Ikram Hawramani's Blog, page 22

My writing process

What's your writing process? How do you pick your books to discuss and how long does it take when you write essays or long answers?

I read books according to what interests me. My three main interests are Islamic studies, Western thought (philosophy and literature) and sociology / life sciences (everything to do with the study of humans, including biology, economics, population genetics, law, etc.).

I can sometimes write an essay in one sitting (3-4 hours) when I have the inspiration and energy to do it. The same applies to long answers. I do not have any systematic writing process; if I can write I can write regardless of distractions, stress or duties. I do not believe in any methodology for improving my ability to write, or in creating a certain environment (such as quietness, etc.). The ability to write for me is entirely a mental phenomenon. I suffer from multiple illness that sometimes prevent me to write for weeks at a time (I have, or may have, chronic fatigue syndrome). I have spent years trying to find a cure for my condition, and the things that have helped me most are olive leaf extract, hemp oil and gamma-tocopherol (a type of vitamin E).

Being a Muslim, tomboy and lesbian

I'm Muslim, tomboy, lesbian and I hate myself I tried to be normal but I just can't what should I do?

I understand the difficulty of your situation. My advice is to accept yourself as you are; you didn’t ask to be this way. My second advice is to carry out your Islamic duties as best as you can. Ask God to guide you and help you and He will do so. He has infinite powers, you have little power on your own. He can give you a meaningful and productive life regardless of your sexual orientation. Please also see:

Gender dysphoria in IslamLiving as a Muslim and a homosexual

Does the Quran say sperm comes from the belly?

“إِنَّهُۥ عَلَىٰ رَجْعِهِۦ لَقَادِرٌ .يَخْرُجُ مِنۢ بَيْنِ ٱلصُّلْبِ وَٱلتَّرَآئِبِ. خُلِقَ مِن مَّآءٍ دَافِقٍ. فَلْيَنظُرِ ٱلْإِنسَٰنُ مِمَّ خُلِقَ” “Sura al Tariq. 86 : 5-8” So I have often heard this verse being used as evidence for Quran being scientifically inaccurate because it seems to imply semen comes from between the backbone and the ribs which we know isn’t true. I want to know if this is truly what the verse means and if not I would love to know what it actually says.

That very can actually be considered one of the proofs of the truth of the Quran, because semen does not come from the testicles; it comes from the seminal vesicles that happen to be in the belly, and the verse is speaking of semen, not sperm. Sperm, of course, comes from the testicles. But the sperms have to merge with other materials in the seminal vesicles, and the result is sperm. So when a man ejaculates, the seminal fluid comes from the belly as the verse suggests.

The price of asking God for a meaningful life

Salamalaykum Brother, In you essay it says to ask god for a meaningful life, but I'm afraid it could mean asking for something negative. I want to ask god, but dont want to pay the price for it, because I've gone through alot already. Could you tell me if there any consquences to asking god for a meaningful life? Jazakallah Brother.

Alaikumassalam wa rahmatullah,

Wanting to be close to God and asking Him to make your life meaningful will certainly have a price. But the reality is that if you do not do this, you will still go through difficulties, it is just that they will be pointless and will lead nowhere. So you either choose God and suffer meaningful difficulties that help build your character and turn you into an admirable person, or turn away from God and run into life’s many pointless annoyances and problems.

This is what I have noticed in my own life; being close to God and obeying Him takes away all the pointless annoyances and hindrances of daily life, but it does not take away all difficulties. There is always challenge after challenge to overcome.

So the difference is between choosing a Mentor who will help you be the most admirable person you can be, or ignoring the Mentor and going through life without a guide and facing all kinds of unnecessary difficulties that do not make you a better person.

I encourage you to be courageous, to face God sincerely and to let Him manage your fate for you. He can take you places you never imagined. Do not be like all those people who, while believing in God, are too cowardly to truly connect with Him and are willing to accept whatever He places in their path.

It is the difference between choosing growth or stagnation.

The point of life in Islam

What’s the point of life? I can’t seem to find any meaning in it.

The point of this universe is the creation of true friends of God. As I have said elsewhere, the possibility of creating a single true friend of God may be sufficient to justify the creation of the whole universe, especially when you consider the fact that it costs God nothing to create a universe.

God says:

I did not create the jinn and the humans except to worship Me.

The Quran, verse 51:56.

He also says:

The life of this world is nothing but diversion and play, and the Home of the Hereafter is the Life, if they only knew.

The Quran, verse 29:64.

So everything in this life is a silly game except for the worship of God, which is the purpose of life.

By “friend of God” I mean saintly individuals who love God and serve Him despite the fact that they have no hard evidence of His existence and despite life’s difficulties. For more on “friends of God” and the purpose of this universe please see my essay: Why God Allows Evil to Exist, and Why Bad Things Happen to Good People

What should a Muslim without a mentor do?

I dont have good relations with the people around me. I feel like I have no one. Growing up I had no mentor. Maybe thats why I have made some mistakes. Do you have any advice for someone like me?

First, realize that you cannot guide yourself. No matter how much you try, without God’s aid you can never be a well-guided person. So the first step is to start to sincerely ask for God’s guidance every day. This is the most important thing you can do.

The second thing to do is to read the Quran daily. The Quran is the best mentor and will help you grow your character and correct any flaws in it.

The third thing is to read the sayings of the great scholars and to try to emulate them. Check out the pages: The Sayings of Ibn al-Jawzi and The Sayings of Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah. Maybe buy the books and keep them close to you, reading a few pages every day.

What are the things we can pray for?

Salam Brother, You've said in your essay to ask god for forgiveness, guidance and mercy. Would it be an insult to ask god for specific traits, for example, give me the ability to do good?

Alaikumassalam wa rahmatullah,

My opinion on that has actually changed recently and I now believe that we should pray to God for all things, including the general things mentioned in the essay and any specific thing we want, even something as small as praying to God to help you find your keys when you have lost them. Asking God for things is a form of worship and we should do as much of it as we can.

However, the attitude mentioned in the essay is the right attitude; that is, while we can constantly pray for specific things, we should always be prepared for God to choose something else for us. We should never attempt to “force” God’s hand by praying for something exact and getting upset when it doesn’t come about. The proper attitude is to feel like a helpless servant who constantly wishes for his/her Master’s help while always loving the Master regardless of whether the Master makes their wish come true or not.

Islam and gender reassignment surgery

Is gender reassignment surgery halal if the person is a trans naturally and not cosmetically, and if not, what does Islam instruct trans Muslims to do to help in their lives, and are there any special exceptions for them such as in attire and marriage etc?

The Qatari Fatwa Authority permits gender reassignment surgery on the condition that the person has a medical condition where their apparent sex is different from their “real” (internal / genetic) sex. For example a person with androgen insensitivity syndrome can be genetically male without developing male genitalia.

As for gender reassignment for those who feel psychologically to belong to the opposite gender, this is generally forbidden. But opinions on this issue are still in the development stage and may change in the future. Giving a genetically-male person female hormones (as it is done with those who change their sex) may have extremely negative long-term consequences for the person’s health, and since the rise in gender reassignment is recent, there are not many long-term studies on its effects.

References

Fatwa from the Qatari Fatwa Authority (Arabic PDF)

On the signs of the end of the world

Salaam. I've heard many people talk about end of days, but you said that it isn't mentioned in The Quran. What are your thoughts and arguments regarding that?

Alaikumassalam wa rahmatullah,

The Quran puts very little stress on the signs of the end of the world, and if you read it carefully you will realize that the end of the world could be tomorrow or it could be in 100,000 years (or longer). For this reason I am not a fan of “end of days” literature (and most of it comes from questionable hadiths).

On praying for God’s mercy for yourself only

Is it okay to ask for gods mercy for yourself?

It is permitted to pray for yourself only for whatever you want. There are many examples in hadith in which the Prophet PBUH prays for himself. He also instructed others to do the same, as in this hadith:

Abu Malik Ashaja'i reported on the authority of his father that whenever a person embraced Islam, Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) instructed him to recite:

" O Allah, grant me pardon, have mercy upon me, direct me to the path of righteousness and provide me sustenance."

Sahih Muslim 2697 a