What does it mean to be a Muslim?

[unknownuser]

Peace Amina,

Please allow me to add what I think about the word Muslim.

I understand that Muslim means one who submits . A person could be a Muslim to their idols, a Muslim to Mohammed, a Muslim to imams, ulema, sheikhs, etc. etc. This is the reason Ibrahim said...

2128
2128 Our Lord, and make us Muslims to You and from our descendants a Muslim nation to You. And show us our rites and accept our repentance. Indeed, You are the Accepting of repentance, the Merciful.

2133
2133 Or were you witnesses when death approached Jacob, when he said to his sons, "What will you worship after me?" They said, "We will worship your God and the God of your fathers, Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac - one God. And we are Muslims to Him."

And 2136 also and many more. Hope this may help you inshaAllah.

May Allah increase us in knowledge and guide us to His true path pr
mmKhan

Interesting that you have that understanding...I can almost guarantee you I wouldn't have found that as a definition anywhere.

I couldn't agree more...have we not seen examples of submission to mankind in Judaism, Christianity and Islam? There is a fine line between worshipping God alone and worshipping idols/mankind. I try to make it a point to ask God to not allow me to be one of the ones who goes astray, because from what I can see, most of them truly believe they are worshipping God correctly. I would be terrified to walk around thinking that my worship is correct, not having the slightest cue that I am so far from the truth.

That is so scary to me.

[unknownuser]

Zulf I very much agree. In the end though, there's only one kind of submission that really works, and only one God that is capable of guiding towards, accepting and rewarding such submission. Personal development, like you said.

Amina There is serenity in realizing that it's the entire journey towards J-day that matters in the sight of God.

Even more serenity in realizing that no two journeys will be alike... )

[Jafar]

I see people who believe in only one God, and that live their lives in accordance with his word. They aren't a particular race, ethnicity, or culture. They are people who willingly acknowledge that God deserves their worship and do so humbly.

That is my definition of a Muslim.

Our Father, Who art in heaven
Hallowed be Thy Name;
Thy kingdom come,
Let Thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.

Salam / Peace

[Wakas]

peace all,

The word "islam" literally means "submission/surrender".

"salam" on the other hand means "peace/safety".

Their relationship is that "salam" is usually the end result of "islam".

The word "muslim" simply means one who does the action of the verb "aslama", thus it literally means "one who submits/surrenders".

An important point to realise about these words is that they actually have a meaning in Classical Arabic (the language of The Quran), that they are descriptive words like many others, and should be considered as such.

Their primary meaning is not as a title/noun as is commonly used today. It is as a descriptive term.

Please reflect upon the following
Past prophets/people used these words (see Abraham use it in 2131, Sheba in 2744, Pharoah in 1090, Noah in 1072), it is important to realise that whilst The Quran narrates these stories to us in Arabic, what the past prophets/people actually said would NOT have been in Arabic. They would have simply used the equivalent word in their own language to represent the meaning of these words (islam, muslim, salam). For further proof, see 144.

These words are not special. Being known as a "Muslim" is meaningless, HOWEVER fulfilling the actual MEANING of the word "muslim" makes one special.

One can be Muslim, but at the same time not "one who surrenders/submits". Please reflect on this the next time you hear a terrorist say they are Muslim.

A title/name can be meaningless, while a description by its very nature represents the object it is describing.

I strive to become "muslim", not "Muslim".

Reference

[unknownuser]

peace all,

Reference

Peace Wakas,

Thank you for that post...those are really the only words I can say after reading it...

[Magnus]

That seems like an internet forum thread for the ages!
Over a hundred pages, and it ends with

This subject should be closed, Quran only doesn't stand up to logics of any sort. ~Enough of this fitna.

brickwall brickwall brickwall

[unknownuser]

That seems like an internet forum thread for the ages!
Over a hundred pages, and it ends with

brickwall brickwall brickwall

LOL! Seems there really ISN'T anything new under the sun, huh?

[good_logic]

Peace Amina, all.

" Inni aslamtu lillahi rabi alaalamin"

http//www.total-loyalty-to-god-alone.co.uk/website-pages/good-logic/

May the Lord bless all those who seek Him Alone.( La sharika lahu)

Peace.

[Zulf]

peace/salaam,

Here are some points to consider

The word "islam" literally means "submission/surrender".

"salam" on the other hand means "peace/safety".

Their relationship is that "salam" is usually the end result of "islam".

The word "muslim" simply means one who does the action of the verb "aslama", thus it literally means "one who submits/surrenders".

An important point to realise about these words is that they actually have a meaning in Classical Arabic (the language of The Quran), that they are descriptive words like many others, and should be considered as such.

Their primary meaning is not as a title/noun as is commonly used today. It is as a descriptive term.

Please reflect upon the following
Past prophets/people used these words (see Abraham use it in 2131, Sheba in 2744, Pharoah in 1090, Noah in 1072), it is important to realise that whilst The Quran narrates these stories to us in Arabic, what the past prophets/people actually said would NOT have been in Arabic. They would have simply used the equivalent word in their own language to represent the meaning of these words (islam, muslim, salam). For further proof, see 144.

These words are not special. Being known as a "Muslim" is meaningless, HOWEVER fulfilling the actual MEANING of the word "muslim" makes one special.

One can be Muslim, but at the same time not "one who surrenders/submits". Please reflect on this the next time you hear a terrorist say they are Muslim.

A title/name can be meaningless, while a description by its very nature represents the object it is describing.

I strive to become "muslim", not "Muslim".

bravo bravo bravo yay yay yay

Wow, this is very well said! Very sober, enlightened, simple, universal, realistic, natural, down-to-earth.
It is funny how people often succumb to making images of things... making something out of nothing, or something else out of something. People tend to quickly shift into fairy tale-mode.

It struck me again while driving today. How the heck can people walk around giving praise to people, i.e. prophets, saints etc? How can they give one portion of praise to Allah, and one portion (less or more doesn't matter) to a prophet? This struck me extra hard today. How can one praise anything but Allah. What else but Allah deserves the real praise? What is anything compared to Allah? It's not "nothing"! The point is you cannot even compare it!! If one even starts to faintly sense the beginning of an understanding of the "incomparableness" of Allah... then you would not utter the name of anyone or anything in the same sentence (so to speak). Allah is not great or greatest. Allah is beyond comparison. It's easy to say, and easy to get intellectually. But that won't cut it. Even the words used in the quran to describe qualities of Allah, are not to be used even "in the same chain of thought" as that of for example a prophet. I'm baffled. I can't even express it. I guess it is not easy to disassociate 'Allah' from all images abound.

Peace!

[wasi]

I mentioned to Indelwyn a while ago that I was going to look up the definition of the word Muslim. As to be expected, I found the same thing constantly "One who practices or follows the religion of Islam," or "One who submits to Allah." I wasn't satisfied with either definition, because I immediately had a mental image of someone prostrated in a mosque next to hundreds of other people, or a woman covered from head to toe in black. It occured to me that if I had that mental image, then so many other people have it also.

So I took some time to think, read, and study. Sometimes the answer was clear, and other times I couldn't put my finger on what I had discovered.

At this point, the only answer I have is this A Muslim is one who submits wholeheartedly, sincerely, and only to God.

When I think about that statement, I don't see women covered from head to toe, I don't see men with long beards carrying dhikr beads or wearing turbans. I don't see a hundred people packed into a masjid and prostrated during jumuaa (I am sure I spelled that incorrectly).

I see people who believe in only one God, and that live their lives in accordance with his word. They aren't a particular race, ethnicity, or culture. They are people who willingly acknowledge that God deserves their worship and do so humbly.

That is my definition of a Muslim.

Peace,

Amina

thank you amina ...with your question i also got my doubts cleared about the word muslim handshake handshake

[unknownuser]

Our Father, Who art in heaven
Hallowed be Thy Name;
Thy kingdom come,
Let Thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.

Salam / Peace