General Issues / Questions

Peace "huruf", At no moment have spoken of infallibility, which is inhuman, but of conviction, which is perfectly human. The potential, yes is there, but conviction is strong, 100% sure? I suppose nothing is 100%, but it is pretty effective. I am fairly sure I would not drink poison, or cross a motor way with heavy traffic at 200 km/h. I also don't think that God chooses as prophets the worst human specimens, but rather of the best... JK- Yes you MAY be right there but then theres a chance your missing some other causal factors based on which GOD chooses whom to make a messenger/prophet. Like i said prophet is not the highest attainable status. A human without a specific job could be better in daily life than a certain messenger in his overall life, except at the point of delivering the Message. A messenger could also be chosen based on how much acceptance hes got in a certain tribe or the amount of skill/experince he/she possesses regarding eg speech, posture etc. Yes he should be righteous to a certain degree i accept but i believe thats not the only factor. So really I haven't got to stretch my credulity a lot to think that mostly they would not have sinned,if I have to believe anything at all, which really I don't think is the case, because as I have already said, the message is still the same. JK- If you think prophets most likely didnt sin or didnt comit mistakes deliberately fine. Just dont be dogmatic about it. Yes, I can see that you worry about the idolization of prophets, and I don't say you are wrong, you are right, from that point of view, if you keep to truth. From mine and from where I come, and I guess we get christian readers, insisting on this point as a capital thing will give them more reason to continue with the crucified for our sins, convinced at the same time of the enormous superiority of their doctrine. JK- Christians however do believe that Jesus was perfect and free from all faults and sins. Some ive heard also claimed that real Prophets didnt sin. Anyway we all do as we think best, so may God make the results as per our intention and not as per our ability(alone) Salaam JK- Yep agreed. sun GOD Bless!

OK, when I said authentic I meant that if by any chance there had been in fact some real, authentic in fact, saying that for whatever reason did come through as such among all the thousands of ahadith. And I am not speaking legal language, where authentic is what can be authenticated, but "speech" language. I mean I cannot be 100% sure either that there was none, that is 0 saying, that was really said. Nobody can be sure of that nor sure of the opposite. Which is why legally there are no authentic ones and therefore why I have said that cannot serve as a basis for doctrine or law, besides any other reasons, of course.

Various sources, I made a search on "Jizya". Mainly Wikipedia. Oh horror.

I say we have to denounce sect that endangers peoples life. Like the raelian sect.

Peace People, Thanx to all for your help D

Peace shez, if you wanna know who's right, just look around the world and think. May God guide you to quran alone.

peace, dear layth, are cheques accepted as payment? if so, to whom are they payable? and to what address are they to be sent? regards

Peace DArgento, all, As a tax-paying American am I indirectly supporting murder by paying my taxes, the same taxes that finance these wars? I had this same dilemma a while back and in discussing it with a former member, he suggested I become a sovereign entity I chose not to go that route and weigh what was really at stake. In the real world of shades of gray, nothing is really as simple as "just emigrate" or "don't pay your taxes". Everything has a consequence and unfortunately, not paying taxes puts you in jail, emigrating puts you in a foreign country, and both keep you from helping your loved ones - morally, financially, and spiritually. If you're flying solo, then it's easy to fly under the radar and land in Costa Rica or Belize or somewhere less "visible". There you can be an inactive member of worshipdom. But if you have roots that need watering, then I'd say do your best to contribute as little as possible to the system financially, and as much as possible to reform. It's been said and pretty well-documented that income tax never finds it's way back to the American people, but right into the pockets of the privately owned Federal Reserve. Ron Paul seems to have a bead on that so we really should be doing all we can to spread his gospel. And Wakas' suggestion of having your own business is, imo, really the only way to truly control your own financial output. That combined with precise donating and charity seems, to me, to be a great recipe and the make-up of a "good-doer". If you work for someone, unfortunately the money's dissected and handed out before your portion ever reaches you. However, a seasoned gymnastic accountant can do well to get a good chunk of that back for you - and then you pump that money into goodwill. I believe in the year 2000, Wachovia Bank actually got a few million dollars back from the IRS as it claimed a loss, yet still managed to increase it's stock value and post record earnings. Tax shelters, go figure. Peace, Tay

So you think? You're not sure if quran tells us to pray. What do u mean by halal meat?

In the land of the free.....and the home.... of ...the.... braaaaaaaaaaaave. rotfl '(

Peace Nature has punishments of its own, which is what I was trying to say. The punishments in the quran for certain misdeeds fill in gaps in society where nature doesn't already cancel out the bad effects. Even adultery has a natural punishment that takes hold if the quranic law isn't enforced. Sorry for misunderstanding. I agree with your statement then. Peace

Salam, Thank you sis Haneen. Great article. God bless whoever wrote it too. There is something else I wish to understand a bit more so that I can reply if I get asked about my beliefs (I wouldn't dare ask the people around me so they don't get offended). What's with Shia people copying a Sayyed (supposedly descendents of the Prophets)? Is there anything in the Quran that says descendents of the Prophets are holy at all? Because the way I see it "tilka ummatun qad khalat" (that is a community that finished/passed away). Quran says 2141 That was a people that hath passed away. They shall reap the fruit of what they did, and ye of what ye do! Of their merits there is no question in your case 2134 That was a people that hath passed away. They shall reap the fruit of what they did, and ye of what ye do! Of their merits there is no question in your case! So can anyone clarify what the deal is there? thanks. peace

Interresting side note is that Jesus and his brother Thomas are recorded to going to Kashmir in India, as the Acts of Thomas say they went back to the "lost sheep of Israel". After the Babyloniers destroyed Israel around 500BC, many Jews dispersed over the continents. Some ended up in India. Maybe this was a returning...

Let's just say they took it a step further...

What about a game where you win prizes if you are right on all the questions? Free participation. Then they randomly choose who wins first prizes, second prize...

Hi Tarikh, and everybody else.. I do agree with G.Omar in the sense that you should not be scared of death, its easier said than done though... If a person is submitting to God with the best of intentions and efforts then why should he/she be scared to go to a place that is much better than this world? A place where there is no grief, no evil, no confusion - but only satisfaction, peace, and whatever may satisfy us. Once we taste death in this world we are not really dead, because we are brought back to life in the hereafter - though many may not perceive it. I think a belief in this philosophy opens ones mind to many options and challenges because the fear of possible death does not hinder a person anymore. It gives a sense of calm that leads to good decision making in difficult situations because whats the worst that will happen? Ill die and go to heaven, that doesn't sound too bad. IMO the believer puts his trust in God and carries on, justifying his/her actions words and thoughts with the Quran and keeping his/her intentions as clean as a mirror. At this point I have to agree with Samia, that the Quran says one must avert evil by that which is good. When one can do this he has gotten rid of a stain from his/her heart, the stain of vengeance or evil. God forgives us all the time, so we should forgive others, treat others like how we want to be treated. By getting rid of this stain of evil, namely vengeance, one becomes purified - it takes a conscious effort to restrain oneself, turn the other cheek and be patient . I agree, at times one needs to muster force for deterence, or defend oneself, or physically fight people when people fight us - but that is when somebody is fighting you for your deen because we are forbidden to turn in friendship or kind to people who fight us for our deen , who stop us in an act of submission/justification. Writing a paper in 2 pages was always tougher than writing a 20 page paper for me. Peace.

Like what form of gambling? Gambling in a casino, MUST be weighted against the gamblers and towards the operators, or there won't be any profit? In that case, you have a certain "benefit" dictated by luck, and a greater sin, again, dictated by luck, and Murphy's law. So, some gamblers will definitely see benefit but the overwhelming majority just won't. Surely there would exist some intoxicants that are 90% beneficial (aspirin) within reason, some 10% (crack cocaine), some a mixture, and so on. Beneficial gambling, when I think of that, I'd think of the money market. How about a friendly game of poker among friends? No "rigging" involved, no weights against gamblers etc. Still gambling, right? Why does gambling have to revolve around Casinoes only? How about the following conversation Father A 100 dollars say that you won't get an A in math. Son You're on... (Studies hard for the subject and gets the A) Father Oh well, fair is fair. Here's the 100. Well done, son. Son Thanks, Dad. Getting an A felt pretty good, you know. I should try it more often. I'd say both won in the above situation. (and no, I am still not in favour of gambling. I just wanted to get my point across that if someone says that there are some wholly beneficial intoxicants but says that there are no beneficial forms of gambling is probably speaking out of preconception. Either all forms of intoxicants and gambling have great sin but some benefit or some forms of intoxicants as well as gambling are wholly beneficial and the rest are totally sinful. I am leaning towards the former.) With a certain level of interest, there's a certain point where if the person cannot increase their payments enough, you get stuck in debt more or less permanently and end up paying towards debt, decreasing your income/growth, paying more debt and so on, and it spirals out of control, and again, after a certain limit, the principal amount has been paid off, and it's just interest on interest on interest. For my personal views on debt, please view the following post http//free-minds.org/forum/index.php?topic=12997.msg152484#msg152484 Remember that the quran says that falsehood/oppression and injustice is made clear for all to see, truth distinct from lies, and so on, and look here http//www.africaaction.org/docs99/dbt9903b.htm http//www.spinwatch.org/content/view/1532/9/ In the quran there's the comparison with trade , of course. Then , can any person in a state of war with GOD be called a believer, or even worthy of mention? What about , God's balance is clear and in full measure, i.e. A=B, not "A=B + 5% APR". A current mortgage can result in interest taking up a ridiculous sum of the total, well above the original amount. In 2275, "Al-Riba" is not compared with Trade ("Al-Baya&quot. In fact, it is the other way around, which is very significant I believe, because of the ground realities. As per the Book, People who defend "Al-Riba" say that that "Al-Baya" (Trade/Business) is like "Al-Riba" (Interest), whereas in reality, people who defend interest actually say that Interest-based transactions is just normal Business, not Norma business is like Interest-based transactions. Also you said, A=B, right? How about Property? I actually live in a place where some people I know purchased a piece of residential land for 5,000,000, which in, 2 years time, grew to 40,000,000, and is still growing. So much for A=B. Property will always keep on escalating as long as population keeps growing, which is as natural a phenomenon as they come. So should owning a property constitute an Al-Riba transaction? Why should "the increase" be limited to gain on "money" (an asset) and not extended to gain on "land" (as asset)? Both are just sitting idle and gaining over a period of time. Anyway, that is my personal understanding, in light of the Book. No offence was meant to anyone. Peace.

Abraham was extremely kind, and wise, and he is given as an excellent example of a monotheist follower. He argues on behalf of Lot's people, despite their wickedness. 1174 - 75 "Do unto others as you would have them do to you." Luke 631 If you wished someone 'happy fasting' or 'happy pilgrimage', and they responded with "Get lost, I'm not a muslim" it wouldn't be very pleasant would it. Finally, Quran 486 really does settle this matter I feel. peace

Peace to all, Heres my problem, I have two Qurans that I received free through the mail by applying for them online, and I have read them about 6 times now, and I also have one other Islamic book that was given to me by the only Muslim ive ever met in my life, she was a female Islamic lecturer that spoke at our local community college, the book is called Al-Tawhid- its implications for thought and life. I really love this book but its all I have, I need more books on any Islamic topic. I happen to live in a little community with no muslims and I cant find anything at the stores. Is it possible that others that have some good books can share them, I will pay for shipping if needed. Please let me know if anyone has any good books or suggestions to help me learn more and become a better submitter. I appreciate any help offered, Peace Kurt, Having moved country twice in 4 yrs I have left all my books behind, but advice I still may have. Why not Google the question "Free online books Islam" Good Luck G ! Kurt

Salaams, I have a question. Is there anything in the Quran that can relate to a women being beaten up by her parents because shes dating another man? Both the man and the woman is a muslim but her parents dont want her with that man, so they put her on house arrest and beat her. Is there anything in Quran that states that the man should save her from this predicament? I dont think theres anything that states it on the fact, but perhaps something that can relate to it? Any help is appreciated. Even a hadith, if the family is Sunni? Peace Salaams Amuslim, Are you that man? I would tell the abusive parents that all our deeds on earth we will be questioned of on Jday. God is merciful and forgiving and if we wish to follow his straight path we need to adopt, in our limited way, all His good qualities. God will have mercy on those who are merciful Insha Allah.