminated from existence. They will end up in Hell and Hell will end up in nothingness.

A Miraculous Conspiracy Theory about Mecca

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Edip Yuksel I Nominate Ayman for top Ignoble Prize in “Imagination” “As we saw above, based on the orthographic evidence from the great reading itself and physical archeological evidence, the great reading must have originated in a north Arabian Lakhmid province or border town and not in a central Arabian area such as the area …

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No Contradiction in the Quran

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Verse 4:82 of the Quran claims that it is free of contradictions. Any internal contradiction or contradiction between the Quran and God’s laws in the nature will falsify the claim. I found the following claims of contradiction posted in an evangelical site disguised as “humanist.” Here are the 10 charges and my answers.