It's A Muslim Life

Concept of God in Islam

Javeria .A — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 05:48:12 +0000

The Most Concise Definition of God
Surah Ikhlas – the touchstone of theology
What does Islam say about ‘god-men’?
By what name do we call God?
God does not take human form:
God does not perform ungodly acts:
God only performs Godly acts:
Philosophy Of Anthropomorphism
The Creator prepares the instruction manual
Allah chooses Messengers:
Each attribute of God is unique and possessed by Him alone:
Unity of God
Tawheed

The Most Concise Definition of God“Say: He is Allah,
The One and Only.
“Allah, the Eternal, Absolute.
“He begets not, nor is He begotten.
And there is none like unto Him.”

The Arabic word ‘Assamad’ is difficult to translate. It means ‘absolute existence’, which can be attributed only to Allah (swt), all other existence being temporal or conditional. It also means that Allah (swt) is not dependent on any person or thing, but all persons and things are dependent on Him.

Surah Ikhlas – the touchstone of theology:Surah Ikhlas (Chapter 112) of the Glorious Qur’an, is the touchstone of theology. ‘Theo’ in Greek means God and ‘logy’ means study. Thus Theology means study of God and to Muslims this four line definition of Almighty God serves as the touchstone of the study of God. Any candidate to divinity must be subjected to this ‘acid test’. Since the attributes of Allah given in this chapter are unique, false gods and pretenders to divinity can be easily dismissed using these verses.

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American Woman Converts To Islam after watching youtube videos

Javeria .A — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 01:11:40 +0000

An American Woman Converts to Islam after watching YouTube Videos about Islam

Part 1

Part 2

Muslims belive in the Bible & Jesus ??!!

Javeria .A — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 07:16:00 +0000

Dialoge between a Christian and a Muslim

Estes: “Do you believe in God?”
Muslim : “Yes.” – (Good!)

“Do you believe in Adam and Eve?”
He said:
“Yes.” - (Very Good!)

“What about Abraham? You believe in him and how he tried to sacrifice his son for God?”
He said:
“Yes.” - (Even better!)

Then I asked:
“What about Moses?”
“Ten Commandments?”
“Parting the Red Sea?”
Again he said:
“Yes.” - (Better still!)

Then:
“What about the other prophets, David, Solomon and John the Baptist?”
He said:
“Yes.” - (Great!)

I asked:
“Do you believe in the Bible?”
Again, he said:
“Yes.” - (OK!)

So, now it was time for the big question:
“Do you believe in Jesus? That he was the Messiah (Christ) of God?”
Again the said:
“Yes.” - (Fantastic!)

Well now – “This was going to be easier than I had thought.”
He was just about ready to be baptized only he didn’t know it.
And I was just the one to do it, too.

Shocking Knowledge - Muslims Believe in the Bible?
One day in the Spring of 1991, I came to know that the Muslims believed in the Bible. I was shocked. How could this be? But that’s not all, they believe in Jesus as:

* A true messenger of God;
* Prophet of God;
* Miracle birth without human intervention;
* He was the ‘Christ’ or Messiah as predicted in the Bible;
* He is with God now and most important;
* He will be coming back in the Last Days to lead the believers against the ‘Antichrist.’

Source: Yousuf Estes , a former Christian and a Prison Chaplain’s conversation with a Muslim man as he narrates in his story here:

Christmas ~ a Roman Pagan Festival

Javeria .A — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 06:51:47 +0000

The Romans held a festival on December 25 called Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, “the birthday of the unconquered sun.” Many other solar dieties were worshipped collectively on this day, including Elah-Gabal, a Syrian sun god; Sol, the god of Emperor Aurelian and Mithras, a soldiers’ god of Persian origin.

Pic: Alleged representation of Christ in the form of the sun-god Helios or Sol Invictus riding in his chariot.

Emperor Elagabalus (218–222) introduced the festival, and it reached the height of its popularity under Aurelian, who promoted it as an empire-wide holiday.

December 25 was also considered to be the date of the winter solstice, which the Romans called bruma.It was therefore the day the Sun proved itself to be “unconquered” despite the shortening of daylight hours.

When Julius Caesar introduced the Julian Calendar in 45 BC, December 25 was approximately the date of the solstice. In modern times, the solstice falls on December 21 or 22.)

The Sol Invictus festival has a “strong claim on the responsibility” for the date of Christmas, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia.Several early Christian writers connected the rebirth of the sun to the birth of Jesus

Christian origins

Origen, a father of the Christian church, argued against the celebration of birthdays, including the birth of Christ.

It is unknown exactly when or why December 25 became associated with Christ’s birth. The New Testament does not give a specific date.In 245, the theologian Origen denounced the idea of celebrating Christ’s birthday “as if he were a king pharaoh”. He contended that only sinners, not saints, celebrated their birthdays.

The Christmas tree is often explained as a Christianization of pagan tradition and ritual surrounding the Winter Solstice, which included the use of evergreen boughs,and an adaptation of pagan tree worship Extracted from: Wikipedia

Comparing Jesus & Muhammad (Peace be upon them)

Javeria .A — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 18:50:51 +0000

“The Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said unto you.”[Bible - John 14:26] Jesus, the son of Mary, said, “A messenger will come after me, named Ahmad.”[Holy Quran 61:6]

The chief priests and Levites asked John the Baptist, “If you are not the Christ (Messiah), and not Elijah – are you THAT Prophet?”[Bible - John 1:20]

When the chief priests and Levites asked John the Baptist who he was, they asked him in a very strange way. First they questioned him as to whether or not he was the anticipated “Messiah” [Christ in Koine Greek]. He was not the “Messiah” that had hoped for. Next they asked if he was the prophet Elijah and again he tells them, “No.” Now comes the really strange part. Finally, they asked him if he is “That Prophet?”

Are you Christ? – [No]
Are you Elijah? – [No]
Are you THAT Prophet? – [No]

What did they mean by “That Prophet?” We of course, know who the “Christ” is. After all, Christians should know that “Christ” is merely a shortened form of the Koine Greek word “christos,” intended to mean the Hebrew word “Messiah.”

The Jews of two thousand years ago were definitely looking for the Messiah, who it was foretold in their books, would come and lead them to victory over their oppressors and thus gain for them mastery over this world. They were much oppressed under Roman domination and even their own Jewish kings were seen as nothing more than puppets or agents for the disbelievers. Certainly, they would have been most happy to see someone come on the scene who would defeat their Roman masters and slave drivers.

Then the priests and Levites asked John the Baptist if he might be the prophet Elijah, returning back after hundreds of years being away. There was the notion amongst them that Elijah would come back. But again, John the Baptist is denying he is Elijah.

Then, who is he? They wonder at this man living out in the desert and forsaking wealth and luxury and fasting, avoiding the material attractions of life.

Again, they ask John the Baptist who he is. “Are you THAT Prophet?” And one more time he denies being “THAT Prophet,” but then he does tell them about someone who will come after him soon, whom he claims he is not worthy to even unlace his shoes.

However, this does not answer the question, “Who were they expecting besides the Messiah?” Could it be they were looking for someone like Muhammad? (Could be)

Who is THAT Prophet? -

Keep reading and learn who “That Prophet” is and what other proofs can be discovered within the Holy texts to support this idea.

For centuries Muslims have believed Jesus, peace be upon him, was “THAT Prophet” mentioned in these words of the Gospel of John. The Quran states one of the important features of Jesus’ mission was to give the “bashir” or ‘glad tidings’ of the coming of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. During his short missionary career that lasted not more than three years, and which was overshadowed by the hostile attitude of his own people, Jesus gave them the good news of Ahmad, (one of the forms of “Muhammad”) the last messenger of God, who would perfect the divine teaching both in theory and in practice. The Quran mentions that, Jesus says:

“O Children of Israel! I am the messenger of Allah {Almighty God} (sent) to you, confirming the Law (Torah or Old Testament) before me, and giving glad tidings of a messenger to come after me, whose name shall be Ahmad.”[Holy Quran 61:6]
The Quran gives the name as Ahmad, one of several ways to say Muhammad’s name. Just as we have in English the name Joseph, and often use a shorter form such as “Joe” or the familiar form, “Joey,” and other names like “Jonathan” which becomes “John”; “Jack” or “Johnny”, so in the same way we find Arabic has similar forms for a name. Muhammad, Ahmad and Hamad are a few of the names originating from the root word, “hamd” (meaning ‘praise) in Arabic, and can be understood as “The one who praises (God)”; “the praised one”; “praising”; etc.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali in his translation of the meanings of the Quran to English, he states, “Ahmad or Muhammad, the Praised One is a translation of the Koine Greek word Periclytos. In the present gospel of John 14:16, 15:26 and 16:7, the Greek word Paracletos is translated in the NIV as Comforter. Paracletos can mean an Advocate, or “one called to the help of another”, “a kind friend.” Muhammad, peace be upon him, was known from birth as one who brought comfort and reconciliation to family, friends and strangers alike, especially in bringing together the ties of kinship and brotherly love.

Another nick name of the prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, mentioned in the Bible (or at least what is left of it in the English language) is “The Spirit of Truth.” As-Saddiq means exactly that and it is was another name given to Muhammad, peace be upon him, by those who knew his proclivity for honesty and integrity.

The New Testament Gospel according to John, Jesus, peace be upon him, promises them the Paracletos will come four times (John 14:16; 14:26; 15:26; 16:7). Naturally, Jesus, peace be upon him, did not return in their lifetime nor did any other prophet for that matter, so later thinkers came up with the notion that it was not Jesus “in person” but rather, Jesus coming back in “spirit form.” This led some Christians to assert, this was to be the Holy Spirit, who would descend upon the disciples on the Day of the Pentecost (Acts 2), to witness Christ and lead them into the whole truth and to be with the believers forever, and they would not die (John 3:16), but have everlasting life. Also, some added verses later (see footnotes to Revised Standard Version of the Bible) to the very last chapter of Mark (16), wherein, they have the Spirit coming upon them in such a way they imagined themselves going to be able to speak with new languages; pick up snakes, lay hands on the sick to cure them and even drink poison and nothing would hurt them. [Luke 23:17-18]

Another point is, the Paracletos, comforter or the Spirit of truth, was going to dwell with us from now on. Certainly anyone could see Muhammad’s influence and his message of worshipping only One God without any partners has prevailed long after his earthly life.

Source: That Prophet

Significance of the Quran’s Preservation

Javeria .A — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 17:59:49 +0000

written by Dr. Bilal Philips

Allaah promised in the Qur’aan that He would take on the responsibility of protecting His final word from loss. He said, “Verily I have revealed the Reminder (Qur’aan), and verily I shall preserve it.” (Soorah al-Hijr (15):9)

Thus, the Qur’aan has been preserved in both the oral as well as written form in a way no other religious book in history has.

Why did Allaah preserve the Qur’aan and allow His earlier books of divine revelation to be changed or lost?
The answer to that question lies in the following three facts:

1. The earlier prophets and their books were sent to a particular people in particular periods of history. Once the period ended, a new prophet was sent with a new book to replace the previous book. So, it was not necessary that these books be preserved by Allaah. The preservation of the earlier books was left up to the people as a test for them. Thus, when the people went astray, they changed what was written in the books which their prophets brought in order to make allowable the things which were forbidden to them. In that way, all of the earlier books of revelation became either changed or lost.

2. Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) was the last prophet whom Allaah sent, and he was not sent to a particular people or a particular time. He was sent to all of mankind until the end of the world. Allaah said in the Qur’aan,

“I have only sent you (Muhammad) as a giver of glad tidings and a warner to all mankind, but most men do not understand.”[1]

Thus, his book of revelation, the Qur’aan, had to be specially preserved from any form of change or loss so that it would be available to all the generations of man until the last day of the world.

3. The Qur’aan was the main miracle given to Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) to prove that he was a true prophet of Allaah and not an imposter. So, the Qur’aan had to be saved to prove to the later generations that Muhammad (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) was really the last prophet of Allaah. All of the false prophets who came after Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) brought books which they claimed to be revealed from Allaah, but none of them have the miraculous ability to be memorized by thousands, nor have they improved on the message of the Qur’aan. The significance of the Qur’aan’s preservation is that Islaam has been kept in its original purity because of it. Humanity can always return to the sources of Islaam no matter what people may have added or forgotten in time. All of the essential principles of Islaam are to be found in the Qur’aan. Consequently, the preservation of the Qur’aan meant the preservation of Islaam in its final form. The loss of the Gospel of Jesus means that Christians can never return to the true teachings of Prophet Jesus except by accepting Islaam.[2] Similarly, the original Torah was lost when Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians.[3] Thus, the Jews cannot return to the pure teachings of Prophet Moses except by following Islaam.It is only in Islaam that the pure teachings of the prophets have been preserved without any change. That is why Allaah said in the Qur’aan,
“Verily, the only acceptable religion to Allaah is Islaam.”[4]

[1] Soorah Saba’ (34):28.
[2] See The Five Gospels, pp. 2-16.
[3] See The New Encyclopaedia Britannica, vol. 14, p. 757.
[4] Soorah Aal ‘Imraan (3):19

Source: Bilal Philip’s Website

2.3 Million Muslims Perform Hajj

Javeria .A — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 04:38:03 +0000

More than two million Muslims from across the globe gathered on Tuesday 18th Dec,07 around Mount Arafat, near Makkah, Saudia Arabia for Haj – The Holy Pilgrimage.

It is incumbent upon Muslims to perform Haj, at least once in a lifetime, as long as they possess the means.

“Pilgrimage to the House is a duty to God for all who can make the Journey.”

(Quran 3:97).

The root meaning of the word Haj is “to set out” or “to make pilgrimage.” Canonically, it has come to refer to a Muslim act of worship, performed annually, in which the worshiper circumambulates the House of God- The Holy Kabah in Mecca, stays awhile in the plain of Arafat and performs other rites which together constitute Haj — the act of pilgrimage.

Haj is a comprehensive act of worship, involving both financial outlay and physical exertion. Both remembrance of God and sacrifice for His sake are part and parcel of Haj.

“Haj is to stand in the plain of Arafat.” These words of the Prophet Muhammad illustrate the importance of sojourning in the place. The plain of Arafat, in which pilgrims spend one day, presents a picture of the arena of Judgement Day. Host upon host of God’s servants flock in from all sides to witness the spectacle. And what a spectacle! All are dressed in similar, simple attire. There is nothing to single out any person. All are reciting the same words: “Here we are at Your service, Lord,” How can one who witnesses this spectacle but call to mind the like of this verse of the Quran:

“When the Trumpet is blown, and behold, from the graves they rush forth to their lord.” (36.51)

The pilgrims gather on the plain of Arafat in order to recall the time when they will gather on the plain of the last day. What they will experience in practice in the next world, they conjure up visions of in this world.

Source: Hajj in Islam

Pictures: Hajj Pics on Slate and Dawn.com

What is Islam?

Javeria .A — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 15:03:09 +0000

Islam means submission. The religion of Islam is so named because it is based on obedience to God. A true believer in Islam is one who subordinates his thinking to God, who follows God’s dictates in all aspects of his life.

Islam is the religion of the entire universe. For the entire universe and all its parts are functioning in accordance with the law laid down by God. Such behaviour is also desired of man. Man should also lead his life as God’s obedient servant just as the rest of the universe is fully subservient to God. The only difference is that the universe has submitted to God compulsorily, while man is required to submit to the will of God by his own choice.

When man adopts Islam, first of all it is his thinking, which comes under Islam, then his desires, his feelings, his interests, his relations, his loves and his hatred all get coloured by his obedience to God’s will. When man, in his daily life comes under God’s command, his behaviour with people, his dealings all are moulded by the demands of Islam. From inside to outside he becomes a person devoted to God.

Islam teaches man to lead an obedient life and surrender himself completely to the will of God. It is people who do so who will share God’s blessings in the next world.

The Islamic way of life, in a word, is a God-oriented life. The greatest concern of a Muslim is God Almighty. The focus of his whole life is Akhirah, that is, the ideal world of God in the hereafter. He always obeys divine injunctions in every aspect of life. His life becomes a practical expression of the Qur’anic verse:

“Take on God’s own dye. And who has a better dye than God’s? And we are His worshippers.” (2:138)

‘Taking on God’s dye,’ means being of a ‘godly character’ in all the personal, social and economic affairs of one’s life. The following pages are devoted to portraying various aspects of this ‘godly’ character as personified in a Muslim individual whose words and deeds in family matters, or with respect to earning one’s livelihood and whose dealings with other members of society, always seem to be distinguishably ‘dyed in the divine hue’.

Source : What is Islam by Molana Wahiduddin Khan

Search for Truth

Javeria .A — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 14:58:27 +0000

Man is a born seeker—a veritable truth-seeking animal. Every human being regards himself as incomplete until he has found that supreme principle by which he can explain his existence in this world and discover the purpose and meaning of his life. Everyone is a seeker. True. But few are finders. Why? Because, where seeking is instinctive, finding is the outcome of one’s own conscious effort.

There have been people who have been truth seekers throughout history; for example, in the pre-Islamic period, there were certain individuals in Arabia, called hunafa who were all truth seekers. Confining themselves to solitary places, they would remember God and say: “O God if we had known how to worship You, we would have worshipped you accordingly.” This was due to their urge to come to grips with reality—an urge such as is found in every human being, the difference between one individual and another being only one of degree: in some, the urge is weak, in others it is strong.

Then, there are some deviations. Some people take certain material objects to be their goal in life and do their utmost to obtain them. But there is an internal evidence that they do so mistakenly. Before obtaining these material objects, they are highly enthusiastic about them. But as soon as they have them in their possession their enthusiasm turns to frustration. For, with experience, they invariably find that what they have struggled for so hard, has failed to give them the desired sense of fulfillment. All these material things in this world are meant to fulfill only our physical needs. They have nothing to do with the purpose of our lives. This purpose can be only spiritual in nature, and not something material.

Man attains distinction only when he leads a purposeful life. A purposeful life is one in which man discovers his higher status. An animal strives to obtain food; a bird flies in search of a better country when the seasons change; a wasp busies itself building its own home from tiny dust particles; a herd of deer protects itself from wild beasts of prey. All these appear to be purposeful actions. But when the phrase “a purposeful life” is applied to man, it does not refer to efforts of this nature. Without doubt man, too, has to arrange for food, clothes and habitation for bare survival. Man’s life, however, becomes purposeful only when ….[ Read More]