[2:170]
When they are told, “Follow what GOD has revealed herein,” they say, “We follow only what we found our parents doing.” What if their parents did not understand, and were not guided?
[2:171]
The example of such disbelievers is that of parrots who repeat what they hear of sounds and calls, without understanding. Deaf, dumb, and blind; they cannot understand.
Since we were born in a muslim family and at birth adhan was given in our ears and so we became muslims..... Technichally we are muslims, but are we doing anything like muslims..... WE fight, cheat, take interests, do not pray Salat, do not pay zakat properly.......and reservations about our religon about the authenticty....
We are like parrots doing whatever our elders do....If we would have born in a Hindu family, we would be doing the same thing....
Allah has given us brains and logic.....Now at his time, we have so much information at our disposal that we could verily take out what is right from the wrong....
If only we had the commitment and the willingness and start finding, Allah has promised his help for those people...
O Allah! guide us to the right path. The way of those on whom you have bestowed your Grace, not those who have gone astray. (Aameen)
[This message has been edited by yaseeny (edited September 09, 1999).]
Zara....please please please do not manipulate a Quranic ayat to make it sound the way you want it to sound. The ayats that you mentioned above from Sura Baqarah have to be read along with their preceding and succeeding ayats..and it is very very clearly mentioned in the Quran that the people whom Allah SWT is referring to are the kuffaar of the old times. When those kuffar were told about following Allah SWT, they said that they would follow in the footsteps of their forefathers.....and in the second ayat that you mentioned, a parrot is not mentioned anywhere...its just about an animal that keeps on walking ahead and does not listen when its called upon from behind. I am not nitpicking here..This is the way Quran is to be read and understood. You have to read the whole context. One thing that i may recommend....try reading Quran in arabic, and read its translation in Urdu. Most of the English translations i have read are such that take the reader off the path at times.
However, about the jewess that cast a spell on Prophet SAW....i would suggest you read a copy of the Quran that has translation and explanation, tashreeh with it. And then read Surah Falaq and Surah Naas..the last 2 surahs in the Holy Quran. I am not making anything up from my imagination.
Zara jee it happens due to ignorence and falsehood of our culture which limits islam only to Mulvies. When you talk islam they say why are you trying to be mulvi...we have gave our MUlvies our faiths and our believes what ever they tell us(right or wrong) we do, we dont research if its OK in islam or not Ok in islam, we just go ahead and do it. I think books of hadith and simple translation of Quran should be sold for FREE, So more people buy them and read what is real Islam...the topic gets deeper but lets say what others think...
Jaawan
Till next time*K_I_S_S*
I don't find Zara's quotes out of place. While I am no exponent of Quran, I understand that in the quoted verses Allah is pointing out to the disbelievers the fallacy hidden within their reasoning. Now, if some day, the Muslims were to themselves borrow the arguments of the disbelievers (or similar arguments), then the verses can surely be quoted to the Muslims to show them that "very little" separates them from the disbelievers when it comes to thinking through their religious practices and beliefs.
Coming to the point of following parents, it is parents' duty to guide their children towards the right direction and also provide ample proof to the children (when the children demand proof) that this is indeed the right direction. However, when the parents themselves were raised in an atmosphere where questioning religion/religious practices was discouraged, they themselves might not know the answers to the questions their children might ask. This makes them as much of the victims as their children.
I have a feeling that Pakistani born and bred parents raising kids in the US feel very threatened by the US culture. They feel that they can compensate for the loose moral atmosphere outside the house by being extra strict at home and discouraging any dissent or questioning of authority. Once again, they have to be seen as victims. They don't understand why their children are so different from them when they were growing up. Few parents have the courage to admit to themselves that while they grew up in Pakistan as Pakistanis, their children are not Pakistanis and hence can't be expected to be like them. I have seen GOOD American kids who grew up here and were morally better than most of the Pakistani kids I have known; still seen from the eye of a worried parent, these GOOD kids didn't fit the mould of a good kid in Pakistan. Seen against this underlying prejudice built into Pakistani parents where they want their kids to measure up to the yardstick of a good kid in Pakistan, it is hardly surprising why they see their kids growing up in the US as insolent and headstrong.