Al-Nasa’i (d. AD 915) was the compiler of one of the six “canonical” hadith collections in the Sunni Islamic tradition, the Sunan al-Sughra.  Here’s an item from it, which is said to have come from ‘A’isha, the youngest of the Prophet Muhammad’s wives:   “‘A’isha narrated, ‘The Prophet said, “O Allah, I declare inviolable the rights of two weak ones: the orphans and women.”‘”     Read more

    The ninth-century Sahih of al-Bukhari, the most prestigious collection of prophetic hadith or traditions in Sunni Islam — indeed, it could reasonably be argued to be almost quasi-canonical — contains the following:   “A man came to Allah’s Messenger [that is, to the Prophet Muhammad] and said, ‘O Allah’s Messenger!  Who is more entitled to be treated with the best companionship by me?’   “The Prophet said, ‘Your mother.’   “The man said, ‘Who is next?’   “The Prophet... Read more

    An interesting interview, roughly thirty minutes long, available via the website of the Interpreter Foundation:   http://www.mormoninterpreter.com/lds-perspectives-podcast-balancing-religious-tensions-with-mauro-properzi/     Read more

    Happy Earth Day!   “How Progressives Cherry-Pick Science They Like”   Read more

    Cue the outrage:   The Church gives too little.  This is pathetic.  It’s a joke.  The Church boasts too much.  It doesn’t do enough.  LD$ Inc. is all about money.  Mormonism isn’t really a religion at all.  The leaders of the Church hate women.  The leaders of the Church don’t really care about families and children.  And etc. and etc. and so forth and so on:   http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865678248/Mormon-women-leaders-give-120000-to-Childrens-Justice-Center-in-Salt-Lake-Valley.html     Read more

    “Man can certainly flee from God . . .  but he cannot escape him.  He can certainly hate God and be hateful to God, but he cannot change into its opposite the eternal love of God which triumphs even in his hate.” Karl Barth (1886-1968)   Read more

    This may be very bad news for Hollywood:   http://www.space.com/36451-asteroids-bad-at-making-waves.html     Read more

    “Our main business is not to see what lies dimly at a distance, but to do what lies clearly at hand.” Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881)     Read more

    A hadith (“saying” or “tradition”) attributed to the Prophet Muhammad:   “The best of you are those who are best in treatment to their wives” (or “to their women”).   عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عَمْرٍو قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ خِيَارُكُمْ خِيَارُكُمْ لِنِسَائِهِمْ 1978 سنن ابن ماجه كتاب النكاح باب حسن معاشرة النساء 1622 المحدث الألباني خلاصة حكم المحدث صحيح في صحيح ابن ماجه Posted from Park City, Utah     Read more

    Today — as ever, of course, we’re on our deathbed — Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture has published not one but two articles.  Here’s the second one:   http://www.mormoninterpreter.com/overcoming-obstacles-becoming-a-great-missionary/   Posted from Park City, Utah     Read more