#Islam is the original message from Allah given to all prophets it is not a new religion

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WHAT IS ISLAM?

What is Islam?

Islam is the largest and fastest growing faith in the world. The word “Islam” is an Arabic word that means “peace, purity, submission and obedience to the will of Almighty God”. The word Islam comes from the Arabic root word “sa-la-ma”, which means peace.

So, the complete meaning of “Islam” is attaining a state of peace by submitting oneself to the Will of Almighty God (Allah or The One); and by definition, one who does this is called a “Muslim” (which also comes from the root word sa-la-ma), meaning someone who has submitted to the Will of Almighty God (a believer).

Unlike the names used for other religions, such as Buddhism, Hinduism and Christianity, the name for the religion of Islam was revealed by Almighty God and carries a deep spiritual meaning – only by submitting one’s will to Almighty God can one truly achieve peace, both in this life and the hereafter. Islam teaches that all religions originally had the same essential message – to believe in One True God and to worship Him and Him alone. Thus, Islam is not a new religion, but in fact it is the same divinely revealed Ultimate Truth that Almighty God revealed to all His prophets:

Adam, Idris (Enoch), Nuh (Noah), Hud, Saleh, Ibrahim (Abraham), Isma’il (Ishmael), Ishaq (Isaac), Lut (Lot), Ya’qub (Jacob), Yousef (Joseph), Shu’aib, Ayyub (Job), Musa (Moses), Harun (Aaron), Dhu’l-kifl (Ezekiel), Dawud (David), Sulaiman (Solomon), Ilias (Elias), Al-Yasa (Elisha), Yunus (Jonah), Zakariyya (Zachariah), Yahya (John), ‘Isa (Jesus) and Muhammad (pbuh), all were prophets of Islam mentioned in the Qur’aan and by Muhammad (pbuh).

“Say (O Muslims): ‘We believe in Allah and that which has been sent down to us and that which has been sent down to Ibrahim (Abraham), Isma’il (Ishmael), Ishaq (Isaac), Ya’qub (Jacob), and to Al-Asbaat [the offspring of the twelve sons of Ya’qub (Jacob)], and that which has been given to Musa (Moses) and ‘Isa (Jesus), and that which has been given to the Prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and to Him we have submitted (in Islam)’.” [Qur’aan 2:136]

Each Prophet had the same message:

“And We did not send any Messenger before you (O Muhammad) but We revealed to him (saying): La ilaha illa Ana (none has the right to be worshiped but I (Allah)), so worship Me (Alone and none else).” [Qur’aan 21:25]

Islam is the religion of Almighty God since the beginning of time – from Adam and Eve ’til the Day of Judgment.

“Truly, the religion with Allah (God) is Islam…” [Qur’aan 3:19]

Who are Muslims?

It is estimated that there are over 1.2 billion Muslims worldwide. There are an estimated 10 million Muslims in America. The Arabic word “Muslim” literally means “someone who submits himself to the will of Almighty God”. The message of Islam is meant for all of mankind and whoever accepts the message of Islam becomes a Muslim. Some people mistakenly believe that Islam 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! The Largest Muslim nation is Indonesia! Even though most Arabs are Muslims, there are Arabs who are Christians, Jews and atheists. If one just takes a look at the various people who live in the Muslim World – from Nigeria to Bosnia and from Morocco to Indonesia – it is easy to see that Muslims come from all different races, ethnic groups and nationalities.

From the very beginning, Islam 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 “Mohammedins” was often used as a label for Muslims. This label is a misnomer and is the result of either willful distortion or sheer ignorance. One of the reasons for the misconception is that Europeans were taught for centuries that Muslims worshiped 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.

**Disclaimer: If you believe that there is One God and that Jesus is not the son of God, but the Prophet of God (and had many mircales) and believe in all the other Prophets of God, the Books of God (in their original form), the Angels of God, Accountability, Life after Death…then by definition, you are a Muslim (a believer).**

How does a person become a Muslim?

One can become a Muslim just by saying and believing, “There is no deity but Almighty God, and Muhammad is the messenger of God.” By this declaration, the person announces faith in all of the prophets/messengers.

What does Allah mean?

Very often one will hear the word “Allah” in regards to Islam. The Arabic name for The Creator of the Universe or Almighty God is Allah, which means “The One” or “The One and Only True God, The First and Last, The Cherisher, The Sustainer, The Creator of the Universe, The Lord of all lords, The King of all kings, The Most Compassionate, The Most Merciful, The Most Forgiving etc.” Allah is the same word used by Arabic speaking Christians and Jews as well. If one were to pick up an Arabic translation of the Bible, one would see the word “Allah” being used where the word “God” is used in English. Actually, the Arabic word for Almighty God, “Allah”, 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 Islam calls all people to the worship of the God of Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and all of the other prophets. In Arabic, Allah is unique in many other ways as well – not only has The Creator acknowledged himself by this name, but also in the Arabic language, this word cannot be gendered nor pluralized, further emphasizing the unique Oneness of Allah.

Who is Muhammad?

Muhammad, the unlettered man, is the last and final messenger send by Almighty God to all of humanity, after Prophet Jesus. Muhammad was a living example of Islam. He explained, interpreted and lived the teachings of Islam through his example. He was the greatest of all prophets mainly because his mission brought more people into the pure belief in to the Oneness of Almighty 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, Prophet Muhammad always emphasized that he was only a human-being tasked with the preaching of Almighty God’s message. He taught Muslims to refer to him as “the Messenger of God and His Slave”.

To Muslims, Muhammad is the best of examples for all people – he was the exemplary prophet, statesman, military leader, ruler, teacher, neighbor, husband, father and friend. Unlike other prophets and messengers, 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 been sent as a mercy to all of mankind. Because people had distorted or forgotten Almighty God’s messages, Almighty God took it upon Himself to protect the message revealed to Muhammad (i.e. Al-Qur’aan). This was because Almighty God promised not to send another messenger after him. Since all of Almighty God’s messengers have preached the message of Islam (i.e. submission to the will of God and the worship of God alone), Muhammad is actually the last prophet of Islam, not the first.

Prophet Muhammad is Prophesized in some of the old scriptures:

Almighty God speaks to Moses in Book of Deuteronomy chapter 18 verse 18:

“I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and I will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.”

The Christians say that this prophecy refers to Jesus (pbuh) because Jesus (pbuh) was like Moses (pbuh). Moses (pbuh) was a Jew, as well as Jesus (pbuh) was a Jew. Moses (pbuh) was a Prophet and Jesus (pbuh) was also a Prophet.

If these two are the only criteria for this prophecy to be fulfilled, then all the Prophets of the Bible who came after Moses (pbuh) such as Solomon, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Malachi, John the Baptist, etc. (pbut) will fulfill this prophecy since all were Jews as well as prophets.

However, it is Prophet Muhammad who is like Moses:

Both had a father and a mother, while Jesus (pbuh) was born miraculously without any male intervention. [Mathew 1:18 and Luke 1:35 and also Al-Qur’aan 3:42-47]

Both were married and had children. Jesus (pbuh) according to the Bible did not marry nor had children.

Both died natural deaths. Jesus (pbuh) has been raised up alive. (4:157-158)

Muhammad (pbuh) is from among the brethren of Moses (pbuh). Arabs are brethren of Jews. Abraham (pbuh) had two sons: Ishmail and Isaac (pbut). The Arabs are the descendants of Ishmail (pbuh) and the Jews are the descendants of Isaac (pbuh).Words in the mouth:

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was unlettered and whatever revelations he received from Almighty God he repeated them verbatim.

“I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.” [Deuteronomy 18:18]

Both besides being Prophets were also kings i.e. they could inflict capital punishment. Jesus (pbuh) said, “My kingdom is not of this world.” (John 18:36).

Both were accepted as Prophets by their people in their lifetime but Jesus (pbuh) was rejected by his people. John chapter 1 verse 11 states, “He came unto his own, but his own received him not.”

Both brought new laws and new regulations for their people. Jesus (pbuh) according to the Bible did not bring any new laws. (Mathew 5:17-18).

It is Mentioned in the book of Deuteronomy chapter 18:19: “And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not harken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.”

Muhammad (pbuh) is prophesised in the book of Isaiah chapter 29 verse 12:

“And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned.”

When Archangel Gabriel commanded Muhammad by saying IQRA – “Read”, he replied, “I am not learned”.

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is mentioned by name in the Song of Solomon chapter 5 verse 16:

“Hikko Mamittakim we kullo Muhammadim Zehdoodeh wa Zehraee Bayna Jerusalem.”

“His mouth is most sweet: yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.” In the Hebrew language im is added for respect. Similarly it is added after the name of Prophet Muhammad to make it Muhammadim.

In English translation they have even translated the name of Prophet Muhammad as “altogether lovely”, but in the Old Testament in Hebrew, the name of Prophet Muhammad is yet present.

“And remember, Jesus, the son of Mary, said, ‘O Children of Israel! I am the messenger of Allah (sent) to you, confirming the Law (which came) before me and giving glad tidings of a messenger to come after me, whose name shall be Ahmed.’ But when he came to them with clear signs, they said, ‘This is evident sorcery!'” [Al-Qur’aan 61:6]

All the prophecies mentioned in the Old Testament regarding Prophet Muhammad besides applying to the Jews also hold good for the Christians.

John chapter 14 verse 16: “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever.”

Gospel of John chapter 15 verse 26: “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which

proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me.”

Gospel of John chapter 16 verse 7: “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; it is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not

come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you”.

“Ahmed” or “Muhammad” meaning “the one who praises” or “the praised one” is almost the translation of the Greek word Periclytos. In the Gospel of John 14:16, 15:26, and 16:7. The word ‘Comforter’ is used in the English translation for the Greek word Paracletos which means advocate or a kind friend rather than a comforter. Paracletos is the warped reading for Periclytos. Jesus actually prophesised Ahmed by name. Even the Greek word Paraclete refers to the Prophet who is a mercy for all creatures.

Some Christians say that the Comforter mentioned in these prophecies refers to the Holy Spirit. They fail to realize that the prophecy clearly says that only if Jesus (pbuh) departs will the Comforter come. The Bible states that the Holy Spirit was already present on earth before and during the time of Jesus, in the womb of Elizabeth, and again when Jesus (pbuh) was being baptized, etc. Hence this prophecy refers to none other than Prophet Muhammad.

Gospel of John chapter 16 verse 12-14: “I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth is come, he will guide you unto all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me”. The Sprit of Truth, spoken about in this prophecy referes to none other than Prophet Muhammad.

Furthermore, Muhammad is also prophesized in many other religious texts (Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Zoroastrianism etc., like in the Bhavishya Purana, the hindu scripture:

According to Bhavishya Purana in the Prati Sarag Parv III Khand 3 Adhay 3 Shloka 5 to 8:

“A malecha (belonging to a foreign country and speaking a foreign language) spiritual teacher will appear with his companions. His name will be Mohammad. Raja (Bhoj) after giving this Maha Dev Arab (of angelic disposition) a bath in the Panchgavya and the Ganga water (i.e. purifying him of all sins) offered him the present of his sincere devotion and showing him all reverence said, “I make obeisance to thee. O ye! The pride of mankind, the dweller in Arabia, Ye have collected a great force to kill the Devil and you yourself have been protected from the malecha opponents.”

reference: www.irf.net

What are the 5 Pillars of Islam and what are the teachings of Islam?

Ibn Umar narrates that the Prophet Muhammad said: “Islam is built on five (pillars): the testimony that there is no god except Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah; establishing prayer; paying zakah; fasting in Ramadaan; and Hajj to the House (the Ka”bah).” [Bukhari, 8; Muslim, 16]



The Declaration of Faith – This consists of the two sentence declaration:

Ashadu an laa ilaha illallaah wa Ashadu ana MuhammadurRasoolullah (I bear witness that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah).

Prayer – Muslims perform five obligatory prayers each day. Islamic prayers are a direct link between the worshiper and Almighty God. Islam has no hierarchical authority or priesthood. A learned Muslim chosen by each congregation leads the prayers.

Zakah – One of the most important principles of Islam is that all things belong to God and that wealth is held in trust by human beings. Zakat, or charitable giving, “purifies” wealth by setting aside a portion for those in need. This payment is usually two and a half percent of one’s capital.

Fasting in the Month of Ramadan – Every year in the Islamic lunar month of Ramadan, Muslims fast from before sunrise until sunset. The fast is another method of self-purification.

Pilgrimage or Hajj – A pilgrimage to Mecca, or Hajj, is an obligation for those who are physically, mentally and/or financially able to do so.

The foundation of the Islamic faith ultimately is the belief in the Oneness of Almighty 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. Believing in the Oneness of Almighty God means much more than simply believing that there is “One God”, as opposed to two, three or four. Islam 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 Almighty God cannot deal with and forgive His creatures directly. By over-emphasizing the burden of sin, as well as claiming that God cannot forgive you directly, other religions teach to despair 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 Almighty God only to get closer to Him. In Islam, 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 worshiped. Some religions falsely believe that Almighty 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 Almighty 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 Absolute, 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 He 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. A logical corollary to the Islamic belief in the Oneness of God is the belief in the oneness of mankind and humanity.

What is the Qur’aan?



Al-Qur’aan literally means “the recitation”. It is the final revelation, the exact words of the will of Almighty God 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, Coran, or Quran, was relayed to the Prophet’s companions and memorized verbatim, being 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 memorized 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’raan is a living miracle in the Arabic language; and is known to be inimitable in its style, form and spiritual impact. Almighty 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’raan 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 the lifetime of the Prophet, and numerous companions of the Prophet memorized 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 Almighty God’s word and, due to wide-spread memorization, 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 Noah, Abraham, 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.

How Do Muslims View the Nature of Man, the Purpose of Life & the Life Hereafter?

Every creation, phenomenon, being in the entire universe obeys according to the Law and Rules established by Almighty God or in the state of Islam. The only creation of Almighty God that has been endowed with a choice is mankind and jinn. Mankind and Jinn possess quality of intellect and choice, and as a result will be held accountable for the choices he makes; whether to submit to the good will of Almighty God or become disobedient and denying of “The Sustainer” of the universe.

If a person chooses by his own choice and free-will to submit himself to the good will (obeying and submitting) of Almighty God, by becoming a Muslim, it is the best safeguard for man’s peace and harmony in attaining the Eternal Paradise. However, mankind also has the choice to deny Almighty God or his Oneness, by worshiping things, beings, deities other than Almighty God, and for him is prepared the painful chastisement.

The message of Islam is “There is no deity of worship except Allah (swt) and Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the final messenger and slave of Allah (swt). To convey this message of “Oneness of Allah (swt)”, Allah (swt) sent messengers and prophets from amongst the people with miracles to guide the people on the straight path.

As it is state in The Qur’aan:

“He has ordained for you the same religion which He ordained for Noah, and that which We have revealed to you (Muhammad) and that which We ordained for Abraham, Moses, and Jesus, saying that you should establish religion and make no divisions in it.” [Qur’aan 42:13];

and

“Muhammad is not the father of any one of your men, but he is the Messenger of God and the last of the prophets.” [Qur’aan 33:40]

The purpose of life is to worship Allah (swt) in our every day life. Worshiping Allah (swt) does not mean that we spend our entire life in constant seclusion and absolute meditation. To worship Allah (swt) is to live our lives in accordance to His commands from The Qur’aan and the way and example of the final messenger of Allah (swt), Muhammad (pbuh). For example, worshiping Allah (swt) means to:Â love him, obey him, to enjoin the good and forbid the evil for His sake, to be kind to one’s parents, to be generous to the poor, to feed the hungry, to maintain kinship, to be just, to fight oppression, to give in His cause, to beautify the earth and maintain cleanliness, and to abstain from all things forbidden (etc).

As it states in the Qur’aan:

“You are the best of peoples ever raised up for mankind, you enjoin Al-Ma’ruf (all that is good) and forbid what is Al-Munkar (all that is evil), and you believe in Allah” [Qur’an 3:110]

“Say, (O Muhammad) If you love Allah, then follow me, Allah will love you and will forgive your sins; Indeed Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.” [Qur’aan 3:31]

In Summary

The teachings of Islam encompass all aspects of life and ethics. God-consciousness is encouraged in all human affairs. Islam makes it very clear that all human acts are acts of worship if they are done for Almighty God alone and in accordance to His Divine Law. As such, worship in Islam is not limited to religious rituals. The teachings of Islam act as a mercy and a healing for the human soul, and such qualities as humility, sincerity, patience and charity are strongly encouraged. Additionally, Islam condemns pride and self-righteousness, since Almighty God is the only judge of human righteousness. The Islamic 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.

Islam also teaches that faith and action go hand-in-hand. Almighty 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 Almighty God in His Wisdom, and it is not inherently “corrupt” or in need of repair. This is because the doors of repentance are 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 Islamic life is established by having a healthy fear of Almighty God as well as a sincere belief in His infinite Mercy. A life without fear of Almighty 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, Islam teaches that: only the misguided (people) despair of the Mercy of their Lord.

“Say: ‘O ‘Ibadi (My slaves) who have transgressed against themselves (by committing evil deeds and sins)! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah, verily Allah forgives all sins. Truly, He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. [Al-Qur’aan 39:53]

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 Judgment. Thus, Muslims believe that all human beings will ultimately be judged by Almighty 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. It suffices to say that Islam teaches that life is a test, and that all human beings will be accountable before Almighty God. Belief in the life hereafter can lead one to 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.

Come and accept our invitation to become a Muslim today! To testify your belief in Islam, say the following:

Ashadu an laa ilaha illallaah wa Ashadu ana MuhammadurRasoolullah (I bear witness that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah).

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[exploringislamjourney]

More Alleged Contradictions #10

Does Allah speak directly with people?

a. No (42:51)

b. Yes, various Moses, Adam, Muhammad, and some unknown person (4:164, 2:36, 53:11, 2:259)

42:51: It is not possible for a human being to have God communicate with them, except through inspiration, or from behind a veil, or by sending a messenger-angel to reveal whatever He wills by His permission. He is surely Most High, All-Wise.

4:164: There are messengers whose stories we have told you already and others We have not. And to Moses God spoke directly.

2:36: But Satan deceived them---leading to their fall from the blissful state they were in, and We said, "Descend from the heavens to the earth as enemies to each other. You will find in the earth a residence and provisions for your appointed stay."

53:11: The Prophet's heart did not doubt what he saw.

2:259: Or are you not aware of the one who passed by a city which was in ruins. He wondered, "How could God bring this back to life after its destruction?" So God caused him to die for a hundred years then brought him back to life. God asked, "How long have you remained in this state?" he replied, "Perhaps a day or part of a day." God said, "No! You have remained here for a hundred years! Just look at your food and drink---they have not spoiled. But now look at the remains of your donkey! And so We have made you a sign for humanity. And look at the bones of the donkey, how We bring them together then clothe them with flesh!" When this was made clear to him, he declared, "Now I know that God is Most Capable of everything."

Footnote(s) for 2:36:

"13: Both Adam and Eve were deceived, both sinned, and both were later forgiven. There is no concept of original sin in Islam.

14: i.e.: humans and Satan."

Footnote(s) for 2:259:

"109: Bringing the donkey back to life."

The references to prophets are out, because they weren't just any other people. Ezra is the "unknown" in 2:259, and he seems to have been chosen by God, setting him apart. And since Muhammad was the last messenger, revelations cannot be given from anyone else. Chronologically, however, 42:51 comes in second, which doesn't rule out direct communication due to Muhammad being the last messenger. Contextually, Moses was the only one honored with direct communication, while God likely appears otherwise to deliver messages. Although a shaky stance when it comes to literal language, I don't see a contradiction here.

[aalimlearning]

WHAT ARE THE SIX ARTICLES OF FAITH IN ISLAM?

Every Muslim must adhere to and uphold the six Articles of Faith, which are the fundamental principles of Islam. The foundation of Islam is comprised of these tenets of belief, which embody the central messages of the Quran and the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). The Six Articles of Faith are covered comprehensively in this blog article.

 Six Articles of Faith are:

Belief in Allah

Belief in angels

Belief in holy books

Belief in the prophets 

Belief in the Day of Judgement and the afterlife

Belief in divine decree (Qadr)

Now let’s discuss these articles of faith in detail.

Belief in Allah

The fundamental Islamic belief that there is only one God, Allah, is known as tawhid. We Muslims hold that the world and everything in it were created by Allah. We also hold the belief that Allah is merciful, all-knowing, and all powerful. Muslims must venerate Allah alone and not equate Him with any other beings.

2.            Belief in Angels

Angels are one of the creations of Allah, who are sinless and obey all the commandments of Allah without any questions. We human beings are created from mud, but angels are created from light. Allah has given different  duties for the angels. All angels will always obey Allah and perform their duties in the perfect way. Among men, there are good and bad men, but among angels, there are no bad angels. All of them are good; they always obey Allah, worship Allah, and praise Allah.  Moreover, we can't see angels, but angels can see us. So, believing in the existence of this kind of a creation of Allah is obligatory for all Muslims.

3.            Belief in Holy books

We Muslims believe that Allah sent different prophets to different parts of the world. All the prophets preached to people to worship Allah alone. Allah has given some books to selected prophets. These books are the guide for men. Allah gave the Quran to our beloved Prophet Muhammed (s).

The following are some of the books given to prophets.

Thorahath - Musa (a)

Zaboor - Davood (a)

Injeel -Isa (a)

Quran - Muhammed (s)

We Muslims believe in all the above holy books. But, currently, these books are not available in their original text. Only the Quran is available as revealed by Allah, and this Quran is the last and final revelation to mankind.

4.            Believe in prophets of Allah

Allah has sent different prophets to mankind to teach them about Allah. All prophets teach people to worship Allah alone.

Allah sent thousands of prophets, but only 25 prophets' names are mentioned in the Quran.

The following are some of the prophets among those 25:

Adam (a)           

Nooh (a)      

Swalih (a) 

Looth (a)    

Davood (a)    

Sulaiman (a)     

Ibraheem (a)

Ismail (a)

Musa (a)

Esa (a)

Muhammed (s)

So, being Muslims, we should believe and respect all the prophets. That is a part of our faith.

Also, we believe that Prophet Muhammed (s) is the last and final prophet, and there is no more prophet to come after him.

5.  Belief in the Day of Judgement and the afterlife

We should believe that there will be a day of judgement, and on that day, Allah will question all the human beings who have lived in this world from the first born to the last born. On that day, if we have done more good deeds, Allah will give us Jannah, and if we have done more bad deeds, Allah will give us Hell. So we should always be careful to obey and follow the commandments of Allah and live as per the teachings of the prophet Muhammad (s). May Allah unite us in Jannah.

6. Belief in Qadr (divine decree) 

Qadr (divine decree) means the will of Allah. We Muslims believe that the divine decree (Qadr) controls the outcome of all actions in this universe. Allah has knowledge of everything, past, present, and future, and that everything happens according to His will. This means that Allah has already predetermined all good and bad deeds in our lives. As a result, we should not curse or blame Allah for anything bad that has happened in our lives.

So, believing in all these six articles of faith is obligatory for every Muslim to affirm in the religion. These articles of faith provide a framework for Muslims to understand their purpose in life and guide them towards the path of righteousness and worship of Allah. 

Importance of learning and understanding 6 articles of faith

We should also convey the importance of believing these articles of faith to the growing generations. It will definitely help them succeed in both worlds. It is the foundation of Islamic education. We will help you to give your kids Islamic education and guide them to a straight path. 

We will also ensure that they understood the concept and have designed our curriculum in a way that students can practice what they have learned.

How can we help you learn and understand the messages Quran?

Aalim learning app provides an individual online madrasa program. We also help students and adults to learn Quran and Islamic studies in your preferred languages at your convenient time.

Our online quran learning program helped hundreds of students globally, Al hamdu lillah. Besides learning quran online we teach Arabic, Islamic studies, Tajweed, Duas , History, Fiqhe, Quranic Arabic and Meaning of Quran.

How are classes for kids?

For students Unlike conventional group online madrasa classes, we are providing individual online madrasa classes so that we can ensure high personal attention. 

How are classes for adults?

For adults we provide video lessons and track progress via personal interactions so that adults can learn at their own preferred time and speed.

[wisdomrays]

The Messenger of God: Muhammad: Part 116

Factors in Their Greatness: Part 1

Relation to Messengership.

Prophethood is greater than sainthood, and Messengership is greater than Prophethood. Every Prophet is a saint, but no saint is a Prophet. Although every Messenger is a Prophet, not every Prophet is simultaneously a Messenger. Prophet Muhammad is the last and greatest Prophet and Messenger. The Companions are related directly to his Messengership and connected with him on account of his Messengership. All who come after the Prophet, however great they may be, are connected with him on account of sainthood only. Therefore, a Companion is greater than a saint to the degree that Messengership is greater than sainthood (the distance between them cannot be measured).

The benefits of company.

Nothing can compare with the enlightenment and spiritual exhilaration gained from a Prophet's actual presence or company. No amount of reading what an intellectual, especially a spiritual, master has written can benefit you as much as learning directly from a Prophet. Thus the Companions, particularly those who were with him most often and from the very beginning, benefited so much that they were elevated from crude, ignorant, and savage desert people to the rank of being humanity's religious, intellectual, spiritual, and moral guides until the Last Day.

To be a Companion, one would have to go back to the Makka or Madina of the seventh century ce, listen to the Messenger attentively and observe him speaking, walking, eating, fighting, praying, prostrating, and so on. Since this is impossible, no one can attain the rank of the Companions, who were endowed with Divine coloring in the Messenger's presence.

Truthfulness.

Islam is based on truthfulness and the absence of lies. The Companions embraced Islam in its original, pristine purity. For them, being a Muslim meant abandoning all previous vices, being purified in the radiant atmosphere of Divine Revelation, and embodying Islam. They would rather die than tell a lie. The Messenger once declared that if apostasy were as repugnant to a person as entering fire, then that person must have tasted the pleasure of belief. The Companions tasted this pleasure and, being sincere Muslims, could not lie, as this was almost as serious as apostasy. We have trouble understanding this point fully, for people in our own time regard lying and deceit as skills, and almost all virtues have been replaced by vices.

The atmosphere created by Revelation.

The Companions were honored with being the first to receive the Divine Messages through the Prophet. Every day they were given original messages and invited to a new "Divine table" full of the ever-fresh "fruits" of Paradise. Every day they experienced radical changes in their lives, were elevated closer to God's Presence, and increased in belief and conviction. They found themselves in the verses of the Qur'an, and could learn directly whether or not God approved of their actions.

For example, whenever and wherever: Those who are with him are hard against the unbelievers, merciful one to another. You see them bowing, prostrating, seeking blessing from God and good pleasure. Their mark is on their faces, the trace of prostration (48:29) was revealed, eyes turned primarily to Abu Bakr, 'Umar, 'Uthman, and 'Ali. After all, they were famous for being with the Messenger from the very beginning, their hardness toward unbelievers, their mercy to fellow Muslims, and for frequent and long bowing and prostration before God while seeking His good pleasure.

When: Among the believers are men who were true to their covenant with God; some of them have fulfilled their vow by death, and some are still awaiting, and they have not changed in the least (33:23) was recited, everyone remembered the martyrs of Uhud, especially Hamza, Anas ibn Nadr, and 'Abd Allah ibn Jahsh, as well as others who had promised God to give their lives willingly in His Way.

While God explicitly mentioned Zayd ibn Haritha in: So when Zayd had accomplished what he would of her ... (33:37), [1] He declared in 48:18 that He was well pleased with the believers when they swore fealty to the Messenger under a tree during the expedition of Hudaybiya.

In such a blessed, pure, and radiant atmosphere, the Companions practiced Islam in its original fullness and pristine purity, based on deep perception, profound insight, and knowledge of God. So, even an ordinary believer who is aware of the meaning of belief and connection with God, and who is trying to practice Islam sincerely, can grasp some glimpse of the purity of the first channel through which the Sunna was transmitted to the next generation.

The difficulty of the circumstances.

The reward of a deed changes according to the circumstances in which it is done and the purity of the doer's intention. Striving in the way of God in such severe circumstances as fear, threats, and shortage of necessary equipment, and purely for His sake, is far more rewarding than the same action performed in a free and promising atmosphere.

The Companions accepted and defended Islam in the severest circumstances imaginable. The opposition was extremely inflexible and unpitying. In Muhyi al-Din ibn al-'Arabi'a Musamarat al-Abrar, Abu Bakr is reported to have told 'Ali after the Prophet's death that the early Companions did not go out except at the risk of their lives-they always feared that a dagger would be thrust at them. Only God knows how many times they were insulted, beaten, and tortured. Those who were weak and enslaved, such as Bilal, 'Ammar, and Suhayb, were tortured almost to death. Young people like Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas and Mus'ab ibn 'Umayr, were beaten, boycotted, and imprisoned by their families.

Yet none of them ever thought of recanting or opposing the Messenger. For the sake of God, they forsook everything they had-their homes, native lands, and belongings-and emigrated. The believers of Madina welcomed them enthusiastically, protected them, and shared with them everything they had. They fulfilled their covenant with God willingly, sold their goods and souls to God in exchange for belief and Paradise, and never broke their word. This gained them so high a rank in the view of God that no one can attain it until the Last Day.

The severity of circumstances, along with other factors, made the Companions' belief strong and firm beyond compare. For example, the Messenger once entered the mosque and saw Harith ibn Malik sleeping there. He woke him up. Harith said: "May my father and mother be sacrificed for your sake, O Messenger of God! I am ready to carry out your orders!" The Messenger asked him how he had spent the night. Harith answered: "As a true believer." The Messenger said: "Everything that is true must have a truth (proving it). What is the truth of your belief?" Harith replied: "I fasted during the day and prayed to my Master in utmost sincerity all night long. Now I am in a state as if I were seeing the Throne of my God and the recreation of the people of Paradise in Paradise." The Messenger concluded: "You have become an embodiment of belief."

The Companions became so near to God that "God was their eyes with which they saw, their ears with which they heard, their tongues with which they spoke, and their hands with which they held."

[khutbahs]

Islam 101: Understanding the misunderstood religion

Currently, the Islamic faith is under tremendous scrutiny from all sides. I often suspect that pundits who deliver their ideological quips regarding my faith do not have much in the way of direct experience nor understanding when it comes to this tender subject. The purpose of this column is to communicate information on the needlessly enigmatic subject of Islam.

Islam is a popular religion. The faith has nearly 1.6 billion practitioners — thus making it the second most practiced religion behind Christianity. Nearly 23 percent of the world is Muslim. The faith is currently growing at a rate that is believed to be the fastest among all major belief systems. Unfortunately, the previous sentence might give some readers cause for alarm. However, these impulses might be neutralized with increased exposure to Muslims and knowledge of the Islamic faith.

The word "Islam" in Arabic means submission. Muslims are those who submit to Allah (“God”). The faith is not named after a particular people, like Judaism, or a particular individual, like Christianity.

Interesting side note: the word “God” is derived from the old Germanic word “Gott” or “Gud," meaning “to invoke or sacrifice to.” Knowing as much as we know about Jesus, or "Isa" in Arabic, he most likely never referred to his deity as “God.” However, there is ample evidence that the namesake he used for his deity had a pronunciation closer to “AaLaH” or “AlaHa," a generic root word for “God” in Aramaic.

The necessary beliefs in Islam are of Allah, the angels, the Quran (Islamic holy scripture), the prophets, the Last Day (day of judgement) and the afterlife. A pivotal belief in Islam is that there is an inherent separation between the Creator and the creation. In Islam, Allah is the one creator and deity, and his creations possess no holiness or supreme powers. This logic is extended to all of the prophets. We believe that the prophets were humans of the highest character and piety, yet they were not worthy of worship.

Also, since no humans hold holiness, we see no need to confess our sins to men, or to seek spiritual endowment from anyone other than Allah. Allah states in the Quran that He rewards good behaviors, among the most frequently mentioned of these are speaking the truth, being kind to family, honoring parents, giving charity, feeding the poor, freeing slaves and studying. Allah also states in the Quran that He punishes bad behaviors; among these are the worship of idols, stealing from orphans, disobeying one’s parents, cheating on one’s spouse, giving false testimony, committing murder or suicide, or enslaving a free person.

Interesting fact: the words "heaven" and "hell" are both repeated in the Quran exactly 77 times.

There is a profound degree of weight in Islam’s messages and, like all powerful messages, they can be used for depravity in the wrong hands. Many men, as we have seen throughout history, exploit feelings of fear, passion and awe to achieve the same old patriarchal end goals: autocracy, the subjugation of women and the suppression of freedom. This has happened with other faiths and other cultures, although Islam does not necessarily promote a single culture. The fault is not in the faith itself, but in the individual practitioners and the misguided outsiders.

This assertion is shared by top United States security officials. Current United States National Security Adviser Lt. Gen. H. R. McMaster states that terrorists are “un-Islamic” and that we should avoid the term “radical Islamic terrorism” because it is inaccurate.

In my opinion, the best way to neuter terrorism by self-proclaimed Muslims is to ensure that the majority of Muslims around the world have ensured human dignity and fair treatment. When groups of people feel that they are under attack, they tend to lose objectivity and are more prone to radicalization. When Muslims see the injustices being carried out in places like Syria, Palestine and Iraq, it causes many of them — us — to feel demoralized, threatened or resentful.

Under these conditions, the most brutal and archaic of voices in the Muslim world are granted credibility. This phenomenon is present across all societies, including the United States. The brutality here perhaps is not on the level of the Middle East, but neither is the perceived threat among the citizenry. Canada, in the minds of radicals, has issued the Muslim world few sleights, and as a result, their nation has experienced considerably fewer terror attacks than other western nations. Terrorism is unacceptable under any circumstance, but we would be wise to understand and limit its causes.

Back to discussing the faith itself — in Islam, practice is based upon five essential pillars:

Shahada: to declare one's belief in Allah and the prophetic role of Muhammad.

Salah: to pray five times a day (dawn, noon, afternoon, sunset and evening).

Zakat: to give charity to those in need.

Sawn: to fast from food, liquids and other bodily pleasures during daylight hours in the month of Ramadan.

Hajj: to make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in a lifetime if it is physically and financially feasible.

Some other interesting nuggets pertaining to the practice of Islam:

Abstinence is to be practiced until marriage.

Mind-altering substances are prohibited.

The consumption of swine is prohibited.

While Islam is a strict faith compared to many other belief systems, an often under-communicated aspect of our faith is the great mercy of our Creator. Two epithets that we regularly use for Allah are “Al Rahman” and “Al Raheem," which translate to “the most compassionate” and “the most merciful.” Human beings sin, naturally — Allah understands, and He rewards our struggle and attempts at self-improvement. In fact, it could be said that Allah grades on a curve. The more difficult our fight to righteousness, the greater our reward with Him in the end.

A source of grave misunderstanding regarding the Islamic faith concerns the word "jihad," which literally means “struggle.” The concept of jihad revolves around a struggle for the greater good and the study, practice and preaching of Islam. Unfortunately, in the term’s original usage, there was a lot of room left for interpretation. While both suicide and murder are explicitly listed as some of the worst sins in our entire faith, many people imagine that some gruesome combination of the two ensures paradise and 72 virgins — I can assure you quite the contrary.

There are many ways to fight for the greater good; in fact, I hope I am enacting jihad right now.

Also, many people assume that the Islamic faith is hostile toward the world’s other religions. This is not so. Our Quran reads, “Rest assured that Believers (Muslims), Jews, Christians and Sabians — whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day and performs good deeds — will be rewarded by their Lord; they will have nothing to fear or to regret (22.40).” The Prophet’s life mission, endowed upon him by his Creator, was to spread the word of Islam. Yet, when it came to the sizable Jewish community right in Madinah, he established a peace agreement with them and allowed them to continue practicing their religion in peace.

In a letter to the Christian king of Abyssinia, he ends, "I have conveyed the message and now it is up to you to accept it. Once again, peace be upon him who follows the true guidance.” He employed no harassment — and he was the Prophet. Muslims believe that they know the truth, when people believe they know a truth that others do not, they like to get others up to speed. However, many Muslims around the world today would be wise to remember the Prophet’s gentle and earnest ways.

Another source of misunderstanding regarding the Islamic faith revolves around the female usage of hijab — a garment often worn to cover hair. Many in the West have made the argument that the hijab and the burka, a garment that covers nearly the full female body, are instruments of female subjugation. While it is true that some men, like in all societies, attempt to levy control over what the women in their proximity wear, I would argue that the original and true purpose of these garments was to conduce female humility and equality.

Last time I checked, men like to see what women look like — and as candidly as possible. This ogling can have adverse effects for women, including the inciting of passions in unwanted onlookers and the disregard for female cognitive and personal abilities. Islamic scholar Muhammad al-Bukhari states that “a woman is married for her deen (piety), her wealth or her beauty. You must go for the one with deen.” This quote expresses that the quality of a woman should be determined by her character, rather than her beauty or wealth. Martin Luther King Jr. expressed his view on the very meaning of human equality when he stated that his children should “not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” Humility is an essential value in our faith, and it is not only mandated in the dress of females. Males must stay covered from their shoulders to their knees and refrain from accessorizing with gold or silk.

Contrary to the beliefs of many, Islam since the beginning has mandated women’s rights. In Islam, women have a right to property, education, lawsuit initiation, divorce initiation, alimony and suffrage. Also, falsely slandering a woman’s reputation is a grave sin — as well as spousal abuse and forced marriage. Our beloved Prophet’s own wife, Khadija, could arguably be seen as an original proponent of feminism. She was a reputable businesswoman who traded goods from Mecca to Yemen, had a history of turning down marriage proposals, asked the Prophet to marry her, gave charitably and was the very first person to accept Islam after our Prophet. We revere her.

Interesting fact: the words “man” and “woman” are both repeated in the Quran exactly 23 times.

I will end this article with 

Translations of some popular Muslim phrases:

Assalam Alaikom — “Peace be upon you.” — This phrase is a common greeting.

Allahu Akbar — “Allah is great.” — This phrase can be said out loud or simply thought of on a regular basis.

Alhamdulillah — “Praise be to Allah.” — This phrase is commonly used to express satisfaction with life.

Inshallah — “If Allah wills.” — This phrase is commonly used when Muslims plan or ponder future events.

Bismillah — “In the name of Allah.” — This phrase is commonly used before a Muslim starts something.

Subhanallah — “Glory to Allah.” — This phrase is commonly used to express amazement in regard to things.

Mashallah — “God has willed.” — This phrase is commonly used to express amazement in regard to human achievement.

La ilaha illa Allah — “There is no god but Allah.” — This phrase can used at any time.

[questionsonislam]

What does “The promised land” that exists in Jewish belief mean? To whom was this land promised and how?

The way of learning when, where, to whom and under what conditions the promised land was promised is to look at the book of the One that promised it.

The only book that is known to belong to Allah and that reached us without any letter or word being changed is the Quran. Both Jews and Christians accept that the Torah and the Gospel contained in the Bible were revealed by Allah but they were not preserved in their original form, that they were changed, that some parts of them were lost and that some words of the prophets and others were included in them. Therefore, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said, “When the People of the Book bring you some information, do not approve or deny it; say, ‘we believe in what Allah sent and we do not believe in what He did not send.’” Accordingly, it is necessary to compare the information and news in the books that the People of the Book have with the Quran and the Sunnah, and to accept and confirm the ones that are in accordance with the Quran and the Sunnah and to regard those that are not in accordance with them as having the possibility of being both true and wrong equally unless they are contrary to the Quran and the Sunnah.

Let us deal with the issue of “the promised land”, which the Zionists always keep on the agenda and exploit, based on the method explained above. The issue is mentioned in both the Quran and the Old Testament (the Torah) in the books of Numbers and Deuteronomy:

“Remember Moses said to his people: ‘O my people! Call in remembrance the favor of Allah unto you, when He produced prophets among you, made you kings, and gave you what He had not given to any other among the peoples. O my people! Enter the holy land which Allah hath assigned unto you, and turn not back ignominiously, for then will ye be overthrown, to your own ruin.’” (al-Maida: 5/20-21).

According to the two verses above, the promised land being recorded as homeland for Sons of Israel (this promise and determination of Allah) is not forever and it depends on some conditions. The evidence that it is not forever and that it is about the age when Hz. Musa (Moses) lives is the expression in verse 20: Allah gave them a lot of boons; some of those boons had not been given to any individuals or communities in the world before; the holy land given to them as their homeland is among them. In the ages that followed, Allah gave other nations the boons that He did not give to Sons of Israel.

Besides, this promise is based on a condition because for the realization of this promise, it was laid as a condition in verse 21 and in the verses following it that Sons of Israel would deserve it and that they would make sacrifices for it. Allah punished them and made them live in a narrow region for forty years by prohibiting them from entering that land because they did not fulfill that condition. Sons of Israel lived there afterwards as long as they deserved it in terms of having power and high ethics; when they did not deserve it, the same place became homeland for other communities.

According to the information given in the book of Deuteronomy in the Torah, the promised land was not promised to Sons of Israel only; besides, it is not the land of today’s Palestine and Palestine in the past only. The promised land includes Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and part of Anatolia up to the basin of Euphrates. The communities that were promised this land were determined by the following sentences in Deuteronomy: “See, I have given you this land. Go in and take possession of the land the Lord swore he would give to your fathers—to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—and to their descendants after them.”

The last Prophet Muhammad Mustafa (pbuh) is a descendant of Hz. Ibrahim (Abraham) coming from his son, Ismail; thus, the Muslims, who are his ummah, have the right to own and settle in the holy land promised by Allah if they fulfill the conditions. This is a historical fact and this land was conquered by the Muslims during the caliphate of Hz. Umar and became part of the Islamic land.

The Quran explains the ethical and legal conditions of having the right of owning and settling in a part of the earth, all of which belongs to Allah, as follows:

“(They are) those who have been expelled from their homes in defiance of right,- (for no cause) except that they say, "our Lord is Allah". Did not Allah check one set of people by means of another, there would surely have been pulled down monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques, in which the name of Allah is commemorated in abundant measure. Allah will certainly aid those who aid his (cause);- for verily Allah is full of Strength, Exalted in Might, (able to enforce His Will). (They are) those who, if We establish them in the land, establish regular prayer and give regular charity, enjoin the right and forbid wrong: with Allah rests the end (and decision) of (all) affairs.” (al-Hajj: 22/40-41).

Freedom of religion and conscience existed in the places where Muslims were dominant throughout history; churches and synagogues were open along with mosques; the name of Allah was mentioned and people conducted religious ceremonies and worshipped there. People were not oppressed because their religions, races, colors, hometowns and talents were different. People were given equal opportunities. However, Zionists transformed racism into a religion. They regard themselves as special slaves of Allah and other people as cows to milk and slaves to use. They transgress and violate the material and spiritual values of the communities other than themselves and their existence by regarding all means as legitimate. They do not give others the right to live and worship in the promised land, where they settled through blood and tricks, and they turn a deaf ear to the agonies of the people that they expel. Allah will definitely not allow them to have the promised land as their homeland because the qualities of those who deserve to live there and to mention Allah are explained in both their books and the Quran, which is the criterion for the trueness of all books; Allah states the following in the Quran:

“Before this We wrote in the Psalms, after the Message (given to Moses): My servants the righteous, shall inherit the earth.” (al-Anbiya: 21/105).

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

Are there any clear signs that the verses that a Muslim is quoting are from PURPOSEFULLY toned down/sanitized translations of the Quran? I know that more modern translations of the book were purposefully altered and mistranslated to appear more progressive/less violent than the original book and earlier translations were. I just am still having difficultly with identifying when a Muslim is quoting these altered, modern translations versus the older, more accurate/true translations of the Quran.

I think a good way to approach this would be to ask them which translation they’re quoting. You can then check out the history of English translations of the quran to see who translated it, when, and what their intent was.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_translations_of_the_Quran

You can also keep an eye on whether the person is jumping from one translation to another to find the least-worst interpretation.

There’s a couple of things I think you can look for. Firstly, look for addenda given in brackets. In some cases, the addenda explains the context, e.g. in 4:34. “and (lastly) beat them”. In others, it changes the context. e.g. in the same verse: “and finally hit them [lightly].” If it changes it, I’d be suspicious of it being a modernization.

You can also open the verse into multiple translations. These sites let you display in many translations simultaneously: 

http://quranx.com

https://al-quran.info

Look for where a very direct word has been replaced by a weird toned-down one. A good example is 5:32 and 5:33. In some translations, you’ll find “corruption in the land”. In others you’ll find the toned down and more vaguely worded “mischief in the land.” In all cases, the rest of it is pretty gross because there’s not really a way to tone down the hacking off of limbs “punishment” for those who dare resist Allah’s demand to be his slave.

And with many of them displayed, simply pay attention to what the general consensus is. What’s the most commonly proposed reading of it? And no, this is not an Appeal to Popularity fallacy, as these translators are supposedly learned experts on the language and intent. Each of the authors was writing the quran translation, not a quran translation. And if they’re no good, why are these sites offering them at all?

You can then put all this together. In the case of 4:34 again, for example, the same word/phrase was somehow differently translated as: “strike”, “beat” and “beat (lightly)”. I sure don’t know how you would strike lightly, so I’d be reluctant to take "beat (lightly)” as particularly authoritative.

Of course, there’s a really big elephant in the room here: why is it that Allah’s perfect message revealed to his perfect prophet can’t be understood perfectly? It’s not your fault there’s so many translations; it’s Islam’s fault there’s no single authoritative source and they’re just all trying to figure out what it means.

[lifeofresulullah]

The Life of The Prophet Muhammad(pbuh): Calling the Tribes to Islam, the Allegiances of Aqaba and Migration to Madinah

A Summary of the Period of Makkah

When the Messenger of Allah migrated to Madinah, the period of thirteen years in Makkah ended. It will be useful to summarize this period, which has an important place in the history of Islamic tabligh (conveying the message), and especially to examine the tabligh of the Prophet in this period.

When the Messenger of Allah was appointed as a prophet in AD 610 by God Almighty, the Arab community of that time was undergoing the darkest and wildest period of history along with the rest of the world. The duty the save the community he lived in and the humanity from the oppression and savagery was given to the Prophet.

God Almighty, who sent him as a prophet, taught him how to act while spreading, living and making others live Islam. The Prophet acted in accordance with those instructions.

It was certain that conveying the message, which aimed to introduce a new system, was not going to be so easy. It was going to be especially difficult in the community of Arabs, who were extremely fanatical and stubborn about their savage customs, living at that time.  

The Messenger of Allah, who knew the properties, characteristics and thoughts of the community he was living in very well, did not start to convey the message as soon as he was appointed; he did not declare his prophethood and the religion of Islam openly. Some time had to pass and some favorable conditions had to occur for it.

The Messenger of Allah started to convey the message of Islam to the people who were closest to him first. He first informed Hazrat Khadija, his wife, about his cause. Hazrat Khadija confirmed his prophethood and became a Muslim. Then, he called Hazrat Ali, who was his relative and had been together with him since he was four or five, to Islam. He embraced Islam, too. After that, he conveyed the message of belief and Islam to some people that he trusted very much outside his family. The most important one among them was Hazrat Abu Bakr. Many people accepted Islam through Hazrat Abu Bakr.

The Prophet himself acted very cautiously during the period of secret call to Islam; he also urged the first Muslims to act very cautiously. When Abu Dharr al-Ghifari embraced Islam, the Prophet gave him this advice:

“O Abu Dharr! Now keep it a secret and return to your homeland! Come and join us when you hear that we have started conveying the message openly.” 

The Prophet gave Abu Dharr that advice because Abu Dharr openly declared that he was a Muslim in Masjid al-Haram too early due to the excitement originating from his belief; he was saved from the mortal blows of the polytheists by the help of Hazrat Abbas. 

The Messenger of Allah continued the secret call like that for three years. During this period, only about thirty people embraced Islam.

This period ended when the following verse was sent down: “And admonish thy nearest kinsmen!” After that, the Prophet started to call his close relatives to Islam and belief in accordance with the divine order. First, he brought Banu Muttalib together and informed them about Islam.

Then, he expanded the circle of the people he called to Islam and addressed Makkans from Safa hill. He called them to believe in the oneness of Allah and to confirm his prophethood. They did not accept his call; besides, Abu Lahab dared to insult him. However, the Prophet continued to call people to believe in the oneness of Islam and to confirm his prophethood without a break with full effort.

God Almighty determined the style of the acts of the Prophet in the duty of spreading and practicing Islam with the verses He sent down.  

The verses that were sent down in Makkah had especially two main aims: To make people believe in their minds, hearts and spirits in 1) the existence and oneness of Allah, 2) resurrection, that is, reviving after death...

The Prophet concentrated on these two main aims and worked hard to realize them. He called people to believe in the existence and oneness of Allah and he told them that they would resurrect after death and that a new life would start after the grave.  

Apart from those mentioned above, the Prophet had some other issues to settle. However, those were the most important ones. Unless they were settled and unless these two fundamental issues were accepted by the people in their minds, hearts and spirits, it was not possible to settle the other social issues. As a matter of fact, he started to settle the other issues one by one after that and became successful.  

As a result of the commands he received from Allah, the Prophet used all of his energy to establish the fundamental understanding that was missing in the structure of the community, that is, to call people to believe in Allah and to obey Him absolutely. It was impossible to make the truth settle in the hearts of the people unless the belief of polytheism was eliminated from the minds of the people. The cause of Islam would not be successful when the foundations were not sound.

Therefore, the Messenger of Allah addressed the noblest feelings of the humanity and their sense of ethics, teaching them that the only Creator and Owner of this universe was Allah. He showed them that there was no power to obey and to surrender except His will. When he conveyed this message to the people, he did not feel the need to make some concessions or to depend on some dominant powers. He presented the belief of “oneness” to humanity directly. He addressed them as follows: “Say ‘La ilaha illallah’ (There is no god but Allah) and be saved.”

Naturally, this call of the Messenger of Allah was not liked and approved by the strong, rich and influential people that dominated the community. They did not want to abandon the illegitimate pleasures of the world that were like honey that was seemingly sweet but spiritually poisonous. Obviously, they wanted to keep their way of life in order to protect their worldly interests. Therefore, they started to oppose the Prophet.

At first, they tried isolating the Prophet from the community, leaving him alone, ignoring what he was telling them and making fun of him. However, the circle of the believers that was around him and the great truth was expanding day by day. They panicked when they saw it. This time, they changed their method. They started counter propaganda. They dared to slander him. They called him a “magician, soothsayer and poet”. However, none of them was effective. They saw that the number of the believers was increasing despite their slanders and accusations.

This time, they started open aggressive acts. They prevented the Messenger of Allah and Muslims from performing prayers in the Kaaba; they threw dirty things on them; they threw thorns on the places where they will sit and on the ways that they used. They persecuted the weak, poor and lonely Muslims by oppressing and torturing them. Some of them died due to their tortures and became martyrs.

It was difficult to put up with this situation. Besides, the number of the Muslims was very few and they were weak. Therefore, they could not oppose the tortures and insults. Such a situation could have destroyed them.

Despite all of those difficulties and unfavorable conditions, the Messenger of Allah continued to convey the message of the religion of Islam without a break. He was also exposed to the tortures and insults of the polytheists like the other Muslims. However, he showed patience in accordance with the command he received from Allah and never gave up conveying the message of Islam.

God Almighty always advised Muslims who were exposed to all kinds of tortures, oppression and insults to be patient through the verses that He sent. For instance, one of the chapters that were sent down first is the chapter of al-Asr. In this chapter, “those who teach one another the truth and patience” are praised.

Sometimes, God Almighty ordered and advised the Prophet to be patient directly: “So patiently persevere: for verily the promise of Allah is true: nor let those shake thy firmness, who have (themselves) no certainty of faith.” 

In another verse, the Prophet is addressed as follows:

“Therefore do thou hold Patience― a Patience of beautiful (contentment).” 

Due to those commands, the Prophet did not retaliate against the unjust treatment he received in the period of Makkah and he ordered and advised believers not to act impulsively and without thinking against the tortures they were exposed to and not to react physically. An obvious example for this situation is the advice he gave to the family of Yasir.

One day, the family of Yasir was exposed to tortures altogether. When the Prophet saw them, he said to them, “Show patience, O family of Yasir! Your reward is Paradise.” Once, Habbab b. Arat (may Allah be pleased with him), who had great difficulty in putting up with the tortures he was exposed to, complained to the Prophet; the Prophet said to him,

“Among the nations before you a believing man would be put in a ditch that was dug for him, and a saw would be put over his head and he would be cut into two pieces; yet that torture would not make him give up his religion. His body would be combed with iron combs that would remove his flesh from the bones and nerves, yet that would not make him abandon his religion. By Allah, this religion will prevail till a traveler from Sana (in Yemen) to Hadramaut will fear none but Allah, or a wolf as regards his sheep, but you (people) are hasty!” 

During the second pledge of Aqaba, when one of the Muslims of Madinah said, “O Messenger of Allah! If you wish, we will draw our swords tomorrow and attack the people in Mina.”, the Prophet said, “No! We were not ordered to act like that.”

As it is seen, the greatest weapon of Muslims in the period of Makkah was “patience” despite everything. As a matter of fact, the positive results of the patience appeared in a short time. A positive atmosphere in favor of Muslims formed. Thanks to this positive atmosphere, some people became Muslims. Hazrat Hamza became a Muslim like that.

One day, Hazrat Hamza heard that Abu Jahl and some polytheists insulted the Prophet. He got very furious and went directly to Abu Jahl, who was sitting with a group of people near the Kaaba. He hit Abu Jahl’s head with his bow and said, “Did you curse and insult him? I am in his religion, too. I say what he says. If you have the courage, do what you have done to him to me!” Then, he went over to the Prophet and embraced Islam. 

At a certain time, the polytheists increased their oppression and persecution so much that the Prophet had to look for a place in Makkah to worship easily and to spread Islam freely. He used the house of Arkam b. Abi’l-Arkam as a center and continued to spread his cause there. Many people became Muslims there.

When the notables of polytheists saw that the Prophet did not give up conveying the message of Islam despite all what they had done, they wanted to settle the issue through Abu Talib, the Prophet’s uncle. They said to him, “O Abu Talib! Either make your nephew give up his cause and speaking ill of our gods or do not stand between us and him!” When Abu Talib went to the Prophet to tell him about what the polytheists said, the Prophet said,

“O uncle! By Allah, if they put the sun in my right hand and the moon in my left in return for my giving up this cause, I would not give it up. Either Allah spreads it all over the world and my duty ends, or I will die in this way!” 

The polytheists understood that they would not be able to make the Prophet give up his cause through threats, oppression and persecution. They changed their methods again. They offered goods, property, wealth, rank and leadership to the Prophet. However, they saw that the Prophet did not heed any of them and continued to spread Islam in the same way.

We had stated that the Messenger of Allah and Muslims showed patience against the persecutions, insults, tortures and assassinations of the polytheists. However, there was a limit for the patience, too. The persecutions and tortures that were inflicted upon Muslims had reached the limit. Therefore, the Messenger of Allah advised them to migrate to Abyssinia. He said, “Go to Abyssinia. There is a just ruler there. Nobody is persecuted there. It is a land of justice and honesty. Stay there until Allah creates a way out of this situation!” 

Thereupon, the Muslims migrated to Abyssinia in two groups in order to practice and spread their religion. In this phase, as usual, the Prophet gave importance to quality rather than quantity, in other words, to obtain qualified and influential people. His prayer, “O Allah! Strengthen this religion with Umar Ibn Khattab or Amr b. Hisham [Abu Jahl]” is an obvious example for it.

Both Umar Ibn Khattab and Abu Jahl were among the notables of the community and both were among the most severe enemies of Islam and the most ardent opposers of the Prophet. If one of them embraced Islam, most of the barriers in front of Islam would be eliminated. As a matter of fact, a short time after the Prophet’ prayer, Hazrat Umar became a Muslim; thus, Islam became known and got strength. The polytheists had to loosen some of the persecutions and tortures against Muslims. Muslims did not feel obliged to hide and to perform prayers in fear and secretly.

After a while, the polytheists used the death of Abu Talib, the Prophet’s uncle, who protected him, as an opportunity. They increased their persecution. The Messenger of Allah was in a very difficult situation due to the activities against him. He rarely left his house. Thus, he went to Taif in order to find a more secure place to spread the religion of Islam. However, he could not find a suitable environment in Taif despite his efforts. The people of Taif did not accept his call; what is more, they stoned him, harming his body. However, the Prophet, who was sent as a mercy for all creatures, did not curse them; instead, he prayed as follows: “I want from my Lord to create descendants who will serve Islam from them.”

Another important activity of the Prophet in Makkah in the first years of Islam was to meet secretly the tribes that came to Makkah for hajj, to read the Quran to them and to inform them about the principles of Islam. The Qurayshi polytheists followed him when he was visiting the tribes and tried to prevent the tribes from listening to him by slanders and accusations.

However, their efforts did not turn out to be successful. The cause of the Prophet that expanded through conquering the hearts spread outside Makkah and started to shine in the horizon of Madinah.

Thanks to Hijrah, a new era started for Muslims.

[parrizaad]

What is Quran?

Allah describes the Quran in the Quran

The best answer to the question “What is Quran” is provided by Allah – the Lord and Rabb of everything that is ever created and exists. The following are some of the descriptions about Quran within the Quran asserting its authority as a divine book revealed for the entire humanity at large.

Quran is undoubtedly the word of Allah (God) Quran is a book that is the word of Allah (God) and there is no doubt about its divinity. The claim is made by no one but Allah Himself.

1. What is quran? This is the Book (the Quran), whereof there is no doubt, a guidance to those who are Al-Muttaqoon (the pious and righteous persons who fear Allah much (abstain from all kinds of sins and evil deeds which He has forbidden) and love Allah much (perform all kinds of good deeds which He has ordained). (Surah Al-Baqarah, Verse 2)

2. Allah makes it clear in the Quran that it could not have been revealed by anyone other than Him. He says: Allah revealed Quran And this Qur’an is not such as could ever be produced by other than Allah (Lord of the heavens and the earth), but it is a confirmation of (the revelation) which was before it [i.e. the Taurat (Torah), and the Injeel (Gospel)], and a full explanation of the book (i.e. laws, decreed for mankind) – wherein there is no doubt – from the Lord of the ‘Alamin (mankind, jinn, and all that exists). (Surah Younus, Verse 37)

3. Quran is the book of Truth Since time immemorial people have been arguing about “truth” and the criteria to determine the “truth”. Allah makes it clear in the Quran about “ultimate truth.” No book on entity has made such a universal claim with such an authority. The Quran is the Book of Allah with a message of truth for all of mankind: Almighty Allah says in Quran “Verily, We have sent down to you (O Muhammad (PBUH) the Book (this Quran) for mankind in truth. So whosoever accepts the guidance, it is only for his own self, and whosoever goes astray, he goes astray only for his (own) loss. And you (O Muhammad (S)) are not a Wakeel (trustee or disposer of affairs, or keeper) over them.” (Surah Al-Zumar, Verse 41) Allah also says: These are the Verses of the Book (the Quran), and that which has been revealed unto you (Muhammad (S)) from your Lord is the truth, but most men believe not. (Surah Ar-Raad, Verse 1)

4. Quran is a book that discusses mankind (and their guidance) Allah tells us that He revealed a book that includes teachings and guidance related to mankind, so we should follow it. He says quran for mankind. Indeed, We have sent down for you (O mankind) a book (the Quran) in which there is Dhikrukum,(your Reminder or an honor for you i.e. honor for the one who follows the teaching of the Quran and acts on its teachings). Will you not then understand? (Surah Al-Anbiya, Verse 10) Allah also says: Quran word of truth And indeed We have fully explained to mankind, in this Quran, every kind of similitude, but most mankind refuse (the truth and accept nothing) but disbelief. [Surah Al-Isra, 17:89]

5. Quran brings ones life out of darkness into light Allah the only God “It is He Who sends down manifest Ayaat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) to His slave (Muhammad) that He may bring you out from darkness into light. (Surah al-Hadeed, Verse 9)

6. Belief in the Quran is part of being righteous and pious Allah tells us in the Quran the various criteria of being righteous and pious, one of which is the faith in this book (Quran). "It is no virtue that you turn your faces towards the east or the west, but virtue is that one should sincerely believe in Allah and the Last Day and the Angels and the Book and the Prophets and, out of His love, spend of one’s choice wealth for relatives and orphans, for the needy and the wayfarer, for beggars and for the ransom of slaves, and establish the Salat and pay the Zakat. And the virtuous are those who keep their pledges when they make them and show fortitude in hardships and adversity and in the struggle between the Truth and falsehood; such are the truthful people and such are the pious." (Surah Al-Baqarah, Verse 177)

7. Quran was revealed to be recited for its followers As the Quranic verse below indicates, Allah has asked Quran’s followers to give it’s right of recitation (to be followed). He says in the Quran: "Those (who embraced Islam from Bani Israel) to whom We gave the book [the Taurat (Torah)] [or those (Muhammad’s companions) to whom We have given the book (the Quran)] recite it (i.e. obey its orders and follow its teachings) as it should be recited (i.e. followed), they are the ones who believe therein. And whoso disbelieve in it (the Quran), those are they who are the losers. (Tafsir Al-Qurtubi)". (Surah A-Baqarah, Verse 121)

8. Quran is Allah’s words that was brought by Angel Jibraeel to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) Allah provides the answer about how Quran was brought to the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH).

9. Quran in stages “And verily, you (O Muhammad (PBUH)) are receiving the Quran from the One, All-Wise, All-Knowing” (Surah An-Naml, Verse 6) Quran is Allah’s word that was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in stages When Quran was being revealed to the prophet (PBUH), the disbelievers of his time asked as to why the entire book was not revealed all at once. To this Allah responded in the Quran:

10. Quran strengthen hearts “And those who disbelieve say: Why is not the Quran revealed to him all at once? Thus (it is sent down in parts), that We may strengthen your heart thereby. And We have revealed it to you gradually, in stages” (Surah Al-Furqan Verse 32)

11.Nothing like Quran can be written or produced In the Quran, Allah has challenged mankind and the jinn to produce something like it, even one surah or one aayah (verse), but they could not do that and will never be able to do that, as Allah says: Allah challenges people about producing like Quran Say: “If the mankind and the jinns were together to produce the like of this Quran, they could not produce the like thereof, even if they helped one another.” (Surah Al-Isra, Verse 88) Allah also says in the Quran: islam religion of truth “And if you (Arab Pagans, Jews, and Christians) are in doubt concerning that, which We have sent down (i.e. the Quran) to Our slave (Muhammad (S)), then produce a Surah (chapter) of the like thereof and call your witnesses (supporters and helpers) besides Allah, if you are truthful.” (Surah Al-Baqarah, Verse 23)

12. Quran is a divine revelation that should be treated as such Allah emphasizes the greatness of the Quran by providing an example in the following verse: “Had We sent down this Quran on a mountain, you would surely have seen it humbling itself and rending asunder by the fear of Allah. Such are the parables, which We put forward to mankind that they may reflect.” [Surah Al-Hashr, 58:21]

13. Quran is Allah’s (God’s) final revelation to mankind that has remain unchanged since its revelation Quran is not only Allah’s final word but Allah Himself has taken the pledge to safeguard it from any corruption. As a result, we see that Quran today is in the same form as it was revealed by Allah on Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). All other revealed books except the Quran have been changed and distorted over time. The Quran is and will remain, intact in its original form till the Day of Judgment. Allah has sent down Quran to mankind and has guaranteed to preserve it, taking upon Himself the responsibility of preserving it till the last day. Allah says:“It is We Who have sent down the Dhikr (i.e. the Quran) and surely, We will guard it (from corruption).” (Surah Al-Hijr, Verse 9)

14. Quran provides a complete code of living life and guidance for preparing for the hereafter Quran is a blessing for mankind to be able to live peaceful lives on this earth and has guidance to help mankind prepare for the hereafter as well. Allah says: “… And We have sent down to you the Book (the Quran), as an exposition of everything, a guidance, a mercy, and glad tidings for those who have submitted themselves (to Allah as Muslims).” (Surah An-Nahl, Verse 89)

15. Quran is a book of healing Quran is a means of both physical and spiritual healing. Allah says in the Quran: “O mankind! There has come to you a good advice from your Lord (i.e. the Quran, ordering all that is good and forbidding all that is evil), and a healing for that (disease of ignorance, doubt, hypocrisy and differences, etc.) in your breasts, – a guidance and a mercy (explaining lawful and unlawful things, etc.) for the believers.” (Surah Younus, 57) Allah also says: "And We sent down in the Quran such things that have healing and mercy for the believers" (Surah Al-Isra, Verse 82)

16. Quran’s message has no crookedness or contradictions Allah says in the Quran: Quran only from Allah Do they not then consider the Qur’an carefully? Had it been from other than Allah, they would surely have found therein many a contradiction. (Surah An-Nisa, Verse 82)

“All the praises and thanks be to Allah, Who has sent down to His slave (Muhammad) the Book (the Quran), and has not placed therein any crookedness.” (Surah Al-Kahf, Verse 1)

Value the treasure (Quran) we have received as blessing and mercy from Almighty Allah.

May Allah help us to recite and memorize Quran in a perfect manner. Aameen.

[jayy29sworld]

tickets

HEILBRUNN TIMELINE OF ART HISTORY  ESSAYS

The Birth of Islam



"Muhammad's Call to Prophecy and the First Revelation", Folio from a Majma' al-Tavarikh (Compendium of Histories)

Hafiz-i Abru



"Journey of the Prophet Muhammad", Folio from the Majma al-Tavarikh (Compendium of Histories)

Hafiz-i Abru



"The Mi'raj or The Night Flight of Muhammad on his Steed Buraq", Folio 3v from a Bustan of Sa`di

Sultan Muhammad Nur



Futuh al-Haramain (Description of the Holy Cities)

Muhi al-Din Lari



"Prophet Muhammad Preaching", Folio from a Maqtal-i Al-i Rasul of Lami'i Chelebi

Lami'i Chelebi

Suzan Yalman

Department of Education, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

based on original work byLinda Komaroff

October 2001

Born in Mecca, in western Arabia, Muhammad (ca. 570–632), last in the line of Judeo-Christian prophets, received his first revelation in 610. Muslims believe that the word of God was revealed to him by the archangel Gabriel in Arabic, who said, “Recite in the name of thy Lord …” (Sura 96). These revelations were subsequently collected and codified as the Qur’an (literally “recitation” in Arabic), the Muslim holy book. As the source of Muslim faith and practice, the Qur’an describes the relationship between an almighty and all-knowing God and his creations. The Qur’an also maintains that all individuals are responsible for their actions, for which they will be judged by God, and so it provides guidelines for proper behavior within the framework of a just and equitable society.

At this time, Mecca was a prosperous city whose wealth and influence were based on the caravan trade and on the Ka‘ba, a shrine and a place of pilgrimage housing the pagan deities then being worshipped by the Arabs. Muhammad’s message, heralding a new socio-religious order based on allegiance to one god—Allah—was unpopular among the leaders of Mecca, and they forced Muhammad and his followers to emigrate north to the oasis town Yathrib (Medina). This occurred in 622, the year of the hijra, or “emigration,” which marks the beginning of the Muslim calendar. In Medina, Muhammad continued to attract followers and, within a few years, Mecca had also largely embraced Islam. Upon his return to Mecca, one of the Prophet’s first acts was to cleanse the Ka‘ba of its idols and rededicate the shrine to Allah.

Although Muhammad died in 632, his followers, led by a series of four caliphs (Arabic: khalifa, “successor”) known as the Rightly Guided, continued to spread the message of Islam. Under their command, the Arab armies carried the new faith and leadership from the Arabian Peninsula to the shores of the Mediterranean and to the eastern reaches of Iran. The Arabs conquered Syria, Palestine, and Egypt from the Byzantine empire, while Iraq and Iran, the heart of the Sasanian empire, succumbed to their forces. Here in these lands, Islam fostered the development of a religious, political, and cultural commonwealth and the creation of a global empire.

While the full formation of a distinctive Islamic artistic language took several centuries, the seeds were sown during the Prophet’s time. Because it is through writing that the Qur’an is transmitted, the Arabic script was first transformed and beautified in order that it might be worthy of divine revelation. Thus, calligraphy started to gain prominence, becoming essential also to Islamic ornament. In architecture, following the hijra, Muhammad’s house in Medina developed into a center for the Muslim community and became the prototype for the mosque, the Muslim sanctuary for God. The early structure, known as the hypostyle mosque, included a columned hall oriented toward Mecca and an adjacent courtyard surrounded by a colonnade. The call to prayer was given from a rooftop (later the minaret was developed for this purpose). Essential elements of the mosque were a minbar (pulpit) for the Friday sermon and a mihrab (prayer niche) set in the wall oriented toward Mecca.

Citation

Yalman, Suzan. Based on original work by Linda Komaroff. “The Birth of Islam.” In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/isla/hd_isla.htm (October 2001)

Further Reading

Grabar, Oleg. The Formation of Islamic Art. Rev. and enl. ed. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1987.

Hodgson, Marshall G. S. The Venture of Islam. 3 vols. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1974.

Additional Essays by Suzan Yalman

Yalman, Suzan. “The Art of the Abbasid Period (750–1258).” (October 2001)

Yalman, Suzan. “The Art of the Safavids before 1600.” (October 2002)

Yalman, Suzan. “The Art of the Ayyubid Period (ca. 1171–1260).” (October 2001)

Yalman, Suzan. “The Art of the Fatimid Period (909–1171).” (October 2001)

Yalman, Suzan. “The Art of the Ilkhanid Period (1256–1353).” (October 2001)

Yalman, Suzan. “The Art of the Mamluk Period (1250–1517).” (October 2001)

Yalman, Suzan. “The Art of the Seljuq Period in Anatolia (1081–1307).” (October 2001)

Yalman, Suzan. “The Art of the Seljuqs of Iran (ca. 1040–1157).” (October 2001)

Yalman, Suzan. “The Art of the Umayyad Period (661–750).” (October 2001)

Yalman, Suzan. “The Age of Süleyman “the Magnificent” (r. 1520–1566).” (October 2002)

Yalman, Suzan. “The Art of the Ottomans before 1600.” (October 2002)

Yalman, Suzan. “The Art of the Timurid Period (ca. 1370–1507).” (October 2002)

Additional Essays by Linda Komaroff

Komaroff, Linda. “The Art of the Abbasid Period (750–1258).” (October 2001)

Komaroff, Linda. “The Art of the Safavids before 1600.” (October 2002)

Komaroff, Linda. “The Art of the Ayyubid Period (ca. 1171–1260).” (October 2001)

Komaroff, Linda. “The Art of the Ilkhanid Period (1256–1353).” (October 2001)

Komaroff, Linda. “The Art of the Seljuqs of Iran (ca. 1040–1157).” (October 2001)

Komaroff, Linda. “The Art of the Umayyad Period (661–750).” (October 2001)

Komaroff, Linda. “The Age of Süleyman “the Magnificent” (r. 1520–1566).” (October 2002)

Komaroff, Linda. “The Art of the Timurid Period (ca. 1370–1507).” (October 2002)

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[hak-7]

Marriage is not easy. It can be difficult. It can also be amazing and beautiful. Your partner is not perfect. Neither are you. So why demand perfection? The grass is not always greener on the other side. Today, let us pray for all those marriages which are causing heartache and may Allah protect, bless and guide us all. AmeenWHAT IS MUSLIM

The Muslim is one who yields his will to the will of Almighty God. We must keep in mind forever that God's will is the salvation of the people. Not our will; our will can't save us unless we give it to the guidance from God.

Jesus said, "Your will be done," according to the language of the Christians. "Not my will, your will." The Muslim is one who yields his will to the will of God.

God has given us human will so we can earn something for ourselves. So we can earn dignity for ourselves.

He has also given us hints in His creation, and has sent prophets to us to back up those hints. By those hints he has guided us and taught us that our will alone cannot save us.

The human being's will, from the time it is created, is searching for some guidance to give itself to. This is nature. The baby is looking for something to guide it. The woman, the man, grow and become adults looking for something to guide them. They go to the institutions of learning, to the houses of worship, looking for something to guide their will so they may form their lives by it.

They are looking for something to shape their will, to give meaning to their lives in the world. They run into so many problems. They can't find the answers they think they should get. They give up; and what do they do after this?

Many give their will to the forces of destruction. They give their will to lies, to corruption, to confusion, and they go down. They are destroyed by ignorance and by corruptible things.

The will in man is naturally designed or naturally made to seek God. The human will seeks God and when we find God, we find our peace.

We don't know God in all of His divine names or in all of His divine attributes. God has to show us these things through His prophets, through guidance. But we know that there is something that needs to be united with something that is missing. We don't always know what it is, but it is truth.

The human being comes into the world and the world teaches the human being some truth and some lies. The lies separate us from the reality that we should naturally be united with.

So God sends us His messengers to teach us that we are one creation, and not two. One creation, and that the Creator of this creation is one, not two, not three. One God. One Allah. One Creator for everything.

This oneness brings peace to us. Two or three bosses over us, running our lives brings confusion as the Quran says. Many people don't stop at two or three bosses, they worship prophets and saints. They give their lives to many directions. And what has this resulted in? The absence of the worship of God.

Look at the society of these people who have given their lives to two and three Gods, and to many saints for guidance. The leaders are writing "God is dead." And recently these words appeared in the New York Times commercial ad: "If God is alive, why is religion in so much pain?"

Why is religion in so much pain for whom? Not for us. Our religion is free of pain. It's relieving us of our pain.

God is alive and has always been alive for the Muslims, and all true believers.

A Muslim life is a clear life, not a life of confusion. The way that is shown to us is a clear way.

The Quran itself is called the clear book. Al-Bayan, very clear evidence, guidance, not something to guess at. It is self-evident. It doesn't leave us to interpret and establish it.

There's a lot in the Quran that needs interpretation but such is not the basis of the Book. Allah says in the Quran that "these verses are allegorical and basic." Allegorical may need interpretation.

"Those in whose hearts is crookedness or perversity, they prefer the allegorical over the basic." They like to get into the mysteries and avoid clear teaching.

"But the clear verses are the basis of the Book." That is where we stand. We stand on those clear teachings. We can all discuss and maybe make some contribution toward understanding the allegorical teachings but that's not what we stand on. We stand upon the clear teachings.

One God Who's not creation. Who is Creator. Who has no image, no likeness in creation, and He's not like creation. He made creation but He's not like it.

"Creation must exist by two"— forces, male and female, negative and positive. Allah says: "But I am the one who exists alone,"—needing no forces to aid Him.

Allah says again in His attributes that He is God, whose very being will not permit any contribution. Want to contribute something to God? Give Him a little help? No! Give God obedience. His very being refuses any contribution. It is our being that wants something. "Come, help me. Give me something." That is the human cry.

God says to us in the Quran, "Slumber nor sleep touches Him." He does not need food or anything. "He's the one who feeds and is not fed."

He needs nothing from us and the attribute As-Summad says, Allah is eternal, whose very being rejects contributions. Don't make your contribution thinking God can suffer a want for something. Make contributions to righteousness. Make contributions to yourself for God's sake. Make contributions to your life in obedience to God.

Send God some charity? Give God some help to save sinners? He doesn't need any help to save sinners. We need help to save ourselves.

God gives us that help in our intelligence. He gives us that help in our nature, in the sentiments of our heart. He also gives us help through inspired people, the prophets. But He needs no help. The God that is perfect. The God that is whole, needs nothing. The God that has no need for anything, no flaws, the perfect being, the Giving, the Loving, the Almighty.

Imam W.D. Mohammed (raa)SUPPORTS YOU CAN'T SEE

And God says, "Look at the heavenly bodies." Both Scriptures point us to the heavens, for us to observe the wisdom for a higher order of human life on this planet earth. God says, "Observe the bodies that you see in the sky and how they appear to be supported with no props or supports under them that you can see."

What is that saying to us? It is saying that not only your life but the existence of the material universe is existence upon powers that you can't see. The sun you can't see what is holding it up. The moon you don't see what is holding it up there. You get a telescope and look at planets and material bodies or material mass bigger than ours.

Look at the planets, like Jupiter. You cannot see what is holding them up there. Science tells you of the trillions and trillions of tons not pounds in that mass. There it is hanging out there in space seemingly with no support holding it up.

That is pointed out to us to tell us to trust the God that designed this creation, trust the God that designed the Universe. Trust Him. You can't explain everything He did. Trust Him. He knows and you know not.

You look at what He has done and then come up with your own explanation for it. I know about universal gravity. That is what science tells us.

But when the farmer looks up there, he doesn't see any universal gravity. All he sees is big bodies up there and nothing is holding them up. So God's Lesson is going to stay, no matter what science says.

God gives us a Lesson that says, "Have faith in the Lord that designed this creation. The way it is designed is too big for your mind to grasp. Have faith in The One that designed it and don't doubt.

Imam W.D. Mohammed (raa)ASA

The Children of Israel or Jews as some call them were chosen by Allah; G'd, to deliver His message to all the people, they were not chosen by G'd to be the one special people above all other people on earth, Allah has no partners or associates. They failed to follow the command of Allah through their Prophet Moses, Moses was successful but most of the following went astray. The same mission was then placed upon Prophet Muhammad 610 AD, to call the people back to their original G'd given human nature.

Allah made a covenant with the Children of Israel, when they broke the covenant Allah gave that same covenant to Prophet Muhammad, that same covenant is upon us Muslims today. Praise be to Allah.

Isaac and Ismail are from the same Father, Ibrahim, Isaac, the father of Israel was the first leader of the Children of Israel; the 12 tribes. Ismail was the beginning of the Muslim movement, finalized with Prophet Muhammad, Allahs Messenger, The last Prophet of Allah to mankind.

All Prophets and Messengers, and Holy Books, are from One Source, Allah, The One and Only G'd.

See Qur'an, 2:40-86“No created thing lives for itself. And we shouldn’t neither.A river does not drink from its own water. Trees do not eat their own fruit.The light of the sun is not intended to warm itself. The flower benefits not from its own nectar nor profits from its amazing aroma, nor the bee from its own honey. Every created thing makes a contribution to things other than itself.”

~ Shades of GreyBook #3 WDM p.18 of 86

Allah judges

Allah knows their value. we can’t judge that. We may take a brother who drinks and sit him over there with the corrupt, and that brother who drinks may be in heaven a little higher than us when are resurrected. We don’t know. Maybe the drinking that you did with Islamic science was bigger, made you a bigger drunk than he is. So we don’t know. So it is hard for us to do that. But sometimes I would like to see a good situation where all the corrupt, I know they are over there. I would be free, more relaxed to talk over here. When I talk over there I’d have something for them to say. It would be more relaxed for me to address them knowing that they are over there. But we can’t do that.

So now, what do we have to see, first? That Al Islam is a Religion that focuses the light on man and shows him firstly, principally, as a social creature; that G-d intended for him to be a social creature; not to be satisfied being an island, or on an island all to himself; that he must mate and become a bigger social unit; family, tribes, and then until you embrace the whole community of man on this earth and see yourself as a member in one family, with all people. So man is a social creature.

Qur’an gives social inspiration

Man is a social creature and the spirit of the Qur’an is, what? The spirit of the Qur’an is social inspiration. It feeds our social aspirations. This word social is bigger than we think it is. By social we don’t mean just associating with each other, physically, but our dependency on each other as members of a world society. We want to keep the focus on the Muslim community right now. As members of the Muslim community, our dependency on each other brings us together and our love for each other brings us together. So here we have a love for each other that brings us

Book #3 WDM p.19 of 86 together, and a dependency on each other that brings us together.

Pretty soon we find that the teacher of the school has to be tied up full time in doing that. But there is also a need to have business growing in the community. So there is a business person feeding business.

The social context in terms of people keeps expanding with growth, and as it grows there is more demand for more things to take care of the needs of its growing people. He can have the regulation of the home in the parent. He can have the regulation of the family in the parent. He can have the regulation of the morals in the parent, the discipline, the laws that discipline the family can be in the parent, everything. Everything can be in the parents.

That’s a small unit and he can manage that. But when it extends and involves hundreds of families, he can’t manage that. If there is nobody but him and his family, he can go out, take his sons out with him, children with him, go out and plow the field, and regulate his own food. He doesn’t need anybody to regulate the economy for him. He can handle that. But when they multiply in a social unit, it’s the social unit that is getting bigger. The social unit gets bigger and brings in demands for industry, for more sophisticated government, more complex government ideas, and everything else we can think of. There is not one other single influence responsible for the growth and development of society, other than the social principle, or the social influence.

Now, go back to the sun as a symbol. The sun, I said earlier that it’s the principle behind all the changes in the weather, the growth and everything, didn’t I? So here you have, now, me saying that the social interest, the social principle, is the influence behind all the other growth and possibilities.

Can’t we then say that the sun is also a symbol of man as a social unit, the Khalifa is male and female, and the purpose of male and female is to have generations? That’s the social principle. So the Khalifa is the social principle. He is the sun. He is the social principlBook #3 WDM p.18 of 86

Allah judges

Allah knows their value. we can’t judge that. We may take a brother who drinks and sit him over there with the corrupt, and that brother who drinks may be in heaven a little higher than us when are resurrected. We don’t know. Maybe the drinking that you did with Islamic science was bigger, made you a bigger drunk than he is. So we don’t know. So it is hard for us to do that. But sometimes I would like to see a good situation where all the corrupt, I know they are over there. I would be free, more relaxed to talk over here. When I talk over there I’d have something for them to say. It would be more relaxed for me to address them knowing that they are over there. But we can’t do that.

So now, what do we have to see, first? That Al Islam is a Religion that focuses the light on man and shows him firstly, principally, as a social creature; that G-d intended for him to be a social creature; not to be satisfied being an island, or on an island all to himself; that he must mate and become a bigger social unit; family, tribes, and then until you embrace the whole community of man on this earth and see yourself as a member in one family, with all people. So man is a social creature.

Qur’an gives social inspiration

Man is a social creature and the spirit of the Qur’an is, what? The spirit of the Qur’an is social inspiration. It feeds our social aspirations. This word social is bigger than we think it is. By social we don’t mean just associating with each other, physically, but our dependency on each other as members of a world society. We want to keep the focus on the Muslim community right now. As members of the Muslim community, our dependency on each other brings us together and our love for each other brings us together. So here we have a love for each other that brings us

Book #3 WDM p.19 of 86 together, and a dependency on each other that brings us together.

Pretty soon we find that the teacher of the school has to be tied up full time in doing that. But there is also a need to have business growing in the community. So there is a business person feeding business.

The social context in terms of people keeps expanding with growth, and as it grows there is more demand for more things to take care of the needs of its growing people. He can have the regulation of the home in the parent. He can have the regulation of the family in the parent. He can have the regulation of the morals in the parent, the discipline, the laws that discipline the family can be in the parent, everything. Everything can be in the parents.

That’s a small unit and he can manage that. But when it extends and involves hundreds of families, he can’t manage that. If there is nobody but him and his family, he can go out, take his sons out with him, children with him, go out and plow the field, and regulate his own food. He doesn’t need anybody to regulate the economy for him. He can handle that. But when they multiply in a social unit, it’s the social unit that is getting bigger. The social unit gets bigger and brings in demands for industry, for more sophisticated government, more complex government ideas, and everything else we can think of. There is not one other single influence responsible for the growth and development of society, other than the social principle, or the social influence.

Now, go back to the sun as a symbol. The sun, I said earlier that it’s the principle behind all the changes in the weather, the growth and everything, didn’t I? So here you have, now, me saying that the social interest, the social principle, is the influence behind all the other growth and possibilities.

Can’t we then say that the sun is also a symbol of man as a social unit, the Khalifa is male and female, and the purpose of male and female is to have generations? That’s the social principle. So the Khalifa is the social principle. He is the sun. He is the social principlThe roots of white Supremacy making a human figure into a DEVINE figure! The truth is that WE SHOULD MAKE NO IMAGES OR LIKENESS UNTO THE DEVINE.A ND WE SHOULD KNOW THAT TO GIVE G-D A SON,IS TO FORCE THE MIND TO GIVE HIM A RACIAL FEATURE! THIS WAS THE TRICK OF DIABOLICAL WORLD DOMINATING PSYCHOLOGY! WHITE IS RIGHT,WHY? BECAUSE G-DS SON IS WHITE,A D HAVEN'T WE BEEN THROUGHLY BRAINWASHED TO BELIEVE THAT,"WHEN YOU SEE THE SON YOU'VE SEEN THE FATHER FOR THE SON IS THE FATHER! OH MY PEOPLE NOW IS THE TIME TO UN-WHITE WASH YOUR PERCEPTION OF YOUR SAVIOUR! YOUR BIBLE TELLS YOUR THAT,"G-D IS A SPIRIT AND THAT THOSE WHO WORSHIP HIM MUST WORSHIP HIM IN SPIRIT" SLS YOU ARE FAMILIAR IN JOHN," NO MAN HAS EVER SEEN G-D AT ANY TIME" NOW YOU KNOW THAT YOU ARE AWARE THAT IN JOHN 20:17 JESUS TOLD MARY MADELEINE "TOUCH ME NOT FOR I HAVE NOT YET ASCENDED TO MY FATHER,BUT GO A D TELL MY BRETHREN THAT I GO TO MY FATHER A ND YOUR FATHER,TO MY G-D AND YOUR G-D" PEOPLE KNOW THIS THAT THERE IS NO G-D BUT ONE G-D,THAT NOTHING IS LIKE HIM HE NIETHER BEGETS NOR IS HE BEGOTTEN AND THERE IS NOTHING LIKE HIM! FIND ME SOMEWHERE IN THE BIBLE WHERE JESUS(PEACE ON HIM)TOLD US THAT HE WAS G- D AND THAT WE SHOULD WORSHIP HIM! NO,NO,HE TAUGHT US TO PRAY," OUR FATHER WHO ART IN HEAVEN,HOLLOWETH BE THY NAME,THY KINGDOM COME, ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN" SO PEOPLE DON'T SEE ME AS AN ADVERSARY SEE ME AS A HELPING FRIEND TO STAMP "WHITE SUPREMACY IMAGERY IN THE FORM OF A VISIBLY WHITENED G-D" REMOVE ALL RACIAL IMAGES THAT ATTEMPT TO PORTRAY THE DEVINE" GIVE ME SOME FEEDBACK LETS START A DIALOGUE! PEACE AND LOVE!THE ROBE

Lost Knowledge

Now, let’s continue here. What is the robe symbolic of? Do you recall? Symbolic of the way you use the knowledge, the dress, symbolic of the way you use the knowledge. The sheet is the knowledge, the pages, the script.Remember now, when Jesus was crucified, he lost his robe and they gambled to see who would possess his robe. Now if you understand the meaning of robe, then you should understand that this world doesn’t have the true knowledge, the true use of the knowledge that Jesus gave them.

The knowledge was lost from Jesus’ body and it fell in the hands of crooked sinners. They gambled for it. Not only that, the silver cup, the special cup, it was lost too. Which tells us not only the proper use of the knowledge was lost, but also the moral cleanliness was lost from the religion.Silver chalice I think they call it. Is that what they call it? I think it is called Silver chalice. It was lost from Christianity. So how would they explain this? Ask the preacher next Sunday morning at 11 o’clock. Ask him. Say preacher; please tell me what it means in Christianity when they say that they lost the Silver chalice, the silver cup. Ask the preacher, how they can have the shroud of Jesus, in this city that is called Turin.

When the Bible says that his robe fell into the hands of sinners and they gambled to see who would possess it. So how can they have his robe there? If they have it, sinners gave it to them and if the sinners gave it up, it wasn’t fit to wear. That’s right. That robe wasn’t fit to wear. After it fell into the hands of sinners, who would want to wear it?

What is sweeter than honey?

Let’s continue now, it says he gave them another riddle. And this riddle is: “What is sweeter than honey?” And “What is stronger than a lion?”So he gave two riddles. In fact four parts to it.Second one is, “What is sweeter than honey?What is stronger than a lion?” All right. You know honey means the beauty of pure scripture. How do we know this? We know it because in the Qur’an this word is used. Honey is a good word for scripture. The honey is the essence of the flower and flowers are symbolic of beautiful culture.What is sweeter than the beauty that G-d offers you? What is sweeter than the sweetness that you find in G-d’s pure scripture? That’s what he’s telling them. And what is stronger than a lion? What he’s telling them is that, the east has honey.

They have the beauty of G-d’s revelation. And you have the strength of a lion. I’ve got something that makes you stronger, and I’ve got something to give you to make your doctrine sweeter than their honey.You see this thing? Yes, it’s plain. So he gave them, the Gentile world, the doctrine of love, the love of Christ that was sweeter than the moral and spiritual teachings to weak people, than the pure teachings of the Prophet. It’s sweeter to them … that G-d loves you sinners so much, that he gave his only begotten son, that he should be scorned, mocked, spat on, tortured, crucified, and die and be buried for your sins. Oh that’s sweet to ignorant weak people, sweeter than the truth of G-d’s scripture. So he said what is sweeter than honey? This lie I am going to give you is sweeter than the pure honey of Scripture that the east has.

Cheated Samson out of his heifer

And what is stronger than a lion? This subtle psychology…. (indiscernible) and he himself was going to destroy the Philistines. They have cheated him out of his heifer; I am talking about right now!The Christian Church that he thought would be his heifer betrayed him. Say oh, you can have business, you can have media, you can have this, but you are not going to run our churches. The Gentile doesn’t want any Jews over their churches. If you want to have something, you can have Peter. Go and tutor the Pope in secrecy. He’ll accept it. But these ordinary Gentiles are not going to accept that no Jew rule over them.So you mean to tell me you are not going to give me my heifer? So why don’t you, can’t you all do it through me, can’t you all carry out my orders?No we can’t do it. They are not going to listen to it. Well very good. Well then can I tell you what kind of doctrine you should give to the masses that won’t follow Peter?Yes it’s okay. All right. I’m going to make bread again. I’m going to get on a wheel. I’m going to make Marxism. I’m going to make Communism.I’m going to make the Age of Reason. I’m going to exalt logic. I’ll give them some new flour, is that okay? Well that’s okay. As long as you don’t take over the church. No, I won’t bother the church. Okay. Go on to the wheel again. It’s okay.

Bring society down on me and them

Now listen. After all that he still was not satisfied. Is that right? Yeah look at the story now, remember, he still is not satisfied. So he said, “I am blind, but I got something that they don’t know I’ve got. I got special power, in my arms.” “All I want to do is just have somebody show me to the pillars of the foundation of their society. And if I just can get to the two pillars that hold up the structure of their society, I’m going to bring it down on me and them.”So Samson goes and stands between the two pillars with the help of a little boy. He couldn’t see but he used the help of a little boy. What is the help of that little boy? Psychology. Psychology.

Don’t think it’s another person; he’s not even a person. Persons carry it out, but he’s a knowledge body. Then he goes and he used a little boy, psychology. Don’t human beings use psychology before they use intelligence?That’s why in psychology in this particular context it’s called a little boy. Your little children, before they are able to compete with you on an intelligence plane, they already using psychology on you. So psychology is an early development in the human being. That’s why the Jahcubite’s cousin, Fard Muhammad said Yakub conceived his idea at the age 6, as a little boy, a psychology. He’ll be surprised to know that I know that. I hope he gets this. I understand that he’s back home now. So he’ll get this message, Insha ‘Allah. Now, let me continue. With the help of psychology, he finds his way to the foundations of the new society. And when he gets to the foundation, what does he do? He forms a cross of himself and he begins pressing with all his might. That’s what the Scripture says. Said he pressed with all his might, with all his strength on the pillars, forming of himself a cross. What does this mean? This is more than Trinitarianism, this is the psychology of the mentality that Trinitarianism has produced.

Weaknesses in the mentality that trinitarianism has produced

He has now learned that there are certain weaknesses in the mentality that Trinitarianism has produced. And he knows that he can appeal to their emotions, and he can push in two directions at the same time.He didn’t pull the pillars, he pushed. He can push in opposite directions at the same time. Make one people give in to emotions, and the other people give in to logic. Push them. So that some will become highly emotional and some will become highly logical.And in doing this the logic will act against the emotions, and emotions will act against the logic. The emotional makeup will kill the logic, the logic will offend the emotions, the society will be divided against itself and the pillars will fall. Don’t you know that’s a strategy that is used in this Society? Whenever the hidden evil in the structure is about to be exposed they began firing the society with emotion, sentiment, flower children, love for everybody, crazy kind of sentimentality and emotionalism. They fire it up and build up strong emotions, this is depressing. Now when he does it it’s going to drop the whole thing. If he can be successful and bring in the sentimental and emotional elements against the logic, it’s going to destroy the whole thing.But look, he will certainly, he will be killed, as a knowledge body. He was already blind wasn’t he? What the hell has he lost? Nothing. Once he brings it down, he would start up all over again. Do, ra, mi, fa, sol, la, ti.

By the Grace of G-d, through IWDM, America was not destroyedJust in a few years that have passed us dear people, that scheme has tried to destroy America. But by the grace of G-d, through me, America was not destroyed. Why do I say through me? Because I was the only one that came out when the trend was to go in the form of the cross. When the trend was to become emotional, highly emotional and give one side to dry logic, I came up in the middle of that action and said there is a scheme going on, there is a trick going on.This whole thing is designed to fire up your sentiments, your emotions and topple the society. Somebody must have heard me and believed others who had been talking before I started, and all of it came together to save America. Yes.

See they didn’t believe others who were saying, there is a scheme, there is a hidden scheme. But when I began to speak, they say look, now we know this boy, we’ve been watching this boy since his father raised him up. We know that this boy is not a tool of outside influence. So if he says these things that ring a bell, where did he get it from? We believe maybe G-d is inspiring Wallace D. Mohammed. So they went back to the desk. And they begin to pull out things from the old file and they studied history all over again. And they said that Wallace D. Mohammed is an inspired man, he sees something. And what he is saying is what we’ve heard before. It might be something to it. How else could he get it?

Simple Simon met a pie man on the way to the square

Say oh no, let’s check this thing. Let’s check this thing. Said I’m sorry, you can’t get sixpence today, only one. Sorry, we aren’t buying pies today. We’re buying cakes. You heard that old story of Simple Simon … Simple Simon met a pie man on the way to the square. I think it goes,” … said Simple Simon to the pie man, would you have a sixpence to spare?” And I think he said, “If I was selling sixpence, I wouldn’t be selling pies!” Well, that’s another one of the conspirators’ riddles. And I will tell you what it means. Sixpence means the knowledge behind the scheme. It’s said the man was made on the 6th day. The sixpence is the knowledge behind the scheme. Simon was given seven (7), not six (6). He couldn’t see 6, six (6) was ruling seven (7). But he wanted the six (6).What is the secret in this? Will you tell me please, Mr. Pie man? You know what Pi is? 3.1416, I think it is. It’s a formula for finding the circumference of the earth. It’s a formula for world dominance. Now I’m not saying anything that I didn’t want to say, I know it’s a formula for finding the circumference of a circle. It’s a formula for world dominance.

If I was selling my own secrets you think I’d be selling pies And Peter, the Catholic Church wanted it. But the conspirator wouldn’t give it to them. Said if I was selling my own secrets you think I’d be selling pies? You think I’d be telling you how to get the world, if I was selling the secret to how to get it.I’ll just tell you how to get it; I’m not going to tell you my secret. You get it from me. Yes. All Peter got was some magic beans; he did manage to get those didn’t he? You remember that riddle? Nursery rhyme, whatever you want to call it. Jack and the beanstalk. Yeah. He had Jack, which is nothing again but Peter, or the Western society. Pardon me, I shouldn’t say Peter, not Peter, Jack is not the Catholic Church, it’s the Western society, Protestant society. Catholic Church headquarters is in Rome. This is typical American. Jack is talking about typical America. That’s why we call each other Jack. You know, hey jack, what’s happening Jack?

Yes, so, it was Peter, the Pope who asked them for his sixpence. But Jack, the American Christian society, they asked for magic beans. Well really they didn’t know what to ask for. All they wanted was really to be rescued, because their cow had got so lean, it was about to die.Everything was going bad. And they wanted to know how to bring back life. How can my cows get fat again? How can the society thrive again?So, while they were (wandering) wondering, this funny looking thing jumped out in the road. And he made himself visible and he said, “Magic beans want to buy some magic beans, like to buy some magic beans?” And Jack agreed to give his cow up for the magic beans. I’m showing you that this is not only in Scripture. If it is only in Scripture that means that what I’m talking about may not be existing in the world today. Or maybe it was just a story that was only in Scripture, maybe it was just fiction. But if it’s in the world too, we should listen.

What do the magic beans represent?

Now. Says this little funny thing, man, jumped out, and he talked Jack into giving up his cow for these magic beans. Right. Some of you remember it. He went away with his cow. What do the magic beans represent? A way to, again, to the secret knowledge in Christian religion. A way to the secret knowledge in Christian religion.And dumb Protestant society gave up their lean cow for this heavenly knowledge. What is the lean cow? The lean cow represents what they had before. What did they have before? They had rational growth. The Protestant movement began with an interest in rational growth. Is that right? Yes.

Our knowledge is weak, our cow is lean

They wanted to pursue knowledge. The Catholic Church had suppressed enlightenment, had suppressed education. The people weren’t allowed to learn. The masses couldn’t learn and educate themselves. So a thirst for knowledge came with Martin Luther. Right. And they began to want knowledge to develop their minds.Here comes Jake, Jack pardon me, feeling himself desperately in need of help. We have the interest in rational development of our society, but our knowledge is weak, our cow is lean. We haven’t yet produced anything. We need help. Who would help us?Oh Lord Jesus, help us. We got this logic. But Rome is powerful. We got this logic and Rome is powerful. G-d help us please! Ding, ding. Jahcubite conspirator. I will help you! Would you like to have some magic beans? If I give you my magic beans you’ll have to give me your lean cow. In effect he was saying the same thing that Samson said. I’m going to give you a new world, but you’re going to have to give me the one that you got now. And if you give him the one you got now, when it becomes fat, who does it belong to? Belong to him. He got it. He got it in exchange for the magic beans.

Over the heavenly kingdom was a mean old giant

So he (Jack) went home and planted. Went home and he didn’t know the value of them right? But I think accidentally one fell into the ground right? The thing grew up and it went up, up, up. He saw it going up past his window, he ran out and jumped on it, and the thing took him up into heaven. (It) took him up on the plane of clouds, into a castle that was in the clouds. Right. Yes.There he found a nice old woman that befriended him. But over that heavenly kingdom was a mean old giant. That right? Yes. He said fee, fi, fo, fom, I smell the blood of an Englishman, be he live or be he dead; I’ll grind his bones with my bread. With my bread. Remember bread is of two kinds. Leaven and unleavened. I’ll grind his bones with my bread.So, he managed to escape with the help of this woman up there, old woman who was nice. He managed to escape. Who is the old woman who was nice? Means people in the religious knowledge of the secrets of religion that weren’t corrupt. Didn’t have no evil designs on the world like the conspirators. They shared with him after he got up there. They shared with him some knowledge. Helped him to get the golden knowledge down from heaven.

The Golden knowledge it came from the hen right? The hen who laid golden eggs. But the hen couldn’t lay any golden eggs without music playing. When music played the hen would lay the eggs. The music stopped, the hen stop laying the golden eggs. Which means that the wisdom is tied to music? Do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti, do. Do, ra, mi, fa, sol, la, ti, do. Now when he got the musical scheme, he came back down with the hen and the music harp plus the knowledge, and he tied them together, then he had wisdom.He had wisdom to bring back down with the hen, and the music harp right, according to the story. From heaven, he brought back with him, they don’t say heaven, but it is the heaven of religious symbolism — Biblical symbolism. He came back down with the music maker and with the egg layer. You needed both in order to get the wisdom. The golden egg means wisdom. All right.

Giant’s fall from heaven left a big hole in the earth

The giant fell from heaven. Is that right? He was so big and heavy that when he fell he knocked a big hole in the earth, left there a big hole in the earth. The giant was finished. Who was finished? Who is the big giant that was finished? The people in the secret religion. The Pope.The Pope and certain others that I don’t care to name right now, that hoard the secrets of religion. When the Protestant was given the secret way to get it, and when Protestant leadership got it, got their share. Don’t think they got all, they got their share. Catholic got his share yes. Protestant got their share. The conspirators got the whole share.When they got it, the position of superiority of them over American Christian leadership fell. When it fell, it knocked a big hole in the ground. What is that symbolic of? Actually they were not spiritual people, they were material people.And when they fell a big part of the material that they had before was taken out. So much of the material wealth that was under Catholicism, and under other secret conspirators in religion, fell to Jack, to the American Christian Society. Is that right? Yes.Then they began to rise. But they only had magic beans. Magic beans is not knowledge. Magic. The only way you can get it is through magic. You have to have the knowledge of the magic to know how to work them. And, they were secret, so only a few of the Jack people can have them.

Jack: the American Christian society

Let me quickly tell you what Jack represents in the American Christian Society. It represents the intelligent leadership, Jack represents the intelligent leadership. Now Jack is not as long as Jacob. So their knowledge is shorter than Jacob, you see?Jack is a derivative of the word Jacob. Jacob is the origin, Jack is a derivative, derived from Jacob. So Jack is just a short …. they don’t have Jacob that’s long. But they do have enough to enable them to keep this same rhythm going.Rotating events, with a seven note scale, or is it eight. Yes, an eight note scale that goes to seven, and comes back to where it started. Right? Do, ra, mi, fa, sol, la, ti, do, come back to where it started. So they were given knowledge of how to keep society going through these changes, psychological changes.

So America unknowingly, has been going through these changes. Look at the trends, one fad behind another. Pretty soon you are wearing what you wore 20 years ago. Right. Pretty soon you’re dancing the way you danced 20 years ago. You are talking the way you talked 20 years ago. You are thinking the way you thought 20 years ago.So they keep rotating. They have the Jahcubite scheme, but they have only that pie that Jahcubite wanted them to have. Jahcubite sell pies all over the world Jahcubite sell pies all over the world. Sold the Pope a pie. Sold Protestant America a pie. Sold Communists East a pie, called it the red pie. Yes, the red pie. I’m getting ready to let you go now.

What does the red represent? What do they mean red? You say passions? That’s to trick you. Yes,Red means passions in the other octave. It has been played. It’s another octave. It takes on another color, it takes on another dress. It don’t keep the same dress, it says I will sell you changes. You see?Yes, it meant passions in one place, but not passions in Communist Russia, although passions are involved. It means the social life. Red means the social life. What ties me together with my brother? Blood. Blood is red. See. So people, as a social group are tied together first by blood. And they call each other brother, you see. So that’s blood.Red stands for blood. What blood? Human blood. Human blood, according to the Bible, New Testament in particular, should combine with water, which is human spirit, symbolic of human spirit.

Bring the social life too

So people should be spiritual, as well as social, according to the New Testament teaching. You shouldn’t just be blood. Christ Jesus says, “I come not of water only, but of blood also.”What does this mean? It means that before him, the people were all spiritual, but were neglecting the social development of society, the development of the relationship of person-to-person, people to people, communities to communities.He came to bring the blood, means to bring the social life up too, with the spiritual life. This is in the Scripture.So now, if the East has become red, it means that they now have gone to another … see the world was spiritual, and then it became religious.Now they are trying to get it to become all red. No spirituality, take the spirituality out of it. Make it all red, that we are social group and we are born out of materialism, so material concepts should govern us. We shouldn’t have spiritualism in our life. Give up; give out the water, only the red.

Imam W.D. Mohammed (raa)

[basicsofislam]

ISLAM 101: CONVEYING THE MESSAGE OF ISLAM: Part 5

2. Treating People Nicely and Tolerance

Tolerance and gentleness are the most important cornerstones in the tabligh of Islam by our Prophet. God Almighty says the following to the Prophet, who approaches people with gentleness, by congratulating him on the honesty and perfection of his acts: "It is part of the Mercy of Allah that thou dost deal gently with them. Wert thou severe or harsh-hearted they would have broken away from about thee; so pass over (their faults), and ask for (Allah's) forgiveness for them, and consult them in affairs (of the moment). Then when thou hast taken a decision, put thy trust in Allah. For Allah loves those who put their trust (in Him)." (Aal-e-Imran, 3/159)

Gentleness is like a different golden key given to the Messenger of Allah. He opened many hearts with that key and affected their hearts. But for his gentleness, many intolerant hearts would have faced some harsh acts and some would have opposed to Islam unlike now, and some would have moved away from him. Only thanks to the gentleness of the Messenger of Allah were they prevented and many people embraced Islam in groups.

As it is understood from the verse, gentleness originates from mercy. If the Messenger of Allah had become rude and harsh, everybody around him would have abandoned him. The vast mercy of God Almighty made him gentle. That is, God made his nature so perfect and gentle that the hands that touched him were never injured, and they found a rose when they expected thorns.  (Abdullah 1997, 1:398)

I find it useful to mention some hadiths related to mercy here. The Messenger of Allah says:

Allah will not show mercy to someone who does not show mercy to people. (Bukhari, "Tawhid", 2; Muslim, "Fadail," 66)

Show mercy to those on the earth, those in the sky will show mercy to you. (Hakim, al-Mustadrak, 4:277)

He who does not show mercy to people will not be shown mercy. (Bukhari, "Adab," 18; Muslim, "Fadail, 65)

Hazrat Prophet (pbuh) acted tolerantly towards even those who broke his teeth and injured his head. After the conquest of Makkah, he said to the Makkans, who were wondering what would happen to them, “You may go; all of you are free” although they had expelled him from his hometown when he was sorry and in tears. He forgave Abu Sufyan and softened his heart so that he would embrace Islam. He also forgave Wahshi, who had killed his beloved uncle, and Ikrima, the son of Abu Jahl. He forgave many others like them and did not call them to account for what they had done.

He did not reproach people; he did not blame them in front of others due to their mistakes; instead of despising them, he acted nicely and honestly by setting an example to them.

Sometimes, there were some people who came to him, acted rudely and even insulted him. If he had raised a finger, a hundred swords would have cut off his head. However, he reacted gently towards those rude and harsh behaviors. (Abdullah, 1997, 1:403).

Bukhari and Muslim narrate from Abu Said al-Khudri: A man called Dhu'l-Huwaysira came to the Messenger of Allah (pbuh). Meanwhile, the Messenger of Allah was dividing the war booty. He addressed our Prophet insolently: "O Muhammad, be just!" (If that word were said to one of us, we would have a shock. As a matter of fact, we can be unfair. However, the person to whom that sentence was said was a prophet who was appointed to bring justice to the world.)

Hazrat Umar, who was there at that time, roared when he heard that disrespectful remark and said, “Let me cut off that munafiq’s head, O Messenger of Allah!”

After soothing Hazrat Umar and those who thought like him, the Messenger of Allah turned to that man said to him only the following: "Woe on you! If I am not just, who else can be just? (Bukhari, "Adab", 95; Muslim, "Zakat", 142) In other narrations, the reply of our Prophet is in a different form that can mean as follows: "Woe on me if I am not just; it means I am destroyed. Woe on you because of my injustice because you follow me as a prophet!" (Abdullah, 1997, 1:405-406)

The following are guiding principles related to tolerance: Open your heart to everybody, let it be like oceans! Be filled with belief and feel love for people; let there be no dejected heart that you have not been interested in and you have not helped..! Appraise the good people due to their good deeds; be generous towards believing hearts; approach the faithless people softly so that their animosity and hatred will melt away; be like Messiah with your breaths...!

Driveaway the bad deeds with good deeds; do not heed rude attitudes! Everybody reflects his own character through their behavior. Prefer the way of tolerance and be noble-hearted towards those who do not have good manners..! It is the most distinguished quality of a heart that is full of love to love the love and to turn against hostility. To hate everybody is either an indication of having been directed by the devil or a sign of insanity. Love human beings; admire humanity..! 

[rest-in-being]

Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem

FOREVER TO BE FREE from the PRISON OF TIME AND SPACE

As long as we are within the limits of time and space we are forced to carry heavy burdens on ourselves. Therefore we must ask Allah Almighty to take these heavy burdens away. The Spiritual World is beyond time and space. Therefore we know that there is no time and no space in the Spiritual World.

Hence we must try to develop our Spiritual Bodies to escape from this burden that we are carrying. If we do not go beyond time and space our souls which has come from the Spiritual World to our bodies are going to be locked up like in prison, which is the prison of time and space. We must ask Allah Almighty to forgive us because we are trying to escape from His Will. We keep thinking that it is better for us to be in prison, living for Dunya, rather than be out of time and space.

All of the Prophets (peace be upon them), including the Seal of the Prophets Sayyidina Muhammed (on whom be peace), gave teachings and methods to mankind to save them from this prison and to give them their freedom. But mankind due to their desires are not following the teachings or the methods given to them because it may become a hindrance to their desires. Therefore anything that does not prevent them from their desires is what they seem to be calling freedom. This is the understanding of the common people. They do not realise that they have become slaves to their desires. How can there be freedom when they are slaves to their desires.

Therefore when Prophets came and called Mankind to accept their good teachings and methods, which they brought from the Heavens in order to break the bondage of slavery on Earth and to make them free and to make them reach to Heaven, they run away saying, "No, you have come to make us slaves, and to take our freedom away. You are trying to put us in prison by bringing haram and halal to us." This is the understanding, today, of the common people of this heavenly message.

Abu Jahil and others refused to accept the teachings of Sayyidina Muhammed (on whom be peace), and went against the Prophet (on whom be peace), saying, "No, we do not believe in you and we cannot accept you and your discipline. Originally we never accepted any discipline, we want to be free of all what you are saying. You are telling us the wrong things, the things that we do not like to do. How could we have freedom if we listen to you because by listening to you we are becoming slaves". They did not realise that they became slaves of Shaitan and not of Allah Almighty. Since they were slaves of Shaitan they did not want to accept. Shaitan was telling them not to accept these holy teachings because by accepting it they would have lost their freedom. The same mentality has been there throughout the centuries and particularly more so in this century. They are trying to run away from Islam because they think that in Islam man does not have his freedom and more particularly that there is no freedom for women. More than half the population thinks this way and they are wrong. Shaitan and his representatives are saying to women, "Do not accept Islam, by accepting Islam you are going to loose your freedom. You cannot be free as you wish to be." The mentality of women has become such today that they say, "we refuse to come to Islam. In our countries we do not want the government to have Islamic laws, Sharia, because we will then loose our freedom. We do not like to vote for the people who try to bring this law of Islam (Sharia) to our country."

Shaitan is teaching them not to accept Islam and that by accepting Islam they will be loosing their freedom. Women have reached to the lowest levels possible today. Yes, women of the 20th century have reached the lowest levels. Finished. Men are dealing with women today even as they deal with animals. They are degrading them by not giving them the honour that is due to them. They do not give them their rights. Are these the freedoms for which women are fighting Islam. They fight against Islam because it is preventing their animal desires, which they need so much. Islam does not agree to this.

Islam teaches discipline to save humanity from being on the level of animals, and to take people to the ranks of Heaven. This is the target of Islam. These are the views and teachings of Islam, which is to save people from the level of animals and to take them to the ranks of the Angels.

-Sultanul Awliya Mawlana Sheikh Nazim Adil Al Haqqani QaddasAllahu Sirrahu

[sweetness-of-faith]

In Arabic, Allah means literally the one God. It is pretty easy to understand how different languages give the same thing different names.

Is it that unusual to hear Muslims call God another name, like "Allah", while He is also called God or Lord? Some people have no minds; in the last decade, a growing phenomenon was seen on the internet and in published literature.

Allah is falsely said to be the “moon god” that Arabs worshiped, and Kaaba (The Muslims holiest place on Earth) is falsely said to be His temple.

The evidence for this baseless theory given by evil-mongers is that they argue that the crescent appears on the top of many mosques all over the world and then these evil-mongers have made up a fabricated picture of the "moon god".

This idea is very dangerous. If you believe that Muslims are worshiping an idol, then there is no basis even to talk to them. They are pagan idolaters like Hindus and Buddhists.

It is alleged that although Islam is a monotheistic religion, the Muslims' only God is simply another idol that Muhammad ﷺ chose (or in some versions of the story, he made it up).

To invalidate this foolish theory, one has to take the story from different angles. The crescent is not a symbol of Islam, but of the Ottoman Empire.

The Ottomans are those tribes that moved to Turkey from east and middle Asia. They converted to Islam and built a huge Muslim Empire that ruled the whole Muslim world for centuries.

When they took Islam as a religion they started using the lunar calendar, the calendar that was used by Muslims, Jews and early Christians.

Even today, the flag of Turkey has a crescent on it. There was no crescent on any mosque built before the Ottomans era. Prophet Abraham عليه السلام built the Kaaba for people to worship God.

While pagan Arabs admitted this fact and even kept the stone where he used to stand to build the Kaaba (Abraham's station), they brought idols to the Kaaba and worshiped them to get closer to Abraham's Master, Allah ﷻ, God of gods.

Prophet Muhammad ﷺ came with the monotheistic message of Islam. Arabs defended these idols and refused to give up the religion of their fathers and grandfathers.

They offered to Muhammad ﷺ a deal, that is to worship their gods for one year, and they worship Allah ﷻ alone for one year. A surah of the Quran came with the response from God to this evil invitation.

Later on, the Quran started calling Allah ﷻ by other names. One of those holy names was Al-Rahman (the Gracious). Arabs wondered:"is this a new God?" The Quran responded again.

It is not a new god; it is a new name for the same God. Allah ﷻ has ninety nine names in Islam; all of them are holy and speak about different attributes of the same creator, almighty Allah.

"Allah is He, than Whom there is no other god; the Sovereign, the Holy One, the Source of Peace (and Perfection), the Guardian of Faith, the Preserver of Safety, the Exalted in Might, the Irresistible, the Supreme: Glory to Allah! (High is He) above the partners they attribute to Him.

He is Allah, the Creator, the Evolver, the Bestower of Forms (or Colours). To Him belong the Most Beautiful Names: whatever is in the heavens and on earth, doth declare His Praises and Glory; and He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise." [Quran 59:22-24]

When Prophet Muhammad ﷺ came back to Mecca, he entered the city peacefully on the top of an army of 10,000 men, exactly as the Bible described him "pre-eminent above ten thousand." (Solomon 5:10).

He did not burn a single home; he did not harm a single person; he just went to the Kaaba and destroyed all the gods Arabs had there.

He kept nothing in the Kaaba. Where is this picture of the moon god coming from? I don't know. Did anyone of the pagan Arabs have a digital camera by then?

There is evidence that the word Allah ﷻ existed before the birth of Muhammad ﷺ for thousands of years. It is probably the oldest name man used to call God.

Most likely, Adam عليه السلام used the word Allah ﷺ to call the Master. On the other hand, the word "GOD" was born with the English language, less than ten centuries ago.

Can we say that all English speaking nations are pagans because they use the word "God"? What about Chinese monotheists? How should they call God?

Prophet Muhammad's father’s name was Abdullah (The slave of Allah). This name was common among Arab pagans and Jews. Abdullah bin Salam was one of the first Jews to convert to Islam in Medina.

When Arabs call Allah in prayer they say: “Ya Allah” or “Allahoma”. Aren't these words familiar to you? “Alleluia” and “Elohim” are the words used to call Allah in the Bible.

In Hebrew, the suffix im means many. So Elohim literally means many Allah(s). This is a known way to express dignity and respect to almighty Allah by calling Him pleural.

This phenomenon is known in Hebrew, Arabic, English and other languages. In Quran, the same pattern is seen many times. The word Allah is used in all Arabic translations of the Bible.

It was used in some English translations of the Bible like the original "Scofield Reference Bible"-reference: what is his name? by Deedat.

In the New Testament, Jesus is believed to cry before his death "ELOI, ELOI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?” Eloi is the exact Arabic word "Elahi" which comes from the same root as Allah.

I have no doubt that the word "Allah" is the oldest known name man called God with. For those who choose to ignore this fact and transgress, Muslims have nothing to offer.

For Muslims, Allah is perfect. He has no partners. We worship Him and Him alone. Our faith is summarized in the holy Quran:

"Say: He is Allah, the One and Only; Allah, the Eternal, Absolute; He begetteth not, nor is He begotten; And there is none like unto Him." [Quran 112:1-4]

[wisdomrays]

TAFAKKUR: Part 426

QUESTIONS FOR TODAY - PROPHETHOOD: Part 2

Is it possible that the One Who ordered this creation, opened to us His works, for our wonder and awe, Who desires to make Himself known through His creation, Who chose distinguished servants to guide our attention-is it possible that He would not, through these distinguished servants, reveal His names and Attributes to those who long to know Him? If this were so, would it not make His creation a vain work? The Supreme Being Who made everything like a tongue and a letter and Who revealed His Wisdom and Blessings through such things is absolutely free from vanity and absurdity. Thus, it seems to us, most unlikely that any people in one or other part of the world has been deprived of Allah’s revelation through His prophets. The Qur’an, indeed, is explicit on this point:

For We assuredly send amongst every people an Apostle (with the command), ‘Serve Allah and eschew evil. ’(al-NahI, 16.36)

However, mankind forgot the teachings brought by those appointed servants and over time went astray, sometimes deifying the very men who preached against it, and sank into idolatry.

Throughout the earth there are examples of what man’s imagination has idolized-like the mountain of the gods in ancient Greece or, to this day, the River Ganges in India. Even accepting that there must be a tremendous difference between their first appearance and the actual position now, it is quite impossible to understand the conditions that raised Confucius in China and Brahman and Buddha in India. It is equally difficult to guess what they originally taught, or to know how far time and human degeneration have corrupted the first message.

If the Qur’an, which eradicates doubts, had not introduced Jesus Christ to us, it would not now be possible to have a true picture of his life and his teaching. For priests have confounded the truth about Jesus Christ with the philosophies and idolatries of the Ancient Greeks and Romans, attributing divinity to man, and anthropomorphizing God. The concept of the Trinity is certainly a priestly, human corruption-insulting as it is to common sense and reason and, still more shameful, impudent towards Allah.

Perhaps it was one of the conditions of the Roman Empire accepting Christianity as the official, state religion, that the festival, holy days, rites and rituals of the church are so obviously and shamelessly derived from, or imitate directly, the idolatrous practices of the ancient Romans and Greeks. For, without the enlightening revelation of the Qur’an, it is very difficult to tell the Jesus Christ worshipped in the Christian church from Adonis or Dionysus.

Considering that Christianity is relatively recent and considering what the Christians did to their prophet and to their Book, we may well wonder how many ‘Christs’ have been treated in the same way by their followers over time? From a reliable Islamic source, there is a hadith which says: ‘a prophet’s disciples will carry out his mission after his death but some of his followers will also upset everything he established’ (Muslim, Fada’il al-Sahaba, 210-12; lbn Hanbal Musnad, 417) This is a most important point. Many of the religions which we now consider false turned to falsehoods, superstitions and legends over time through the deliberate malice of their enemies-despite the fact that, originally, they may have come from the purest, Divine source.

To say that someone is a prophet when he is not is tantamount to kufr (unbelief), just as to refuse to believe in a true prophet is also kufr. On the other hand, if the case of these false religions is similar to that of Christianity, that is, if they were distorted by their followers over time, we should look at those religions with some caution and reserve judgement in some measure. We should consider what Buddhism may have been in its true original; similarly, Brahmanism; or the doctrines attributed to Confucius; or shamanism and other such: it may be that we may find in them some remnant of what they were in their origins.

What they were-whether true or false (we do not know)-is not what they are. Supposing the impossible that their founders returned and saw the religion they originally established, they would not now recognize them.

There have been many religions which have been distorted and altered in the world, and consequently it is essential to accept the purity of their original foundation. The Our’an says:

There never was a people without a Warner having lived among them. (al-Fatir, 35.24)

And We assuredly sent among every people an Apostle. (al-NahI, 16.36)

These revelations universally declare that Allah sent Messengers to every people throughout the world. The names of some of these are known to us through the Qur’an, but there is also a large number whose names have not been made known to us. The names we know are 28 out of 124,000 (or perhaps 224,000); even then we do not know exactly where and when many of them lived.

Essentially we are not bound to know all the past prophets. The Qur’an says:

We did in times past send Apostles before you; of them there are some whose stories We have related to you, and some whose story We have not related to you. (al-Ghafir, 40.78)

In this way, the Qur’an warns us not to deal with some of those whom it does not mention to us.

Recent studies in comparative religion, philosophy and anthropology, have shown how many communities, living at very great distances from each other, share certain concepts and practices. For example, turning from plural to a singular conception of God; in their supplications in times of exceptional stress seeking refuge only in the One Supreme Being and raising their hands and asking something from Him. There are very many such phenomena which indicate a singular source, a single teaching.

If primitive tribes cut off from civilization and the influence of the known prophets, have a sure understanding of the Oneness of Allah, though they may have little understanding of how to live according to that belief, it must be that, as the Qur’an tells us, every people and nation has had its own Message and Messenger:

To every people was sent an Apostle. When their Apostle comes (before them), the matter will be judged between them with justice, and they will not be wronged. (Yunus, 10.47)

No people and no land are excluded from that commandment.

This brings us to the question of whether those who claim they have not been sent a prophet will be held responsible for their beliefs and actions. As we have just explained, there is no reason to believe that any peoples in the world have been deprived altogether of the prophets’ light. There may have been periods in which darkness seemed to prevail. But such were temporary darknesses, after which the Grace and Blessing of Allah again enlightened the people through revelation to His chosen servants. Thus, whether it be less or more, every people, at some point in their history, saw or heard or experienced to the full, the mercy of revelation. Nevertheless, we must allow that, in some instances, the destruction of the beliefs which the prophets established was so absolute, and people introduced so many distortions into the religion and bizarre rites of worship, that the true teachings were generally, if not altogether, lost by the people. In such cases, a long interregnum of darkness may have replaced enlightenment. Though darkness is ever followed by an enlightenment, and an enlightenment by darkness, there may be some peoples who remained in darkness as it were unknowingly and against their own will. For such people there are glad tidings in the Qur’an. These are not punished or blamed for the wrong they may do, until and unless due warning has been conveyed to them: We would never visit our wrath on any community until We had sent an Apostle to give warning (al-Isra’, 17.15). That is, the warning precedes responsibility and then reward or punishment.

As for the details of this matter, the imams of the Islamic schools of thought think differently. For instance, Imam Maturidi and his school argue that no people can be excused given that there is plenty of evidence pointing to the One Creator which leads to belief in Him. By contrast, the Ashari school, referring to the Qur’anic verse quoted above, argue that warning and guidance must precede judgement and people can only be held responsible if they have been sent a prophet. There is a third body of scholars who have combined these two positions. They hold that those who have not been sent any prophet and thus have not wilfully strayed into unbelief or worshipped idols are ahl-i najat (the people who will be excused and so escape the punishment and who, as Allah wills, may be saved). For, in fact, some people cannot analyze the things and events around them, cannot penetrate to their meaning, nor deduce therefrom the right course of belief and action. Such people are first taught the right way, given explanations and directions on how to act and then, in line with their actions thereafter, are answerable and accordingly rewarded or punished. But as for those who wilfully take to unbelief or adopt a hostile, negative attitude to belief and religion, or knowingly defy Allah and His commandments, they will certainly be questioned and punished for their deviation and corruption, even though they live in the farthest, most desolate and deserted region of the world.

To summarize: no region or people has been altogether deprived of Divine enlightenment through Allah’s chosen servants, His prophets. Directly or indirectly, all people of all periods have, at some time in their history, known or been aware of a prophet and of his teaching. A period during which the names of the prophets have been forgotten and their teachings completely eroded, until another prophet is sent, is described as an interregnum. It is accepted that people who live in those periods would not be punished but rather excused, on the condition that they have not knowingly and wilfully deviated into polytheism or atheism.

And Allah, the All-Knowing and All-Encompassing, knows best.

[thetruthseekerway]

Islam: Humans’ Innate Faith

New Post has been published on https://www.truth-seeker.info/refuting-darwinism/islam-humans-innate-faith/

Islam: Humans’ Innate Faith

By Faten Sabri

Allah the Almighty says what means,

“Do you not see that to God prostrates whoever is in the heavens [sky] and whoever is on the earth and the sun, the moon, the stars, the mountains, the trees, the moving creatures and many of the people? But upon many the punishment has been justified. And he whom God humiliates – for him there is no bestower of honor. Indeed, God does what He wills.” (Al-Hajj 22:18)

Despite claims to the contrary, all people seek refuge in the Creator of the universe and resort to Him alone in times of adversity and difficulty. Deep in their hearts- they consider The One Divine Power in Heavens as a solution to their problems, a fulfillment to their needs, and the relief of their distress. They consider that their success and victory are dependent on His Will and Kindness. (For example: during an incident of an airplane crash, all the passengers from different religious backgrounds ‘Buddhist, Christians, Hindus, Muslims, Atheists, etc.’ prayed to the Power that exists in Heavens to rescue them).

Allah the Almighty says what means,

“God (the Creator): there is no true god but him.  The ever-living, the eternal master of all.  Neither drowsiness nor sleep overtakes him.  His is all that is in the heavens and all that is on earth.   Who is there that can intercede with him, except by his permission?  He knows all that lies open before them and all that lies hidden from them; whereas they cannot attain to anything of his knowledge save as he wills.  His throne extends over the heavens and the earth, and the preservation of both does not tire him.  He is the Most high, the Most great.” (Al-Baqarah 2:255).

Every child is born sinless. Everyone can call upon their Creator without any intermediary. If the child is left alone without parents or any teachings, he will grow up worshipping the Creator alone. At the age of puberty, he will be responsible for his actions and he has a choice to remain monotheist worshiping his Creator alone, or to change his natural religion and take a wrong path by praying to God through an intermediary (Jesus, Mary, Buddha, Idols, Muhammad… etc.).

In Islam, there is nothing that can lead people to atheism. There are no mysteries that can struggle the mind. There is only one God; He has created all beings and all will return to Him. He sent the same message to prophets of all nations. A simple straightforward message and one condition of salvation: Belief in One God and to unify Him in worship. It is a clear and simple concept, which even the naturalists, and atheists may find hard to reject or doubt.

Actually, atheism advanced because of the very complicated concept of God in other religions which contradicts the pure simple concept of God in human being’s hearts. Other reasons which have led people to atheism are the unreasonable demands and orders from their clergy and religious institutions, who often use religion as an excuse to gain worldly and political benefits.

This means that all the similarities between religions come from God and the differences arose from mankind who created different paths to the Creator. If everyone worships the Creator God alone without partners or intermediaries (saints, priests, idols or prophets), we would all be united. This is the key to harmony and unity to the world.

Allah the Almighty says what means,

“O People of the Scripture come to common terms between us and you, that we worship none other than God, and do not associate with Him anybody else and do not take one another as lords instead of God.” (Aal `Imran 3:64)

The greatness and uniqueness of Islam (which means total submission to the Creator and the worship of Him alone without any intermediary) when compared to any other religion is evidenced in three things:

Islam has retained the genuine concept of Oneness of God, devoid of any philosophy or complexity.

It has the only true preserved Scripture – The Word of God. The full text of the Qur’an is available in the exact form as uttered by Prophet Muhammad at the time of its revelation and in the original language in which it was revealed.

The teachings of the Prophet Muhammad were transmitted through confirmed chains of authenticated narrators.

Islam corroborate all previous prophets and messengers of God and their revelations.

Allah the Almighty says what means,

“Say, [O believers], “We have believed in God (The Creator) and what has been revealed to us and what has been revealed to Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the Descendants and what was given to Moses and Jesus and what was given to the prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and we are Muslims [in submission] to Him.” (Al-Baqarah 2:136)

Islam is the only way indicated by the Creator to achieve happiness in this life and the afterlife. Allah the Almighty says what means,

“Indeed, the religion in the sight of God is Islam. And those who were given the Scripture did not differ except after knowledge had come to them – out of jealous animosity between themselves. And whoever disbelieves in the verses of God, then indeed, God is swift in [taking] account.” (Aal `Imran 3:19)

———–

Faten Sabri (1973) is a modern Jordanian Muslim thinker. She is well known for her frequent interaction with various cultures, religions and she speaks different languages. She studied comparative religions which made her able to discuss the controversial issues about Islam with the truth seekers and free thinkers. She wrote books about the message of Islam, the original concept of God and Jesus Christ in Islam and she has monthly articles in an international magazines. These books and articles were translated and distributed in more than 6 languages.