Islam hijacked by the religiously naïve

quran itself defines the men of understanding in sura-e-azzumar ayat 18:

"Those who listen to the Word, and follow the best (meaning) in it: those are the ones whom Allah has guided, and those are the ones endued with understanding. "

one just has to have a pure heart, and pure intent to earn the guidance of Allah.When a society or people are influenced by wordly objectives i.e. money, fear of being annihilated, (muslim)acceptance into foreign cultures, acceptance of islamic doctrines by foreign cultures, proving personal views using religion etc in such situations interpretation of quran is destructive, because the purpose of following a way of life prescribed by Allah is lost/ forgotten, instead survival and existence in a non-muslim or deviant society(whatever is the case) becomes the primary goal...for which man seeks to distort Allah's word for his own benefit........
i donot know if scholars or mullahs or a common man can be called man of understanding.....as i donot know his intent.....but i do know an atheist cannot be permitted to play with quranic teachings...to justify his glassof wine!

this is the comment i posted on NFP's article from lashes to strokes which was not published...it will answer all points u raise rhusain...
To be able to interpret the true meaning of quranic verses and Islamic teachings one has to know when ayats descended, why they descended, about what they descended, if they are general or particular, if they are nasih or mansuh. (Some ayats were changed by some other ayats that descended later. The former are called mansuh, which means 'changed.' The latter are called nasih, which means 'the one that has changed the other.' The ayat about wine is an example.)

Intoxicants were forbidden in the Qur'an through several separate verses revealed at different times over a period of years. At first, it was forbidden for Muslims to attend to prayers while intoxicated (4:43). Then a later verse was revealed which said that alcohol contains some good and some evil, but the evil is greater than the good (2:219). This was the next step in turning people away from consumption of it. Finally, "intoxicants and games of chance" were called "abominations of Satan's handiwork," intended to turn people away from God and forget about prayer, and Muslims were ordered to abstain (5:90-91). (Note - the Qur'an is not arranged chronologically, so later verses of the book were not necessarily revealed after earlier verses.)

Ignorantly saying things about Allah and his message is a sin itself! The quran says in Surah Alaraf,

7:33 Say: the things that my Lord hath indeed forbidden are: shameful deeds, whether open or secret; sins and trespasses against truth or reason; assigning of partners to Allah, for which He hath given no authority; and saying things about Allah of which ye have no knowledge.(translation Yousuf Ali)
May Allah guide us all!

PROHIBITION OF CONSUMPTION OF ALCOHOL:

There are several hadith from sahih bukhari about prohibition of trade and consumption of alcohol. The trade of alcohol was made illegal after the verses of surah-e-baqara about usuary(riba /sood/interest) were revealed. This prohibition has been narrated by several sources.. I am quoting a few,

Bukhari :: Book 6 :: Volume 60 :: Hadith 143
Narrated Ibn Umar:
I heard 'Umar while he was on the pulpit of the Prophet saying, "Now then O people! The revelation about the prohibition of alcoholic drinks was revealed; and alcoholic drinks are extracted from five things: Grapes, dates, honey, wheat and barley. And the alcoholic drink is that which confuses and stupefies the mind."


BAN ON SELLING ALCOHOL:

Bukhari :: Book 6 :: Volume 60 :: Hadith 64
Narrated 'Aisha:
When the Verses of Surat-al-Baqara regarding usury (i.e. Riba) were revealed, Allah's Apostle recited them before the people and then he prohibited the trade of alcoholic liquors.

Bukhari :: Book 5 :: Volume 59 :: Hadith 590
Narrated Jabir bin 'Abdullah:
That he heard Allah's Apostle saying in the year of the Conquest (of Mecca) while he was in Mecca, "Allah and His Apostle have made the selling of wine (i.e. alcoholic drinks) unlawful."

Bukhari :: Book 3 :: Volume 34 :: Hadith 426
Narrated Ibn 'Abbas:
Once 'Umar was informed that a certain man sold alcohol. 'Umar said, "May Allah curse him! Doesn't he know that Allah's Apostle said, 'May Allah curse the Jews, for Allah had forbidden them to eat the fat of animals but they melted it and sold it."



PUNISHMENT FOR ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION:

There are also a few hadith in Bukhari about punishment for consumption of alcohol,so this assumption that Hazrat Abubaker(ra) initiated the punishment of lashes is also incorrect

Bukhari :: Book 8 :: Volume 81 :: Hadith 771
Narrated 'Umar bin Al-Khattab:
During the lifetime of the Prophet there was a man called 'Abdullah whose nickname was Donkey, and he used to make Allah's Apostle laugh. The Prophet lashed him because of drinking (alcohol). And one-day he was brought to the Prophet on the same charge and was lashed. On that, a man among the people said, "O Allah, curse him ! How frequently he has been brought (to the Prophet on such a charge)!" The Prophet said, "Do not curse him, for by Allah, I know for he loves Allah and His Apostle."

Therefore, later the sahaba-e-karam(ra) maintained the laws set by Hazoor (saw)….

Bukhari :: Book 6 :: Volume 61 :: Hadith 523
Narrated 'Alqama:
While we were in the city of Hims (in Syria), Ibn Mas'ud recited Surat Yusuf. A man said to him), "It was not revealed in this way." Then Ibn Mas'ud said, "I recited it in this way before Allah's Apostle and he confirmed my recitation by saying, 'Well done!' " Ibn Mas'ud detected the smell of wine from the man's mouth, so he said to him, "Aren't you ashamed of telling a lie about Allah's Book and (along with this) you drink alcoholic liquors too?" Then he lashed him according to the law.



GATES FOR HONEST REPENTANCE ARE ALWAYS OPEN:
Consumption of alcohol is a sin as evident from quran and hadith, although, the doors of repentance are always open for the one who seeks forgiveness with honest intention and abstains from its use after repenting. Hadith in bukhari narrate that a person who dies as a consumer will not go to jannah (except the ones who died before this prohibition was revealed to the prophet(saw)

Bukhari :: Book 8 :: Volume 82 :: Hadith 801
Narrated Abu Huraira:
The Prophet said, "The one who commits an illegal sexual intercourse is not a believer at the time of committing illegal sexual intercourse and a thief is not a believer at the time of committing theft and a drinker of alcoholic drink is not a believer at the time of drinking. Yet, (the gate of) repentance is open thereafter."

Bukhari :: Book 7 :: Volume 69 :: Hadith 481
Narrated Ibn 'Umar:
Allah's Apostle said, "Whoever drinks alcoholic drinks in the world and does not repent (before dying), will be deprived of it in the Hereafter."

Meaning, he will not go to heaven…

thanks for the iLog. The Sahih Bukhari hadith you are quoting is also quoted mullahs for say you!...who are men of knowledge the scholar or the do rakaat key imam? and how do you define a scholar? And why do you need scholars if 'quaran ki aayaat khol khol kar bayaan' ki gai hain?
So we want Allah's Rule. But Allah doesn't come down to rule us, so then who gets to rule...those who claim to interpret what Allah wants...who can interpret them better? well you get the point...
BTW Muhammad practiced tolerance to alcoholism by first disallowing it in prayers and then banning it in public only. There is no judicial punishment for intoxication in privacy of one's house, neither is there a judicial punishment for illicit behavior in privacy. These are social crimes and punishable only by God if committed in private.

thanks :)

welcome ... and take it easy ... the ride here gets bumpy from time to time :) often.

yep its me...u told me about this forum....so here i am ;P

Is this who I think it is?