The front page of this website...
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The front page of this website is what makes me sad about such misconceptions. All of the "sunni" and "shia" teachings vs. the "Islamic" ones have actually been contrived by man; they are NOT what the Sunni and Shia teachings actually are. There are so many misconceptions and misinterpretations of Qur'anic verses on this site that I must question from where these translations came. Are they from actual Islamic scholars who have spent their entire lives studying and devoted to Islam, like Yusuf Islam? The Qur'an is God's WORD! This is not a matter to be taken lightly. Who are we, commoners, to really think we can truly understand the full depth of even one line in the Qur'an? Really, The Classical Arabic language (Quranic Arabic) CANNOT be mastered by any one person; it is absolutely unthinkable. That is partly why scholars study all their lives - to remove as many misconceptions and misinterpretations as possible within a lifetime (even though that will only be the tip of the iceberg). Also, the Qur'an is FULL of allegories and stories which are derived from mere WORDS. Again, I must question these translations which completely overlook them. Honestly, the only major difference between Sunni's and Shia's is the belief in who the Khalif was (debate over Hazrat Ali). Otherwise, all the "Islamic" teachings and the "Sunni" and "Shia" teachings are absolutely the same. PEOPLE cannot be representative of a religion or its beliefs. I think the person who wrote the front page was sadly unaware of this fact CULTURE and ISLAM are DIFFERENT. We can only learn from the Qur'an, Hadiths, and the Prophet's teachings. However, the average person or even an extremely talented intellectual genius will make mistakes, as previously mentioned. This is why we rely on Islamic scholars for interpretations like Hamza Yusuf, Dr. Zakir Naik, or Sheikh Muhammad Yaqoobi who have devoted their lives to studying Islam. We cannot interpret such things ourselves without making obvious mistakes, simply because of the fact that we are more ignorant (in the sense of not knowing-no bad connotation) than these scholars. Ignorance is the absence of knowledge, so it cannot be the basis of our understanding of the Islamic teachings. Based on this, EVERY person is ignorant, as it is impossible to learn all there is to know about even a particular subject.
I did not contact the webmaster as I really don't have enough time to respond. This will be my first and last post on this site, so, unfortunately, I won't see the replies.
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Um... welcome and good-bye?
What's the point of making a hit-and-run comment like that?
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Salaam
I agree with you .Cowards do like this.
RegardsThe Koran says its simple and clear. And it was made simple and clear. Some verses maybe hard to interpret but its part of God's wisdom. Its hard for a Sunni to debate here because he has only the Koran to rely on and we know its hard for a Sunni to interpret the Koran the way they understand it withouting relying on their hadiths. This tells me Sunnism is dead. It can't thrive in an opening environment.
But I do agree that the opening page does try to interpret some verses in the Koran and or speaks for the name of Islam without actually telling us whose views they are. But its just an opening page and they do have a disclaimer. So, its all good.
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Um... welcome and good-bye?
What's the point of making a hit-and-run comment like that?
It's the result of a subliminal understanding by the person in question that he/she is completely unaware of his/her own standings and he/she doesn't know enough to survive an intellectual debate.
By the wayfahdh2(hope you're betraying your words and silently monitoring this thread), Dr. Zakir Naik hasn't even seen 50 years of life. So if you're willing to accept the verdict of someone who has "studied Islam throughout his life"(a septuagenarian maybe), you're looking up to the wrong person. What's more ludicrous is that Zakir Naik is as lame in reasoning as he is a master in memorising scriptures. I wouldn't trust a person who says playing/listening to music makes you evil and a person who doesn't have a beard should not lead congregational prayer when a bearded man is available(in other words, it's your fault if you lack male hormones). You can check the Q & A section of IRF website to verify my allegation.
I once emailed the dude questioning his stance that birth control should be discouraged. Guess what, I was ignored. Maybe he was busy brainwashing feeble minded Sunnis........
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PEOPLE cannot be representative of a religion or its beliefs
This is why we rely on Islamic scholars for interpretations like Hamza Yusuf, Dr. Zakir Naik, or Sheikh Muhammad Yaqoobi who have devoted their lives to studying Islam.
Based on this, EVERY person is ignorant, as it is impossible to learn all there is to know about even a particular subject.
My oh my. This guy contradicts himself insome bad ways ???
PEACE
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As-salaamu `alaykum
Listen, i don't agree with many things in that post, foremost that people who "devoted their lives" to something are somehow most knowledgeable about it. Sun, Lu-T'ang, for instance, studied T'aijiquan for 2 weeks before mastering it; because of his mastery of RELATED arts. But i digress (or so it might seem...)
Anyway, there is an important point in this gentleman's argument that you might want to heed that is, are you just as blindly accepting translations that you are not certain of as the general Ummahists are? Might then your proverbial flavor of Kool Aid just be different )
Listen, i'm trying to get your attention, not to insult you. i 'm not saying your translation is messed up, i'm asking you how YOU know it is or isn't. It seems like a lot of people on this site are folks preaching to their own choir, so to speak. This is normal, but you should be self-aware of it.
Allaah ma`ak!
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Peace
Translations are always questioned here on the forum, and the free-minds translation has been updated from time to time. People are asked to consider various translations and to read in context because it can help with exposing critical errors in translation.
Joe
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Someone I know entered this site and said the forum rules says you are not allowed to cricize the Koran. This pushes non Muslims away as they see that this is intended towards them. Whats the purpose of stating something like that other than we are not able to argue back and have an insecurity about the Koran's authenticity?
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Someone I know entered this site and said the forum rules says you are not allowed to cricize the Koran. This pushes non Muslims away as they see that this is intended towards them. Whats the purpose of stating something like that other than we are not able to argue back and have an insecurity about the Koran's authenticity?
Tell this someone that....
This is the rule2] Please note that this forum is primarily dedicated to the study and understanding of the Scripture (Quran). Thus, mocking it or not being able to back-up claims with specifics will all result in deletion of such posts and/or removal of topic and/or disciplinary action being taken against the offending member.
Nothing about prohibiting criticizm. However, like any criticizm, even to a member, it should be backed with evidence. -
Tell this someone that....
This is the rule2] Please note that this forum is primarily dedicated to the study and understanding of the Scripture (Quran). Thus, mocking it or not being able to back-up claims with specifics will all result in deletion of such posts and/or removal of topic and/or disciplinary action being taken against the offending member.
Nothing about prohibiting criticizm. However, like any criticizm, even to a member, it should be backed with evidence.Then maybe you should add we don't mind constructive criticism of the Koran as long as the intention is not to mock or insult its believers without the intention to debate.
I am not sure what you mean by specific examples.
Anyways its not my forum but I wanted you to know non Muslims will see it as do not question the authenticity of the Koran but just question us about its contents.
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The rule does not say "specific examples" but "specificS", which includes evidence. This is what's called "constructive criticiam". And the rule as it is does mean what you suggest below, in different wording
we don't mind constructive criticism of the Koran as long as the intention is not to mock or insult its believers without the intention to debate.
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Peace
Then maybe you should add we don't mind constructive criticism of the Koran as long as the intention is not to mock or insult its believers without the intention to debate.
Please, you're not the first and won't be the last to do this, read the forum rules. Being critical is judging with care and precision. When the rules say do not mock, that does not mean, you cannot be critical.
non Muslims will see it as do not question the authenticity of the Koran
Then non-muslims and you need to brush up on your vocabulary. If you simply browse the forum you will see criticisms of the quran.
Joe