Hmmm...I don't see how this connects with Rumi's poetry on spirituality.

If the father who hit the child had answered the other person 'Yes, I am Muslim', does it mean he hasn't done anything wrong?

It was narrated by Abu Sa^eed an-Naysaboori. He related this story.



The sound intellect tells us that God Exists - and He alone deserves to be worshipped.

I.e. There is not creation without the Creator.

The sound intellect tells us that when a man who performs miracles of Prophethood which can not be discredited tells us how the world began, we should believe him.



No, but at least he didn't blaspheme by calling belief blasphemy.



wa 3alaikom assalaam wa RaHmatullaah wa Barakaatuh



You question only until you are sure that the info is authentic from the Prophet and Companions.

Once you are sure that it is authentic - you do not question the Prophet or God!!
THAT is what astray is.

The Prophet didn't only convey the Qur'aan and Hadeeth, he also explained.

He did not say to the Companions - go off and understand it your own way, he made sure they understood it the right way.

Who is Abu Saeed an'Naysaboori ??? You mean Abu Saeed al'Khudri(ra) ??? or Hakim al'Naysaboori ???


let me ask u the same question from my old post again,how can you back up your interpretation with the "twins" theory ??? through the quran ? hadith ? or is it something you just had heard of ???

btw if they really gave birth to twins, and then two more twins, they are technically brothers and sisters,you know what Im trying to say LOL

Abu Sa^eed an-Naysaboori is the man who heard the poem. Just becuse you can't find it in google it doesn't mean its not true

Prophet MuHammad, Sallallaahu ^alaihi wa sallam said what means:

<<Allaah ordered an Angel to take from the soil of the earth, from the black and the white and what’s in between…and so the offspring of Adam came according to that. >> (Narrated by Ibn Hibbaan and others)

In AHmad’s narration: <<And so the offspring of Adam came according to that (i.e. because of the different soil types), some black, some red, some white, some in between, and the easy and the hard and what’s in between…>>

I will get more detail about the story of Prophet Adam and his children - but its known that in the Rules revealed to Prophet Adam, the male from one set of twins was allowed to marry the female from another set - eventhough they are brothers and sisters. And when Prophet $hith (one of Adam's sons) was revealed to, that rule got abrogated and brothers and sisters were no longer allowed to marry - even if they were from different twin sets.

Anyway don't you know the story of Qaabeel and Haabeel (Cane & Able)?

One of the reasons why Qaabeel was angry with Haabeel was because Qaabeel wanted to marry his own twin sister and did not want Haabeel to marry her.

What Poem do you remember my question ??? it was about Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and the "Jinn" from Prophet Jesus's(PBUH) time


If you provide us with your "Informations" pls don't forget to give us the Vol. , Book and Nr. of the hadith aswell and yeah don't forget the name of the narrater LOL .Again you just gave me a theory/story without backing it up clearly with the hadith or quran.So pls give me an proper answer!

this thread is so much fun!!!

Yes, that is exactly what I was referring to.

At Prophet MuHammad’s time, there were people who had not yet met with him. One of them heard a voice without seeing the speaker. It was a voice telling in a poetic way to send the salaam to Prophet MuHammad and that Prophet Jesus, the son of Mary, told to follow Prophet MuHammad. After the man and the people with him met with the Prophet, it was discovered that that was actually a jinn believer from Prophet Jesus’s time.

It was narrated by Abu Sa^eed an-Naysaboori. He related this story.



Surat al-'A^raf, Ayah 189 means: [Allah created you from one person (Prophet Adam) and created his wife (Hawwa') from him.]

I mentioned some Hadeeths before and the narrator - you claim to be so knowledgable - why don't you look them up yourself?

thank you! so its just a story! not a hadith! We can't be sure that this story is authentic !





this Verse means that men and women are equal afterall they are created from one soul! and it means that marriage is meant for the attainment of peace of mind and mutual love and affection.Like Allah has said that marriage is the means of attaining piety and of guarding one's chastity.You know that Adam and Eve were the 1st persons on earth with a soul ??? yes you probably do! but now a lil question to you do animals have a soul ? I hope you know what Im trying to say.In my understanding the men b4 Adam(PBUH) were lower forms of life not animals but not yet humans so they had no soul!



No! I want them from you,afterall you have so much knowledge too,and these hadiths should back up your interpretation not mine,so its your duty to provide us with the hadith,so we can be sure that your informations are authentic!

If the man was classified as trustworthy - then it is true.



Mr theories who no one else has ever heard of in their life,
You only apply the proof-bringing rule to me.

Even using the translation you have: "HE it is Who created you from a single soul and made there from its mate"

nafs doesn't mean soul here by the way. Even in usual everyday language - nafs means self or person.

Do you know who you remind me of?

This person I was talking to on yahoo a while back and he turned out to be 7ulooli.

Don't tell me you were the one I was talking to!!

Yeah of course! just for back up I'll provide you the meaning of "Nafs"



You know what lets start a debate in the D/P/R Forum it's really fun debating against ya you vs. me ,aight ???

Yes, by this stage, this will no longer require any intellect but a pure leap of faith. Therefore, this pure leap of faith must be experienced personally. No one can do the leap for you.

You completely missed the point - i will put it in bold 4 u.

The sound intellect tells us that when a man who performs miracles of Prophethood which can not be discredited tells us something, he is a Prophet.

Do you know what miracles of Prophethood which can not be discredited means?

It means they can not be discredited

Which means: they are miracles of Prophethood

Which means: the one performing them must be a Prophet sent by God.



Yale-Faculty Research Worldwide - Arabic Lexicon?

That's your famous Arab linguist??? lol

Words words words... you are profoundly subjective. I ask you to experience, not try to discredit or believe anything told to you as truth or miracles.


Anyway, what's up with this clan, it's just a few of us cats here?

The Holy Quran,tells us that we shouldn't follow anyone or anything blindly!!! God provided us with the sight,hearing and intelligence!we should use them!

There used to be a man called Hitler.

Am I following blindly by saying that?

How old are you sparky?

im just curious. does that include 'anyone or anything' contained in the Holy Quran?
(sorry if i havent been following earlier posts)

Following the Prophet is not blind - why? because he was supported with miracles that can not be discredited.

Hence, if following the Prophet is not blind, then following what he says is not blind either.
why? because you have good reason to follow it - he is a Prophet of God.

Your statement makes no sence!!!

Your following blindly if you think that Hitler was an atheist,just bc most of the ppl believe it.Now If you'd like to find the truth you'll investigate and read atleast "Mein Kampf" If you do so, you'll find out that Hitler was a Bible believing Christian,not only but he used Christianity to justify the evil he did against Jews and other ppl!




No! following blindly does not contain the Quran,but the Hadith,some of them were written ca. 200 years after the death of the Prophet (PBUH) and some of them contain even contradictions in it.So you have to verify them trough the Quran.Or you can't believe blindly in stories like"the Prophet(PBUH) met a "Jinn" from the time of Jesus(PBUH)" without verifying them trough the hadith or the Quran.

Will they not, then, try to understand this Qur’an? Had it issued from any but God, they would surely have found in it many an inner contradiction!(4:82)

This Verse shows that anything which is not in the Quran will have contradictions since the Quran was "divinely inspired". The Hadith has been shown to contain contradictions that either go against the Quran or don't follow it in some way.We're warned against it in the Holy Quran.

credits to ATL for providing us with the Verse and the last passage of my post.

I'm not digging that deep.

I'm just asking you 1 simple question.

Is believing in the existence of a man called hitler in the past counted as following blindly or not?

If you are finding it difficult I can give u the answer :p

Without evidence,YES!!! But in Hitlers case we have documents,videos and Eye witnesses as evidences so NO!!!

very good.

You could also look at the pictures taken of him shaking hands with the Pope.

I'm not sure what any of that has to do with Islam, though.




Sorry for butting in, but I appreciate there being a thread dedicated to explaining Islam, and providing a place for members to talk.
Whether or not I am able to contribute, I don't want to see it go to waste, either.



Thanks for all that you've posted so far, pun.

so muslims must follow the word of the Quran unquestioningly and wholeheartedly, but should approach the Hadith with caution? (sorry, Quran is not the same as Hadith?)

LOL it has nothing to do with Islam but it was an example for blindly following someone or something.

For us, at this moment in time, surely we cannot question the Prophet and especially not God because the Prophet is not here anymore and God, well that's just too obvious...

But at the time, hearing about the stories of how the Prophet's character was, I don't think it's too far-fetched to believe that he will be open to questions about Islam as long as the intent of the questioner was to sincerely understand his faith better. Not for duplicitous purposes. Even if the questioner was duplicitious, I think he might've given them the benefit of the doubt and allowed him freedom to question and enlightened him with his answers, hopefully the answers the Prophet gives will instead turn his heart the other way, and the duplicitous questioner ends up embracing Islam.

I believe the Prophet is more open-minded than many Muslims here today.

What I meant by our own understanding is not an understanding without guidance from others, but if we are able to grasp the meaning of our religion for ourselves then we are better able to embrace our religion instead of taking it lightly...or as something merely passed down from our parents.

Guiding someone towards enlightenment does not mean just spoon-feeding them religious dogmas...especially as faith is not compulsory thus we should not teach it with compulsion.

Faith is not supposed to be embraced blindly, if we follow it blindly then the easier it is for us to be sanctimonious, self-righteous, extremists/fanatics, or fall into excessiveness.

The discourse occurring in this thread right now is a good way for all of us, Muslims or non-Muslims to better understand Islam better instead of just merely hearing the preachings of say an Imam. Because we are able to discuss it, put out our questions about it, and then analyze the input given to better understand it.

We cannot tell someone how to understand something, because each person will have their own way of understanding it.

Allah knows best what our true intent is, and if we are truly sincere then we will not go astray...

As there "used to be man called Muhammed". The fact that these men exist cannot be refuted.

They were afterall once living and breathing individuals...they were not spiritual beings.

BUT the actions/sayings/behaviors of these individuals, if we just adhere to them, believe in whatever they say/do as right without question, without further research, without further analysis, simply because others are doing it, or it's the fad, or you are scared of other's reactions if you don't follow them, or others say it's the right thing to do then THAT is following a Muhammed/Jesus/Hitler/even a Bush blindly.

Many Germans during WWII followed Hitler blindly because they were afraid, they did not want to disrupt the status quo, questions about his actions were not permitted and those who did question him were put in jail/killed.

To say that "there used to be a man called Hitler" is not something that requires faith, thus it cannot be something that someone 'follows blindly' because it's fact. The basis of religion is faith because it relies on us to understand something more in a spiritual level like say the existence of God. We can neither prove or disprove His existence we only have faith that God exists or does not exist. God is not something we can measure or analyze, to color with our own crayons what He really looks like, because we do not know.

As people of faith we "believe", to "know" is for God. We don't know if Heaven or Hell truly exists, we believe. We don't know if the path we have chosen will lead us to Heaven, we only believe. We don't know if our path is the right one, we only believe. We don't know if God exists, we believe.

Only God can truly know those things...

As we did not live in the times of the Prophets, we are not able to experience the miracles of any of the Prophets ourselves. We rely on historical documentation (if they exist) and our religious texts to provide us with information as to the miracles of the Prophets. How accurate these documentations or texts are, how much truth is in them, is quite debatable.

If one believes that the miracles occurred and one does not, does it mean that one person is more right than the other?? If a miracle was documented in historical records or in religious texts, and another was not, does it mean that the one recorded actually happened and the one that didn't never occurred?

Many people say Muhammed did not write the Qur'an, he was dillusional, he was psychotic, more influenced by himself than a higher being. Does this mean that our faith in him is wrong?

Even non-religious historical documents requires a bit of faith to believe in them because we rely our knowledge on what the author has written down for us since we were not there to bear witness to the incidents that occurred. There is always a possibility that something was left out, intentionally or not, and thus we might not truly have an accurate picture of what happened in the past.

Unless we have experienced it directly, are witnesses, then what we know is truly just a matter of faith on the authorities who provide us with the resources to attain such knowledge. Most especially in matters of religion...

Thus Muhammed's Prophethood or miracles, if they are true, cannot be discredited or made false because others say so; and reversely, cannot be credited or made true simply because we believe in it.

The only ones who know for sure are his followers during that time, Muhammed himself, and God. All we have is faith that they did happen, that he is the Prophet of God, and faith that they didn't happen and that he wasn't a prophet of God...

Many say approach the Hadith with caution because it was written by the followers of Muhammed years after his death, and mostly about Muhammed's perceptions/actions/sayings.

The Qur'an, we believe, is the Word of God.

That is the difference between the Qur'an and the Hadith. And because the Qur'an is believed to be the Word of God , if anything in the Hadiths contradict the Qur'an then we should ultimately follow the Qur'an...

And as a Muslim, I feel that it's best if we don't embrace an unquestioning (wholeheartedly yes though hehe) approach to understanding/learning about Islam. This tends to lead us astray and to blind faith that can lead to fanaticism/extremism, sanctimonious/self-righteous attitudes, excessiveness (I know I am repeating myself sorry he he)

btw, salam kenal

and salam to samsparky, tanga, pun, and shiro too!

^ thanks for your explanation aisyah.

i partuicularly like your view that ppl (especially muslims) should not be unquestioning when approaching islam, but apply a bit of common sense on what is God's will, while being wholehearted at the same time. probably applies to other religions as well, particularly christianity.

salam kenal

pun:

You said that believing that a Hitler did exist is not blind because there are documents, videos and eyewitnesses.

I'll fix it up for you a bit. Video evidence is not enough because you know these days...

Documents and eyewitnesses - that's only useful if the people are trustworthy OR so many people narrated the same news so that it no longer makes sense to question the truth of the news because it is illogical to accuse that many people of lying about there being a Hitler.

In THAT case, believing that news would be the logical thing to do and would not be classified as blindly following.

Now, there is something that you all need to know about Hadeeth classifications.

There is a classification system for the collection of the Prophets sayings and actions and what happened.

For example, if a Hadeeth is classed as Mutawaatir it means that so many people narrated the same happening in the same way in a way that it would be illogical not to believe them. Similar to believeing that there was a Hitler.

Believing in the truth of such a Hadeeth is not blind but actually is the logical thing to do.

There are other Hadeeth classifications less than mutawaatir.

Some involve 3 Companions narrating the Hadeeth from the Prophet to 3 other trustworthy people, to 3 other trustworthy people, etc.

The traits of people were also documented by many scholars - e.g. whether they were forgetful or had ever lied in their life or committed sins.

Hence, the Hadeeth is a big science that has not just been neglected. But your doubts are because of your lack of contact with those who take the knowledge from the knowledgable before them all the way until they reach the Companions and the Prophet.

aisyah:

The re-iteration of your statement - You know what, you are talking about bin laaden and his followers. When people like bin laaden talk, their followers just accept it as true - no questions asked. If their followers had actually been seeking Religious Knowledge the proper way, they would not have gone to people like bin laaden. why? because people like bin laaden are not following the Prophet's way. Not following how the Companions taught Islaam, not following how the taabi^oon took it from the Companions, not following how the Khalaf took it from the Salaf and not following how the true scholars of today took it from those before them. If they were, they would not have adopted such misunderstandings of Islaam and would not have gone suicide bombing innocent people.

It might be said, such ideas deviating from the true teachings of Islaam might have arisen because of lack of adherance to the authentic chain of knowledge that runs back to the Prophet. They might have arisen because of going off on their own and making their own so-called understanding. THAT is what you should be saying is the cause of deviants and radicals. NOT those who adhere to the true teachings of Prophet MuHammad by learning it through those he taught.

aisyah again:

Please be clear that there is not writing without a writer, there is no building without a builder, hence there is no creation without the Creator. That is sound intellect. That is the proof.

God, the Creator is Attributed with non-resemblance to the creations. Surat ash-Shooraa, Ayah 11 means: [There is absolutely nothing like Him and He is attributed with Hearing and Sight.]

What does that mean? It means that God's Attributes are not like ours. His Hearing and Sight are unimaginable.

No attribute of the creation is attributed to Him, as Imaam Abu Ja^far at-TaHaawiyy, a reknown scholar of the first 300 Hijriyy years reinforced by saying in the creed he wrote:

"And whoever attributes to Allaah an attribute of the creations is a blasphemer."

Why did he say that? Because such a person is not worshipping the Creator but rather is worshipping something they imagined in their mind and that is shirk (worshipping other than God).

Hence, we must be firm that the things that apply to us like ears, eyes, direction, place, beginning and end do NOT apply to the Creator of all these things.

We do not attribute shape to God or size. We do not attribute to Him body or colour.

We do not attribute to Him form or structure or being made of parts because all those attributes are attributes that the specification of the creations are based on.

All those attributes apply to creations and not to the Creator. That is logic and that is from the Qur'aan and that is from the Hadeeth and from the Companions sayings, and the sayings of the top scholars.

For more info post "1"

sorry, i have another question, a bit off topic, but still related. this question is for muslims (assuming that u are all moderate, peaceful muslims):

what are your opinions on these 'people like bin laaden', suicide bombers, etc ? basically, as you said, those that have 'deviated' from the true teachings of Islaam ? can you agree with me that these ppl (probably as some muslims claim, are not representative of the whole muslim population) are tarnishing the image of Islam ? what are you going to do about these ppl, as a follower of the true teaching of Islam ? or is there nothing much a moderate muslim can do to change these fanatic/extremists/fundamentalists ?

Salaam my fellow friends. This clan is really thoughtful, so far no trolls!

We are all of the same track even if our expressions may differ, or our faiths may be different. Since the clan welcomes non-muslims, I hope you won't mind if we also highlight some of the succinct teachings from other faiths on how to approach religious doctrines. There is this beautiful explanation offered by a monk from Vietnam on the way to approach the core of all faiths and to be aware if we are going off course.

Don't mistake the finger for the moon.

What does Islam say about suicide Bombers ? about killing innocent ppl ? hmm...The killing of innocent civilians by suicide bombers and terrorists is strongly condemned in the Quran.Islam does not permit anyone to commit suicide whatever the reason might! This is a very unislamic practice.Ppl who commit these horrible acts are clearly not muslims,rather very evil people who try to justify their hatred and actions by using God's name.



I'll repeat myself again Islam strictly forbids the killing of innocent ppl.The Holy quran says that no hostility is allowed except against the aggressors.Aggression is totally forbidden.Fighting is permitted only in self-defence.God repeats "do not aggress" multiple times in the Holy quran.Only if someone is attacked,one is permitted to fight back.If the other party refrains from aggression and offers one peace,the Muslims are told to stop fighting.



But even in times of war,a Muslim is not allowed to kill women, old people, children, or even a monk in his religious seclusion.Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) instructed the Muslims not to harm any tree or destroy any crop.He also instructed Muslims not to kill any enemy soldier who is not carrying a weapon.

We all know that Islam forbids the innocent killings. But where I live there has been several suicide bomb attacks both in Nairobi and Mombasa. Al Qaida cells are reputed to be along the Somali-Kenya coasts. Many kenyan muslims here have discussed the mind sets of the suicide bombers.

Basically, when the suicide bombers decide to carry out their mission, it's based on the fact that they are acting out of self-defence because they feel that the ummas all over the world have been provoked too much by the encroachment of western powers in their lands and resources.

Secondly, although the Quran prohibits innocent killiings, the suicide bombers feel that if they are wrong in this mission, only Allah can judge them on the day of reckoning, no one else can judge them.

With these fundamental reasoning, people will go on committing errors and barbarities in the name of religion. Unless of course, a leader of the muslim world can come up and denounce such ideas as delusional reasoning that goes against the Holy Qu'ran.

But you won't find such a leader, not unless the christians come up with their own leader to say where they've gone wrong too.

People like bin laaden have indeed deviated from the true teachings of Islaam. But what do you think is the reason that such people can actually convince themselves that what they are doing is justified?

I will tell you.

Such people did not only deviate from the true teachings of Islaam in the rules - they actually deviated in the matters of belief. Most of them have an image in their mind which they worship. Their belief in their Creator is incorrect. They failed to have that base to build up from. They failed to use their sound intellect to realise that it is impossible that the Creator resembles the creation.

Hence, they have a metaphorical black cover on their hearts. As it might be said, they switched off their minds and their feelings and made themselves comfortable with killing the innocent - whether Muslims or non-Muslims.

I'm telling you these people don't care about Islaam and the mainstream Muslims. They think they are the only Muslims.

These people are constantly warned against by the true Muslims. We want to name them and shame them because they do not represent Muslims.

thats interesting and a very useful idea (to achieve peace and harmony). full of goodness

and thanks for the answers pun187 & samsparky.

Merits of Seeking Religious Knowledge

Praise be to Allaah, the Lord of the Worlds, to Him belong the endowments and proper commendations.

May Allaah increase the honour of Prophet MuHammad, Sallallaahu ^alayhi wa sallam, raise his rank, and protect the Prophet’s nation from what he (Prophet MuHammad) fears for it.

Thereafter;

Allaah, the Exalted, praised the status of knowledge in Surat al-Mujaadalah, Ayah 11:




It means: [Allaah raises the ranks of those amongst you who believed and acquired the knowledge.]

Moreover, Allaah revealed to Prophet MuHammad, Sallallaahu ^alayhi wa sallam, to praise the status of knowledge, its teachers and its students.

Ibn Maajah related that the Prophet said:

<<O Abu Dharr, if you go and learn one verse of the Qur’aan it will be more rewardable for you than praying 100 rak^ahs of the optional prayers; and if you go and learn a chapter of knowledge, it is more rewardable for you than praying 1000 rak^ahs of the optional prayers. >>

Al-Bukhaariyy related that the Prophet, Sallallaahu ^alayhi wa sallam, said:

<<When the [Muslim] son of Adam dies, his deeds stop except for three: a charity resulting in a continuing benefit, knowledge benefiting others, and a pious offspring making supplication to Allaah for him. >>

The Obligatory Knowledge of the Religion is that portion of the Knowledge of the Religion which every accountable person is obligated to learn.

The one who is ignorant of the Obligatory Knowledge of the Religion cannot be certain that one is performing any of the acts of worship – like prayers, purification, Hajj, or Zakaah – in a valid manner.

Moreover, one cannot be sure one is clear of committing any of the sins, e.g., the sins of the heart, hands, tongue, ear, eye, body, private parts, abdomen, foot, etc.

If one wants to truly follow the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم, one has to first learn the Obligatory Knowledge of the Religion then implement it.


The one who seeks to acquire the knowledge of the Religion should not rush to just gather a lot of information.

Rather, one needs to go as slowly as is necessary for oneself to be careful and cautious in absorbing and comprehending the material.

Az-Zuhriyy, one of the scholars among the followers of the Companions (taabi^oon) said:



It means: “The one who seeks the entire knowledge of the Hadeeth all at once misses that knowledge in its entirety.”

By his statement, he meant that one should acquire this knowledge in steps—in a way to be sure that one comprehends it.

It is the habit of the scholars to first explain a subject or a book by defining its terms, without giving much detail or mentioning many of the exceptions, and sometimes without mentioning all the restrictions involved regarding some matters.

This is to enable the student to absorb the core of the material and to understand it.

The next time they explain, they may give a more in-depth explanation if they see the student has thoroughly comprehended the material, and so on.

In this context, Imaam al-Bukhaariyy said that some scholars explained the term, “rabbaaniyyeen*” to mean those who raise (teach) the people at first with the simple matters of the Religion, then later in more depth.

*In general rabbaaniyy means العالم العامل i.e., a scholar who implements his knowledge.


Seeking the Knowledge of the Religion entails a great reward.

At-tirmidhiyy related that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said:

((مَنْ خَرَجَ فِى طَلَبِ العِلْمِ فَهُوَ فِى سَبِيلِ اللهِ حَتَّى يَرْجِعَ))

It means: <<The reward of the one who goes out seeking the Knowledge is similar to the reward of the one who fights for the sake of Allaah, and this is until one returns to one’s home. >>

Hence, the reward of the one who goes out seeking the Knowledge of the Religion is similar to the reward of the Mujaahid* for the sake of Allaah.

*The Mujaahid is the one who fights for the sake of Allaah.

Among the different levels in Paradise, there are one hundred (100) levels specified for those who fight for the sake of Allaah.

Between one of these ranks and the next is a distance like the distance between the Earth and the sky.

This is why Imaam ash-Shaafi^iyy said:



It means: “Seeking the Knowledge of the Religion is more rewardable than performing the optional prayer.”


This is why it has been said:




It means: “Spreading the Knowledge among the people is better or more important than distributing money among them.”

With the Knowledge of the Religion, one fights the devils among the humans and the jinn, and one can fight his own evil inclinations.

*For Qur'aanic text online:
www.talkaboutislam.com/Koran/

Salam, i would like to join this society as well =)

You're in!
Welcome,welcome!

Bismillah-ir-Rahman-ir-Rahim means ‘I start with the Name of Allah.’

Allah is the name of the Self Whom we worship (NOTE: self here does not mean body or anything with dimensions or size since Allaah is not subject to these things – only the creations are), the One attributed with Godhood, which is the power to create things (to bring things from the state of non-existence into the state of existence).

Ar-Rahman means the One Who is merciful to the believers and the non-believers in this life, and merciful to only the believers in the Hereafter.

Ar-Rahim means the One Who is merciful to only the believers in the Hereafter.

Praise be to Allah (al-hamdu lillah), the Lord of the humans and jinn,

From the hadith of the Prophet sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam related by Abu Dawud:

((كُلُّ أَمْرٍ ذِى بَالٍ لا يُبْدَأُ بِحَمْدِ الله فَهُوَ أَقْطَعُ))

(Kullu amrin thi baalin laa yubda2u bihamdillaah fahuwa aqta3u)

It means: <<Every religiously important matter which is not started with praising Allah falls short (i.e. less reward). >>

The meaning of al-hamdu lillah entails praising Allah for the uncountable endowments He endowed upon us.

The One Who is attributed with Life (al-Hayy),

Allah is attributed with an eternal and everlasting Life which does not resemble our life.

Allah’s Life is not the combination of soul, bones, and flesh.

The One Who does not need anything (al-Qayyum),

Al-Qayyum is a name of Allah and means the One Who does not need anything, yet everything else needs Him.

The scholars also said that al-Qayyum means the One Whose Existence does not end.

It does not mean Allah dwells in us or in all things as some blasphemers claimed.

And the One Who manages all the creations.

The (all-inclusive) management of all the creations is an attribute of Allah only.

Allah is the One Who makes everything the way it is.

Some creations may have a certain management over things, however, it is a management which is commensurate with them.

In Surat an-Nazi^at, Ayah 5 Allah said:

{فَالْمُدَبِّرَاتِ أَمْراً}

(Falmudabbirati amra)

In this ayah, Allah attributed a proportional (partial) management to the angels.

The management of Allah includes everything, whereas the management of the angels is restricted to what Allah has willed for them to manage, and it is not similar to the management of Allah.

Every accountable person is obligated to know the Obligatory Knowledge. This comprises the Obligatory Knowledge pertaining to Belief, issues from Purification (Tahaarah) up to Pilgrimage (Hajj), and some rules of dealings. The sins of the heart and of other organs, such as the tongue, and the issue of repentance and its conditions are mentioned as well. The one who is not obligated to pay Zakaah is not obligated to learn the details of paying Zakaah. The same ruling applies to learning the details of Pilgrimage for the one who is neither able nor planning to perform it, and to learning the details of dealings which one is neither engaged in nor is obligated to perform.

The one who absorbs and understands the cases relating to the above issues eventually becomes among the people of discrimination. That is he will be able to discriminate between what is good and what is bad, and between what is valid and invalid. What a great blessing this is!

When was Islam introduced to Indonesia?

Why has it been so popular in Indonesia?

hmmm, when? lol that one I don't know - but you can probably look it up

But I do know that it was introduced into Indonesia because the people of Yemen and the people of Indonesia used to do trading and business with eath other.

And because of the excellent adherence to the Islamic code of conduct of buying and selling and good manners, the Indonesians were very impressed and they embraced Islaam.

This is why when you go to Indonesia and Malaysia these days you can still see a strong connection between them and the people of Yemen.

wow so it was the Yemen people who brought Islam to Indonesia. I did not know that. Thanks for the info samsparky!

I completely agree.

And I think I understand now what you mean through your second paragraph. And I think I meant the same but we just might've expressed it differently. If we truly, sincerely, seek to understand Islam we will find that we will not sway far from the true teachings of the Prophet.

I don't know if you feel the same, but in my experiences it has been hard to find the "true teachings of the Prophet", as it seems like many Muslims I know have chosen to base their knowledge elsewhere (or use a dogmatic/dictatorial approach towards religious teaching). I really like your post about the "Merits of Seeking Religious Knowledge" and I wish the community I am in truly implemented the methods explained in your post.

And the reiteration of my statement, while also including Bin Laden and his followers (as well as other extremists/fanatics), are also about many Muslims who have sanctimonious/self-righteous attitudes, and those who tend to put down other Muslims...I feel these Muslims have also deviated from the "true teachings of the Prophet" as I don't believe the Prophet would ever encourage or especially embrace such attitudes.

I don't know if you have encountered any, but in the communities I have lived in (and my current one) I've crossed paths with plenty of them.



I wholeheartedly agree with this.

I believe that if we give God any kind of measureable characteristics (such as an end, beginning, color, body, shape, size, etc.) we will have given God limitations and have "created" God to be what we think God looks like instead of God "just being".

That is why there is only One God and not two/three/four. To have a second God means that we need a characteristic (palpable/discernible one) to differentiate the second God from the first. Thus, we have created God.

And I completely agree that THAT is logical, which is why I believe that Islam is quite a logical religion.

What do you think? Anybody else feel the same?



You're quite welcome

I think it should apply to all aspects of our lives...because if we follow anything without question we give leverage to those in authority (be they religious or secular) to manipulate us for their own gains/purposes.

For me, I can understand why they have resorted to violence. The dire conditions (economically or heavy war areas) of many Muslim countries makes it easier for the residents to go off into the extreme, using violence to express themselves.

As for judging them, I believe that once our actions affect the personal safety of another, then for the sake of our communities, our future generations, we should make judgements on it in order to prevent such deplorable actions from spreading or hurting anyone else. I don't think Allah will want us to just sit still and wait for Him to do something about it...

If say a husband physically abuses his wife or parents abusing their children, although yes Allah will judge them on the day of reckoning, should we just allow this to happen? Or should we try to stop it? and prevent it?

As Muslims we are not allowed to inflict harm on someone else, even in war we have limitations. I read somewhere that the Prophet believes (or encourages using) Power of the Pen (I don't think I got the phrase right though) is the ultimate tool (our best method of self-defense) we should use to "fight" against those who wage 'war" against us. Because no matter how many of our "enemies" we kill, the ideology/beliefs/perceptions that they embrace will still survive. To effectively "fight" we don't use our physical bodies we use our intellects.

That is why the Prophet strongly encourages every Muslim (men and women) to be educated. The usage of our physical bodies to "fight" should be taken as the last resort and only in self-defense.

As for leaders of the Muslim world standing up and denoucing such ideas/acts, there has been a lot, atleast from what I know. Maybe you can elaborate this part of your post more...

And I am sorry that your area has experienced such atrocities..

On introduction of islam to Indonesia, I thought it was primarily the muslims from India who spread the faith throughout the archipelago? Rather than the Yemenis? I think the latter came much later during the era of the Industrial Revolution (18th -19th century) when travel to Mecca for the Haj became possible for masses of Malayan and Indonesian muslims, thanks to the steamships brought by the colonials.



I am sorry too that East africans have been very badly hit by the terrorist bombings, both socially and economically.

Do you all agree that verily, the crusade has not ended after all these centuries?

Even if the Pope doesn't actively galvanise the christian forces to attack muslim lands, his very lack of action is like a tacit agreement on the wars led by leading christian nations like Britain and USA. The Papacy has made some statements condemning the invasion of Iraq, but Italy is part of the coalition forces, action just speaks louder than words...

I believe the Pope should pave the way for reconciliation between the Abrahamaic faiths - Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Why? Coz it has the money and power to facilitate the kind of dialogue. It is because of this continuing lack of dialogue which has pushed radicals like Biin Laden to resort to the gun rather than the pen.

Sure, many muslim leaders have risen to denounce the innocent killings, but there are still errant imams in certain communities who would call for the population to take up arms against the western powers during the occasional Friday prayers. Does Islam have a disciplinary body to check the preaching of these imams? Because Islam doesn't possess a leader with the status similar to the Pope, such doctrinal errors will continue to go unchecked in certain communities.

I believe the inter-faith dialogue is necessary in order to identify the leaders representing not only the different muslim sects, but also the judaic and christian sects. They got to come together and work out a settlement and not leave it to the average man in the street to take justice into their own hands. This is where the pen will be mightier than the sword. These dialogues should be held in Jerusalem, so these leaders can feel the weight of history and bloodshed in this so-called Holy City on their hands when they come to settle their differences.

yes. i agree. we not only need to avoid giving leverage to those manipulative ppl in authority, but also those innocent, yet delusional ones, who might also infect us with their delusion.



sounds like a good idea. has this been suggested or done before?

The new Pope did say he was gonna carry out a world-wide inter-faith dialogue when he carried out his first mass, but that seems to be just a PR stunt, nothing came out of that since then.

Inter-faith dialogues are being held locally in countries, I know it takes place between local church and muslim leaders in the UK, but these are like local events and not worldwide events where everyone from Anatolia to Zimbabwe are watching the world religious leaders pronouncing a way forward. Nothing symbolic has been done so far.