According
to Rashad Khalifa, “THE AGE OF 40 IS THE AGE OF RESPONSIBILITY; see[Quran] 46:15.It is the age after which the mature adult is responsible for his/herchoice, GOD ALONE or not.”
Dr
Rashad Khalifa, the man, the issues and the truth,
Rashad
Khalifa describes this “age of 40” doctrine as follows:
“What is the age of
responsibility? If a child dies at the age of 12, without even hearing about God, does
this child go to Heaven or Hell? What if the child is 15 years old, or 21, or 25? At what
age will the human being be held responsible for his or her beliefs? This question has
puzzled researchers of all religions for a long time. The Quran sets the age of
responsibility at 40; anyone who dies before this age goes to Heaven. . . .”
“Delivering
this important piece of information is one of the responsibilities given to me asGod’s Messenger of the Covenant. It is not
my personal opinion. It is noteworthy that both Martin Luther King and Malcolm X were
assassinated just a couple of months before their 40th birthdays.”
Appendix 32of the Authorized English translation of the
Quran of Dr.Rashad Khalifa
Thus,
according to Rashad Khalifa, an UNREPENTANT MASS MURDERER and IDOL WORSHIPPER - e.g. a
Hindu terrorist who preyed on Kashimiri Muslims - would AUTOMATICALLY AND DIRECTLY GO TO
HEAVEN IF HE/SHE WERE UNDER 40!
What
is the source of this “revelation” ?
Rashad
Khalifa cites, Quran 46:15, which he translates as follows:
[46:15]We enjoined
the human being to honor his parents. His mother bore him arduously, gave birth to him
arduously, and took intimate care of him for thirty months. When he reaches maturity, and
reaches the age of forty, he should say, "My Lord, direct me to appreciate the
blessings You have bestowed upon me and upon my parents, and to do the righteous works
that please You. Let my children be righteous as well. I have repented to You; I am a
submitter."
Even THIS
TRANSLATION says NOTHING aboutan AUTOMATIC“ticket to heaven” for those who die
below age 40!
For
this reason Rashad Khalifa had to add a “footnote” to his Quran translation,
which states
"*46:15
God knows full well who deserves to go to Heaven and who deserves to go to Hell. It is His
law that whomever He puts to death before the age of 40 shall go to Heaven."
Why was not
Ibn Kathir correct, when he recognizes the following obvious meanings in the Quran's
words:
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
<and reaches the age of forty>
meaning, his complete intellect, understanding, and patience reach the level of maturity.
It has also been said that usually one will no change his ways once he reaches the age of
forty.
<he should say, "My Lord, direct me>
meaning, "inspire me"
<to appreciate the blessings You have bestowed upon me and upon my parents, and to do
the righteous works that please You.>
meaning, in the future
<Let my children be righteous as well.>
meaning, my offspring and descendants.
<I have repented to You; I am a submitter.">
This contains an instruction for anyone who reaches forty years of age to renew his
repentance and to turn to Allah with strong resolution.
Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Vol 9, pp. 60-61 (Darussalam Publishers, Riyadh, 2000) [Note: I have
substituted RASHAD KHALIFA'S translation for the publisher's translation in all cases
where text of Quran 46:16 was quoted]
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The answer is that in this case, Ibn Kathir actually RELIED ON THE QURAN, and it was
Rashad Khalifa who is advancing arguments based on hadith narrated ONLY by Rashad Khalifa!
Since even
RASHAD KHALIFA’s OWN QURAN TRANSLATION does NOT support this “go straight to
heaven below 40” doctrine, he is, ultimately, forced to claim
“Delivering this
important piece of information is one of the responsibilities given to me asGod’s Messenger of the Covenant .. . .”
Appendix 32of the Authorized English translation of the
Quran of Dr. Rashad Khalifa
