02-25-2006, 08:19 AM
Quote:The problem for men is that we have trouble wrapping our head around this concept. Afterall, everywhere we look we see cycles of life and death. How does life exist without a beginning? How does a beginning exist without the previous life to begin it?You see the reason for your confusion is that you are thinking of God as having "life". Of course, life has to have a beginning and an end, but Allah has no beginning nor end. He is the Eternal, the Absolute. The Qur'an gives the BEST definition of God:
1 Say : "He is Allah, (the) One.
2 "Allah-us-Samad (The Self-Sufficient Master, Whom all creatures need, He neither eats nor drinks).
3 "He begets not, nor was He begotten;
4 "And there is none co-equal or comparable unto Him." <i>(Qur'an 112:1-4)</i>
Saying that Allah has life would be comparing Him to human life, and clearly that is wrong.
Quote:I am curious what you mean here by "no partners." Aren't Prphet Muhammad and the prophets partners? Perhaps you could clarify for me the role/difference between Prophet Muhammad and God. It strikes me as very similar to the paradigm of Jesus and God. They are one, yet separate.NO. Allah is not the same as ANY Prophet! The Bible says (sorry can't remember the reference): <i>Jesus said: "My Father and I are one"</i> ... Now that verse totally misquoted and misunderstood to mean that Jesus is God! If you look at the verses before it, you will see that what Jesus (pbuh) meant when he said that him and God are one IN PURPOSE i.e., they have the same purpose which is to spread the Light of Allah.
In another place in the Bible, Jesus says (sorry can't remember the reference again): <i>Jesus tells his disciples: "You and I are one"</i> ... So, if being one means to be the same physically, then, you will have to accept even the 12 disciples of Jesus (pbuh) as gods! Obviously that makes no sense! So, being one means being one in purpose. The purpose of Jesus (pbuh) and his disciples can be the the same... which is to spread the Light of Allah.
Quote:Also, the message of Jesus is for everyone, too.No it wasn't. The messages given to all the prophets before Muhammad (saw) were for a specific people, and to be followed only for a specific time period. That is why Allah never promised to preserve any of those messages. However, the Qur'an is the ONLY revelation that Allah has promised to preserve till eternity. That is because the message of the Qur'an and the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (saw) is for everyone. As Allah says in the Qur'an:
And We have sent you (O Muhammad SAW) not but as a mercy for the Alameen (mankind, jinns and all that exists).
<i>( سورة الأنبياء , Al-Anbiya, Chapter #21, Verse #107)</i>
Hope that helps inshaAllah. I have more to say on this, but have to rush now. InshaAllah will be back in a couple of days.