Translated by Munzer A. Absi with contributionm from Ahmad Sheik Bangura
Chapter 1:
Belief in Almighty God
Question 01: So long as the three principal religions have emanated from God, why should differences appear as to the essence of God among their adherents? Why should a Christian or a Jew be required to abandon his religion and adopt Islam?
Answer 01: There is no doubt that the three religions acknowledge one source, God. They all agree as to the uniquness, the absolute omniscience and omnipresence of God, to the exclusion of any parallel power to be worshipped. All agree as to attributing to God all perfection and excluding all defects and blemishes. Whatever differences may appear is sporadic extraneous, accretious developing over the ages from distortions interpolated by members of both Judaism and Christianity. Herein came differences as to the essence of God. The difference, therefore, is between Islam, which God entrusted His prophet with, and other religions which have been distorted and adulterated. The difference is not between authentic religions, rather, it is between a true religion and others that have been invalidated and turned away. The latter category has been manipulated by vicious hands which misdirected them.
When we call upon a Jew or Christian to discard his/her religion and adopt Islam, we are in reality asking him/her to revert to the true religion which has been preached by all prophets. Should an impartial thinker consider Islam in relation to other religions, he/she is bound to acknowledge the radical difference between both categories. He/she is likely to find in the former the truth and monotheism, while the latter would reveal innovations and polytheism. Moreover, Islam advocates justice and tolerance, while the others imply racism and discrimination. In the one there are moral commitment and decency; in the other, disintegration and corruption.
Question 02: What is the penultimate reason behind the creation of man? Does God need man's worship?
Answer 02: Man has been created in order to worship God: "And I (God) created not the jinn and mankind except that they should worship me (alone)" (Holy Qur'an: 51: 56). The Primary incumbency on man is to know God through His oneness, and thence to worship Him truly. Secondly, man is required to act his role as God's vicegerent on earth, so as to enjoy bliss both here and hereafter. Indeed, his/her need to acknowledge the supremacy of God exceeds his/her need and drink: "O mankind! It is you who stand in need of God. But God is rich, worthy of all praise" (Holy Qur'an: 35: 15).
God is above the need for man's worship. He does not benefit from man's devotion, nor would He be adversely affected by man's blasphemy. From beginning to end the story of man's existence on earth, no matter how many are its incidents, is an ordeal, a test, whether for him/her as an individual or for all humanity. Man's performance in this test determines either his praise and reward or reproof and punishment.
Question 03: You Muslims claim that you worship One God, while in actual fact you resemble the Christians who say "In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit," for you say "In the name of God, the Mercifu; the Compaasionate." How would you account for this resemblence?
Answer 03: In the Christian creed, God is the Creator. The Son is Jesus the Deliverer. And the Holy Spirit is His life or one of His creations chosen by Him as a messenger and/or prophet imparting God's inspiration or cosmic order to whoever He wishes. Whatever the mission carried out by the Holy Spirit, the Christians believe in the above powers as three entities, three aspects, three qualities. They say: "Oneness in Trinity and Trinity in Oneness." They are all phenomena of one God, etc. Therefore, the One God, they claim, consists of three separate categories, which they call the Trinity. As a matter of fact, God, as they take Him, is not one but three. In the Qur'an God says: "Surely, disbelievers are those who said: 'God is the third of the three (in aTrinity)'." (Holy Qur'an: 5: 73). The verse means that God the Creator is the third in relation to the Son and the Holy Spirit.
As for the Muslim dictum "In the name of God, the Mercifu, the Compaasionate," it means three names of God which exceed ninety nine, all denoting one Entity. A name is not separate from the named. The Being named and described is not to be conceived except by His names and qualities, unlike the case of the Christian Entities, for they are three dimentional, but separate, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Question 04: How can you claim that your God is Mercifu and Compasionate, while He created evil in the world, expressed in illnesses, volcanoes, toxics, earthquakes, hatred, etc.?
Answer 04: The answer to this question is threefold: 1. God almighty is a universal God, the God of all creation. This is obvious in the following verse: "And your God is One (God), there is none who has the right to be worshipped but He, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful..." (Holy Qur'an: 2: 163).
2. Undoubtedly, God's mercy is comprehensive. It encompasses all creatures under its canopy. The evidence is clear: "...And My Mercy embraces all things..." (Holy Qur'an: 7: 156). Such a spacious clemency expresses itself in bestowing upon His creation so much bliss: material sustenance, the gifts of sight and hearing. Indeed, such blesisngs are countless.
3. Whatever adversities may befall man in this world, like pain, illness, poison, earthquakes, volcanoes, etc., are not exclusively evils. They are mixed blessings. For some who are harassed by such evils they are a punishment for their disobedience or heresy, while for some others they are a reminder, a nudge, to awaken them from their slumber. They also indicate the absolute power of God, His ability to deal with His creation, the sphere of His dominion, in the ways He deems just and wise. All that God decrees emanates from His compassion, wisdom and justice.
Question 05: Does God allow prostration to any power or creature other than Himself? If the answer is negative how can we account for the prostration of Jospeh's brothers and parents before him?
Answer 05: Initialy, it is to be maintained that there are two kinds of prostration: 1. Expressive of worship and favour-seeking, which is permissible only to God. If it is practised to appease some other power, this is polytheism.
2. Indicative of man's desire to glorify an absolute power, in which case the action of prostration is not polytheistic. Kneeling down and/ or prostration before human beings as a way of showing respect or greeting was quite acceptable in earlier creeds. But it has been abrogated in Islam. Joseph's brothers did not worship him. They bent down before him in a expression of esteem and reverence. Such a posture was permissible in their creed, but abolished and abrogated in Islam. Abdullah ibn Abi Awfa was reported to have said that on coming from Sham (currently greater Syria) Mu'az ibn Jabal knelt down before the prophet (pbuh) whereupon the prophet enquired what the man meant. In explanation, Mu'az said that in Sham he had seen people bending down before their bishops and patriarchs, so he thought it would be fit to do so in front of the prophet. In response the prophet denied this by saying: "Muslims may not bow down to anybody except God...".
It was obvious that Mu'az's postutre before the prophet implies reverence, a sentiment he noted in the case of the faithful, but in no way does it denote worship, which is exclusive to God. When the prophet knew that Mu'az's posture did not denote worship, he still exhorted him not to perform such an action. Consequently, abrogation was applied to kneeling down and prostration in glorification of human grandeur.
It is true that Joseph's father and brother prostrated before him, and equally true that God almighty enjoined the angels to prostrate before Adam, but in neither case did the posture imply worship, rather it meant a gesture of honour and recognition of merit.
Chapter 2:
Belief in Prophets and Missions
Question 06: What is the indisputable evidence that the teachings of Muhammad have all come from God?
Answer 06: There are numerous irrefutable evidences indicating that such teachings originated from God almighty. Here are some: 1. All that has been enjoined, and denied, can be found highly propitious and useful to all mankind, everywhere and at any time. They are commensurate with the sound mind and the chaste insight. Examples are commandments on solidifying family ties, preserving superior moral qualities, avoiding usury and all misdemeanors. All that the prophet (pbuh) has been told in inspiration has been proved valid. Such material falls in two categories:
A. Pertaining to the past. These are corroborated by former books as well as authenticated evidence confirmed by science and modern discoveries, e.g. finindgs in geology as the era of the deluge, in archeology as the relics from the epochs of Thamud and the Pharaos.
B. Pertaining to the future. Certain incidents were predicted by the prophet, e.g. the fire which blasted Medina in 654 hijra, the good offices performed by Hasan ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib in reconcilating between two major factions of Muslims, the gathering of the Jews in Palestine today, the emergence of nudist women who earn their living in immodest ways, and the spread of ususry, corruption, murder, etc.
C. Evidences derived from the prophet's own life and morals, a study of both of which can only cofirms that such actions can never emerge except from one who is both true and honest. Whoever considers God's support of His prophet (pbuh), the victory over his enemies, and the spread of his religion, must come to the conclusion that this
...
What is your purpose in life? What is the rationale behind our life? Why do we live in this life? These questions frequently intrigue people who try to find accurate answers.
People provide different answers to these questions. Some people believe the purpose of life is to accumulate wealth. But one may wonder: What is the purpose of life after one has collected colossal amounts of money? What then? What will the purpose be once money is gathered? If the purpose of life is to gain money, there will be no purpose after becoming wealthy. And in fact, here lies the problem of some disbelievers or misbelievers at some stage of their life, when collecting money is the target of their life. When they have collected the money they dreamt of, their life loses its purpose. They suffer from the panic of nothingness and they live in tension and restlessness.
Can Wealth Be an Aim?
We often hear of a millionaire committing suicide, sometimes, not the millionaire himself but his wife, son, or daughter. The question that poses itself is: Can wealth bring happiness to one's life? In most cases the answer is NO. Is the purpose of collecting wealth a standing purpose? As we know, the five-year old child does not look for wealth: a toy for him is equal to a million dollars. The eighteen-year old adolescent does not dream of wealth because he is busy with more important things. The ninety-year old man does not care about money; he is worried more about his health. This proves that wealth cannot be a standing purpose in all the stages of the individual's life.
Wealth can do little to bring happiness to a disbeliever, because he/ she is not sure about his fate. A disbeliever does not know the purpose of life. And if he has a purpose, this purpose is doomed to be temporary or self destructive.
What is the use of wealth to a disbeliever if he feels scared of the end and skeptical of everything. A disbeliever may gain a lot of money, but will surely lose himself.
Worshipping Allah as an Aim
On the contrary, faith in Allah gives the believer the purpose of life that he needs. In Islam, the purpose of life is to worship Allah. The term "Worship" covers all acts of obedience to Allah.
The Islamic purpose of life is a standing purpose. The true Muslim sticks to this purpose throughout all the stages of his life, whether he is a child, adolescent, adult, or an old man.
Worshipping Allah makes life purposeful and meaningful, especially within the framework of Islam. According to Islam this worldly life is just a short stage of our life. Then there is the other life. The boundary between the first and second life is the death stage, which is a transitory stage to the second life. The type of life in the second stage a person deserves depends on his deeds in the first life. At the end of the death stage comes the day of judgment. On this day, Allah rewards or punishes people according to their deeds in the first life.
The First Life as an Examination
So, Islam looks at the first life as an examination of man. The death stage is similar to a rest period after the test, i. e. after the first life. The Day of Judgment is similar to the day of announcing the results of the examinees. The second life is the time when each examinee enjoys or suffers from the outcome of his behavior during the test period.
In Islam, the line of life is clear, simple, and logical: the first life, death, the Day of Judgment, and then the second life. With this clear line of life, the Muslim has a clear purpose in life. The Muslim knows he is created by Allah. Muslims know they are going to spend some years in this first life, during which they have to obey God, because God will question them and hold them responsible for their public or private deeds, because Allah knows about all the deeds of all people. The Muslim knows that his deeds in the first life will determine the type of second life they will live in. The Muslim knows that this first life is a very short one, one hundred years, more or less, whereas the second life is an eternal one.
The Eternity of the Second Life
The concept of the eternity of the second life has a tremendous effect on a Muslims during their first life, because Muslims believe that their first life determines the shape of their second life. In addition, this determines the shape of their second life and this determination will be through the Judgment of Allah, the All just and Almighty.
With this belief in the second life and the Day of Judgment, the Muslim's life becomes purposeful and meaningful. Moreover, the Muslim's standing purpose is to go to Paradise in the second life.
In other words, the Muslim's permanent purpose is to obey Allah, to submit to Allah, to carry out His orders, and to keep in continues contact with Him through prayers (five times a day), through fasting (one month a year), through charity (as often as possible), and through pilgrimage (once in one's life).
The Need for a Permanent Purpose
Disbelievers have purposes in their lives such as collecting money and property, indulging in sex, eating, and dancing. But all these purposes are transient and passing ones. All these purposes come and go, go up and down. Money comes and goes. Health comes and goes. Sexual activities cannot continue forever. All these lusts for money, food and sex cannot answer the individual's questions: so what? Then What?
However, Islam saves Muslims from the trouble of asking the question, because Islam makes it clear, from the very beginning, that the permanent purpose of the Muslim in this life is to obey Allah in order to go to Paradise in the second life.
We should know that the only way for our salvation in this life and in the hereafter is to know our Lord who created us, believe in Him, and worship Him alone.
We should also know our Prophet whom Allah had sent to all mankind, believe in Him and follow Him. We should, know the religion of truth which our Lord has commanded us to believe in, and practice it ...
Those in search of truth
Who have an open mind and heart,
Islamic Education Foundation
Welcome You.
Objectives: -
To Convey the message of Islam
To Educate Muslims about Islam
To keep in close contact with new Muslims.
Activities:
Offering Courses and presenting lectures about Islam in several languages.
Teaching Islam and Arabic.
Teaching new Muslims to receive the Holy Quran.
Helping Non- Muslims embrace Islam and complete the required procedures
What is your purpose in life? What is the rationale behind our life? Why do we live in this life? These questions frequently intrigue people who try to find accurate answers.
People provide different answers to these questions. Some people believe the purpose of life is to accumulate wealth. But one may wonder: What is the purpose of life after one has collected colossal amounts of money? What then? What will the purpose be once money is gathered? If the purpose of life is to gain money, there will be no purpose after becoming wealthy. And in fact, here lies the problem of some disbelievers or misbelievers at some stage of their life, when collecting money is the target of their life. When they have collected the money they dreamt of, their life loses its purpose. They suffer from the panic of nothingness and they live in tension and restlessness.
Can Wealth Be an Aim?
We often hear of a millionaire committing suicide, sometimes, not the millionaire himself but his wife, son, or daughter. The question that poses itself is: Can wealth bring happiness to one's life? In most cases the answer is NO. Is the purpose of collecting wealth a standing purpose? As we know, the five-year old child does not look for wealth: a toy for him is equal to a million dollars. The eighteen-year old adolescent does not dream of wealth because he is busy with more important things. The ninety-year old man does not care about money; he is worried more about his health. This proves that wealth cannot be a standing purpose in all the stages of the individual's life.
Wealth can do little to bring happiness to a disbeliever, because he/ she is not sure about his fate. A disbeliever does not know the purpose of life. And if he has a purpose, this purpose is doomed to be temporary or self destructive.
What is the use of wealth to a disbeliever if he feels scared of the end and skeptical of everything. A disbeliever may gain a lot of money, but will surely lose himself.
Worshipping Allah as an Aim
On the contrary, faith in Allah gives the believer the purpose of life that he needs. In Islam, the purpose of life is to worship Allah. The term "Worship" covers all acts of obedience to Allah.
The Islamic purpose of life is a standing purpose. The true Muslim sticks to this purpose throughout all the stages of his life, whether he is a child, adolescent, adult, or an old man.
Worshipping Allah makes life purposeful and meaningful, especially within the framework of Islam. According to Islam this worldly life is just a short stage of our life. Then there is the other life. The boundary between the first and second life is the death stage, which is a transitory stage to the second life. The type of life in the second stage a person deserves depends on his deeds in the first life. At the end of the death stage comes the day of judgment. On this day, Allah rewards or punishes people according to their deeds in the first life.
The First Life as an Examination
So, Islam looks at the first life as an examination of man. The death stage is similar to a rest period after the test, i. e. after the first life. The Day of Judgment is similar to the day of announcing the results of the examinees. The second life is the time when each examinee enjoys or suffers from the outcome of his behavior during the test period.
In Islam, the line of life is clear, simple, and logical: the first life, death, the Day of Judgment, and then the second life. With this clear line of life, the Muslim has a clear purpose in life. The Muslim knows he is created by Allah. Muslims know they are going to spend some years in this first life, during which they have to obey God, because God will question them and hold them responsible for their public or private deeds, because Allah knows about all the deeds of all people. The Muslim knows that his deeds in the first life will determine the type of second life they will live in. The Muslim knows that this first life is a very short one, one hundred years, more or less, whereas the second life is an eternal one.
The Eternity of the Second Life
The concept of the eternity of the second life has a tremendous effect on a Muslims during their first life, because Muslims believe that their first life determines the shape of their second life. In addition, this determines the shape of their second life and this determination will be through the Judgment of Allah, the All just and Almighty.
With this belief in the second life and the Day of Judgment, the Muslim's life becomes purposeful and meaningful. Moreover, the Muslim's standing purpose is to go to Paradise in the second life.
In other words, the Muslim's permanent purpose is to obey Allah, to submit to Allah, to carry out His orders, and to keep in continues contact with Him through prayers (five times a day), through fasting (one month a year), through charity (as often as possible), and through pilgrimage (once in one's life).
The Need for a Permanent Purpose
Disbelievers have purposes in their lives such as collecting money and property, indulging in sex, eating, and dancing. But all these purposes are transient and passing ones. All these purposes come and go, go up and down. Money comes and goes. Health comes and goes. Sexual activities cannot continue forever. All these lusts for money, food and sex cannot answer the individual's questions: so what? Then What?
However, Islam saves Muslims from the trouble of asking the question, because Islam makes it clear, from the very beginning, that the permanent purpose of the Muslim in this life is to obey Allah in order to go to Paradise in the second life.
We should know that the only way for our salvation in this life and in the hereafter is to know our Lord who created us, believe in Him, and worship Him alone.
We should also know our Prophet whom Allah had sent to all mankind, believe in Him and follow Him. We should, know the religion of truth which our Lord has commanded us to believe in, and practice it ...
Those in search of truth
Who have an open mind and heart,
Islamic Education Foundation
Welcome You.
Objectives: -
To Convey the message of Islam
To Educate Muslims about Islam
To keep in close contact with new Muslims.
Activities:
Offering Courses and presenting lectures about Islam in several languages.
Teaching Islam and Arabic.
Teaching new Muslims to receive the Holy Quran.
Helping Non- Muslims embrace Islam and complete the required procedures
> What is your purpose in life? What is the rationale behind our life? > Why do we live in this life? These questions frequently intrigue > people who try to find accurate answers.
> [additional stupid shit /del]
Please notice: This is a german law and social forum. It should not used by zealots, talibans and similar idiots. Shut up and move your ass to somewherelse. Thank you!
"ahmad" <aldk...@gmail.com> writes: > As we know, the five-year old child does not look for wealth: a toy > for him is equal to a million dollars.
But if he or his parents have got no money at all, he won't get any toys.
> The eighteen-year old adolescent does not dream of wealth because he > is busy with more important things.
Yeah. Girls. And toys. Money helps with both. That's a problem, granted.
> The ninety-year old man does not care about money; he is worried more > about his health.
Provided he has enough money to have payed his health insurance or to pay a doctor. Most people in the world have neither. That's a problem.
> This proves that wealth cannot be a standing purpose in all the stages > of the individual's life.
Right. In all stages of the individual's life the task at hand, whatever it is, is the standing purpose.
> Wealth can do little to bring happiness to a disbeliever, because he/ > she is not sure about his fate. A disbeliever does not know the > purpose of life. And if he has a purpose, this purpose is doomed to be > temporary or self destructive.
Stop, please. How on earth you're getting now to "disbelievers"? I thought you were talking about the distribution of wealth and power? This is a real and pressing problem, you know?
> What is the use of wealth to a disbeliever if he feels scared of the > end and skeptical of everything. A disbeliever may gain a lot of > money, but will surely lose himself.
Well, there *are* people without anything like "self". Many of them. They have never learned about that. They have learned that you are what you can buy. Believe me, there are people who are content with money and power and everything that money and power can buy. Give up the struggle for money and power and gods and *then* you may find a way to the truth.
> Worshipping Allah as an Aim
Ah! OK. No, thanks. I neither believe in money nor in Allah. Or whatever you may call him. I believe in you and me and everyone else. Served me well, actually. People are more important than gods. And you get much more feedback from them, really.
> On the contrary, faith in Allah gives the believer the purpose of life > that he needs. In Islam, the purpose of life is to worship Allah. The > term "Worship" covers all acts of obedience to Allah.
And this and everything else you're talking about is different to believing in money and power *how* exactly? You want believers; they want believers. We don't need believers. Go away, please. Yes, I know: You will never read this, probably. Proves enough.
Of course you can believe in whatever you like, it's all the same to me. What I care for is what you *do*. What are you doing? When you want to judge people don't look at their lips, look at their hands.
Jochem
-- "A designer knows he has arrived at perfection not when there is no longer anything to add, but when there is no longer anything to take away." - Antoine de Saint-Exupery
