Question for Sunni or Shia Muslims.
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Well honestly I didnt feel angry about the cartoons but I did feel a bit put off by it. I mean the cartoons were disrespectful in every manner. Freedom of expression doesnt necessarily mean you can do anything. One should be allowed to insult another's religion cus religion is quite a touchy matter! I didnt join any protests or anything whatsoever! I told my parents that and they said that my faith isnt as strong as it should be! My dad was being all sentimental and said he could give his life in the name of Islam or kill the person who drew the pictures! I would never agree with that cus I think all the Prophets (PBUH) are the same ! Sunnis definitely favour Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) compared to the other Prophets ! Shias on the other hand favour Hazrat Ali (PBUH) compared to any other person!
fftopic I always have this argument with my parents that theres no need to follow Hadiths and that the Quran is all that we need! My dad gets pissed off and says that I shouldnt be saying these things! Not listening to Hadiths and Sunna is against Islam and ppl would kill me in Pakistan if I said it! I just feel claustrophobic in my house!!Anyways what do u guys think ?
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Salaam brother ammarb87,
Anyways what do u guys think ?
Which one do you ask?
Sunnis definitely favour Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) compared to the other Prophets ! Shias on the other hand favour Hazrat Ali (PBUH) compared to any other person!
This one? I agree with you bro ...but I just want to say that even though that is the reality, sunnis will not admit that they are differentiating messengers. The same also for shias ...even though they are always favouring imam Ali (simply speaking shia imams are of higher ranks than all prophets except prophet Muhammad - and sometimes I feel even prophet Muhammad is irrelevant for them) they will not admit it. Borrowing the term from brother CavemanDoctor PURE LIP SERVICE
393 Is it not to Allah that sincere devotion is due? But those who take for protectors other than Allah (say) "We only serve them in order that they may bring us nearer to Allah." Truly Allah will judge between them in that wherein they differ. But Allah guides not such as are false and ungrateful.
I always have this argument with my parents that theres no need to follow Hadiths and that the Quran is all that we need! My dad gets pissed off and says that I shouldnt be saying these things! Not listening to Hadiths and Sunna is against Islam and ppl would kill me in Pakistan if I said it! I just feel claustrophobic in my house!!
1112 Then, it may be that you will give up part of what is revealed to you and your breast will become straitened by it because they say Why has not a treasure been sent down upon him or an angel come with him? You are only a warner; and Allah is custodian over all things.
I believe everyone of us who is inviting to God Alone will surely be confronted with such tests. However, in any case it is our duty to invite others to PURE MONOTHEISM. Allah will not change the condition if we don't work for it. This is the sunna of Allah.
May Allah strengthen you bro so that you can keep doing da'wa.
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peace ammarb87,
"I would never agree with that cus I think all the Prophets (PBUH) are the same ! Sunnis definitely favour Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) compared to the other Prophets ! Shias on the other hand favour Hazrat Ali (PBUH) compared to any other person!"
Actually they do favor him (muhammad) over any person ever created. That he's the best God created etc. etc... )
When your parents tell you need hadith and sunnah. Tell them God calls the Quran Infallible, Perfect, Fully-detailed, Complete. Ask them now what does that mean?
If they say 'well obeying the hadith is obeying the 'messenger' ' then tell them why they dont accept the bible (Jesus' hadith) ?
53 ...Today I have perfected your system for you, and completed My blessings upon you, and I have accepted surrender as the system for you. ...
... Today, I have completed your religion, perfected My blessing upon you, and I have decreed Submission as the religion for you.
...Now what does Today mean?
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I'd say more like they treat hadith superior to the Quran (though they will never admit it) But where do they get almost all of their laws? The hadith !
I have to totally agree
cheers
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Guys its easy to say all this but the situation becomes more complex. I mean I and my sister try to avoid talking about religion with my parents! They just different view points. I rather not disturb the harmony of the house than talk about a thing which will anger them !
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peace ammarb
I know your exact situation. I had the same problem, I just would not quit with the discussions. But I accepted things as they were. and ultimately i stopped. We have to realize we can't guide, Only God can guide. And God guides those who WANT to be guided. Who WANT to improve. I think you should avoid all religious discussions w/ your family. Because we always get into trouble, get into heated arguments and it leads to us mistreating our parents, And that leads to us disobeying God by not treating our parents honorably. Remember though Satan will try to bait you into getting into arguments, just ignore (i am saying from personal experience).
1784 Say "Let each work according to his own. Your Lord is fully aware of who is best guided to the path."
That's all we can do. The judgement is up to God. Our job is to search for the truth, and encourage others to search for the truth. But if they don't want to do that, then God will deal with them.
Peace,
Imran
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peace ammarb
I know your exact situation. I had the same problem, I just would not quit with the discussions. But I accepted things as they were. and ultimately i stopped. We have to realize we can't guide, Only God can guide. And God guides those who WANT to be guided. Who WANT to improve. I think you should avoid all religious discussions w/ your family. Because we always get into trouble, get into heated arguments and it leads to us mistreating our parents, And that leads to us disobeying God by not treating our parents honorably. Remember though Satan will try to bait you into getting into arguments, just ignore (i am saying from personal experience).
1784 Say "Let each work according to his own. Your Lord is fully aware of who is best guided to the path."
That's all we can do. The judgement is up to God. Our job is to search for the truth, and encourage others to search for the truth. But if they don't want to do that, then God will deal with them.
Peace,
Imran
Hey man
Thats really good advice! Just the way you put things together really appealed to me especially that quote from the Quran!
Yeah I just try to avoid have arguments with my parents and I am going to tell my sister the same ! But you know Satan most of the times just wants you to argue with them. He makes you have the 'urge' -
peace dude
Thats really good advice! Just the way you put things together really appealed to me especially that quote from the Quran!
No problem bro. The Quran is the best at such great advice.
But you know Satan most of the times just wants you to argue with them. He makes you have the 'urge'
keep in mind the only reason for satan's existence is to 'claim' as many humans as he can. Just try the best you can to avoid the urge. I definitely understand though. It was hard at first, but you will get there God Willing.
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Salaam all,
I am surprised that no "traditionalist" has responded to my original question on this post yet.
I often hear Sunni/Shia Muslims that I know say "Jesus Christ" in bursts of anger or surprise. When I've asked them if they heard someone say "Prophet Muhammad" in the same vein as they have just said "Jesus Christ", would they find it acceptable/offensive? Of course they always realise their mistake when I ask this but then just continue to do what they've grown up doing and continue to make a distinction between the Prophets, holding Muhammad in an-almost God-like reverance.
Peace,
Stitch
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peace stitch
I am surprised that no "traditionalist" has responded to my original question on this post yet.
haha i dont think there are any left anymore.
Of course they always realise their mistake when I ask this but then just continue to do what they've grown up doing and continue to make a distinction between the Prophets, holding Muhammad in an-almost God-like reverance
The problem is they are working backwards. They have already taken what their parents/traditions told them as fact. And now everything is about defending what they do, abusing the Quran. How many times is that 'excuse' mentioned in the Quran...'but what we found our parents doing was sufficient' I feel that they portray (God forbid i utter this) Muhammad as more merciful than God. Let me give you 2 examples
-So What God tells us to do is obligatory, and what Muhammad did is extra credit. Nevermind the fact that God already TOLD us that our sins count as one, and our good deeds count TEN times.
- The silly hadith about how we were ascribed 50 prayers (every 28 minutes) and Muhammad bargained with God to lower it to 5.
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Funny fatwa by Ayatollah Sistani. I think it's pretty old but it cracked me up!
http//www.metacafe.com/watch/154074/sestani_fatwa_web_site/
funny, but the show's host is a total Islam-hater.
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Salaam all,
I am surprised that no "traditionalist" has responded to my original question on this post yet.
I often hear Sunni/Shia Muslims that I know say "Jesus Christ" in bursts of anger or surprise. When I've asked them if they heard someone say "Prophet Muhammad" in the same vein as they have just said "Jesus Christ", would they find it acceptable/offensive? Of course they always realise their mistake when I ask this but then just continue to do what they've grown up doing and continue to make a distinction between the Prophets, holding Muhammad in an-almost God-like reverance.
Peace,
Stitch
When I say "Jesus" or "christ" near my traditional friends, they say that I am a christian and that it is a sin to call easa "Jesus" or "christ" brickwall
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Quick, down n dirty guide? Shias elevate the Prophet Muhammad AND his family particularly Ali. They reject the legitimacy of the first three caliphs unlike the Sunnis. They also hate Aishah. They love Ali, a lot and believe that he was the right successor of Muhammad. They also believe that the Mahdi, an Imam who disappeared ages ago, will return one day and make everything alright. They sometimes prostrate, during prayer, on a piece of flat rock thing to symbolise Karbala where important people died. They're the ones that have the Ayatollahs and they do not accept some of the hadiths Sunnis accept.
They can also get tattoos and Ali tattoos (plus that of the Zulfiqar sword which is like Ali's EXCALIBUR) are pretty popular. And have contract marriages where the couple agrees upon a fixed term after which it is automatically dissolved. Sunnis think they're infidels and though the moderate ones would normally say "there's no sects in Islam" they secretly think the Shias are crazy. And vice versa I guess.
I probably messed up some of that and if so, apologies and please correct. They're just some of the things off the top of my head when I think about the differences without getting into too much details.
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Quick, down n dirty guide? Shias elevate the Prophet Muhammad AND his family particularly Ali. They reject the legitimacy of the first three caliphs unlike the Sunnis. They also hate Aishah. They love Ali, a lot and believe that he was the right successor of Muhammad. They also believe that the Mahdi, an Imam who disappeared ages ago, will return one day and make everything alright. They sometimes prostrate, during prayer, on a piece of flat rock thing to symbolise Karbala where important people died. They're the ones that have the Ayatollahs and they do not accept some of the hadiths Sunnis accept.
They can also get tattoos and Ali tattoos (plus that of the Zulfiqar sword which is like Ali's EXCALIBUR) are pretty popular. And have contract marriages where the couple agrees upon a fixed term after which it is automatically dissolved. Sunnis think they're infidels and though the moderate ones would normally say "there's no sects in Islam" they secretly think the Shias are crazy. And vice versa I guess.
I probably messed up some of that and if so, apologies and please correct. They're just some of the things off the top of my head when I think about the differences without getting into too much details.
Thank you, that helps a lot although I am a little confused with some of the Arabic terms
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Could someone give me a quick guide to the differenced between sunni and shia (in plain English please)? As I have no idea what they are (other than different sects)
Shias are obsessed with Prophet Muhammad's family and Sunnis are obsessed with the Prophet's companions.
Adding to the "Mahdi" thing that srotu was talking about - the Shias believe that he is in occulation in some cave. This story however (and the whole Mahdi concept) is totally fabricated by Hadiths.
The Sunnis also believe the Mahdi will return, but they dont believe that he is in occulation. If nobody mentioned it yet, the Mahdi is a descendant of Prophet Muhammad - the 12th Imam. Check it on wikipedia if you want.
There are also some differences in the practices of the Shias and Sunnis - the Shias give 20 percent of their money to their religious leaders (oh yeah..btw the Shias have a complicated religious hierarchy, similar to what the Catholics have) and they give 2.5 percent to the poor. The Sunnis only give 2.5 percent to the poor, they dont have such a complicated and big religious heirarchy in their clergy.Shias usually combine their 5 prayers into 3 times (ie. 1 at dawn, 2 at noon and 2 in the evening), Sunnis rarely do this - only in unusual circumstances.
You may also want to check http//islam.about.com/cs/divisions/f/shia_sunni.htm
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Shias are obsessed with Prophet Muhammad's family and Sunnis are obsessed with the Prophet's companions.
Adding to the "Mahdi" thing that srotu was talking about - the Shias believe that he is in occulation in some cave. This story however (and the whole Mahdi concept) is totally fabricated by Hadiths.
The Sunnis also believe the Mahdi will return, but they dont believe that he is in occulation. If nobody mentioned it yet, the Mahdi is a descendant of Prophet Muhammad - the 12th Imam. Check it on wikipedia if you want.
There are also some differences in the practices of the Shias and Sunnis - the Shias give 20 percent of their money to their religious leaders (oh yeah..btw the Shias have a complicated religious hierarchy, similar to what the Catholics have) and they give 2.5 percent to the poor. The Sunnis only give 2.5 percent to the poor, they dont have such a complicated and big religious heirarchy in their clergy.Shias usually combine their 5 prayers into 3 times (ie. 1 at dawn, 2 at noon and 2 in the evening), Sunnis rarely do this - only in unusual circumstances.
You may also want to check http//islam.about.com/cs/divisions/f/shia_sunni.htm
Thank you, very helpful. Just on a personal note, as a Church Minister, I wish my lot would give me 20% of their earnings ... lol !
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Thank you, very helpful. Just on a personal note, as a Church Minister, I wish my lot would give me 20% of their earnings ... lol !
laugh