A Living Lesson for Homosexuals

Dead Sea: A Living Lesson for Homosexuals

82 kilometers in length and 18 kilometers wide Dead Sea is thousands of foot deep and exists 1300 foot below the sea level in between Palestine and Jordan. Due to the salt ratio which is 8 times more than the other oceans in the world, the density of water in Dead Sea is enormously high. So much so that a person floats on the surface and is not drowned in it.

 

Around four thousand years from now Prophet Looth - nephew of the Biblical Prophet Abraham was sent by the Almighty Allah as His Messenger to Sodom, a town 55 kilometers to Amman, the capital of Jordan in the Middle East. Quran has described the historical accounts of Prophet Looth and his folks in Surah Al-Ankaboot and Surah Hud with much details. People of Sodom indulged in homosexuality, a habit unheard of till then. Quran describes their unnatural act in these words:

 

“And recall Looth who said to his folks, you commit the lewdness such as no creature did before you.”

(Surah Al-Ankaboot, Ayah 28)

 

Prophet Looth tried hard so as to refrain them from indulging in homosexuality. However they declined to fall in line. Their insistence on lewdness invited the wrath of the Almighty Allah. Quran says:

 

“We are about to bring down upon folks of this township a fury from the sky because they are evil-livers.”

(Surah Al-Ankaboot, Ayah 34)

 

Before finally destroying the people of Sodom, Allah sent three Angels in the town, who were in juvenile human form. They knocked at Prophet Looth as guests. Prophet Looth, aware of the habit his folks were involved in, was distressed and helplessly tried to find ways to protect them. Quran describes the incidence as this:

 

“And his people came unto him, running towards him – and before then they used to commit abominations. He said: O my people! Here are my (native) daughters! They are purer for you. Beware of Allah and degrade me not in (the presence of) my guests. Is there not among you any upright man?”

(Surah Hud, Ayah 78)

 

At this point the Angels disclosed to Prophet Looth that they were actually Angels of Allah and had been descended to destroy the town. They advised Prophet Looth to leave the town with his companions. Once the believers abandoned the town, the Angels destroyed the whole town. Describing the incident Quran says:

 

“So when Our commandment came to pass, We overthrew (that township) and rained upon it stones of clay, one after another.”

(Surah Hud, Ayah 82)

 

The idea that homosexual intercourse was involved as at least a part of the evil of Sodom arises from the story in Genesis 19. It notes:

 

Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom - both young and old - surrounded the house. They called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them."

 

Moreover, under Hebrew references Wikipedia notes, many times in the Pentateuch and Prophets, writers use God's destruction of Sodom to demonstrate His awesome power.

 

Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had arrogance, abundant food and careless ease, but she did not help the poor and needy. Thus they were haughty and committed abominations before Me.

(Ezekiel 16.49-50)

The New Testament like the Old Testament also references Sodom as a place of God's anger against sin.

 

And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He [God] has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day, just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire. Yet in the same way these men, also by dreaming, defile the flesh, and reject authority, and revile angelic majesties.

(Jude 1:7, New American Standard Version)

 

Interestingly English word 'Sodomy', commonly used for homosexuality is derived from Sodom, the name of the town where Prophet Looth was sent as the Messenger. Describing Sodomy, Wikipedia notes, it is a term used today predominantly in law (derived from traditional Christian usage) to describe the act of anal intercourse, oral intercourse, or bestiality.

 

Majority of narrators believe that Dead Sea is exactly the place and the town that was earlier known as Sodom where Prophet Looth had been sent as the Messenger thousands of years before. After describing the accounts of Prophet Looth and his unfortunate folks, Allah concludes the whole incidence terming it a lesson for the mankind.

 

“And verily of that We have left a clear sign for people who have sense.”

(Surah Al-Ankaboot, Ayah 35)

Bhopal Aalami iztema Dec 2011

Spirituality pervades Bhopal as stage set for ‘Aalami Tableeghi Ijtima’

Bhopal: An aura of spirituality is pervading through the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh capital Bhopal, the city of lakes, hills, Masjids and now Mandirs too, wherein the stage is all set for the 64th edition of “Aalami Tableeghi Ijtima” (World Preachers’ Congregation) which begins on Saturday soon after the Fajir Namaz (pre-dawn prayers).

Muslims from all over the globe from India and abroad in Jamaats (Groups of devotees) have descended here. Soon after the Friday prayers they have started converging from the walled city to the tent city at the Ijtima site which is about 15 kms on the northern outskirts of the town at Ghasipura in Eintkhedi village. The three-day Ijtima will be held here from December 10 and shall conclude on December 12 with mass “Dua” (prayer).

Over 300 Jamaatis from Russia, Kazakhstan, France, Indonesia, Malaysia, Zambia, South Africa, Kenya, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Ethiopia, Somalia, Turkey, Thailand and Sri Lanka have already arrived in the city and from many more other countries are expected to reach the Ijtima venue soon.

The huge main “pandal” has come up on about 20 acres of land to accommodate the Jamaats from all over India. In the main “pandal” tens of thousands of people will camp for three days listening to the holy sermons of Islamic scholars as how to inculcate the good values in life following the Islamic tenets in order to lead an upright life in this world and thereby be rewarded with Jannat-ul-Firdaus Hereafter.

According to Ateeq-ul-Islam, the spokesman of the Ijtima Organising Committee, the Ijtima is being organised on more than 170 acres of land. Out of this 70 acres are reserved for parking while 25 acre is covered by tents. Small shopping plots meant for eateries spread around the venue cover 35 acres of land. About 5,000 ablutions points for Wuzu, have been made. Venue is spotted with 170 water tanks of 5000 litre capacity. In all 21 tube-wells have been connected to ensure proper water supply. More than 600 makeshift urinals and 900 toilets have been put with a temporary sewage system. A separate closed tent is built for foreign Jamaats wherein separate toilets and washroom facilities have been provided for them.

The organising committee has also announced the Namaz timings at the Ijtima venue. As per the schedule announced the Fajr Namaz would be held at 6.30 am, Zohar Namaz at 2 pm, Asr Namaz at 4.30 pm, Maghrib Namaz at 5.39 pm while the Isha Namaz would held after the sermons are over.

On the second day separate special religious discourses will be held during the conclave for intellectuals, traders, farmers, students etc. and the participants would be asked to follow the Islamic religious tenets in their spirit apart from the message for universal brotherhood. Prominent “Akabireen” (Tableeghi elders) who will address the gatherings include: Maulana Zubair, Maulana Sa’ad, Maulana Yunus, Maulana Ahmed Laat, Maulana Yousuf, Prof. Nadir Ali etc.

Meanwhile, a special feature of the Ijtima is special arrangements for deaf and dumb people who come in Jamaats from all over the country and are housed separately. The sermons from the main “pandal” are translated to them in sign language. Their disability does not come in their way to leave their home and hearth to learn and inculcate the basic teachings of Islam to become righteous Muslims.

Over 400 Nikaahs is expected to performed in a simple manner in the spirit of Islam by the elders of the Tableeghi Jamaat on the first two days of the Ijtima after Asr Namaz. The formalities for the mass Nikaahs have been completed.

Extra security measures are being taken with nothing being left to chance. While within the Ijtima campus Tableeghi Jamaat volunteers will keep a tight vigil on security outside and around the Ijtima venue the cadres of Madhya Pradesh Police will do their job of maintaining law and order. In a bid to boost security in and around the venue CCTVs are being installed at strategic points. Police have set up watchtowers and hundreds of policemen will be present on the spot. Apart from police, the personnel of Rapid Action Force, (RAF), the Traffic police will be in attendance along with hundreds of volunteers of Tableeghi Jamaat to streamline the vehicular traffic. (pervezbari@eth.net)