False Prohibitions in Islam: Are Pirates Haram?

Splitting of the moon [54:1] The Hour has come closer, and the moon has split.*   The Computer Is The Creature* [27:82] At the right time, we will produce for them a creature, made of earthly materials, declaring that the people are not certain about our revelations.     Zul-Qarnain: The One With the Two Horns or Two Generations [18:83] They ask you about Zul-Qarnain. Say, "I will narrate to you some of his history." [18:84] We granted him authority on earth, and provided him with all kinds of means. [18:85] Then, he pursued one way. [18:86] When he reached the far west, he found the sun setting in a vast ocean, and found people there. We said, "O Zul-Qarnain, you can rule as you wish; either punish, or be kind to them." [18:87] He said, "As for those who transgress, we will punish them, then, when they return to their Lord, He will commit them to more retribution. [18:88] "As for those who believe and lead a righteous life, they receive a good reward; we will treat them kindly." [18:89] Then he pursued another way. [18:90] When he reached thefar east, he found the sun rising on people who had nothing to shelter them from it. [18:91] Naturally, we were fully aware of everything he found out. [18:92] He then pursued another way. [18:93] When he reached the valley between two palisades, he foundpeople whose language was barely understandable. Gog and Magog* [18:94] They said, "O Zul-Qarnain, Gog and Magog arecorruptors of the earth.Can we pay you tocreate a barrier between us and them?" Footnote [18:95] He said, "My Lord has given me great bounties. If you cooperate with me, I will build a dam between you and them. [18:96] "Bring to me masses of iron." Once he filled the gap between the two palisades, he said, "Blow." Once it was red hot, he said, "Help me pour tar on top of it." [18:97] Thus,they could not climb it, nor could they bore holes in it. [18:98] He said, "This is mercy from my Lord. When the prophecy of my Lord comes to pass,He will cause the dam to crumble. The prophecy of my Lord is truth." [18:99] At that time, we will let them invade with one another, then the horn will be blown, and we will summon them all together. [18:100] We will present Hell, on that day, to the disbelievers. [18:101] They are the ones whose eyes were too veiled to see My message. Nor could they hear. [18:102] Do those who disbelieve think that they can get away with setting up My servants as gods beside Me? We have prepared for the disbelievers Hell as an eternal abode.   Zul-Qarnain as Cyrus II aka Cyrus the Great - King of Persia   Two Generations: Two Persian Kings descendants followed Cyrus - Cambyses I (Son) & Xerxes (Grandson) Daniel 8: Vision of a Ram and a Goat 8 In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar a vision appeared to me, Daniel, after the one that had appeared to me at first. 2 In the vision I was looking and saw myself in Susa the capital, in the province of Elam,[a] and I was by the river Ulai.[b]3 I looked up and saw a ram standing beside the river.[c] It had two horns. Both horns were long, but one was longer than the other, and the longer one came up second. 4 I saw the ram charging westward and northward and southward.All beasts were powerless to withstand it, and no one could rescue from its power; it did as it pleased and became strong. 5 As I was watching, a male goat appeared from the west, coming across the face of the whole earth without touching the ground. The goat had a horn[d] between its eyes. 6 It came toward the ram with the two horns that I had seen standing beside the river,[e] and it ran at it with savage force. 7 I saw it approaching the ram. It was enraged against it and struck the ram, breaking its two horns. The ram did not have power to withstand it; it threw the ram down to the ground and trampled upon it, and there was no one who could rescue the ram from its power. 8 Then the male goat grew exceedingly great; but at the height of its power, the great horn was broken, and in its place there came up four prominent horns toward the four winds of heaven.   Gabriel Interprets the Vision 15 When I, Daniel, had seen the vision, I tried to understand it. Then someone appeared standing before me, having the appearance of a man, 16 and I heard a human voice by the Ulai, calling, “Gabriel, help this man understand the vision.” 17 So he came near where I stood; and when he came, I became frightened and fell prostrate. But he said to me, “Understand, O mortal,[j] that the vision is for the time of the end.” 18 As he was speaking to me, I fell into a trance, face to the ground; then he touched me and set me on my feet. 19 He said, “Listen, and I will tell you what will take place later in the period of wrath; for it refers to the appointed time of the end. 20 As for the ram that you saw with the two horns, these are the kings of Media and Persia. 21 The male goat[k] is the king of Greece, and the great horn between its eyes is the first king. 22 As for the horn that was broken, in place of which four others arose, four kingdoms shall arise from his[l] nation, but not with his power.   Daniel 8 (the eighth chapter of the Book of Daniel) tells of Daniel's vision of a two-horned ram destroyed by a one-horned goat (an allegory for the transition from the Persian to the Greek eras in the Near East), followed by the history of the "little horn", which is Daniel's code-word for the Greek king Antiochus Epiphanes.[1]   Gog and Magog As Possible Cybersecurity Threat For The Future It is probably not a coincidence that two of the top-trending news stories of July 2017 were, in the first case, a warning from billionaire tech entrepreneur Elon Musk that artificial intelligence (AI) poses an “existential threat” to human civilization, and, in the second case, the announcement that an AI experiment sponsored by Facebook was, according to some sources, “shut down” after researchers discovered that the chatbots they programmed had begun communicating with one another in a private language of their own invention.   https://code.facebook.com/posts/1686672014972296/deal-or-no-deal-training-ai-bots-to-negotiate/   https://www.forbes.com/sites/tonybradley/2017/07/31/facebook-ai-creates-its-own-language-in-creepy-preview-of-our-potential-future/#5c18f155292c   http://www.snopes.com/facebook-ai-developed-own-language/   Penetration testing (also called pen testing) is the practice of testing a computer system, network or Web application to find vulnerabilities that an attacker could exploit.   Firewall: a part of a computer system or network that is designed to block unauthorized access while permitting outward communication.     *21:96 By the year 2270 AD, thanks to God's mathematical miracle in the Quran (Appendix 1), America will be the heart of Islam, and billions around the globe will have believed in the Quran (9:33, 41:53, 48:28, 61:9). Gog and Magog (allegorical names of villainous communities), will be the only bastions of heathenism, and they will attack the submitters. That is when the world will end (15:87, 18:94, Appendix 25). Gog and Magog are mentioned in 18:94 & 21:96, 17 verses before the end of each sura; this may indicate the time of their appearance.   *18:94-98 One of my duties as God's Messenger of the Covenant is to state that Gog and Magog, the final sign before the end of the world, will reappear in 2270 AD (1700 AH), just 10 years before the end. Note that Gog and Magog occur in Suras 18 and 21, precisely 17 verses before the end of each sura, representing 17 lunar centuries (see 72:27 and Appendix 25).   6. Gog and Magog: they re-appear, in accordance with God's plan, in the year 1700 AH (2271 AD). Gog and Magog are mentioned in 18:94 and 21:96. If you count the verses from 18:94 to the end of Sura 18, you find them 17. If you count the verses from 21:96 to the end of Sura 21, you find them also 17. This is the Quran's sign that Gog and Magog will re-appear in 1700 AH.

22 Sep 201715min

Usury Prohibited* [2:275] Those who charge usury are in the same position as those controlled by the devil's influence. This is because they claim that usury is the same as commerce. However, GOD permits commerce, and prohibits usury. Thus, whoever heeds this commandment from his Lord, and refrains from usury, he may keep his past earnings, and his judgment rests with GOD. As for those who persist in usury, they incur Hell, wherein they abide forever. [2:276] GOD condemns usury, and blesses charities. GOD dislikes every disbeliever, guilty. *2:275-278 It is an established economic principle that excessive interest on loans can utterly destroy a whole country. During the last few years we have witnessed the devastation of the economies of many nations where excessive interest is charged. Normal interest—less than 20%—where no one is victimized and everyone is satisfied, is not usury. Divine Guarantee [2:277] Those who believe and lead a righteous life, and observe the Contact Prayers (Salat), and give the obligatory charity (Zakat), they receive their recompense from their Lord; they will have nothing to fear, nor will they grieve. [2:278] O you who believe, you shall observe GOD and refrain from all kinds of usury, if you are believers. [2:279] If you do not, then expect a war from GOD and His messenger. But if you repent, you may keep your capitals, without inflicting injustice, or incurring injustice. [2:280] If the debtor is unable to pay, wait for a better time. If you give up the loan as a charity, it would be better for you, if you only knew. [2:281] Beware of the day when you are returned to GOD, and every soul is paid for everything it had done, without the least injustice. Usury Prohibited* [3:130] O you who believe, you shall not take usury, compounded over and over. Observe GOD, that you may succeed. [3:131] Beware of the hellfire that awaits the disbelievers. [3:132] You shall obey GOD and the messenger, that you may attain mercy. *3:130 Interest on bank deposits and interest charged on loans are lawful if they are not excessive (5-15%). Banks invest and their profits are passed on to the depositors. Since all parties are happy and no one is victimized, it is perfectly lawful to take interest from the bank (see 2:275).   [4:29] O you who believe, do not consume each others' properties illicitly— only mutually acceptable transactions are permitted. The Law of Equivalence [5:45] And we decreed for them in it that: the life for the life, the eye for the eye, the nose for the nose, the ear for the ear, the tooth for the tooth, and an equivalent injury for any injury. If one forfeits what is due to him as a charity, it will atone for his sins. Those who do not rule in accordance with GOD's revelations are the unjust.

13 Sep 201719min

Dr. Daniel Peterson delivers a message to the 2017 FairMormon Conference. July 2017. Dr. DANIEL PETERSON A native of southern California, Daniel C. Peterson received a bachelor’s degree in Greek and philosophy from Brigham Young University (BYU) and, after several years of study in Jerusalem and Cairo, earned his Ph.D. in Near Eastern Languages and Cultures from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). Dr. Peterson is a professor of Islamic Studies and Arabic at BYU, where he has taught Arabic language and literature at all levels, Islamic philosophy, Islamic culture and civilization, Islamic religion, the Qur’an, the introductory and senior “capstone” courses for Middle Eastern Studies majors, and various other occasional specialized classes. He is the author of several books and numerous articles on Islamic and Latter-day Saint topics–including a biography entitled Muhammad: Prophet of God (Eerdmans, 2007)—and has lectured across the United States, in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, and at various Islamic universities in the Near East and Asia. He served in the Switzerland Zürich Mission (1972-1974), and, for approximately eight years, on the Gospel Doctrine writing committee for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He also presided for a time as the bishop of a singles ward adjacent to Utah Valley University. Dr. Peterson is married to the former Deborah Stephens, of Lakewood, Colorado, and they are the parents of three sons.

4 Sep 201734min

The Great Debate, Dr. Rashad Khalifa Vs. Dr. Abdel Rahman https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWVsaSy9HXg

28 Aug 20171h 27min

The Privileged Planet, utilizing stunning computer animation, interviews with leading scientists, and spectacular images of Earth and the cosmos, explores a startling connection between our capacity to survive and our ability to observe and understand the universe. Is this correlation merely a coincidence? Or does it point to a deeper truth about purpose and intelligent design within the cosmos? For example, the Earth is the only planet in the entire solar system that can experience a perfect solar eclipse. The proportions between the Earth, moon, and sun are perfect. Such that, the moon is 400x smaller, but also 400x closer to the earth than the sun. While the effects of a solar eclipse are awe-inspiring the scientific significance is even greater. Because of a solar eclipse, we were able to confirm Einstein's theory of relativity in 1919, additionally, we were able to use light spectroscopy to determine the makeup of the sun as being predominately hydrogen and helium. This finding allowed us to apply this to other stars in our universe. When this was done it confirmed that the galaxies that are farther away from the earth are also moving proportionally faster than the galaxies closer to us. When this was mapped and extrapolated it confirmed the big bang. While we are not at the center of the universe, it does appear that we are perfectly positioned to observe the universe and appreciate the blessings we have in this cosmic lottery. [21:30] Do the unbelievers not realize that the heaven and the earth used to be one solid mass that we exploded into existence? And from water we made all living things. Would they believe?

21 Aug 20171h 32min

[6:52] And do not dismiss those who implore their Lord day and night, devoting themselves to Him alone. You are not responsible for their reckoning, nor are they responsible for your reckoning. If you dismiss them, you will be a transgressor.

14 Aug 201738min

The Quran's Common Denominator [74:30] Over it is nineteen. [74:31] We appointed angels to be guardians of Hell, and we assigned their number (19) (1) to disturb the disbelievers, (2) to convince the Christians and Jews (that this is a divine scripture), (3) to strengthen the faith of the faithful, (4) to remove all traces of doubt from the hearts of Christians, Jews, as well as the believers, and (5) to expose those who harbor doubt in their hearts, and the disbelievers; they will say, "What did GOD mean by this allegory?" GOD thus sends astray whomever He wills, and guides whomever He wills. None knows the soldiers of your Lord except He. This is a reminder for the people. [74:32] Absolutely, (I swear) by the moon. [74:33] And the night as it passes. [74:34] And the morning as it shines. One of the Great Miracles [74:35] This is one of the great miracles. [74:36] A warning to the human race.

7 Aug 201712min

To Be Protected From Satan [23:97] Say, "My Lord, I seek refuge in You from the whispers of the devils. [23:98] "And I seek refuge in You, my Lord, lest they come near me."   An Important Commandment* [16:98] When you read the Quran, you shall seek refuge in GOD from Satan the rejected. [16:99] He has no power over those who believe and trust in their Lord. [16:100] His power is limited to those who choose him as their master; those who choose him as their god.   The Test Begins  [7:12] He said, "What prevented you from prostrating when I ordered you?" He said, "I am better than he; You created me from fire, and created him from mud." [7:13] He said, "Therefore, you must go down, for you are not to be arrogant here. Get out; you are debased." [7:14] He said, "Grant me a respite, until the Day of Resurrection." [7:15] He said, "You are granted a respite." [7:16] He said, "Since You have willed that I go astray,* I will skulk for them on Your straight path. [7:17] "I will come to them from before them, and from behind them, and from their right, and from their left, and You will find that most of them are unappreciative." [7:18] He said, "Get out therefrom, despised and defeated. Those among them who follow you, I will fill Hell with you all. [7:19] "As for you, Adam, dwell with your wife in Paradise, and eat therefrom as you please, but do not approach this one tree, lest you fall in sin." [7:20] The devil whispered to them, in order to reveal their bodies, which were invisible to them. He said, "Your Lord did not forbid you from this tree, except to prevent you from becoming angels, and from attaining eternal existence." [7:21] He swore to them, "I am giving you good advice." [7:22] He thus duped them with lies. As soon as they tasted the tree, their bodies became visible to them, and they tried to cover themselves with the leaves of Paradise. Their Lord called upon them: "Did I not enjoin you from that tree, and warn you that the devil is your most ardent enemy?" [7:23] They said, "Our Lord, we have wronged our souls, and unless You forgive us and have mercy on us, we will be losers." [7:24] He said, "Go down as enemies of one another. On earth shall be your habitation and provision for awhile." [7:25] He said, "On it you will live, on it you will die, and from it you will be brought out."    Humans Fail to Make a Firm Stand* [20:115] We tested Adam in the past, but he forgot, and we found him indecisive. [20:116] Recall that we said to the angels, "Fall prostrate before Adam." They fell prostrate, except Satan; he refused. [20:117] We then said, "O Adam, this is an enemy of you and your wife. Do not let him evict you from Paradise, lest you become miserable. [20:118] "You are guaranteed never to hunger therein, nor go unsheltered. [20:119] "Nor will you thirst therein, nor suffer from any heat." [20:120] But the devil whispered to him, saying, "O Adam, let me show you the tree of eternity and unending kingship." [20:121] They ate from it, whereupon their bodies became visible to them, and they tried to cover themselves with the leaves of Paradise. Adam thus disobeyed his Lord, and fell. [20:122] Subsequently, his Lord chose him, redeemed him, and guided him. [20:123] He said, "Go down therefrom, all of you. You are enemies of one another. When guidance comes to you from Me, anyone who follows My guidance will not go astray, nor suffer any misery.   James 1:13-18 13 When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.   God Protects the Believers From Sin [12:23] The lady of the house where he lived tried to seduce him. She closed the doors and said, "I am all yours." He said, "May GOD protect me. He is my Lord, who gave me a good home.* The transgressors never succeed." Footnote [12:24] She almost succumbed to him, and he almost succumbed to her, if it were not that he saw a proof from his Lord. We thus diverted evil and sin away from him, for he was one of our devoted servants.    Luke 22:40 On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.”   [74:38] Every soul is trapped by its sins.

1 Aug 201719min