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Considering Islam
- Thread starter Nerthus
- Start date
A Thousand Suns
Rationalist
Well for any Non-Muslims who wants to know about Islam , should first read Quran , our greatest treasure
"This is the Book - in it is guidance sure, without doubt, to those who are (Muttaqoon) Allah-conscious." [2:al-baqarah:2]
After reading Quran , you can read about life of Prophet Muhammad(pbuh) , here is a good article on his life
The Life of Prophet Muhammad (In Makkah)
The Life of Prophet Muhammad In Al-Madinah
Common Question about Islam and their answers
Answers to Non-Muslims by Dr. Zakir Naik
And lastly to see how Islam views other major religion you can read books by Muslim scholars----I prefer this
Concept of God in Major Religions by Dr. Zakir Naik
A Thousand Suns
Rationalist
In my opinion if anyone who converts to any religion without actually researching it ,is a complete fool----but a person without actually having the knowledge of religion ,judges it based on his assumptions ,is a bigger fool.
Nerthus
Wanderlust
fatima_bintu_islam
Active Member
Starsoul
Truth
I can quote a small example for the decisions that are final in nature and the decisions which give man the power to choose.
A man came to one of the most dear and near companions of the Prophet Muhammad SAW( peace be upon him), Hazrat Ali (RA) and asked the same question that you have in mind, like " How much is my tadbeer( my efforts) regarding my taqdeer?( my fate, whats written).
Hazrat Ali asked him to raise his one leg, he did. He then asked him to raise the other leg from the ground while keeping the first leg in air. He exclaimed 'But I cannot do that!'
Ali (RA) said, "The first leg that you raised signifies about 50% of the effort that you could do to carry out an action that you would've wanted to. The 2nd leg that you could not raise, is the 50% of your fate which you will not be able to do, owing to the limitations on your capabilities kept by Allah."
Now God will observe and judge you closely for the efforts that you COULD put into something that were within your power and reach, BUT you will not be judged for the remaining 50% of the actions which you may have wanted to do but are unable to do so. And that 50% is totally controlled by God, And is changeable by prayers (like there is no limit to what you can pray for yourself to achieve in this world and the hereafter, unless you are praying for the harm of others)
Meaning: If you have a deep trench infront of you, and you have some miseries in your life troubling you enough to make you want to end your life, your death is one step away! And the decision lies with you.
But Allah (SWT) says, 'do not end your life for I will give you a better compensation for that misery in this life when you remain patient, and you shall be the closest of my people on the day of judgment and you shall find your misery too insignificant in the face of my mercy'.
Now thats a choice, you can go ahead and end your life( an act severely disliked by Allah, reducing the chances of mercy being granted) OR you can have some faith, wait with patience so that you can witness Allah's glory while being strong in perverseness and faith by praying to Him to give you faith, patience and goodness to go on.
You can ask Allah for anything and everything, e.g I have some flaws which i regularly ask Of Allah to make me straighten up, the efforts that go into prayers are very less than the efforts that go to actually coming about changing a habit, it just happens so effortlessly and becomes really easy for you if prayers are incorporated into all the things that you want in your life.( Cuz If you don't get it, you know it could've brought misery later on, wasn't good enough for you, you get something better so one says to themselves that 'i'm good with what i have for now', OR you get it with the blessings of Allah which is a very joyous feeling)
Simplified, you will die on the day that has been written for you to die, that is our belief ; our death guards our life until we are actually supposed to die. But the control that you do have on your life, is the power to choose what good you could do and do it with the best and purest of your intentions. I can choose to be mean to a person i have a dislike for, or i can remain silent, which is the preferred way of avoiding conflict and unnecessary arguments which may lead to a fight.( there are other ways of conflict management too, this was just one of the examples)
But some unfortunate among us are too disheartened and do not practice patience and are quick to decide the end of their miserable lives and that becomes a regret for them in the after life too because they think 'ahh my life will be over, so will be all the troubles' but when you have an afterlife designed for you based on the results of your efforts in this life, how can you even be sure that all the trouble is just going to be done with? You actually create mega trouble for yourself by ending your life because Allah is quite displeased at such hopeless endeavors.
I tried explaining, hope you got the point somewhere.
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Starsoul
Truth
Very True. But don't you worry, knowledge is a very gradual thing. For instance even after studying upto high school there's so much that we do not understand completely and cannot attempt to understand completely unless we go through some enlightening experiences in our lives.
Similarly, since most of us do not touch the subject of religions until late in our lives, we really do start at elementary level, and to comprehend all of it takes some time and patience. There are many things muslims keep on learning all their lives too, its not like they know each and everything about religion either, but yes our faith guides us to that knowledge with time and with patience. But for you, acquiring that knowledge is important.
The best thing would be to keep an enlightened faithful company with you, and you can also look up the videos on youtube and articles of the (re)con-verts from your area who might have similar questions to yours and may help you greatly since you'd definitely understand them better. One that i know of is Abdul Raheem Green.
[youtube]QF1KHuVrgis[/youtube]
YouTube - Interview With Abdur-Raheem Green
fatima_bintu_islam
Active Member
??????? What the???
okay okay, I am sorry. btw, I hope you take look at the Muhammad's ancestry thread, I started, in the history section.
Starsoul
Truth
yeah the super hypo-hypothetical thread , with willy nilly derivations from a so called 'ancient' historianokay okay, I am sorry. btw, I hope you take look at the Muhammad's ancestry thread, I started, in the history section.
yeah the super hypo-hypothetical thread , with willy nilly derivations from a so called 'ancient' historian
Yep, It is all based on the silly notion that people might think science is reasonable, I know.
Nerthus
Wanderlust
I was talking to a friend the other day, and she said that in Islam the playing of musical instruments, or listening to music which includes an instrument, is not permitted. Is that right? If so, why can Muslims not play an instrument? Because, I have seen Muslims singers, and seen Muslims listen to music, yet from searching the internet it seems that many say it is not allowed.
Nerthus, some scholars say it's not allowed and some say it's allowed. Both opinions are correct and choose what makes more sense to you.
From: What Does Islam Say on Music? - IslamonLine.net - Ask The Scholar
Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a senior lecturer and an Islamic scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, states:
“Music is an issue that has been hotly debated by scholars of the past and the present. While many of them have been generally inclined to condemn all forms of music, with the singular exception of ad-duff (tambourine) in weddings, quite a few of them have taken a more positive approach of considering only music containing sensual, pagan, or unethical themes or subliminal messages as being categorically forbidden.
The latter view seems to be more consistent with the general nature of Islam, which is undoubtedly a complete way of life that caters to all of the genuine human instincts and needs within permissible limits. Thus, to say that all music is forbidden in Islam does not seem to agree with the balanced approach of Islam to issues of human life and experience.
From: What Does Islam Say on Music? - IslamonLine.net - Ask The Scholar
Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a senior lecturer and an Islamic scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, states:
“Music is an issue that has been hotly debated by scholars of the past and the present. While many of them have been generally inclined to condemn all forms of music, with the singular exception of ad-duff (tambourine) in weddings, quite a few of them have taken a more positive approach of considering only music containing sensual, pagan, or unethical themes or subliminal messages as being categorically forbidden.
The latter view seems to be more consistent with the general nature of Islam, which is undoubtedly a complete way of life that caters to all of the genuine human instincts and needs within permissible limits. Thus, to say that all music is forbidden in Islam does not seem to agree with the balanced approach of Islam to issues of human life and experience.
The Orthodoxy prohibits playing musical instruments. The Sufi and liberal muslims, on the other hand, have written many songs and poetry praising God, Muhammad and raising human awareness. They also, regularly, complain of the Orthodoxy blindly following the literal word and insisting others do the same, without giving thought to context.
There are hadith that tell us that the Muhammad p attended a wedding wherer there was music. Anyone who has read the Bible knows that King David played the harp.
You are welcome to ask questions.
Like in any religion there has been a struggle between the spiritual liberal Muslims and the Islamist Orthodoxy. For example, Bulleh Shah was a Punjabi Sufi poet who lived from 1680 to 1758 in an area of what is, Pakistan . Listen to this video containing his poetry:
[youtube]WBl0zLLnAn4[/youtube]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBl0zLLnAn4&feature=related
Here is an anti Shariah poem in Punjabi by Bulleh Shah (translated):
Stay silent to survive. People cannot stand to hear the truth. They are at your throat if you speak it. They keep away from those who speak it. But truth is sweet to its lovers! Truth destroys shara (shariah). Brings rapture to its lovers, And unexpected riches, Which shara (shariah) obscures. Those lovers cannot remain silent Who have inhaled the fragrance of truth. Those who have woven love into their lives, Leave this world of falsehood. Bulleh Shah speaks the truth. He uncovers the truth of shara (shariah). He opens the path to the fourth level, Which shara (shariah) obscures.
Like in any religion there has been a struggle between the spiritual liberal Muslims and the Islamist Orthodoxy. For example, Bulleh Shah was a Punjabi Sufi poet who lived from 1680 to 1758 in an area of what is, Pakistan . Listen to this video containing his poetry:
[youtube]WBl0zLLnAn4[/youtube]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBl0zLLnAn4&feature=related
Here is an anti Shariah poem in Punjabi by Bulleh Shah (translated):
Stay silent to survive. People cannot stand to hear the truth. They are at your throat if you speak it. They keep away from those who speak it. But truth is sweet to its lovers! Truth destroys shara (shariah). Brings rapture to its lovers, And unexpected riches, Which shara (shariah) obscures. Those lovers cannot remain silent Who have inhaled the fragrance of truth. Those who have woven love into their lives, Leave this world of falsehood. Bulleh Shah speaks the truth. He uncovers the truth of shara (shariah). He opens the path to the fourth level, Which shara (shariah) obscures.
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