Breaking the Taboos of Islam
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First Taboo that religious institute of Islam created by creating an Idol around word Allah and then belief in this word Allah of their preferance. This was followed by description of this idol, as to what he wants from humans.
This whole concept of his demands placed upon humans start creating a mental picture about him. For instance how often and how he wants to be worshiped. Where is his house located. What will personally please him.
Lets us turn to Quran itself to examine if this concept of having a mental picture of any sort either physical or be mental is supported by AlQuran.
Even most of traditionalists call Sura AlIkhlas as touch stone of Rabb?s being. Let us, turn to it. This is in order to examine, if mental picture that current Muslims believe in, is supported and justifiable by it.
I am giving traditional understanding above, and linguistic based below.
Surah 112 1
Tahir ul Qadri
( !)Yousuf Ali
Say He is Allah, the One and Only;You must skillfully think and then acknowledge by words and actions, that the One who is the only One, is not a deity for worship and adoration.
Surah 112 2
Tahir ul Qadri
Yousuf Ali
Allah, the Eternal, Absolute;The One who is everlasting; the creator of everything and to whose unity everything gives testimony this is the One who is not a deity for worship and adoration.
Surah 112 3
Tahir ul Qadri
Yousuf Ali
He begetteth not, nor is He begotten;Neither the One be-gets a God, nor shall one be begotten from the One.
Surah 112 4
Tahir ul Qadri
Yousuf Ali
And there is none like unto Him.Nor has the One any likeness to any god; the One and Only having absolutely no resemblance or likeness to anybody or anything.
Now please pay attention even according to the traditional translation compare it to our concept of Allah. Are there not many rivals to traditional concepts of Allah? Does not our traditional concept give rise a mental picture of a Deity with certain ritualistic preferences?
To be continued.
Badar
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afridi,
No relevance to bkanwar2 perception; your birds seem to be doing against ground reality. Female is making advances for kiss. Normally it is observed other way round.
But did you ever notice a female pigeon does the same, when her male start teasing other female pigeons.
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Little correction needed,
"to bkanwar2's concept of Allah".
rotfl
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My purpose by this write up was not to hurt any-body's feelings. I strongly feel that the current quagmire Muslims find themselves in, is due intellectual inertia of centuries. Hence, solution to this, has to be intellectual and from within. We already are witnessing that a forceful solution, be external or internal is unlikely to meet with success.
Strong hold of institutionalized Islam has systematically suppressed, any intellectual inquiry, over last hundred of years.
As a start one needs to understand some very basic concepts.
What is a God? As we are aware of, that it is an English word. The Western scholars of philosophy define it as a title word and not a name. A title that entitle something or somebody, worthy of human worship. The Arabic word Allah traditionally has been understood as same. Hence, translated as God.
Additionally, concept of God always imply something Holy, or other and transcendent. Hence, lot of Western scholars have come to conclusion that scientific methods of inquiry can not applied to something that is transcendent.
However, since Bible was a written script. Hence, they could and did apply scientific inquiry into it. Based upon this, they admit that it is a book about Jesus and not what he taught or religion of Jesus.
Our situation is similar. We have a written script in the form Quran. We have been handed institutionalized meanings of it. However, the text is available for scientific inquiry to either confirm or otherwise.
This is what I have been doing. Under such analysis most fundamental understandings and terms seem to shake. However, like any scientific experiment, my experiment needs to repeated either to be confirmed or be refuted. But this needs to be done with an open mind and without any biases. Otherwise, we know that a scientific experiment can produce results as good as biases of experimenters.
Will continue...
Badar
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What is a God? As we are aware of, that it is an English word. The Western scholars of philosophy define it as a title word and not a name. A title that entitle something or somebody, worthy of human worship. The Arabic word Allah traditionally has been understood as same. Hence, translated as God.
This is what I have been doing. Under such analysis most fundamental understandings and terms seem to shake. However, like any scientific experiment, my experiment needs to repeated either to be confirmed or be refuted. But this needs to be done with an open mind and without any biases. Otherwise, we know that a scientific experiment can produce results as good as biases of experimenters.
The ancient israelites called God as "He Who Is" (YHVH)...
Here's an excerpt from Tao Te Ching on the definition of TAO... a food for your thought..
"There was something undefined and complete, coming into
existence before Heaven and Earth. How still it was and formless,
standing alone, and undergoing no change, reaching everywhere and in
no danger It may be regarded as the source of all things.I do not know its name, and thus let's give it the designation of "Tao"
Making a further effort to give it a name I call it The Great.The Tao that can be trodden is not the enduring and
unchanging Tao. The name that can be named is not the enduring and
unchanging name.having no name, it is the Originator of heaven and earth;
having a name, it is the Mother of all things.Man takes his law from the Earth; the Earth takes its law from
Heaven; Heaven takes its law from the Tao. The law of the Tao is its
being what it is.The Tao, considered as unchanging a, has no name.
The things which from of old have got the One (the Tao) are--
Heaven which by it is bright and pure;
Earth rendered thereby firm and sure;
Spirits with powers by it supplied;
Valleys kept full throughout their void
All creatures which through it do live
Princes and kings who from it get
The model which to all they give.All these are the results of the One (Tao).
If heaven were not thus pure, it soon would rend;
If earth were not thus sure, it would break and bend;
Without these powers, the spirits soon would fail;
If not so filled, the drought would parch each vale;
Without that life, creatures would pass away;
Princes and kings, without that moral sway,
However grand and high, would all decay.The relation of the Tao to all the world is like that of the great
rivers and seas to the streams from the valleys."-- Excerpt from Tao Te Ching
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Words are not vague. They convey a certain meaning and perception. Vagueness is found in one's mind.
Or conversely, idols could be in just mind only. One says there is nothing or nobody having any resemblance or likeliness to One. How could one make a clear image of One. If one has one, could it be One?
Peace,
Badar