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The essential role of images in education, information, and communication, is now beyond dispute. The use and influence of images as a support and means of communication have become indispensable in modern society, particularly among the young. To underestimate this reality is to disregard the human and social sciences and to refuse to adapt constructively to the demands of evolution. Fully aware of these conditions, I have agreed, at the request of my collaborators and of the SCDOFG, to the use of my portraits to convey my texts and quotations, in order to ensure their wider dissemination among young people and the public at large. (Farid Gabteni)
I encourage, support, and commend all those who work to organize conferences and seminars around my work, and who contribute to their dissemination; it is in this spirit that I consented to the founding of the SCDOFG. However, I cannot participate personally, save on rare occasions; for several years now, I have committed myself to study and to living withdrawn from the world. (Farid Gabteni)
Admittedly, those who disseminate and share my writings and quotations generally belong to the intellectual world. I believe this owes more to my work—scientifically uncontroversial—than to the singularity of my literary expression. I neither indulge in polemic nor in frivolity, but rather raise and develop themes of historical, philosophical, scientific, and profoundly universalist character. As for the general public, even if won over, it remains nonetheless a victim of an elitist educational system—more familiar with generalities than precision, with appearances than substance. (Farid Gabteni)
‘Certainly, We have Sent it down as Qurân frank (Arabic, Σarabî); perhaps you will reason!’ (Qurân / Chapter 12, verse 2). In Arabic, the word aΣraba (أعرب), from the root Σ-R-B (ع ر ب), means ‘speaking openly, clearly, frankly’, whilst the word aΣjamî (أعجمي), from the root Σ-J-M (ع ج م), means ‘speaking unintelligibly, hermetically, in code.’ Σarabî (clear/frank, عربي) is thus the antonym of aΣjamî (hermetic/coded, أعجمي). In other words, Σarabî (عربي) denotes an expression, language or discourse which is clear and frank, whilst aΣjamî (أعجمي) denotes an expression, language or discourse which is hermetic and coded, which must be clarified in order to be understood. The Qurân was revealed in Arabic; i.e. in clear and frank language; in this case, the language is not intrinsically linked to an ethnic group. (Farid Gabteni)
Can one believe without being credulous? This is a recurrent question in the West, where faith is habitually opposed to reason. Yet a careful observer cannot fail to note that this divorce between belief and intellect is peculiar to Western culture. In no other civilisation has it reached such proportions. In no other culture has religion been so synonymous with obscurantism—the denial of man’s capacity to weigh and judge by himself. (Farid Gabteni)
we are meant to live in society—a mode of existence defined by life in groups, wherein culture and civilisation take shape—not in the masses, synonymous with a teeming, shifting, and impulsive crowd. (Farid Gabteni)
Atheistic materialism is obscurantism disguised as progressivism. Insidious and devastating, it conveys a truncated science and a diminished conscience. By reducing, disparaging, and denying any spiritual purpose in human beings and in creation, by dehumanizing the individual and society through oversimplifying theories, it amputates humanity of its substance and its very raison d’être. (Farid Gabteni)
Our society has become subject to a superficial, generalist and relativistic media culture; verification and the careful examination of facts are left to specialists. Such a situation can be all the more damaging when ideology is involved, whatever its form. (Farid Gabteni)
Religion may be compared to a medicine: essential for treating an ailment, yet capable of producing undesirable side effects if misunderstood and/or if the therapeutic prescription is not followed. Spirituality is to religion what a remedy is to healing: there can be no religion without authentic spirituality, just as there can be no healing without an effective remedy. (Farid Gabteni)
There can be no evil in good, but good may be used to evil ends, and vice-versa. There can be no wrong in science, but science may be used to do wrong, and vice-versa. Believers, fearing God, think and act in a distinctive way as a consequence. (Farid Gabteni)
Faith is not synonymous with ignorantism; atheism is not synonymous with scientism; fanaticism, for its part, is synonymous with totalitarianism. (Farid Gabteni)
At the dawn of the new millennium, the entire world is confronted with numerous ecological, social, political, economic, and ethical crises… as everyone acknowledges. Yet science and techniques are advancing at a truly vertiginous pace. The paradox between science and technical knowledge, on the one hand, and the exhaustion of the system that generates them, on the other, is becoming even more pronounced. (Farid Gabteni)
The question ‘Where are we going?’ has re-emerged with renewed force, casting into perspective the frenetic transformations of a society becoming more globalised every day, made up of disoriented individuals. Evolution is no longer mastered, as it is now driven exclusively by technological discoveries, without genuine regard for socio-economic, societal, and psychological factors … in a word, simply human factors. (Farid Gabteni)
The question of a Creative Principle, of a Prime Cause—intelligent and lucid—now arises as a scientific question. Yet to engage with it reflectively is fraught with consequences. This draws us once again into a genuine cultural revolution, calling into question postulates more than two centuries old. (Farid Gabteni)
For centuries, Europe lived under the yoke of enforced orthodoxy and the Inquisition, which was only definitively abolished in Spain in 1834. To advance a new idea or to express an opinion contrary to the ruling religion exposed their authors to the harshest persecutions, and very often to death. After seven centuries of Muslim presence in Spain and four in Sicily, no indigenous Muslim population remained in those lands, so that by the beginning of the twentieth century, Europe was left with only Christian populations and a surviving Jewish minority. Even so, a large part of that minority was almost exterminated during the Second World War. (Farid Gabteni)
The voice of the soul is the universal aspiration to justice and truth, to harmony and beauty, to the perfect and the absolute; the voice of the body is the universal need for energy and power, for fusion and effusion, for extension and duration. One must respond rightly to the latter in order to fulfill the former. (Farid Gabteni)
Today, few people know that most scientists of our time are believers, and that many who were once atheists have become so. This fact is deliberately withheld from public disclosure. It must also be said that some of these scientists prefer to remain discreet out of concern for their careers. The atheist establishment has indeed replaced that of the Church, and now calls the shots. Woe to those who challenge it—they are ‘excommunicated’, vilified, denigrated and, if possible, silenced. (Farid Gabteni)
For God, you are a student if you want it, you are a professor if you can; the best is to be both. (Farid Gabteni)
In fact, modern science proves far more favorable to theism than to atheism. I do mean theism, which consists in affirming the existence of a Unique, Living, and Personal God as the transcendent cause of the world. (Farid Gabteni)
If information is indeed at the basis of everything, that being said, the number 1 produces nothing by itself; the arithmetic law that 1 + 1 = 2 teaches me that if, for example, I bring about the addition of 1 book + 1 book, I obtain 2 books, but if I do not effect the act of bringing 2 books together, the law of arithmetic alone cannot bring it about. The laws of mathematics, which make it possible to explain—and thus predict—natural phenomena, do not create them. Likewise, the law of gravity, which does not even explain gravity itself, does not create gravity or the matter within which gravity operates. It therefore creates still less the Universe. (Farid Gabteni)
The laws of physics do not create anything by themselves; they demonstrate the relationships between facts once introduced by a cause. A car exists and runs along a road by virtue of the laws of physics, yet those laws have created neither the car nor the road. The laws of physics were created by an intelligent and lucid will, just as the car and the road were. And an intelligent and lucid will is required to conceive, set in motion, and properly guide a car along a road. The same is required to determine the equations and to initiate and govern the formation and evolution of the world. (Farid Gabteni)
It is now clearly established that the laws of physics had to be extremely specific, finely tuned and precise, to allow for the evolution of the Universe and the emergence of life. It is impossible to attribute to chance the extreme precision in the selection of the initial conditions underlying the existence of the Universe. It is evident that an intelligent and lucid will presided over the calibration of these parameters. (Farid Gabteni)
Scientists measure the meaning and the reach of the terms they use. They use them to transmit unequivocal information, corresponding to a single semantic unit, exempt from any other interpretation. (Farid Gabteni)
To suppose that successive strokes of chance lie at the origin of the Universe and of our own existence is akin to believing that one could systematically win the lottery at every draw, every second, twenty-four hours a day, without interruption, for fourteen billion years. Failing to explain this extremely precise fine-tuning of the laws of physics by mere chance, some put forward string theory, or the idea of several, or even an infinite number of Universes, including our own, each governed by its own laws, thereby allowing the probability that at least one of these worlds would be properly fine-tuned. Well, by chance—‘as usual؟’—we happen to be in that one. (Farid Gabteni)
The Universe may be said to possess a universal language made up of mathematical instructions, which underlie the laws of physics and all that exists within it. All that we can know and observe in this world rests upon mastery of this language, which is expressed in every thing. Study the heaven, the earth, man, the ant, the molecule, the atom, or any other thing, and you will perceive the transcription of this language. It is the seal of the Creator of the heavens and the earth and of what lies between them. (Farid Gabteni)
Sometimes you talk and you do not always know what you say; sometimes you listen and you do not always understand what you hear; sometimes you look and you do not always perceive what you see. (Farid Gabteni)
Man is distinguished by an intelligence unmatched by any other living being on Earth. That he may be related to the monkey, the fly, or the earthworm does not alter his distinct and exclusive specificity. (Farid Gabteni)
Intelligence has no sense without knowledge, it is perfected by science, consciousness and action as a consequence. (Farid Gabteni)
It is not by listing your aristocratic titles that you prove that you are noble. Similarly, it is not by trumpeting your university degrees and your qualifications as a researcher that you prove that you are an accomplished scientist. The nobility of a person is distinguished by their worth, their qualities and their merits; a scientist is characterized likewise by their objective knowledge, methodically and rationally developed, based on the strict observation of facts. Our names, degrees and qualifications are symbolic, our good works are eternal. (Farid Gabteni)
It is true that nowadays too many whimsical and ludicrous works are circulating, falsely presented as scientific. Similarly, many neophytes present themselves as specialists and write about scientific works, drawing conclusions without having the requisite skills. Enlightened people protect themselves from misinformation and manipulation through discernment, knowledge and the verification of facts. (Farid Gabteni)
Islâm, the most driving force for theism, is not getting any weaker but it is rather developing and progressing throughout the world; its influence continues to extend to all nations in their ethnic, social and cultural diversities. It would be irresponsible to ignore Islâm and minimize its scope, dangerously leaving free rein to ultra-traditionalism and its ideological and practical deviations which are totally contrary to the original Message of Islâm. (Farid Gabteni)
The scientific validity of my work is recognized and remains uncontested among specialists. Some among them—Muslim traditionalists—nonetheless express reservations concerning the conclusions of my research, namely the desacralization of ideological traditionalism, and the pure and simple restoration of the original Islâm (610-632). My work is addressed not only to Muslims but also—and perhaps even more so—to non-Muslims, with a view to distinguishing truth from falsehood, the original Islâm from an islam that has been distorted and instrumentalized. (Farid Gabteni)
It is not I who am learned and a polyglot, it is rather the Qurân that is encyclopaedic, and it is the original Message of Islâm that is universalist; and it is the scope of both that is humanist and cosmic. This is what escapes islamophobes—and even more so obscurantists. (Farid Gabteni)
Truth is a sharp blade; he who speaks of it is deemed mad. For many, it is heavy and unsettling—it provokes a frown or catches in the throat. No matter who utters it, the wise grasp it in its entirety. (Farid Gabteni)
I learned the Qurân, the ḥadîth, the sunnah/sîrah, theology and jurisprudence through the teaching and vision of leading scholars (عulamâ), references in the field of traditionalism. I thus became, for a time, a traditionalist (moderate؟) myself. However, when I specialized and studied, among others, historiography, I then reopened the Qurân with a pluridisciplinary scientific approach; to my great surprise, I discovered that the original Message of Islâm, as set forth in the Corpus of the Qurân, raises serious objections to many assertions contained in the various writings of the tradition, which nonetheless constitute the basis of traditionalist ideology. (Farid Gabteni)
I learnt yesterday to be today, I pray today that you will be tomorrow; simply Human. (Farid Gabteni)
For my translation of the Qurân, I consistently endeavor to draw upon old, classical, and modern French to render the source text with strict literalness; the use of dictionaries is therefore recommended for the Francophones who seek to penetrate and grasp the deeper meaning of the words employed in the Quranic language. (Farid Gabteni)
Etymologically, in Arabic, Islâm (الإسلام) signifies Pacification: the act of pacifying, establishing, restoring, and maintaining peace; submission to God through peace. Islâm is the actualization of peace (al-silm, al-salâm, السّلم السّلام): he who submits to God pacifies himself (yuslim, يسلم), brings an end to the disturbances of his mind, and the movements of revolt within him and around him; he is pacified—a Muslim (muslim, مسلم)—and a pacifist (mussâlim, مسالم): he aspires to serenity, surety, and tranquillity; he is neither inclined toward nor engaged in turmoil and rebellion; consequently, he acquires a peaceful (salîm, سليم) heart, healthy and saintly, in peace with God and His Creation. (Farid Gabteni)
‘(…) This day I have Complemented for you your creance (religion) and Perfected upon you My Grace, and I have Approved for you the Pacification (Islâm), creditor (religiosity) (…)’ (Qurân / Chapter 5, verse 3). This verse is the last to have been revealed, the closing point of the Revelation. Islâm, the first and last revealed religion, was from that day complete and approved as such. Any addition subsequent to this revelation stems from the various circumstances of Muslim history, and cannot be regarded as part of the canon of Islâm. To maintain the opposite is to assert that the Religion was not complemented at the revelation of this verse, in contradiction to what the verse itself affirms. (Farid Gabteni)
Study the past and the present, learn through science and knowledge, watch the sky, the celestial bodies, the earth, the sea, life, death, everything small and large. Then, you will know, you will know Him, you will then be able to testify that there is no god but God, and you will know how and why to live. (Farid Gabteni)
A religion grounded in righteous and beautiful deed, in the middle way and in moderation, Islâm is the religion of science and of the knowledge of God through His Creation. One of the elements—and not the least—that distinguishes the Qurân from earlier revelations is its sustained emphasis on science and knowledge. Indeed, the very first word revealed to Muhammad was: ‘Iqra’! (Read!)’. (Farid Gabteni)
As for the first human being designated as such, it is Âdam; and the first time he is mentioned in the Qurân, God declares: ‘And He made Known to Âdam the names, all of them. (…)’ (Qurân / Chapter 2, verse 31). It is thus evident that, in the Qurân, the beginning of the human being is bound to knowledge. The first thing Âdam received from God was the knowledge of all the names, and the first command addressed by God to Muhammad was: ‘Read!’. The Message of God to mankind—from the beginning, through Muhammad, and until the end of time—is this: Read, learn, know God’s creation, so as to know God and act accordingly—rightly and with kindness—for you will be judged. (Farid Gabteni)
And on the Day of the Resurrection: ‘(…) Those to whom knowledge was Reported said: ‘Indeed, humiliation and defilement this day are upon the denigrators’’ (Qurân / Chapter 16, verse 27); ‘And those to whom knowledge and assurance (faith, belief) were Reported said: ‘Assuredly, you have already remained in the Writing of God toward the day of the resurrection—so this is the day of the resurrection, but you did not know’’ (Qurân / Chapter 30, verse 56). This attests to the extent to which knowledge constitutes the first commandment of God in Islâm. (Farid Gabteni)
Continuous reading and study, Faith and permanent practice of the Remembrance of God, constant good intention, right action and ceaseless charity are the stuff of a useful life and cure all ills. (Farid Gabteni)
I say what I believe and I believe in what I say. I have no certainty but my Faith, and have no abilities except when I read, study and write. (Farid Gabteni)
My Faith is not vain, it has shaped me into who I love to be, student and scholar, servant of God The Supreme; to serve the human cause. (Farid Gabteni)
Focusing one’s attention and reflection on what one says, what one hears and what one sees, is to become aware of things, of oneself, and of others. Correctly deciphering beyond what one says, what one hears and what one sees, is to become aware of all of the things, of oneself, and of others in their entirety. Beyond these two groups, one finds the True, the Inexpressible Reality. (Farid Gabteni)
To deny the Qurân its scientific dimension is to ignore or forget that Islamic scholars and civilisation are the product of a Quranic culture that fosters reflection and scientific inquiry. The influence and contribution of the Qurân upon Muslim scholars are indisputable and historically documented. (Farid Gabteni)
Muslim scholars were all believers, formed through the study of the Qurân. Nearly all first became theologians before specializing in various scientific disciplines. They enriched Science with their own knowledge, together with that inherited from the long course of human history. Their works are today regarded as precursors to modern science. Repeatedly, these scholars attested that an in-depth study of the Qurân lay at the origin of their scientific vocation. (Farid Gabteni)
‘And those to whom knowledge and assurance (faith, belief) were Reported said (…)’ (Qurân / Chapter 30, verse 56). In this verse, the word ‘knowledge’ precedes the word ‘faith’, and both must be apprehended simultaneously, one with the other. Indeed, the conjunction of knowledge and faith yields peace, serenity, and a peaceful (سليم), healthy and saintly heart. Without knowledge or discernment, every belief remains subject to circumstances and passion, which may lead to the best and/or to the worst—as History demonstrates. (Farid Gabteni)
Was Omar Khayyâm a mystic, affiliated with Sufism, or an agnostic? The question remains unresolved among specialists. He described himself as an ‘undisciplined believer.’ What is certain is that he was not dogmatic. His life is strewn with uncertainties; his poems—the rubâ’iyyat, or quatrains—have not all been formally authenticated. Be that as it may, regarding Muslim scholars, it may be observed that, though they were believers, they adhered to singular forms of belief and showed little inclination toward orthodox traditionalism; hence I designate them as Quranists. Their knowledge enabled them to distinguish the original, pragmatic Islâm, as set forth in the Qurân, from the institutionalized religious tradition. (Farid Gabteni)
All Muslim scholars were, without exception, Quranists, as was the Prophet himself; and all deviationist extremists were traditionalists—those of today no less so. That says it all. (Farid Gabteni)
Muslims of progress and Science have transmitted to humanity the foundations of all modern knowledge. Islâm is the only religion in the world to have given rise to a scientific civilisation. As for reactionaries, fanatics and criminals, they have always, in every age and every society, been ills from which humanity must heal. (Farid Gabteni)
To be a Muslim, one must bear witness that there is no god but God. And to be a true witness—to attest to truth and reality—requires knowledge, an understanding of facts and realities. Once such knowledge is acquired, one then attains faith through reason and the heart, one becomes humble in the peace and love of God, comes to know where one comes from and where one is going, acts with benevolence and beneficence, and distinguishes good from evil, truth from falsehood. (Farid Gabteni)
The Muslim who knows is a man of Peace—tolerant, good, benevolent, and beneficent; he believes in the One God, without partners: the God of Israel, of Christ, and of Muhammad, the God of all humankind without distinction, the God of the heavens and the earth and whatsoever lies between them, the God of those who dwell in the heavens and on the earth. And indeed, if the Creance, the Religion with God, is Islâm, He Raises whom He Wills and Forgives whom He Wills. Thus none is excluded, and all His creatures enter into His Mercy. And I affirm that this is not a point of detail. (Farid Gabteni)
There is no greater bliss than to dispel fears, to alleviate pain, to relieve misfortunes, and to bring joy into hearts. Beneficence is honor and greatness. (Farid Gabteni)
The Qurân is not an esoteric book reserved for the initiated alone; it is expressly exoteric insofar as it may and must be publicly shared and taught. Yet, by virtue of its divine nature, the text encompasses and conveys several juxtaposing and complementary levels of reading; no exegesis, whether literal or anagogical, can dispense with them. That being said, its signified meaning is nonetheless inferred with an optimal probability from discourse analysis, whether specific or generic. The Qurân is thus accessible to all human beings endowed with reason and common sense; it remains hermetic to those who, though deaf, refuse to hear, and though blind, refuse to see. (Farid Gabteni)
History of philosophy teaches us that thinkers speak and use words by attaching great importance to what they convey – both etymologically and timelessly – as a meaning and significance. This process – which incites subtlety while rejecting ambiguity – is essential to the conception and establishment of an explicit theoretical basis as critical thought. (Farid Gabteni)
Throughout my book, I demonstrate, by means of numerous examples, that the Qurân emphasizes and encourages reflection, reasoning, and the pursuit of knowledge—thereby leading to the knowledge of God. The Qurân is not a law in itself but a Revelation; it is Religion insofar as it establishes a relationship between man and the Divine Order, that of a Higher Reality, expressed through Knowledge, Faith, Benevolence, Beneficence, the Enjoining of good, the Avoidance of evil, Pacification and Peace. Such is the original Message of Islâm. (Farid Gabteni)
The Truth, nothing but the Truth, the whole Truth, I only want and I only seek the True of the Truth; regardless of the consequences. (Farid Gabteni)
Unlike the Bible and most sacred books, which chronologically relate the history of creation, the world, man, the Prophets and the Messengers, the Qurân, for its part, except in the case of Joseph, or exceptionally, does not recount events as a continuous whole, within a given chapter; rather, they are fragmented and set forth in a non-linear manner across the whole corpus. It is not necessarily to relate historical facts as such, but to arouse scientific research, analysis and reflection, thereby elevating the soul toward Islâm. (Farid Gabteni)
Contrary to what some think and preach, the Qurân does not present itself as a book of history, nor as a civil and penal code, in the literal sense of the terms. Its profound understanding requires rigorous multidisciplinary analysis, through binoculars, a magnifying glass, and a microscope. It is the Revelation of God, His Word addressed to man’s reason and reasoning. (Farid Gabteni)
Corruption and evil still prevail; their names are: injustice, mass manipulation, obscurantism, misery, wars, massacres, crises, all forms of trafficking, environmental degradation, species extinction, pollution, and climate change… ‘Corruption has manifested in the land and in the ocean because of what the hands of people have earned, so that He may let them Taste part of what they have wrought; that perhaps they will return!’ (Qurân / Chapter 30, verse 41). (Farid Gabteni)
I’m in pain, I suffer from my powerlessness in the face of so much misery in the world, I am ashamed of those who, powerful and rich, claim to be my friends, politically do very little and do not devote at least the fifth of their budgets to contributing to the eradication of poverty and wretchedness ; now I’ve said it. (Farid Gabteni)
In Africa, Asia, South America, and elsewhere in the world, forests are devastated, lakes and rivers dry up, land and villages are engulfed, entire populations are displaced, millions live below the poverty line, hundreds of thousands fall victim to famine, murder, kidnapping, and organ trafficking, millions of women are beaten and abused, and hundreds of thousands of children are enslaved… Yet such things are only spoken of when horror reaches a certain threshold‚ or on the occasion of the Football World Cup. (Farid Gabteni)
The world will not evolve through clamor and lamentation, through weapons and tears. Rather, we will change it through awareness, knowledge, and intelligence. It will not move forward through force and domination, but through the heart and reason. It will not be built through utopias, but through a restored, mature, and united Humanity. (Farid Gabteni)
The advance of Islâm, in contrast with the degeneration of some Muslims, is explained by the universality of its original Message, which cannot be contained by the vicissitudes that Muslims have endured for centuries. ‘It Is He Who Sent His Envoy with guidance and the creance (religion) of the true, that He may Manifest it over all creance (religion); and [even] though it has constrained the associators’ (Qurân / Chapter 61, verse 9). (Farid Gabteni)
Simultaneously, the emergence of the charlatan (الدجال) and of charlatanism is now effective throughout the world; they are characterized by presenting themselves under false semblances of virtue and piety. Many fall prey to them, until the light of knowledge irrevocably manifests itself, and enables one to confound these dark and maleficent forces. (Farid Gabteni)
Being a Muslim is coming out of darknesses into Light, the Qurân enounces; and not the reverse, as charlatans preach it. (Farid Gabteni)
Under the cover of an islam that has been distorted by ignorantists, some fanatics—corruptors of the faith, steeped in ignominy—commit the worst crimes against God and humanity. By distorting Islâm and all universal moral values, they cultivate discord, hatred of others, violence, and sectarianism. Though it is undeniable that these demonic criminals target and threaten civilisation as a whole, Muslims remain the foremost victims of their theories and their nightmarish practices. (Farid Gabteni)
No greatness in the petty, in the tyrant or the murderer; their only master is their animal, rascally instinct. (Farid Gabteni)
Criminals do not have a religion; they take joy in murder, destruction and corruption on earth. Islâm condemns the demonic and murderous charlatans – woe betide them in this world and the next. (Farid Gabteni)
Islâm is innocent of the crimes, cruelties and massacres wrongly perpetrated in its name by deviationist and criminal heretics. They are, rather, the agents of evil—the perverse and corrupters upon the earth. (Farid Gabteni)
Wrongdoers are numerous but insignificant, we are few but powerful; they believe in themselves, and we believe in God. (Farid Gabteni)
God loves neither aggression nor the aggressors, and least of all those who spread corruption upon the earth, the bloodthirsty and the criminal butchers. (Farid Gabteni)
Psychoanalysis demonstrates that violent men—all the more so those who beat and mistreat women and/or children—are characterized by psychopathic personalities. Complex-ridden and intolerant of frustration, they resort to antisocial and amoral behavior. Such individuals possess neither ethics nor religion, but only false pretensions. (Farid Gabteni)
The core of the problem with terrorism perpetrated in the name of Islâm is an obscurantist, fanatical and violent ideology that preaches hatred and murder. It is this kind of heretical ideology—opposed to and betraying original Islâm—that influences the ignorant and the weak-minded and turns them into criminal demons. We must inform, teach and raise awareness among Muslims of original Islâm, a fount of science, progress, tolerance, peace and civilisation. (Farid Gabteni)
Faith is intimately linked to kindness and benevolence. Disarray is inwardly connected to brutality and violence. (Farid Gabteni)
The idea of doing evil tears me apart, the need to do Good attracts me, the feeling of hatred makes me sick, that of Love inspires me. (Farid Gabteni)
During his lifetime, the Prophet never initiated an offensive war; all those he was compelled to wage were defensive, or—more exceptionally—preventive. Those who acted differently after him bear sole responsibility before God and before History. (Farid Gabteni)
The original Islâm calls for humanism and universalism, contrary to ideological traditionalism, which leads to communitarianism and identity-based withdrawal. The former is the Teaching of God, Master of the worlds; the latter is the infatuation of the doctrinaire and narrow-minded sectarians. (Farid Gabteni)
Some, led astray, spend their time tearing each other apart, often in all sincerity. Each side proclaiming ‘God Is The Greatest!’ and, in one camp as in the other, they claim to defend the just cause of God. They are trapped in a state of mental constraint whereby ignorantism perpetuates obscurantism, superstition, and violence. Many have become hostages or puppets of bygone dogmatism and past. (Farid Gabteni)
‘Âshûrâ’ is for some a day of celebration, during which they rejoice; for others, a day of mourning, during which self-flagellation takes place. It should be neither a festivity nor a mortification by flagellation. Muslim historians, without exception, relate that the Prophet’s last and beloved grandson, A l-Ḥusayn, was killed and beheaded by so-called Muslims on the day of ‘âshûrâ’ (10-01-61 H / 10-10-680 G). Who, then, can claim membership in the community of Muhammad and rejoice on that day? And how can one engage in such self-mortification by flagellation when Islâm entirely rejects this practice? This day should rather serve as a moment of contemplation and reflection on our history—of yesterday and today—in order to optimize ourselves for tomorrow. (Farid Gabteni)
Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad did not celebrate their birthdays; nor did the Jews, the first Christians, and the first Muslims celebrate the birthdays of their Prophets. Furthermore, in the history of religions, there is no trace of any Prophet who would have initiated his disciples into such celebrations. (Farid Gabteni)
The Prophet appointed and dispatched officers and instructors to teach Monotheism through Islâm (Pacification). Yet he instituted neither clergy nor government, nor did he designate anyone—clearly and unequivocally—to exercise political and/or religious authority after him. The original Islâm thus did not legitimize the instauration of any establishment, in any manner or nature whatsoever; ideological traditionalism, for its part, did so and continues to do so. Islâm conveys a philosophy of life; traditionalism, a systematized ideology. (Farid Gabteni)
Islâm cannot be represented by clergy, nor by religious dignitaries, still less by a state institution. As for doctors of Islamic religion, they may enjoy only one prerogative: that of issuing opinions. (Farid Gabteni)
Keep a clear conscience, throughout your life and until the hour of your death; to fall asleep in peace and wake up in The Peace. (Farid Gabteni)
After the death of the Prophet Muhammad (632), several events and historical circumstances, which it would be difficult to enumerate here, led different individuals to legislate in every domain, some interpreting the Qurân and the life of the Prophet in accordance with what they believed to be just from their own perspective, others in relation to their own interests. This resulted in sharîΣah, legislation, theology and jurisprudence among Muslims. Now, more than ever, we have a duty to study and examine in detail and in depth, objectively, historically and scientifically, the Islâm present during the Prophet’s lifetime and what became of it after his death, considering the origins of theology and jurisprudence in the Muslim community, in order to get back to the true and original Message of Islâm. (Farid Gabteni)
God Taught the human the names, all of them (Qurân / Chapter 2, v. 31); to analyze, reflect, discern and legislate accordingly. The only sharîεah (Law, Legislation) of God – unchanging and inviolable – happens to be the laws of physics, unaltered and unalterable since the creation of the universe. Any other law is circumstantial of time, place, cause, and purpose. Ignoramuses and fanatics are as illustrated in the Qurân, verse 179, chapter 7: ‘(…)They have hearts with which they do not understand. They have eyes with which they do not see. They have ears with which they do not hear. Those are like herds, in fact they are most-astray. Those are the heedless.’ (Farid Gabteni)
Knowledge is within the reach of anyone seeking after truth; truth is a quest inherent in Mankind, explaining reality. (Farid Gabteni)
For the Muslim who knows, only the Qurân is the Revelation of God, thus Sacred; the rest is a composition of men, thus fallible. The Qurân clearly affirms freedom of conscience and expression; I would even say freedom itself. Thus, when God Announced to the angels that He would form a successor (to what preceded) in the earth, then they retorted: ‘Will You form in it one who corrupts in it and spreads bloods? (…).’ God! Far from blaming them from such thoughts, Replies to them and Argues such a decision: ‘(…) Certainly I Know what you do not know’ (chap.2, v.30). Moreover, in the Qurân, it is even allowed for the devil to disobey God, to justify his disobedience and wrongdoing (at his peril). For anyone who thinks, everything has been said, about freedom, in what I have just outlined. All of the Qurân illustrates – through a number of examples – freedom of conscience and expression. (Farid Gabteni)
The ideal of freedom is not the preserve of homo occidentalis, but of human nature itself; the word ‘freedom’ has been proclaimed, throughout human history, by all the oppressed, from all nations, all over the Earth. The universality of this noble word has been enshrined by the struggles of colonized, stripped, and enslaved peoples; freedom is inherent in the evolution and the fulfillment of humanity. (Farid Gabteni)
Knowledge, consciousness, reason, justice and peace will triumph, sooner or later; they are ideals inherent in our existence. (Farid Gabteni)
The last countries to have abolished slavery were the so-called ‘Muslim’ countries, in total contradiction with the precepts of the Qurân and the Prophet’s conduct, encouraging the emancipation of slaves. Similarly, by removing some Quranic verses from their context -circumstantial of time, place, cause and purpose- traditionalists preach that women should spend their lives under the guardianship of men. By thoughtlessly accepting this, too many Muslims still lag behind when it comes to the emancipation of women. This, once again, is in total contradiction with the Heart of the Qurân and the original Message of Islâm. (Farid Gabteni)
All human beings, men and women, are born and remain absolutely free and equal in dignity and rights before God, until the final judgement; an analytical reading of the Qurân as a whole leaves no doubt on this subject. Deviationist Muslim traditionalists, who define these words by twisting their meaning and taking them out of the Quranic context, are no better than their Jewish and Christian counterparts, who preach that woman was the first to commit the original sin, but they take this literally from their Bibles (Genesis-Chapter 3, verse 6). (Farid Gabteni)
To prove that woman is not man’s equal and should be subject to man’s authority, deviationist traditionalists put forward various arguments, including that God did not anoint any female Prophets. Imagine female Prophets preaching to backward tribes who lacked faith and law, were warlike and murderous, practised child sacrifice, and misogynistic in the extreme, regarded and valued women as no more than useful tools! And knowing what many women still suffer in our time, how might we describe the horrific living conditions women experienced in decades, centuries and millennia past? (Farid Gabteni)
Heretics distort Islâm—the religion of oneness, knowledge, freedom of conscience, free will, tolerance, pacification and Peace—turning it into obscurantist, retrograde, hateful and violent ideologies. May God have mercy on us. (Farid Gabteni)
Even when addressing a tyrant such as Pharaoh, God Commanded Moses and his brother: ‘Then speak to him with gentle words, that he may remember or fear’ (Qurân/Chapter 20, verse 44). This verse, like many others of a similar kind, stands for the Muslim as an example of conduct to be followed. (Farid Gabteni)
Although access to mosques is nowadays generally denied to non-Muslims, the Prophet Muhammad himself used to receive Jews and Christians, among others, in the mosque. (Farid Gabteni)
The Qurân names racism as the first cardinal sin committed against divine law, and it was the devil who inaugurated it; replying to God concerning man, ‘he said, ‘I am better than him. You Created me from fire and Created him from clay’’ (Qurân/Chapter 7, verse 12, and chapter 38, verse 76). Consequently, whoever deems himself superior to another perpetuates this originally diabolic sin; and God Knows that racists are numerous throughout the world. (Farid Gabteni)
Your place is not in the mass, you should not bow down, but rise above races and classes; you will then be a Grace. (Farid Gabteni)
An exposition begins with an introduction, continues with a development, and ends with a conclusion. The same holds with the Qurân: it starts with ‘The Opening’ (Al-Fâtiḥah), chapter 1; it unfolds from ‘The Cow’ (Al-Baqarah), chapter 2, through to the end of the book; it concludes with chapters dating largely from the beginning of the Revelation. This serves to emphasize the importance to be accorded to the origin. (Farid Gabteni)
Unlike what was instituted after the Prophet, it is not his emigration to Medina (the Hijra, 622) which marks the beginning of the Muslim calendar. The latter can be inferred from the Qurân (chapter 97), and it begins with the Quranic Revelation, in 610 (chapter 96). Original Islâm covers the whole of Revelation (from 610 to 632), while ideological traditionalism likes to opt for and anchor itself in the Hijri calendar. (Farid Gabteni)
The month of ramadân is that of the Qurân, the remembrance, the revision, the good deed and the abstention from evil, small and large alike. (Farid Gabteni)
All Muslim historians—traditionalists included—relate that the Hijri calendar was indeed adopted after the Prophet. The Qurân, for its part, gives precedence to the date of Revelation: ‘better than a thousand months’ (chapter 97). Common sense dictates that a calendar should begin from a founding event; it is therefore evident that Islâm did not begin with the Hijra, but with the Quranic Revelation. (Farid Gabteni)
Adoption, after the Prophet, of the Hijri calendar had sententious political, theological and jurisprudential impacts. Insinuately, it has allowed and still allows traditionalists to falsely substantiate their ideologies, exegetically focusing on the Medina period instead of, and at the expense of the Mecca period. The Qurân states: « (…) Then do you assure (believe) by a part of the writing (book), and denigrate by a part? (…) » (chapter 2, verse 85). (Farid Gabteni)
Historians, across all disciplines, enunciators—specialists in sayings attributed to the Prophet—included, still debate to this day the historical validity of these traditions. Despite this, among many Muslims, they take precedence over the Qurân, thereby becoming the source of what divides them. (Farid Gabteni)
Collections of traditions arise from a multitude of events and circumstances experienced by Muslims after the death of the Prophet, and reflect the ideological, political, and sociological conceptions pertaining to their time. The misguided and the adversaries of Islâm exploit these collections of uncertain content, accrediting them to serve their own ends; and this is how they distort and denature Islâm. (Farid Gabteni)
Obscurantists, criminals and Islamophobes lead the ignorant to believe that Islâm is synonymous with hatred and violence. This fuels their incendiary and petty rhetoric, and fosters enmity and discord, thus encouraging a war of civilisations. If we do not take heed, chaos awaits us. (Farid Gabteni)
For islamophobes, a good Muslim is a renegade Muslim. In reality, they do not target obscurantists—their objective allies—for the latter fuel their hateful sermons against Islâm and Muslims. Instead, they absurdly and relentlessly target authentic, learned and progressive, humanist and peaceful Muslims. One needs only read my writings to grasp the media manipulation practiced by islamophobes. I myself am labeled an extremist by them. (Farid Gabteni)
Many have retreated into multiple factions, mutually excommunicating one another, forsaking the original and universal Message of Islâm, and interpreting the Qurân without drinking at its source, for having lost and forgotten its heart, in favour of uncertain, debated, and debatable traditions. ‘And among the people is he who disputes concerning God without knowledge or guidance, or an enlightening writing’ (Qurân / Chapter 22, verse 8). (Farid Gabteni)
Dismaying is the example of one who listens yet hears nothing, who learns yet understands nothing, who believes he knows yet knows nothing, who dabbles yet applies himself to nothing; in the end, he is of no use except to show off… a whole life devoid of science and conscience, lost in the humdrum of daily existence. It may elicit laughter, yet it is nonetheless sad. (Farid Gabteni)
I am Muslim, I testify that there is no god except God, Unique, without associate. And I testify that Muhammad is His Servant and Envoy, namely that the Creance, the Religion with God is the Pacification, the Islâm, the submission to God in peace. I do not testify that Abû Bakr, ΣOmar, ΣUthmâne or ΣAlî are messengers of God. They are just Muslims close to the Prophet, who were both right and wrong, and who cannot be blameless in essence. Only God Is Perfect and Absolute. I do not claim any theological or jurisprudential school in particular; this does not prevent me from strongly feeling my duty to defend the Muslim community – despite its diversity – of which I am a part. And I refuse – with all my strength – that it be split yet. I position myself against the excommunicators and the secessionists, whoever they may be. God does not like either aggression or aggressors. He Is The Witness and The Judge, and no one can claim to possess the paradise or hell, except Him. (Farid Gabteni)
‘And surely that the Prostratoriums [Mosques] are for God; so do not invoke anyone with God.’; ‘Say, ‘Surely, I possess no power to harm you, nor to guide you’.’ (Qurân/Chapter 72, verses 18 and 21). These are the Teaching of God and, in same way, of the righteous among His Allies; God Alone Is Worthy of Adoration and Invocation; His beneficent Servants are certainly praiseworthy and are reference models, but they are not perfect and they must in no case be the subject of worship due to God Alone. (Farid Gabteni)
I am a Muslim, and thus a Humanist; Kabyle, Algerian and French to the very end. (Farid Gabteni)
I do not choose my friends according to their skin color or the color of their passport. I believe neither in castes, nor in races, nor in classes. Humanity constitutes an organic unity; though interaction may at times prove difficult, it remains necessary and vital to me. (Farid Gabteni)
For believers, God Himself Is the Truth, The Sovereign, Supreme Truth; The Ineffable Truth. Other than Him, no one possesses the Absolute Truth, everyone has their own truth; in brief, there are as many points of view with regard to the truth as opinions. However, ‘Truth means nothing unless it is expressed uniformly, while objections and heresy are always able to address the detail’ (Blondel). The truth is knowledge recognised as right, consistent with its purpose and which therefore has a universal, absolute and ultimate value; the standard, principle of rectitude, wisdom, universally considered as an ideal in the sphere of thoughts and/or action. (Farid Gabteni)
The Truth! I will say it, I will claim it, I will spread it, I will exalt it, I will support it, I will defend it; for it I live and I would die. (Farid Gabteni)
I am a fighter, I lend myself only to the best; I am searching neither for reception nor for VIP lounge but from God, My Master and Lord. (Farid Gabteni)
Some politico-theological and case law doctrines – inherited from the history of Muslims – subsequent to the Prophet, are contrary to the very spirit of original Islâm. And yet unfortunately, today many proclaim them as immutable and eternal truths. These are no longer, as a priority, the original Message of Islâm and its universal values that are taught – obscured or forgotten – but the ritualistic doctrines of another age, with prospects from the future to the past! It is not Islâm that needs reforming; it’s traditionalism, which must be amended and desecrated. One teaches memoranda of traditions, instead of the Religion of ‘Those who remember God, standing and sitting and on their sides, and reflect on the creation of the skies and the earth (…)’ (Qurân / Chapter 3, verse 191). (Farid Gabteni)
Current religious institutions perpetuate, encourage and spread ideological traditionalism, ritualism and conformism; they do not prioritize upholding the original Message of Islâm which is stated and conveyed in the Qurân during the lifetime of and by the Prophet, over the traditionalism introduced after him and set up as a religion since then. It is time for Muslims to make this distinction, to search out the original meaning of Islâm, and to reform themselves accordingly. (Farid Gabteni)
The original Islâm, during the lifetime of the Prophet, and set forth and explained in the Qurân, must remain the primary reference for any Muslim worthy of the name. Such Islâm is synonymous with Science, Knowledge, Tolerance, and Progress. Traditionalism, by contrast, is synonymous with a past frozen in history—irretrievably bygone and irreproducible. History advances and never turns back, whatever we may do: this is the Law of God. Furthermore, traditionalist ideologism, both by excess and by deficiency, fosters intellectual stagnation, superstition, fetishism, dogmatism, uniformism, ignorantism, and obscurantism—evils to be avoided. (Farid Gabteni)
Traditionalists rehearse the ḥadîth—what the Prophet is said to have spoken—in order to legitimise their ideologies and interpretations of the Qurân, without due regard for the original Message of Islâm, and still less for historical and sociological data or circumstantial facts of time, place, cause, and purpose. Yet God says: ‘And he does not discourse from inclination – It is nothing but revelation Revealed’ (Qurân / Chapter 53, verses 3-4). These verses indicate that only what was revealed to him by God can be certified as the Prophet’s discourse, namely the Qurân. (Farid Gabteni)
The injunction of God ‘Say!’ is repeated three hundred and thirty-two times in the Qurân (in most cases, it is addressed to the Prophet). And this divine injunction, reiterated so frequently, is inherent in the continuous transmission of the Message, well-heard (well understood). What the Prophet said with certainty is what God commanded him to say through revelation, in the Qurân. ‘Such [are] the Signs (Verses) of God, We Relate them upon you by the true, then by what statement (ḥadîthin) after God and His Signs (Verses) do they assure (believe)?’ (Qurân / Chapter 45, verse 6). (Farid Gabteni)
As for the sunnah—the tradition, mode of the Prophet’s facts and conduct—it is likewise found, and more authentically, in the Qurân. There he is portrayed as a man of great creativity and morality, and what he is to say or do is set forth. The term ‘sunnah’ (mode) occurs sixteen times in the Qurân (fourteen times in the singular and twice in the plural), referring to God or to the ancients before the Prophet, but not once to Muhammad himself. This goes to show that when a ḥadîth, a sunnah or a sîrah of the Prophet is scientifically established, it must be regarded circumstantially. (Farid Gabteni)
Pseudo-religious fanatics take inspiration from traditionalism, stemming from the history of Muslims and not Islâm itself. We therefore must take action to inform and teach the original Islâm (from the lifetime of the Prophet) and set it apart from the traditionalist islam (after the death of the Prophet) plotted, built and established by political-theological, sociological and historical circumstances, mixed with the original Message of Islâm (Knowledge, Faith, Charity, Tolerance and Pacification). (Farid Gabteni)
The original Islâm is the Religion of God, it is set forth in the Qurân. Ideological traditionalism, by contrast, arises from the history of Muslims after the Prophet and, as such, cannot be regarded as belonging to the canon of the Religion. (Farid Gabteni)
In the seriously alarming circumstances of our modern society, I allow myself to think that it is everyone’s duty to encourage, support and promote the scientific works and books dealing with original Islâm. The latter, by means of those ones, is indeed the most effective tool to permanently and efficiently counter, neutralize and annihilate ideological ultra-traditionalism, a way leading to so much harm and suffering. (Farid Gabteni)
Shedding the blood of one’s fellow is to believe neither in God nor in humankind; it is to suffer hell today and tomorrow. (Farid Gabteni)
Under the cover of an islam that has been distorted by ignorantists, fanatics corrupt faith and commit crimes against God and humanity. (Farid Gabteni)
We have to be for the Islâm lifting up the soul; and against obscurantism, fanaticism and terrorism. (Farid Gabteni)
The presumptuous are loud; but when you are dealing scientifically, expertly and masterly with a subject, they are then disconcerted, with no reply other than expressing their insufficiency. (Farid Gabteni)
Sometimes, our certainties need to be reviewed, re-evaluated, or even reformed, in order to find back the true meaning of a Cause. (Farid Gabteni)
The Qurân mentions the law of retaliation relative to the elders, thus formed in primitive societies; that being said, it gives precedence to the narrative (the faculty of narrating and acting accordingly) of « those ranked first in quintessences », those who apprehend the gist. The level of knowledge acquired in our modern societies no longer allows us to act through instinct and vindictiveness, but rather through civilizing prevention and justice. Qurân / Chapter 2, verse 179: » And for you a life in the narrative, o those ranked first in quintessences; perhaps you will protect yourselves!« . (Farid Gabteni)
Brahmanism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, Islâm, etc. Religion—the relationship between man and the Divine Order, that of a Higher Reality—is insidiously distorted and perverted by the devil and his agents in the service of evil. (Farid Gabteni)
Many are unaware, or have forgotten, that the people of India, now a nation, are the fathers of philosophical and spiritual reflection. Well before the monotheism put forward by the Egyptian Akhenaton, and, in many respects, more justly, the Vedas then the Upanisads, sacred texts of Vedism then of ancient Brahmanism, known, since the Muslim presence under the name of Hinduism, formulated the monotheistic principle with Brahma, the universal and impersonal cosmic Soul, the One, the Essential Being, The Absolute Reality, The Without-Beginning-and-Without-End, impossible to represent or describe, denoted by The All (Sarvam) or That (Tat). The return of the Indian peoples, the heirs of Vedism, to the original and universal Message of God The Unique, will enrich humanity in terms of the excellence of spiritual and temporal knowledge. (Farid Gabteni)
For example, everyone today gives the impression of “discovering” China, a valorous nation which was, barely two centuries ago, a major power and civilisation. Seeing it re-emerge after being forgotten is simply a just restoration. It was present and active throughout the history of humanity, providing a model of civilisation, often advanced in relation to many others. The wisdom and creativity of the Chinese are ancient… The Prophet of Islâm even reportedly encouraged the faithful to go as far as China in the pursuit of science, a domain in which he does not mention Byzantium. China’s entry onto the international stage represents an unprecedented boon for humanity and for the development of an even more creative civilisation. (Farid Gabteni)
Until you empty your heart of rage and hatred, you can’t fill it with the Love of God and spread it in His Creation. (Farid Gabteni)
Love is a blessing, hatred a curse; the former is good, the latter a demon. (Farid Gabteni)
Apart from traditionalism, does the Qurân contain any statement that makes the sacrifice of animals obligatory for Muslims under any circumstances? Clearly not. The term ‘offering’ (hadyu in Arabic) admits of several meanings—circumstantial of time, place, cause, and purpose. It is this term that is employed in the Qurân with regard to the pilgrimage, whereas the term ‘slaughter’ (dhabḥ) is used in connection with the sacrifice of Abraham; the distinction is linguistically significant and far from incidental. The difference between slaughtering an animal and offering a gift is considerable. Consequently, can the annual slaughter of millions of animals at Eid/Tabaski be regarded as compatible and consistent with the original Islâm? This is a fundamental question that calls for reflection on the part of all who fear God and believe in Him. (Farid Gabteni)
By way of reminder, tradition relates that, during his pilgrimage, the Prophet offered a sacrifice—under very specific circumstances—on behalf of his whole community. His act is thus equivalent to all the animal sacrifices performed thereafter until the end of time. Consequently, on the day of Eid, any Muslim may discharge this obligation through an offering (hadyu), whatever its nature, without necessarily resorting to the slaughter of an animal: ‘Neither their flesh nor their blood reaches God; rather, what reaches Him from you is the premunition. Thus has He Subjected it to you, that you may magnify God for having Guided you; and give glad tidings to the doers of good’ (Qurân / Chapter 22, verse 37). (Farid Gabteni)
‘All creature on earth, and all bird that fly with wings, are communities like you’ (Qurân/Chapter 6, verse 38). The true Muslim cannot hold in contempt, mistreat, degrade, or weaken any animal, or kill it without good reason, much less for pleasure. Even to feed himself, he cannot trivially kill an animal; he must consider this act in the Name of God as a sacrificial operation, that is, an extraordinary act performed in fear of God, Creator of Breath of all life. (Farid Gabteni)
‘(…) and the clothing of premunition, that is best, that is from the Signs of God, perhaps they will remember!’ (Qurân / Chapter 7, verse 26). Covering one’s head, growing a beard, the qamis/daffah, the boubou or the djellaba, the veil, the niqab, the burqa or the chador; all of this is a result of traditionalism and has nothing to do with original Islâm as a religion. On the contrary, today, all of these manifestations are harming the image of Islâm and Muslims, mainly in non-Muslim countries; they are synonymous with obscurantism, sectarianism, provocation and aggression. For the learned Muslim – responsible and aware of real Islâm – it is unbearable to see it become distorted and reduced to these ostentations. The Islâm of light – at the origin of the emergence of modern science – is disguised by the ideological traditionalism as a ritualistic, backward and retrograde religion. Muslims must be awakened to original Islâm, the Islâm of science and progress; they must also protect themselves and preserve their religion from all harmful prejudice. (Farid Gabteni)
The adoration of God is not concretized in ostentatious accoutrements or incantatory ritualism; still less in illusory mimicry, words without knowledge, and derisory sacrifices. It crystallizes in the right decision followed by the good action. To adore and serve God is to love and serve His Creation; it is to think rightly and act rightly, to be useful and not futile. To be a Muslim—believing and practicing—is to be learned, pacified and pacifying, assured, assuring and reassuring, kind, benevolent and beneficent; it is to live and die peacefully. (Farid Gabteni)
No matter what the image, hairstyle or dressing, today or at any age; the purpose is the Message; only understands the wise. (Farid Gabteni)
The only one entitled to announce my death to you is myself; so long as you hear of what I have said or written, know that I am alive. (Farid Gabteni)
The Muslim is the one who has a commitment with God, to believe in Him, to worship Him through Islâm, which raises one’s soul, in all purity, to act with kindness, to accomplish the charitable, to recommend the suitable and condemn the despicable, to call men to God, to humanism, to reform and to equity. This gives him a benefit in this world and the best from God. In truth, the best provision is piety. The one who gets up with God, who drinks and who eats with God, who works and who rests with God, who sleeps and dreams with God, who thinks, who speaks and acts with God, who is poor and who is rich with God, who is healthy and who is sick with God, who is young and who is old with God, who lives and who dies, with God on his lips and in the heart; that one possesses this world and the hereafter. He gets up, drinks and eats, works and rests, sleeps and dreams, thinks, speaks and acts, lives and dies in peace. In peace with himself, with men, beings and things; accordingly, in peace with God, The Supreme-Good. Those are the righteous. (Farid Gabteni)
Islâm preaches measure and moderation in all things and for each thing, far from extremism and extremes. Muslims must return to the original Message of Islâm—that of yesterday, today, and tomorrow. They must rebuild themselves as a community of the middle way, the community of ‘Iqra’ ’, of ‘Link and Read’ through the Knowledge of God. They must first emerge from the torpor and fear that overwhelm them, and vigorously denounce all that and all those who, through hate and violence, disfigure their religion. It is incumbent upon them to awaken and to rehabilitate original Islâm in the eyes of the world. (Farid Gabteni)
The Muslim believer who knows is deeply Humanist; he will never become a naturally obscurantist criminal. (Farid Gabteni)
Faith in God is inseparable from righteous and beautiful work, simultaneously, one with the other. Muslims must diligently practice benevolence and beneficence, and vigorously denounce all that and all those who, through hatred and violence, disfigure their religion. It is incumbent upon them to awaken and to rehabilitate the original Islâm in the eyes of the world—the Islâm of enlightenment, of science and progress, of peace, freedom of conscience, and of tolerance. (Farid Gabteni)
When you’ve seen a being – reduced, subjected and debased – and you could do nothing for them, tell yourself today that you can surely do something for others like them. Blessed is he who says, acts and fulfills. (Farid Gabteni)
The poor, the needy, the sickly, the underprivileged, the victims of misfortune, and all those left behind in the world must unquestionably be, alongside Knowledge and Faith, the foremost concern of every Muslim. (Farid Gabteni)
Know how to love your fellow men, be kind to your neighbours, feed the hungry, take in orphans; that is what is good, what is right and is not vain. (Farid Gabteni)
Mistreating a child, or any vulnerable and innocent being, is a heinous crime that no reason can justify. God Is Omniscient; woe to the evildoers. (Farid Gabteni)
Think of those who are suffering and dying here and elsewhere. Have a heart and be fighters, rescue those in misfortune and calm those who fear; no one gets used to the pain. (Farid Gabteni)
In Arabic, the words ‘assurance’, ‘faith’ and ‘belief’ (îmân, إیمان) have the same roots (A-M-N, أ م ن) : assurance, safety, security. In the Quranic language, faith is acquired through knowledge—by making sure and assuring—it is far more than a vague and relative belief. God Is Evident, rationally, one can only bear witness to it; and such testimony must be given with full knowledge of the facts, with full knowledge and awareness. The believer—which I translate as the assurer—makes sure and secures himself by educating himself about the Fact of God; thus he becomes secured and securing, assured and assuring (mu’min, مؤمن). (Farid Gabteni)
Man, with all his knowledge, feels the need to nourish his soul; his spiritual quest demands answers. Yet the wave of sects of Judeo-Christian or Far Eastern inspiration, drawn from Buddhism or Hinduism, has receded. Attempts to spiritualise materialism—and the reverse—failed to take hold. So too will it be with the doctrinal sectarianism of misguided Muslims. (Farid Gabteni)
Islâm, with its original and distinctive Message, will make man rediscover his humanity and his raison d’être; such is its universal vocation. ‘(…) and whoever premunises himself through God, He Forms for him a way out – And He Grants him from where he does not calculate, and whoever mandates God, then He Is His Calculator; indeed God Brings His Command to pass; God has already Formed for all things a measure’ (Qurân / Chapter 65, verses 2-3). (Farid Gabteni)
In Arabic, the words ‘world’ and ‘scholar’ (عâlam and عâlim) have the same root (ع-L-M, ع ل م): science, knowledge, understanding. The world is intimately bound to knowledge —to the objective knowledge we have of it; it exists only through this primordial information. The real world can only be perceived through scientific knowledge; any departure from this is subjective; this results in myths and legends, synonymous with fetishism and superstition. Thus, with some exceptions, the ancients conceived speculatively fabulous and imaginary worlds, without genuine scientific foundation. Nevertheless, and to their credit, they possessed this specifically intelligent awareness that the world has meaning and a raison d’être. It is this state of affairs that lies at the origin of scientific research and its results that we observe nowadays and every day. (Farid Gabteni)
In Arabic, the words ‘injustice’ and ‘obscurity’ (ẓulm, ẓulmah, ظﻠم ظﻠﻤﺔ) have the same root (Ẓ-L-M, ظ ل م). An inherent logic in the Arabic language explains the link between injustice and obscurity: in obscurity we act without accuracy, operate blindly, move things incorrectly, deviate, stray and lead others astray; thus the one darkened is obscured, he appraises and acts unjustly, he in turn becomes obscuring. Therefore, I translate the word ‘unjust’ as ‘obscurantist’. (Farid Gabteni)
Look and listen with your nose, because your eyes and your ears often deceive you; your nose smells what is bad or what is good. (Farid Gabteni)
If you listen, you will hear; if you watch, you will see; if you think, you will believe. (Farid Gabteni)
It is not a sin to be born deaf or blind; it is one to remain so. (Farid Gabteni)
Now that you’ve understood what I’ve told you, you have no fear nor desire, you cry as you laugh and you die as you live. (Farid Gabteni)
We can say that we are in the era of the end of the times of ignorantism. The charlatans disguised in Muslims and the islamophobes think of creating the chaos which would enable them to achieve their goal of domination. But when these forces of the darkness are overcome and destroyed, a new world/modeof science, rationality, justice and sharing will emerge, in which Humanity will live then the most beautiful era of its history. (Farid Gabteni)
Had we been present at the birth of the Universe, it would have been utterly impossible for us to imagine what has come to pass since. Had we been present during the Stone Age, it would have been fundamentally impossible for us to imagine the modern world. Thus, in attempting to imagine the future world, we must proceed relatively and prudently, mindful that it will be even more extraordinary than whatever we could imagine. (Farid Gabteni)
He who sees only with his eyes possesses but little knowledge and knows of the world only its emptiness; indeed, how truly wretched he is. (Farid Gabteni)
Those who follow me are not behind but ahead; they irresistibly walk ahead. (Farid Gabteni)
Lord God of goodness, of unequalled justice! I testify that You Are, that You have always Been, that You will forever Be. (Farid Gabteni)
God of eternity! May You infinitely be Glorified, infinitely be Praised and infinitely be Thanked. (Farid Gabteni)
You have not received if you have not opened and you have not lived if you have not suffered. (Farid Gabteni)
I am poor I live on charity, I am sober never distracted. I am proud I walk upright; I am in prayer never down on my knees. (Farid Gabteni)
When you become You, you will know how to become me. He whose Companion is God never needs a lover again. (Farid Gabteni)
I am dead as I was born, from my body I am delivered; I have lived and I will live, Guided by The One who Created me. (Farid Gabteni)
God Is My Lord, no fear, no misfortune reach my heart. (Farid Gabteni)
Straighten up, if you want to walk by my side, stand up if you want me to address you; my people are righteous, kind and human. (Farid Gabteni)
We intoxicate ourselves with many things; but beware: those who grow fond of pink elephants face bleak tomorrows ahead. (Farid Gabteni)
Life is a comedy and a drama, both at the same time; we have to be an actor and a spectator in it, both at the same time. (Farid Gabteni)
O God, my Master! If You test me, make of me a patient servant; and if You fulfil me, make of me a grateful servant. (Farid Gabteni)
Praise to God! He has no equal either on the earth or in the heavens. Glory to Him! He Is Unique, neither three and nor two. (Farid Gabteni)
Glory to God! He Is Unique, nor three nor more numerous and nor two, He has no equal either on the earth or in the heavens or between both. (Farid Gabteni)
God Is Wise and All-Knowing. He Raises among the people those who seek His Forgiveness, who respect their oaths; God Sees and Hears them. (Farid Gabteni)
Lord, Cover with Your Peace Your Prophets and Messengers, and the righteous among Your Allies, who called to truth and called to patience. (Farid Gabteni)
God My Master! Guide those who love You, Bless those who love me and Forgive those I love. (Farid Gabteni)
God My Master! Grant Your Presence to my mind, patience to my heart and resistance to my body. (Farid Gabteni)
God! No one equals His Beauty and no one equals His Kindness, no one has Loved me so much and no one has Fulfilled me so much. (Farid Gabteni)
God Is The One, the Judgment is certain, think about tomorrow and act well. (Farid Gabteni)
Blissful are those who have loved each other, those who have forgiven each other, those who have vowed themselves to God. (Farid Gabteni)
