Messages

You say that either suffering is good, or God is not all-powerful, or God is not good.

Well the first thing is, we dont deem suffering as something that is bad, because it strengthens the heart  and brings people to repent to Him. For example, we believe that suffering of pain and hunger etc. are due to one's sins, and they are a test for the believer. "Whatever misfortune happens to you, is because of the things your hands have wrought, and for many (of them) He grants forgiveness". It is known that in times of sufferring men turn in repentance to their Lord and seek His help, while in times of ease people are negligent.

Second of all, the term 'good' is a relative term. For something that is good to you, another may deem it bad. For example, lets say I believe the death penalty is good for the one who murders, while someone else may deem it bad. So the term 'good' is relative from person to person. In the case of the one who suffers due to a calamity, they may not deem it good for them, but in reality (by God's Wisdom) it would be good for them, because of the benefits it brings.

As for suffering in terms of social injustice, then this happens due to the fact that we have a free-will, and God decrees these things to happen(social injustices, wars, etc.) because if He did not, then free-will would be somethign that was meaningless. For those who do wrong, they will be payed back in full for what they did, whether in this life, or in the Hereafter.

Basically, this life is a test and simply a passing to the Hereafter. Whatever God decrees in this life there is a wisdom behind it, even if we don't understand it at face value.

Thats retarded. Thats the most disgusting filthy belief ive ever heard of

hehe that's actually the BEST line i have heard on this forum ALL YEAR!!!

WELL DONE!!!

Douglas

I remember you from a few years ago. My old name was DjMidgetman

1) They believe that one path is for all. The religion should be flexible to accomadate different types of people.. people with varying beliefs and faiths. This is essential because all people are not same. I might like a certain food,, while you might not. There is no point on arguing that the food you eat is better or the food that I is better. GOD should be within the reach of everybody. It is insanely wrong to say that an atheist should suffer and not have a chance at GOD realization. For such a person, his path must be such that it does not contradict with his faith system (in this example, that he does not believe in GOD). As he progresses along his path, he himself should be able to realize the existence of GOD and the unity of nature. Religion should be accesible to people. There is no point in forcing the same ideas on every person. This is the single most important reason that Christians feel confused by their faith. Customization is the thing.

The issue here isn't personal tastes or preferences, its about what is truth and what is falsehood. When you understand that the universe is built upon Truth, a set of physical laws, and that it was created for a specific purpose, you also have to bear witness to the falsehood of what contradicts that.

Islam is a very universal religion. If you look at the Prophet's teachings, his way of life, and the religion he came with, you'll see that it is universal and can apply for all times and peoples. This is why you'll see people from every race, background, culture, etc. clinging to Islam and following the traditions of the Prophet, because they are complete and preserved. The western scholars themselves admit that we know more about the Prophet Muhammad's life than any other Prophet or even historical figure. I suggest you read some of the seerah(history) books of his life, or you could goto www.islamqa.com and see the rulings for prayer, fasting, charity, laws, etc. all in accordance with the Qur'an and the authentic sunnah(example of the Prophet). They may help you have a better understanding of the universality of Islam's rulings, since it breaks all cultural, national, or racial barriers, and sees these as meaningless.


"O mankind! We have created you from a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know one another. Verily, the most honourable of you in the sight of Allah is that (believer) who is most deeply conscious of Him. Verily, Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware."[Surah Hujurat ayah 13]

If there is ONE God, who is good and who is ALL POWERFUL then it would stand to reason that we would have a uniform world where no suffering takes place. OR suffering is good OR God is NOT all powerful OR God is not good. Logically/theologically speaking; somethings got to give. That is reasoning.

The problem is that you fail to differentiate between what God decrees and what He is pleased with. God may decree something for a person that He isnt pleased with(in general), yet it is decreed to serve a higher purpose.

I'm not in the mood right now to fully expound on this but if you want to read on this subject then goto http://63.175.194.25/index.php?ln=eng&ds=qa&lv=browse&CR=227&offset=0&recno=15&dgn=4

which has many questions and answers on His Divine Will and Decree.

Why would I fear Allah/Mohammed/God? I've never seen? That is reasoning.

Even though you haven't seen Him, the evidences and proofs of His existence and power would lead you to fear Him. And we dont ask you to ffear Muhammad(peace be upon him), hes simply a Messenger of God, not God Himself.

When you accept anothers views without using your own (God given?) logic, that is NOT proof or reasoning - its blind faith.

Yes but if anothers views conform with reason, then one should follow it. Following the Messengers conforms with reason, since there are issues which the intellect cannot delve into and deal with by itself, but rather can only be made manifest through revelation.

You CANNOT convince somebody to follow Islam just because the Koran says something. Those who are not Islam don't believe the Koran, so just because it says this or says that has no value. Likewise when Christians try to use the Bible to PROVE God/Jesus; and fail to understand first they must prove the Bible, because to an outsider it has no authority.

Yes, however, the Qur'an presents arguments to prove its Truth and we can quote the arguments as refutations.

My understanding of Islam isn't enough to dissect this entire article, but one thing did stand out that I would like to comment on.

1. Allah singles out the people who possess reason and proper knowledge as being those who carry out the objectives of worship. He discusses the rulings of how to perform the pilgrimage and then concludes by saying: "And fear me, O people of understanding." [ Sûrah al-Baqarah : 197]

Often we hear the phrase "People fear what they don't understand." When he commands those who understand to fear, it seems to contradict this. Do you believe Mr. Allah was trying to convey the idea that even the most enlightened sages would never understand God, and thus, they should fear him? If so, if no one is ever able to understand God, how can one assume the teachings are the correct understanding of Him? I think I would hope to understand God as my final reward for being faithful, as a gift of enlightenment and joy, over a truckload of virgins. Honestly, even if they're virgins, if you do to them what they're meant for, they won't all remain virgins forever.

First of all, have some respect befoer you say "Mr. Allah".

The Qur'an says: "It is only those who have knowledge who fear Allaah"

They do not fear Allaah because they dont understand Him, but rather because they KNOW of His power and dominion, and because of what the consequences are of disobeying Him.

The way we understand God, is through His names and attributes that He revealed to us in the Noble Qur'an and what His Prophet informed us of. The truth of the matter is,  the attributes of God are beyond man's intellect to understand "how" they are".  So the Muslim is forbidden to delve into 'how' they are. For example, we affirm that God exists, yet we dont go into 'how' God exists, for this is beyond our intellect. Likewise, we dont say about God that we have no knowledge of, but rather only what we know through revelation.


And actually, the most precious gift that the Muslim is given in Paradise according to the Qur'an and sunnah is that he gets to see Allah.

I only wanted to write after you declared that it is all right to kill people if they are what you call "pagan":

So than Aryan religions say that you should NOT BOW DOWN TO ANY GOD. Those who do are slaves, Dasyu who should be killed. Aryans believed that humans were all God's incarnations .. so ARYANS WERE FORBIDDEN TO BOW DOWN TO ANYONE OR ANYTHING except the God within themselves.

1)Now if Aryans now say, people who bow down to ANY God are unworthy of living in Aryan territory...what would you say? Our books tell us to slay who bow down like slaves to God...so should we to FREE MANKIND from your enslavement to Allah?

Thats retarded. Thats the most disgusting filthy belief ive ever heard of. What you dont understand is that people arent free, they all are always enslaved to something. Since people have intentions and actions, and people have desires and will, they will always be enslaved unto something whether it be their desires, satan, power, money, God, or an idol that they worship besides Him. What this Aryan belief is saying, is that the One who created you does not have the right to be worshipped, but rather one should worship himself. Look at the arrogance, attributing perfection to oneself when you ARENT perfect. You DO NOT have knowledge of the unseen, you CAN NOT understnad the higher realities, and most certainly have no proof that the Creator and the Sustainer of the universe is within oneself. Thats ridiculous.

Rather, God is SEPARATE from His creation, He sustains everything, and He has knowledge of everything. Worshipping your Creator is the logical conclusion, since everything is sustained by Him and everything depends on Him and He is free from any imperfection, and to Him belongs the most perfect attributes.

Such a belief of the Aryans is worse than any pagan belief, since it puts the attribute of Lordship from the Creator, to oneself. The pagan arabs believed that there was one God who created the universe, yet they worshipped others to bring them closer to God. Yet such a belief of the aryans is more like athiesm, a sick 'I am God' belief that only brings people into further darkness.

2)Also, not every human is born from Adam. Your books the Quran and Bible come from a very fine lineage of a Man named Adam who was kicked out of heaven. Abraham also lied about his wife Sarah being his sister. Do you think you have the highest truth? In other words, if these men could LIE TO GOD HIMSELF...what makes you think they can't lie to you?

Abraham(peace be upon him) doesnt ever lie to God. In fact, it is you polytheists who invent lies upon God.  You attribute to God whatever you feel like and conjecture about his nature at the guide of your whims. God's nature and attributes are far beyond the intellect of man to understand. You're claims about God 'being inside oneself' are baseless with no proof. The claims about 'God being everything and everything being God' is even more ridiculous. How could the Creator be His creation and the creation be the Creator? How could the One who created the universe simultaneously be the universe that was created? And if you say that God didn't create anything but rather is simply 'manifested' into his creation, then you are no better than an athiest who doesnt believe in God.

3) Mohammad was the ONLY "sage" who used to get siezures while recieving revelations...he also might've died crazy, in Islamic history books, Ayesha says that Mohammad goes at night asking forgiveness from corpses seeming afraid of something.

IF the founder of your own religion was not deemed mentally sound, could the practice of this religion lead to mental imbalance and even madness?

He didnt get seizures. He went to khadija when he received his first revelation because he was completely afraid at what he saw(the Angel Jibril). I dont know what youre talking about that he isnt deemed 'mentally sound'. Its only logical that if a person saw an Angel telling him he was going to be a Messenger, that he would be frightened and confused.

4) your religion only says I get to go to heaven, and MOHAMMAD WAS THE LAST PROPHET of ALLAH...does this mean that Muslims can't go higher than Mohammad and if by chance someone did, would you kill such a man?
"O people ! Muhammad has no sons among ye men, but verily, he is the Apostle of God and the last in the line of Prophets. And God is Aware of everything." (Surah Al Ahzab: 40)

Thats what you dont seem to understand. You deem every Prophet and Messenger simply to be a philosopher and a spiritual seeker who acheived some level of 'high spirituality'. You deem them to be people who possess some knowledge of the Unseen and powers that other people
do not possess. In Islam we dont see them that way, but rather their miracles, revelations, information of the unseen, were all by Allaah's permission and will, and it was none of their personal ability:

Say (O Muhammad ): "I possess no power of benefit or hurt to myself except as Allah wills. If I had the knowledge of the Ghaib (unseen), I should have secured for myself an abundance of wealth, and no evil should have touched me. I am but a warner, and a bringer of glad tidings unto people who believe." [Surah  Al-A'raf Ayah [188]]

"And to Allah belongs the Ghaib (unseen) of the heavens and the earth, and to Him return all affairs (for decision). So worship Him (O Muhammad ) and put your trust in Him. And your Lord is not unaware of what you (people) do." " [Surah  Hud Ayah [123]

"It is He Who sends down manifest Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) to His slave (Muhammad ) that He may bring you out from darkness into light. And verily, Allah is to you full of kindness, Most Merciful. " [Surah Hadid Ayah [9]

So we dont see Muhammad(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) as being so spiritually superior that he received  revelations and miracles at his own dismissal and power, but rather this was all at GOD's dismissal and power. This is the same belief we hold about th eother Prophets and Messengers such as Jesus(peace be upon him).

5) You say that only SEMITIC "apostles" are fit for worship, i.e. Christ and Mohammad. But make no mention of Aryan, Greek and Chinese sages. Is this RACIST? Why should non-Semites worship Mohammad who claimed that Semites were superior? Why should non-Semites take the word of people who were kicked out of heaven?

Part of the Islamic aqeedah(belief) is that there were Prophets and Messengers sent to every nation and community throughout mankind:

"And verily, We have sent among every Ummah(nation) a Messenger(proclaiming): Worship Allah, and avoid the Taghut (all false dieties)." [16:36]


And for every Ummah (a community or a nation), there is a Messenger; when their Messenger comes, the matter will be judged between them with justice, and they will not be wronged. (Qur'ân 10:47)

Some of these Messengers were mentioned in the Qur'an and some werent:

And, indeed We have sent Messengers before you (O Muhammad(P)); of some of them We have related to you their story and of some We have not related to you their story, and it was not given to any Messenger that he should bring a sign except by the Leave of Allah. So, when comes the Commandment of Allah, the matter will be decided with truth, and the followers of falsehood will then be lost. (Qur'ân 40:78)

When Abu Dharr asked the Prophet Muhammad(peace be upon him) about the number of Prophets and Messengers, the Messenger said:

"One hundred and twenty  thousand of Prophets, among them three hundred and thirteen Messengers."


So every nation had Messengers and Prophets, yet mainly only the semetic ones were mentioned in the Quran. The issue is, that they all carried the same message: monotheism. Whether Buddha and his likes were prophets or messengers, it is possible, yet their history may have been distorted over the years.

WE dont worship Muhammad(peace be upon him) or any messenger, and we dont expect anyone to worship Muhammad. He himself said:

"Do not exaggerate about me as the Christians exaggerated about Jesus. I am simply a servant(of God) and Messenger."

And most asuredly we dont consider semetic peoples superior to non-semetic peoples. the Prophet Muhammad(peace be upon him) himself said:

"All mankind is from Adam and Eve, an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over a black nor a black has any superiority over white except by piety and good action."


We worship God and no other. And we worship Him with what He has legislated, not what human beings invent.

This is the meaning of the shahadah, the testimony of faith:

"There is nothing worthy of worship except Allaah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allaah"

Quote:

Also, if lands which are under Muslim control and in which non-Muslims live, are invaded, the non-Muslims are protected and are in no way forced to fight to fight or join the army.


Is that an official part of Muslim law, or just something that happens in some Muslim countries, or...?

yeah it is part of the shareeah. non-muslims are not required to go into the Muslim army. If they do choose to join the Muslim army, the jizyah is uplifted from them as was practiced by the Caliph Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him).

Quote:
"And if Allaah did not check one set of people by means of another, the earth would indeed be full of mischief. But Allaah is full of bounty to the 'Aalameen (mankind, jinn and all that exists)"  


So warfare and murder isn't "mischief"? Sounds like Allah has caused a lot more mischief than he's prevented.

"Al-Fitnah is worse than killing." [Surah Al Baqarah 2:191]


'' Abu Al-`Aliyah, Mujahid, Sa`id bin Jubayr, `Ikrimah, Al-Hasan, Qatadah, Ad-Dahhak and Ar-Rabi` bin Anas said that what Allah said:


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(And Al-Fitnah is worse than killing.) "Shirk (polytheism) is worse than killing.''

In what way is Allah's name "uplifted" by killing people? How can a conversion really be genuine if it's forced at swordpoint?

I already told you: its not "Islam or the sword". If someone doesnt choose to become Muslim, they have the choice to submit to the rule of the Islamic state and keep their own religion. What jihaad does, is make it so that all the obstalces are removed from conveying the message to people, so that the people then have the choice to accept it or reject it.

I'll give you an example of how Allahs name is uplifted through fighting disbelievers.  Democracy in itself is a form of polytheism and disbelief. This is because one of Allaah's names is "Al-Hakam"(the Legislator or Lawgiver):

"The Hukm (judgment) is for none but Allâh. He has commanded that you worship none but Him" [al-Qur'aan 12:40]


Democracy gives this attribute of legislation and law-giving to men, thus uplifting the whims of men over what Allaah has revealed. It puts the god-ship and attribute of ultimate wisdom to people instead of Allaah, thus the nature of it causes widespread disbelief. Fighting against such a nation is legislated so that the word of disbelief becomes the lowest and the word of Allaah becomes the highest.

So you feel that murdering Pagans who won't accept your religion is completely justified? What is it about polytheists that you feel makes them undeserving of life? Why is killing them and sending them to Hell preferable to allowing them to live, thus preserving the possibility that they might convert later?

Many scholars say that the harsh treatment of the pagans of arabia was something particular to them, since they lived and heard the message of the Prophet(peace be upon him) for over 13 years and had the proofs and evidences established against them. Also, they broke their treaties with the Prophet so it was seen that their were only two choices(Islam or sword) left for them. AS for non-muslims outside of arabia, they were given the choice to stay upon their religion, in exchange that they submitted to the rule of the Islamic state. This in fact brought the rapid expansion of Islam, for warfare made its Word known in every land it came to, nad people learned to know the truth of Islam, without any societal factors to prevent them from accepting it.

AS for what makes me think polytheists are undeserving of life, it is because they contradict the very purpose of their existence, and commit the worst sin against God. They worship something else besides Him, although it is clear that He is the Creator whom everything depends on and deserves all worship.

Quote:
I completely agree with that interpretation, for it is the historical interpretation and is correct. Jihaad is the means in which the banner of monotheism is uplifted and none is worshipped but the Creator.  


So you do agree with the interpretation that says violence is a legitimate way of spreading Islam? Don't you think there's enough violence in the world as it is? What exactly is gained when someone is killed for not converting? Also, if your religion is true, then shouldn't its truth speak for itself without having to convert people against their will, by force?

"And if Allaah did not check one set of people by means of another, the earth would indeed be full of mischief. But Allaah is full of bounty to the 'Aalameen (mankind, jinn and all that exists)"

[al-Baqarah 2:251]

Ya i do agree with the interpretation. What is gained from fighting is uplifting the word of la ilaha illa Allah(there is nothing worthy of worship except Allah). Directing one's worship towards the Creator alone is true freedom, for it frees one from servitudes unto any person or any creation. Worship isnt simply asking God for forgiveness once a week, but rather it encompasses our whole life(with obedience, submission, love and reverence), and it is the purpose of our existence:

Allah the Exalted and Most Honored said,


[وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالإِنسَ إِلاَّ لِيَعْبُدُونِ ]


"And I created not the Jinn and mankind except that they should worship Me(alone)."


It is the purpose for which the Messengers were sent: "And verily, We have sent among every community and nation a Messenger (proclaiming): 'Worship Allaah (Alone), and avoid (or keep away from) Taaghoot (all false deities, etc. i.e. do not worship Taaghoot besides Allaah).'" (16:36)


Ibnul-Qayyim may Allaah have mercy on him said:

"A Taaghoot is what a slave exceeds his boundary with whether it be one worshipped or followed or obeyed and there are many Taaghoots." [9]

So idolatry according to Islam is all types of worship and submission which are directed unto other than one's Creator, and indeed it is an enslavement that isnt in accordance with man's nature. We know by nature that only Allah(God) deserves worship and that only He deserves to legislate and rule over mankind, since He is the Creator and Sustainer of all that exists. The man-made systems and idealogies of this world contradict this reality and make people submit to other than Him. Fighting jihaad brings people out of the servitude unto people, into the servitude unto the Lord of all people.


Sheikh Munajjid says about some of the tribulations of the unbelieving societies that make jihaad a necessity:

"The fitnah(oppression) of the kuffaar(unbelievers) themselves and their preventing others from hearing and accepting the truth. That is because the kaafir(unbelieving) systems corrupt the innate nature and reason of people, and make them get used to worshipping and submitting to things other than Allaah, getting addicted to alcohol, wallowing in the mire of sexual licence, and losing all characteristics of virtue. Whoever is like that can rarely tell truth from falsehood, good from evil, right from wrong. So jihad is prescribed in order to remove those obstacles that prevent people from hearing and accepting the truth and getting to know it. "

When the Muslims conquer a nation, the individuals of the nation are not forced to accept Islam, but they are forced to accept the rule of the Islamic state.

Sayed Qutb said:

This is something for which Islam deserves to be praised, not condemned. The defeatists should fear Allaah lest they distort this religion and cause it to become weak on the basis of the claim that it is a religion of peace. Yes, it is the religion of peace but in the sense of saving all of mankind from worshipping anything other than Allaah and submitting all of mankind to the rule of Allaah. This is the religion of Allaah, not the ideas of any person or the product of human thought, so that those who promote it should feel ashamed to state its ultimate goal, which is that all religion (worship) should be for Allaah alone. When the ideas that people follow are all produced by human beings and the systems and laws that control their lives are all made up by human beings, then in this case each idea and each system has the right to live safely within its own borders so long as it does not transgress the borders of others, so the various ideas and laws can co-exist and not try to destroy one another. But when there is a divine system and law, and alongside it there are human systems and laws, then the matter is fundamentally different, and the divine law has the right to remove the barriers and free people from enslavement to human beings...

hi dan,

I suggest you look into Islam, which is religion which is based upon pure worship of one's Creator. The word Islam itself means "submission", which connotes submission to one's Creator, and forsaking man-made idealogies and religions.

In Islam we believe in every Prophet and Messenger of God, whether it be Abraham, Moses, and Jesus (peace be upon them all), and we believe that their message was one and the same: to worship God without any partners. We believe that Jesus(peace be upon him) was a servant and Messenger of God. We neither believe he was an imposter, nor do we believe that he had any divine qualities.  Likewise, we believe the same about the Prophet Muhammad(peace be upon him)

We denounce the worship unto any priest, prophet, idol, grave, image, person, place, or thing, but rather we worship the One whom everything depends upon for sustenance: God Almighty. WE direct all of our worship to Him, and we seek no intermediary(to call out to) to get us closer to Him, but rather we have a direct relationship to Him. Likewise, we submit to Him with obedience, and we take Him as our Lord by following what He has revealed to His Prophet Muhammad(peace be upon him).

In Islam, God has sublime names and attributes in which we learn in order to know Him. We do not say about God that which we have no knowledge, but rather we describe God with that which He has described Himself with. We describe God as being separate and uncomparable to His creation. He is far above having any partner, any need, or any son, daughter, or wife.

"Glorified be your lord, the Lord of Majesty, from that which (the unbelievers) attribute (unto Him). And peace be upon the messengers. And praise be to Allah(God) the Lord the Universe." (as Saffat 37/180-182).




We believe in the Gospels and the Torah, as they were originally revelaed to Jesus and Moses (peace be upon them), and we believe in the Qur'an as the final revelation to mankind.

We believe that at the time of Moses(peace be upon him), those who followed his message and didnt innovate anything new, or change the religion he came with, and worshipped God Alone, were Muslims(submitters to God's Will).  Likewise we believe that those who followed Jesus's message at his time as it was in its original form were Muslims. And we believe that the Prophet Muhammad(peace be upon him) was sent too all mankind, as he said:  "Other Prophets before me were sent(simply) to their own people, whereas I was sent to all mankind."  

Some thigns that differ in regards to Islam and Christianity, is that in Islam we do not believe in Original Sin. Rather, we belive that every person is born pure and innately a sincere worshipper of God, and then his parents may make him a Jew or Christian.

I suggest you take a look at an english translation of the Qur'an here: www.quraan.com

-Jibril

Gandalf,

Prove to me that Jesus did any wrong or that it was ever even mentioned.

I'm not Gandalf, but I can certainly provide the proof that he was accused.

Luke 7:34
The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and "sinners." '

Matt 12:24
But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, "It is only by Beelzebub, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons."

And let's not forget that whole "king of the Jews" thing.  Jesus was crucified, which was a punishment generally only reserved for insurrection against Rome and similar treasonous crimes.  Of course, whether any of these accusations are legitimate or not is a whole other story.

As for Islam, I agree that the claims that have been presented are things each side can portray in whatever way they see fit.  However, I'm more concerned about statements that come from the Q'uran itself.  Suffice to say that the modern PC claim that "jihad" is only an internal struggle, or an act of self defense, appears to be blatantly false.

From an essay I wrote on the subject of "Christians and Jews under Muslim Conquest and Rule" last semester:

It is commanded of believers to "fight in the way of Allah ... with full force of numbers and weaponry" because "by jihad is Islam established (Surah 2:190)." Muslims are to "fight them until there is no more disbelief and idolatry (Surah 2:193)," and Muhammad himself is commanded to "give tidings of painful torment" to those who disbelieve (Surah 9:3).  Elsewhere, Muhammad is commanded to fulfill the terms of his treaty with another group, after which he is instructed to ambush and kill all the unbelievers he finds, until the survivors repent.  Surah 47:4 is probably the most extensive and explicit verse in this category; as such I will quote it in its entirety.  "So, when you meet (in fight – jihad in Allah's cause) those who disbelieve, smite their necks till when you have killed and wounded many of them, then bind a bond firmly (on them, take them as captives).  Thereafter (is the time) either for generosity (free them without ransom) or ransom (according to what benefits Islam), until the war lays down its burden.  Thus [you are ordered by Allah to continue carrying out jihad against the disbelievers till they embrace Islam and are saved from the punishment in the Hell-fire or at least come under your protection] but if it had been Allah's will, He Himself could certainly have punished them (without you).  But (He lets you fight) in order to test some of you with others.  But those who are killed in the way of Allah, He will never let their deeds be lost."  

...

    Reactions to Pagans and polytheism in general is significantly more harsh, such as in Surah 9:5, where it is recommended that Pagans be killed whenever they are found unless they agree to convert to Islam, provided that the killing does not take place in the "forbidden months."

It must be said that the majority of Muslims today seem to want nothing more than to live in peace with their fellow human beings, and they should be commended for it.  However, they are acting AGAINST what is plainly stated in the Q'uran, and how it has historically been interpreted, rather than in accordance with it.  After doing the research for this essay, it really wasn't hard for me to see where more militant Muslims get their ideas -- their creed and mandate is essentially spelled out in their holy book, in no uncertain terms.

In light of this, I'd say it's the ethical responsibility of every peaceful Muslim to agree on an interpretation of their religion that condemns this sort of violence, and proclaim it from the rooftops.

I completely agree with that interpretation, for it is the historical interpretation and is correct. Jihaad is the means in which the banner of monotheism is uplifted and none is worshipped but the Creator.

The Prophet(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) fought in order to rid the arabian peninsula from the darkness of idolatry. As for Jews and Christians and the Zoroastrians, he accepted Jizyah(protection tax) from them, in exchange that their lives, wealth, and honour would be protected.

Question #44990: The reason why the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) married 'Aa'ishah despite the age difference  



Click here to get a printable version

Question :


A Christian colleague of mine asked me why the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) married 'Aa'ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) when she was nine years old and he was nearly sixty, and was he intimate with her at that age or what? In fact I do not know how to respond to that.

Answer :

Praise be to Allaah.  

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) married 'Aa'ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) after he married Sawdah bint Zam'ah (may Allaah be pleased with her). She – 'Aa'ishah – was the only virgin whom he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) married. And he consummated the marriage with her when she was nine years old.

Among her virtues was the fact that the Revelation did not descend when he under one cover with any of his wives other than her. She was one of the dearest of all people to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and news of her innocence was revealed from above the seven heavens. She was one of the most knowledgeable of his wives, and one of the most knowledgeable women of the ummah as a whole. The senior companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to refer to her opinion and consult her.

With regard to the story of her marriage, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) had grieved over the death of the Mother of the Believers Khadeejah, who had supported him and stood by his side, and he called the year in which she died The Year of Sorrow. Then he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) married Sawdah, who was an older woman and was not very beautiful; rather he married her to console her after her husband had died and she stayed among mushrik people. Four years later the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) married 'Aa'ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her), and he was over fifty. Perhaps the reasons for the marriage were as follows:

1 – He saw a dream about marrying her. It is proven in al-Bukhaari from the hadeeth of 'Aa'ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to her: "You were shown to me twice in a dream. I saw that you were wrapped in a piece of silk, and it was said, 'This is your wife.' I uncovered her and saw that it was you. I said, 'If this is from Allaah then it will come to pass.'" (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, no. 3682). As to whether this is a prophetic vision as it appears to be, or a regular dream that may be subject to interpretation, there was a difference of opinion among the scholars, as mentioned by al-Haafiz in Fath al-Baari, 9/181.

2 – The characteristics of intelligence and smartness that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) had noticed in 'Aa'ishah even as a small child, so he wanted to marry her so that she would be more able than others to transmit reports of what he did and said. In fact, as stated above, she was a reference point for the Sahaabah (may Allaah be pleased with them) with regard to their affairs and rulings.

3 – The love of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) for her father Abu Bakr (may Allaah be pleased with him), and the persecution that Abu Bakr (may Allaah be pleased with him) had suffered for the sake of the call of truth, which he bore with patience. He was the strongest of people in faith and the most sincere in certain faith, after the Prophets.

It may be noted that among his wives were those who were young and old, the daughter of his sworn enemy, the daughter of his closest friend. One of them occupied herself with raising orphans, another distinguished herself  from others by fasting and praying qiyaam a great deal... They represented all kinds of people, through whom the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was able to set out a way for the Muslims showing how to deal properly with all kinds of people. [See al-Seerah al-Nabawiyyah fi Daw' al-Masaadir al-Asliyyah, p. 711].

With regard to the issue of her being young and your being confused about that, you should note that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) grew up in a hot country, the Arabian Peninsula. Usually in hot countries adolescence comes early and people marry early. This is how the people of Arabia were until recently. Moreover, women vary greatly in their development and their physical readiness for marriage.

If you think – may Allaah guide you – that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not marry any virgin other than 'Aa'ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her), and that all his other wives had been previously married, this will refute the notion spread by many hostile sources, that the basic motive behind the Prophet's marriages was physical desire and enjoyment of women, because if that was his intention he would have chosen only those who were virgins and beautiful etc.    

Such slanders against the Prophet of Mercy (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) by kaafirs and others of their ilk, are indicative of their inability to find fault with the law and religion that he brought from Allaah, so they try to find ways to criticize Islam with regard to issues that are not related to sharee'ah.

And Allaah is the Source of strength. May Allaah send blessings and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and companions.

For more information see Zaad al-Ma'aad, 1/106.



Islam Q&A (www.islam-qa.com)

[nor did he ever hit a woman.]

The idea that the Prophet Muhammad(peace and blessings of ALlah be upon him) beat his wives or taught his followers to beat their wives is the most ridiculous idea that any orientalist has ever thought up of.

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Among the Muslims the most perfect, as regards his
faith, is the one whose character is excellent, and the best among you are those who treat their wives
well."

Imam Ahmad recorded that `A'ishah said, "The Messenger of Allah never struck a servant of his with his hand, nor did he ever hit a woman. He never hit anything with his hand, except for when he was fighting Jihad in the cause of Allah. And he was never given the option between two things except that the most beloved of the two to him was the easiest of them, as long as it did not involve sin. If it did involve sin, then he stayed farther away from sin than any of the people. He would not avenge himself concerning anything that was done to him, except if the limits of Allah were transgressed. Then, in that case he would avenge for the sake of Allah.''

The Qur'an says: "And live with them(your wives) honourably. If you dislike them, it may be that you dislike a thing and Allah brings through it a great deal of good. " [Surah An-Nisaa aayah 19]

http://www.tafsir.com/default.asp?sid=4&tid=10685

Muhammad(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:

The best among you is he who is the best with his family. Verily, I am the best one among you with my family.

Assalamualaykum  and welcome Galibaba,

markulous, this is my website, which has some basic information on Islam:

http://clearproof.faithweb.com/

if you have any questions... feel free to ask..

-Jibril

The Quran too was written or put to paper AFTER Mohammad died. How do you know it too was not altered? Transmission of most religious texts which was based on memory is probably flawed to some extent.

The Qur'an was written down by the companions during the Prophet Muhammad's (peace be upon him) life. There is evidence from both the Qur'an and the hadiths:

"By no means! Indeed it is a message of Instruction
Therefore, whoever wills, should remember
On leaves held in honour
Exalted, purified
In the hands of scribes
Noble and pious"
Sura' 80: 11-16


At the time of the Prophet(peace be upon him), some of his companions wrote the Qur'an down on leaves. Minister Abdullah Yusuf Ali, in his commentary  wrote that at the time of the Revelation of this Surah(chapter), forty-two or forty-five others (Surahs) had been written and were kept by Muslims in Makkah (out of the total 114 Surahs).

"Nay, this is the glorious Qur'an, on a Tablet preserved"
Sura' 85: 21-22

"This is a glorious Reading, In a book well-kept,
Which none but the purified teach
This is a Revelation from the Lord of the Worlds"
Sura' 56: 77-80

"They said: Tales of the ancients which he had caused to be written and they are dictated to him morning and evening"
25: 5

The above verse refers to the Prophet's(peace be upon him) enemies who said that the Qur'an was simply tales of ancients that he wrote down.

Zayd (ra) is reported to have said:  

We used to compile the Qur'an from small scraps in the presence of the Messenger. (Hakim, Mustadrak)

Narrated Qatadah: I asked Anas Ibn Malik: 'Who collected the Qur'an at the time of Prophet?' He replied: 'Four, all of whom were from the Ansar: Ubay Ibn Ka'ab, Mu'adh Ibn Jabal, Zayd Ibn Thabit and Abu Zayd.' (Bukhari, Kitab Fada'ilu'l-Qur'an)


It should be taken into account that hundreds of the companions of the Prophet(peace be upon him) memorized the entire Qur'an down to every single letter. This tradition(of memorizing the Qur'an) is still practiced today by millions of Muslims.

Abu Bakr, one of the very close friends of the Prophet, and the first caliph of Islam(successor fo the Prophet), compiled the entire Qur'an together. At the Battle of Yamama, many of the companions who had memorized the entire Qur'an were martyred, so Abu Bakr ordered the personal scribe of the Prophet [Zaid ibn Thabit] to compile the Qur'an for him.

Likewise, the fourth caliph Uthman collected the Qur'an as written by abu bakr and wrote copies of it for each city under Muslim rule.

http://www.islamic-awareness.org/Quran/Text/Mss/


Likewise, there is  only one Qur'an in every single part of this globe today. There are no variants, no differences. There is only one single Noble Qur'an in the arabic languages that millions of Muslims read:

William Muir says:

The recension of Uthmân has been handed down to us unaltered. so carefully, indeed, has it been preserved, that there are no variations of importance, - we might almost say no variations at all, - amongst the innumerable copies of the Koran scattered throughout the vast bounds of empire of Islam. Contending and embittered factions, taking their rise in the murder of cUthmân himself within a quarter of a century from the death of Muhammad have ever since rent the Muslim world. Yet but ONE KORAN has always been current amongst them.... There is probably in the world no other work which has remained twelve centuries with so pure a text.

The last one is tricky and depends upon your faith. With Muslims, they have faith in the Qur'an and the teachings of the prophets. With Christians, they have faith in the Bible and the ways of Jesus. With me, I have faith that there is an afterlife. Faith is something you cannot transfer and will be different for different people.

Believing the Muhammad is the Messenger of God is not a matter of blind recognition but a matter of proofs and clear signs which are visible for anyone to recognize in this day and age.

Know, May Allah have mercy upon you, that as Muslims we dont believe that the Bible preached a different message of that of the Qur'an. What Christians believe today can be proven to be innovation and a great contortment upon Jesus's original teachings(goto the topic 'Who is Allah?' and follow up with the debate about it cus i dont feel like starting another debate here lol).

There is no dispute about the Qur'an's authenticity, and it is based upon chains of narrations dating all the way back to the Prophet(peace be upon him) down to every single letter in the Qur'an.

I advise you to read these articles:

http://clearproof.faithweb.com/book.htm

http://clearproof.faithweb.com/12proofs.htm

Once it becomes clear(upon evidence) that the Prophet Muhammad(peace be upon him) did not speak from his own intellect and desire(or invention), but rather from Divine Revelation, then following him and believeing in his message that he came with becomes rational.

Allah's sending of messengers is a great blessing for mankind, for they inform us of Allah's will, the unseen, our purpose, the nature of the soul, life after death etc. Indeed, the Qur'an is a liberator from all sorts of conjecture and confusion.

[The original copies of the NT books have, of course, long since disappeared. This fact should not cause surprise. In the first place, they were written on papyrus, a very fragile and persihable material. In the second place, and probably of even more importance, the original copies of the NT books were not looked upon as scripture by those of the early Christian communities.]

But this is not based on any evidence. The only reason for this false argument is to try and make the Qur'an equal with the Bible. But since the Bible came 600 years before the Qur'an and refutes it, the Qur'an is not Scripture.

Actually the idea that the New Testament that we have today is authentic and proven valid is not based on any evidence. The New Testament has no chain of narrations which lead back to Jesus (peace be upon him.)

The Interpreter's Dictionary Of The Bible confirms that:

The original copies of the NT books have, of course, long since disappeared. This fact should not cause surprise. In the first place, they were written on papyrus, a very fragile and persihable material. In the second place, and probably of even more importance, the original copies of the NT books were not looked upon as scripture by those of the early Christian communities.

In the book, Aland & Aland, The Text Of The New Testament, p. 69.  Kurt and Barbara Aland say:


Until the beginning of the fourth century the text of the New Testament developed freely. It was the "living text" in the Greek literary tradition, unlike the text of the Hebrew Old Testament, which was subject to strict controls because (in the oriental tradition) the consonantal text was holy. And the New Testament text continued to be a "living text" as long as it remained a manuscript tradition, even when the Byzantine church molded it to the procrustean bed of the standard and officially prescribed text. Even for later scribes, for example, the parallel passages of the Gospels were so familiar that they would adapt the text of one Gospel to that of another. They also felt themselves free to make corrections in the text, improving it by their own standard of correctness, whether grammatically, stylistically, or more substantively. This was all the more true of the early period, when the text had not been attained canonical status, especially in the earliest period when Christians considered themselves to be filled with the Spirit. As a consequence the text of the early period was many-faceted, and each manuscript had its own peculiar character.

Further they compare and contrast the New Testament with the Old Testament as well as the Qur'an. The 'living text' of the New Testament is

in contrast to the Hebrew Old Testament and other oriental traditions such as the Koran, where an almost letter-perfect transcription was the rule.

I challenge you to bring proof of the New Testament's authenticity.

Joh 20:28 Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!"
Joh 20:29 Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
Joh 20:30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book;
Joh 20:31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Actually a further look into Thomas's exclamation shows that he was simply yelling out "My Lord and my God!" not as a statement directed towards Jesus, but rather as a statement of suprise and astonishment. Like how we say today when we are amazed at something or suprised: (example) "Oh my God, Billy look at that!" Christian scholars such as Theodore of Mopsuestia (c.350-428), the Bishop of Mopsuestia, interpreted this verse to not be directed at Jesus but at God "the Father."

The Jews also recognized that when Jesus used the term "Son of God," he was claiming equality with God:

Joh 10:30 "I and the Father are one."
Joh 10:31 The Jews picked up stones again to stone him.
Joh 10:32 Jesus answered them, "I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?"
Joh 10:33 The Jews answered him, "It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God."

Jesus replies to this accusation(of the Jews) saying: "Jesus answered them, 'Is it not written in your Law, "I said ye are gods. If He can call them gods, unto whom the word of God came, say ye of him whom the Father hath sanctified and sent into the world, "Thou blasphemeth," because I said I am the son of God?'" (John 10:34-36).

as for what it says Jesus said "I and the Father are one",  this is misunderstood.
If you look at the verses before it, it can be understood in context:

"...Neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father who gave them me, is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are One."

Elsewhere it says that Jesus said:

John 17:20-22 "That the ALL may be made ONE. Like thou Father art in me, I in thee, that they may be ONE in us. I in
them, they in me, that they may be perfect in ONE".

In this verse the same word in Greek is used(HEN) as in the other versse, yet in this verse it is used to describe Jesus, the' Father', and Jesus's 12 disciples. If John 10:30  is used as proof to Jesus being god, then John 17:20-22 would therefore be proof that his disciples are god too. You may say that the verse reltaing to him and his disciples refers to Jesus's relationship with his disciples, but you would have no proof of it. The same Greek word is used in both verses.

Joh 8:56 Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad."
Joh 8:57 So the Jews said to him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?"
Joh 8:58 Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am."
Joh 8:59 So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.

Not only does Jesus say that he existed before Abraham, he calls himself the "I Am." This is what God told Moses to call him in Exodus 3:14

.

From Sheikh Ahmed Deedat's work; may Allah Almighty rest his soul and grant him Paradise (Ameen):

It is claimed that Jesus used the words, "I am", and since these same words were used by God to describe Himself to the people in the Old Testament, Jesus was claiming to be God. John 8:58, is presented to back this claim. In the verse, Jesus says: " Before Abraham was I am. (John 8:58 )"  Now, if Jesus existed before Abraham did, that might be a remarkable thing, but does that prove that he was God?

How many people existed before Abraham?  The Bible presents Jeremiah as being a prophet before he was conceived in his mother's womb; "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.  (From the NIV Bible, Jeremiah 1:5)"  Yet no one says that his pre-human existence qualifies him for deity.  In Exodus chapter 3, God allegedly says: "I am what I am." Long before the time of Jesus, there existed a Greek translation of the Old Testament called the Septuagint. The key word, "I am," in Exodus which is used by Christians to prove the deity of Jesus is translated as "HO ON." However, when Jesus uses the word in John 8:58 the Greek of the "I am," is EGO EIMI. If Jesus wanted to tell the Jews that he was claiming to be God he should have at least remained consistent in the use of words or the whole point is lost. How many people in that age would have said "I am," in answer to questions in everyday life. Billions. Are they all gods? Of course not !.

The Nature and Essence of the Human Soul
   by Abu Bilal Mustafa al-Kanadi


Print Version | Back

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Scholars of various schools of thought [1] differ greatly regarding the nature and essence of the soul (nafs). Is it a part of the physical body or a non-essential characteristic [2] of it? Is it an entity consigned to dwell within the physical body?, or is it an independent essence in itself? Is the nafs the same as the rûh (spirit)? Finally, what happens to the soul upon death? Is it confined to its body and its grave? If not, is it free to move about in the unseen spiritual world and on the earth? [3]
Regarding this subject, leading theologians of various sects have put forward a host of conflicting opinions. It would be beyond the scope of the present work to examine each and every view put forward by the various scholars; however, a brief mention of some of their opinions regarding this issue is necessary. The correct view [4] is given, supported by sound reason and statements from the Qur'ân and the authentic sunnah.

Various Incorrect Theories
According to the theologian, Abul-Hasan al-Ash'arî scholars differed regarding the rûh (spirit), nafs (soul) and hayâh (life force). An-Nadhdhâm, one of the leaders of the Mu'tazilah,[5] is attributed with having said that the nafs is the form of the rûh. He further claimed that the rûh is alive (i.e. animate) and exists independently. In contrast to his view, other scholars alleged that the rûh is a non-essential characteristic of the human being, unable to exist independently of itself. Still others opposed both of these views and claimed that it is not known what rûh is – an essential characteristic or a non-essential characteristic.
The proponents of another theory claimed that man consists of a particular form contained within a physical body, however, they differed as to precisely what this form is. One group maintained that the form consists of four ingredients [6] from which the physical body originates and further develops. A second opinion was that it represents pure blood, free of impurities and contamination. Another view claimed that this form is the animate life in man, the sensual heat which pervades the body. And a fourth group proposed that the form is an essential element which causes all animate, living beings to function in a particular manner [7 ]yet is not separated from such beings and does not have a different structure. Although there are other opinions [8] defining this form within the physical body, the four previously mentioned views are a sufficient sample.

The Correct View
What is considered as the most accurate view regarding the nafs and the rûh is that of Ibn al-Qayyim [9] which is affirmed by Ibn Abul-'Izz al-Hanafî in his commentary on al-'Aqeedat at-Tahâwiyyah. [10 ]They base their position on various verses of the Qur'ân and the traditions of the Prophet as well as on sound logic and rational thought. According to them, man consists of a spirit and a body together. The spirit is an entity which differs from the physical, tangible body. It is a higher type of luminous (or light-like) being, alive and moving, and it penetrates the limbs, circulating through them as water circulates throughout the petals of a rose, as oil circulates throughout the olive and as fire circulates throughout the burning embers of coal. One may reasonably perceive the soul filling and occupying the body; its form, though non-physical, is molded into the body's shape. [11]
The soul will maintain its penetration of the limbs of the physical body and continue to affect their sense, movement and will as long as these limbs remain sound. However, if they are overcome [12 ]and no longer accept the forces enacted upon them by the soul, the soul leaves the body and enters the spiritual world.

Qur'ânic Evidence
Certain circumstances of the human soul are mentioned in various places of the Qur'ân. [13 ]Two such examples follow:
"Allâh takes soul at the time of their death and [the souls] of those that do not die during their sleep. He retains those souls for which He has ordained death, whereas He releases the rest for an appointed term." [14]  


In this verse it is stated that there are only two points in time at which Allâh takes souls: at death and during sleep. [15 ]When one sleeps, Allâh separates the soul from the body. If He has decreed death for a person at this point, the separation becomes permanent and the body no longer functions. In the case of one for whom death has not been decreed at that time, the soul taken during sleep is returned to its respective body upon awakening. However, the soul for which Allâh has decreed death need not necessarily be taken during sleep but may be taken at a time other than sleep.

"If you could see when the wrongdoers taste the pangs of death and the angels stretch their hands out, [saying], 'Deliver up your souls. This day you will be awarded a degrading punishment.' " [16]  


Here it is stated that death is painful for the disbelievers. Although they are ordered to surrender their souls to the angels, they are unwilling; therefore, the soul must be forced out as it does not wish to meet its punishment.[17 ] The terms "akhrijû anfusakum" used in this Qur'ânic verse literally means "expel or push out your souls," indicating that the soul becomes a separate entity from the physical body.

Evidence from the Sunnah
The sunnah is replete with descriptions of the state and nature of the human soul. These hadîths substantiate the view held by the dependable scholars of ahl as-sunnah. An example of the physical and psychological punishment awaiting the disbelievers occurs in the following portion of a long, authentically related hadîth:
"The Angel of Death...[says], 'O you foul soul, come out to the anger and wrath of your Lord.' The soul inside the disbeliever's body is overcome by terrible fear [and does not want to deliver itself up], whereupon the Angel of Death violently pulls it out like multi-pronged skewers being yanked out of wet wool – tearing with them the arteries and nerves." [18]  


It is also narrated in an authentic tradition:

Umm Salamah reported: "Allâh's Messenger entered upon Abû Salamah [i.e. his corpse], whose eyes were wide open. The Prophet closed the lids and then said, 'When the rûh [spirit] is taken out, the eyesight follows it [i.e., watches it ascend].' " [19]  


These hadîths indicate in two ways that the soul is indeed a form. First of all, something must have a form in order to be grasped and extracted. And second of all, eyes can only visualize something that has a form. [20] In another narration the Prophet described how the believer's soul comes out of the body:

"The Angel of Death comes to the [dying] believer, sits at his head and says, 'O you good soul, come out and receive your Lord's forgiveness and pleasure.' Then the soul flows out effortlessly just as water flows from the mouth of a waterskin." [21]  


It is related in the same hadîth that as the soul is being carried up through the skies, the angels ask, "Who is this?" This question reaffirms the soul's separate existence from the body. The angels would not pose such a question unless they had seen a distinct form.

In the following hadîth also affirms that the soul separates from the body:

Abû Hurayrah narrated that Allâh's Messenger said: "When the soul of the believer comes out [of its body], two angels receive it and rise with it towards the heavens, whereupon the inhabitants of the heavens say, 'A good soul has come from the earth. Allâh has blessed you and the body which you used to occupy.' " [22]  


The Arabic expression "kunti ta'mureenah" ("you used to occupy") suggests that the soul inhabited the body, filling and possessing the whole of it. The soul's dwelling within the body and departure from it clearly confirms the soul's own entity.

I was born into Islam(my dad is a Muslim.) I got interested in this 'occultist' stuff when i was 13 or 14. I later rejected its authenticity.

I dont deny that out of body experieences exist, but i  dont see it as a clear authority for determining the nature of the universe or God.

I believe that the revelation from Allah(God) is what we should submit to and what we should believe in in order to get to know Allah and get to have clear knowledge of the higher realities. We should follow what He has revealed instead of what people conjecture from their little knowledge of the universe.

I advise you to read on Islamqa.com about what they say concerning intuition.


"(He Alone) the All-Knower of the Gha'ib (unseen), and He reveals to none His Gha'ib (unseen)."

Except to a Messenger (from mankind) whom He has chosen (He informs him of unseen as much as He likes), and then He makes a band of watching guards (angels) to march before him and behind him. " [Surah Al-Jinn verses 26-27]

I advise you to read this article:

http://clearproof.faithweb.com/humanreason.htm

How is it that you and the Qur'an claim that Christians and Muslims worship the same God, yet your post states that Christians should change their beliefs and worship the God of Islam? I assure you, the Christian God and the Muslim God are very different as you imply.

We believe that the God Muslims worship is the same god that all the Messengers were sent to worship. It is the God who revealed the Torah and the Gospel.

We believe that the Christians deviated from the original teachings of Jesus(peace be upon him) of pure monotheism(worshipping none but God).

This is not something of blind faith but rahter it is of historical basis:

It says in the American Encyclopedia:

"The belief in the Oneness of God – as a theological movement – began at a very early stage in history, and in fact it preceded the belief in trinity by many decades. Christianity developed from Judaism, and Judaism firmly believes that there is one God.

The path that led from Jerusalem (the home of the first disciples of Christ) to Nicea (where it was decided in 325 CE that Christ was equal to God in essence and eternal nature) can hardly be described as a straight path.

The doctrine of trinity which was affirmed in the fourth century CE bears no resemblance to the original teachings of Christ concerning the nature of God. Au contraire, it is the opposite, a deviation from that teaching. Hence it developed in opposition to the belief in One God... (27/294).
"



Even in the altered New Testament, Jesus's(peace be upon him) message of monotheism is reiterated:

"The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world.

And he said to him, 'I will give you all their authority and splendour, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to.

So if you worship me, it will all be yours.'

Jesus answered, 'It is written: "Worship the Lord your God and serve him only."'"

Luke 4:5-8 – NIV



'Of all the commandments, which is the most important?'

'The most important one,' answered Jesus, 'is this: "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength."

The second is this: "Love your neighbour as yourself." There is no commandment greater than these.'

'Well said, teacher,' the man replied. 'You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him.

To love him with all your heart, with you all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbour as yourself is more important that all burnt offerings and sacrifices.'

When Jesus saw that he has answered wisely, he said to him, 'You are not far from the kingdom of God.' And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions."

Mark 12:28-34 – NIV

Also, the first post shows that the Qur'an states that it is a "confirmation of the scriptures that came before it," yet that the way Christians interpret it is wrong. How is it that Islam can tell Christians how to interpret the Bible? How does the Qur'an confirm "the scriptures that came before it" when it contradicts them and reinterprets them for its own use?

Muslims believe that the Bible that the Christians have today is not the same exact scripture that was revealed to Jesus(peace be upon him). Rather, it was tampered at the hands of men and was changed by people who came after Jesus. The Qur'an confirms the original Bible that was revealed. The Qur'an may contradict some of the verses we see in the Bible today, but we dont believe it contradicts what was originally revealed unto Jesus(peace be upon him).

The Suhuf was brought by Abraham, the Torah (part of the Old Testament) by Moses, the Zabur (Psalms) by David, and the Injil (New Testament) by Jesus. None of the these scriptures remains in their original form. As part of Allah's original plan, He finally sent Muhammad as the seal of all prophets and with the Qur'an as a guidance for all mankind, anywhere and anytime.

We believe that every prophet before Muhammad(peace be upon him) was only sent to their own people(not to all of mankind). Jesus himsself said(according to the Bible we know today) that he was only sent to the Children of Israel: (Matthew 15:24): "I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel."

There is proof that the Bible has been tampered with and is not the complete word of God. There are many contradictions in the Bible and later we could discuss them if you want.

II Samuel 8:4

And David took from him a thousand chariots and seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen ...

I Chronicles 18:4

And David took from him a thousand chariots and seven thousand horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen ...

Remember, Muhammed came 600 years after Christ and the span between scriptures is about the same. I would much rather believe what the Christian Bible states about Jesus than the Qur'an which came 600 years later. How is it that you believe what the Qur'an says about Jesus yet refuse to believe what he said about himself in the Bible? How is Christ just a messenger when he claimed equality with God?

Tell me where in the Bible Jesus(peace be upon him) says that he is God ? Did  Jesus ever tell people to worship him?

Here is a verse for you:

"A certain ruler asked him: 'Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?'

'Why do you call me good?' Jesus answered. 'No one is good – except God alone.'"

Luke 18:18-19 – NIV

If Jesus was god, why would Jesus negate goodness for himself and affirm it for God?

Likewise, there are verses in the Bible speaking of Jesus falling on his face praying to God: tell me, why would God fall down on his face to pray to God?

(I Timothy 2:5): "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus."

There is much more evidence and Id be happy to bring more.

What about Moses(peace be upon him)? Did he travel to India and learn how to part the Red sea? lol.

The miracles that Jesus(peace be upon him) performed do not signify that he was God and they do not signify that he went to India or to some mystics and asked them how to perform such acts. Many prophet performed miracles.

haha... once again I didnt write this article either. Someone else wrote it.

If you want to see some articles I wrote, then goto

http://clearproof.faithweb.com/book.htm

http://clearproof.faithweb.com/enlightenment.htm

Im simply trying to inform and convey unto people the message of Islam, it is not about conversion:

"Whoever goes right, then he goes right only for the benefit of his ownself. And whoever goes astray, then he goes astray to his own loss. No one laden with burdens can bear another's burden. And We never punish until We have sent a Messenger (to give warning). " [Surah  Al-Isra' verse [15]]

"So if they dispute with you (Muhammad ) say: "I have submitted myself to Allah (in Islam), and (so have) those who follow me." And say to those who were given the Scripture (Jews and Christians) and to those who are illiterates (Arab pagans): "Do you (also) submit yourselves (to Allah in Islam)?" If they do, they are rightly guided; but if they turn away, your duty is only to convey the Message; and Allah is All-Seer of (His ) slaves. " [3:20]

And you say I am trying to shove stuff down your throat. Islam is the truth from Allah(God), believe in it, or dont believe in it. Yet it seems as if people hear the word "Qur'an" and they automatically think falsehood and fabrication. Or they hear the word "Muhammad" and they automatically think terrorist and liar. Yet if you seek to be guided to the true path that is revealed by God, then study Islam and you will find that such ignorant assumptions about Islam(made by non-muslism) are very far from the truth.

I didnt write the article. Its an article by a scholar in the Arabian Peninsula.

The scholar quotes a lot of sscholars of the past, like for exmaple 13th, 14th century scholars. He is simply tryin to show proof of what he says from authentic sources, and not just something hes making up.

To be honest it is not about "opinion" in the Islamic sense. As Muslims we do not invent matters in our religion. The Prophet Muhammad(peace be upon him) said:

"Every innovation(in religion) is a misguidance and every misguidance leads to the Hellfire."

We have opinions based upon what Allah has revealed(the Qur'an and the what is reported from the Prophet(peace be upon him)), not out of our own conjectures.

[fire]

Peace be upon those who follow true guidance.

First of all id like to point out that ive noticed that many of you rush to reject the Qur'an or to doubt it, simply because you are unfamilar with it, which is not a justifiable reason to reject or doubt it.

Here is a little info from the Qur'an about satan, and the Jinn. The Qur'an mentions three types of God's creations:

1) mankind
2) the Jinn
3) The Angels

The Qur'an says that mankind were made out of the earth or clay, the jinn were made out of smokless fire, and the angels were made out of light.

"And indeed, We created man from sounding clay of altered black smooth mud.

And the jinn, We created aforetime from the smokeless flame of fire. "[Surah Al-Hijr verses 26-27]

In regards to free-will, both mankind and the jinn were given free-will, yet angels were not. The Qur'an says that there are believing Jinns, disbelieving Jinns, good jinns, bad jinns, just as there are believing and disbelieving humans. Not all jinns are evil demons as some people assume.


The Qur'an says that satan was one of the jinn and not an angel. He could not have been an angel since angels do not have free-will to disobey God. Satan was a creation of Allah, who was given free-will, yet chose to disobey God:

"And (remember) when We said to the angels; "Prostrate to Adam." So they prostrated except Satan. He was one of the jinns; he disobeyed the Command of his Lord. Will you then take him (satan) and his offspring as protectors and helpers rather than Me while they are enemies to you? What an evil is the exchange for the wrong-doers" [Surah Al-Kahf verse 50]

Here is a brief description of the story of satan from the Noble Qur'an:


"And surely, We created you (your father Adam) and then gave you shape (the noble shape of a human being), then We told the angels, "Prostrate to Adam", and they prostrated, except Satan, he refused to be of those who prostrate.

(Allah) said: "What prevented you (O Satan) that you did not prostrate, when I commanded you?" Satan said: "I am better than him (Adam), You created me from fire, and him You created from clay."

(Allah) said: "(O Satan) get down from this (Paradise), it is not for you to be arrogant here. Get out, for you are of those humiliated and disgraced."

(Satan) said: "Allow me respite till the Day they are raised up (i.e. the Day of Resurrection)."

(Allah) said: "You are of those allowed respite."

(Satan) said: "Because You have sent me astray, surely I will sit in wait against them (human beings) on Your Straight Path.

Then I will come to them from before them and behind them, from their right and from their left, and You will not find most of them as thankful ones (i.e. they will not be dutiful to You)."

(Allah) said (to Satan) "Get out from this (Paradise) disgraced and expelled. Whoever of them (mankind) will follow you, then surely I will fill Hell with you all."


"And O Adam! Dwell you and your wife in Paradise, and eat thereof as you both wish, but approach not this tree otherwise you both will be of the unjust and wrong­doers."

Then Satan whispered suggestions to them both in order to uncover that which was hidden from them of their private parts (before); he said: "Your Lord did not forbid you this tree save you should become angels or become of the immortals."
   
And he [Satan] swore by Allah to them both (saying): "Verily, I am one of the sincere well­wishers for you both."

So he misled them with deception. Then when they tasted of the tree, that which was hidden from them of their shame (private parts) became manifest to them and they began to stick together the leaves of Paradise over themselves (in order to cover their shame). And their Lord called out to them (saying): "Did I not forbid you that tree and tell you: Verily, Satan is an open enemy unto you?"

They said: "Our Lord! We have wronged ourselves. If You forgive us not, and bestow not upon us Your Mercy, we shall certainly be of the losers."

(Allah) said: "Get down, one of you an enemy to the other [i.e. Adam, Eve, and Satan, etc.]. On earth will be a dwelling­place for you and an enjoyment, - for a time."

He said: "Therein you shall live, and therein you shall die, and from it you shall be brought out (i.e.resurrected)."

[Surah Al- Ar'aaf verses 11-25]

Islam and Human Reason

Sheikh `Alî Bâdahdah, professor at King `Abd al-` Azîz University in Jeddah


Islam affords the faculty of human reason with a lofty status. It is what allows us to think, contemplate, and draw conclusions. It is what gives us the ability to develop the Earth on which we live. The Qur'ân highlights this point from many different angles:

1. Allah singles out the people who possess reason and proper knowledge as being those who carry out the objectives of worship. He discusses the rulings of how to perform the pilgrimage and then concludes by saying: "And fear me, O people of understanding." [ Sûrah al-Baqarah : 197]

2. Allah declares that the ability to receive benefit from remembering Him and from hearing exhortations to truth and righteousness is the exclusive quality of those possessing reason. He says: "In their stories is a lesson for those possessing reason." [ Sûrah Yûsuf : 111]

He also says: "And We have certainly left of it a sign as clear evidence for a people who use reason." [ Sûrah al-`Ankabût : 35]

3. Allah honors the faculty of reason and makes it the crux of our legal accountability. The Prophet of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "The pen is lifted from three people: the sleeper until he awakens, the child until he reaches the age of discernment, and the insane until he is able to reason." [ Sunan al-Tirmidhî (1423) and Sunan Ibn Mâjah (2042)]

4. Allah reprimands those who unthinkingly follow in the footsteps of their forefathers who in doing so shun the dictates of reason. He says: "And when it is said to them to follow what Allah has revealed, they say: 'Nay, we follow what we found our fathers upon.' Even though their fathers could discern nothing of reason and were not rightly guided." [ Sûrah al-Baqarah : 170]

5. Islam has made it unlawful to compromise the faculty of reason in any way. It forbids intoxicants and narcotics. Allah says: "O you who believe! Intoxicants, games of chance, sacrificing on stone alters, and divining arrows are the filth of Satan's handiwork, so keep away from it that perchance you might be successful." [ Sûrah al-Mâ'idah : 90]

Umm Salamah relates to us that the Prophet (peace be upon him) forbade every intoxicating and narcotic substance. [ Sunan Abî Dâwûd (3686) and Musnad Ahmad (26634)]

6. Islam strictly prohibits every practice that offends reason or runs contrary to it, like seeing evil omens, resorting to soothsayers and fortunetellers, divination with sand or seashells, and all other deviant and superstitious practices.

In Islam, there are two sources of knowledge:

1. Divine revelation: This is the truth that is conveyed to us from Allah by way of His Prophets (peace be upon them).

2. Human experience: This is the truth that is achieved through the combined efforts of our sensory observations and our faculty of reason.

From this, we can appreciate Islam's balanced approach to the relationship between reason and revelation. Ibn Taymiyah writes:

Reason is a precondition for knowledge and for the proper performance of our actions. By it, knowledge and action are perfected. However, it does not stand independently in this capacity. It is but an innate ability like the eyesight of our eyes. If the light of faith and of the Qur'ân reaches it, it is the same as when the light of the sun or of a flame reaches our eyes. If it is kept isolated, it cannot perceive the matters that it is unequipped to perceive on its own. If it is taken away completely, words and deeds become nothing more than animal behaviors, experiencing likes, emotions, and tastes in the same way that cattle might experience them. Therefore, deeds carried out in the absence of reason are deficient and words spoken contrary to reason are false. [ Majmû` al-Fatâwâ (3/338)]

Reason does not play the same role in all fields of knowledge. In this respect, knowledge can be broken down into three categories:

1. Essential knowledge: This is knowledge of that which cannot be doubted by any rational person. Every reasoning soul must possess this knowledge. This includes a person's knowledge of his own existence, that two is greater than one, or that the sky is above us and the ground below us.

2. Theoretical knowledge: This is knowledge that is acquired through and gleaned from evidence. Such thinking must draw from essential knowledge in order for its correctness to be discerned. Many disciplines fall into this category, like the natural sciences, medicine, and various manufacturing arts. It is in these fields where reason plays its greatest, most critical, and most constructive role.

3. Knowledge of the Unseen: These are matters that reason alone cannot arrive at. For a person to arrive at such knowledge, some other source of information is needed. This includes knowledge of what is to be found in some distant land or knowledge of the events of the Hereafter, like the resurrection and the judgment. Such knowledge is only ascertainable by way of a report. When the questions at hand are those of religious faith, especially with respect to the particulars, then the only source that can be relied upon is divine revelation.

This is the balanced approach to reason and revelation. It can be contrasted with the approaches of various deviant sects. Some of them, like the Peripatetic philosophers, relied exclusively upon reason and eschewed revelation in its entirety. Others, like the majority of the scholastic theologians, discounted the purport of revelation where they presumed it to contradict with the dictates of reason. Others, like some of the Sufi sects, took personal inspiration and spiritual experience as the basis of truth even when it contradicted with both reason and revelation.

In order to appreciate the proper role of reason and accurately define its limitations, we should consider the following. Each of our senses has its limits of strength and its particular domain. Any attempt to employ one of the senses beyond its scope is an exercise in futility that might also prove injurious to the one attempting to do so.

For example, the eye provides us with the ability to see objects. However, regardless of how healthy and acute a person's eyesight might be, it cannot be used unaided to see microbes, in spite of the fact that microbes most surely exist. Likewise it cannot hope to see the colors of the Infrared or Ultraviolet spectrums of light. If a person tries to force his eyes to view these things, he will never succeed in doing so, though he might succeed in damaging his vision.

Likewise, the intellect has its limits. It cannot ascertain on its own all truths and all forms of knowledge. People believe in and accept things that their senses cannot perceive and that their intellects cannot comprehend. For instance, our intellects accept the phenomenon of gravity though we are of yet unable to comprehend its true nature. We can explain electricity as electrons moving from a negative to a positive charge. However, the true nature of the subatomic world still eludes us.

Among what must remain beyond the scope of our reason are matters of the Unseen. We can say with confidence that whatever falls squarely into the domain of the Unseen falls outside the domain of our intellects. For example, we know that when the body of the deceased is placed in its grave, its soul is returned to it then two angels approach that soul to question it. This is established by authentic hadith. How is the soul returned? Why doesn't his body stir and cry out at this time? How is his grave made spacious for him to the extent of his vision if he is among the righteous? Questions like these cannot be answered by our intellects. Our rational faculties are limited in their scope and cannot investigate matters that pertain exclusively to the world of the Unseen.

Our intellects must accept such matters if we come to know of them by way of divine revelation from Allah to His Messengers (peace be upon them). We are limited in our knowledge of these matters to what the sacred texts inform us about them and we cannot delve into their true nature or speculate on them any further. If we attempt to do so with our intellects, we will not arrive at any results, though we might bring harm to our faculties of reason in the attempt. This has been the plight of the philosophers and others who have tried to use reason to acquire knowledge of things wholly outside the world of human experience.

It is in light of this understanding that Allah says: "And those of firm knowledge say: 'We believe in it. All of it is from our Lord.' And none take heed except people of discernment." [ Sûrah Âl `Imrân : 7]

This was the approach of the Salaf , our pious predecessors. They knew the limits of reason and stopped at those limits, never attempting to use their rational faculties to plumb the depths of the Unseen. They did not ponder on the true nature of Allah, His essence, and His attributes. They voiced their objections to this pursuit and forbid others from engaging in it. In this way, they safeguarded themselves from doubt and error and kept their hearts secure in the certainty of faith.

We can actually use reason to argue against those who advocate the application of reason to these questions. We can say to them: It is a fact that rational minds differ in their strengths and abilities. Whose mind, then, must we give preference to when it is at variance with the texts? Why should we submit to the intellect of any human being? Moreover, any given mind is prone to change its opinions as it acquires new knowledge or as it contemplates and reviews matters more thoroughly. This means that we will be obliged to adhere to one viewpoint today and possibly a wholly different one tomorrow. Because minds differ so much, we will be subjected to a whole range of conflicting and often irreconcilable opinions that will consign us to confusion and doubt. Experience has shown us that many of those who have subjected the sacred texts to the rule of reason had later abandoned that approach as being in error.

It is one of the blessings of Allah upon the Muslims that he has sufficed them regarding matters of the Unseen. He revealed to them the Qur'ân and took its preservation upon Himself and He sent them the Messenger (peace be upon him) and preserved for them the Sunnah of that Messenger. In this way, he sufficed them in their knowledge of the Unseen, so they would not have to squander their intellectual powers trying to investigate matters that their minds are unable to cope with. In this way, He freed their minds to pursue the problems of their worldly existence and derive benefit from the world in which they live.

Sayyid Qutub writes:

There is no other religion that so honors the human intellect, awakens it, sets it on the right course, and mobilizes it for constructive effort, liberating it from the shackles of fables and superstition, and the oppression of soothsayers and possessors of "forbidden knowledge". At the same time, it safeguards the mind from straying outside of its proper domain and into an intellectual wasteland without a guide. There is no other faith that has done this quite as Islam has. [ Khasâ'is al-Tasawwur al-Islamî (49)]

He also observes:

The conceptual framework of Islam – in what is beyond the basis of this conceptual framework and its fundamentals – affords the human intellect and human knowledge a vast and total field of endeavor. It does not impede the mind or stand in its way of investigating the universe. Rather, it calls upon it to investigate and spurs it on. [ Khasâ'is al-Tasawwur al-Islamî (71)]

Among the gems of what al-Ghazâlî said in his later life is that Allah has sufficed the Muslims in the matters of their faith and commanded them to follow, while opening up to them the matters of the world and commanding them to be innovative. However, some Muslims instead opted to be innovative and inventive in matters of faith, while in the affairs of the world, they sufficed themselves with following the nations of the East and West without contributing any development or any new ideas.