Apostate prophet finds Quranic consistency; carnal pleasures in heaven justified?

In answer to the video "Walking Away From Islam"

This is one of the Quranic axioms regarding the concept Heavenly rewards, including mating; the carnal, physical dimension and the spiritual will be linked in a most perfect way. No aspect of the human being will be left unfulfilled.

All aspects of life which the righteous denied or limited for him/herself out of fear of God and obedience to His comandements will be experienced in the hereafter with an unimaginable intensity, from a physical and spiritual aspect and without the negative, worldly side. 

The successful in the Hereafter will be granted all their wishes and beyond, but the Quran sometimes chooses to specify some of those rewards in order to parallel the worldly sacrifices of the pious with the corresponding compensation of the next world. 

Whether in the Quran or the HB, humans will be resurrected bodily to experience their blissful reward. It would be a useless concept even from a biblical perspective, should the reward of the hereafter only be of a spiritual nature. This means humans will never cease being humans in the world to come. If that is the case then no human, besides those influenced by the writings of the Greeks and who view the body as the enemy of the spirit (pauline christians) will deny the legitimate pleasures of the flesh, including sex.

For example those whose most prominent aspect of their spirituality was dreading the day of resurrection, will be free from any distress and worry when they are raised, while those who piously gave up from their resources for the sake of the needy will find abundant luxury from their Sustainer. 

Those who suffered rejection and ostracism, hardships and even sometimes life threatening sacrifices due their uprightness and desire to be near unto God in this life, will be drawn near to their Lord in the Hereafter in full security and glory. They will in addition be raised as the greatest kings, dressed and served accordingly. The Quran in 18:28 as well as other places mentions the social ostracism and taunting the mainly poor followers of the prophet had to endure from the elite. Besides outright mocking his humble assemblies, they boasted of their worldly achievements as indicators of them being divinely approved 19:73,77. This attitude, present in mankind since immemorial times and prevalent even in our days, is personified in the Quran with Qaarun, and others too 28:79-83. They are heedless of the fact that countless people each mightier that the other were brought low and severely chastized in this life 30:7-10. These social elites would sometimes ask the prophet to send his humble assemblies away if he desired they sit with him to learn about the message. 

Consequently the Quran vindicates those that were looked down upon, describing how in the Hereafter honor will only be theirs, adorned with the attires of the greatest rulers and raised on thrones above lush gardens 18:31,22:23,35:33,76:20-1 receiving gifts surpassing what they wish for due to them compromising in this world their own desires for the sake of the needy 50:35. 

They will be made to inherit the land; a metonym often used to illustrate their just honoring. God's bounties were made available to all in this world as a matter of testing our conduct and morals, not as a means of honoring us, but in the Hereafter where that testing is over and only the successful will enjoy themselves and will be elevated, every benefit imaginable will only belong to the righteous believers 7:32,21:105,39:73-4,43:35. 

In a realm of continuous inner and outward peace, sense of spiritual fulfillement due to nearness to God, as well as first hand experience of all higher realities that have now finally been unveiled, the meritorious will rightfully enjoy all material benefits, without envy or discrimination, nor ever compromising their spirituality. 

Another example of heavenly compensation for worldly sacrifices is that of wine, one of life's pleasures which the believer denied himself in obedience to God. He will find it in paradise without any of its negative aspects, along with many other pleasurable drinks 56:18-19. In fact all enjoyments of paradise, in whatever quantity but only of the best quality, will be free from harm, disease or discomfort as is encountered in this world, unrestricted by any natural or unnatural factor and not requiring any toil to be obtained or appreciated 13:35,15:48,44:55,56:32-33.

From the righteous male viewpoint, the woman with whom he will be coupled, though incredibly beautiful, will have an equally beautiful character, morals and spirituality. Sexual desires and thoughts are, for males, the most important urges they must learn to channel within the religious legal limits in this world. The Quran's injunctions on that matter repeatedly come in the context of success in the hereafter. Sexuality within the permissible limits is such an important notion, that it is repeatedly tied to the most basic requirements of the religion, like the daily prayers 23:1-6. 

Consequently to the righteous' self-control in this life, lowering his gaze, refusing to transgress and yield to temptation 24:30, he will be satisfied in the most fulfilling way in paradise. This includes not only physical satisfaction with the opposite gender, but emotional as well. This is an objective right and natural demand of justice. He will be coupled with a mate whose moral uprightness will be corresponding to his. Humans wont cease being humans in paradise. Their physical and spiritual enhancement will lead to equally enhanced physical and spiritual enjoyments.

As to the righteous women, although females do have of course sexual urges which they need to control in this life and keep within the legal limits 24:31, these desires are not as overwhelmingly present and challenging to their daily, worldly, spirituality as they are with males. It just is a biological, mental and spiritual reality, so much so that the background of many criminal cases involving men are sexually motivated, whether consciously or subconsciously. The Quran therefore does not speak of this aspect of the heavenly reward of righteous females although it never is denied. 

The Quran enforces, time and again the fact that all paradise dwellers, males or females, will find a just and corresponding reward, all that their hearts desire, and much more that cannot be described since entirely outside any human experience. There shall be no excess nor shortfall between the shares of the women and those of the men, in quantity or quality

3:195"I will not waste the work of a worker among you, whether male or female, the one of you being from the other". 

This verse as a side note was revealed prior to the one in sura ahzaab which allegedly came to reassure the person that came to the prophet asking him about the heavenly reward of women 33:35. It is very common in commentaries and ahadith to associate a verse with a real situation and make it seem that the revelation of the verse came in answer to it. Although verses did many times come in specific circumstances, at other times it is the assumption of the reporter, and is in fact an occasion of recitation rather than revelation. It is even clearer in this case, as the traditions report a similar occasion where someone approached the prophet with the same question about the reward of women, he then stood at the pulpit and recited 33:35. There are even earlier Meccan verses stressing the indiscriminate reward of heaven, including 40:40,43:70 or 

16:97"Whoever does righteousness, whether male or female, while he is a believer - We will surely cause him to live a good life, and We will surely give them their reward [in the Hereafter] according to the best of what they used to do". 

Not every new convert was directly aware of all the intricacies of the Quran, hence their questioning of the prophet despite the presence of these verses. What is interesting is that not one Quranic verse uses the female gender in connection to the punishments of Hell, yet it is understood that, far from being favoritism towards women, the use of the male gender is only by way of representation of the whole of humanity. The axiom of gender equality in heavenly reward is well established, and whenever some of these rewards are gender specific, it is because it is addressing a male audience, not because the said reward is denied to women.

That being said, the idea of a woman having multiple husbands is not something sought after by women in general. So while it is appealing, as well as morally, religiously allowed for a man in this world to have multiple wives, it is not the case for women. The idea is distorted and sinful. It would be rejected by the vast majority of women even if given the freedom to choose. Hence the description of women in heaven as 

55:56"women limiting [their] glances, untouched before them by man or jinni". 

Morally reprehensible, sinful and unappealing things will not become acceptable in heaven. The multiplicity of husbands to a woman in paradise is thus excluded. This does not negate complete emotional, spiritual, physical satisfaction with her unique husband in heaven.

The Quran therefore does not speak of every kind of heavenly rewards, but rather gives a preview, a glimpse of the main areas that will naturally, as a demand of justice, intensely be experienced by the righteous who in this life preserved him/herself from transgression. These main areas being; honor, materialism, and sex.  

The Arabs during the rise of Islam lived their life preoccupied with these 3 main things, having little to no regard to spirituality in the process. Little has changed since then, especially in our times. The message of the Quran as it addressed those Arabs, and humanity at large through them, is that these pursuits are perfectly legitimate, but that they should not be sought according to one's whims. God did not create man in a material world, with physical and mental senses while expecting him to refuse himself the appeal of these senses. Rather God, Who is the provider of these enjoyments and the Maker of our senses, wants mankind to seek those pleasures in God-consciousness. If one is able to live his/her life in the pursuit of these things while remaining within God's limits, then, regardless if one is successful or not in achieving them in this world, one will surely experience them in an exponential, unfathomable manner in the hereafter. 

Although Heaven is undoubtedly the place where all the desires of the righteous are granted, contrary to the dwellers of hell to whom

34:54"a barrier shall be placed between them and that which they desire",

and the only kind of toil they will experience will be one that gives pleasure 16:31,36:55-7 it is also the place where the righteous' earthly traits of nobility and satisfaction through spirituality will be even more prominent; they firstly humbly acknowledge that the abundant reward is because of Allah's grace, not simply on account of their deeds 35:35. They will love it most to sing hymns of praise to Allah and glorify His name just as they did in this world. They will wish eachother peace 10:10 in a place where there will be no room for vain, idle or mean talk, only peaceful intentions 19:62. So upright and spiritually aware the dweller of heaven is, that the Quran pictures a persecuted believer exclaiming, upon his entry in heaven, his wish that his nation could know God's mercy and forgiveness to him, instead of expressing his satisfaction for having ended up "victorious" or simply stating his overwhelming excitement at his own reward. The dwellers of heaven will thus be free from any ill feelings towards anyone, whether their brethren of paradise or the people who made them suffer while on earth. They will be content and appeased in the best way

89:27"O soul that are at rest, Return to your Lord, well pleased with Him, well pleasing Him. So enter among My servants, and enter into My garden".

This state of spiritual purity will make any ill or evil intention useless to them. They will never entertain the idea of desiring something inappropriate towards anyone, anything, or their God. What they will like is what will be pleasing to their appeased souls and this pleasure will always be linked to the pleasure of God.

Just as there are higher places above higher places, in this Garden that is as large as the heavens and earth 3:133,57:21 there will be Gardens beyond Gardens 55:46,62 (two beyond two just like the "two" gardens of Sheba does not mean that there were only two gardens in the whole country, but that the entire land was like a garden and wherever a man stood, he could see a garden on his right and a garden on his left 34:15-7) thus conveying once more the idea of infinity in connection with the concept of paradise, and the fact it is beyond perception

85:11"they shall have gardens beneath which rivers flow".

In contrast, hell is a place of tightness and pressure, of layers of fire above and below its dwellers who in addition are chained together 25:13,39:16,7:41,29:55. Chaining is mentioned in the Quran opposite the tyrannical nations that oppressed and chained the weak 

88:25-6"On that day, none will punish as He punishes, and none will bind with chains as He binds".

Despite its vastness, pictured as asking for more and more to be hurled into it, it keeps its dwellers constricted in a narrow space within it, in the manner of a large wall where there are many points of place for a great deal of nails, but every nail is in pressure.

An interesting linguistic nuance used in the Quran to illustrate the vastness and abundance experienced in Paradise is that at the time of stating the bounties of the people of Heaven, it does not precede the statement with the particle min/of, which denotes a portion of something. But it uses the particle in the next sentence when describing Hell's chastisement 34:4-5. This is in line with God's repeated just and merciful reckoning, inflicting a precise, limited and corresponding punishment while rewarding with boundless mercy.

But in spite of this boundless vastness, a person can buy paradise with finite actions like the often reiterated principle of "selling" this worldly life for God's sake. Once they reach heaven, the righteous will understand how its sustenance for example has similarities with what they knew on earth but is really different 2:25 so when the Quran speaks of certain earthly fruits being in heaven 55:68 it is to give us an idea through something we can relate to, of what lies in store. This reveals, once again, the principle that this universe, all of it, is in fact a "teaser" of the hereafter, giving humans a glimpse of things pleasant or not, which will be experienced in the world to come.

Just as the righteous who sacrificed many aspects of worldly pleasures to live within the limits God has prescribed, and will be correspondingly compensated in the Hereafter, the reverse is the case of those who in this life lived in the greedy pursuit of riches, using and abusing from all material benefits without any higher perspective in mind. 

As they freely ate and drank the unlawfully acquired or the religiously forbidden food and drinks, they will find themselves eating fire and other harmful, unwholesome food and drinks in the Hereafter 4:10,47:15,18:29,14:16,38:57,55:44,88:5. The Quran compares them in this worldly life to cattle, enjoying food and drink while in the process devoid of the higher realities in mind. For this reason, the equivalent of these worldly foods, drinks, and means of comfort will be found but with a mirror opposite effect 56:41-72,77:29-32. The believers on the other hand enjoyed each pleasure of this life, including one of the most prominent being food and drink, in God-consciousness, which includes in consideration of the needy and within the limits set by God, as well as gratefulness. They are thus awarded that human delight with the best food and drink in abundance and unrestrictedly 

47:12-15"Indeed, Allah will admit those who have believed and done righteous deeds to gardens beneath which rivers flow, but those who disbelieve enjoy themselves and eat as grazing livestock eat, and the Fire will be a residence for them. Is the description of Paradise, which the righteous are promised, wherein are rivers of water unaltered, rivers of milk the taste of which never changes, rivers of wine delicious to those who drink, and rivers of purified honey, in which they will have from all [kinds of] fruits and forgiveness from their Lord, like [that of] those who abide eternally in the Fire and are given to drink scalding water that will sever their intestines?".

As they misused their garments, which are otherwise supposed to provide spiritual and physical protection, to corrupt the minds, or as symbols of their tyrannical authority, they will find themselves covered with clothing of liquid pitch 14:50. 

Similarly, those that unlawfully and ungratefully took advantage of the abundance of sustenance and security will find themselves confronted to hunger and fear to such an extent that it would be as if these 2 conditions are covering them like garments 16:112. Those that only considered worldly pursuits in heedlessness of the Hereafter, neglecting their spiritual relationship with God, will find themselves despised and rejected, distanced from God's mercy 17:18,23:66,83:15,20:126,11:99. Those that prevented people from hearkening God's words and distorted divine truths will not hear God's pleasant words in the next world 2:174. 

There are many other descriptions the Quran gives of how the worldly response that humans give to God's bounties, which are nothing but testing devices, manifest in the world to come.

Apostate prophet is an offended ascetic; Islamic sexual paradise?

In answer to the video "Walking Away From Islam"

Humans wont cease being humans, even in paradise and sex is but one of the rightful, natural pleasures of a human being. Before getting to the issue of sex in paradise, ill first address a common misunderstanding as regards the concept of hur ayn. This expression found in 44:54,52:20,55:72,56:22 is used for those with whom the dwellers of heaven will be coupled as seen in 44:54,52:20. When the word zawj is used, in the context of a man and a woman being coupled, it means they are coupled as a husband and wife.

Ayn means eyes, Hur stems from h-w-r and is used for the intense whiteness of the eye, denoting the marked contrast between the white of the corona and the black of the iris. Across all times and cultures, the eyes have always been a major beauty criteria. In a more general sense, hawar signifies "intense whiteness" in a physical and/or spiritual sense. It is used in a spiritual sense for Jesus' companions to denote their moral uprightness for standing with him while almost all of his people rejected him 3:52.

This description that the Quran makes of them is, as a side note, in stark contrast with the characters said to be Jesus' followers in the NT. These 12 "disciples" were doubters and cowards, deserting Jesus when he was apprehended by the authorities, later abandoning his instructions of abiding by the law of the Torah. Hawar when used for the people of paradise carries both spiritual and physical meanings.

This physical and spiritual whiteness is the natural implication of the purification of these people, both men and women 2:25,4:57. As will be shown, all dwellers of heaven will be re-created at their best, with the physical whiteness of their eyes being a major feature of that physical enhancement while their high character being the metaphorical, spiritual manifestation of that intense whiteness. In a hadith, a man made the following supplication for his own mother 

"It is reported by Abu wail that someone said to Abu Nuhaylah (when he was ill), "Pray to Allah." So, he made this supplication, "Oh Allah, lessen the illness but do not diminish the reward." He was again asked to supplicate Allah and he said, "O Allah, let me be among the near ones and make my mother among the hoor al ayn”.

From a man's perspective, these purified mates will either be the righteous to whom one was married in this life, and with whom one will be coupled again, or an unknown believing and righteous female admitted to paradise with whom one will be coupled instead of one's earthly mate. In both cases and as said earlier, the righteous will be married to those hur ayn with whom they will be made azwaaj 44:54,52:20.

Although the wives, and all other female dwellers of heaven will be resurrected in a different and "improved" physical shape 55:70-2,78:33 the foremost of their qualities will be their modesty and chastity which is reinforced through the analogy with the protected eggs

55:56"those who restrained their eyes; before them neither man nor jinni shall have touched them"  

37:49"As if they were eggs carefully protected".

They will be virgins, which is the consequence of their re-creation in the Hereafter 56:35-6, not necessarily a quality in and of itself from a Quranic perspective. The real value of a person, especially a prospective spouse, lies in his or her high moral character, see 66:5etc. Their analogy with protected eggs denotes self-preservation and protection from immorality. They are in addition likened to "hidden" pearls and rubies 55:38,56:23 implying untouched beauty and purity. Therefore the purification of heavenly spouses in the context of Islam means both Physical and Spiritual purity.

If they had some bad traits in this life, they will be removed, so when one meets back this earthly spouse, it will be the same person but spiritually and physically beautified. The heavenly female mates are further described as "uruban", a word denoting the best qualities of a woman (in her feminity, emotions, manners, love for her husband etc), among "those restraining their eyes" 37:48,38:52 ie chaste. Like the wives, the husbands will be resurrected too, so as to match their wives in many aspects including physical as denoted with atraban 56:37,78:33.

The literal meaning of the word kawa3ib, when used to describe a female as in 78:33, is "swelling breasts". The word was not used in literature, as well as poetry of the time to describe a woman erotically, and certainly not the size of her breasts. Rather the stage of her physical development, her youthfulness. Some modern translators have focused on the literal meaning while others on its usage by the Arabs of the time. Such youthfulness doesn't imply a young age. It is physical youthfulness but of a mature age, thus combining both physical and mental attractiveness 

"The people of Paradise shall enter Paradise without body hair, Murd, with Kuhl on their eyes, thirty years of age or thirty-three years."

As stated in 56:61,71:18 all humanity will be made to grow into another creation, the "likeness" of what it once was 17:99, but whose true reality is currently unknown. The alteration and "improvement" of every human being will thus cover both his physical and spiritual aspects

56:60-61"and We are not helpless that We may change your forms and create you in another form that you do not know".

After saying how the current mode of reproduction is entirely decreed and controlled by God 56:57-8, it says how this method could be changed completely and result in different beings with another set of qualities and characteristics. In the end, Husbands and wives will be comfortably seated, enjoying eachother's presence as well as the pleasures of paradise 36:55-8,56:15-6.

Heaven belongs to the realm of the Unseen 19:61 (unreachable to human perception since outside any known experience).

None can imagine the unlimited good that lies in store for the righteous believers, men and women 32:17,40:40 who will consequently never desire to leave it 18:107-8. The description of paradise as given in the Quran is therefore expressly stated to be a parable which is why various verses describe these hidden realities such as the types of sustenance, through loan-images that are derived from our actual –physical or mental– experiences. This helps the reader and audience visualize, but not fully encompass, these otherworldly concepts 13:35,37:40-9,47:15,83:25.

Heaven/hell wouldnt have been appealing/repelling hadnt they been described using worldly similitudes, as some sort of preview, keeping in mind that the full reality is beyond any human experience and imagination. The greatest achievement of the righteous in the Hereafter is stated as being drawn back to their Lord, near to Him in a place of permanent honour, sensing God's love and pleasure 9:21,19:96 for it is this proximity to God that makes Paradise into Paradise otherwise it is nothing more than an orchard. This is beautifully and concisely reflected in the wife of Pharaoh's prayer

66:11"My Lord! Build for me a home with You in Paradise and save me from Pharaoh and his deeds and save me from the wrong doing people".

Being in Paradise reflects the physical dimension and being with God Almighty is indicative of the spiritual dimension and she expressed both in one brief utterance. Nearness to Allah in the Hereafter is presented as the foremost reward of the foremost in faith, far surpassing everything that heaven may offer of delights 56:10-11.

An interesting observation is the statement that those nearest to God

21:19"are never too proud to worship Him and never grow weary".

Contrary to worldly ownership and mastership, the closer a servant is to his master the more benefits he gains in terms of power, material gains and personal freedom. But as regards to God's ownership which is the true and absolute one, the closer the servant is drawn to Him the more humbled and submissive the servant becomes, aware of his insignificance in relation to the Supreme Being. That is how complete and intricate the Quran is, in its argumentations for perfect monotheism.

Heaven is thus the garden of honour above anything else. Its dwellers are honoured by the Mighty king, as already seen, drawing near implies honouring and prestige in Quranic usage. Their prestige is such that their own satisfaction is mentioned beside God Almighty and His Satisfaction 9:72,50:35,54:55,56:11,88,89:28. Heaven in addition is described as a place where the righteous, including even the prophets, can continuously evolve in pleasure, expectations and fulfilment of desires. This is implied by the description of gardens above one another

39:20"those who keep their duty to their Lord, for them are high places, above them higher places, a built (for them), wherein rivers flow. (It is) the promise of Allah. Allah fails not in (His) promise"  

What paradise contains is of such unimaginable delight that whatever one may currently wish for, will always remain less than what is prepared 

50:35"They will have whatever they wish therein, and with Us is more". 

The "more" here is connected to God because it is limitless.

In 18:3 the Quran describes the dwellers of Heaven as forever in eager expectation, as denoted with makitheen. This is because every pleasure they shall experience, whether spiritual or physical will only increase in intensity. This is in stark contrast with worldly experiences and pleasures, which one anxiously fears their eventual end and destruction. Heaven on the other hand is qualified with the word "aadnin" (often rendered "Eden") which conveys the idea of settlement and stability 35:33.

Humans will not cease being humans in paradise. Their human desires will perdure, whether physical, psychological or spiritual. At the same time their innermost instincts and fears will be appeased, fears of death, loss, survival. That is why one finds across cultures and ages common references to otherworldly pleasures of the meritorious; no difficulty, no toil, no pain and grief, abundant space and resources, state of physical and mental contentment. But the Quran takes every one of those human desires and explains that the manner they will be enjoyed and the nature of these benefits and rewards will be free from blemishes, raised to a lofty state, and corresponding to the person's sacrifices in each of these spheres in this world.

Apostate prophet delves into Quran astronomy; Sun orbits the flat Earth?

In answer to the video "Walking Away From Islam"

I will address here most of the verses used to claim the Quran misrepresents known astronomy in relation to the sun.

The Quran speaks of day and night as a phenomena independant from the sun's movement. 79:29 says the sky itself is what brightens (indicating presence of atmosphere) and 91:3-4 says daylight exposes the sun. This is because the reflection of sunlight on the atmosphere dims the lights of all other celestial objects, until they are relatively insignificant to the sun, thus "revealing" it. On the moon, due to the absence of atmosphere, the Sun is not "revealed" as one would say when viewed from the earth. Other celestial objects are seen shining next to it, including the earth that may appear even more evidently than the Sun.

What causes nighttime is the obstruction of the sun. That is where the notion of "veiling" is important 7:54. The word is very well suited to the situation because it is the sun's veiling by the earth itself that causes darkness to fall on the opposite side of the earth. Without a "veil" nighttime would not occur on earth. One could try saying that this doesnt negate geocentricism, with the sun travelling beneath the earth so as to cause nighttime on the opposite side. However 7:54 disconnects the subservience of the sun to that phenomenon. What is further remarkable is that it doesnt say the day veils the night, but the opposite. This reinforces what has been said about the appropriateness of comparing veiling/obstructing. Nighttime is the absence of direct sunlight, which would be impossible without veiling/obstructing since the sun does not orbit the earth.  Somewhere else it uses the image of daylight being skinned off, revealing the darkness of night. Skinning is done with force. The sun is mentioned in the same passage without any hint at it being the cause. Rather it is an imperceptible force caused by Allah and which we now know is the movement of the earth 

36:37"We withdraw/peel off from it the day".

Another interesting statement is that Allah upholds al samawat/the entities above, including the sky without any visible supports 13:2,31:10. In the flat earth model, the dome shaped sky rests on the earth's edges, which are visible supports. But according to the verses, the entities above the earth must encompass and circle it, enclosing the earth within a larger sphere. 

From a spiritual perspective, this statement highlights the necessity of Allah's might and mercy, maintaining the complex order of things above at all times without relying on any supports. Scientifically, as in all verses putting God at the forefront in natural processes, one may understand it as God doing so through His decreed laws of nature. None of these processes function by themselves and need constant sustaining by the One who decreed them 32:5,65:12 making both heavens and earth to subsist by His command 30:25, these laws through which He prevents both heaven and earth from ceasing to function 

22:65,35:41"upholds the heavens and the earth lest they come to naught". 

Allah therefore upholds/yumsik both heavens and earth, not only the heavens or what is above the earth. This gives an additional dimension to the word "upholding", giving it the sense of "sustaining" as well. 

This passage also demonstrates the delicate balance the Quran makes in its use of general but appropriate words, so as to not confirm nor deny the views of nature of its reader, focusing instead on the spiritual message. By upholding both heavens and earth, the Quran does not depict the earth as "the bottom" of the universe for just as the heavens are upheld, the earth too is upheld by Allah. If one wishes to find "indications" on whether the earth is stationary or not, then one can as well reflect the Quranic depiction of the general motion of all celestial bodies floating in their independent trajectories, as applying to the earth too which is floating in space. A modern reader could then also assume, since this upholding is done without any visible supports, then it must be done through God establishing an equilibrium between the repelling and attractive forces at play in the universe. These forces by the way are known to be on the thinnest of razor edges, where the slightest variation will throw the entire system into disarray

54:49"Surely We have created everything according to a measure".

Finally 35:13,39:5,3:27 explain that the phenomena of night and day are perpetually merging, as if flowing into one another. This imagery only makes sense in a round earth model, where daytime still exists when nighttime arrives and viceversa, as related in the hadith on 3:133 further below. In a flat-earth model the entire earth is either plunged into darkness or lit up in daytime. We understand today that the roundness of the earth, together with its revolution around its axis and orbit around the sun, are what allow this continuous flowing phenomenon of night into day and day into night.

In a narration, the prophet was asked to comment on 

3:133"a Garden, the extensiveness of which is (as) the heavens and the earth, it is prepared for those who guard (against evil)". 

A man asked him 

"So where is the Fire?" the prophet replied "Have you seen when night comes, it overtakes everything. So where is the day?" the man said "where Allah wants it to be" and the prophet said "likewise with the Fire". 

So although daylight overtakes everything and yet nighttime is a phenomenon that keeps existing, even if it is beyond perception, so does hellfire exist beyond perception although the vastness of paradise overtakes everything. The Quran makes it clear that both heaven and hell exists currently in the unseen and encompass us. Grammatically, the WAW used in 3:133 is that of inclusion, making the earth included within the more encompassing entity of the heavens. Had the Quran applied a strict modern perspective of astronomy and said that the vastness of paradise is as wide as the heavens, without mentionning the earth, the statement would have remained incomplete to its addressees who understood heaven and earth as seperate entities. It would have seemed that paradise is limited, which is against the verse's intent. On the other hand, had it specified that heaven encompasses the earth, then followed by describing the vastness of paradise, it would have deviated its audience's attention into trivial matters from a spiritual viewpoint. The Quran thus uses a grammatical construction that neither affirms nor denies its addressees' understanding of nature, as it does in many places, so as to keep the focus on its intended message.

From the earth, the observable cosmic occurences all float in their own orbit 21:33. In reference to the night, the day, the sun and the moon, it says that Kullun/all (for more than two) yasbahun/swim in their own separate paths. The word falak means here a circular motion. Its indefinite form indicates a plurality, not a specific, or unique, circular path. The Quran in this instance, omits the relation of each phenomenon and celestial object to oneanother. This is again meant so as to not confirm nor negate the scientific notions of peoples of all times.

Its object being to concentrate the reader on the spiritual portent of the statement and leaving open to interpretation the side issues. Read with our current knowledge, nothing negates that the path of the night and the day is due to the movement of the earth, that the sun's path is its orbit around the galaxy and that the path of the moon is around both the earth and the sun

21:33"And He it is Who created the night and the day and the Sun and the Moon. All swim/float in their orbit".

The earth is figuratively called a cradle in 20:53, again a very appropriate image and comparison; just as the movement of the cradle is meant at creating comfort to the infant, so is the motion of the earth causing it to be a comfortable receptacle for life. That subtle and eloquent use of words creates an understanding adapted to people of all times in a manner that keeps the focus on the spiritual message. 

Ancient people had no means by which to observe the earth's movements so it would have been counter productive from an argumentative standpoint for the Quran to refer bluntly to a physical reality impossible for the audience to verify. That is why the matter of the whether the earth is in motion or stationary isnt explicit, although there are hints as mentioned earlier. Elsewhere the Quran states about Allah, that He is the One in Whose entire power is the accessibility and manageability (dhalul) of the Earth's resources, who made it provide for us and be hospitable for human life. Everything we see around us cannot be an accident 67:15-16. The word dhalul was used by the Arabs to describe an animal that is submitted to the rider, it does not violently shake and throw him away. Similarly the earth, although apparently motionless is moving, allowing humanity to ride upon it smoothly. The imagery at play is beautiful and full of spiritual implications, including gratefulness to the Creator Who has submitted part of creation so as to allow life to flourish.

When the Quran speaks of the perceive movements of the sun and moon in the sky 14:33 it stops short from saying which body is orbiting which one. This tacit silence allows that in the sun's case, the perceived movement is due to the Earth's rotation around itself and that in the moon's case, the perceived movement is due to the moon's orbit around the Earth. 

When the Quran refers to the cosmic bodies moving on to their appointed term/ajalin musamma 13:2,31:29,35:13,39:5 it is referring -as is clear from the contexts- to the Day of Resurrection where all the universe will be destroyed and created anew

"and He made the sun and the moon subservient (to you); each one pursues its course to an appointed time/ajalin musamma; He regulates the affair, making clear the signs that you may be certain of meeting your Lord".

Ajalin musamma refers to the appointed end of a thing 6:2,40:67. In 36:38 it speaks of the sun "running", which is a perfect description of the sun's movement accross the galaxy. The word denotes rapid movement contrary to the perceived motion of the sun. So it cannot be speaking of sunrise and sunset, which certainly arent rapid motions. The sun is "running" to its place of rest, its end point. And the end of its rapid course will be, as with allthings, the day of resurrection. The variant reading attributed to both ibn Abbas and ibn Masud in which they recited 36:38 LAmustaqarrin/no resting place, instead of LImustaqarrin/to its resting place is inauthentic.

In 91:2 the moon is said to follow the sun, because obviously when the night comes, the moon is the main celestial body observable in the sky while during the day it was the sun. The moon follows the sun sequentially, not in the sense of tailing it in a line. A 7th century person, just as the one living today would know that the moon's path in the sky almost never is the same as the sun's, especially in certain times of the year such as in winter and summer. So the verse here cannot be said to be reflecting the wrong scientific notions of a 7th century observer.

And even if one insists on saying the moon follows the sun, technically, the Sun orbits the galaxy and all cosmic bodies (including the moon) revolving around it "follow" it in its orbit accross the galaxy. 

Apostate prophet worries for the coming Ramadan; is fasting possible everywhere on earth?

In answer to the video "Walking Away From Islam"

On a general note first, Contrary to Christians who went to such extent in their over-exaltation of their prophet that, in the absence of a birthday for Jesus went searching in the pagan calendar for a date to artificially ascribe as Jesus' birthday, the Muslims do not celebrate their prophet's birth or death. The importance is focused on the message and this is why we celebrate the only month mentioned by name in the Quran, that of Ramadan. We gratefuly fast, which is a symbol of self sacrifice, in remembrance of God's sending in this month, a guiding light for all of mankind, to the heart of His prophet on a night of Ramadan, the Night of Destiny/laylatul Qadr. The root is R-M-Dhad, meaning "heat". RAMADAN was the month of heat because it fell in the heat of the summer.

The pre-Islamic Arabs used a combined Lunar/Solar calendar, and would periodically add a month in order to compensate for the shorter lunar year as opposed to the solar year. This resulted in fixing their rituals, like the yearly pilgrimage, to more convenient times from certain aspects. However, Islam banned the addition of such months 9:36-7.

This meant that the month of Ramadan is now rotating through the year in a 33 year cycle. This avoids the convenient fixation of certain religious practices according to human whims, for purely worldly motives, violating God's established sacred months and allowing an ordinary month to be observed as sacred and vice versa. For example the pre-Islamic Arabs used this practice to avoid the disadvantages for their trade. Banning the intercalary month opens up the way for spiritual improvement, training one to perform his duties at all times of the year and under all circumstances.

Also, from the viewpoint of the universality of religion, it is obvious that the periods of fasting and performing Haj cannot satisfy all if they be fixed, always falling in the same season and month in different places-summer or winter or very hot or very cold or rainy or dry or harvesting or sowing-year after year. The Islamic time-keeping system is in fact the most scientifically relevant, because it does not require intercalation and thus making its precise reference point known to the day. Add to this the fact that the Islamic calendar is the only one that is divested from all elements of overt and parenthetical shirk, such as how the days of the week and the months of the year are named.

Fasting is an act of great virtue and piety practiced by nations and prophets long before Muhammad 2:183-187,Ex24:18,Joel2:11-13,Matt4:2,6:16-18etc The abstinence prescribed, from gratifying material desires, satisfying the body's lust and inclinations purges the soul from the love of worldly affairs, focuses the attention on the spiritual realm. It is a period of self-improvement, where Muslims start a spiritual and moral training that shapes their lives for the months ahead, from one Ramadan to the next. It is a command literally aimed at "doing guarding"/laAAlakum tattaqqun 2:183. Often translated "fear", taqwa stems from w-q-w meaning guarding, or protection (see 73:17).

In Arabic, as in any language, synonyms have one or more common elements but every synonym on its own carries some sort of specific nuance. For example many words are used in the Quran to denote fear, including khushuaa, Khawf, Hadhr, rawaa, awjas, rahb, ruaab, taqwa etc. The common denominator between these words is fear but every time with a nuance highly meaningful to the context. The specificity of the taqwa type of fear is that it is the fear of future consequences, hence the implicit notion of guarding oneself. The prophet is reported to have stated that

"A person might fast and he gets nothing from his fast but hunger".

That is because he did not do it with taqwa, guarding his spirituality.

So, just as the body must go through physical training to become protected in specific situations, the soul needs the same in order to be guarded from deviations. Fasting, along with all its spiritual implications is one of the means given in the Quran for the achievement of that objective. This taqwa/guarding of the soul happens through consciousness of God in all deeds, by increasing help to the underprivileged members of society, working towards improving social interactions, including strengthening ties of kinship, showing forgiveness and compassion.

Fasting also teaches one that if he can abstain from that which is otherwise lawful and a primary need such as food, natural sexual desires and passions, how much more necessary is it that he should abstain from the evil ways which are forbidden by God and are not only unnatural but oppose one's own conscience.

It is made compulsory except on the sick or temporarily incapacitated from travel

"but whoever among you is sick or on a journey".

That person must later redeem himself by fasting the same number of missed days (when the conditions become more favorable for a fast) and in addition must feed a needy person if he can afford it (the pronoun HU in yatiqunahu refers to taam/feeding). In all cases, whether it be to redeem a missed fast or not

"whoever does good spontaneously it is better for him; and that you fast is better for you if you know".

The important point about fasting as said in the passage's opening statement is that it is aimed at increasing piety, God-consciousness. It is thus the responsibility of the one seeking spiritual betterment to make all necessary preparations for the attainment of that objective. This doesnt only apply to fasting but to all other religious practices, like praying, spending for charity, going on pilgrimage or fighting in self-defense when required.

All religious rites demand the fulfillment of certain conditions to be valid and so is the practice of fasting, counting among its conditions the witnessing of certain natural phenomena. These phenomena are the start and end of a lunar month

"whoever of you witnesses the month"

and the start and end of a day

"and eat and drink until the whiteness of the day becomes distinct from the blackness of the night at dawn, then complete the fast till night". 

The Quran strongly refutes spiritual determinism, the idea that the performance of one's religious duties is solely dependant on circumstantial factors. Things like lifestyle, living area, social atmosphere should all be molded either permanently or temporarily (geographical location suited for fasting for example) to allow the performance of one's spiritual duties, just as one readily sacrifices, among other things, his own health for the attainment of worldly objectives 

"A Muhajir (emigrant) is the one who gives up (abandons) all what Allah has forbidden."

Herein lies the whole Quranic concept of hijra, migrating unto God

4:97-100"Surely (as for) those whom the angels cause to die while they are unjust to their souls, they shall say: In what state were you? They shall say: We were weak in the earth. They shall say: Was not Allah´s earth spacious, so that you should have migrated therein? So these it is whose abode is hell, and it is an evil resort. Except the weak from among the men and the children who have not in their power the means nor can they find a way (to escape); So these, it may be, Allah will pardon them, and Allah is Pardoning, Forgiving. And whoever flies in Allah´s way, he will find in the earth many a place of refuge and abundant resources". 

When the conditions are such that one has no choice but to remain in an environment that is unfavorable for the performance of the religious duties, then the Quran states to simply act sincerely and with God consciousness

73:20"and Allah measures the night and the day. He knows that you are not able to do it, so He has turned to you (mercifully), therefore read what is easy of the Quran. He knows that there must be among you sick, and others who travel in the land seeking of the bounty of Allah, and others who fight in Allah´s way, therefore read as much of it as is easy (to you), and keep up prayer and pay the poor-rate and offer to Allah a goodly gift, and whatever of good you send on beforehand for yourselves, you will find it with Allah; that is best and greatest in reward; and ask forgiveness of Allah; surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful".

This is the Quran's supreme realism. The Quran continues, even in those spiritually challenging circumstances, one should never comprise the principles of the religion and its virtues in order to assimilate in an environment devoid of proper morality, no matter how attractive it might be

5:100"The evil and the good are not equal, though the abundance of evil may dazzle you. So be in awe of Allah, O' possessors of intellects, that you may be prosperous".

Apostate prophet cannot appreciate the nightsky; stars are an adornement?

In answer to the video "Walking Away From Islam"

The Quran uses different words to describe the stars, not only as an adornement, which they certainly are to anyone that has witnessed a dark night filled with stars. The Arabs were desert and sea travellers and found their way in the darkness through the guidance of the stars, which the Quran figuratively calls lamps. Desert dwellers prefered journey at night to avoid daytime attacks. A parallel is created between the night traveller, seeking physical direction by looking up to the stars, and the spiritual traveller, seeking guidance from revelation from above. This is precisely why the various forms of imagery regarding the stars being lamps comes in the context of the need for revelation and guidance

6:97"And He it is Who has made the stars for you that you might follow the right way thereby in the darkness of the land and the sea; truly We have made plain the communications for a people who know".

It of course does not mean that the cosmic bodies were made solely for geographical guidance, like the moon wasnt, as said in the HB, solely made to reckon the times of seasons and festivals

Ps104:19"He made the moon for the appointed seasons".

This is the language of religious scriptures, addressing someone in search of spiritual guidance, then pointing to the means around him to find that guidance. The spiritual traveller is in need for guidance, he constantly longs for it. That need is answered through the sending down of revelations that causes spiritual revival just as the rain coming down from the skies causes the regeneration of the dead earth 16:64-5,30:46-50,43:11. Past scriptures contain many such similitudes Isa55:10-11.

This same water may equally cause luxuriant vegetation to grow or thorny bushes, just as it may be beneficial when it falls on deep soil with fertile ground or be disastrous for a shallow ground that washes away, revealing the barren rock below 2:263-4,7:57-8,51:22. The Quran is thus like the monsoon rain, either increasing the spirituality of a receptive heart, or exposing the spiritual barenness of the willful rejector. Truth always exposes falsehood, just as the foam that is created by the torrents and the rivers of "faith" are bound to disappear

13:17"He sends down water from the cloud, then watercourses flow (with water) according to their measure, and the torrent bears along the swelling foam, and from what they melt in the fire for the sake of making ornaments or apparatus arises a scum like it; thus does Allah compare truth and falsehood; then as for the scum, it passes away as a worthless thing; and as for that which profits the people, it tarries in the earth; thus does Allah set forth parables".

The Quran likens elsewhere divine guidance to the winds of mercy, either causing spiritual progress and happiness, or spiritual stagnation and ultimate perdition should God retain the wind of guidance. That spirtual reality is pictured through the parable of a sea ship, sailing freely through the seas, carried by the winds, as opposed to the one immobilized in the midst of the ocean and eventualy sinking

30:46,27:63,42:32-3"And among His signs are the ships in the sea like mountains. If He pleases, He causes the wind to become still so that they lie motionless on its back; most surely there are signs in this for every patient, grateful one. Or He may make them perish for what they have earned, and (even then) pardon most".

All these verses and many others, have one underlying notion; if man is provided with guidance to find his physical way in this world, then how can it be expected that he will be left without spiritual guidance? This cannot be, especially considering the explicit statement that mankind's ultimate goal of existence is spiritual betterment on the way to God 87:14,91:7-10.

Apostate prophet questions the higher purpose; God allows slavery?

In answer to the video "Walking Away From Islam"

From a higher perspective, the Quran explains the reason for there being differences socio-economical, or even psycho-physical differences among humans. All human beings were created with the aim of being Allah's vicegerents on earth. We have been endowed with freewill -which asserts itself through tests and trials- and are compelled to use it to fulfill our role of vicegerency according to our degrees in this world

6:165"And He it is Who has made you successors in the land and raised some of you above others by (various) grades that He might try you by what He has given you".

This is according to the divine principles of the Greatest of Judges 11:45,95:8 that what is expected of a person is directly in correlation to that person's condition 65:7.

Just like some trees are made to excell others in fruits 13:4, we are raised in degrees and some of us made to excell others in certain aspects, whether physical or mental, social or economical etc, but it is all done according to an all encompassing wisdom and knowledge that takes into consideration every aspect of our being 6:83.

However, if one disregards the materialistic mindframe that blurs the higher realities of existence, the level of difficulty in all cases can be said to be the same; the one with less wordly benefits (financially, in his health etc) has less avenues by which to be religiously and morally accountable but he is required to have a high level of inner discipline, patience and trust in God while the reverse is the case for the more advantaged in terms of wordly benefits; the burden on his inner discipline and steadfastness is less while the means given to him by which to be morally tested are manifold. He can be tested in his wealth, his health and other privileges.

A great part of Allah's scheme of testing the people through their choices in order to gradually purge the hearts, is to test us through our dealings with eachother

25:20"and We have made some of you a trial for others; will you bear patiently? And your Lord is ever Seeing".

One of the obvious proof for this is how most often individuals are endowed with benefits, material, physical or abstract, surpassing the basic and reasonable needs. All else will either vanish or be left behind after their passing away for others to benefit from. Through this scheme every human being becomes by virtue of his social existence, a means whereby the moral qualities of his fellow men are put to a test

"I saw Abu Dharr al-Ghifâri wearing a cloak, and his slave, too, was wearing a cloak. We asked him about that (how both were wearing similar cloaks). He replied: Once I abused a man, and he complained of me to the Prophet. The Prophet asked me, Did you abuse him by slighting his mother? You are a man who has jahiliyah. He added: Your slaves are your brethren upon whom Allah has given you authority. So if one has one’s brethren under one’s control, he should feed them with the like of what he eats and clothe them with the like of what he wears. You should not overburden them with what they cannot bear, and if you do so, help them (in their hard job)".

As the HB puts it in

Prov22:2"The rich and poor meet together: the LORD is the maker of them all".

God is not only the maker of every human, but also of their conditions, through the laws of the material and physical world He has created, in which almost every outcome is the result of a previous action. The people should therefore, regardless of their circumstances keep in view that ultimate reality in their dealings with oneanother instead. These wise words however are clearly bellied by other passages in the HB discriminating among the people solely on the basis of appearance and physical condition Lev21:16-24.

Just as there is diversity in nature, as in the aforementioned metaphor of the fruit trees, mankind is bound by that system too 6:165,11:118,30:22. As said many times in the Book, mankind could have been made a single nation, equal in all aspects, and spiritually upright 42:8. But Allah has decreed there will be diversity in creation whether physical, cultural, material or spiritual through the process of freechoice which was divinely established, sustained every step of the way and encompassed by Allah's power. God is thus ultimately the cause of these differences. Here is how that causality plays out.

For example;

- Some people have been made by Allah to resist better to diseases, others are stronger, taller or more intelligent. This is due to the natural biological processes He established, that can either be triggered by internal reactions and mutations or/and influenced by external, environemental factors that are themselves subject to the divinely decreed law of causation which God dominates with His all encompassing wisdom and power at each instant.

- Some people have been made by Allah to believe, and others to err and this is due to the system of freewill He established and fully controls, according to which one's moral choices shape his spiritual condition and destiny, either darkening his inner spiritual receptivity or enlightening it and making it further receptive to external guidance.

- Some people have been made by Allah to enjoy more wordly, material benefits than others. This again, is the consequence of a chain of causality in God's grasp.

This diversity however isnt viewed in the Quran as a stain purposefully put on the human race.

Neither is it allowed by God in order to confuse and seperate people, or oppose them. Rather it is allowed, as an outcome of the established system of causality, because it is a driving force that creates interraction, interdependency, exchanges and positive understanding

49:13"We have created you of a male and a female and made you nations and tribes that you may know each other. Indeed, the most honourable among you in the sight of Allah is the most fearful (of Allah) among you. Indeed, Allah is Knowing, Aware".

This is one of the most compelling Quranic proof man is repeatedly told to ponder upon; the divine unity in the face of an interdependant diversity

43:32"it is We who distribute their means of livelihood among them in the life of this world, and raise some of them by degrees above others, to the end that they might avail themselves of one another's help".

This is based on the wisdom that no human being should become independent of others, but everyone should remain dependent on the other in various ways. The Creator is in this way in total contrast with His creation; He is the Self-Sufficient, Sustainer of the universe at each instant. He creates difference among His creation, through the natural processes He established, and the system of freewill on which He has full control.

This system established by Allah ultimately creates a web of interdependant diversity necessary for one of the aspects of divine trials; our dealings with eachother. Many fail to perceive this ultimate reality and they are referred to in

36:47"And when it is said to them: Spend out of what Allah has given you, those who disbelieve say to those who believe: Shall we feed him whom, if Allah please, He could feed? You are in naught but clear error".

God does indeed will for the deprived and weak to be helped, but according to the laws He has established and that benefit both the one who freely offers his help (emotional, material, physical, spiritual, intellectual), as well as the receiver of that help. Others raise an outcry and question divine justice in light of the fact that people are born with varying degrees of socio-economical as well as psycho-physical conditions. That questioning is answered through the divine scheme explained above, as well as the Quranic concept that

2:156"Indeed, we belong to Allah and indeed we towards Him will return".

Our whole self belongs to Him and He in reality doesnt owe us a single thing, whatever we receive from Him, since birth and throughout life, little or big, is a favor from Him and serves a higher purpose which can only be beneficial if one accepts God's supreme ownership

11:9"If We make man taste mercy from Ourselves, (and) then take it off from him, verily he is despairing ungrateful".

Neither self-conceit nor despair are appropriate if one admits that all things belong to God and return to Him when He decides.

The unbelievers of the time of the prophet disregarded lower social classes, disrespected and discriminated them. They mocked the assemblies of poor people and ex-slaves listening to the prophet, just like prophets were reproached before, the likes of Nuh 11:27-30, assuming that if Allah had truly sent revelation then why didnt He address the elite and rulers of whom Muhammad was not 43:31? In their limited, materialistic mindframe they considered themselves more deserving of divine favors

6:53"And thus do We try some of them by others so that they say: Are these they upon whom Allah has conferred benefit from among us? Does not Allah best know the grateful?".

Apostate prophet finds social merits; slavery is a chance to reform?

In answer to the video "Walking Away From Islam"

Another repercussion of the Islamic system of "slavery", is that when captured during a battle against Muslims, those prejudiced individuals whose aim really was to annihilate Islam by all means, suddenly find themselves under the guardianship of those they believe represent evil.

Instead of being mistreated or even killed as they would have done had they captured Muslims instead, they benefit from strict regulations that guarantee their well-being. These people who, like in our days, were brainswashed with a distorted image of Islam, were shocked at seeing and experiencing the truth behind the scenes, benefiting from it, and how just and fair a social system it was as compared to their own society and how they themselves treated their slaves and war prisonners.

They experienced the reality of divine justice and many converted. So by restricting the acquisition of slaves to war prisonners, Islam was (and is still in case war is waged on Muslims because of their religion) actually giving them a chance of reform by introducing them to a better system on all levels

8:70"say to those of the captives who are in your hands: If Allah knows anything good in your hearts, He will give to you better than that which has been taken away from you and will forgive you, and Allah is Forgiving, Merciful". 

The voluntary assimilation and conversion of war prisonners because of having witnessed Islam from within, parallels with what happened during the treaty of Hudaybiyyah. It provided a relative peace era on the Meccan front which allowed Islam to spread faster than it ever did, because it allowed Muslims and non-Muslims to visit eachother and interract on account of their family relationships and trade connections. Many Meccans started visiting Medina, and stayed there for months. They got acquainted with the teachings of Islam and were deeply impressed by the righteous conduct and moral integrity of the Muslims, and how they treated the prisonners of war, integrating them into the fabric of society. Islam gained many converts in its ranks during that period.

This sense of brotherhood which Islam gave the oppressed, helped gradually bring down social barriers.

As a result, in the early periods of ISlam after the prophet, we see countless slaves with high political responsibilities, including the command of armies, governorship and judgeship. Not only in administration, we find theologians, commentators of the Quran, traditionists, jurists and authors who either were slaves or the children of the slaves or ex-slaves.

Apostate prophet seeks the worst finds the best; Islamic slavery comparable to Biblical abuse?

In answer to the video "Walking Away From Islam"

In light of the above, clearly, the Quran dismisses the western and judeo-christian notion of slavery by giving a new meaning to the term. A slave in the Quran is nothing more than a former war prisonner captured during defensive warfare, and taken under care in a Muslim household because he couldnt be ransomed in benefits of any kind or freed unconditionally.

Both Male and female war prisonners who became mulk yamin/right hand possession now fell under masters who treated them kindly to such an extent they had to be guaranteed a share of the inheritance if present along with other weak members of society taken under care 4:8. The prophetic traditions on the prophet's closest entourage and how they interacted with their slaves, all corroborate these facts.

Critics often disregard the overall description that is made of the prophet in relation to slaves, that of his closest entourage, let alone the many Quranic injunctions on the matter, whenever they engage in their polemics. They begin isolating ahadith, which is the worst method of objectively approaching that vast corpus of fragmented, disconnected incidents, in the life of the the early Muslim community, and then draw their hasty conclusions. Clearly, Islam, the prophet and the Quran are completely in favor of freeing slaves, even without preconditions, simply as an act of benevolence 2:177.

Yet we read a few instances where the prophet cancelled some people's desire to manumit their own slaves, either after their death or while still alive. He is described as freeing a part while selling another. If he was against setting slaves free altogether, as the insiduous polemicsts try to portray, then why allowing the manumission of some of them? He surely had the power and authority to keep them all into slavery. The reason he divided them this way is simple, once one objectively considers other similar instances, while of course, keeping in mind what was said about the noble prophet's core attitude in regards to slaves. These partial cancellations of arbitrary manumission came in specific contexts, that of Muslims that had no other assets that could be used to settle a debt than their slaves.

It is very clear in the light of a narration in Bukhari where an indebted man pledges to free/manumit his only valuable possession which he could have used to settle his debt instead. The prophet used to personally settle the debts of those who had no assets. But it wasnt this indebted man's case, which is why the prophet cancelled that pledge and settled the debt by transfer of ownership of the slave. It would have been unfair for the prophet to use his limited assets to settle this particular debt when other indebted people were more entitled to his gracious and compassionate help.

Slaves were an integral part of the household to such an extent that, as with other members of the biological family, women were allowed to unveil in their presence 24:31. This of course was a ruling of conveniency, given the frequent interraction with the male servants going about their various assisting tasks within the household. But it further contributed to their thorough integration within the family sphere, solidifying the various rulings of consideration towards them.
They had to be fed and maintained without any psychological injury and for the sake of Allah, not seeking benefits of any kind from them in return

76:8-10"And they give food however great be their own want of it to the poor and the orphan and the captive: We only feed you for Allah's sake; we desire from you neither reward nor thanks: Surely we fear from our Lord a stern, distressful day. So God will save them from the woes of that day, and give them radiance and gladness".

What is remarkable here is that the Quran places even the need of the captive, regardless of his religion, above the need of the Muslim guardian himself. This is just one of the many passages that further dwarfs the judeo-christian notion of the golden rule.

The people at that time accorded no dignity to slave-girls and anyone marrying such a woman immediately became an object of scorn. Through 2:221 the believers are encouraged to marry their female-slaves instead of choosing a pleasing unbelieving woman, and the believing women are also told to choose their male-slaves above an idolater if they wish to marry. By qualifying the word "bondswoman" with the adjective "believing" and leaving the word "idolatress" without any condition, emphasizes the principle that a believing woman, even if she is a slave, is better than an idolatress even if she comes from a noble family, in adition posessing all desired outward physical qualities.

It is to be kept in mind that to the Quran's primary addressees, as is even the case nowadays, establishing ties of various interests through marriages with a honorable family was a priority. The Quran turns that notion on its head, not with any example, but with that of slaves whom the ancients saw as the lowest human beings in society.

24:32 further encourages the believers to marry from their pious male/female slaves so that if some of them are poor, then they will be freed and enjoy more sustenance

"And marry those among you who are single and those who are fit among your male slaves and your female slaves; if they are needy, Allah will make them free from want out of His grace; and Allah is Ample-giving, Knowing".

This reinforces the fact that the ultimate criteria for judging an individual is his piety, the verse clearly tells the believers to choose from any member of society while at the same time emphasizing the good gesture in Allah's eyes to marry a male/female slave and freeing him/her. The verse also point to the fact that not all slaves are poor

"if they are needy".

Islam controlled slavery in such a way that it made the maintaining of a slave a great responsibility for the master, who had to show them so much care that in many cases when the slaves were set free they did not like to leave their masters. That is why within the Islamic community, it was seen as shockingly ungrateful for a slave to suddenly desert his guardians. It is in such context that the prophet reportedly condemned as kafir/denier a slave that unexpectedly deserts his guardian who did not harm him, but instead gave him shelter when he needed it and sustenance.