A non-religious view of Islam. Just reason.
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Salaam,
it is a puzzling thing a religious view, they seem to function only on literal comprehension, the Qur'an presents conceptual models, and sights examples, that means for example if it says do not eat pork, this would be an example of something not to eat, Rijs = Unclean = Disapproved = Contaminated = Foul, this example can now be applied to food in general, so if you eat for example artificial sweeteners they are excito-toxins, giving you small amounts of brain damage each time you consume them, so would be a filth concept, contaminated, so you would be strongly advised not to eat this as much as not to eat pork.
Another concept is if it is expressed once it applies universally, for example there is a verse that tells us there is no compulsion in Islam, this is now applicable to every other verse, this is a Qur?an based concept.
But there are universally applicable concepts for life also, an simple example concept is Allah owns everything, this is self evident but almost universally misunderstood, and is the Allodial concept of ownership. What I mean by a Qur?an based concept is, that it is applicable only to Muslims, and a universal concept is universally enforceable, as it represents a foundation to freedom and safety within society for Muslims, and non-Muslims alike.
This literal comprehension of the religious can inadvertently defend wrong concepts, so not simply ignoring a concept, but actively working against it, take the concept of Riba or usury, they apply endless literal understandings of what are quiet evidently conceptual issues, this to me seems non-productive in the understanding of true Islam, and results in not only allowing usury to become widespread, but also to prevent the correct concepts being known.
Another concept in Islam is base models, the Qur'an wishes us to evolve the base conceptual models to improve the society around us, an example of this would be, we should educate those around us, which could be evolved to, we should educate those around us to the highest level each could attain, and focus our effort upon such a noble task.
These are my view as a non-religious Muslim.
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Salamun 'alaikum,
Salaam,
it is a puzzling thing a religious view, they seem to function only on literal comprehension, the Qur'an presents conceptual models, and sights examples, that means for example if it says do not eat pork, this would be an example of something not to eat, Rijs = Unclean = Disapproved = Contaminated = Foul, this example can now be applied to food in general, so if you eat for example artificial sweeteners they are excito-toxins, giving you small amounts of brain damage each time you consume them, so would be a filth concept, contaminated, so you would be strongly advised not to eat this as much as not to eat pork.
There are 2 point of views regarding dietary prohibitions in al-Qur'an
- Strict dietary prohibition as you can read in this verse below
53 Forbidden to you is that which is already dead, and the blood, and the meat of pig, and what was dedicated to other than God, and that which has been strangled, and that which has been beaten to death, and that which has fallen from a height, and that which has been gored, and that which the wild animals have eaten from except what you managed to rescue, and what has been slaughtered on altars, and what you divide by the arrows of chance. This is vile. Today the rejecters have given up from your system, so do not be concerned by them, but be concerned by Me. Today I have perfected your system for you, and completed My blessings upon you, and I have approved submission as the system for you. So, whoever is forced by severe hunger and not seeking sin, then God is Forgiving, Merciful.
- Recomendation about dietary prohibition as you can read in verse below
2168 O people, eat from what is on the earth as good and lawful, and do not follow in the footsteps of the devil. He is to you a clear enemy.
If we apply the concept of negation thinking in QS 2168, Allah asked us to use our knowledge to think what kind of food that is good for us to eat. It is up to every individual to decide what kind of food that good and lawful for them to eat. For example, based on your knowledge, you know that food that contain artificial sweeteners is not good to eat in long run, so it's better to avoid them.
As always, satan as a enemy of human will act as temporary god in this world, they will tell u specifically what kind of haram food that is considered in al-Qur'an as halal and declare them as forbidden to eat. The same things also apply in what kind of halal food that is considered haram in al-Qur'an but satan declared them as halal to eat.
Another concept is if it is expressed once it applies universally, for example there is a verse that tells us there is no compulsion in Islam, this is now applicable to every other verse, this is a Qur?an based concept.
But there are universally applicable concepts for life also, an simple example concept is Allah owns everything, this is self evident but almost universally misunderstood, and is the Allodial concept of ownership. What I mean by a Qur?an based concept is, that it is applicable only to Muslims, and a universal concept is universally enforceable, as it represents a foundation to freedom and safety within society for Muslims, and non-Muslims alike.
2256 There is no compulsion in the system; the proper way has been clarified from the wrong way. Whoever rejects Thagut, and believes in God, indeed he has taken grasp of the strongest hold that will never break. God is Hearer, Knower.
This is my interpretation about the verse above
When mukmin (more than one muslim) want to uphold the laws of Allah as located in Zabur, Taurat, Injil and al-Qur'an as a community/nation/umat, they will certainly has a strong aggression from enemies of Islam, those are polytheist and Jews people.
582 You will find the people with the greatest animosity towards those who believe are the Jews and those who are polytheists; and you will find the closest in affection to those who believe are those who said We are Nazarenes; that is because among them are Priests and Monks, and they are not arrogant.
That's why the mukmin offer them verse QS 2256 above as a solution for peaceful treaty between mukmin and their enemies (polytheis and Jews)
No compulsion in dien Islam, if they (polytheis and Jews) want to uphold man-made laws such as syariah (al-Qur'an+hadith from Bukhari & co), zionism, liberalism, communism etc) feel free to go along their way but we (the mukmin) just want to uphold the laws from Scriptures (Zabur, Taurat, Injil and al-Qur'an)
This literal comprehension of the religious can inadvertently defend wrong concepts, so not simply ignoring a concept, but actively working against it, take the concept of Riba or usury, they apply endless literal understandings of what are quiet evidently conceptual issues, this to me seems non-productive in the understanding of true Islam, and results in not only allowing usury to become widespread, but also to prevent the correct concepts being known.
As God created human in several steps, so do our understanding of messages of God in al-Qur'an. The first step is trying to interpret it as literal as it can be, along the way, it will evolve in much deeper understanding.
Another concept in Islam is base models, the Qur'an wishes us to evolve the base conceptual models to improve the society around us, an example of this would be, we should educate those around us, which could be evolved to, we should educate those around us to the highest level each could attain, and focus our effort upon such a noble task.
These are my view as a non-religious Muslim.
I'm agree with your point of view.
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Salaam imfromjakarta,
you express a religious view, literal understanding is a limited perspective, I do have some slight disagreements with what you have expressed.
You list other books, besides the Qur'an, as equal to the Qur'an in establishing the law, please explain where it is stated, the Qur'an is not a complete guide in every detail?
The Nazarenes, you think these religious Christians are the Nazarenes, that's like saying George Bush is a humanitarian.
It is easy to establish if you are indeed a Christianised Muslim as you would interpret the Qur'an with a Christian based view, for example as a Christianised Muslim you would say
Prayer = Salat Heaven = Jannah
Pray = Dua Bible / Torah = Qur'an
Praise = Hamd Worship = Ibada
God = Allah Faith = Iman
Satan = Iblis Religion = Deen
Hell = Jahannam Angels = Malika
Mosque = MasjidI could continue, but the correct conceptual understandings of each of these ideas is completely different to the Christian concept stated above, the Arabic words have meanings that generally hold no connection what so ever to the Christian concept.
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Salam Abdun Nur,
I'm interested in your discourse about being a 'non-religious Muslim'. I'd like to ask
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What do you mean by non-religious? What constitutes 'religion'?
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What is the alternative to being a 'non-religious Muslim' ?
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Salaam abdal,
Religion means obligation and reverence, both these concepts are for the direct benefit of either sovereigns themselves, or the establishments they head, they trick people in thinking you must worship and appease a God outside.
All religions are worthless, compare
Religion - idol worship of a God - a ritualistic way of life.
Deen - The Systems of Life (political, economic, philosophical, social, legal, educational) - The Qur?anicly prescribed way of Life.
Deen Al-Islam - Submission to Allah (Not God) - Submission to Divine will as expressed within the Qur?an - Universal Peace
achieved by submission to the One.This has the effect of creating those who view Islam as a religion, limited to ritual and literal narrow views. And those who view Islam as a complete system to exist within free of ritual, dogma and religion.
Islam is a system of physical actions, not inactions which are the predetermined result of all ritual.
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Salam Abdun Nur,
Salaam imfromjakarta,
you express a religious view, literal understanding is a limited perspective, I do have some slight disagreements with what you have expressed.
You list other books, besides the Qur'an, as equal to the Qur'an in establishing the law, please explain where it is stated, the Qur'an is not a complete guide in every detail?
Few years ago, when I used to believe that al-Qur'an is replacing other Scriptures (such as Taurat, Injil) until I realize one verse above, that Taurat and Injil are never expiry or replaced by al-Qur'an.
547 And let the people of the Gospel judge with what God has sent down in it. And whoever does not judge with what God has sent down, then these are the wicked.
I also realize that every messengers before Muhammad proclaim dien Islam as the ONLY system which is oneness of Allah (Allah as a absolute authority, no other authority that we should obey except Allah's authority)
2125 And We did not send any messenger before you except that We inspired him that There is no god except Me, so serve Me.
it means Taurat, Injil (both are for Bani Israil) contain the same messages as the messages found in al-Qur'an. As a student of yassarnal Qur'an, we can apply al-Qur'an as al-Furqaan/Criterion to differentiate the false from the truth from previous Scriptures due to alteration of human
2776 This Reading/al-Qur'an tells to the Children of Israel most of that which they are in dispute over.
and also our duty to ask people to unite under one absolute authority
1664 And We have not sent down the Book to you except that you may clarify for them that in which they have disputed, and as a guidance and a mercy for a people who believe.
Please ponder upon yourself, the usage of word Kitab/Book in QS 1664 and usage of word Qur'an in QS 2726.
I'm not saying that al-Qur'an is not detailed so it's not enough as source of law but I also want to remind all of us in this forum that it's also obligation for bani Israil to uphold the law in Taurat and Injil and based on what I understand so far, we can live coexist with ALL human using rules from Taurat, Injil and al-Qur'an, because the content of the Books are the same, which is oneness of Allah.
One of the characteristic of musyrikin/polytheists are they want to differentiate human based on their 'religions'
3031-32 Turn to Him, and be aware of Him, and hold the bond, and do not be of the polytheists. From those who have divided their system and become sects, each group is happy with what it has.
For me religion is a term created by human and is not the same with deen/system of life created by Allah
If you read the below verses carefully and ponder upon yourself, you will understand/realize that the the job desc of mukmin lead by messenger is to create unity for all human under Kingdom of Heaven using Allah's Scriptures as the ONE and ONLY source of law
2278 And strive in the cause of God its truly deserved striving. He is the One who has chosen you, and He has made no hardship for you in the system, the creed of your father Abraham; He is the One who named you those who have submitted from before and in this. So let the messenger be witness over you and you be witness over the people. So hold the bond and contribute towards purification and hold tight to God, He is your patron. What an excellent Patron, and what an excellent Supporter.
2192 This is your nation, one nation, and I am your Lord so serve Me.
The Nazarenes, you think these religious Christians are the Nazarenes, that's like saying George Bush is a humanitarian.
If George Bush is someone who trying to uphold the Law in Injil, for me he is one of the mukmin. Similar like when someone want to uphold the law from al-Qur'an, s/he is a mukmin from my point of view.
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Religion means obligation and reverence, both these concepts are for the direct benefit of either sovereigns themselves, or the establishments they head, they trick people in thinking you must worship and appease a God outside.
All religions are worthless, compare
Religion - idol worship of a God - a ritualistic way of life.By your definition, would you say that capitalism is a ?religion? ?
Deen - The Systems of Life (political, economic, philosophical, social, legal, educational) - The Qur?anicly prescribed way of Life.
Deen Al-Islam - Submission to Allah (Not God) - Submission to Divine will as expressed within the Qur?an - Universal Peace
achieved by submission to the One.Quranically speaking, there is also ad-deen kullihi (61/9, 9/33 and 48/2 which are all other deens present at that time. Also, deen requires submission to God?s laws (like in 24/2) although it does actually have returns. So this is the only deen which doesn?t benefit the sovereign but nevertheless, it does involve a soverign.
This has the effect of creating those who view Islam as a religion, limited to ritual and literal narrow views. And those who view Islam as a complete system to exist within free of ritual, dogma and religion.
Islam is a system of physical actions, not inactions which are the predetermined result of all ritual.Why isn?t it possible that God seeks ritual performance from man? Just hypothetical questioning, im not a ritual follower myself.
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Salaam,
I don?t often use Ayahs to express a point, as there are so many terrible renditions of the Qur?an, I have explained this on my website, the history of grammar, and a correct attempt at an English translation has begun on the site.
Consider this; Christians and Jews wish the Islamic understanding to conform to the Christian / Jewish understanding, hence the Christianisation of Islam, it has other elements of conformity from Zoroastrianism, Judaism and the past sovereign elites. But Islam in this form is not Islam, no matter how much you defend this Christian / Jewish version of Islam, it can never function as anything other than the evolving re-birth of Christianity under a Islamic heading.
From the bloody and criminal historical past of Christianity and Judaism, have concluded, and think reproachfully of them as death cults, I?m sure you would not wish Islam to slide further down the same slippery road.
Religion is a condition of a mind that should be classified as mental incompetence at best, they worship, have blind faith in baseless concepts, revel in death and destruction, vengeance and retribution, hell and damnation, repression and conformity, subjugation and ritual, I know the pattern of thought I present is not familiar, but you will ultimately see it is correct, I know this for one simple reason, it is based on reasoned thought, physical evidence and the Qur?an alone.
Take it or leave it, most will leave it that is a certainty.
Allah wishes each human being to serve humanity around them and care for the creation, that is Ibada, never has Allah asked for Christian Idol worship.
And the Qur?an tells you, you can have absolutely no sovereign. Not even Muhammad can be your sovereign, Allah is the only sovereign.
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Thank you for your answer, Abdun Nur, I broadly agree with your approach here although I can't see you bypassing rituals without recourse to the ayaat. Only by studying the ayaat can you see what God seeks of us.
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Salaam abdal,
I gave you a miss-conception, I obviously do use the Ayahs to understand the system, but feel they are not translated accurately enough to post as reference with clarity, I view the existing Qur'anic translations as a shadow of the message, it is still present but dilluted with hadith, Christianity, Zoroastrianism, Judaism and historical inference, this is why a correct English translation has been started on servantofthelight.com.