OutSyed The Box

Posted: 28 Jul 2012 11:15 AM PDT

Here is more stuff from the Bible. In the Bible there is something known as the Priestly Garments. This is the necessary ensemble that must be worn, especially when a new priest is consecrated. Here is the Bible :

The Priestly Garments : Book of Exodus 28 (New International Version)

28 "Have Aaron your brother brought to you from among the Israelites, along with his sons Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, so they may serve me as priests. 2 Make sacred garmentsfor your brother Aaron to give him dignity and honor. 3 Tell all the skilled workers to whom I have given wisdom in such matters that they are to make garments for Aaron, for his consecration, so he may serve me as priest. 4 These are the garments they are to make: a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a woven tunic, a turban and a sash. They are to make these sacred garments for your brother Aaron and his sons, so they may serve me as priests. 5 Have them use gold, and blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and fine linen

Please note these words carefully : these sacred garments, so they may serve me as priests., a robe (jubah), a turban (serban), a sash, a breastpiece, a woven tunic, an ephod,

This ensemble is the sacred attire for the consecration of the priests in the Bible. Then the priests must also grow a beard. Here is the Bible again :

Leviticus 21:5 (New International Version)

21:5 "'Priests must not shave their heads or shave off the edges of their beards or cut their bodies."

So it is part of the priest being sacred and holy that he must not shave off his beard. Here is a picture of a handsome guy that gives you an idea of this :

Not only priests but the Bible advises all Jews NOT to shave their beards :

"Don't round your hair at the temples or mar the edges of your beard" - Leviticus 19:27

The Jews never appeared without beards, it was quite shameful if they did NOT have a beard. The Bible again :

2nd Samuel 10:5 "When they told it unto David, he sent to meet them, because the men were greatly ashamed: and the king said, Tarry (wait) at Jericho until your beards be grown, and then return."

Obviously some Jews had had their beards forcefully shaven off by some bad guys. They were in great shame. So King David told them to stay in Jericho for a while until their beards grew back. Beards were a really big deal for these beardos.

So this whole thing about jubah, serban and beards being part of a holy appearance is written in the Bible. I say, ya aiyyuhal Muslimeen, the Bible is quite detailed about the wearing of serban, jubah and beards. What does the Quran say? The Quran does not say anything at all. This is another Biblical subject. It is not a Quranic subject.

The Quran does talk about the hypocrites or munafiks using their physical appearances and their speech to fool the people. Here are the verses. Not surprisingly the reference is from Surah 63 which is also known as Surah Al Munafiqoon or The Hypocrites.

63:1 When the hypocrites come to you, they say: We bear witness that you are most surely Allah's Apostle (nash-hadu innaka la rasulullah); and Allah knows that you are most surely His Apostle, and Allah bears witness that the hypocrites are surely liars.

63:2 They make their oaths a shelter, and thus turn away from Allah's way; surely evil is that which they do.

63:3 That is because they believe, then disbelieve, so a seal is set upon their hearts so that they do not understand.

63:4 And when you see them, their persons will impress you, and If they speak, you will listen to their speech; (they are) as if they were big pieces of wood clad with garments; they think every cry to be against them. They are the enemy, therefore beware of them; may Allah destroy them, whence are they turned back?

Here is the Malay translation of Surah 63:4

"Dan apabila kamu melihat mereka, tubuh-tubuh mereka menjadikan kamu kagum. Dan jika mereka berkata, kamu mendengarkan perkataan mereka. Mereka adalah seakan-akan kayu yang tersandar. Mereka mengira bahwa tiap-tiap teriakan yang keras ditujukan kepada mereka. Mereka itulah musuh (yang sebenarnya), maka waspadalah terhadap mereka; semoga Allah membinasakan mereka. Bagaimanakah mereka sampai dipalingkan (dari kebenaran)?"

The munafiks will use their appearances and their fancy speech to impress the people (menjadikan kamu kagum). This means they will dress and carry themselves in a certain manner to fool people that they are something which they really are not or which no one can ever be.

Well to be fair, a lot of people in real life dress in a certain manner and carry themselves in a certain manner but rarely it is to fool people. Nurses wear uniforms but they don't aim to fool you. Their uniforms tell us that the nurse is trained to stick a needle into your backside. A policeman and a soldier wear uniforms which say that they can shoot you or throw you in jail. A pilot wears a uniform which tells us that he has enough skills and experience to fly an airplane safely.

And we can know very quickly if the nurse, policeman, soldier and pilot are worthy of the uniforms they are wearing. They cannot jual air liur for long. The pilot can have two dozen golden stripes on his sleeves but if he cannot land the plane safely, he will not be a pilot for long. Meaning the nurse, policeman, soldier and pilot can rarely be the munafiks referred to in Surah 63:4 above.

But most certainly Surah 63:4 refers to those people in the "I am holier than thou" category. These are the real hypocrites or munafiks – the people who dress in a certain fashion to potray to the whole world that they are "religious". And they also use their speech (menjual air liur) to impress you.

"tubuh-tubuh mereka menjadikan kamu kagum. Dan jika mereka berkata, kamu mendengarkan perkataan mereka"

There are those who feel that wearing a beard, jubah and serban somehow makes them "religious" and "holier than thou". You can see some of these folks walking around – Taliban style, desert Arab style and all sorts of styles.

Obviously they do not know the Prophet's teaching in the Quran :

Surah 7:26 O children of Adam, we have provided you with garments to cover your bodies, as well as for luxury. But the best garment is the garment of righteousness (wa libasu al taqwa thalika khayrun). These are some of GOD's signs, that they may take heed.

So here is another question for the Muslims. After telling everyone (in the Quran that was revealed to him) that "the best garment is the garment of righteousness (wa libasu al taqwa thalika khayrun)" will the Prophet turn around on another day and tell the people "It is also a righteous thing if you cut your hair like this, if you wear your clothes like that, if your physical appearance is like this, your appearance is like that etc"? Think carefully before you answer.

The Bible says that the beards, jubah, serban and such are the sacred garments of the priests. The Quran does not say any such things. So do you think the Prophet would have said the same thing as the Bible ? Again think carefully before you answer.

Watch Has Been Found

Posted: 28 Jul 2012 08:16 AM PDT