Do most Muslims believe this?

[Katzpur]

This was posted by a new RF member in his intro:

ISLAM is the only religion that will giude you to the paradise and will save you from the Hill fire after death.

To me, that sounds like something a fundamentalist Christian would say about Christianity -- that everyone who is not Christian will be tortured eternally. I don't know a great deal about Islam, but I don't recall seeing this kind of talk from most of the Muslims on RF. Is this just one person's interpretation or do you all believe that all non-Muslims (regardless of how they lived their lives) are going to Hell? I guess I didn't even know that Muslims believed in Hellfire.

 

[Cordoba]

Hello Katzpur

Muslims believe in a Day of Judgement which will take place in the Hereafter when all people will be held accounatble for what they did in this world.

Those whom God will accept and forgive will be rewarded Paradise, and those He will not forgive will be sent to Hell. This page gives more details:

Reading Islam

As for those who will be sent to Hell, that includes those who received God's message and chose to reject it by their own free will, in addition to Muslims whose bad deeds exceed their good deeds and were not forgiven by God on The Day of Judgement.

Believers of earlier prophets, before Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, who followed God's Guidance sent to them will be in Paradise, as mentioned in The Qur'an in verse (2:62)

"Indeed, those who believed and those who were Jews or Christians or Sabeans [before Prophet Muhammad] – those [among them] who believed in Allah and the Last Day and did righteousness – will have their reward with their Lord, and no fear will there be concerning them, nor will they grieve." (2:62)

As for believers from the People of the Book (Jews and Christians) who lived after Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, and who received God's final Guidance (The Qur'an), they are required to follow the path of Islam for salvation, as The Qur'an supercedes earlier scriptures, and is preserved intact from change.

We believe that The Qur'an is God's true unchanged revelation and final guidance.

 

[Sahar]

Yes, Islam is the only path for eternal happiness and paradise but this doesn't mean that all Muslims are going to heaven or all non Muslims are automatically going to hell.

There are Muslims who commit bad deeds and if their bad deeds overweight the good ones on the day of judgment, hell will be their dwelling.

If a non Muslim realized the message of Islam and rejected, it is what makes him kafir and lead him to hell and many non Muslims are ignorant of this message, in the first place.

The other point, I don't think it's possible to tell who is going to hell and who is not, maybe I am going to hell before anyone else, may Allah protect us from its fire and guide us to the the right path.

 

[maro]

...in addition to Muslims whose bad deeds exceed their good deeds and were not forgiven by God on The Day of Judgement.

There are Muslims who commit bad deeds and if their bad deeds overweight the good ones on the day of judgment, hell will be their dwelling.

.

I just want to clarify that this will be temporary

 

[Katzpur]

That's interesting. I'm sorry to hear your religion teaches that I, as a Christian, will go to Hell, but I understand that many Christians believe you will go there, too. My particular denomination of Christianity believes differently. Thanks for your answers.

 

[Sahar]

That's interesting. I'm sorry to hear your religion teaches that I, as a Christian, will go to Hell, but I understand that many Christians believe you will go there, too.

I personally don't mind anyone believing so, but God will judge between us.

 

[islam means peace]

This was posted by a new RF member in his intro:

To me, that sounds like something a fundamentalist Christian would say about Christianity -- that everyone who is not Christian will be tortured eternally. I don't know a great deal about Islam, but I don't recall seeing this kind of talk from most of the Muslims on RF. Is this just one person's interpretation or do you all believe that all non-Muslims (regardless of how they lived their lives) are going to Hell? I guess I didn't even know that Muslims believed in Hellfire.

Well Katzpur , as you said you did not know much about muslims believes so you must know what is the meaning of muslim , i think you have a mis-concept that you believe that muslims are only the followers of Prophe Muhammad (S.A.W),

Brother , Islam believes in all the prophets ,Islam states that Allah sent messengers and prophets throughout the ages with the message of Unity of God, and accountability in the Hereafter. Islam thus makes it an article of faith to believe in all the earlier prophets, starting with Prophet Adam (Peace be upon him) , and continuing with Prophet Noah (Peace be upon him), Prophet Abraham (Peace be upon him),Prophet Ishmael (Peace be upon him),Prophet Isaac (Peace be upon him), Prophet Yaqoob (Peace be upon him) ,Prophet Moses (Peace be upon him) ,Prophet Dawood (Peace be upon him) ,Prophet Eisa (Peace be upon him) (Christian name them Jesus/christ) and many others . All the messenger bring the same message of Allah to us.

Thus , the followers of all the Prophets , who follow the Prophets correctly and did not corrupt their teachings are inshahallah goes to Heaven.

I think this will much clear your mind and thinking.

 

[Onkara]

Well Katzpur , as you said you did not know much about muslims believes so you must know what is the meaning of muslim , i think you have a mis-concept that you believe that muslims are only the followers of Prophe Muhammad (S.A.W),

Brother , Islam believes in all the prophets ,Islam states that Allah sent messengers and prophets throughout the ages with the message of Unity of God, and accountability in the Hereafter. Islam thus makes it an article of faith to believe in all the earlier prophets, starting with Prophet Adam (Peace be upon him) , and continuing with Prophet Noah (Peace be upon him), Prophet Abraham (Peace be upon him),Prophet Ishmael (Peace be upon him),Prophet Isaac (Peace be upon him), Prophet Yaqoob (Peace be upon him) ,Prophet Moses (Peace be upon him) ,Prophet Dawood (Peace be upon him) ,Prophet Eisa (Peace be upon him) (Christian name them Jesus/christ) and many others . All the messenger bring the same message of Allah to us.

Thus , the followers of all the Prophets , who follow the Prophets correctly and did not corrupt their teachings are inshahallah goes to Heaven.

I think this will much clear your mind and thinking.

Thanks for this post, Islam means peace.
I can now understand why the term Mohamedism does not capture Islam correctly and have learnt from this thread.

I do have a question please, why is it so that the word of Allah (or the Quaran) must be understood and followed according to the prophets and not our own interpretations?

Respectfully, Onkarah.

 

[MSizer]

If I may, I do remember reading verses in the Qur'an which were very descriptive of how those who dell in hell shall suffer. There was much more detail in the Qur'an's version of hell than the catholic bible that I read. It mentioned boling water being poured over people and the fires melting flesh off of the peoples' skulls and iron hooks and a bunch of stuff like that. Pretty sick. I don't know how many people believe it literaly though.

 

[Onkara]

I don't know how many people believe it literaly though.

Interesting quesion MSizer, do we have a choice to believe them diffrently? Should we believe them literaly as they are explained by the Prophet? I hope a fellow Musilm can shed some light please.

I have my own impressions from reading the Quran, I feel that there is a constant reminder running through it (the 5 suras I have so far read) that we should fear Allah and in so doing so be mindful of Him. Allah is merciful to true believers.

I also have a small question, in Al-An'am the English pronoun "We" is used with a captial W. Who does that "We" include? E.g. 84 - "We gave him Isacc and Jacob, each of whom We guided, as We have guided Noah before..."

 

[MSizer]

Interesting quesion MSizer, do we have a choice to believe them diffrently? Should we believe them literaly as they are explained by the Prophet? I hope a fellow Musilm can shed some light please.

I have my own impressions from reading the Quran, I feel that there is a constant reminder running through it (the 5 suras I have so far read) that we should fear Allah and in so doing so be mindful of Him. Allah is merciful to true believers.

I also have a small question, in Al-An'am the English pronoun "We" is used with a captial W. Who does that "We" include? E.g. 84 - "We gave him Isacc and Jacob, each of whom We guided, as We have guided Noah before..."

As I am not a muslim (or even a theist), I certainly am not qualified to answer whether muslims should or should not believe literally from a scriptural standpoint. It seems to be my experience though with the few muslims I've known in my life that they tend to believe that you can't pick and choose, but rather believe it all or none. Maybe it happens that I've discussed it with only muslims of one mindset. I don't know.

 

[islam means peace]

I want to answer your this question

I do have a question please, why is it so that the word of Allah (or the Quaran) must be understood and followed according to the prophets and not our own interpretations?

What i understand from your this question is that why every body cannot interprerete quran , and we have to follow the interperetations of Prophets and not what we think ? ok am i right and if so then

you can your self answer this by thinking little bit , suppose you are a studing scinece in school , so did you ever asked your teacher that please do not interprete us what was written in the science book , we can interprete it by self , so what will happen if every body going to interperate every thing by self , there was so much difference among people which will be unable to slove and every body tries to say that his interperation was right ? and if you want to correctly interperate something you have to go to some one who has a knowledge.

Similary , if you see this in any aspect of life or country, there must be one interperation , lets take another example govertment has made traffic rules and also give details how to follow them , if every body going to say that they will interperate the rules by themself , you can better understand what will happen ?

Now , if you want to interperate what qurans says , we must have to follow those who has the highest knowledge of religion in this world , and who are they Prophets of Allah.

Hope this answer your question.

 

[Onkara]

Thank you Islam means peace
I understand the logic from your answer. You were right in your understanding of the question. However following your reply, how can we guarantee we don't interpret differently? Surely each Muslim understands it the best they are able? I expect when we read a verse, it becomes tainted by our backgrounds/education etc without us having to change a word. It does not reduce the respect I have for the Quran, quite the contrary I see how I can apply the goodness I understand from the Quran based on how I understand it.

For example, when I heard that Allah punishes disbelievers, I understand that to mean that disbelievers will act selfishly, unmindful of Allah and it is their selfish action which will bring their ultimate suffering i.e. punishment. It is punishment, rather than bad luck, because nothing happens in heaven or Earth without Allah willing it.

Please, any Muslim correct me if you think that is wrong or if there is only one way to understand the Quran.

I would also be pleased to have an explanation from anyone of the “We” in Al An´am which I mention above in more detail.

Thank you,
Onkarah.

 

[islam means peace]

I would also be pleased to have an explanation from anyone of the “We” in Al An´am which I mention above in more detail.

Well ,i am not a scholar so can not explain in much details but i would like to say that Quran is in Arabic so the meaning and explaition we have to use is what it was in arabic and not what was in english or any other language.

I donot have much knowlege of arabic but i want to give you example which might give you some idea to understand it proplerly.

If we translate the word "WE" in Urdu language it was transalated as "HUM" which is generally used for plural (more than one people) same as "we" is used in english but word "HUM" (means we in english) when someone is spoking very formal or even in some parts of our country is also used instead of "I" which is a singular , so the same word is used for singular and plural at the same time, even some time nobody can make difference in a sentence (whether its a singular or plural) which contain this word if he does not know the whole background of the particular sentence.

So, the reason i give this example is that donot got confuse by this word , you are reading transalation (transalation is limited and reflect a particlular human mind who transalate it ) , even if you read the transalation of the same thing by two differnet people they might use different words for explaning the same thing.

So , my advise is to take the actual meaning of the word in arabic and not get confused by transalation.

Hope some body with the knowledge of arabic or who know more about this can give you more good explanation.

 

[Onkara]

Thanks again Islam Means Peace.
Your explanation of "We" has helped. None the less if anyone wishes to add to your good explanation then I would be grateful.

Onkarah.

 

[Gharib]

Thanks again Islam Means Peace.
Your explanation of "We" has helped. None the less if anyone wishes to add to your good explanation then I would be grateful.

Onkarah.

by "we" Allah is reffering to himself but not in the plural but singular meaning. at present you see educated people say "we" instead of "i". or in formal speeches or something of the like. and the same with Allah. it is only logical that the creator knows more than the creation, therefore, if at some point in life someone decided that it would be more formal to adrees oneslef with "we" than "i" then it is expected that god would reffer to himself as "we", he knows the future after all.

and the reason why we know that Allah uses "we" in the singular form is from other verses in the quran saying that Allah is only one. therefore it makes sense that he doesn't mean "we" as in plural.

hope thats helpfull.

 

[Gharib]

Thank you Islam means peace
I understand the logic from your answer. You were right in your understanding of the question. However following your reply, how can we guarantee we don't interpret differently? Surely each Muslim understands it the best they are able? I expect when we read a verse, it becomes tainted by our backgrounds/education etc without us having to change a word. It does not reduce the respect I have for the Quran, quite the contrary I see how I can apply the goodness I understand from the Quran based on how I understand it.

For example, when I heard that Allah punishes disbelievers, I understand that to mean that disbelievers will act selfishly, unmindful of Allah and it is their selfish action which will bring their ultimate suffering i.e. punishment. It is punishment, rather than bad luck, because nothing happens in heaven or Earth without Allah willing it.

Please, any Muslim correct me if you think that is wrong or if there is only one way to understand the Quran.

the quran has many verses that have hidden meanings or deeper meanigs would be better. so it is only scholars that get to interpret the verses.

if a scientist gave some data of an analysis to me how could i interpret that or explain it when i am not a scientist. same logic with the quran. we can all read it, but we can't all comment on it.

 

[bayezid3]

Thanks again Islam Means Peace.
Your explanation of "We" has helped. None the less if anyone wishes to add to your good explanation then I would be grateful.

Onkarah.

Very briefly
Islam: It is surrender to God and following Him, uniting, and devotion to him and stick to obedience and obedience to His Messenger, peace be upon him because he reported to his Lord, so called because the Muslim Islam that recognizes the command of God, and unite Him, and worship Him alone, without anything else, is being driven by his orders and leaves the prohibitions, standing at borders, Thou shalt love what God loves and hate what he hates God so Islam

 

[Onkara]

Very briefly
Islam: It is surrender to God and following Him, uniting, and devotion to him and stick to obedience and obedience to His Messenger, peace be upon him because he reported to his Lord, so called because the Muslim Islam that recognizes the command of God, and unite Him, and worship Him alone, without anything else, is being driven by his orders and leaves the prohibitions, standing at borders, Thou shalt love what God loves and hate what he hates God so Islam

Welcome Bayezid3
Thank you for your helpful summary. For me there is nothing but Allah (God). All in this life is His, all is His will; I bow to no one but the One. I cannot hate, this is where I may disappoint Allah? Can I not love and love and love?

 

[Iman]

Welcome Bayezid3
Thank you for your helpful summary. For me there is nothing but Allah (God). All in this life is His, all is His will; I bow to no one but the One. I cannot hate, this is where I may disappoint Allah? Can I not love and love and love?

Hatred rather than love is what disappoints God. As He Himself gave abundantly to all in this life and opened His doors of Mercy to all, believers and non-believers alike, we as His subjects are forbidden from hating even those who fight us but rather love and pray for their guidance. There are many incidents in the life of Islam's prophet to indicate his love even towards those who fight Muslims including the fact that while other prophets gave up on their people and seeked their punishment after a lifetime of disbelief and persecution(Noah, Lut, and other) , when given a choice, he preferred to forgive them repeatedly and asked God instead to guide them and make their descendents supporters of Islam. It is also mentioned in the Quran that Muslims need to feel sympathy towards their enemies for they suffer in life and will suffer even more after death. The sense of compassion even during war goes parallel to whatever pragmatic decsions Muslims make to defend themselves. If by love you mean total submission to the wills of others and never lifting a hand to defend one's self, that is not the Islamic way. The feeling of compassion and the belief in God's ultimate Justice and Mercy in judging people need to be at the core of faith in Muslims' hearts. It is unfortunate though that many Muslims, throughout history failed to combine pragmatism in making war and peace decisions with essential compassion and love for God's creation.