Islam-guide
posted by Muslim at 15:27
Friday, April 01, 2005
Saturday, April 10, 2004
Sunday, April 27, 2003
Verses from the Quran
It is He Who created
The night and the day,
And the sun and the moon:
All (the celestial bodies)
Swim along, each in its
Rounded course. (21:33)
Do they not travel
Through the earth and see
What was the end
Of those before them?
They were superior to them
In strength: they tilled
The soil and populated it
In greater numbers than these
Have done: there came to them
Their apostles with clear (signs),
(which they rejected, to their
own destruction): it was not
God who wronged them, but
They wronged their own souls. (30:9)
Do they not look
At the sky above them? ---
How We have made it
And adorned it,
And there are no
Flaws in it?
And the earth ---
We have spread it out,
And set thereon mountains
Standing firm, and produced
Therein every kind of
Beautiful growth (in pairs)
To be observed
And commemorated
By every devotee
Turning (to God).
And We send down
From the sky rain
Charged with blessings,
And We produce therewith
Gardens and grain for harvests;
And tall (and stately)
Palm-trees, with shoots
Of fruit-stalks, piled
One over another ---
As sustenance for
(God’s servants) ---
and We give (new) life
therewith to land that is
dead: thus will be
the Resurrection. (50:6-11)
Do they not look
At the camels,
How they are made? ---
And at the sky,
How it is raised high? ---
And at the mountains,
How they are fixed firm? ---
And at the earth,
How it is spread out? (88:17-20)
The night and the day,
And the sun and the moon:
All (the celestial bodies)
Swim along, each in its
Rounded course. (21:33)
Do they not travel
Through the earth and see
What was the end
Of those before them?
They were superior to them
In strength: they tilled
The soil and populated it
In greater numbers than these
Have done: there came to them
Their apostles with clear (signs),
(which they rejected, to their
own destruction): it was not
God who wronged them, but
They wronged their own souls. (30:9)
Do they not look
At the sky above them? ---
How We have made it
And adorned it,
And there are no
Flaws in it?
And the earth ---
We have spread it out,
And set thereon mountains
Standing firm, and produced
Therein every kind of
Beautiful growth (in pairs)
To be observed
And commemorated
By every devotee
Turning (to God).
And We send down
From the sky rain
Charged with blessings,
And We produce therewith
Gardens and grain for harvests;
And tall (and stately)
Palm-trees, with shoots
Of fruit-stalks, piled
One over another ---
As sustenance for
(God’s servants) ---
and We give (new) life
therewith to land that is
dead: thus will be
the Resurrection. (50:6-11)
Do they not look
At the camels,
How they are made? ---
And at the sky,
How it is raised high? ---
And at the mountains,
How they are fixed firm? ---
And at the earth,
How it is spread out? (88:17-20)
posted by Muslim at 14:40
Seven Reasons to read the Qur'an
I. Inimitable
It dares you to disprove it. How? It says that humans cannot write a book like this even if they pooled all their resources together and got help also from the spirits. The Quran said this fourteen hundred years ago and yet no one has been able to disprove it. Billions of books have been written -but not another one like the Quran.
2. Incorruptible
It is the only religious sacred writing which has been in circulation for such a long time and yet remains as pure as it was in the beginning. The Quran was kept intact. Nothing was added to it: nothing was changed in it; and nothing was taken away from it ever since it was completely revealed 1400 years ago.
3. Unsurpassable
The Quran is God's final revelation to humankind. God revealed the Torah to Moses, the Psalms to David, the Gospel to Jesus, and finally the Quran to Muhammad. Peace be upon Moses, David, Jesus and Muhammad. No other book will come from God to surpass his final revelation.
4. Indisputable
The Qur'an withstands the test of time and scrutiny. No one can dispute the truth of this book. It speaks about past history and turns out right, It speaks about the future in prophecies and it turns out right, It mentions details of physical phenomena which were not known to people at the time; yet later scientific discoveries confirm that the Quran was right all along. Every other book needs to be revised to accord with modern knowledge. The Quran alone is never contradicted by a modern discovery.
5. Your Roadmap for Life and Afterlife
The Quran is the best guidebook on how to structure your life. No other book presents such a comprehensive system involving all aspects of human life and endeavour. The Quran also points out the way to secure everlasting happiness in the afterlife. It is your roadmap showing how to get to Paradise.
6. God's Gift of Guidance
God has not left you alone. You were made for a reason. God tells you why he made you, what he demands from you, and what he has in store for you. If you operate a machine contrary to it's manufacture specification you will ruin that machine. What about you? Do you have an owner's manual for you? The Quran is from your maker. It is a gift for you to make sure you function for success lest you fail to function. It is a healing mercy from God. It satisfies the soul, and cleans the heart. It removes doubts and brings peace.
7. Your Calling Card to Communicate with your God
Humans are social creatures. We love to communicate with other intelligent life. The Qur'an tells us how to communicate with the source of all intelligence and the source of all life - the One God. The Qur'an tells us who God is, by what name we should address God, and the way in which to communicate with God.
Are these not seven sufficient reasons for reading the Qur'an?
posted by Muslim at 14:29
The Challenge
Dr. Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips
The Qur’aan is not only unique in the way in which it presents its subject matter, but it is also unique in that it is a miracle itself. By the term "miracle," we mean the performance of a supernatural or extraordinary event which cannot be duplicated by humans. It has been documented that Prophet Muhammad (sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam) challenged the Arabs to produce a literary work of a similar caliber as the Qur'aan, but they were unable to do so in spite of their well-known eloquence and literary powers. The challenge to reproduce the Qur'aan was presented to the Arabs and mankind in three stages:
l. The Whole Qur'aan:
In the Qur'aan, Allaah commanded the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam) to challenge all of creation to create a book of the stature of the Qur'aan,
"Say: 'If all mankind and the jinn would come together to produce the like of this Qur’aan, they could not produce its like even though they exerted all and their strength in aiding one another.’" [Soorah al-Israa’ (17):88]
2. Ten Soorahs:
Next, Allaah made the challenge ostensibly easier by asking those who denied its divine origin to imitate even ten soorahs of the Qur’aan:
"Or do they say that he has invented it? Say (to them), 'Bring ten invented soorahs like it, and call (for help) on whomever you can besides Allaah, if you are truthful." [Soorah Hood (11):13]
This final challenge was to produce even a single soorah to match what is in the Qur’aan, whose shortest soorah, al-Kawthar, consists of only three verses:
"And if you all are in doubt about what I have revealed to My servant, bring a single soorah like it, and call your witnesses besides Allaah if you are truthful." [Soorah al-Baqarah (2):23]
These challenges were not just empty words with no one caring to prove them wrong. Prophet Muhammad’s (sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam) call to monotheism, to the abolition of idolatry in all its forms, and to the equality of slaves and their masters threatened the whole socio-economic framework of Makkah society in general, and the position of the ruling Qurayshee tribe from which the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam) came in particular. Makkah, the trading center of Arabia, as well as its spiritual center, desperately wanted to stop the spread of Islaam. Yet all that the Prophet’s opponents had to do to crush the movement was to make up a single soorah like any one of those which the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam) and his followers were reciting to the people.
A number of Qurayshee orators and poets tried to imitate the Qur'aan, but they failed. They then resorted to offering him vast amounts of wealth, the position of king over them, and the most noble and beautiful of their women in exchange for his promise to stop inviting people to Islaam. He responded to them by reciting the first thirteen verses of Soorah Fussilat, until they asked him to stop. [Collected by al-Haakim, al-Bayhaqee, Aboo Ya'laa and Ibn Hishaam, and declared hasan by lbraaheem al-'Alee in Saheeh as-Seerah an-Nabaweeyah, p.64.] The Quraysh also resorted to torturing their slaves and relatives who had embraced Islaam in a vain attempt to cause them to revert to paganism. Later they organized an economic boycott against the Prophet his followers and the members of his clan, Banoo Haashim, in an attempt to starve them into submission. But even this plan eventually failed.
Finally, they plotted to kill him in his home by sending armed young men from each of the clans of Quraysh in order that the guilt of his murder be shared by all the clans, making revenge by the Prophet's clan impossible.
However, Allaah enabled the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam) and his followers to flee Makkah and join a new band of converts who had arisen among the tribes of a city to the north called Yathrib. Islaam spread rapidly through the clans of Yathrib, and within a year Muslims became the city's majority. Prophet Muhammad was then made the ruler, and the name of the city was changed to Madeenah an-Nabee (The City of the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam), which was then shortened to "Madeenah." Over the next eight years, the clans of Makkah and its neighboring lands mounted a series of unsuccessful battle campaigns against the emerging Muslim state in Madeenah, which ended with the Muslim invasion of Makkah itself.
All of this bloodshed could have been avoided if only the Quraysh and their allies had been able to produce a mere three lines of poetry or flowing prose similar to the shortest soorah of the Qur'aan. Hence, there can be no doubt about the inimitability of the Qur'aan's literary style, about the miracle of its rhyme and the marvel of its rhythm.
It has been suggested that the inimitability of the Qur'aan is not necessarily unique, for great English poets like Shakespeare, Chaucer, or great poets in any language tend to have distinctly unique styles which set them apart from their contemporaries. However, if, for example, some leading poet of today were to make an in-depth study of Shakespeare's writings and write a sonnet in Shakespeare's style in old ink and on old paper, then claim that he had discovered a lost poem of Shakespeare's, the literary world would probably accept this claim, even after careful study. Thus, even the greatest of poets could be imitated, no matter how unique his style was, just as the famous painters have been imitated. [In fact, some English scholars consider much ofwhat has been attributedto Shakespeare to have been written by his contemporary, Christopher Marlowe.]
The Qur'aan, however, is way above this level, as attempts to forge chapters have been made throughout the ages, yet none has withstood close scrutiny. And, as was mentioned before, the incentive to imitate the Qur'aan was more intense during the time of its revelation when literally skills were at their peak than at any other time, yet there was no successful attempt.
May Allah Guide those who are seeking the Truth.
The Qur’aan is not only unique in the way in which it presents its subject matter, but it is also unique in that it is a miracle itself. By the term "miracle," we mean the performance of a supernatural or extraordinary event which cannot be duplicated by humans. It has been documented that Prophet Muhammad (sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam) challenged the Arabs to produce a literary work of a similar caliber as the Qur'aan, but they were unable to do so in spite of their well-known eloquence and literary powers. The challenge to reproduce the Qur'aan was presented to the Arabs and mankind in three stages:
l. The Whole Qur'aan:
In the Qur'aan, Allaah commanded the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam) to challenge all of creation to create a book of the stature of the Qur'aan,
"Say: 'If all mankind and the jinn would come together to produce the like of this Qur’aan, they could not produce its like even though they exerted all and their strength in aiding one another.’" [Soorah al-Israa’ (17):88]
2. Ten Soorahs:
Next, Allaah made the challenge ostensibly easier by asking those who denied its divine origin to imitate even ten soorahs of the Qur’aan:
"Or do they say that he has invented it? Say (to them), 'Bring ten invented soorahs like it, and call (for help) on whomever you can besides Allaah, if you are truthful." [Soorah Hood (11):13]
This final challenge was to produce even a single soorah to match what is in the Qur’aan, whose shortest soorah, al-Kawthar, consists of only three verses:
"And if you all are in doubt about what I have revealed to My servant, bring a single soorah like it, and call your witnesses besides Allaah if you are truthful." [Soorah al-Baqarah (2):23]
These challenges were not just empty words with no one caring to prove them wrong. Prophet Muhammad’s (sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam) call to monotheism, to the abolition of idolatry in all its forms, and to the equality of slaves and their masters threatened the whole socio-economic framework of Makkah society in general, and the position of the ruling Qurayshee tribe from which the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam) came in particular. Makkah, the trading center of Arabia, as well as its spiritual center, desperately wanted to stop the spread of Islaam. Yet all that the Prophet’s opponents had to do to crush the movement was to make up a single soorah like any one of those which the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam) and his followers were reciting to the people.
A number of Qurayshee orators and poets tried to imitate the Qur'aan, but they failed. They then resorted to offering him vast amounts of wealth, the position of king over them, and the most noble and beautiful of their women in exchange for his promise to stop inviting people to Islaam. He responded to them by reciting the first thirteen verses of Soorah Fussilat, until they asked him to stop. [Collected by al-Haakim, al-Bayhaqee, Aboo Ya'laa and Ibn Hishaam, and declared hasan by lbraaheem al-'Alee in Saheeh as-Seerah an-Nabaweeyah, p.64.] The Quraysh also resorted to torturing their slaves and relatives who had embraced Islaam in a vain attempt to cause them to revert to paganism. Later they organized an economic boycott against the Prophet his followers and the members of his clan, Banoo Haashim, in an attempt to starve them into submission. But even this plan eventually failed.
Finally, they plotted to kill him in his home by sending armed young men from each of the clans of Quraysh in order that the guilt of his murder be shared by all the clans, making revenge by the Prophet's clan impossible.
However, Allaah enabled the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam) and his followers to flee Makkah and join a new band of converts who had arisen among the tribes of a city to the north called Yathrib. Islaam spread rapidly through the clans of Yathrib, and within a year Muslims became the city's majority. Prophet Muhammad was then made the ruler, and the name of the city was changed to Madeenah an-Nabee (The City of the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam), which was then shortened to "Madeenah." Over the next eight years, the clans of Makkah and its neighboring lands mounted a series of unsuccessful battle campaigns against the emerging Muslim state in Madeenah, which ended with the Muslim invasion of Makkah itself.
All of this bloodshed could have been avoided if only the Quraysh and their allies had been able to produce a mere three lines of poetry or flowing prose similar to the shortest soorah of the Qur'aan. Hence, there can be no doubt about the inimitability of the Qur'aan's literary style, about the miracle of its rhyme and the marvel of its rhythm.
It has been suggested that the inimitability of the Qur'aan is not necessarily unique, for great English poets like Shakespeare, Chaucer, or great poets in any language tend to have distinctly unique styles which set them apart from their contemporaries. However, if, for example, some leading poet of today were to make an in-depth study of Shakespeare's writings and write a sonnet in Shakespeare's style in old ink and on old paper, then claim that he had discovered a lost poem of Shakespeare's, the literary world would probably accept this claim, even after careful study. Thus, even the greatest of poets could be imitated, no matter how unique his style was, just as the famous painters have been imitated. [In fact, some English scholars consider much ofwhat has been attributedto Shakespeare to have been written by his contemporary, Christopher Marlowe.]
The Qur'aan, however, is way above this level, as attempts to forge chapters have been made throughout the ages, yet none has withstood close scrutiny. And, as was mentioned before, the incentive to imitate the Qur'aan was more intense during the time of its revelation when literally skills were at their peak than at any other time, yet there was no successful attempt.
May Allah Guide those who are seeking the Truth.
posted by Muslim at 14:29
Cat Steven's Aka Yusuf Islam's Story
Conversion of Yusuf Islam (formerly Cat Stevens)
All I have to say is all what you know already, to confirm what you already know, the message of the Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) as given by God - the Religion of Truth. As human beings we are given a consciousness and a duty that has placed us at the top of creation. Man is created to be God's deputy on earth, and it is important to realize the obligation to rid ourselves of all illusions and to make our lives a preparation for the next life. Anybody who misses this chance is not likely to be given another, to be brought back again and again, because it says in Qur'an Majeed that when man is brought to account, he will say, "O Lord, send us back and give us another chance." The Lord will say, "If I send you back you will do the same."
MY EARLY RELIGIOUS UPBRINGING
I was brought up in the modern world of all the luxury and the high life of show business. I was born in a Christian home, but we know that every child is born in his original nature - it is only his parents that turn him to this or that religion. I was given this religion (Christianity) and thought this way. I was taught that God exists, but there was no direct contact with God, so we had to make contact with Him through Jesus - he was in fact the door to God. This was more or less accepted by me, but I did not swallow it all.
I looked at some of the statues of Jesus; they were just stones with no life. And when they said that God is three, I was puzzled even more but could not argue. I more or less believed it, because I had to have respect for the faith of my parents.
POP STAR
Gradually I became alienated from this religious upbringing. I started making music. I wanted to be a big star. All those things I saw in the films and on the media took hold of me, and perhaps I thought this was my God, the goal of making money. I had an uncle who had a beautiful car. "Well," I said, "he has it made. He has a lot of money." The people around me influenced me to think that this was it; this world was their God.
I decided then that this was the life for me; to make a lot of money, have a 'great life.' Now my examples were the pop stars. I started making songs, but deep down I had a feeling for humanity, a feeling that if I became rich I would help the needy. (It says in the Qur'an, we make a promise, but when we make something, we want to hold onto it and become
greedy.)
So what happened was that I became very famous. I was still a teenager, my name and photo were splashed in all the media. They made me larger than life, so I wanted to live larger than life and the only way to do that was to be intoxicated (with liquor and drugs).
IN HOSPITAL
After a year of financial success and 'high' living, I became very ill, contracted TB and had to be hospitalized. It was then that I started to think: What was to happen to me? Was I just a body, and my goal in life was merely to satisfy this body? I realized now that this calamity was a blessing given to me by Allah, a chance to open my eyes - "Why am I here? Why am I in bed?" - and I started looking for some of the answers. At that time there was great interest in the Eastern mysticism. I began reading, and the first thing I began to become aware of was death, and that the soul moves on; it does not stop. I felt I was taking the road to bliss and high accomplishment. I started meditating and even became a vegetarian. I now believed in 'peace and flower power,' and this was the general trend. But what I did believe in particular was that I was not just a body. This awareness came to me at the hospital.
One day when I was walking and I was caught in the rain, I began running to the shelter and then I realized, 'Wait a minute, my body is getting wet, my body is telling me I am getting wet.' This made me think of a saying that the body is like a donkey, and it has to be trained where it has to go. Otherwise, the donkey will lead you where it wants to go.
Then I realized I had a will, a God-given gift: follow the will of God. I was fascinated by the new terminology I was learning in the Eastern religion. By now I was fed up with Christianity. I started making music again and this time I started reflecting my own thoughts. I remember the lyric of one of my songs. It goes like this: "I wish I knew, I wish I knew what makes the Heaven, what makes the Hell. Do I get to know You in my bed or some dusty cell while others reach the big hotel?" and I knew I was on the Path.
I also wrote another song, "The Way to Find God Out." I became even more famous in the world of music. I really had a difficult time because I was getting rich and famous, and at the same time, I was sincerely searching for the Truth. Then I came to a stage where I decided that Buddhism is all right and noble, but I was not ready to leave the world. I was too attached to the world and was not prepared to become a monk and to isolate myself from society.
I tried Zen and Ching, numerology, tarot cards and astrology. I tried to look back into the Bible and could not find anything. At this time I did not know anything about Islam, and then, what I regarded as a miracle occurred. My brother had visited the mosque in Jerusalem and was greatly impressed that while on the one hand it throbbed with life (unlike the churches and synagogues which were empty), on the other hand, an atmosphere of peace and tranquillity prevailed.
THE QUR'AN
When he came to London he brought back a translation of the Qur'an, which he gave to me. He did not become a Muslim, but he felt something in this religion, and thought I might find something in it also.
And when I received the book, a guidance that would explain everything to me - who I was; what was the purpose of life; what was the reality and what would be the reality; and where I came from - I realized that this was the true religion; religion not in the sense the West understands it, not the type for only your old age. In the West, whoever wishes to embrace a religion and make it his only way of life is deemed a fanatic. I was not a fanatic, I was at first confused between the body and the soul. Then I realized that the body and soul are not apart and you don't have to go to the mountain to be religious. We must follow the will of God. Then we can rise higher than the angels. The first thing I wanted to do now was to be a Muslim.
I realized that everything belongs to God, that slumber does not overtake Him. He created everything. At this point I began to lose the pride in me, because hereto I had thought the reason I was here was because of my own greatness. But I realized that I did not create myself, and the whole purpose of my being here was to submit to the teaching that has been perfected by the religion we know as Al-Islam. At this point I started discovering my faith. I felt I was a Muslim. On reading the Qur'an, I now realized that all the Prophets sent by God brought the same message. Why then were the Jews and Christians different? I know now how the Jews did not accept Jesus as the Messiah and that they had changed His Word. Even the Christians misunderstand God's Word and called Jesus the son of God. Everything made so much sense. This is the beauty of the Qur'an; it asks you to reflect and reason, and not to worship the sun or moon but the One
Who has created everything. The Qur'an asks man to reflect upon the sun and moon and God's creation in general. Do you realize how different the sun is from the moon? They are at varying distances from the earth, yet appear the same size to us; at times one seems to overlap the other.
Even when many of the astronauts go to space, they see the insignificant size of the earth and vastness of space. They become very religious, because they have seen the Signs of Allah.
When I read the Qur'an further, it talked about prayer, kindness and charity. I was not a Muslim yet, but I felt that the only answer for me was the Qur'an, and God had sent it to me, and I kept it a secret. But the Qur'an also speaks on different levels. I began to understand it on another level, where the Qur'an says,
"Those who believe do not take disbelievers for friends and the believers are brothers."
Thus at this point I wished to meet my Muslim brothers.
CONVERSION
Then I decided to journey to Jerusalem (as my brother had done). At Jerusalem, I went to the mosque and sat down. A man asked me what I wanted. I told him I was a Muslim. He asked what was my name. I told him, "Stevens." He was confused. I then joined the prayer, though not so successfully. Back in London, I met a sister called Nafisa. I told her I wanted to embrace Islam and she directed me to the New Regent Mosque. This was in 1977, about one and a half years after I received the Qur'an. Now I realized that I must get rid of my pride, get rid of Iblis, and face one direction. So on a Friday, after Jumma' I went to the Imam and declared my faith (the Kalima) at this hands. You have before you someone who had achieved fame and fortune. But guidance was something that eluded me, no matter how hard I tried, until I was shown the Qur'an. Now I realize I can get in direct contact with God, unlike Christianity or any other religion. As one Hindu lady told me, "You don't understand the Hindus. We believe in one God; we use these objects (idols) to merely concentrate." What she was saying was that in order to reach God, one has to create associates, that are idols for the purpose. But Islam removes all these barriers. The only thing that moves the believers from the disbelievers is the salat. This is the process of purification.
Finally I wish to say that everything I do is for the pleasure of Allah and pray that you gain some inspirations from my experiences. Furthermore, I would like to stress that I did not come into contact with any Muslim before I embraced Islam. I read the Qur'an first and realized that no person is perfect. Islam is perfect, and if we imitate the conduct of the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) we will be successful. May Allah give us guidance to follow the path of the ummah of Muhammad (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam). Amin!
-Yusuf Islam (formerly Cat Stevens)-
All I have to say is all what you know already, to confirm what you already know, the message of the Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) as given by God - the Religion of Truth. As human beings we are given a consciousness and a duty that has placed us at the top of creation. Man is created to be God's deputy on earth, and it is important to realize the obligation to rid ourselves of all illusions and to make our lives a preparation for the next life. Anybody who misses this chance is not likely to be given another, to be brought back again and again, because it says in Qur'an Majeed that when man is brought to account, he will say, "O Lord, send us back and give us another chance." The Lord will say, "If I send you back you will do the same."
MY EARLY RELIGIOUS UPBRINGING
I was brought up in the modern world of all the luxury and the high life of show business. I was born in a Christian home, but we know that every child is born in his original nature - it is only his parents that turn him to this or that religion. I was given this religion (Christianity) and thought this way. I was taught that God exists, but there was no direct contact with God, so we had to make contact with Him through Jesus - he was in fact the door to God. This was more or less accepted by me, but I did not swallow it all.
I looked at some of the statues of Jesus; they were just stones with no life. And when they said that God is three, I was puzzled even more but could not argue. I more or less believed it, because I had to have respect for the faith of my parents.
POP STAR
Gradually I became alienated from this religious upbringing. I started making music. I wanted to be a big star. All those things I saw in the films and on the media took hold of me, and perhaps I thought this was my God, the goal of making money. I had an uncle who had a beautiful car. "Well," I said, "he has it made. He has a lot of money." The people around me influenced me to think that this was it; this world was their God.
I decided then that this was the life for me; to make a lot of money, have a 'great life.' Now my examples were the pop stars. I started making songs, but deep down I had a feeling for humanity, a feeling that if I became rich I would help the needy. (It says in the Qur'an, we make a promise, but when we make something, we want to hold onto it and become
greedy.)
So what happened was that I became very famous. I was still a teenager, my name and photo were splashed in all the media. They made me larger than life, so I wanted to live larger than life and the only way to do that was to be intoxicated (with liquor and drugs).
IN HOSPITAL
After a year of financial success and 'high' living, I became very ill, contracted TB and had to be hospitalized. It was then that I started to think: What was to happen to me? Was I just a body, and my goal in life was merely to satisfy this body? I realized now that this calamity was a blessing given to me by Allah, a chance to open my eyes - "Why am I here? Why am I in bed?" - and I started looking for some of the answers. At that time there was great interest in the Eastern mysticism. I began reading, and the first thing I began to become aware of was death, and that the soul moves on; it does not stop. I felt I was taking the road to bliss and high accomplishment. I started meditating and even became a vegetarian. I now believed in 'peace and flower power,' and this was the general trend. But what I did believe in particular was that I was not just a body. This awareness came to me at the hospital.
One day when I was walking and I was caught in the rain, I began running to the shelter and then I realized, 'Wait a minute, my body is getting wet, my body is telling me I am getting wet.' This made me think of a saying that the body is like a donkey, and it has to be trained where it has to go. Otherwise, the donkey will lead you where it wants to go.
Then I realized I had a will, a God-given gift: follow the will of God. I was fascinated by the new terminology I was learning in the Eastern religion. By now I was fed up with Christianity. I started making music again and this time I started reflecting my own thoughts. I remember the lyric of one of my songs. It goes like this: "I wish I knew, I wish I knew what makes the Heaven, what makes the Hell. Do I get to know You in my bed or some dusty cell while others reach the big hotel?" and I knew I was on the Path.
I also wrote another song, "The Way to Find God Out." I became even more famous in the world of music. I really had a difficult time because I was getting rich and famous, and at the same time, I was sincerely searching for the Truth. Then I came to a stage where I decided that Buddhism is all right and noble, but I was not ready to leave the world. I was too attached to the world and was not prepared to become a monk and to isolate myself from society.
I tried Zen and Ching, numerology, tarot cards and astrology. I tried to look back into the Bible and could not find anything. At this time I did not know anything about Islam, and then, what I regarded as a miracle occurred. My brother had visited the mosque in Jerusalem and was greatly impressed that while on the one hand it throbbed with life (unlike the churches and synagogues which were empty), on the other hand, an atmosphere of peace and tranquillity prevailed.
THE QUR'AN
When he came to London he brought back a translation of the Qur'an, which he gave to me. He did not become a Muslim, but he felt something in this religion, and thought I might find something in it also.
And when I received the book, a guidance that would explain everything to me - who I was; what was the purpose of life; what was the reality and what would be the reality; and where I came from - I realized that this was the true religion; religion not in the sense the West understands it, not the type for only your old age. In the West, whoever wishes to embrace a religion and make it his only way of life is deemed a fanatic. I was not a fanatic, I was at first confused between the body and the soul. Then I realized that the body and soul are not apart and you don't have to go to the mountain to be religious. We must follow the will of God. Then we can rise higher than the angels. The first thing I wanted to do now was to be a Muslim.
I realized that everything belongs to God, that slumber does not overtake Him. He created everything. At this point I began to lose the pride in me, because hereto I had thought the reason I was here was because of my own greatness. But I realized that I did not create myself, and the whole purpose of my being here was to submit to the teaching that has been perfected by the religion we know as Al-Islam. At this point I started discovering my faith. I felt I was a Muslim. On reading the Qur'an, I now realized that all the Prophets sent by God brought the same message. Why then were the Jews and Christians different? I know now how the Jews did not accept Jesus as the Messiah and that they had changed His Word. Even the Christians misunderstand God's Word and called Jesus the son of God. Everything made so much sense. This is the beauty of the Qur'an; it asks you to reflect and reason, and not to worship the sun or moon but the One
Who has created everything. The Qur'an asks man to reflect upon the sun and moon and God's creation in general. Do you realize how different the sun is from the moon? They are at varying distances from the earth, yet appear the same size to us; at times one seems to overlap the other.
Even when many of the astronauts go to space, they see the insignificant size of the earth and vastness of space. They become very religious, because they have seen the Signs of Allah.
When I read the Qur'an further, it talked about prayer, kindness and charity. I was not a Muslim yet, but I felt that the only answer for me was the Qur'an, and God had sent it to me, and I kept it a secret. But the Qur'an also speaks on different levels. I began to understand it on another level, where the Qur'an says,
"Those who believe do not take disbelievers for friends and the believers are brothers."
Thus at this point I wished to meet my Muslim brothers.
CONVERSION
Then I decided to journey to Jerusalem (as my brother had done). At Jerusalem, I went to the mosque and sat down. A man asked me what I wanted. I told him I was a Muslim. He asked what was my name. I told him, "Stevens." He was confused. I then joined the prayer, though not so successfully. Back in London, I met a sister called Nafisa. I told her I wanted to embrace Islam and she directed me to the New Regent Mosque. This was in 1977, about one and a half years after I received the Qur'an. Now I realized that I must get rid of my pride, get rid of Iblis, and face one direction. So on a Friday, after Jumma' I went to the Imam and declared my faith (the Kalima) at this hands. You have before you someone who had achieved fame and fortune. But guidance was something that eluded me, no matter how hard I tried, until I was shown the Qur'an. Now I realize I can get in direct contact with God, unlike Christianity or any other religion. As one Hindu lady told me, "You don't understand the Hindus. We believe in one God; we use these objects (idols) to merely concentrate." What she was saying was that in order to reach God, one has to create associates, that are idols for the purpose. But Islam removes all these barriers. The only thing that moves the believers from the disbelievers is the salat. This is the process of purification.
Finally I wish to say that everything I do is for the pleasure of Allah and pray that you gain some inspirations from my experiences. Furthermore, I would like to stress that I did not come into contact with any Muslim before I embraced Islam. I read the Qur'an first and realized that no person is perfect. Islam is perfect, and if we imitate the conduct of the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) we will be successful. May Allah give us guidance to follow the path of the ummah of Muhammad (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam). Amin!
-Yusuf Islam (formerly Cat Stevens)-
posted by Muslim at 14:28
When I Covered My Head, I Opened My Mind
By Sharrifa Carlo
As a non-Muslim living in Western society, the idea of modesty was not exactly foremost in my mind. Like all other women of my generation and mind-set, I thought such ideas were antiquated and excessive. I felt pity for the poor Muslim woman who had to "wear all that junk," or "walk around in bed - sheets" as I used to call it
I was a modern woman, educated and liberated. Little did I know the awful truth. I was more oppressed than any Muslim woman in the most culturally oppressive village in the Muslim world. I was oppressed not by an inability to choose my clothing or to choose my life-style, I was oppressed by an inability to see my society for what it really was. I was oppressed by the idea that a woman's beauty was public, and that lustful admiration was equal to respect.
It was when Allah guided me to Islam, and I put on the hijab, that I was finally able to step out of the society in which I lived and see it for what it really is. I could see how the highest paid women were those who exposed themselves to public display, like actresses, models and even strip-tease dancers. I was able to see that the relationship between men and women was unfairly stacked in the man's direction. I knew I used o dress to attract men. I tried to fool myself by saying I did it to please myself, but the painful reality was that what pleased me was when I was admired by a man I considered attractive.
I now know that there is no way for a person to know that he is dirty if he has never been clean. Similarly, I was not able to see that I was oppressed until I stepped out of the darkness of this oppressive society into the light of Islam. With that light shined on the truth, I was finally able to see the shadows that had been so obscured by my Western philosophies. It is not oppression to protect yourself and society; it is oppression to voluntarily throw yourself into the quagmire while denying it is dirty.
I am grateful to Allah that He allowed me to recognize that when I covered my head, I was taking away from people any means for judging me other than my mind, my soul and my heart. When I covered my head, I took away the incentive for exploitation based on beauty. When I covered my head, I made people respect me because they saw that I respected myself, and when I covered my head, I finally opened my mind to the truth.
Teach, Don't Preach
One of the factors which attracted me to this great deen of ours was the fact that so much of it can be understood based on logic and reason. that is why I feel that many Muslims parents do themselves a great disservice by not explaining more to their children. The old, "Because I say so...", or because you are an Arab, Pakistani, Somali, (fill in your cultural preference)..." never has worked and never will work. Human beings have a natural desire to understand what they do and why they do it, that is why Islam is such a great religion, because it satisfies all of our basic intellectual and emotional needs; it does this simply because it is the truth, and the truth is always easy to understand and defend.
When we teach our children, we should use the same sound reasoning and logic that we use to convince ourselves that a particular deed is beneficial. Thus, as we accept it, so, inshallah, will they because it will be understandable. Of course we preface every instruction with the understanding that we do what we do to please Allah and Allah only, even if we can not understand it, but alhamdulillah we have a means to understand the majority of what we do and avoid as Muslims.
For instance, we know that we don't eat pork because Allah commands us in the Glorious Quraan to avoid it. Then, we know that our beloved Prophet (Sal Allahu alayhi wa salam) commanded us to avoid it. We need to tell this to our kids, and as they grow and increase in their understanding we need to show it to them. This teaches them some important lessons. It shows them Allah's commands; it shows them the importance of the Prophet's (Sal Allahu alayhi wa salam) commands, and it shows them the basics of researching into the deen. Then, once we set this as our base, we need to explain to them the wisdom of this command. Talk about the diseases associated with eating pork. Discuss the unsanitary living/eating habits of this animal. Essentially, teach them those things which help you to avoid this sin. Teach them to use their faith and their mind in unison as tools towards achieving the ultimate goal of reaching Jannah.
http://www.islamzine.com/carlo/hijabc.html
As a non-Muslim living in Western society, the idea of modesty was not exactly foremost in my mind. Like all other women of my generation and mind-set, I thought such ideas were antiquated and excessive. I felt pity for the poor Muslim woman who had to "wear all that junk," or "walk around in bed - sheets" as I used to call it
I was a modern woman, educated and liberated. Little did I know the awful truth. I was more oppressed than any Muslim woman in the most culturally oppressive village in the Muslim world. I was oppressed not by an inability to choose my clothing or to choose my life-style, I was oppressed by an inability to see my society for what it really was. I was oppressed by the idea that a woman's beauty was public, and that lustful admiration was equal to respect.
It was when Allah guided me to Islam, and I put on the hijab, that I was finally able to step out of the society in which I lived and see it for what it really is. I could see how the highest paid women were those who exposed themselves to public display, like actresses, models and even strip-tease dancers. I was able to see that the relationship between men and women was unfairly stacked in the man's direction. I knew I used o dress to attract men. I tried to fool myself by saying I did it to please myself, but the painful reality was that what pleased me was when I was admired by a man I considered attractive.
I now know that there is no way for a person to know that he is dirty if he has never been clean. Similarly, I was not able to see that I was oppressed until I stepped out of the darkness of this oppressive society into the light of Islam. With that light shined on the truth, I was finally able to see the shadows that had been so obscured by my Western philosophies. It is not oppression to protect yourself and society; it is oppression to voluntarily throw yourself into the quagmire while denying it is dirty.
I am grateful to Allah that He allowed me to recognize that when I covered my head, I was taking away from people any means for judging me other than my mind, my soul and my heart. When I covered my head, I took away the incentive for exploitation based on beauty. When I covered my head, I made people respect me because they saw that I respected myself, and when I covered my head, I finally opened my mind to the truth.
Teach, Don't Preach
One of the factors which attracted me to this great deen of ours was the fact that so much of it can be understood based on logic and reason. that is why I feel that many Muslims parents do themselves a great disservice by not explaining more to their children. The old, "Because I say so...", or because you are an Arab, Pakistani, Somali, (fill in your cultural preference)..." never has worked and never will work. Human beings have a natural desire to understand what they do and why they do it, that is why Islam is such a great religion, because it satisfies all of our basic intellectual and emotional needs; it does this simply because it is the truth, and the truth is always easy to understand and defend.
When we teach our children, we should use the same sound reasoning and logic that we use to convince ourselves that a particular deed is beneficial. Thus, as we accept it, so, inshallah, will they because it will be understandable. Of course we preface every instruction with the understanding that we do what we do to please Allah and Allah only, even if we can not understand it, but alhamdulillah we have a means to understand the majority of what we do and avoid as Muslims.
For instance, we know that we don't eat pork because Allah commands us in the Glorious Quraan to avoid it. Then, we know that our beloved Prophet (Sal Allahu alayhi wa salam) commanded us to avoid it. We need to tell this to our kids, and as they grow and increase in their understanding we need to show it to them. This teaches them some important lessons. It shows them Allah's commands; it shows them the importance of the Prophet's (Sal Allahu alayhi wa salam) commands, and it shows them the basics of researching into the deen. Then, once we set this as our base, we need to explain to them the wisdom of this command. Talk about the diseases associated with eating pork. Discuss the unsanitary living/eating habits of this animal. Essentially, teach them those things which help you to avoid this sin. Teach them to use their faith and their mind in unison as tools towards achieving the ultimate goal of reaching Jannah.
http://www.islamzine.com/carlo/hijabc.html
posted by Muslim at 14:26
Is there is a Creator ?!
We will answer by quoting a number of aayaat (verses) from the Book of Allaah (the Qur’aan - the scripture of Islam), then you can think to yourself about the matter and if the truth becomes clear to you, you will have no choice but to follow it. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“We created you, then why do you believe not?
Then tell Me (about) the human semen that you emit.
Is it you who create it (i.e., make this semen into a perfect human being), or are We the Creator?We have decreed death unto you all, and We are not unable,To transfigure you and create you in (forms) that you know not.And indeed, you have already known the first form of creation (i.e., the creation of Adam). Why then do you not remember or take heed?Tell Me! The seed that you sow in the ground.Is it you that make it grow, or are We the Grower?
Were it Our Will, We could crumble it to dry pieces, and you would be regretful (or left in wonderment),(Saying), ‘We are indeed Mughramoon (i.e., ruined, or lost the money without any profit, or punished by the loss of all that we spent for cultivation, etc.)!‘Nay, but we are deprived!’Tell Me! The water that you drink,Is it you who cause it from the rainclouds to come down, or are We the Causer of it to come down?If We willed, We verily could make it salt (and undrinkable). Why then do you not give thanks (to Allaah)?Tell Me! The fire which you kindle,Is it you who made the tree thereof to grow, or are We the Grower?We have made it a Reminder (for the Hell-fire, in the Hereafter); and an article of use for the travellers (and all others, in this world).The glorify with praises the Name of your Lord, the Most Great.So I swear by mawaaqi’ (setting to the mansions, etc.) of the stars (they traverse),And verily, that is indeed a great oath, if you but knew,That (this) is indeed an honourable recital (the Noble Qur’aan).” [Quran 56:57-77]
Were they created by nothing, or were they themselves the creators? Or did they create the heavens and the earth? Nay, but they have no firm Belief. Or are with them the treasures of your Lord? Or are they the tyrants with the authority to do as they like?” [Quran 52:35-37]
“Verily, the creation of the heavens and the earth, and in the alternation of night and day, and the ships which sail through the sea with that which is of use to mankind, and the water (rain) which Allaah sends down from the sky and makes the earth alive therewith after its death, and the moving (living) creatures of all kinds that He has scattered therein, and in the veering of winds and clouds which are held between the sky and the earth, are indeed aayaat (proofs, evidences, signs) for people of understanding.” [Quran 2:164]
“It is He Who sends down water (rain) from the sky, and with it We bring forth vegetation of all kinds, and out of it We bring forth green stalks, from which We bring forth thick clustered grain. And out of the date-palm and its spathe come forth clusters of dates hanging low and near, and gardens of grapes, olives and pomegranates, each similar (in kind) yet different (in variety and taste). Look at their fruits when they begin to bear, and the ripeness thereof. Verily! In these things there are signs for people who believe.” [Quran 6:99]
“And it is He Who sends the winds as heralds of glad tidings, going before His Mercy (rain), till when they have carried a heavy-laden cloud, We drive it to a land that is dead, then We cause water (rain) to descend thereon. Then We produce every kind of fruit therewith. Similarly, We shall raise up the dead, so that you may remember or take heed.” [Quran 7:57]
“Is not He (better than your gods) Who created the heavens and the earth, and sends down for you water (rain) from the sky, whereby We cause to grow wonderful gardens full of beauty and delight? It is not in your ability to cause the growth of their trees. Is there any god with Allaah? Nay, but they are a people who ascribe equals (to Him)!” [Quran 27:60]
“He has created the heavens and the earth without any pillars that you see, and has set on the earth firm mountains, lest it should shake with you. And He has scattered therein moving (living) creatures of all kinds. And We send down water (rain) from the sky, and We cause (plants) of every goodly kind to grow therein.” [Quran 31:10]
And the two seas (kinds of water) are not alike, this fresh, sweet and pleasant to drink, and that saltish and bitter. And from them both you eat fresh tender meat (fish), and derive the ornaments that you wear. And you see the ships cleaving (the sea-water as they sail through it), that you may seek of His Bounty, and that you may give thanks.” [Quran 35:12]
And it is He Who has let free the two seas (kinds of water), one palatable and sweet, and the other salt and bitter, and He has set a barrier and a complete partition between them.” [Quran 25:53]
Islam-Qa
“We created you, then why do you believe not?
Then tell Me (about) the human semen that you emit.
Is it you who create it (i.e., make this semen into a perfect human being), or are We the Creator?We have decreed death unto you all, and We are not unable,To transfigure you and create you in (forms) that you know not.And indeed, you have already known the first form of creation (i.e., the creation of Adam). Why then do you not remember or take heed?Tell Me! The seed that you sow in the ground.Is it you that make it grow, or are We the Grower?
Were it Our Will, We could crumble it to dry pieces, and you would be regretful (or left in wonderment),(Saying), ‘We are indeed Mughramoon (i.e., ruined, or lost the money without any profit, or punished by the loss of all that we spent for cultivation, etc.)!‘Nay, but we are deprived!’Tell Me! The water that you drink,Is it you who cause it from the rainclouds to come down, or are We the Causer of it to come down?If We willed, We verily could make it salt (and undrinkable). Why then do you not give thanks (to Allaah)?Tell Me! The fire which you kindle,Is it you who made the tree thereof to grow, or are We the Grower?We have made it a Reminder (for the Hell-fire, in the Hereafter); and an article of use for the travellers (and all others, in this world).The glorify with praises the Name of your Lord, the Most Great.So I swear by mawaaqi’ (setting to the mansions, etc.) of the stars (they traverse),And verily, that is indeed a great oath, if you but knew,That (this) is indeed an honourable recital (the Noble Qur’aan).” [Quran 56:57-77]
Were they created by nothing, or were they themselves the creators? Or did they create the heavens and the earth? Nay, but they have no firm Belief. Or are with them the treasures of your Lord? Or are they the tyrants with the authority to do as they like?” [Quran 52:35-37]
“Verily, the creation of the heavens and the earth, and in the alternation of night and day, and the ships which sail through the sea with that which is of use to mankind, and the water (rain) which Allaah sends down from the sky and makes the earth alive therewith after its death, and the moving (living) creatures of all kinds that He has scattered therein, and in the veering of winds and clouds which are held between the sky and the earth, are indeed aayaat (proofs, evidences, signs) for people of understanding.” [Quran 2:164]
“It is He Who sends down water (rain) from the sky, and with it We bring forth vegetation of all kinds, and out of it We bring forth green stalks, from which We bring forth thick clustered grain. And out of the date-palm and its spathe come forth clusters of dates hanging low and near, and gardens of grapes, olives and pomegranates, each similar (in kind) yet different (in variety and taste). Look at their fruits when they begin to bear, and the ripeness thereof. Verily! In these things there are signs for people who believe.” [Quran 6:99]
“And it is He Who sends the winds as heralds of glad tidings, going before His Mercy (rain), till when they have carried a heavy-laden cloud, We drive it to a land that is dead, then We cause water (rain) to descend thereon. Then We produce every kind of fruit therewith. Similarly, We shall raise up the dead, so that you may remember or take heed.” [Quran 7:57]
“Is not He (better than your gods) Who created the heavens and the earth, and sends down for you water (rain) from the sky, whereby We cause to grow wonderful gardens full of beauty and delight? It is not in your ability to cause the growth of their trees. Is there any god with Allaah? Nay, but they are a people who ascribe equals (to Him)!” [Quran 27:60]
“He has created the heavens and the earth without any pillars that you see, and has set on the earth firm mountains, lest it should shake with you. And He has scattered therein moving (living) creatures of all kinds. And We send down water (rain) from the sky, and We cause (plants) of every goodly kind to grow therein.” [Quran 31:10]
And the two seas (kinds of water) are not alike, this fresh, sweet and pleasant to drink, and that saltish and bitter. And from them both you eat fresh tender meat (fish), and derive the ornaments that you wear. And you see the ships cleaving (the sea-water as they sail through it), that you may seek of His Bounty, and that you may give thanks.” [Quran 35:12]
And it is He Who has let free the two seas (kinds of water), one palatable and sweet, and the other salt and bitter, and He has set a barrier and a complete partition between them.” [Quran 25:53]
Islam-Qa
posted by Muslim at 14:23
Women's Liberation In Islam
Today people think that women are liberated in the West and that thewomen's liberation movement began in the 20th century. Actually, thewomen's liberation movement was not begun by women but was revealed by Godto a man in the seventh century by the name of Muhammad (peace be uponhim), who is known as the last Prophet of Islam. The Qur'an and theTraditions of the Prophet (Hadith or Sunnah) are the sources from whichevery Muslim woman derives her rights and duties.
I. HUMAN RIGHTS
Islam, fourteen centuries ago, made women equally accountable to God inglorifying and worshipping Him - setting no limits on her moral progress. Also, Islam established a woman's equality in her humanity with men.
In the Qur'an, in the first verse of the chapter entitled "Women," Godsays, "O mankind! Be careful of your duty to your Lord Who created youfrom a single soul and from it its mate and from them both have spreadabroad a multitude of men and women. Be careful of your duty toward Allahin Whom you claim (your rights) of one another, and towards the wombs (that bore you). Lo! Allah has been a Watcher over you." (4:1)
Since men and women both came from the same essence, they are equal in their humanity. Women cannot be by nature evil (as some religious believe) or then men would be evil also. Similarly, neither gender can be superior because it would be a contradiction of equality.
II. CIVIL RIGHTS
In Islam, a woman has the basic freedom of choice and expression based on recognition of her individual personality. First, she is free to choose her religion. The Qur'an states: "There is no compulsion in religion. Right has been made distinct from error." (2:256)
Women are encouraged in Islam to contribute their opinions and ideas. There are many traditions of the Prophet (pbuh) which indicate women would pose questions directly to him and offer their opinions concerning religion, economics and social matters.
A Muslim woman chooses her husband and keeps her name after marriage. A Muslim woman's testimony is valid in legal disputes. In fact, in areas in which women are more familiar, their evidence is conclusive.
III. SOCIAL RIGHTS
The Prophet (pbuh) said: "Seeking knowledge is a mandate for every Muslim (male and female)." This includes knowledge of the Qur'an and the Hadith as well as other knowledge. Men and women both have the capacity for learning and understanding. Since it is also their obligation to promote good behavior and condemn bad behavior in all spheres of life, Muslim women must acquire the appropriate education to perform this duty in accordance with their own natural talents and interests.
While maintenance of a home, providing support to her husband, and bearing, raising and teaching of children are among the first and very highly regarded roles for a woman, if she has the skills to work outside the home for the good of the community, she may do so as long as her family obligations are met.
Islam recognizes and fosters the natural differences between men and women despite their equality. Some types of work are more suitable for men and other types for women. This in no way diminishes either's effort nor its benefit. God will reward both sexes equally for the value of their work, though it may not necessarily be the same activity.
Concerning motherhood, the Prophet (pbuh) said: "Heaven lies under the feet of mothers." This implies that the success of a society can be traced to the mothers that raised it. The first and greatest influence on a person comes from the sense of security, affection, and training received from the mother. Therefore, a woman having children must be educated and conscientious in order to be a skillful parent.
IV. POLITICAL RIGHTS
A right given to Muslim women by God 1400 years ago is the right to vote. On any public matter, a woman may voice her opinion and participate in politics. One example, narrated in the Qur'an (60:12), is that Muhammad (pbuh) is told that when the believing women come to him and swear their allegiance to Islam, he must accept their oath. This established the right of women to select their leader and publicly declare so. Finally, Islam does not forbid a woman from holding important positions in government. Abdur-Rahman Ibn Auf consulted many women before he recommended Uthman Ibn Affan to be the Caliph.
V. ECONOMIC RIGHTS
The Qur'an states: "By the creation of the male and female; Verily, (the ends) ye strive for are diverse." (92:3-4)
In these verses, God declares that He created men and women to be different, with unique roles, functions and skills. As in society, where there is a division of labor, so too in a family; each member has different responsibilities. Generally, Islam upholds that women are entrusted with the nurturing role, and men, with the guardian role. Therefore, women are given the right of financial support.
The Qur'an states: "Men are the maintainers of women because Allah has made some of them to excel others and because they spend of their wealth (for the support of women)." (4:34)
This guardianship and greater financial responsibility is given to men, requires that they provide women with not only monetary support but also physical protection and kind and respectful treatment.
The Muslim woman has the privilege to earn money, the right to own property, to enter into legal contracts and to manage all of her assets in any way she pleases. She can run her own business and no one has any claim on her earnings including her husband. The Qur'an states:
"And in no wise covet those things in which Allah hath bestowed His gifts more freely on some of you than on others; to men is allotted what they earn, and to women, what they earn; but ask Allah of His bounty, for Allah hath full knowledge of all things." (4:32)
A woman inherits from her relatives. The Qur'an states: "For men there is a share in what parents and relatives leave, and for women there is a share of what parents and relatives leave, whether it be little or much - an ordained share." (4:7)
VI. RIGHTS OF A WIFE
The Qur'an states: "And among His signs is that He created for you mates from among yourselves that you may live in tranquillity with them, and He has put love and mercy between you; Verily, in that are signs for people who reflect." (30:21)
Marriage is therefore not just a physical or emotional necessity, but in fact, a sign from God! It is a relationship of mutual rights and obligations based on divine guidance. God created men and women with complimentary natures, and in the Qur'an, He laid out a system of laws to support harmonious interaction between the sexes.
"...They are your garments and you are their garments." (2:187)
Clothing provides physical protection and covers the beauty and faults of the body. Likewise, a spouse is viewed this way. Each protects the other and hides the faults and compliments the characteristics of the spouse.
To foster the love and security that comes with marriage, Muslim wives have various rights. The first of the wife's rights is to receive mahr, a gift from the husband which is part of the marriage contract and required for the legality of the marriage.
The second right of a wife is maintenance. Despite any wealth she may have, her husband is obligated to provide her with food, shelter and clothing. He is not forced, however, to spend beyond his capability and his wife is not entitled to make unreasonable demands. The Qur'an states: "Let the man of means spend according to his means, and the man whose resources are restricted, let him spend according to what Allah has given him. Allah puts no burden on any person beyond what He has given him." (65:7)
God tells us men are guardians over women and are afforded the leadership in the family. His responsibility for obeying God extends to guiding his family to obey God at all times.
A wife's rights also extend beyond material needs. She has the right to kind treatment. The Prophet (pbuh) said: "The most perfect believers are the best in conduct. And the best of you are those who are best to their wives." God tells us He created mates and put love, mercy, and tranquillity between them.
Both men and women have a need for companionship and sexual needs, and marriage is designed to fulfill those needs. For one spouse to deny this satisfaction to the other, temptation exists to seek it elsewhere.
VIII. CONCLUSION
The Muslim woman was given a role, duties and rights 1400 years ago that most women do not enjoy today, even in the West. These are from God and are designed to keep balance in society; what may seem unjust or missing in one place is compensated for or explained in another place. Islam is a complete way of life.
-- Mary Ali and Anjum Ali
I. HUMAN RIGHTS
Islam, fourteen centuries ago, made women equally accountable to God inglorifying and worshipping Him - setting no limits on her moral progress. Also, Islam established a woman's equality in her humanity with men.
In the Qur'an, in the first verse of the chapter entitled "Women," Godsays, "O mankind! Be careful of your duty to your Lord Who created youfrom a single soul and from it its mate and from them both have spreadabroad a multitude of men and women. Be careful of your duty toward Allahin Whom you claim (your rights) of one another, and towards the wombs (that bore you). Lo! Allah has been a Watcher over you." (4:1)
Since men and women both came from the same essence, they are equal in their humanity. Women cannot be by nature evil (as some religious believe) or then men would be evil also. Similarly, neither gender can be superior because it would be a contradiction of equality.
II. CIVIL RIGHTS
In Islam, a woman has the basic freedom of choice and expression based on recognition of her individual personality. First, she is free to choose her religion. The Qur'an states: "There is no compulsion in religion. Right has been made distinct from error." (2:256)
Women are encouraged in Islam to contribute their opinions and ideas. There are many traditions of the Prophet (pbuh) which indicate women would pose questions directly to him and offer their opinions concerning religion, economics and social matters.
A Muslim woman chooses her husband and keeps her name after marriage. A Muslim woman's testimony is valid in legal disputes. In fact, in areas in which women are more familiar, their evidence is conclusive.
III. SOCIAL RIGHTS
The Prophet (pbuh) said: "Seeking knowledge is a mandate for every Muslim (male and female)." This includes knowledge of the Qur'an and the Hadith as well as other knowledge. Men and women both have the capacity for learning and understanding. Since it is also their obligation to promote good behavior and condemn bad behavior in all spheres of life, Muslim women must acquire the appropriate education to perform this duty in accordance with their own natural talents and interests.
While maintenance of a home, providing support to her husband, and bearing, raising and teaching of children are among the first and very highly regarded roles for a woman, if she has the skills to work outside the home for the good of the community, she may do so as long as her family obligations are met.
Islam recognizes and fosters the natural differences between men and women despite their equality. Some types of work are more suitable for men and other types for women. This in no way diminishes either's effort nor its benefit. God will reward both sexes equally for the value of their work, though it may not necessarily be the same activity.
Concerning motherhood, the Prophet (pbuh) said: "Heaven lies under the feet of mothers." This implies that the success of a society can be traced to the mothers that raised it. The first and greatest influence on a person comes from the sense of security, affection, and training received from the mother. Therefore, a woman having children must be educated and conscientious in order to be a skillful parent.
IV. POLITICAL RIGHTS
A right given to Muslim women by God 1400 years ago is the right to vote. On any public matter, a woman may voice her opinion and participate in politics. One example, narrated in the Qur'an (60:12), is that Muhammad (pbuh) is told that when the believing women come to him and swear their allegiance to Islam, he must accept their oath. This established the right of women to select their leader and publicly declare so. Finally, Islam does not forbid a woman from holding important positions in government. Abdur-Rahman Ibn Auf consulted many women before he recommended Uthman Ibn Affan to be the Caliph.
V. ECONOMIC RIGHTS
The Qur'an states: "By the creation of the male and female; Verily, (the ends) ye strive for are diverse." (92:3-4)
In these verses, God declares that He created men and women to be different, with unique roles, functions and skills. As in society, where there is a division of labor, so too in a family; each member has different responsibilities. Generally, Islam upholds that women are entrusted with the nurturing role, and men, with the guardian role. Therefore, women are given the right of financial support.
The Qur'an states: "Men are the maintainers of women because Allah has made some of them to excel others and because they spend of their wealth (for the support of women)." (4:34)
This guardianship and greater financial responsibility is given to men, requires that they provide women with not only monetary support but also physical protection and kind and respectful treatment.
The Muslim woman has the privilege to earn money, the right to own property, to enter into legal contracts and to manage all of her assets in any way she pleases. She can run her own business and no one has any claim on her earnings including her husband. The Qur'an states:
"And in no wise covet those things in which Allah hath bestowed His gifts more freely on some of you than on others; to men is allotted what they earn, and to women, what they earn; but ask Allah of His bounty, for Allah hath full knowledge of all things." (4:32)
A woman inherits from her relatives. The Qur'an states: "For men there is a share in what parents and relatives leave, and for women there is a share of what parents and relatives leave, whether it be little or much - an ordained share." (4:7)
VI. RIGHTS OF A WIFE
The Qur'an states: "And among His signs is that He created for you mates from among yourselves that you may live in tranquillity with them, and He has put love and mercy between you; Verily, in that are signs for people who reflect." (30:21)
Marriage is therefore not just a physical or emotional necessity, but in fact, a sign from God! It is a relationship of mutual rights and obligations based on divine guidance. God created men and women with complimentary natures, and in the Qur'an, He laid out a system of laws to support harmonious interaction between the sexes.
"...They are your garments and you are their garments." (2:187)
Clothing provides physical protection and covers the beauty and faults of the body. Likewise, a spouse is viewed this way. Each protects the other and hides the faults and compliments the characteristics of the spouse.
To foster the love and security that comes with marriage, Muslim wives have various rights. The first of the wife's rights is to receive mahr, a gift from the husband which is part of the marriage contract and required for the legality of the marriage.
The second right of a wife is maintenance. Despite any wealth she may have, her husband is obligated to provide her with food, shelter and clothing. He is not forced, however, to spend beyond his capability and his wife is not entitled to make unreasonable demands. The Qur'an states: "Let the man of means spend according to his means, and the man whose resources are restricted, let him spend according to what Allah has given him. Allah puts no burden on any person beyond what He has given him." (65:7)
God tells us men are guardians over women and are afforded the leadership in the family. His responsibility for obeying God extends to guiding his family to obey God at all times.
A wife's rights also extend beyond material needs. She has the right to kind treatment. The Prophet (pbuh) said: "The most perfect believers are the best in conduct. And the best of you are those who are best to their wives." God tells us He created mates and put love, mercy, and tranquillity between them.
Both men and women have a need for companionship and sexual needs, and marriage is designed to fulfill those needs. For one spouse to deny this satisfaction to the other, temptation exists to seek it elsewhere.
VIII. CONCLUSION
The Muslim woman was given a role, duties and rights 1400 years ago that most women do not enjoy today, even in the West. These are from God and are designed to keep balance in society; what may seem unjust or missing in one place is compensated for or explained in another place. Islam is a complete way of life.
-- Mary Ali and Anjum Ali
posted by Muslim at 14:22
Distorted Image of Women
Written by a recent revert.
Since the height of the feminist movement in the late 70's there has been a magnifying glass placed over the status of Muslim women. Unfortunately, the magnifying glass that has been used is an unusual one. Unusual in the sense that it is very selective about which items it will magnify; other items it will distort to such a degree that they will no longer look familiar. I remember once reading in an "in depth" article about the lives of Muslim women. This article "explained" that at any time a man can divorce his wife by simply stating "I divorce you, I divorce you, I divorce you". This article can lead anyone ignorant of the Islamic ruling regarding divorce to believe that in less than five seconds the woman is left with no husband and is left to care for herself (and possibly children) by any means necessary. The question that immediately popped up in my mind was, "Did the author innocently write that out of sincere ignorance or was it another of the many attempts to degrade the religion of Islam and its followers (muslims)?" It may be my own paranoia, but I tend to believe it was the latter of the two.
The truth of the matter is that Islam has the most humane and most just system of divorce that exists. Firstly, many options are taken and tried before coming to the decision of the divorce. If the man and woman decide that they can no longer live together successfully as a husband and wife, the husband (in most cases, not always) pronounces the divorce by saying "I divorce you". At this point the waiting period begins. The waiting period lasts for three menstrual cycles to assure the woman is not pregnant. This period allows the couple time to think about what they are doing and if this is what they really want to do. There are no lawyers involved to antagonise an already delicate situation.
In the case that it is realised, that the woman is pregnant, the waiting period lasts the entire time she is pregnant. During the waiting period (whether the woman is pregnant or not) the man is obligated to provide food, clothing and shelter to the woman as he did before the divorce pronouncement. If the couple carries the divorce through to the birth of the child and the woman suckles the baby, the man is obligated to feed and clothe both his ex-wife for the time the woman suckles (the maximum being two years). After this weaning, the child will be provided for by the father until he/she is no longer in need of support.
It is quite ironic that in such an "advanced society" as America, there are divorce cases in which women are being forced to pay alimony to their ex-husbands. Can this and many other things we know about the American system of divorce compare to the Islamic system of divorce?
I have also read stories wherein it is stated that women are forced to marry men without their consent. This in no way resembles the marriage system in Islam. In Islaam the woman marries the man of her choice. She may even marry someone that her mother and/or father objects to. The point is that it is the woman who makes the final decision as to whom she will marry. Once the man and the woman decide that they are interested in one another for marriage, a dowry is decided upon. A dowry is not a brides price but, it is a gift from the groom to the bride. They agree upon a gift that is affordable by the groom. In the time of the Prophet (sas), often things such as livestock and money were given. This is a wise decision in the event that a woman becomes divorced or widowed, she has some financial security to fall back on even if it is for a limited amount of time. Once the man and woman are married, the man is required to clothe, feed, shelter and educate her (or allow her to be educated) in the same manner as he does himself.
The last distorted image that I will cover is that of the Muslim women's dress. The western influenced media portrays our dress to be outdated and oppressive. Needless to say however, I differ with these adjectives. Our dress code does not hinder us from doing anything productive in our lives. Muslim women maintain a variety of jobs, non of which are devalued nor hampered due to their dress code. And as for the timing of muslims women's dress during these contemporary times, it seems most appropriate due to decreasing morals in the world today.
For those who say that Islamic dress is outdated, they speak from great ignorance. The decreasing morality and trials of this time makes Hijaab even more in need. More than ever before sex crimes are rampant. Although this society tells women they can wear what they want to wear, anytime a rape occurs the woman is the one put on trial an one of the first questions is, "What were you wearing?" This concept seems as though it is a set up directed against the so called contemporary woman. Also there is a direct correlation between the respect a man has for a woman and the amount of her body her body she displays flauntingly.
In conclusion, I hope this article helped to clear up some distorted/misunderstood aspects of Islam and women. Women in Islam are respected and held in high regard. We will never find success and/or solutions to our problems until we realise that Allaah knows best and that this disbelieving society will ruin itself.
Since the height of the feminist movement in the late 70's there has been a magnifying glass placed over the status of Muslim women. Unfortunately, the magnifying glass that has been used is an unusual one. Unusual in the sense that it is very selective about which items it will magnify; other items it will distort to such a degree that they will no longer look familiar. I remember once reading in an "in depth" article about the lives of Muslim women. This article "explained" that at any time a man can divorce his wife by simply stating "I divorce you, I divorce you, I divorce you". This article can lead anyone ignorant of the Islamic ruling regarding divorce to believe that in less than five seconds the woman is left with no husband and is left to care for herself (and possibly children) by any means necessary. The question that immediately popped up in my mind was, "Did the author innocently write that out of sincere ignorance or was it another of the many attempts to degrade the religion of Islam and its followers (muslims)?" It may be my own paranoia, but I tend to believe it was the latter of the two.
The truth of the matter is that Islam has the most humane and most just system of divorce that exists. Firstly, many options are taken and tried before coming to the decision of the divorce. If the man and woman decide that they can no longer live together successfully as a husband and wife, the husband (in most cases, not always) pronounces the divorce by saying "I divorce you". At this point the waiting period begins. The waiting period lasts for three menstrual cycles to assure the woman is not pregnant. This period allows the couple time to think about what they are doing and if this is what they really want to do. There are no lawyers involved to antagonise an already delicate situation.
In the case that it is realised, that the woman is pregnant, the waiting period lasts the entire time she is pregnant. During the waiting period (whether the woman is pregnant or not) the man is obligated to provide food, clothing and shelter to the woman as he did before the divorce pronouncement. If the couple carries the divorce through to the birth of the child and the woman suckles the baby, the man is obligated to feed and clothe both his ex-wife for the time the woman suckles (the maximum being two years). After this weaning, the child will be provided for by the father until he/she is no longer in need of support.
It is quite ironic that in such an "advanced society" as America, there are divorce cases in which women are being forced to pay alimony to their ex-husbands. Can this and many other things we know about the American system of divorce compare to the Islamic system of divorce?
I have also read stories wherein it is stated that women are forced to marry men without their consent. This in no way resembles the marriage system in Islam. In Islaam the woman marries the man of her choice. She may even marry someone that her mother and/or father objects to. The point is that it is the woman who makes the final decision as to whom she will marry. Once the man and the woman decide that they are interested in one another for marriage, a dowry is decided upon. A dowry is not a brides price but, it is a gift from the groom to the bride. They agree upon a gift that is affordable by the groom. In the time of the Prophet (sas), often things such as livestock and money were given. This is a wise decision in the event that a woman becomes divorced or widowed, she has some financial security to fall back on even if it is for a limited amount of time. Once the man and woman are married, the man is required to clothe, feed, shelter and educate her (or allow her to be educated) in the same manner as he does himself.
The last distorted image that I will cover is that of the Muslim women's dress. The western influenced media portrays our dress to be outdated and oppressive. Needless to say however, I differ with these adjectives. Our dress code does not hinder us from doing anything productive in our lives. Muslim women maintain a variety of jobs, non of which are devalued nor hampered due to their dress code. And as for the timing of muslims women's dress during these contemporary times, it seems most appropriate due to decreasing morals in the world today.
For those who say that Islamic dress is outdated, they speak from great ignorance. The decreasing morality and trials of this time makes Hijaab even more in need. More than ever before sex crimes are rampant. Although this society tells women they can wear what they want to wear, anytime a rape occurs the woman is the one put on trial an one of the first questions is, "What were you wearing?" This concept seems as though it is a set up directed against the so called contemporary woman. Also there is a direct correlation between the respect a man has for a woman and the amount of her body her body she displays flauntingly.
In conclusion, I hope this article helped to clear up some distorted/misunderstood aspects of Islam and women. Women in Islam are respected and held in high regard. We will never find success and/or solutions to our problems until we realise that Allaah knows best and that this disbelieving society will ruin itself.
posted by Muslim at 14:21
What Do Muslims Believe about Jesus?
http://www.islam-guide.com
Muslims respect and revere Jesus (peace be upon him). They consider him one of the greatest of God's messengers to mankind. The Quran confirms his virgin birth, and a chapter of the Quran is entitled 'Maryam' (Mary). The Quran describes the birth of Jesus as follows:
Remember) when the angels said, "O Mary, God gives you good news of a word from Him (God), whose name is the Messiah Jesus, son of Mary, revered in this world and the Hereafter, and one of those brought near (to God). He will speak to the people from his cradle and as a man, and he is of the righteous." She said, "My Lord, how can I have a child when no mortal has touched me?" He said, "So (it will be). God creates what He wills. If He decrees a thing, He says to it only, 'Be!' and it is."
(Quran, 3:45-47)(
Jesus was born miraculously by the command of God which had brought Adam into being without a father. God has said:
(The case of Jesus with God is like the case of Adam. He created him from dust, and then He said to him, "Be!" and he came into being.(
(Quran, 3:59)
During his prophetic mission, Jesus performed many miracles. God tells us that Jesus said:
("I have come to you with a sign from your Lord. I make for you the shape of a bird out of clay, I breathe into it, and it becomes a bird by God's permission. I heal the blind from birth and the leper. And I bring the dead to life by God's permission. And I tell you what you eat and what you store in your houses...." (
(Quran, 3:49)
Muslims believe that Jesus was not crucified. It was the plan of Jesus' enemies to crucify him, but God saved him and raised him up to Him. And the likeness of Jesus was put over another man. Jesus' enemies took this man and crucified him, thinking that he was Jesus. God has said:
(...They said, "We killed the Messiah Jesus, son of Mary, the messenger of God." They did not kill him, nor did they crucify him, but the likeness of him was put on another man (and they killed that man)...(
(Quran, 4:157)
Neither Muhammad nor Jesus came to change the basic doctrine of the belief in one God, brought by earlier prophets, but rather to confirm and renew it. 1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Footnotes:
1. Muslims also believe that God revealed a holy book to Jesus called the Injeel, some parts of which may be still available in the teachings of God to Jesus in the New Testament. But this does not mean that Muslims believe in the Bible we have today because it is not the original scriptures that were revealed by God. They underwent alterations, additions, and omissions. This was also said by the Committee charged with revising The Holy Bible (Revised Standard Version). This Committee consisted of thirty-two scholars who served as members of the Committee. They secured the review and counsel of an Advisory Board of fifty representatives of the co-operating denominations. The Committee said in the Preface to The Holy Bible (Revised Standard Version), p. iv, "Sometimes it is evident that the text has suffered in transmission, but none of the versions provides a satisfactory restoration. Here we can only follow the best judgment of competent scholars as to the most probable reconstruction of the original text." The Committee also said in the Preface, p. vii, "Notes are added which indicate significant variations, additions, or omissions in the ancient authorities (Mt 9.34; Mk 3.16; 7.4; Lk 24.32, 51, etc.)."
Muslims respect and revere Jesus (peace be upon him). They consider him one of the greatest of God's messengers to mankind. The Quran confirms his virgin birth, and a chapter of the Quran is entitled 'Maryam' (Mary). The Quran describes the birth of Jesus as follows:
Remember) when the angels said, "O Mary, God gives you good news of a word from Him (God), whose name is the Messiah Jesus, son of Mary, revered in this world and the Hereafter, and one of those brought near (to God). He will speak to the people from his cradle and as a man, and he is of the righteous." She said, "My Lord, how can I have a child when no mortal has touched me?" He said, "So (it will be). God creates what He wills. If He decrees a thing, He says to it only, 'Be!' and it is."
(Quran, 3:45-47)(
Jesus was born miraculously by the command of God which had brought Adam into being without a father. God has said:
(The case of Jesus with God is like the case of Adam. He created him from dust, and then He said to him, "Be!" and he came into being.(
(Quran, 3:59)
During his prophetic mission, Jesus performed many miracles. God tells us that Jesus said:
("I have come to you with a sign from your Lord. I make for you the shape of a bird out of clay, I breathe into it, and it becomes a bird by God's permission. I heal the blind from birth and the leper. And I bring the dead to life by God's permission. And I tell you what you eat and what you store in your houses...." (
(Quran, 3:49)
Muslims believe that Jesus was not crucified. It was the plan of Jesus' enemies to crucify him, but God saved him and raised him up to Him. And the likeness of Jesus was put over another man. Jesus' enemies took this man and crucified him, thinking that he was Jesus. God has said:
(...They said, "We killed the Messiah Jesus, son of Mary, the messenger of God." They did not kill him, nor did they crucify him, but the likeness of him was put on another man (and they killed that man)...(
(Quran, 4:157)
Neither Muhammad nor Jesus came to change the basic doctrine of the belief in one God, brought by earlier prophets, but rather to confirm and renew it. 1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Footnotes:
1. Muslims also believe that God revealed a holy book to Jesus called the Injeel, some parts of which may be still available in the teachings of God to Jesus in the New Testament. But this does not mean that Muslims believe in the Bible we have today because it is not the original scriptures that were revealed by God. They underwent alterations, additions, and omissions. This was also said by the Committee charged with revising The Holy Bible (Revised Standard Version). This Committee consisted of thirty-two scholars who served as members of the Committee. They secured the review and counsel of an Advisory Board of fifty representatives of the co-operating denominations. The Committee said in the Preface to The Holy Bible (Revised Standard Version), p. iv, "Sometimes it is evident that the text has suffered in transmission, but none of the versions provides a satisfactory restoration. Here we can only follow the best judgment of competent scholars as to the most probable reconstruction of the original text." The Committee also said in the Preface, p. vii, "Notes are added which indicate significant variations, additions, or omissions in the ancient authorities (Mt 9.34; Mk 3.16; 7.4; Lk 24.32, 51, etc.)."
posted by Muslim at 14:20
About the Prophet Muhammad And Evidences Of His Prophethood
Source: http://www.whymuhammad.net
All Prophets come with signs and evidences furnished by God that they truly are what they claim to be. Among these signs are miracles witnessed by the people that defy the laws of nature.
Generally, miracles are experienced only by the people who were there when the miracle actually occurred. God, however, furnished the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) with a miracle that would endure for all time. That miracle is the Qur'ân. It is appropriate that the final Messenger should have an enduring miracle, since his Message is binding on Creation until the Last Day.
The Qur'ân is the revealed word of God that God has preserved from corruption. The Qur'ân reads: "Surely We have revealed the Reminder and We will most surely be its guardian." "No falsehood can approach it from before or behind it. It is sent down by One Full of Wisdom, Worthy of Praise."
In the Qur'ân, God challenges the Arabs to produce something like it. "Say: 'If the whole of humanity and the Jinn were to gather together to produce the like of this Qur'ân, they could not produce the like thereof, even if they backed up each other with help and support."
This challenge was reduced even further to the point where only one chapter of the Qur'ân was needed: "And if you are in doubt as to that which We have revealed to Our servant, then produce a chapter like it and call on your witnesses besides God if you are truthful. But if you do not do it, and never shall you do it, then fear the fire whose fuel is men and stones, prepared for the unbelievers."
This is Islam's eternal miracle. The challenge remains open and unmet to this very day. There are many aspects of the Qur'ân's miraculous inimitability. Among these are its eloquence and its style.
The Arabs were given this challenge and they were the masters of their language and were well known for their eloquence. Not one of them, however, could produce a single chapter comparable to the Qur'ân.
Today, we are conveying this challenge once again to all humanity. This challenge has stood for over 1400 years and continues to be a testimony to the truth of the Qur'ân and the Messenger who brought it. The enemies of Islam have always had in this challenge a perfect opportunity to prove Islam false. They definitely had enough reason to try. It would have surely been much less strenuous for them to pick up the pen and write then to pick up the sword and die trying to suppress Islam. It would have been far less costly than the time and money they spent on fighting against Islam.
We feel that by conveying this challenge we have done our duty. It becomes the duty of the one who hears it to hear the Qur'ân in its entirety and not to rely on unbelievers for their information but go directly to the source.
Another proof that Muhammad (peace be upon his) is God's Messenger is the strength of the religion that he was sent with and the fact that it has been preserved from corruption. We can see all the scholarly disciplines that developed around it over the ages and how Islam was able to respond to all the changes that took place throughout history. Islam has retained its strength while the Muslim world has passed through periods of strength and weakness and of freedom and occupation.
Among the evidence that Muhammad (peace be upon him) is a Prophet of God is the fact that his coming was foretold by the Prophets who came before. In their books and their statements they described him and his followers. They even mentioned him by name. The Qur'ân states this fact in the following verses:
"And when Jesus the son of Mary said: 'O Children of Israel! Lo! I am the Messenger of God unto you, confirming that which was revealed before me in the Torah and bringing glad tidings of a Messenger who cometh after me, whose name shall be the Praised One.' Yet when he hath come unto them with clear proofs, they say: This is mere magic."
"Those who follow the Messenger, the Prophet who can neither read nor write, whom they will find described in the Torah and the Gospel which are with them. He will enjoin on them that which is right and forbid them that which is wrong. He will make lawful for them all good things and prohibit for them only the foul; and he will relieve them of their burden and the fetters that they used to wear. Then those who believe in him, and honor him, and help him, and follow the light which is sent down with him: they will be the ones to prosper."
In spite of the distortions and deletions made by some Jewish rabbis and Christian priests to their sacred texts, and in spite of the incorrect interpretations they imposed on them, there still remains within those texts enough to establish the proof of Muhammad (peace be upon him) being a prophet of God. To highlight a few of the places in their texts wherein his coming is foretold, we request from you to look at the following: Deuteronomy [33:1] and [18:15-19], Isaiah [42:1-5], Habakkuk [3:3], Song of Solomon [72:1-19], John [14:16] and [14:26], and 1John [2:1].
Another proof that Muhammad (peace be upon him) was a prophet of God is the history of his mission, the events of his life, the success of his followers, and how swiftly Islam spread throughout the nations of the world.
The attributes of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and his mode of conduct show us that he was truly a prophet of God. He was, in every aspect of his character, an exemplary human being and history has never witnessed anyone else like him.
He was of good appearance and was always neatly dressed, preferring to wear white. He was clean and commanded others to observe cleanliness. When a person approached him and told him that he liked to wear nice clothes and nice shoes, the prophet (peace be upon him) replied by saying: "God is beautiful and He loves beauty." He was of impeccable taste and had a discriminating palate, but was never ostentatious or frivolous. He said: "A son of Adam can fill no vessel worse than his stomach It is enough for him to eat enough to keep him standing straight. If he must consume more, then he may fill a third of his stomach with food, a third with drink, and a third should be left for air." His manners were refined and he was well spoken. He was cheerful and would greet people with a smile. Those who met him liked him instantly and would never tire of his company or conversation. In fact, those who sat in his company would often forget everything else in the world while they were with him. They felt in awe of his presence, not because he was powerful like a king or despot, but because of the strength of his character and his devotion to God.
One of his most pronounced character traits was his capacity for mercy. He had great love and compassion for the poor and preferred to sit and partake of meals in their company. He showed great empathy for the sick and would go out of his way to help them. He would not leave a sick person or a child in need without fulfilling that need. He showed mercy to the orphans and encouraged people to care for them. He had great affection for children and would often carry babies and make them laugh. He taught his followers that children had the right to play and to be humored.
His mercy extended even to animals. He commanded his followers to be kind to the animals in their care and prohibited abusing them He instructed that animals used for food should be slaughtered carefully and with compassion. He reprimanded a man for overburdening his camel and failing to give it sufficient nourishment. He also informed us that a woman once was consigned to Hell for her mistreatment of a cat. She had locked it up and denied it food until it starved to death. Conversely, a prostitute received God's forgiveness and entered heaven because she showed pity on a thirsty dog and gave it water. Once he was asked if people were rewarded for the good treatment they gave to animals. The Prophet (peace be upon him) replied: "For every creature possessing a liver there is a reward."
Added to his mercy was his courage. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was among the most courageous of people. His was not the courage of tyrants but a courage that stemmed from faith in the promise of God. It was the courage of someone who lived according to the religion of God and considered the pleasure of God more important than life itself. He was always present in the battlefield during war, and when things became severe, he would be seen fighting in the front lines. He would remain firm even when other brave men would turn to flee.
He never hesitated in the face of falsehood and never ceased to call to the truth, even when most of the people of the Earth were opposed to him. He never wavered on any of his principles but continued to enjoin what was right and forbid what was wrong.
He was also very forgiving to those who wronged him. He never became angry or hateful on a personal level. No matter how greatly someone wronged him when he was weak, he would show that person clemency when he was in a position of power. He would accept excuses even when he knew that the one making the excuse was lying. He would even make excuses for those who wronged him and did not offer excuses of their own.
He was the most generous of people. He gave in charity like a person who had no fear of poverty. He never once refused to give to someone who asked. He gave everything that came into his possession to the poor and the needy. He would prefer his guests to himself and the members of his household. He usually sufficed himself and his family with dates and water and months would sometimes go by without a cooking fire being lit in his house.
He was at the same time a most exemplary husband. He was very affectionate and caring. He was quick to overlooked mistakes. He never once hit one of his wives, nor did he ever raise his voice to them or ridicule them. He always showed kindness. He would indulge them in anything that was not sinful. He shared in the housework and took care of himself. He mended his own clothes and shoes. He always exhorted his male followers to be good to their wives and warned them against mistreating them. He made sure to do so during his greatest sermon which he gave during his farewell pilgrimage.
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was kind to his servants. He commanded his followers not to overwork their servants and commanded that they must eat the same food that the members of the household eat and wear clothing of the same quality. Anas b. Mâlik said: "I worked as a servant for the Prophet (peace be upon him) in his residence and on his journeys. No matter what I did, he never once said to me: "Now why did you do that?" Likewise, no matter what I might have failed to do, he never once said to me: "Now why didn't you do that?"
Once the Prophet (peace be upon him) saw a man beating his slave. The Prophet said to him: "God is more capable of punishing you than you are of punishing him."
Upon hearing this, the man stopped and said: "I set him free for the sake of God."
The Prophet (peace be upon him) then said: "If you did not free him, you would have been touched by the fire."
The Prophet (peace be upon him) was extremely shy and modest. He hated foul speech He never once uttered a foul word. He said: "A strong sense of shame is a good quality in every way." He also said: "Nothing but good comes from having a strong sense of shame."
He was also very humble. He taught his followers: "None will enter Paradise who has within his heart an atom's weight of pride." He used to sit on the floor and eat. He forbade his companions from standing in honor when he entered the room. When he walked, he never expected anyone to move out of the way. He never allowed himself to stand out in his dress or his steed. He never seated himself in a place of honor when he was in the company of others.
Above all of these qualities was his devotion to God. He immersed himself in worship and eschewed the pleasures of the world. The remembrance and praise of God was always on his lips. He always sought the forgiveness of his Lord. His reverence of God often brought him to tears. He fasted so much that it sometimes seemed that he never went a day without fasting. He spent long stretches of the night standing in prayer until his ankles would swell. When he was asked why he worshipped so much when God had forgiven him all of his past and future sins, he replied: "Should I not then be a grateful servant?"
These are just a few of his noble qualities. There is no way we can do justice to him in such a short time. The combination of worldly and spiritual perfection that he exhibited was a miracle in and of itself and a testimony to his truly being a prophet of God.
Source: http://www.whymuhammad.net
All Prophets come with signs and evidences furnished by God that they truly are what they claim to be. Among these signs are miracles witnessed by the people that defy the laws of nature.
Generally, miracles are experienced only by the people who were there when the miracle actually occurred. God, however, furnished the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) with a miracle that would endure for all time. That miracle is the Qur'ân. It is appropriate that the final Messenger should have an enduring miracle, since his Message is binding on Creation until the Last Day.
The Qur'ân is the revealed word of God that God has preserved from corruption. The Qur'ân reads: "Surely We have revealed the Reminder and We will most surely be its guardian." "No falsehood can approach it from before or behind it. It is sent down by One Full of Wisdom, Worthy of Praise."
In the Qur'ân, God challenges the Arabs to produce something like it. "Say: 'If the whole of humanity and the Jinn were to gather together to produce the like of this Qur'ân, they could not produce the like thereof, even if they backed up each other with help and support."
This challenge was reduced even further to the point where only one chapter of the Qur'ân was needed: "And if you are in doubt as to that which We have revealed to Our servant, then produce a chapter like it and call on your witnesses besides God if you are truthful. But if you do not do it, and never shall you do it, then fear the fire whose fuel is men and stones, prepared for the unbelievers."
This is Islam's eternal miracle. The challenge remains open and unmet to this very day. There are many aspects of the Qur'ân's miraculous inimitability. Among these are its eloquence and its style.
The Arabs were given this challenge and they were the masters of their language and were well known for their eloquence. Not one of them, however, could produce a single chapter comparable to the Qur'ân.
Today, we are conveying this challenge once again to all humanity. This challenge has stood for over 1400 years and continues to be a testimony to the truth of the Qur'ân and the Messenger who brought it. The enemies of Islam have always had in this challenge a perfect opportunity to prove Islam false. They definitely had enough reason to try. It would have surely been much less strenuous for them to pick up the pen and write then to pick up the sword and die trying to suppress Islam. It would have been far less costly than the time and money they spent on fighting against Islam.
We feel that by conveying this challenge we have done our duty. It becomes the duty of the one who hears it to hear the Qur'ân in its entirety and not to rely on unbelievers for their information but go directly to the source.
Another proof that Muhammad (peace be upon his) is God's Messenger is the strength of the religion that he was sent with and the fact that it has been preserved from corruption. We can see all the scholarly disciplines that developed around it over the ages and how Islam was able to respond to all the changes that took place throughout history. Islam has retained its strength while the Muslim world has passed through periods of strength and weakness and of freedom and occupation.
Among the evidence that Muhammad (peace be upon him) is a Prophet of God is the fact that his coming was foretold by the Prophets who came before. In their books and their statements they described him and his followers. They even mentioned him by name. The Qur'ân states this fact in the following verses:
"And when Jesus the son of Mary said: 'O Children of Israel! Lo! I am the Messenger of God unto you, confirming that which was revealed before me in the Torah and bringing glad tidings of a Messenger who cometh after me, whose name shall be the Praised One.' Yet when he hath come unto them with clear proofs, they say: This is mere magic."
"Those who follow the Messenger, the Prophet who can neither read nor write, whom they will find described in the Torah and the Gospel which are with them. He will enjoin on them that which is right and forbid them that which is wrong. He will make lawful for them all good things and prohibit for them only the foul; and he will relieve them of their burden and the fetters that they used to wear. Then those who believe in him, and honor him, and help him, and follow the light which is sent down with him: they will be the ones to prosper."
In spite of the distortions and deletions made by some Jewish rabbis and Christian priests to their sacred texts, and in spite of the incorrect interpretations they imposed on them, there still remains within those texts enough to establish the proof of Muhammad (peace be upon him) being a prophet of God. To highlight a few of the places in their texts wherein his coming is foretold, we request from you to look at the following: Deuteronomy [33:1] and [18:15-19], Isaiah [42:1-5], Habakkuk [3:3], Song of Solomon [72:1-19], John [14:16] and [14:26], and 1John [2:1].
Another proof that Muhammad (peace be upon him) was a prophet of God is the history of his mission, the events of his life, the success of his followers, and how swiftly Islam spread throughout the nations of the world.
The attributes of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and his mode of conduct show us that he was truly a prophet of God. He was, in every aspect of his character, an exemplary human being and history has never witnessed anyone else like him.
He was of good appearance and was always neatly dressed, preferring to wear white. He was clean and commanded others to observe cleanliness. When a person approached him and told him that he liked to wear nice clothes and nice shoes, the prophet (peace be upon him) replied by saying: "God is beautiful and He loves beauty." He was of impeccable taste and had a discriminating palate, but was never ostentatious or frivolous. He said: "A son of Adam can fill no vessel worse than his stomach It is enough for him to eat enough to keep him standing straight. If he must consume more, then he may fill a third of his stomach with food, a third with drink, and a third should be left for air." His manners were refined and he was well spoken. He was cheerful and would greet people with a smile. Those who met him liked him instantly and would never tire of his company or conversation. In fact, those who sat in his company would often forget everything else in the world while they were with him. They felt in awe of his presence, not because he was powerful like a king or despot, but because of the strength of his character and his devotion to God.
One of his most pronounced character traits was his capacity for mercy. He had great love and compassion for the poor and preferred to sit and partake of meals in their company. He showed great empathy for the sick and would go out of his way to help them. He would not leave a sick person or a child in need without fulfilling that need. He showed mercy to the orphans and encouraged people to care for them. He had great affection for children and would often carry babies and make them laugh. He taught his followers that children had the right to play and to be humored.
His mercy extended even to animals. He commanded his followers to be kind to the animals in their care and prohibited abusing them He instructed that animals used for food should be slaughtered carefully and with compassion. He reprimanded a man for overburdening his camel and failing to give it sufficient nourishment. He also informed us that a woman once was consigned to Hell for her mistreatment of a cat. She had locked it up and denied it food until it starved to death. Conversely, a prostitute received God's forgiveness and entered heaven because she showed pity on a thirsty dog and gave it water. Once he was asked if people were rewarded for the good treatment they gave to animals. The Prophet (peace be upon him) replied: "For every creature possessing a liver there is a reward."
Added to his mercy was his courage. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was among the most courageous of people. His was not the courage of tyrants but a courage that stemmed from faith in the promise of God. It was the courage of someone who lived according to the religion of God and considered the pleasure of God more important than life itself. He was always present in the battlefield during war, and when things became severe, he would be seen fighting in the front lines. He would remain firm even when other brave men would turn to flee.
He never hesitated in the face of falsehood and never ceased to call to the truth, even when most of the people of the Earth were opposed to him. He never wavered on any of his principles but continued to enjoin what was right and forbid what was wrong.
He was also very forgiving to those who wronged him. He never became angry or hateful on a personal level. No matter how greatly someone wronged him when he was weak, he would show that person clemency when he was in a position of power. He would accept excuses even when he knew that the one making the excuse was lying. He would even make excuses for those who wronged him and did not offer excuses of their own.
He was the most generous of people. He gave in charity like a person who had no fear of poverty. He never once refused to give to someone who asked. He gave everything that came into his possession to the poor and the needy. He would prefer his guests to himself and the members of his household. He usually sufficed himself and his family with dates and water and months would sometimes go by without a cooking fire being lit in his house.
He was at the same time a most exemplary husband. He was very affectionate and caring. He was quick to overlooked mistakes. He never once hit one of his wives, nor did he ever raise his voice to them or ridicule them. He always showed kindness. He would indulge them in anything that was not sinful. He shared in the housework and took care of himself. He mended his own clothes and shoes. He always exhorted his male followers to be good to their wives and warned them against mistreating them. He made sure to do so during his greatest sermon which he gave during his farewell pilgrimage.
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was kind to his servants. He commanded his followers not to overwork their servants and commanded that they must eat the same food that the members of the household eat and wear clothing of the same quality. Anas b. Mâlik said: "I worked as a servant for the Prophet (peace be upon him) in his residence and on his journeys. No matter what I did, he never once said to me: "Now why did you do that?" Likewise, no matter what I might have failed to do, he never once said to me: "Now why didn't you do that?"
Once the Prophet (peace be upon him) saw a man beating his slave. The Prophet said to him: "God is more capable of punishing you than you are of punishing him."
Upon hearing this, the man stopped and said: "I set him free for the sake of God."
The Prophet (peace be upon him) then said: "If you did not free him, you would have been touched by the fire."
The Prophet (peace be upon him) was extremely shy and modest. He hated foul speech He never once uttered a foul word. He said: "A strong sense of shame is a good quality in every way." He also said: "Nothing but good comes from having a strong sense of shame."
He was also very humble. He taught his followers: "None will enter Paradise who has within his heart an atom's weight of pride." He used to sit on the floor and eat. He forbade his companions from standing in honor when he entered the room. When he walked, he never expected anyone to move out of the way. He never allowed himself to stand out in his dress or his steed. He never seated himself in a place of honor when he was in the company of others.
Above all of these qualities was his devotion to God. He immersed himself in worship and eschewed the pleasures of the world. The remembrance and praise of God was always on his lips. He always sought the forgiveness of his Lord. His reverence of God often brought him to tears. He fasted so much that it sometimes seemed that he never went a day without fasting. He spent long stretches of the night standing in prayer until his ankles would swell. When he was asked why he worshipped so much when God had forgiven him all of his past and future sins, he replied: "Should I not then be a grateful servant?"
These are just a few of his noble qualities. There is no way we can do justice to him in such a short time. The combination of worldly and spiritual perfection that he exhibited was a miracle in and of itself and a testimony to his truly being a prophet of God.
posted by Muslim at 14:20
Answers to 7 Questions on Islam
Source: Islamic Awareness
1. What is Islaam?
The word "Islaam" is an Arabic word that means "submitting and surrendering your will to Almighty God". The word comes from the same root as the Arabic word "salam", which means peace. Unlike the names used for other religions, such as Buddhism, Hinduism and Christianity, the name for the religion of Islaam was both revealed by God and carries a deep spritual meaning - only by submitting one's will to Almighty God can one obtain true peace both in this life and in the life hereafter. Islaam teaches that all religions originally had the same essential message - which was to submit whole-heartedly to the will of God and to worship Him and Him alone. For this reason, Islaam is not a new religion but is the same divinely revealed Ultimate Truth that God revealed to all prophets, including Noah, Abraham, Moses and Jesus.
2. Who are Muslims?
The Arabic word "Muslim" literally means "someone who submits to the will of God". The message of Islaam is meant for the entire world and anyone who accepts this message becomes a Muslim. Some people mistakenly believe that Islaam is just a religion for Arabs, but nothing could be further from the truth, since in actuality over 80% of the world's Muslims are not Arabs! Even though most Arabs are Muslims, there are Arabs who are Christians, Jews and atheists. If one just takes a look at the various peoples who live in the Muslim World - from Nigeria to Bosnia and from Morocco to Indonesia - it is easy enough to see that Muslims come from all different races, ethnic groups and nationalities. From the very beginning, Islaam had a universal message for all people. This can be seen in the fact that some of the early companions of the Prophet Muhammad were not only Arabs, but also Persians, Africans and Byzantine Romans. Being a Muslim entails complete acceptance and active obedience to the revealed will of Almighty God. A Muslim is a person who freely accepts to base his beliefs, values and faith on the will of Almighty God. In the past, even though you don't see it as much today, the word "Mohammedans" was often used as a label for Muslims. This label is a misnomer and is the result of either wilful distortion or sheer ignorance. One of the reasons for the misconception is that Europeans were taught for centuries that Muslims worshipped the Prophet Muhammad in the same way that Christians worship Jesus. This is absolutely not true since a Muslim is not permitted to worship anyone or anything besides Almighty God.
3. Who is Allaah?
Very often one will here the Arabic word "Allaah" being used in regards to Islaam. The word "Allaah" is simply the Arabic word for Almighty God, and is the same word used by Arabic speaking Christians and Jews. If one were to pick up an Arabic translation of the Bible, one would see the word "Allaah" being use where the word "God" is used in English. Actually, the Arabic word for Almighty God, "Allaah", is quite similar to the word for God in other Semitic languages - for example, the Hebrew word for God is "Elah". For various reasons, some non-Muslims mistakenly believe that Muslims worship a different God than the God of Moses and Abraham and Jesus. This is certainly not the case, since the Pure Monotheism of Islaam calls all people to the worship of the God of Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and all of the other prophets.
4. Who is Muhammad?
The last and final prophet that God sent to humanity was the Prophet Muhammad. Muhammad explained, interpreted and lived the teachings of Islaam. The Prophet Muhammad is the greatest of all prophets for many reasons, but mainly because the results of his mission have brought more people into the pure belief in One God than any other prophet. Even though other religious communities claimed to believe in One God, over time they had corrupted their beliefs by taking their prophets and saints as intercessors with Almighty God. Some religions believe their prophets to be manifestations of God, "God Incarnate" or the "Son of God". All of these false ideas lead to the creature being worshipped instead of the Creator, which contributed to the idolatrous practice of believing that Almighty God can be approached through intermediaries. In order to guard against these falsehoods, the Prophet Muhammad always emphasised that he was only a human-being tasked with the preaching of God's message. He taught Muslims to refer to him as "the Messenger of God and His Slave". To Muslims, Muhammad is the supreme example for all people - he was the exemplary prophet, statesman, military leader, ruler, teacher, neighbour, husband, father and friend. Unlike other prophets and messengers, the Prophet Muhammad lived in the full light of history. Muslims don't need to have "faith" that he existed and that his teachings are preserved - they know it to be a fact. Even when his followers only numbered a few dozen, Almighty God informed Muhammad that he had be sent as a mercy to all of mankind. Because people had distorted or forgotten God's messages, God took it upon Himself to protect the message revealed to Muhammad. This was because Almighty God promised not to send another messenger after him. Since all of God's messengers have preached the message of Islaam - i.e. submission to the will of God and the worship of God alone - Muhammad is actually the last prophet of Islaam, not the first.
5. What are the Teachings of Islaam?
The foundation of the Islaamic faith is belief in the Unity of God. This means to believe that there is only one Creator and Sustainer of everything in the Universe, and that nothing is divine or worthy of being worshipped except for Him. Truly believing in the Unity of God means much more than simply believing that there is "One God" - as opposed to two, three or four. There are a number of religions that claim belief in "One God" and believe that ultimately there is only one Creator and Sustainer of the Universe. Islaam, however, not only insists on this, but also rejects using such words as "Lord" and "Saviour" for anyone besides Almighty God. Islaam also rejects the use of all intermediaries between God and Man, and insists that people approach God directly and reserve all worship for Him alone. Muslims believe that Almighty God is Compassionate, Loving and Merciful.
The essence of falsehood is the claim that God cannot deal with and forgive His creatures directly. By over-emphasising the burden of sin, as well as claiming that God cannot forgive you directly, false religions seek to get people to despair of the Mercy of God. Once they are convinced that they cannot approach God directly, people can be mislead into turning to false gods for help. These "false gods" can take various forms, such as saints, angels, or someone who is believed to be the "Son of God" or "God Incarnate". In almost all cases, people who worship, pray to or seek help from a false god don't consider it to be, or call it, a "god". They claim belief in One Supreme God, but claim that they pray to and worship others beside God only to get closer to Him. In Islaam, there is a clear distinction between the Creator and the created. There is no ambiguity in divinity - anything that is created is not deserving of worship and only the Creator is worthy of being worshipped. Some religions falsely believe that God has become part of His creation, and this has led people to believe that they can worship something created in order to reach their Creator.
Muslims believe that even though God is Unique and beyond comprehension - He has no "Son", partners or associates. According to Muslim belief, Almighty God "does not beget nor was He begotten" - neither literally, allegorically, metaphorically, physically or metaphysically - He is Absolutely Unique and Eternal. He is in control of everything and is perfectly capable of bestowing His infinite Mercy and Forgiveness to whomever He chooses. That is why is called the All-Powerful and Most-Merciful. Almighty God has created the Universe for man, and as such wants the best for all human beings. Muslims see everything in the Universe as a sign of the Creatorship and Benevolence of Almighty God. Also, the belief in the Unity of God is not merely a metaphysical concept. It is a dynamic belief that effects ones view of humanity, society and all aspects of life. As a logical corollary to the Islaamic belief in the Oneness of God, is its belief in the oneness of mankind and humanity.
6. What is the Qur'aan?
It is the final revelation of the will of Almighty God's to all of mankind, which was conveyed through the Angel Gabriel, in Arabic, to the Prophet Muhammad in its sounds, words and meanings. The Qur'aan, sometimes spelled Koran, was relayed to the Prophet's companions, which they memorised verbatim, and which has been publicly and continually recited by them and their successors until the present day. In short, the Qur'aan is the book of guidance from God par excellence. The Qur'aan is still memorised and taught by millions of people. The language of the Qur'aan, Arabic, is still a living language to millions of people, so unlike the scriptures of other religions, the Qur'aan is still read in its original language by countless millions of people. The Qu'ran is a living miracle in the Arabic language; and is know to be inimitable in its style, form and spiritual impact. God's final revelation to mankind, the Qur'aan, was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad over a period of 23 years. The Qur'aan, in contrast to many other religious books, was always thought to be the Word of God by those who believed in it, i.e. it wasn't something decreed by a religious council many years after being written. Also, the Qu'ran was recited publicly in front of both the Muslim and non-Muslim communities during the life of the Prophet Muhammad. The entire Qur'aan was also completely written down in lifetime of the Prophet, and numerous companions of the Prophet memorised the entire Qur'aan word-for-word as it was revealed. So unlike other scriptures, the Qur'aan was always in the hands of the common believers, it was always thought to be God's word and, due to wide-spread memorisation, it was perfectly preserved. In regards to the teachings of the Qur'aan - it is a universal scripture, and it is addressed to all of mankind, and not to a particular tribe or "chosen people". The message that it brings is nothing new, but the same message of all of the prophets - submit to Almighty God and worship Him alone. As such, God's revelation in the Qur'aan focuses on teaching human beings the importance of believing in the Unity of God and framing their lives around the guidance which He has sent. Additionally, the Qur'aan contains the stories of the previous prophets, such as Abraham, Noah, Moses and Jesus; as well as many commands and prohibitions from God. In modern times in which so many people are caught up in doubt, spiritual despair and "political correctness", the Qur'aanic teachings offer solutions to the emptiness of our lives and the turmoil that is gripping the world today.
7. How Do Muslims View the Nature of Man, the Purpose of Life and the Life Hereafter?
In the Holy Qur'aan, God teaches human beings that they were created in order to worship Him, and that the basis of all true worship is God-consciousness. Since the teachings of Islaamic encompass all aspects of life and ethics, God-consciousness is encouraged in all human affairs. Islaam makes it clear that all human acts are acts of worship if they are done for God alone and in accordance to His Divine Law. As such, worship in Islaam is not limited to religious rituals. The teachings of Islaam act as a mercy and a healing for the human soul, and such qualities as humility, sincerity, patience and charity are strongly encouraged. Additionally, Islaam condemns pride and self-righteousness, since Almighty God is the only judge of human righteousness. The Islaamic view of the nature of man is also realistic and well-balanced. Human beings are not believed to be inherently sinful, but are seen as equally capable of both good and evil. Islaam also teaches that faith and action go hand-in-hand. God has given people free-will, and the measure of one's faith is one's deeds and actions. However, human beings have also been created weak and regularly fall into sin. This is the nature of the human being as created by God in His Wisdom, and it is not inherently "corrupt" or in need of repair. This is because the avenue of repentance of always open to all human beings, and Almighty God loves the repentant sinner more than one who does not sin at all. The true balance of an Islaamic life is established by having a healthy fear of God as well as a sincere belief in His infinite Mercy. A life without fear of God leads to sin and disobedience, while believing that we have sinned so much that God will not possibly forgive us only leads to despair. In light of this, Islaam teaches that: only the misguided despair of the Mercy of their Lord. Additionally, the Holy Qur'aan, which was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad, contains a great deal of teachings about the life hereafter and the Day of Judgement. Due to this, Muslims believe that all human beings will ultimately be judged by God for their beliefs and actions in their earthly lives. In judging human beings, Almighty God will be both Merciful and Just, and people will only be judged for what they were capable of. Suffice it to say that Islaam teaches that life is a test, and that all human beings will be accountable before God. A sincere belief in the life hereafter is key to leading a well-balanced life and moral. Otherwise, life is viewed as an end in itself, which causes human beings to become more selfish, materialistic and immoral.
1. What is Islaam?
The word "Islaam" is an Arabic word that means "submitting and surrendering your will to Almighty God". The word comes from the same root as the Arabic word "salam", which means peace. Unlike the names used for other religions, such as Buddhism, Hinduism and Christianity, the name for the religion of Islaam was both revealed by God and carries a deep spritual meaning - only by submitting one's will to Almighty God can one obtain true peace both in this life and in the life hereafter. Islaam teaches that all religions originally had the same essential message - which was to submit whole-heartedly to the will of God and to worship Him and Him alone. For this reason, Islaam is not a new religion but is the same divinely revealed Ultimate Truth that God revealed to all prophets, including Noah, Abraham, Moses and Jesus.
2. Who are Muslims?
The Arabic word "Muslim" literally means "someone who submits to the will of God". The message of Islaam is meant for the entire world and anyone who accepts this message becomes a Muslim. Some people mistakenly believe that Islaam is just a religion for Arabs, but nothing could be further from the truth, since in actuality over 80% of the world's Muslims are not Arabs! Even though most Arabs are Muslims, there are Arabs who are Christians, Jews and atheists. If one just takes a look at the various peoples who live in the Muslim World - from Nigeria to Bosnia and from Morocco to Indonesia - it is easy enough to see that Muslims come from all different races, ethnic groups and nationalities. From the very beginning, Islaam had a universal message for all people. This can be seen in the fact that some of the early companions of the Prophet Muhammad were not only Arabs, but also Persians, Africans and Byzantine Romans. Being a Muslim entails complete acceptance and active obedience to the revealed will of Almighty God. A Muslim is a person who freely accepts to base his beliefs, values and faith on the will of Almighty God. In the past, even though you don't see it as much today, the word "Mohammedans" was often used as a label for Muslims. This label is a misnomer and is the result of either wilful distortion or sheer ignorance. One of the reasons for the misconception is that Europeans were taught for centuries that Muslims worshipped the Prophet Muhammad in the same way that Christians worship Jesus. This is absolutely not true since a Muslim is not permitted to worship anyone or anything besides Almighty God.
3. Who is Allaah?
Very often one will here the Arabic word "Allaah" being used in regards to Islaam. The word "Allaah" is simply the Arabic word for Almighty God, and is the same word used by Arabic speaking Christians and Jews. If one were to pick up an Arabic translation of the Bible, one would see the word "Allaah" being use where the word "God" is used in English. Actually, the Arabic word for Almighty God, "Allaah", is quite similar to the word for God in other Semitic languages - for example, the Hebrew word for God is "Elah". For various reasons, some non-Muslims mistakenly believe that Muslims worship a different God than the God of Moses and Abraham and Jesus. This is certainly not the case, since the Pure Monotheism of Islaam calls all people to the worship of the God of Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and all of the other prophets.
4. Who is Muhammad?
The last and final prophet that God sent to humanity was the Prophet Muhammad. Muhammad explained, interpreted and lived the teachings of Islaam. The Prophet Muhammad is the greatest of all prophets for many reasons, but mainly because the results of his mission have brought more people into the pure belief in One God than any other prophet. Even though other religious communities claimed to believe in One God, over time they had corrupted their beliefs by taking their prophets and saints as intercessors with Almighty God. Some religions believe their prophets to be manifestations of God, "God Incarnate" or the "Son of God". All of these false ideas lead to the creature being worshipped instead of the Creator, which contributed to the idolatrous practice of believing that Almighty God can be approached through intermediaries. In order to guard against these falsehoods, the Prophet Muhammad always emphasised that he was only a human-being tasked with the preaching of God's message. He taught Muslims to refer to him as "the Messenger of God and His Slave". To Muslims, Muhammad is the supreme example for all people - he was the exemplary prophet, statesman, military leader, ruler, teacher, neighbour, husband, father and friend. Unlike other prophets and messengers, the Prophet Muhammad lived in the full light of history. Muslims don't need to have "faith" that he existed and that his teachings are preserved - they know it to be a fact. Even when his followers only numbered a few dozen, Almighty God informed Muhammad that he had be sent as a mercy to all of mankind. Because people had distorted or forgotten God's messages, God took it upon Himself to protect the message revealed to Muhammad. This was because Almighty God promised not to send another messenger after him. Since all of God's messengers have preached the message of Islaam - i.e. submission to the will of God and the worship of God alone - Muhammad is actually the last prophet of Islaam, not the first.
5. What are the Teachings of Islaam?
The foundation of the Islaamic faith is belief in the Unity of God. This means to believe that there is only one Creator and Sustainer of everything in the Universe, and that nothing is divine or worthy of being worshipped except for Him. Truly believing in the Unity of God means much more than simply believing that there is "One God" - as opposed to two, three or four. There are a number of religions that claim belief in "One God" and believe that ultimately there is only one Creator and Sustainer of the Universe. Islaam, however, not only insists on this, but also rejects using such words as "Lord" and "Saviour" for anyone besides Almighty God. Islaam also rejects the use of all intermediaries between God and Man, and insists that people approach God directly and reserve all worship for Him alone. Muslims believe that Almighty God is Compassionate, Loving and Merciful.
The essence of falsehood is the claim that God cannot deal with and forgive His creatures directly. By over-emphasising the burden of sin, as well as claiming that God cannot forgive you directly, false religions seek to get people to despair of the Mercy of God. Once they are convinced that they cannot approach God directly, people can be mislead into turning to false gods for help. These "false gods" can take various forms, such as saints, angels, or someone who is believed to be the "Son of God" or "God Incarnate". In almost all cases, people who worship, pray to or seek help from a false god don't consider it to be, or call it, a "god". They claim belief in One Supreme God, but claim that they pray to and worship others beside God only to get closer to Him. In Islaam, there is a clear distinction between the Creator and the created. There is no ambiguity in divinity - anything that is created is not deserving of worship and only the Creator is worthy of being worshipped. Some religions falsely believe that God has become part of His creation, and this has led people to believe that they can worship something created in order to reach their Creator.
Muslims believe that even though God is Unique and beyond comprehension - He has no "Son", partners or associates. According to Muslim belief, Almighty God "does not beget nor was He begotten" - neither literally, allegorically, metaphorically, physically or metaphysically - He is Absolutely Unique and Eternal. He is in control of everything and is perfectly capable of bestowing His infinite Mercy and Forgiveness to whomever He chooses. That is why is called the All-Powerful and Most-Merciful. Almighty God has created the Universe for man, and as such wants the best for all human beings. Muslims see everything in the Universe as a sign of the Creatorship and Benevolence of Almighty God. Also, the belief in the Unity of God is not merely a metaphysical concept. It is a dynamic belief that effects ones view of humanity, society and all aspects of life. As a logical corollary to the Islaamic belief in the Oneness of God, is its belief in the oneness of mankind and humanity.
6. What is the Qur'aan?
It is the final revelation of the will of Almighty God's to all of mankind, which was conveyed through the Angel Gabriel, in Arabic, to the Prophet Muhammad in its sounds, words and meanings. The Qur'aan, sometimes spelled Koran, was relayed to the Prophet's companions, which they memorised verbatim, and which has been publicly and continually recited by them and their successors until the present day. In short, the Qur'aan is the book of guidance from God par excellence. The Qur'aan is still memorised and taught by millions of people. The language of the Qur'aan, Arabic, is still a living language to millions of people, so unlike the scriptures of other religions, the Qur'aan is still read in its original language by countless millions of people. The Qu'ran is a living miracle in the Arabic language; and is know to be inimitable in its style, form and spiritual impact. God's final revelation to mankind, the Qur'aan, was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad over a period of 23 years. The Qur'aan, in contrast to many other religious books, was always thought to be the Word of God by those who believed in it, i.e. it wasn't something decreed by a religious council many years after being written. Also, the Qu'ran was recited publicly in front of both the Muslim and non-Muslim communities during the life of the Prophet Muhammad. The entire Qur'aan was also completely written down in lifetime of the Prophet, and numerous companions of the Prophet memorised the entire Qur'aan word-for-word as it was revealed. So unlike other scriptures, the Qur'aan was always in the hands of the common believers, it was always thought to be God's word and, due to wide-spread memorisation, it was perfectly preserved. In regards to the teachings of the Qur'aan - it is a universal scripture, and it is addressed to all of mankind, and not to a particular tribe or "chosen people". The message that it brings is nothing new, but the same message of all of the prophets - submit to Almighty God and worship Him alone. As such, God's revelation in the Qur'aan focuses on teaching human beings the importance of believing in the Unity of God and framing their lives around the guidance which He has sent. Additionally, the Qur'aan contains the stories of the previous prophets, such as Abraham, Noah, Moses and Jesus; as well as many commands and prohibitions from God. In modern times in which so many people are caught up in doubt, spiritual despair and "political correctness", the Qur'aanic teachings offer solutions to the emptiness of our lives and the turmoil that is gripping the world today.
7. How Do Muslims View the Nature of Man, the Purpose of Life and the Life Hereafter?
In the Holy Qur'aan, God teaches human beings that they were created in order to worship Him, and that the basis of all true worship is God-consciousness. Since the teachings of Islaamic encompass all aspects of life and ethics, God-consciousness is encouraged in all human affairs. Islaam makes it clear that all human acts are acts of worship if they are done for God alone and in accordance to His Divine Law. As such, worship in Islaam is not limited to religious rituals. The teachings of Islaam act as a mercy and a healing for the human soul, and such qualities as humility, sincerity, patience and charity are strongly encouraged. Additionally, Islaam condemns pride and self-righteousness, since Almighty God is the only judge of human righteousness. The Islaamic view of the nature of man is also realistic and well-balanced. Human beings are not believed to be inherently sinful, but are seen as equally capable of both good and evil. Islaam also teaches that faith and action go hand-in-hand. God has given people free-will, and the measure of one's faith is one's deeds and actions. However, human beings have also been created weak and regularly fall into sin. This is the nature of the human being as created by God in His Wisdom, and it is not inherently "corrupt" or in need of repair. This is because the avenue of repentance of always open to all human beings, and Almighty God loves the repentant sinner more than one who does not sin at all. The true balance of an Islaamic life is established by having a healthy fear of God as well as a sincere belief in His infinite Mercy. A life without fear of God leads to sin and disobedience, while believing that we have sinned so much that God will not possibly forgive us only leads to despair. In light of this, Islaam teaches that: only the misguided despair of the Mercy of their Lord. Additionally, the Holy Qur'aan, which was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad, contains a great deal of teachings about the life hereafter and the Day of Judgement. Due to this, Muslims believe that all human beings will ultimately be judged by God for their beliefs and actions in their earthly lives. In judging human beings, Almighty God will be both Merciful and Just, and people will only be judged for what they were capable of. Suffice it to say that Islaam teaches that life is a test, and that all human beings will be accountable before God. A sincere belief in the life hereafter is key to leading a well-balanced life and moral. Otherwise, life is viewed as an end in itself, which causes human beings to become more selfish, materialistic and immoral.
posted by Muslim at 14:17
Why were we Created? Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips
All praise is due to Allah and may His peace and blessings be upon his last messenger (saaw) and on all those who follow the path of righteousness until the last day.
We have to answer the most fundamental question that every human being asks himself at some point in his or her lifetime. Not just Muslims, but every single human being.
“Why was I created? Why am I here? What am I doing in this world? Why did God create me?”
These questions, are questions which each and everyone of us reflects on at some point during their life. We have some answers, which are given generally, but usually these answers don’t satisfy us, they seem somewhat simplistic. We still wonder. “Why me? Why here?” I know all of you, generally speaking, in the back of your mind, you are saying “to worship Allah, khallas, what more is there to say? Why do we need to have a big long talk on why we were created, when we all know it is to worship Allah?” But wait, if this is presented to a non-Muslim, the next logical question would be “why does Allah want us to worship Him?” and then your stuck.
It means, in our own minds it is not really clear to us. Why did Allah create us to worship Him?
The question, why did Allah create us, for some people, and we have to deal with those people around us, who don’t consider there to be any purpose in man’s creation because he is just a product of evolution that the forces of nature have produced him, and just as we don’t have apes, dogs or cows thinking about why they are here, then we don’t really have to think about it either. Of course that being the basis of the philosophy of western society, that man is without purpose, then the whole issue of government, morality etc has no basis in Revelation, there is no guidance there. The product of this is of course the corruption that we are living in.
For a Muslim, when we go in to this topic, we have to find our understanding in divine revelation and not human speculation. Because human speculation has no bounds, we can imagine all kinds of things, and is any of you have studied philosophy of religion, you can see how many opinions exist about the creation of man and existence. Because of the variety of philosophies, which are out there, no one can say this one is correct or that one is incorrect, because there is no guidance behind it. No divine revelation. It is only from divine revelation that we can determine the reality of our creation, because it is Allah who has created us and he knows the purpose of our creation. We can hardly understand ourselves, much less try to understand the essence of things. So it is for Allah to inform us through the revelation in the Qur'an and the Sunnah which was brought by his last messenger (saaw) and the messengers before. Now if we are to look, initially into revelation, to determine why was man created, there is a deeper question that we should be asking before that. “Why did god create?” Before we even get to man, why did god create, because man is not the greatest act of creation that we should be so focused on why man. No, because Allah says:
“The creation of the Heavens and the Earth is indeed greater then the creation of mankind; yet, most of mankind know not.” (Surah Ghafir, verse 57)
Man is not the greatest act of creation, this universe is far more complex and far more magnificent then man. So the issue of creation should then go to why create? As opposed to simply why create man?
Fundamentally, we can say that the creation is the natural consequence of the attribute of creator. Allah is the creator. That is one of his attributes. That is what he has informed us. That being his attribute, the creator, the natural consequence or the product of this attribute is his creation.
A painter, if we are to draw a similitude on a lower level, who tells you that he is a painter, if you ask him where are his paintings and he replies I don’t have any. What kind of painter is this? The concept of a painter who doesn’t paint, there is some thing not quite gelling together here, of course Allah is beyond this. But if we are to understand on the simplest level, the two go together. The perfection of a painter lies in his paintings. His quality and his ability to paint, is manifest in his paintings. And Allah, beyond all that, as creator, this quality of creation is manifest in the creation itself. Allah didn’t create out of a need. No, the fact that he is the creator, is manifest in the creation.
Furthermore, consider the act of creation, this act, with regards to Allah is unique. Though we use the term i.e. So and so created a table etc, actually it is in a limited sense. Human beings don’t really create, they manipulate, because they can only “create” what already exists. When we make a chair or a table, we didn’t create the wood, we had to take it from a tree, we didn’t create the metal, which makes the screws etc, we had to melt down rocks and take the metal out. So we are not creating from nothing. We are manipulating things which Allah has already created in to different shapes and forms which are useful to us. We call it “creation” but the real act of creation, is creation from nothing, and this is unique to Allah alone.
This is a concept, which many people in ignorance, because they couldn’t grasp the idea of creation from nothingness, it lead them to conclude that the world is Allah. Those who say “inside of each and every atom is Allah.” And you have people, who call themselves Muslims saying this. Non-Muslims have said this before and there are Muslims who claim this. That Allah is inside each and everything, because Allah is the reality and everything else is fake in their interpretation. That means then, that the creation is Allah, and Allah is the creation. Very, very dangerous concept, which leads some of those who make this claim to say that you don’t have to worship outside of yourself. Ibn Arabi, was famous for this statement, he is considered to be one of the saints, amongst the so called Sufi religion. Ibn Arabi said “There is no need to worship one outside yourself, you are Allah. It is sufficient to worship yourself.” This is shirk.
This concept of Allah being within his creation, no distinction the creation and Allah, it leads them to this shirk. Because they are unable to accept the uniqueness of Allah’s creation, they compare the act of creation by Allah to human creation. That is, just as we manipulate, Allah took pieces of himself and made the earth and the universe. Others will say that all human beings have inside of themselves Allah, that there is a part of Allah inside each and everyone of us. The whole essence, the purpose of life is for us to realize that we have part of Allah inside of ourselves, remove the material blocks which keep us from Allah and again become one with Allah in what they call “fana”. This is again a teaching of the sufi religion.
Becoming one with Allah, returning back to Allah in this sense. But this is in fact part of the teachings of shirk. Shaitan has deluded man into this imagination. It is part of the belief of the Hindus. Nirvana, the concept that when you die, you are reborn again, and you move up in stages, each time, if you are a good boy or good girl, you go up higher and higher, until you get to the top. You know you have reached the peak, because when you die the next time you become one with the universal soul, Nirvana. That is the end of rebirth. So your whole purpose is to return and become one with God again. This is all, as I said, a product of the inability to understand the concept of creation from nothingness, which is unique to Allah. Allah (SWT) says:
“There is nothing like him, and he is the hearer and seer of all.”
So when we try to interpret Allah’s creation like the way we create, then we have made Him like his creation and it leads us ultimately to those aspects of shirk which I have mentioned. This is quite common amongst the Muslim world today, because when you look into the various branches of the sufi religion, where they have prescribed various acts of purification, they call it zhikr, exercises to torture the body through spinning and dancing. What is the purpose of this? They will tell you, to liberate the soul from this earthly body and to achieve that state of “fana” or “itihaad”, a variety of names they have for it.
It is this concept, which lead Al Hallaj, many centuries ago, when he was promoting this idea, and he was put before a panel of judges questioning these concepts, which he was expressing. When they asked him to recant, to take this stuff back, he stood up, opened up his cloak and said “There is nothing inside this cloak except Allah”. So they executed him. And of course, those in the sufi religion, they have stories that when they cut his head off, it rolled around saying “Allah, Allah, Allahu Akbar etc”. It might have, that is Shaitan may have entered and said these things, as happened with the calf of the Isrealites, when the Prophet Musa (as) let Egypt and the people, after crossing the red sea, had a desire to have a god that they could see, so they made a golden calf which they began to worship. This calf was saying “moo” like the calves do. This is what convinced them that this was the real thing. We know it wasn’t the calf saying this. The evil jinn can enter the in to physical entities, make sounds and give these impressions. So there is no problem for us to say ok, maybe when they cut of Al Hallaj’s head that it said these things, because this was part of a test. If we are clear in terms of creator and creation, this is no problem for us.
Allah is the creator and everything besides Him is His creation, which He created from nothing. It is not Him, nor is He it. This is the pure concept as taught by the Prophet (saaw), his companions, and the early generations of righteous scholars, the students of the companions and those who came after them. The best of generations. That is how they understood this matter. There was no confusion in their minds. It wasn’t until islam spread to areas like Egypt, India and Persia, areas where the Christians had already gotten into deep philosophies, trying to explain how jesus was a man and god at the same time. When they came in to islam they brought it with them. This is the reality. It is not something we should necessarily condemn them for or feel is unusual. It is natural, when a person reverts to islam, that they will carry with them what they believed before. What has been clarified for them, of the basic principles, they accept, and they reject things, which obviously contradict. But it doesn’t mean that every last thought that they have, and everything that was wrong in their philosophies, ideology and concepts will be erased. They will carry these things in with them. This is why in the later part of the Prophet's (saaw) life, prior to his death, when he was coming back from one of the battles, his companions asked him to set aside a tree for them, that they could hang their weapons on, like the way the pagans would hang their weapons on trees, believing that when they hung the weapons, it became super-powerful, as if some power was coming from the tree, that their shields would now block steel and their swords would cut through the enemy. Some of the companions who had newly accepted Islam, asked the Prophet (saaw) to designate one for them, a special one, an Islamic one. They understood that what the pagans had, this was wrong. These were the companions of the prophet (saaw) and he had to clarify it for them. He said:
You are like the companions of Musa (as) who asked to have the calf built.
And he clarified for them that all of this is shirk and there is no place for it in Islam. So if it could happen to some of the companions, then we cannot blame the generations who have come after them, who come into Islam and carry with them some of their old ideas. What it is for us to do is to clarify.
So what we have in front of us then, is that Allah created this universe out of nothing, and everything that is in it was created. For example:
“Allah created all things, and he is the agent, upon which, all things depend. And Allah created you and whatever you do.” (Surah 39, verse 62)
This is the reality. This is stressed for us, in order for us to realize that ultimately, all good, all evil, that takes place in the world, only takes place by the permission of Allah. Therefore we should not seek any other channels to protect ourselves from evil, or to gather for ourselves good, as people commonly do today. They will go to fortunetellers, this is big business today, all the magazines have various forms of fortunetellers like dial a horoscope etc. in a society that has lost touch with Allah, this is what is open to them. Allah has stressed for us that no calamity will befall us except by Allah’s permission;
"Nothing is taking place in this world except by the permission of Allah."
And the prophet (saaw) further emphasized this principle by saying;
“If the whole of mankind gathered to do some thing to help us, they could help in anything which Allah had not already written for us. And if the whole of mankind gathered together to harm us, then they would not be able to harm with anything which Allah had not already written for us.”
Therefore what is required of us is to depend on Allah, put our trust in Allah. This is what we have to draw out of this attribute of Allah being the creator. This creation exists because of that attribute. Its practical significance to us lies in putting our trust in Allah.
We have to answer the most fundamental question that every human being asks himself at some point in his or her lifetime. Not just Muslims, but every single human being.
“Why was I created? Why am I here? What am I doing in this world? Why did God create me?”
These questions, are questions which each and everyone of us reflects on at some point during their life. We have some answers, which are given generally, but usually these answers don’t satisfy us, they seem somewhat simplistic. We still wonder. “Why me? Why here?” I know all of you, generally speaking, in the back of your mind, you are saying “to worship Allah, khallas, what more is there to say? Why do we need to have a big long talk on why we were created, when we all know it is to worship Allah?” But wait, if this is presented to a non-Muslim, the next logical question would be “why does Allah want us to worship Him?” and then your stuck.
It means, in our own minds it is not really clear to us. Why did Allah create us to worship Him?
The question, why did Allah create us, for some people, and we have to deal with those people around us, who don’t consider there to be any purpose in man’s creation because he is just a product of evolution that the forces of nature have produced him, and just as we don’t have apes, dogs or cows thinking about why they are here, then we don’t really have to think about it either. Of course that being the basis of the philosophy of western society, that man is without purpose, then the whole issue of government, morality etc has no basis in Revelation, there is no guidance there. The product of this is of course the corruption that we are living in.
For a Muslim, when we go in to this topic, we have to find our understanding in divine revelation and not human speculation. Because human speculation has no bounds, we can imagine all kinds of things, and is any of you have studied philosophy of religion, you can see how many opinions exist about the creation of man and existence. Because of the variety of philosophies, which are out there, no one can say this one is correct or that one is incorrect, because there is no guidance behind it. No divine revelation. It is only from divine revelation that we can determine the reality of our creation, because it is Allah who has created us and he knows the purpose of our creation. We can hardly understand ourselves, much less try to understand the essence of things. So it is for Allah to inform us through the revelation in the Qur'an and the Sunnah which was brought by his last messenger (saaw) and the messengers before. Now if we are to look, initially into revelation, to determine why was man created, there is a deeper question that we should be asking before that. “Why did god create?” Before we even get to man, why did god create, because man is not the greatest act of creation that we should be so focused on why man. No, because Allah says:
“The creation of the Heavens and the Earth is indeed greater then the creation of mankind; yet, most of mankind know not.” (Surah Ghafir, verse 57)
Man is not the greatest act of creation, this universe is far more complex and far more magnificent then man. So the issue of creation should then go to why create? As opposed to simply why create man?
Fundamentally, we can say that the creation is the natural consequence of the attribute of creator. Allah is the creator. That is one of his attributes. That is what he has informed us. That being his attribute, the creator, the natural consequence or the product of this attribute is his creation.
A painter, if we are to draw a similitude on a lower level, who tells you that he is a painter, if you ask him where are his paintings and he replies I don’t have any. What kind of painter is this? The concept of a painter who doesn’t paint, there is some thing not quite gelling together here, of course Allah is beyond this. But if we are to understand on the simplest level, the two go together. The perfection of a painter lies in his paintings. His quality and his ability to paint, is manifest in his paintings. And Allah, beyond all that, as creator, this quality of creation is manifest in the creation itself. Allah didn’t create out of a need. No, the fact that he is the creator, is manifest in the creation.
Furthermore, consider the act of creation, this act, with regards to Allah is unique. Though we use the term i.e. So and so created a table etc, actually it is in a limited sense. Human beings don’t really create, they manipulate, because they can only “create” what already exists. When we make a chair or a table, we didn’t create the wood, we had to take it from a tree, we didn’t create the metal, which makes the screws etc, we had to melt down rocks and take the metal out. So we are not creating from nothing. We are manipulating things which Allah has already created in to different shapes and forms which are useful to us. We call it “creation” but the real act of creation, is creation from nothing, and this is unique to Allah alone.
This is a concept, which many people in ignorance, because they couldn’t grasp the idea of creation from nothingness, it lead them to conclude that the world is Allah. Those who say “inside of each and every atom is Allah.” And you have people, who call themselves Muslims saying this. Non-Muslims have said this before and there are Muslims who claim this. That Allah is inside each and everything, because Allah is the reality and everything else is fake in their interpretation. That means then, that the creation is Allah, and Allah is the creation. Very, very dangerous concept, which leads some of those who make this claim to say that you don’t have to worship outside of yourself. Ibn Arabi, was famous for this statement, he is considered to be one of the saints, amongst the so called Sufi religion. Ibn Arabi said “There is no need to worship one outside yourself, you are Allah. It is sufficient to worship yourself.” This is shirk.
This concept of Allah being within his creation, no distinction the creation and Allah, it leads them to this shirk. Because they are unable to accept the uniqueness of Allah’s creation, they compare the act of creation by Allah to human creation. That is, just as we manipulate, Allah took pieces of himself and made the earth and the universe. Others will say that all human beings have inside of themselves Allah, that there is a part of Allah inside each and everyone of us. The whole essence, the purpose of life is for us to realize that we have part of Allah inside of ourselves, remove the material blocks which keep us from Allah and again become one with Allah in what they call “fana”. This is again a teaching of the sufi religion.
Becoming one with Allah, returning back to Allah in this sense. But this is in fact part of the teachings of shirk. Shaitan has deluded man into this imagination. It is part of the belief of the Hindus. Nirvana, the concept that when you die, you are reborn again, and you move up in stages, each time, if you are a good boy or good girl, you go up higher and higher, until you get to the top. You know you have reached the peak, because when you die the next time you become one with the universal soul, Nirvana. That is the end of rebirth. So your whole purpose is to return and become one with God again. This is all, as I said, a product of the inability to understand the concept of creation from nothingness, which is unique to Allah. Allah (SWT) says:
“There is nothing like him, and he is the hearer and seer of all.”
So when we try to interpret Allah’s creation like the way we create, then we have made Him like his creation and it leads us ultimately to those aspects of shirk which I have mentioned. This is quite common amongst the Muslim world today, because when you look into the various branches of the sufi religion, where they have prescribed various acts of purification, they call it zhikr, exercises to torture the body through spinning and dancing. What is the purpose of this? They will tell you, to liberate the soul from this earthly body and to achieve that state of “fana” or “itihaad”, a variety of names they have for it.
It is this concept, which lead Al Hallaj, many centuries ago, when he was promoting this idea, and he was put before a panel of judges questioning these concepts, which he was expressing. When they asked him to recant, to take this stuff back, he stood up, opened up his cloak and said “There is nothing inside this cloak except Allah”. So they executed him. And of course, those in the sufi religion, they have stories that when they cut his head off, it rolled around saying “Allah, Allah, Allahu Akbar etc”. It might have, that is Shaitan may have entered and said these things, as happened with the calf of the Isrealites, when the Prophet Musa (as) let Egypt and the people, after crossing the red sea, had a desire to have a god that they could see, so they made a golden calf which they began to worship. This calf was saying “moo” like the calves do. This is what convinced them that this was the real thing. We know it wasn’t the calf saying this. The evil jinn can enter the in to physical entities, make sounds and give these impressions. So there is no problem for us to say ok, maybe when they cut of Al Hallaj’s head that it said these things, because this was part of a test. If we are clear in terms of creator and creation, this is no problem for us.
Allah is the creator and everything besides Him is His creation, which He created from nothing. It is not Him, nor is He it. This is the pure concept as taught by the Prophet (saaw), his companions, and the early generations of righteous scholars, the students of the companions and those who came after them. The best of generations. That is how they understood this matter. There was no confusion in their minds. It wasn’t until islam spread to areas like Egypt, India and Persia, areas where the Christians had already gotten into deep philosophies, trying to explain how jesus was a man and god at the same time. When they came in to islam they brought it with them. This is the reality. It is not something we should necessarily condemn them for or feel is unusual. It is natural, when a person reverts to islam, that they will carry with them what they believed before. What has been clarified for them, of the basic principles, they accept, and they reject things, which obviously contradict. But it doesn’t mean that every last thought that they have, and everything that was wrong in their philosophies, ideology and concepts will be erased. They will carry these things in with them. This is why in the later part of the Prophet's (saaw) life, prior to his death, when he was coming back from one of the battles, his companions asked him to set aside a tree for them, that they could hang their weapons on, like the way the pagans would hang their weapons on trees, believing that when they hung the weapons, it became super-powerful, as if some power was coming from the tree, that their shields would now block steel and their swords would cut through the enemy. Some of the companions who had newly accepted Islam, asked the Prophet (saaw) to designate one for them, a special one, an Islamic one. They understood that what the pagans had, this was wrong. These were the companions of the prophet (saaw) and he had to clarify it for them. He said:
You are like the companions of Musa (as) who asked to have the calf built.
And he clarified for them that all of this is shirk and there is no place for it in Islam. So if it could happen to some of the companions, then we cannot blame the generations who have come after them, who come into Islam and carry with them some of their old ideas. What it is for us to do is to clarify.
So what we have in front of us then, is that Allah created this universe out of nothing, and everything that is in it was created. For example:
“Allah created all things, and he is the agent, upon which, all things depend. And Allah created you and whatever you do.” (Surah 39, verse 62)
This is the reality. This is stressed for us, in order for us to realize that ultimately, all good, all evil, that takes place in the world, only takes place by the permission of Allah. Therefore we should not seek any other channels to protect ourselves from evil, or to gather for ourselves good, as people commonly do today. They will go to fortunetellers, this is big business today, all the magazines have various forms of fortunetellers like dial a horoscope etc. in a society that has lost touch with Allah, this is what is open to them. Allah has stressed for us that no calamity will befall us except by Allah’s permission;
"Nothing is taking place in this world except by the permission of Allah."
And the prophet (saaw) further emphasized this principle by saying;
“If the whole of mankind gathered to do some thing to help us, they could help in anything which Allah had not already written for us. And if the whole of mankind gathered together to harm us, then they would not be able to harm with anything which Allah had not already written for us.”
Therefore what is required of us is to depend on Allah, put our trust in Allah. This is what we have to draw out of this attribute of Allah being the creator. This creation exists because of that attribute. Its practical significance to us lies in putting our trust in Allah.
posted by Muslim at 14:16
The Rational Proofs for the Existence of Allah
Source: http://www.islamtoday.net/
The following are established facts and principles that all rational people agree upon:
1. The invalidity of determination without a determining factor.
2. The invalidity of an infinite sequence.
3. The invalidity of the vicious circle.
4. The law of causality.
This universe that is in existence must fall under one of three possibilities with respect to the nature of its existence:
1. Its existence is necessary.
2. Its existence is impossible.
3. Its existence is possible.
The first of these possibilities is false, because that would imply that the universe could never cease to exist. We can witness created things being born and dying, coming into existence and disappearing. Thus, there is no reason why the whole universe cannot perish.
The second possibility is equally false, because we can see for ourselves that the universe exists. Its existence is clearly not impossible.
The third possibility is the only one left: that the existence of the universe falls in the realm of possible things. It exists for sure, but it could just as well not have come into existence. The fact that it exists shows that there must be an outside determining factor that brought it into existence.
If someone were to say: "Maybe the universe brought itself into existence", we would respond that this requires that a determination took place without a determining factor. If it brought itself into existence, then its existence would have to be necessary, but it clearly is not, since its nonexistence is also possible. This requires that some outside force was needed of a nature completely different than that of the universe.
If someone were to say: "Maybe some power other than Allah brought it into existence", we would respond that the falsehood of this claim should be seen from the remaining proofs.
2. The invalidity of an infinite sequence.
The possibility that the universe was created by another force besides Allah is completely false, because it leads to an infinite sequence of causes stretching into the past. Its conceptualization would be that of an uninterrupted sequence of possibilities stretching into the past without the mind ever arriving at a point where it can settle down and decree that it has reached the beginning.
So, if someone were to say: "It is possible that some other force besides Allah brought the universe into existence."
We would say to him: "Who, then, brought this hypothetical originator into existence?" If he were then to say: "Another originator brought it into existence."
We would say: "This leads to a chain of causation that stretches backwards into infinity, which is false and invalid. Therefore, this sequence of events must terminate at some point with a being whose existence is necessary, existing without needing something else to bring it into existence. This being is the Divine Being."
3. The invalidity of the vicious circle.
The vicious circle is the idea that the existence of one thing is dependent on another that in turn is ultimately dependent on the first. This is obviously false, invalid, and contrary to reason. An example of this would be to say that the egg depends upon the chicken for its existence, and the chicken in turn depends upon the egg for its existence. If this were the case, then it would be impossible for either the chicken or the egg to come into existence. This is what is meant by the "vicious circle."
If someone were to say: "The universe has a beginning and has an initial cause, except that this cause that brought it about is no more than the spontaneous, inherent reactions of its primordial particles that continued for millions of years until ultimately resulting in the universe that we have now. In other words, its own nature brought it into existence."
We would respond by saying: "What, then, is the initial cause that brought these interacting, primordial particles into existence in the first place? And what is the cause of these spontaneous reactions?"
If he were to say: "The particles themselves are the cause, meaning that they came into being on their own then interacted to produce the universe."
We would say to him: "This is that very vicious circle that is rationally impossible. You have made something the cause for the existence of something else, and then made that thing in turn the cause for the existence of the first. This is because when it was in the state of absolute nothingness, its existence depended upon it coming out of that nothingness. Then, when it came out of that state it became the cause of its own existence."
Then we would say to him: "You, yourself, said that the universe has a beginning, that it did not exist eternally in the past, so how can something that has a beginning be the cause of its own existence when it previously did not exist, and when absolute nothingness can never bring anything else into existence. Something cannot at the same time be both the creator and the thing that was created."
4. The Law of Causality.
The determination of things and the order that exists in the universe both indicate that there was a cause for – and wisdom behind – that determination and order. It is unreasonable to assume that a cause for something or the wisdom behind it could exist without there being an influencing and directing factor for both of them. If we were to say that the Sun came into existence by mere coincidence without there being behind it any wisdom, and that every function that it performs to facilitate the existence of life are the products of pure chance and coincidence, no one would doubt – even in this day and age – that we were afflicted by insanity. Likewise, if we were to say to a specialist in internal medicine that the organs of the human body like the brain, liver, and pancreas, came into existence by mere coincidence and became ready to fulfill their specialized functions by chance, he would not doubt for a moment that we were devoid of our senses.
So, if we would take objection to the idea that these particulars could have come about by coincidence, then how can we possibly believe someone who says that the universe in its entirety came into existence by coincidence, and that the order within it has no reasoning or directing force behind it? And how can we believe someone who says that all the events that occur in the universe that result from specific causes and all the wisdom resulting from what is carried out by the various entities within it came about coincidentally without these results being deliberately intended?
Is it reasonable to assume that this universe with its miraculous order, arrangement, and precision came about in vain, and that all this precision and detail is the result of mere coincidence?
The one who believes this might as well believe someone who tells him that if we take six monkeys and give each of them a typewriter, then wait a few million years, one of them might produce for us one of Shakespeare's sonnets. Would anyone in his right mind believe that?
The following are established facts and principles that all rational people agree upon:
1. The invalidity of determination without a determining factor.
2. The invalidity of an infinite sequence.
3. The invalidity of the vicious circle.
4. The law of causality.
This universe that is in existence must fall under one of three possibilities with respect to the nature of its existence:
1. Its existence is necessary.
2. Its existence is impossible.
3. Its existence is possible.
The first of these possibilities is false, because that would imply that the universe could never cease to exist. We can witness created things being born and dying, coming into existence and disappearing. Thus, there is no reason why the whole universe cannot perish.
The second possibility is equally false, because we can see for ourselves that the universe exists. Its existence is clearly not impossible.
The third possibility is the only one left: that the existence of the universe falls in the realm of possible things. It exists for sure, but it could just as well not have come into existence. The fact that it exists shows that there must be an outside determining factor that brought it into existence.
If someone were to say: "Maybe the universe brought itself into existence", we would respond that this requires that a determination took place without a determining factor. If it brought itself into existence, then its existence would have to be necessary, but it clearly is not, since its nonexistence is also possible. This requires that some outside force was needed of a nature completely different than that of the universe.
If someone were to say: "Maybe some power other than Allah brought it into existence", we would respond that the falsehood of this claim should be seen from the remaining proofs.
2. The invalidity of an infinite sequence.
The possibility that the universe was created by another force besides Allah is completely false, because it leads to an infinite sequence of causes stretching into the past. Its conceptualization would be that of an uninterrupted sequence of possibilities stretching into the past without the mind ever arriving at a point where it can settle down and decree that it has reached the beginning.
So, if someone were to say: "It is possible that some other force besides Allah brought the universe into existence."
We would say to him: "Who, then, brought this hypothetical originator into existence?" If he were then to say: "Another originator brought it into existence."
We would say: "This leads to a chain of causation that stretches backwards into infinity, which is false and invalid. Therefore, this sequence of events must terminate at some point with a being whose existence is necessary, existing without needing something else to bring it into existence. This being is the Divine Being."
3. The invalidity of the vicious circle.
The vicious circle is the idea that the existence of one thing is dependent on another that in turn is ultimately dependent on the first. This is obviously false, invalid, and contrary to reason. An example of this would be to say that the egg depends upon the chicken for its existence, and the chicken in turn depends upon the egg for its existence. If this were the case, then it would be impossible for either the chicken or the egg to come into existence. This is what is meant by the "vicious circle."
If someone were to say: "The universe has a beginning and has an initial cause, except that this cause that brought it about is no more than the spontaneous, inherent reactions of its primordial particles that continued for millions of years until ultimately resulting in the universe that we have now. In other words, its own nature brought it into existence."
We would respond by saying: "What, then, is the initial cause that brought these interacting, primordial particles into existence in the first place? And what is the cause of these spontaneous reactions?"
If he were to say: "The particles themselves are the cause, meaning that they came into being on their own then interacted to produce the universe."
We would say to him: "This is that very vicious circle that is rationally impossible. You have made something the cause for the existence of something else, and then made that thing in turn the cause for the existence of the first. This is because when it was in the state of absolute nothingness, its existence depended upon it coming out of that nothingness. Then, when it came out of that state it became the cause of its own existence."
Then we would say to him: "You, yourself, said that the universe has a beginning, that it did not exist eternally in the past, so how can something that has a beginning be the cause of its own existence when it previously did not exist, and when absolute nothingness can never bring anything else into existence. Something cannot at the same time be both the creator and the thing that was created."
4. The Law of Causality.
The determination of things and the order that exists in the universe both indicate that there was a cause for – and wisdom behind – that determination and order. It is unreasonable to assume that a cause for something or the wisdom behind it could exist without there being an influencing and directing factor for both of them. If we were to say that the Sun came into existence by mere coincidence without there being behind it any wisdom, and that every function that it performs to facilitate the existence of life are the products of pure chance and coincidence, no one would doubt – even in this day and age – that we were afflicted by insanity. Likewise, if we were to say to a specialist in internal medicine that the organs of the human body like the brain, liver, and pancreas, came into existence by mere coincidence and became ready to fulfill their specialized functions by chance, he would not doubt for a moment that we were devoid of our senses.
So, if we would take objection to the idea that these particulars could have come about by coincidence, then how can we possibly believe someone who says that the universe in its entirety came into existence by coincidence, and that the order within it has no reasoning or directing force behind it? And how can we believe someone who says that all the events that occur in the universe that result from specific causes and all the wisdom resulting from what is carried out by the various entities within it came about coincidentally without these results being deliberately intended?
Is it reasonable to assume that this universe with its miraculous order, arrangement, and precision came about in vain, and that all this precision and detail is the result of mere coincidence?
The one who believes this might as well believe someone who tells him that if we take six monkeys and give each of them a typewriter, then wait a few million years, one of them might produce for us one of Shakespeare's sonnets. Would anyone in his right mind believe that?
posted by Muslim at 14:15
Story between atheist and muslim
Story
There was an atheist and a muslim who were to debate with one another, and the muslim had to confirm that there was a god. So on the day of their meeting, the muslim happens to live farther away from the meeting place. The atheist had to wait patiently, and gotten angry when the muslim showed up very late on the time. The muslim got to the meeting, and apologised for him being late. His excuse was that there was a river that seperated him from the meeting house. There were no boats to take him, and as he waited, he seen that a tree has cut out its self and fell into the river, and as it fell on the banks of the river, it cut itself into smaller peices, and formed a boat for him to take and get right here. The Atheist was unimaginably corrupted after listening to this, he stated that this is a worthless excuse and a silly one indeed, because there is no way a tree could cut out itself and make itself into a boat. Then The Muslim Said : that is exactly how you are not beliving in a creator. You say that the universe has just been made, but if you clearly belive that, then you should belive the tree being cut by itself. The atheist was astounded, and couldnt utter a word. For he knew that there must have been a creator to make and create this universe we are living in. He then said to the Muslim: You have proved your point, and you won the debate. Ashahuda Ana la ilaha illa allah wa ashahuda ana muhamed rasul allah.
There was an atheist and a muslim who were to debate with one another, and the muslim had to confirm that there was a god. So on the day of their meeting, the muslim happens to live farther away from the meeting place. The atheist had to wait patiently, and gotten angry when the muslim showed up very late on the time. The muslim got to the meeting, and apologised for him being late. His excuse was that there was a river that seperated him from the meeting house. There were no boats to take him, and as he waited, he seen that a tree has cut out its self and fell into the river, and as it fell on the banks of the river, it cut itself into smaller peices, and formed a boat for him to take and get right here. The Atheist was unimaginably corrupted after listening to this, he stated that this is a worthless excuse and a silly one indeed, because there is no way a tree could cut out itself and make itself into a boat. Then The Muslim Said : that is exactly how you are not beliving in a creator. You say that the universe has just been made, but if you clearly belive that, then you should belive the tree being cut by itself. The atheist was astounded, and couldnt utter a word. For he knew that there must have been a creator to make and create this universe we are living in. He then said to the Muslim: You have proved your point, and you won the debate. Ashahuda Ana la ilaha illa allah wa ashahuda ana muhamed rasul allah.
posted by Muslim at 14:12
Why Islaam?
Author: Dr. Ja`far Sheikh Idris
Source: http://www.islaam.com/
Why Islam? The question "why?" demands a rational answer. However, many people think that it is not possible to give rational answers to ideological commitments (by ideology, we mean a system of thought). They believe that a commitment to any theistic ideology is an irrational act. One cannot deny the fact that many people do commit themselves illogically to various ideologies and continue to hold onto them only because they find themselves to be raised up in particular communities. They accept such ideologies in just the same way as they would accept a traditional form of dress handed down to them through the generations. For example, a person might be deeply committed to a nationalistic ideology simply because it may be the best way to win the support of the masses and thereby gain personal political power.
Let us analyze two commonly found views regarding ideological commitments:
The first states that a commitment to any ideology which involves some type of deity must necessarily be irrational.
The premise of those who say this is that the fundamental claims of all such ideologies are beyond the comprehension of the human mind. Those who have accepted such a premise have concluded that all types of such 'belief' must be based on irrational and imaginary thoughts rather than on reality.
The opposite view is held by people who seek to justify their 'belief' in certain irrational ideas by claiming that reason is limited.
In fact, the followers of this ideology state that people should commit themselves to such ideas by simply having 'faith'. The conclusion of these people is that ultimate reality must be irrational in essence and therefore incomprehensible to the human mind. They go on to say that their ideology must be accepted or 'believed' without reason, in order to attain some type of 'salvation'.
This kind of argument is very difficult to accept because as human beings, we may ask: What do we have other than the usage of our minds for acquiring knowledge? If we are told to 'believe' in something that is irrational (i.e. beyond all reason), such as a type of being which is both mortal and immortal, we cannot possibly digest such an idea. Therefore it does not seem unnatural for us to demand that our way of thinking and living be based solely upon those concepts which can be verified as being true.
Going back to the first view regarding ideological commitments, we see that this view contends that we cannot and should not believe in that which we cannot comprehend. The emphasis lies on the word comprehend, and so it must be defined. It is true that one cannot have an adequate mental picture of some mathematical and scientific facts. For example, one cannot have an adequate mental or visual picture of the curvature of space, or one of the mathematical concepts of infinity. Nor can we really have an adequate mental picture of the way in which certain animals experience things, such as the way in which bats 'see' by using ultrasonic waves. However, know these concepts to be true because of solid evidence and not because of some non-rational ideas. Therefore we can say that we do indeed comprehend them.
Now what about the concept of a singular, all-knowing entity which has created the universe. It is impossible to have any mental or visual picture of such an entity, for evidence tells us that this entity must be unlike anything in the universe because this entity must be independent of space and time. The evidence for the existence of this single intelligence lies in the design of nature itself, which we can freely examine; hence, such an ideology is rational. If one realizes this - through confirmation - then one can proceed to answer the question: Why Islam?
One of the main problems with an atheistic ideology is that it cannot explain intelligence in the processes of the universe. Another problem is that it tends to deprive life of meaning. Furthermore, we know that human beings are naturally inclined to be honest; however, in atheism there is a denial of an ultimate originator and of anything beyond death, which creates a contradiction and leads to an inconsistency in behaviour – on the one hand a person would be inclined to be honest, and on the other to be dishonest 'to make the most of this world'. [If everyone insisted on 'making the most of this world', society as we know it would not exist. As a case in point, let us suppose that all those who wanted to 'make the most of this world' resorted to thievery. If this happened, no one would be producing the goods (growing food for instance) that the rest of us could steal. Hence it seems that 'making the most of this world' as system of action is doomed to failure. Could it then be a viable system of belief?]
Broadly speaking, with regard to theistic ideologies we have the revealed, the distorted and the man-made. One can easily say that a way of life communicated to humankind by the creator of this universe is preferred to man-made ideologies. If one wants to follow the advice of that which has made the universe and all that it contains - regarding what is beneficial or harmful - then it is better to refer to pristine communication from this originator, than to that communication which has been fabricated or distorted by man.
Those ideologies claiming to be based on revelations can be subjected to a number of tests, the first and most important of which is that of consistency. We must look for two types of consistency: internal and external. Internal consistency means that a statement made in a book must not contradict another statement in the same book. External consistency means that a statement made in a book must not contradict facts as we know, be they psychological, physical, chemical, historical, geographical, biological and so on. Applying these tests, consider the most important truth that all the supposedly revealed ideologies proclaim, that is, the existence and perfect attributes of God. God for all ideologies, that claim to be revealed, is supposed to be all knowing, all merciful, everlasting etc. However, some books imply that God's knowledge is limited and imperfect by saying that, for example, God was deceived by a human. In contrast, the Quran provides the perfect concept of an all-knowing, singular originator of this universe.
This leads us to the next test - that of authenticity. The question that should be asked is whether the scriptures that we have today are indeed a communication from the originator to humankind. A study of the history of Islam would show that the present Quran is exactly the same as that which was communicated about one thousand four hundred years ago. During its revelation it was committed to memory by a large number of people and also written down.
Yet another test is that of comprehensiveness. A truly comprehensive ideology, revealed to humankind by the designer of the universe, would describe the most beneficial system in all spheres of life including the political, economical, social, medical and environmental spheres.
Lastly, we might look at the test of universality. Clearly, an ideology which is historically or graphically bound is not as good as that which applicable to all human beings, irrespective of the time and place of their origin.
In conclusion, if one uses the criteria of universality, comprehensiveness, authenticity and above all, consistency, one would find the Quran unique and worthy of investigation. It is interesting to note that the Quran itself stresses the above-mentioned approach. For example, in verse 82 of chapter 4, it is said, "Will they not ponder about the Quran? If it had been from other than God, then they would have surely found in it many inconsistencies."
Source: http://www.islaam.com/
Why Islam? The question "why?" demands a rational answer. However, many people think that it is not possible to give rational answers to ideological commitments (by ideology, we mean a system of thought). They believe that a commitment to any theistic ideology is an irrational act. One cannot deny the fact that many people do commit themselves illogically to various ideologies and continue to hold onto them only because they find themselves to be raised up in particular communities. They accept such ideologies in just the same way as they would accept a traditional form of dress handed down to them through the generations. For example, a person might be deeply committed to a nationalistic ideology simply because it may be the best way to win the support of the masses and thereby gain personal political power.
Let us analyze two commonly found views regarding ideological commitments:
The first states that a commitment to any ideology which involves some type of deity must necessarily be irrational.
The premise of those who say this is that the fundamental claims of all such ideologies are beyond the comprehension of the human mind. Those who have accepted such a premise have concluded that all types of such 'belief' must be based on irrational and imaginary thoughts rather than on reality.
The opposite view is held by people who seek to justify their 'belief' in certain irrational ideas by claiming that reason is limited.
In fact, the followers of this ideology state that people should commit themselves to such ideas by simply having 'faith'. The conclusion of these people is that ultimate reality must be irrational in essence and therefore incomprehensible to the human mind. They go on to say that their ideology must be accepted or 'believed' without reason, in order to attain some type of 'salvation'.
This kind of argument is very difficult to accept because as human beings, we may ask: What do we have other than the usage of our minds for acquiring knowledge? If we are told to 'believe' in something that is irrational (i.e. beyond all reason), such as a type of being which is both mortal and immortal, we cannot possibly digest such an idea. Therefore it does not seem unnatural for us to demand that our way of thinking and living be based solely upon those concepts which can be verified as being true.
Going back to the first view regarding ideological commitments, we see that this view contends that we cannot and should not believe in that which we cannot comprehend. The emphasis lies on the word comprehend, and so it must be defined. It is true that one cannot have an adequate mental picture of some mathematical and scientific facts. For example, one cannot have an adequate mental or visual picture of the curvature of space, or one of the mathematical concepts of infinity. Nor can we really have an adequate mental picture of the way in which certain animals experience things, such as the way in which bats 'see' by using ultrasonic waves. However, know these concepts to be true because of solid evidence and not because of some non-rational ideas. Therefore we can say that we do indeed comprehend them.
Now what about the concept of a singular, all-knowing entity which has created the universe. It is impossible to have any mental or visual picture of such an entity, for evidence tells us that this entity must be unlike anything in the universe because this entity must be independent of space and time. The evidence for the existence of this single intelligence lies in the design of nature itself, which we can freely examine; hence, such an ideology is rational. If one realizes this - through confirmation - then one can proceed to answer the question: Why Islam?
One of the main problems with an atheistic ideology is that it cannot explain intelligence in the processes of the universe. Another problem is that it tends to deprive life of meaning. Furthermore, we know that human beings are naturally inclined to be honest; however, in atheism there is a denial of an ultimate originator and of anything beyond death, which creates a contradiction and leads to an inconsistency in behaviour – on the one hand a person would be inclined to be honest, and on the other to be dishonest 'to make the most of this world'. [If everyone insisted on 'making the most of this world', society as we know it would not exist. As a case in point, let us suppose that all those who wanted to 'make the most of this world' resorted to thievery. If this happened, no one would be producing the goods (growing food for instance) that the rest of us could steal. Hence it seems that 'making the most of this world' as system of action is doomed to failure. Could it then be a viable system of belief?]
Broadly speaking, with regard to theistic ideologies we have the revealed, the distorted and the man-made. One can easily say that a way of life communicated to humankind by the creator of this universe is preferred to man-made ideologies. If one wants to follow the advice of that which has made the universe and all that it contains - regarding what is beneficial or harmful - then it is better to refer to pristine communication from this originator, than to that communication which has been fabricated or distorted by man.
Those ideologies claiming to be based on revelations can be subjected to a number of tests, the first and most important of which is that of consistency. We must look for two types of consistency: internal and external. Internal consistency means that a statement made in a book must not contradict another statement in the same book. External consistency means that a statement made in a book must not contradict facts as we know, be they psychological, physical, chemical, historical, geographical, biological and so on. Applying these tests, consider the most important truth that all the supposedly revealed ideologies proclaim, that is, the existence and perfect attributes of God. God for all ideologies, that claim to be revealed, is supposed to be all knowing, all merciful, everlasting etc. However, some books imply that God's knowledge is limited and imperfect by saying that, for example, God was deceived by a human. In contrast, the Quran provides the perfect concept of an all-knowing, singular originator of this universe.
This leads us to the next test - that of authenticity. The question that should be asked is whether the scriptures that we have today are indeed a communication from the originator to humankind. A study of the history of Islam would show that the present Quran is exactly the same as that which was communicated about one thousand four hundred years ago. During its revelation it was committed to memory by a large number of people and also written down.
Yet another test is that of comprehensiveness. A truly comprehensive ideology, revealed to humankind by the designer of the universe, would describe the most beneficial system in all spheres of life including the political, economical, social, medical and environmental spheres.
Lastly, we might look at the test of universality. Clearly, an ideology which is historically or graphically bound is not as good as that which applicable to all human beings, irrespective of the time and place of their origin.
In conclusion, if one uses the criteria of universality, comprehensiveness, authenticity and above all, consistency, one would find the Quran unique and worthy of investigation. It is interesting to note that the Quran itself stresses the above-mentioned approach. For example, in verse 82 of chapter 4, it is said, "Will they not ponder about the Quran? If it had been from other than God, then they would have surely found in it many inconsistencies."
posted by Muslim at 14:11
Islam is your Birthright -WAMY Series on Islam
Mankind and the universe were not created by accident or chance, but according to the plan of the Creator, who is known as Allah (lit.: the one God) in Islam. The Qur'an states that it is the duty of all individuals to learn about Allah and to live according to His will. As we cannot accomplish this be ourselves, Allah has sent messengers and prophets to guide humanity All of these chosen individuals have brought the same message and have served as examples to their people of how Allah desires all human beings to live. Through these selected people, we have been told why mankind was created, what will happen to us after death, and what Allah expects of us. But most importantly, we have been told that Allah is unique-He has no partners, no sons or daughters, and no competitors, as so many other man-made religious systems have postulated. This message always remains the same, whereas the laws laid down for a particular might show some slight differences.
Muhammad, the last of Allah's prophets, was sent to present Allah's revelation in its final form and for the last time. This was necessary because the message delivered by the previous prophets and messengers had been corrupted or distorted by their followers. They had been mixed with philosophical speculations, superstitions, myths, and neglect. Therefore, Islam is not a new religion-it is a restatement of the original religion of Allah in its purest form and is designed to provide humanity with the uncorrupted message of Allah.
Islam is an Arabic word that denotes submission and obedience to Allah. It also means "peace," for it brings peace of mind as well as peace on the individual and the social levels.
THE FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM
In Islam, the term "worship" covers any action that one does in accordance with the will of Allah. It can be mental, physical, spoken, or otherwise. All such actions will be rewarded.
There are five acts of worship that are so fundamental that the Prophet grouped them together as the five pillars of Islam. Every
Muslim is expected to fulfill these obligations. They are:
THE DECLARATION OF MONOTHEISM:
Recognizing and acknowledging the monotheistic nature of Allah stands at the core of Islam. This consists of a public affirmation that "there is no god but Allah (God), and Muhammad is His Messenger." One cannot be a Muslim until he states this fact in the presence of Muslim witnesses.
PRAYERS:
A Muslim must perform the five daily prayers. These must be performed at specific times, corresponding roughly with dawn, noon, afternoon, sunset, and nightfall. The prayers can be made in any clean place, but it is preferable to pray them with others in a mosque, for this communal undertaking acts as a reminder that all Muslims are equal. When many people are praying together, it becomes clear that color, economic status, social position, and all other artificial distinctions have no importance to Allah, for all Muslims are commanded to stand together, shoulder to shoulder, and prostrate themselves before Him. There are no exceptions. Prayers also elevated the individual to a higher level of morality, purifies his heart, and helps him to resist his desire to engage in forbidden activities.
FASTING THE MONTH OF RAMADAN:
Every year during the Muslim month of Ramadan, Muslims abstain from food, drink, and sexual activity from dawn to sunset. While this gives the body a much needed rest and improves ones health by getting rid of excess weight, it also increases ones commitment to Allah, develops his social conscience, and reminds him of how the less fortunate live every day In addition, it strengthens one's patience, self-restraint, will power, and sincerity.
CHARITY (Zakat):
Every Muslim whose net annual savings are above a certain specified minimum must pay an annual amount of 2.5% to the poor and needy This action purifies one's accrued wealth, fosters the quality of sacrifice, and rids him of selfishness and greed. It also helps to reduce resentment and envy between a society's poor and rich classes.
HAJJ (Pilgrimage to Makkah):
Hajj is an act of worship that is to be performed at least once in a lifetime, provided that one is physically and financially able to do so. During this time, Muslims meet from all corners of the world in an international congregation for the sole purpose of responding to the call of Allah. It also reminds the participants that all Muslims are equal, irrespective of their geographical, cultural, or racial origins.
THE ARTICLES OF FAITH
All Muslims believe in:
The oneness of Allah. Allah has no partner, son, daughter, helper, or competitor. There is nothing that even remotely resembles Him, for He is unique.
All of the messengers and prophets of Allah. The Qur'an states that each people has received revelation from Allah in its own tongue so that all individuals know what is required of them. The Qur'an mentions twenty-five of them by name, among them Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Issac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David, Solomon, John, Jesus, and Muhammad. There are, however, many others who are not named. Muhammad, the last prophet, was sent with a universal message meant for all of humanity The message revealed through him is the Qur'an, which is Allah's final presentation of the original revelation received by mankind in its purest form. A Muslim must accept all of Allah's prophets and messengers as legitimate, for denial of one means denial of all. For western readers who are not convinced that Muhammad is a prophet of Allah, proof of this claim can be found in the Bible (Deut. 18:15-18, 33:2-3; Isaiah 29:12; Songs of Solomon 5:16;John 14:1516, 16:12-14) as well as in the biographical accounts of Muhammad's life, which was lived in full view of his contemporaries.
The original messages revealed through Allah's various prophets and messengers. The purest of these is the Qur'an, for it was recorded during the lifetime of the Prophet and under his direct supervision. The revelations mentioned in the Qur'an as having been received by other prophets, such as the Suhuf of Abraham, the Torah of Moses, the Zubur (Psalms) of David, and the Injeel (Bible) of Jesus, have all been either lost or corrupted.
The existence of angels as part of the unseen world. They are spiritual beings who have no need for food, drink, or sleep.
The Day of Judgment. The Qur'an teaches that life is a test for each individual, for everyone must choose whether he will or will not follow the commands of Allah. On this day, a person will be resurrected and asked to account for what he did while he was alive. Those with good records will be rewarded and enter paradise, while those with bad records will be punished by being sent to hell. This belief develops within the individual an awareness of Allah's presence and a desire to obey His laws sincerely and voluntarily
A Muslim believes that nothing happens without the knowledge and permission of Allah. While we may not understand why certain things happens, it is part of the divine plan for our lives.
MUSLIMS: THE MODERATE NATION
Islam does not divide life into "spiritual" and "secular" realms. As all of life is thus unified and interconnected, Islam avoids the dangers of the extreme ritualism, secularism, or materialism that is found in other civilizations. Activities are not classified as belonging to the state or the individual, religion or daily life, but as belonging to Allah alone, Who has provided guidelines for individuals. These are to be followed in every aspect of their lives: individual, social, governmental, political, economical, spiritual, and otherwise Reflecting this moderation, the Qur'an has entitled the Muslims the "moderate nation. "
SOURCES OF ISLAMIC TEACHINGS
The Islamic way of life is based on the teachings and laws found in the Qur'an and the example (Sunnah) of the Prophet Muhammad.
The Qur'an is the word of Allah and was revealed in potions to Muhammad, via the Angel Gabriel, over a twenty-three year period. Each portion was recorded in writing by his official scribes and memorized by thousands of his followers. After his death, the written collection was given to Abu Bark, the first caliph, who oversaw its collection into one volume. The third caliph, Uthman, prepared several copies and sent them to different Muslim territories. Ever since that time, the same version has been used by Muslims. The wording, order, and language have never been altered in the slightest manner. No other book claiming to be a divine revelation can make this claim, and no one has ever been able to refute the claim of the Qur'an to complete authenticity
The Sunnah consists of the teachings, sayings, and actions of Prophet Muhammad. This information was meticulously reported and collected by his Companions. It is essentially an elaboration of the Qur'anic verses that shows how they are to be implemented in one's daily life.
ISLAM: THE RELIGION OF EQUALITY
Islam recognizes no man-made artificial distinctions based on color, tribe, race, nationality, or otherwise. As all people come from the original couple-Adam and Eve-they are all one family and therefore equal before God. What distinguishes people from each other is their commitment to Islam: "The most honored in the sight of Allah is (he who is) most righteous." (Qur'an 3:86).
ISLAM IS YOUR BIRTHRIGHT
Islam states clearly that everyone is born a Muslim and is therefore monotheistic by nature. We read in the Qur'an that humanity has been created with the natural disposition towards the unity of God. This is to be expected, for Allah, who has breathed His spirit into each of us, is Himself the example of perfect unity. In the words of the Prophet Muhammad: "Every person is born with the innate religious faith (to submit to God Almighty)." Thus when an individual accepts Islam, he is not turning his back on any prior revelation but rather is returning to the original and true revelation of Allah and to his own nature as a creation of Allah. This being the case, Islam is your birthright-other religious or ideological systems are either corruptions our outright denials of Islam.
CRITERIA FOR TRUTH
How do you know if your belief system is true? Take a moment to look at the following list.
Are the teachings of your belief system rational? Do they conform to the norms of human reason and intellect?
Is the creator of your belief system perfect? Allah, the creator of Islam, is. . Does your belief system contain superstitions or myths? Islam presents humanity with only true knowledge.
Can your belief system withstand the discoveries and claims of modern science? Islam can and does.
How accurate are your belief system's prophecies and predications? Islam's are always completely accurate.
Could a person have devised your belief system? No one has ever been able to imitate the Qur'an, although many have tried over the centuries.
Islam is not a new religion founded by Muhammad, but a final restatement of the original revelation that has been conveyed to humanity by messengers and prophets sent by Allah for that very purpose: "This day I have perfected your religion for you, completed My favor upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion" (5:3). As the Qur'an is the final revelation and Muhammad is the final prophet, humanity is obligated to accept it: "If anyone desires a religion other than Islam, never will it be accepted of him; and in the Hereafter he will be in the ranks of those who have lost all spiritual good" (3:86).
THE CHOICE IS YOURS TO MAKE!!!
Muhammad, the last of Allah's prophets, was sent to present Allah's revelation in its final form and for the last time. This was necessary because the message delivered by the previous prophets and messengers had been corrupted or distorted by their followers. They had been mixed with philosophical speculations, superstitions, myths, and neglect. Therefore, Islam is not a new religion-it is a restatement of the original religion of Allah in its purest form and is designed to provide humanity with the uncorrupted message of Allah.
Islam is an Arabic word that denotes submission and obedience to Allah. It also means "peace," for it brings peace of mind as well as peace on the individual and the social levels.
THE FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM
In Islam, the term "worship" covers any action that one does in accordance with the will of Allah. It can be mental, physical, spoken, or otherwise. All such actions will be rewarded.
There are five acts of worship that are so fundamental that the Prophet grouped them together as the five pillars of Islam. Every
Muslim is expected to fulfill these obligations. They are:
THE DECLARATION OF MONOTHEISM:
Recognizing and acknowledging the monotheistic nature of Allah stands at the core of Islam. This consists of a public affirmation that "there is no god but Allah (God), and Muhammad is His Messenger." One cannot be a Muslim until he states this fact in the presence of Muslim witnesses.
PRAYERS:
A Muslim must perform the five daily prayers. These must be performed at specific times, corresponding roughly with dawn, noon, afternoon, sunset, and nightfall. The prayers can be made in any clean place, but it is preferable to pray them with others in a mosque, for this communal undertaking acts as a reminder that all Muslims are equal. When many people are praying together, it becomes clear that color, economic status, social position, and all other artificial distinctions have no importance to Allah, for all Muslims are commanded to stand together, shoulder to shoulder, and prostrate themselves before Him. There are no exceptions. Prayers also elevated the individual to a higher level of morality, purifies his heart, and helps him to resist his desire to engage in forbidden activities.
FASTING THE MONTH OF RAMADAN:
Every year during the Muslim month of Ramadan, Muslims abstain from food, drink, and sexual activity from dawn to sunset. While this gives the body a much needed rest and improves ones health by getting rid of excess weight, it also increases ones commitment to Allah, develops his social conscience, and reminds him of how the less fortunate live every day In addition, it strengthens one's patience, self-restraint, will power, and sincerity.
CHARITY (Zakat):
Every Muslim whose net annual savings are above a certain specified minimum must pay an annual amount of 2.5% to the poor and needy This action purifies one's accrued wealth, fosters the quality of sacrifice, and rids him of selfishness and greed. It also helps to reduce resentment and envy between a society's poor and rich classes.
HAJJ (Pilgrimage to Makkah):
Hajj is an act of worship that is to be performed at least once in a lifetime, provided that one is physically and financially able to do so. During this time, Muslims meet from all corners of the world in an international congregation for the sole purpose of responding to the call of Allah. It also reminds the participants that all Muslims are equal, irrespective of their geographical, cultural, or racial origins.
THE ARTICLES OF FAITH
All Muslims believe in:
The oneness of Allah. Allah has no partner, son, daughter, helper, or competitor. There is nothing that even remotely resembles Him, for He is unique.
All of the messengers and prophets of Allah. The Qur'an states that each people has received revelation from Allah in its own tongue so that all individuals know what is required of them. The Qur'an mentions twenty-five of them by name, among them Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Issac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David, Solomon, John, Jesus, and Muhammad. There are, however, many others who are not named. Muhammad, the last prophet, was sent with a universal message meant for all of humanity The message revealed through him is the Qur'an, which is Allah's final presentation of the original revelation received by mankind in its purest form. A Muslim must accept all of Allah's prophets and messengers as legitimate, for denial of one means denial of all. For western readers who are not convinced that Muhammad is a prophet of Allah, proof of this claim can be found in the Bible (Deut. 18:15-18, 33:2-3; Isaiah 29:12; Songs of Solomon 5:16;John 14:1516, 16:12-14) as well as in the biographical accounts of Muhammad's life, which was lived in full view of his contemporaries.
The original messages revealed through Allah's various prophets and messengers. The purest of these is the Qur'an, for it was recorded during the lifetime of the Prophet and under his direct supervision. The revelations mentioned in the Qur'an as having been received by other prophets, such as the Suhuf of Abraham, the Torah of Moses, the Zubur (Psalms) of David, and the Injeel (Bible) of Jesus, have all been either lost or corrupted.
The existence of angels as part of the unseen world. They are spiritual beings who have no need for food, drink, or sleep.
The Day of Judgment. The Qur'an teaches that life is a test for each individual, for everyone must choose whether he will or will not follow the commands of Allah. On this day, a person will be resurrected and asked to account for what he did while he was alive. Those with good records will be rewarded and enter paradise, while those with bad records will be punished by being sent to hell. This belief develops within the individual an awareness of Allah's presence and a desire to obey His laws sincerely and voluntarily
A Muslim believes that nothing happens without the knowledge and permission of Allah. While we may not understand why certain things happens, it is part of the divine plan for our lives.
MUSLIMS: THE MODERATE NATION
Islam does not divide life into "spiritual" and "secular" realms. As all of life is thus unified and interconnected, Islam avoids the dangers of the extreme ritualism, secularism, or materialism that is found in other civilizations. Activities are not classified as belonging to the state or the individual, religion or daily life, but as belonging to Allah alone, Who has provided guidelines for individuals. These are to be followed in every aspect of their lives: individual, social, governmental, political, economical, spiritual, and otherwise Reflecting this moderation, the Qur'an has entitled the Muslims the "moderate nation. "
SOURCES OF ISLAMIC TEACHINGS
The Islamic way of life is based on the teachings and laws found in the Qur'an and the example (Sunnah) of the Prophet Muhammad.
The Qur'an is the word of Allah and was revealed in potions to Muhammad, via the Angel Gabriel, over a twenty-three year period. Each portion was recorded in writing by his official scribes and memorized by thousands of his followers. After his death, the written collection was given to Abu Bark, the first caliph, who oversaw its collection into one volume. The third caliph, Uthman, prepared several copies and sent them to different Muslim territories. Ever since that time, the same version has been used by Muslims. The wording, order, and language have never been altered in the slightest manner. No other book claiming to be a divine revelation can make this claim, and no one has ever been able to refute the claim of the Qur'an to complete authenticity
The Sunnah consists of the teachings, sayings, and actions of Prophet Muhammad. This information was meticulously reported and collected by his Companions. It is essentially an elaboration of the Qur'anic verses that shows how they are to be implemented in one's daily life.
ISLAM: THE RELIGION OF EQUALITY
Islam recognizes no man-made artificial distinctions based on color, tribe, race, nationality, or otherwise. As all people come from the original couple-Adam and Eve-they are all one family and therefore equal before God. What distinguishes people from each other is their commitment to Islam: "The most honored in the sight of Allah is (he who is) most righteous." (Qur'an 3:86).
ISLAM IS YOUR BIRTHRIGHT
Islam states clearly that everyone is born a Muslim and is therefore monotheistic by nature. We read in the Qur'an that humanity has been created with the natural disposition towards the unity of God. This is to be expected, for Allah, who has breathed His spirit into each of us, is Himself the example of perfect unity. In the words of the Prophet Muhammad: "Every person is born with the innate religious faith (to submit to God Almighty)." Thus when an individual accepts Islam, he is not turning his back on any prior revelation but rather is returning to the original and true revelation of Allah and to his own nature as a creation of Allah. This being the case, Islam is your birthright-other religious or ideological systems are either corruptions our outright denials of Islam.
CRITERIA FOR TRUTH
How do you know if your belief system is true? Take a moment to look at the following list.
Are the teachings of your belief system rational? Do they conform to the norms of human reason and intellect?
Is the creator of your belief system perfect? Allah, the creator of Islam, is. . Does your belief system contain superstitions or myths? Islam presents humanity with only true knowledge.
Can your belief system withstand the discoveries and claims of modern science? Islam can and does.
How accurate are your belief system's prophecies and predications? Islam's are always completely accurate.
Could a person have devised your belief system? No one has ever been able to imitate the Qur'an, although many have tried over the centuries.
Islam is not a new religion founded by Muhammad, but a final restatement of the original revelation that has been conveyed to humanity by messengers and prophets sent by Allah for that very purpose: "This day I have perfected your religion for you, completed My favor upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion" (5:3). As the Qur'an is the final revelation and Muhammad is the final prophet, humanity is obligated to accept it: "If anyone desires a religion other than Islam, never will it be accepted of him; and in the Hereafter he will be in the ranks of those who have lost all spiritual good" (3:86).
THE CHOICE IS YOURS TO MAKE!!!
posted by Muslim at 14:09
Question :Why should anyone choose Islam as a religion and as a way of life?
a.. Islam is the rational choice for anyone who wishes to have a faith that does full justice to the demands of the three faculties of man: physical, intellectual and spiritual. Here is a concise listing of Islam's unique features:
1)Islam is the only religion whose sources are authentically preserved and thus remains immaculately free of all human tampering and interpolations.
2)The Islamic scripture is free of mythical elements that are incongruous with modern man's understanding of the world.
3)The Qur'an-the Islamic scripture-is fully compatible with the established facts of science; it clearly contains the signature of the author of the universe-as attested to by many objective seekers of truth, coming as they were from diverse religious and intellectual backgrounds. It also movingly records natural phenomena and enjoins the followers of the faith to respect and preserve nature and the creatures with whom we share the planet.
4)The Qur'an upholds the role of reason and equates those who fail to use their reason as being intellectually imbeciles; this is a far a far cry from the teachings of many religions which assume incompatibility of reason and revelation.
5)Islamic beliefs and practices are simple, natural and appeal to both reason and common sense.
6)In regards to most of the teachings of Islam, their benefits can be easily demonstrated by evidence of the human experience and by the objective observation of facts. Take for instance Islam's ban of alcohol: statistics reveal that abstention from intoxicants alone could spare humanity from untold misery and suffering. The valuable resources squandered for intoxicants can alone solve all poverty related problems of the world. Add
to this, the Islamic pillar of Zakah [Charity]. If only the world's rich were to part with 2.5 % of their excess wealth, humanity would have tackled the problem of poverty very easily.
7)Islam takes into account all of the God-given instincts and faculties of man/woman and therefore gives us a balanced program of life that caters to all of the basic needs of humans - physical, intellectual and spiritual, unlike many religions and ideologies which exaggerate one at the expense of the other.
8)Islam provides for us a living example of such a balanced role model in Prophet Muhammad, whose life, unlike those of the great heroes and prophets of other religions, is an open book easily accessible for anyone.
9)The Islamic story of creation is free of any of the consequences of the stigma of original sin which has weighed heavily in the consciousness of a large segment of humanity, often proving to be highly volatile, and resulting in hysterical explosions in both the individual and collective dimensions.
10)The Qur'an is anti-classical in its approach to knowledge, and stresses experiential knowledge, a fact which combines authentic science with authentic spirituality.
11)The Qur'an provides answers to questions that haunt every intelligent person, questions related to life after death, an area which is almost totally mysterious in other traditions.
12)Islamic teachings about the essential identity of human beings and its stress on human brotherhood can break the barriers separating humans from one another. This can save humanity from the dire consequences of nationalism and racism which tend to break up humanity artificially by creating and sustaining perpetual conflicts.
13)Islam promises us nothing but total freedom, liberation and bliss and the highest fulfillment and contentment that humans are capable of attaining.
14)Islamic history has provided us with a model society where justice, compassion, truth and transparency of justice were implemented at the human and natural levels.
15)Islam dispenses with all intermediaries between man and God and allows all humans to freely contact God, thus eliminating hierarchies and other sources of religious exploitation that has characterized religious history throughout the ages.
posted by Muslim at 14:08
