Bismillah:
Quote:While we need "religion" as a way to teach one another and the next generation, I do not think God has any need of it at all.
Yes, God do not need a religion for Himself... but we do. And since He is our Creator, He have perfected for us a religion/way of life in order for us to learn how to live on this earth rightly!! (insha’Allah will explain later what do we “Muslims” means when we say religion or much appropriate <b>‘DEEN’</b>)
Quote:As to what is "acceptable," you seem to miss my point that someone saying that they are "best" is fraught intellectual dishonesty.
Qur'an 3:110-112 <b>Ye are the best
of peoples evolved for mankind BECAUSE
enjoining what is right forbidding what is wrong and believing in Allah.</b>
So I was quoting what was mentioned in the Qur’an, and the Qur’an as you may know is the first authentic source of Islam, so if you doubt the authenticity of the Qur’an, this is your problem which is also open for discussion. If you don’t believe that the Qur’an was revealed by God, then you have to tell us from where did it come?
Quote:It would also perhaps be useful to explain what you mean by religion. I think of religion as organizational structures. Islam, to its credit, seems less hierarchial, but within each sect it seems to be very hierarchial. Thus, when a cleric says things that are false, he leads many astray, the same as a Christian preacher.
Or perhaps you mean the idea of day constantly interrupted by prayer (or prayer interupted by necessities) but that is a form of worship, not "religion." Any religion could choose to do the same rituals.
Ok here what do we mean by religion... or <b>DEEN.</b>
It implies a very comprehensive system of life that is composed of four parts:
1-The ruler ship and the authority belong to Allah only.
2-The obedience and submission are to Allah.
3-The comprehensive system (intellectual and practical) is established by this authority (Allah).
4-The reward given by this authority (Allah) to those who followed the system and submitted to him and the punishment inflicted upon those who rebel against it and disobey it.
Based on this definition of “deen”, you can conclude that it is a submission, and worship by man for the creator, the ruler, in <b>a comprehensive system of life with all its belief, intellectual, moral and practical aspects. </b>
After understanding this definition of the Arabic word “deen”, you may realize that it is not correct to translate it into English using the word “religion". Because <b> the word religion dose not really denote the full meaning of the word Deen.</b>
Hop this was clear insha’Allah.
Quote:Lastly, I just wanted to point out that this idea of praying towards Mecca is the same thing that the Chinese practiced for thousands of years. Everyone slept with their head toward the Forbidden City. Similarly, when the Emperor stood at the center of the city, with his 100,000's of soldiers surrounding him, he was God in the minds of men at that time. It strikes me as very similar to Mecca.
Praying towards Mecca or the Ka’ba is a sign for our submission to Allah’s will. <b>Do you know what the meaning of submission, surrendering and obedience?</b> For instance, if Muslims want to offer Prayers, it is possible that some may wish to face north, while some may wish to face south. In order to unite Muslims in their worship of the One True God, Muslims, wherever they may be, are asked to face in only one direction. I can see nothing wrong with that… now the question is <b>why Mecca?</b> hmm ….. <b>Are you questioning God for the places He chooses?</b>
God Almighty chooses His Own Messengers, He uses His Own Standards although we may not always understand the wisdom of it. Shall we say why did He choose Moses pbuh? Are we in a position to ask God why he picked Jesus pbuh, <b>a carpenter and a son of a carpenter, who has no where to lay his head</b>
to be sent to the Jews? <b>We should not show this attitude on God's choice</b>. He chooses mount Sinai when He decided to speak with Moses pbuh, did we ever say why mount Sinai and not mount Everest? God also chose the best month, best nation, best day, best city, best people, etc and sometimes we do not know the wisdom behind His choices. But as Muslims we always say …. <b>We hear and we obey</b>…
<b>"We see the turning of thy face (for guidance) to the heavens: now shall We turn thee to a Qiblah that shall please thee. Turn then thy face in the direction of the Sacred Mosque: wherever ye are, turn your faces in that direction."
</b>[Qur’an 2:144]
Quote:Granted, Jesus does not say that He wants these buildings to fall, only that they will. Again, I would not be self-satisfied with any label. There are only two people in the world: you and God. It doesn't matter what Islam does. You are not Islam and Islam is not you. The word "Islam" is just an intellectual construct (a label) to help us communicate differences we observe in our surroundings. The same intellectual capacity which also leads us to see difference where there is none, like, there is only one God. The splitting of hairs is unimportant, it is unity without exclusion that has value
Are you a hindu? Because you talking like them… ah by the way, <b>I am not ISLAM... I am a Muslim</b>. It is an Arabic word which means he who submits himself to Allah’s will. And the Deen of Allah called Islam.. indeed the deen in the sight of Allah is Islam (Submission to His will).
The religion of Islam is not named after a person as in the case of Christianity which was named after Jesus Christ, Buddhism after Gotama Buddha, Confucianism after Confucius, and Marxism after Karl Marx. Nor was it named after a tribe like Judaism after the tribe of Judah and Hinduism after the Hindus. Islam is the true religion of "Allah" and as such, its name represents the central principle of Allah's religion/Deen; the total submission to the will of Allah, The Arabic word "Islam" means the submission or surrender of one's will to the only true god worthy of worship "Allah" and anyone who does so is termed a "Muslim", So, <b>it was not a new religion brought by Prophet Muhammad pbuh in Arabia in the seventh century, but only the true religion of Allah re-expressed in its final form. </b>
Nowhere in the Bible will you find God saying to the people of Moses pbuh that their religion is Judaism, nor to the followers of Christ that their religion is Christianity. So for me and for all Muslims, <b>It matters what Islam does for humanity.</b>
I do respect your view and I hope that you understand my points too. It does not matter for me to win an argument, but it is important for me to deliver the message correctly. And i ask Allah to forgive me if I did or said anything wrong.
Salam
Wael.