I promised myself not to take a peek until next weekend, but I broke my promise, so here goes:
@ sky
Muslim/Islam is different from muslim/islam (which means submission/submitters).
@ tara
ok, use a different word then. What would you call something that once it exists, it stays on forever? Due to my weak language skills in both Arabic and English, the only term I can think of is eternal... if there's a better term, please do alert me.
anyway, apparently the verses I listed in my post addressed to Hassan were never checked by you. Our souls existed long before our life on this Earth (according to the verses I brought during my discussion with Hassan).
@ Ghazali
First off, Ibn Kathir et al are indeed specualting regarding the Heights. Proof? Read their Tafsir regarding the Heights... they have different contradictory ideas trying to explain the Heights (at least the Arabic version of their Tafsir is extensive).
http://quran.al-islam.com/Tafseer/DispTafsser.asp?nType=1&nSora=7&nAya=46&taf=KATHEER&l=arb&tashkeel=0Of course, never mind their great scholarship when they all parrot each other and give the same excat contradictory Tafsirs.
e.g. see here.
http://www.councilofexmuslims.com/index.php?topic=8240.msg206742#msg206742And in case they unwittingly blaspheme, then they should still be celebrated as our great scholars,
e.g. according to Ibn Kathir, Jesus is God and he sent messengers (Simon, John, and non other than Paul himself!). In fact, according to Ibn Kathir, Jesus (God) first sent Simon and John to the town of Antioch to call people to Him, but when they (Simon and John) failed in their mission, Jesus later sent Paul to their aid! Halleujah! (but anyway, eventually all 3 fail.)
http://quran.al-islam.com/Tafseer/DispTafsser.asp?nType=1&nSora=36&nAya=14&taf=KATHEER&l=arb&tashkeel=0This
heresy is the Tafsir for this verse.
036.014
YUSUFALI: When We (first) sent to them two messengers, they rejected them: But We strengthened them with a third: they said, "Truly, we have been sent on a mission to you."
PICKTHAL: When We sent unto them twain, and they denied them both, so We reinforced them with a third, and they said: Lo! we have been sent unto you.
SHAKIR: When We sent to them two, they rejected both of them, then We strengthened (them) with a third, so they said: Surely we are messengers to you.
Oh, and Islamic scholarship was not restricted to Sunnis, you know. Mutazlites, for example, flourished about 100-200 years after the dawn of Islam but they were supressed by Sunnis.. I don't agree with everything Mutazilites believed, but I think no one should suppress the ideas of others. The religion is NOT owned by any group.