United Submitters International
Encyclopedia
United Submitters International (also called the Submitters) is a reformist moderate Islam
ic religious community, following the teachings of Rashad Khalifa
who is regarded in this faith as God's messenger of the Covenant, who claims to be prophesied in the Old Testament
, the New Testament, and the Quran. Majority of Muslims consider him and his belief as heretical. Submission is a religion whereby one recognizes God’s absolute authority, and reaches a conviction that only God possesses all power; no other entity possesses any power that is independent of Him. The natural result of such a realization is to devote one’s life and one’s worship absolutely to God alone. This is the First Commandment in all the scriptures, including the Old Testament, the New Testament and the Final Testament (The Quran).
The original group attended a mosque in Tucson, Arizona
, which was originally founded by Dr. Rashad Khalifa
in the United States of America. The Submitters can now be found throughout the world.
Dr. Khalifa was assassinated on January 31st 1990. It is believed that he was assassinated by a person named 'James William' who is in the extremist group Al-Fuqra'
, based in Pakistan
led by Shiekh Gilani.
Submitters describe themselves as Muslims who submit to God alone and follow Quran alone. A Submitter can be defined as a person who submits to the will of God. The state of Submission, which can only take place between the person and God Almighty, is considered to be the only acceptable form of worship by God. (3:19, 85). Therefore, Submission is not just a name of a religion; rather it describes one’s devotion to God alone.
also translated the Quran in modern, easy to understand, English. His authorized English version of the Quran can be found online.
), believing that many of the "traditions" are later inventions. Khalifa was notable for being both a practicing Muslim and an absolutist rejector of hadith and sunnah. He argued foremost that hadith and sunnah were condemned by the Qur'an Alone ideology. He also argued that the hadith and sunnah were not credible, and that much of the elaborate structure of religious and family law, sharia
, erected on the basis of the hadith, was not binding on Muslims. Indeed, he argued that the Qur'an alone was sufficient as a basis for Islam. His ideas have clearly had some influence, even outside his group of Submitters, but it would be difficult to quantify it. He promoted the slogan: The Qur'an, the whole Qur'an, and nothing but the Qur'an
, that these verses were only found in one version of the ninth sura when the Qur'an was compiled and standardizedhttp://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/061.sbt.html#006.061.509 under the early caliph Uthman ibn Affan. Furthermore he argued that those two verses are labelled as Meccan in a sura usually accepted as Medinan.
Khalifa distinguished between "messengers" and "prophets" http://www.submission.org/messenger/prophet.html, arguing that prophets brought down scriptures from God while messengers did not. He considered Muhammad to be the final Prophet (delivering the final scripture; Qur'an) but not the last messenger. He proclaimed that every prophet is a messenger but every messenger is not necessarily a prophet.
, or daily prayer, and the shahadah, or confession of faith. The usual forms of prayer and confession mention Muhammad. Removing Muhammad's name was not well received by other Muslims. Khalifa argued that mentioning the name of any powerless human being in any of the worship practices was idolatry, or setting up partners beside God.
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic religious community, following the teachings of Rashad Khalifa
Rashad Khalifa
Rashad Khalifa was an Egyptian-American biochemist, closely associated with the United Submitters International. He was assassinated in 1990.-Life:Khalifa was born in Egypt on November 19, 1935...
who is regarded in this faith as God's messenger of the Covenant, who claims to be prophesied in the Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
, the New Testament, and the Quran. Majority of Muslims consider him and his belief as heretical. Submission is a religion whereby one recognizes God’s absolute authority, and reaches a conviction that only God possesses all power; no other entity possesses any power that is independent of Him. The natural result of such a realization is to devote one’s life and one’s worship absolutely to God alone. This is the First Commandment in all the scriptures, including the Old Testament, the New Testament and the Final Testament (The Quran).
The original group attended a mosque in Tucson, Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
, which was originally founded by Dr. Rashad Khalifa
Rashad Khalifa
Rashad Khalifa was an Egyptian-American biochemist, closely associated with the United Submitters International. He was assassinated in 1990.-Life:Khalifa was born in Egypt on November 19, 1935...
in the United States of America. The Submitters can now be found throughout the world.
Dr. Khalifa was assassinated on January 31st 1990. It is believed that he was assassinated by a person named 'James William' who is in the extremist group Al-Fuqra'
Al-Fuqra'
Jamaat ul-Fuqra is a paramilitary organization of mostly African-American Muslims based in Pakistan and the United States. Some of the approximately 3000 members have planned various acts of violence, often directed at rival factions...
, based in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
led by Shiekh Gilani.
Beliefs
- All worship should be dedicated to God alone.
- No human beings should be mentioned in prayer; this constitutes. shirkShirkShirk may refer to:* "Shirk", to avoid work or other responsibilities* Shirk , in Islam, the sin of idolatry or associating beings or things with Allah* "Shirk break", a synonym for coffee break*Susan Shirk, US academic...
(idolatry) - The Qur'anQur'anThe Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
is the last scripture revealed by God to man and is the ONLY source of religious guidance for all muslims. - Islam as the world knows it today has been corrupted beyond recognition by adherence to hadithHadithThe term Hadīth is used to denote a saying or an act or tacit approval or criticism ascribed either validly or invalidly to the Islamic prophet Muhammad....
and sunnahSunnahThe word literally means a clear, well trodden, busy and plain surfaced road. In the discussion of the sources of religion, Sunnah denotes the practice of Prophet Muhammad that he taught and practically instituted as a teacher of the sharī‘ah and the best exemplar... - Rashad KhalifaRashad KhalifaRashad Khalifa was an Egyptian-American biochemist, closely associated with the United Submitters International. He was assassinated in 1990.-Life:Khalifa was born in Egypt on November 19, 1935...
was the consolidating and purifying Messenger of the Covenant prophesied in the Bible (Malachi 3:1-21, Luke 17:22-36, & Matthew 24:27) and in the Qur'an (3:81) - God put an authenticating code in all His scriptures, including the Qur'anQur'anThe Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
, based on the number 19 - The number 19 represents God's signature of one God or "Wahd" in Arabic which has a numerical value of 19.
Submitters describe themselves as Muslims who submit to God alone and follow Quran alone. A Submitter can be defined as a person who submits to the will of God. The state of Submission, which can only take place between the person and God Almighty, is considered to be the only acceptable form of worship by God. (3:19, 85). Therefore, Submission is not just a name of a religion; rather it describes one’s devotion to God alone.
Rashad's English Translation of the Quran in English
Rashad KhalifaRashad Khalifa
Rashad Khalifa was an Egyptian-American biochemist, closely associated with the United Submitters International. He was assassinated in 1990.-Life:Khalifa was born in Egypt on November 19, 1935...
also translated the Quran in modern, easy to understand, English. His authorized English version of the Quran can be found online.
Rejection of hadith and sunnah
Academics and scholars in the Western tradition have long taken a jaundiced view of hadith (see hadith and sunnah, historiography of early IslamHistoriography of early Islam
The historiography of early Islam refers to the study of the early origins of Islam based on a critical analysis, evaluation, and examination of authentic primary source materials and the organization of these sources into a narative timeline....
), believing that many of the "traditions" are later inventions. Khalifa was notable for being both a practicing Muslim and an absolutist rejector of hadith and sunnah. He argued foremost that hadith and sunnah were condemned by the Qur'an Alone ideology. He also argued that the hadith and sunnah were not credible, and that much of the elaborate structure of religious and family law, sharia
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
, erected on the basis of the hadith, was not binding on Muslims. Indeed, he argued that the Qur'an alone was sufficient as a basis for Islam. His ideas have clearly had some influence, even outside his group of Submitters, but it would be difficult to quantify it. He promoted the slogan: The Qur'an, the whole Qur'an, and nothing but the Qur'an
Rejection of two false verses
While Khalifa's early publications claimed that the numerical code he saw in the Qur'an confirmed that the Qur'an was perfectly preserved, errors were found in his earlier counts. In the end, to keep the counts of certain critical words, Khalifa denounced two long-accepted verses (Sura 9:128–129) of the Qur'an as later interpolations, as a purifier of the Qur'an. He claimed that the numerical patterns he found in the Qur'an showed the verses to be false http://www.submission.org/tampering.html. He also pointed to a tradition found in Sahih BukhariSahih Bukhari
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī , as it is commonly referred to, is one of the six canonical hadith collections of Islam. These prophetic traditions, or hadith, were collected by the Persian Muslim scholar Muhammad ibn Ismail al-Bukhari, after being transmitted orally for generations. Muslims view this as one of...
, that these verses were only found in one version of the ninth sura when the Qur'an was compiled and standardizedhttp://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/061.sbt.html#006.061.509 under the early caliph Uthman ibn Affan. Furthermore he argued that those two verses are labelled as Meccan in a sura usually accepted as Medinan.
As God's Messenger of the Covenant
The controversy surrounding Khalifa deepened when he informed his followers that he was the Messenger of the Covenant, prophesied in the Bible (Malachi 3:1-21, Luke 17:22-36, & Matthew 24:27) and the Qur'an (3:81)http://www.submission.ws/quran/suras/index.html, sent to purify and consolidate all God's messages into one.Khalifa distinguished between "messengers" and "prophets" http://www.submission.org/messenger/prophet.html, arguing that prophets brought down scriptures from God while messengers did not. He considered Muhammad to be the final Prophet (delivering the final scripture; Qur'an) but not the last messenger. He proclaimed that every prophet is a messenger but every messenger is not necessarily a prophet.
Purifying the Five Daily Contact prayers (Salat)
Khalifa claimed that it was wrong to mention any name besides the name of God in any of the worship practices, including the salatSalat
Salah is the practice of formal prayer in Islam. Its importance for Muslims is indicated by its status as one of the Five Pillars of Sunni Islam, of the Ten Practices of the Religion of Twelver Islam and of the 7 pillars of Musta'lī Ismailis...
, or daily prayer, and the shahadah, or confession of faith. The usual forms of prayer and confession mention Muhammad. Removing Muhammad's name was not well received by other Muslims. Khalifa argued that mentioning the name of any powerless human being in any of the worship practices was idolatry, or setting up partners beside God.
The Quran's Mathematical code of number 19
Khalifa discovered the Qur'an's mathematical code http://www.submission.ws/index.php/appendix-1-mathematical-miracle-of-quran-koran-19.html. The submitters believe that the Quran is characterized by a unique phenomenon never found in any human authored book. Every element of the Quran is mathematically composed — the suras, the verses, the words, the number of certain letters, the number of words from the same root, the number and variety of divine names, the unique spelling of certain words, the absence or deliberate alteration of certain letters within certain words, and many other elements of the Quran besides its content. There are two major facets of the Quran's mathematical system: (1) The mathematical literary composition, and (2) The mathematical structure involving the numbers of suras and verses. Because of this comprehensive mathematical coding, the slightest distortion of the Quran's text or physical arrangement is immediately exposed.Further reading
- One of the Greatest Miracles 74:35 - Over it is Nineteen
- Submitters and their beliefs?
- Read the English translation of the Quran by Dr. Rashad Khalifa
- Read the book Quran, Hadith and Islam by Dr. Rashad Khalifa.
USI websites
- Submission Web Site(organization website)
- Submission.org (organization website)
- Masjid Tucson (organization website)
- Submission.info (organization website)
- United Submitters Videos (Videos by United Submitters International and Dr. Rashad Khalifa)
- God's mosque.org (Q&A using Quran alone)