IS THE MULTI-FAITH CONCEPT COMPATIBLE WITH ISLAMIC VALUES?

Al_Khidr

Salaam Myr

When I used the words "mulitple faiths" i was referring to different religions. According to the Qur'aan the only religion accepted by Allah is Islaam. Allah distinctlively said "Islaam" and not Hindu, Judaism, Christianity, just to name a few as examples.

Al_Khidr

As Salaamu Alaykum Alpha97

In Islaam iman (faith) is not blind faith, iman is an intelligent faith; In Islaam iman (faith) is something that is proven beyond doubt, something that is based on truth, facts. One of the strongest messages in the Qur?aan, Allah wants us to steer away from this notion of ?blind faith? by just accepting beliefs, religious dogmas, concepts, philosophies or anything without using our brains, logic, reasoning. This is why Allah has revealed the following

Qur?aan 1736
You shall not accept any information, unless you verify it for yourself. I have given you the hearing, the eyesight, and the brain, and you are responsible for using them.

Qur?aan 3918
They are the ones who examine all words, then follow the best. These are the ones whom Allah has guided; these are the ones who possess intelligence.

In Qur?aan 2111 addresses the Jews and Christians when they make this foolish claim that they are the only ones who will enter Paradise and Allah tells us in the Holy Qur?aan to ask them to show/bring/produce their proof

Qur?aan 2111
They said, ?No one will enter Paradise unless they be a Jew or a Christian!? Such is their wishful thinking. Say, ?Show us your proof, if you are truthfull.?

Allah also gives us Muslims the GREEN light to DEBATE in (16125). Debate is a format which civilized people use to address their differences. In Debate falsehood and truth clash, thus, this is a process that we take in order for truth to shine by presenting evidence to refute falsehood. Blind faith has no life in this process

Qur?aan 1781
And say ?Truth has (now) arrived, and falsehood perished for falsehood is (by its nature) bound to perish,?

These verses are very strong indicators that we should not operate on blind faith. Obtaining KNOWLEDGE/FACTS/EVIDENCE/PROOF/LOGIC/REASONING by using the mind is very important and should not be over looked. A lot of people make the claim that its in their heart, I was guided by God and we do not need knowledge or as you have said, ?It was not religion or religious knowledge that brought me the FAITH? We have many religious people like Christians, Buddhist, Hindus, just to name a few. who also make this same claim and they say just like you Alpha that is why they are Christians, Buddhist, Hindus, etc. The whole human family has been divided and misguided based on that concept alone. One of the fallacies of the human nature is that when it comes to investigating materials things to see if it is quality or not such as buying a car, clothes, just to name a few, we (human beings) investigate that to make sure those material things are quality and not cheap but when it comes to religion our common sense goes out the window. We do not take the time to question/research/gain knowledge to see whether our religious beliefs/faith is man-made or Divine from the Most High and this is a travesty among the human family of the earth. Allah has blessed us with a LAW called ?free-will? and it will be or up to us to make the decision to ascertain whether or not our religion is truth or false. It would be nice if Allah fed-spooned us that way, but no we have to put in the work ourselves and of course Allah will guide us. I am not disputing the fact that our Creator, Allah guides to the straight path or truth and Allah even says that He bestows wisdom on whomever He chooses (2269) but this is not done in a manner where people hear Allah?s voice out of the sky speaking to them or receive visions etc. etc. like many corrupt religious leaders claim, particularly the Christians.

You have given your testimony on how you obtained your faith, and Alhamdulillah. I would also like to share my testimony which is something that a lot of people can relate to because they were awakend through the same journey as I was. I accepted Islaam as the UNIVERSIAL TRUTH from the Creator Himself. I did not accept Islaam based on blind faith, no, instead I have spent a lot of my years studying comparative religion and when I was able to see how science/mathematics proved that the Qur?aan was not a product of a mere mortal or a combination of mortals and that the Qur?aan was indeed Infallible which proves that it had to have come from the Creator of all, thus I then accept Islaam as the true religion from Allah. Because of my approach I am content at heart that I have not accepted some faith blindly that could possibly be false. There are many of us who have taken that journey such as Dr. Maurice Bucaille and Dr. Keeth Moore, just to name a few. These men accepted Islaam because science has proven that the Qur?aan is an infallible Book from the Creator and could not have been a man-made product like the unholy bible

Qur?aan 22
This scripture (The Qur?aan) is infallible; it?s a guidance to the select, who tremble at the mention of Allah.

Qur?aan 1788
Say, ?If the whole of mankind and Jinns were to band together to produce a Qur?aan like this, they would never be able to produce anything like it, even if they backed up each other with help and support.?

Alpha what ever journey that you had to take to end up in Islaam, Praise be to Allah, I on the other hand had a different journey but at least we have ended up in the true faith (Al Islaam).

Sura 110

When triumph comes from Allah, and victory.
You will see crowds of people embracing (converting to) Allah?s prescribed way of life.
Then glorify and exalt your Sustainer with praise and worship, and ask His forgiveness for surely, He is eternally receptive to those who turn to Him seeking repentance.

You have said this

?There is no other source of GUIDANCE! Even holy QURAN can not guide. Guidance comes from HIM alone, and that happens?

You have said below if we do not have any scriptures but today and as well in the past Allah has provided scriptures. Sometimes when people talk this way it can be misleading because really their out come or intentions (not all people but some) is to remove us from following Allah's scripture. But if there were no scriptures that exist and we do not have access to any scriptures then Alpha that is different story or a different situation

?And have no scripture and nothing to read! Open your heart up to HIS MAJESTY and you will be showered with GUIDANCE!?

It is true that our MASTER (ALLAH), who is The Originator of the galactic heavens and the planet earth and all the Boundless Universes, is the One who guides. However, Alpha the Holy Qur?aan also guides us to for the simple fact that the Qur?aan is literally the word of Allah that He revealed in this world for us to follow and seek guidance to lead us out of darkness into the light

Qur?aan 141-2

Alif Laam Raa (This is) a scripture that We have revealed to you, in order to lead the people out of darkness into the light-in accordance with the will of their Lord-to the path of The Almighty, The Praisworthy.
(The path of) Allah; the One who possesses everything in the galactic heavens and everything on the planet earth. Woe to the disbelievers; they have incurred a terrible retribution.

The human being is finite not infallible so if we just accept that it?s in our hearts is wrong, its more to it then that Alpha. Every body that has made that claim ended up in different religions. Another example, there are people within the Progressive Muslim group who profess to believe in 2 Salaat and then you will find others who believe in 3 Salaat and then you will find others who believe that Allah authorized 5 Salaat in the Holy Qur?aan and this division and confusion has been done under the same Muslim group who call themselves ?Progressive Muslims?, so Alpha it?s a little more then just saying what?s in the heart. Our hearts has to be pure and open and that is true but we have to also study and accept the truth and we definitely have to seek Allah?s guidance and His revelation (Al Qur?aan) to keep us on the straight path, to help secure that our religious practices are rightly guided etc. etc. That concept alone ?its just in your heart? has mislead many people into all kinds of different faiths (religions) and also have caused sub-divisions or sect within the same religion and within the same sect of that religion.

Qur?aan 1336
Those who receive the scripture rejoice in what was revealed to you. Others reject parts of it. Say, ?I am simply enjoined to worship Allah, and never associate any idols with Him. I invite to Him, and to Him is my ultimate destiny.

In Qur?aan 6944-47 makes it very clear that Muhammad would not have went out side this revelation (Qur?aan). The scriptures are important for us to follow and seek guidance in for the simple fact that they are from Allah. Another good verse is found here Qur?aan 619. Allah has revealed throughout the Qur?aan where He said that we will get guidance from the Qur?aan. Allah also has said that He has always taught man by the pen

Qur?aan 963-5
3. Read, and your Sustainer, Most Exalted.
4. Teaches by means of the pen.
5. He taught man what they would have never known.

Allah has always taught man by His Spiritual Pen (His scriptures that He reveals for us to follow). In the verse below Allah says that we are supposed to believe in the Messengers that He sent and their revelations (scriptures)

Qur?aan 2136
Say, ?We believe in Allah, and in what was revealed to us, and in what was revealed to Abraham, Ismail, Isaac, Jacob, and the Tribes; and in what was given to Moses and Jesus, and all the Prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction among any of them. To Him alone we are Muslims.?

We have to be careful of some people who propagate that its only in your heart. I have seen many people like this disguised or parading themselves as Muslims and then much later down the line you will hear these same people talking about we do not need the Qur?aan because its in your heart; we do not need to observe Salaat it?s a bunch of rituals and its what in the heart etc. etc. Men are finite, they create error and confusion due to the perversity in their hearts as well as the abuse of free-will and that is why we will always need Allah?s guidance and His revelations that provide guidance for us. Allah does not speak to us out of the blue sky, thus we have to work to gain knowledge. All this is part of disciplining our souls and making the free-will choice to submit to Allah?s will and accept His uncompromised TRUTH, but again this is not to be done in taking the blind faith approach or method. Allah wants us to gain knowledge from the cradle to the grave.

In closing the article that I placed in this thread is addressing the false notion that many people say or claim that its ok to be in any religion that you want and that they all came from Allah. That notion right there is not supported in the Qur?aan and Muslims should not compromise Islaam for that illogical notion carried out by many?

Salaam

Peace Khidr,

FAITH in GOD brought me to religion and toward scriptures! It was not religion or religiouse knowledge that brought me the FAITH.

In this journey if one attains faith in its DESTINATION, The path will be shown and that showing comes from HIM alone! There is no other source of GUIDANCE! Even holy QURAN can not guide. Guidance comes from HIM alone, and that happens, after one starts geting straight from inside!

Even if you have the finest logic and read thousands of books and all the scriptures; no guidance will be revealed to you!

And have no scripture and nothing to read! Open your heart up to HIS MAJESTY and you will be showered with GUIDANCE!

Contemplate on this, maybe you will vision the tool of religion from a different perspective!

Howal Azziz ol Hakeem

Peace,

unknownuser

Walaikum Salaam .. another wonderful article brother Al-Khidr. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. It's so correct, every bit of it ..

Thank you!

unknownuser

Peace Khidr,

FAITH in GOD brought me to religion and toward scriptures! It was not religion ...

When one refers to Faith in the One Almighty God, that means religion .. of course.

Allah (The Most High) chooses for His guidance only those who make themselves worthy of it through their efforts of devotion towards Him, humility and ethical deeds with His thought in their hearts. Once a person becomes privileged enough to be chosen for this guidance, that's when his/her perception and grasp of knowledge keep improving. And the dictates and narrations of the Glorious Qur'aan are elucidated automatically. Many a times when Allah choses a person for guidance, He starts enlightening that person's mind & heart through the verses of the Qur'aan. He has His own ways of showing this privilege. We cannot predict nor make our own lectures as to how the Divine guidance comes to different individuals. It can come to you in a certain way, and it can come to someone else in quite another way.

Contemplate on this, maybe you will vision the tool of religion from a different perspective!

By being focused on the Divine guidance of Allah, once gets even more convinced that the true religion (or Faith) only comes from Him and Him alone.

"Such then is Allah, your rightful Lord. After the Truth what is there saving error? How then are ye turned away!" (1032) Yunus

"Truth" as mentioned in the above verse refers to the existence of Allah as described in the Glorious Qur'aan. Therefore, when one is talking about Faith or Religion, this is the Ultimate and the only correct path. All others have been altered, and thus carry a human element, making them different from Al-Islam.

The topic here is Islam being different from other faiths. And I for one, agree with it 200%.

unknownuser

Salam Al-Khidr,

My understanding from the Quran is that any strict or pure monotheism can be considered of the the same faith so the multi-faith concept would not exist for me unless by multi-faith you meant multi-religion concept or one global religion, that is, when you consider rituals.
Peace. Myr.

Br. al-Khidr has already mentioned in his article that Judasim and Christianity started as strictly monotheist Faiths but were gradually altered by its followers.

It is very true that according to the Qur'aan all strictly monotheist religions have the same root, obviously, i.e. they are all a Message from the same Divine Power. But when the originality of any of these monotheist faiths are changed by human tampering, then these faiths cannot be considered having the original Divine link. Judaism and Christianity as followed today are a spectacular example of this deviation from its pure Divine origins.

Elena

Peace

idolfree has said several times in the forum

There are only two "religions" in the world, righteousness and unrighteousness, anything else is a sect.

Al_Khidr

Salaam Elena

You quoted a mere mortal but I'm about to quote a Higher Source (ALLAH)

Qur?aan 319
The only religion approved by Allah is Islaam. Those who received the scripture dispute this fact, knowingly. This is due to jealousy on their part. For those who reject Allah?s revelations, Allah is most strict in reckoning.

Qur?aan 385
Anyone who accepts other than Islaam as his religion, it will not be accepted from him, and in the Hereafter, he will be with the losers.

Allah has clearly and distictively said "Islaam" and nothing else. Islaam is the only religion revealed and accepted by Allah.

Salaam

Peace

idolfree has said several times in the forum

There are only two "religions" in the world, righteousness and unrighteousness, anything else is a sect.

Al_Khidr

Alhamdulillah Sister Zainab

This was so POWERFUL, it will make the weak tremble

It is very true that according to the Qur'aan all strictly monotheist religions have the same root, obviously, i.e. they are all a Message from the same Divine Power. But when the originality of any of these monotheist faiths are changed by human tampering, then these faiths cannot be considered having the original Divine link. Judaism and Christianity as followed today are a spectacular example of this deviation from its pure Divine origins.

AND

"When one refers to Faith in the One Almighty God, that means religion .. of course.

Allah (The Most High) chooses for His guidance only those who make themselves worthy of it through their efforts of devotion towards Him, humility and ethical deeds with His thought in their hearts. Once a person becomes privileged enough to be chosen for this guidance, that's when his/her perception and grasp of knowledge keep improving. And the dictates and narrations of the Glorious Qur'aan are elucidated automatically. Many a times when Allah choses a person for guidance, He starts enlightening that person's mind & heart through the verses of the Qur'aan. He has His own ways of showing this privilege. We cannot predict nor make our own lectures as to how the Divine guidance comes to different individuals. It can come to you in a certain way, and it can come to someone else in quite another way."

Salam Al-Khidr,

My understanding from the Quran is that any strict or pure monotheism can be considered of the the same faith so the multi-faith concept would not exist for me unless by multi-faith you meant multi-religion concept or one global religion, that is, when you consider rituals.
Peace. Myr.

Br. al-Khidr has already mentioned in his article that Judasim and Christianity started as strictly monotheist Faiths but were gradually altered by its followers.

It is very true that according to the Qur'aan all strictly monotheist religions have the same root, obviously, i.e. they are all a Message from the same Divine Power. But when the originality of any of these monotheist faiths are changed by human tampering, then these faiths cannot be considered having the original Divine link. Judaism and Christianity as followed today are a spectacular example of this deviation from its pure Divine origins.

Elena

Peace Al Khird

You quoted a mere mortal but I'm about to quote a Higher Source (ALLAH) Qur?aan 319 Qur?aan 385

you've got Qur?aan 319 and Qur?aan 385 through a mere mortal too.

unknownuser

Salaam.

I agree, only Allah Most Merciful guides whomever He wills.
If Allah Most Powerful leaves someone astray, He does that with a reason.
Of course, Allah Most High, knows best.

Salaam.

Absolutely brother Alen, you are so correct.

Walaikum Salaam ..

unknownuser

Peace

I really liked this article here. Its not one of those topics where u sway on all sides, you choose whether or not Allah revealed one religion called Islam or there are several and from the Qur'aan evidence there is but only one religion and that is Islam.

All of Allah's Prophets were Muslims and they preached Islam since the beginning.

Qur'aan 1777-"This has been consistently the case with all the Messengers that We sent before you, you will find that Our system never changes."

Allah's system or way which is Islam has always been the same.

alpha97

Peace Alkhidr , sis Zainab, No-Shirk,

Thank you for your writings. I like this way of discussion. civilizationlevel -for the lack of a better word- of discussion is high!
let?s set an example! as we are supposed to.

When the conditions to be guided are not met, there will be no guidance!

Quran en scriptures and nothing else can not be a source of guidance UNLESS FIRST couples of conditions come to exist!

These are conditions of SOUL.
FIRST COMES A MOVEMENT WITHIN OUR SOUL BY OUR DOING, THEN COMES A MOVEMENT WITHIN OUR SOUL AND HEART BY THE DOING OF HIS MAJESTY! One comes to experience everthing from a different vantage point.

I have christian friends who through our exchnge of ideas have come to get acquainted with HIS ALMIGHTY! They fully understand that this big change in their life is GRANTED TO THEM and read their books with a different eye!

A chinese who has never heard of Quran and lives a rightouse life will be guided. We are all created equal. THE DIVINE LIGHT IS WAITING TO GUIDE US! NO NEED TO MAGNIFY THE DIFFERENCES! MAGNIFY THE ALMIGHTY in words and actions! 100% and fully.
Look into 2-2/2-3 for conditions of guidance!

peace,

It is upon Us to guide.
And to Us is the end and the beginning.

unknownuser

Peace Alkhidr , sis Zainab, No-Shirk,

Thank you for your writings. I like this way of discussion. civilizationlevel -for the lack of a better word- of discussion is high!
let?s set an example! as we are supposed to.

When the conditions to be guided are not met, there will be no guidance!

Quran en scriptures and nothing else can not be a source of guidance UNLESS FIRST couples of conditions come to exist!

These are conditions of SOUL.
FIRST COMES A MOVEMENT WITHIN OUR SOUL BY OUR DOING, THEN COMES A MOVEMENT WITHIN OUR SOUL AND HEART BY THE DOING OF HIS MAJESTY! One comes to experience everthing from a different vantage point.

I have christian friends who through our exchnge of ideas have come to get acquainted with HIS ALMIGHTY! They fully understand that this big change in their life is GRANTED TO THEM and read their books with a different eye!

A chinese who has never heard of Quran and lives a rightouse life will be guided. We are all created equal. THE DIVINE LIGHT IS WAITING TO GUIDE US! NO NEED TO MAGNIFY THE DIFFERENCES! MAGNIFY THE ALMIGHTY in words and actions! 100% and fully.
Look into 2-2/2-3 for conditions of guidance!

peace

Salaam Alaikum / Peace alpha

I never said that all Christians or Chinese are bad nor will I say they're all glorious. And neither would I make such sweeping generalizations about Muslims or anyone for that matter. This is only for Allah to decide. I'd neither be so intrusive nor so paranoid. Besides, this is clearly not the essence of br. Khidr's article according to my perception, so I'd won't go any further into it.

However, as per the topic and according to my humble understanding, this very dynamic article by br. al-Khidr is basically about the link of Islamic Faith as defined in the Qur'aan with other faiths. In other words, guidance as you are talking about is one thing. As I stated earlier, guidance is bestowed only by the Divine Power in various ways to whomsoever He pleases and for whatever reasons He deems proper. Again, this is the domain of Allah and not for us to hamper with. But once guidance is already acquired by an individual as per the principles of the Qur'aan, how do we define its link with other faiths? This issue is important because all faiths do not define the existence of the Divine Power in a manner similar to the Qur'aan. Thus, the in-topic discussion is not the process of acquiring Divine guidance, rather it is to analyse its compatibility with other ideologies in view of Quraanic values after it is acquired. For this reason, I appreciate the distinction that br. Khidr very aptly made between ethics & spirituality. That gives a very realistic connotation to his article which is ever so vital. Last but not least, personally, as a Muslim, the cornerstone of my perspective would definitely be the Qur'aan just as the perspective of most persons of other faiths would ensue from their respective scriptures, social teachings or personal values based on those teachings. Comments from the author of the original post would be helpful.

unknownuser

Salaam to all

In addition to guidance that is addressed by Alpha and commented by Zainab I just want to add this verse

Qur'aan 2269-"He bestows wisdom upon whomever He chooses, and whoever attains wisdom, has attained a great bounty. Only those who posses intelligence will take heed."

Zainab applause for keeping the topic in focus, "Thus, the in-topic discussion is not the process of acquiring Divine guidance, rather it is to analyse its compatibility with other ideologies in view of Quraanic values after it is acquired."

I believe if we are Muslims and follow the Qur'aan we should be careful of not confusing other religions as being from the same source of Divine authority from Allah. There are good people in all religions but the article is focusing on the Qur'aanic theme that only one religion revealed from Allah is Islaam. Allah did not leave that for guess work for us Muslims. I just want to add this verse that compliments Brother Al Khidr's article

Qur?aan 4213-14
13. He has prescribed for you the SAME religion, which He decreed on Noah, and what We have sent by inspiration to you, and what We decreed for Abraham, Moses, and Jesus ?You shall uphold this one religion, and do not divide it.? The idol worshippers will resent what you invite them to do. Allah redeems to Himself whomever He wills; He guides to Himself everyone who submits in peace.
14. Ironically, they broke up into sects-only after the knowledge had come to them-due to jealousy and resentment among themselves. If it were not for a predetermined decision from your Sustainer to respite them for a definite interim, they would have been judged immediately. Indeed, these later generations who inherited the scripture are full of doubts.

unknownuser

Salaam to all

Qur?aan 4213-14
13. He has prescribed for you the SAME religion, which He decreed on Noah, and what We have sent by inspiration to you, and what We decreed for Abraham, Moses, and Jesus ?You shall uphold this one religion, and do not divide it.? The idol worshippers will resent what you invite them to do. Allah redeems to Himself whomever He wills; He guides to Himself everyone who submits in peace.
14. Ironically, they broke up into sects-only after the knowledge had come to them-due to jealousy and resentment among themselves. If it were not for a predetermined decision from your Sustainer to respite them for a definite interim, they would have been judged immediately. Indeed, these later generations who inherited the scripture are full of doubts.

These wonderful verses explain the article still better. Thanks no_shirk ..

Salaam

Al_Khidr

Wa Laykum As Salaam Alpha

I want to thank you for your insight on this subject. I just want to make some brief comments to your post. You have said this

?I have christian friends who through our exchnge of ideas have come to get acquainted with HIS ALMIGHTY! They fully understand that this big change in their life is GRANTED TO THEM and read their books with a different eye!?

I just want to say that it?s a great thing if you are able to get them (your Christians) friends to look at the Creator in a different light because I assume that different light is closer to the Islaamic concept of tawhiyd. Part of our goal in life dawah and we will receive many blessings from Allah if we part take in spreading Deen of Allah. Since Allah have said that the only religion is Islaam (319, 85), we should always make a constant effort to awaken people of different religions to the truth of Al Islaam.

You have highlighted the following verses ?Look into 2-2/2-3 for conditions of guidance!? In actuality Qur?aan 21-4, address what a Muslim is

Sura 2

Alif Laam Miim
This scripture is infallible; It?s a guidance to the select, who tremble at the mention of Allah.
Those who believe in the unseen, even when alone in their privacy, observe the Salaat, and from Our provisions to them, they share willingly.
And they believe in what was revealed to you, and in what was revealed before you. With regard to the Hereafter, they are certain.

Verse 2 is addressing the Qur?aan as being an infallible Book from the Creator and also in verse 4, when it says, ?And they believe in what was revealed to you? it is referring to the Qur?aan. This is a beautiful verse Alpha that you have highlighted and it tells you in a nutshell what a Muslim is and verse 5 says

?These are the ones who follow the guidance from their Lord; these are the successful ones.?

Praise be to Allah.

You have said this

?A chinese who has never heard of Quran and lives a rightouse life will be guided. We are all created equal.?

There is no dispute when it comes to that because it would be unjust for Allah to judge some one on the merits of the Qur?aan if they never heard of the Qur?aan before and if that person have lead a righteous life they will make it to Paradise. They will make it to Paradise not becauase their religion is true but because they have lead a righteous/pious life.

You have also said this

?NO NEED TO MAGNIFY THE DIFFERENCES! MAGNIFY THE ALMIGHTY in words and actions! 100% and fully.?

We do not want to keep people stuck in the middle, we want people to be on the far right of truth Al Islaam, so in order for this to take place we do need to highlight the differences. We need to address the differences, all information, truth and falsehood, etc. etc. to awaken the mind to the truth, this is our duty as a Muslim. Alhamdulillah that Allah did not leave us (Muslims) blind as to which is the true faith or religion

Qur?aan 319
The only religion approved by Allah is Islaam. Those who received the scripture dispute this fact, knowingly. This is due to jealousy on their part. For those who reject Allah?s revelations, Allah is most strict in reckoning.

Qur?aan 385
Anyone who accepts other than Islaam as his religion, it will not be accepted from him, and in the Hereafter, he will be with the losers.

Qur?aan 4213-14
13. He has prescribed for you the SAME religion, which He decreed on Noah, and what We have sent by inspiration to you, and what We decreed for Abraham, Moses, and Jesus ?You shall uphold this one religion, and do not divide it.? The idol worshippers will resent what you invite them to do. Allah redeems to Himself whomever He wills; He guides to Himself everyone who submits in peace.
14. Ironically, they broke up into sects-only after the knowledge had come to them-due to jealousy and resentment among themselves. If it were not for a predetermined decision from your Sustainer to respite them for a definite interim, they would have been judged immediately. Indeed, these later generations who inherited the scripture are full of doubts.

Since we have been blessed from Allah to know in the greatest Book on the planet QURAAN, that it is Islaam which is the true faith or religion on the planet, then we should make it a constant effort on our behalf to bring the Christians, Jews, Hindus, Buddhist, just to name a few in the folds of Islaam.

Salaam

Peace Alkhidr , sis Zainab, No-Shirk,

Thank you for your writings. I like this way of discussion. civilizationlevel -for the lack of a better word- of discussion is high!
let?s set an example! as we are supposed to.

When the conditions to be guided are not met, there will be no guidance!

Quran en scriptures and nothing else can not be a source of guidance UNLESS FIRST couples of conditions come to exist!

These are conditions of SOUL.
FIRST COMES A MOVEMENT WITHIN OUR SOUL BY OUR DOING, THEN COMES A MOVEMENT WITHIN OUR SOUL AND HEART BY THE DOING OF HIS MAJESTY! One comes to experience everthing from a different vantage point.

I have christian friends who through our exchnge of ideas have come to get acquainted with HIS ALMIGHTY! They fully understand that this big change in their life is GRANTED TO THEM and read their books with a different eye!

A chinese who has never heard of Quran and lives a rightouse life will be guided. We are all created equal. THE DIVINE LIGHT IS WAITING TO GUIDE US! NO NEED TO MAGNIFY THE DIFFERENCES! MAGNIFY THE ALMIGHTY in words and actions! 100% and fully.
Look into 2-2/2-3 for conditions of guidance!

peace,

It is upon Us to guide.
And to Us is the end and the beginning.

lovelymoslems

Allah was never revealing "religion" but deen, Islam is a deen for believers who aim his live only to surender to His deen.

alpha97

Peace Al Khidr,

Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

May GOD make our discussions more fruitful!

I would like to use this opportunity on two points.

One is my take on 2-2 / 2-3 and the second one is THE BIG DIFFEENCE between faith and belief

(2-3) Those who
1- Attain Faith in the unseen
2- By performing salaat ( programming of soul ? Spiritual growth).
3- By filling the gaps of society ( practice for soul ? Spiritual growth).

They will become the ones who can penetrate the meaning of Quran! Their vantage points are shifted upward! Not by themselves! THE ALIMIGHTY manifests that change .

There is no doubt about their guidance (2-2). They are now able to penetrate the guidance of Quran.

Faith does not have anything to do with believing or not believing!

The thought has to pass the corridor of MIND and penetrate the HEART! Then it is faith. And that level will be only achieved by step 2 and 3 as Quran outlines.

Wise said
You can?t know what faith is; what you call faith is only belief. Belief is of the head, it is part of
knowledge. Belief is false and phoney. Belief means somebody else has said something and you have believed it; it is borrowed. Belief is never original. Faith is always original. It arises in you it is the growth of your own consciousness.

That?s how there are so many Mohammedans and Hindus and Christians and Jews, but you don?t find religious people anywhere. Religious people have disappeared from the earth. Yes, Christians are there, Hindus are there, but where are the religious people?
Religion consists of faith, not of belief. Behind the belief there is always doubt. Belief is rooted in doubt. It is because of the doubt, it is to repress the doubt, that you put a belief upon yourself. It is as if you hide a wound behind a roseflower, but the wound remains there.

Just on the surface, things appear in one way. Deep down it is totally different. On the surface, people show trust and confidence in each other. Deep down, there is doubt. On the surface, love; deep down, there is hatred. On the surface, people are so nice; deep down, they are really bitter and poisonous. This duality has to be dropped. Faith arises only when you have become one. Faith is the fragrance of oneness.

If a person can remain silent for a few hours every day he will become aware of his whole phoniness, because he will see his real face again and again. If you continuously talk and continuously relate with people you forget your original face, because you have to wear masks continuously. For twentyfour hours you are talking, using words. And when you continuously use words, slowly slowly you start believing in those words, in the sound of those words.

Words have a hypnotic power. If you use a certain word again and again, it hypnotizes you. If you use the word ?god? again and again, slowly slowly you start thinking that you know what you mean, that you know what God is. It is very dangerous to repeat words.
But people go on talking. They don?t give any gap in which they can simply be silent and be.
If you are silent for at least one hour every day, you will be aware continuously that your talk is nonsense.

And then ninety-nine percent of your talk will start disappearing. What is the point of
talking nonsense? But why do people talk then? They talk just to hide themselves behind the noise. Whenever you are nervous you start talking.

Now it is a known fact if people are forced to live in solitude, after three weeks they start talking to themselves. They cannot bear silence, it becomes intolerable, so they start talking to themselves. They have to talk; words somehow keep them clinging to their personality. Once words disappear, they start falling into the impersonal. And they are very much afraid of the impersonal.

The impersonal is your reality. And you are afraid of the reality and you are clinging to the illusions that words create. People are satisfied with mere words; they are rags. Sanai says It is unbelievable. How are you satisfied with mere rags? You were made to work your way through this darkness of existence.

This is a task to be done, this is a way of growth. To be here on the earth simply means that God has given an opportunity to you to grow. This earth is a challenge. Accept the challenge, encounter life don?t escape.
A few people escape in words, a few people escape into monasteries, a few people escape into politics, a few people escape into money ? these are all escapes. A few become learned people, a few become rich, a few become very powerful in the world, a few become very respectable, moral and virtuous. But the real work is not done..............................).

peace,

Al_Khidr

As Salaamu Alaykum Brother Alpha

You have said this

?where are the religious people??

Alpha from your perspective who are these religious people you raise this question about?

Also you have quoted and said "wise said", who is this person that you quoted?

You have said this

?Religion consists of faith, not of belief. Behind the belief there is always doubt. Belief is rooted in doubt. It is because of the doubt, it is to repress the doubt, that you put a belief upon yourself. It is as if you hide a wound behind a roseflower, but the wound remains there.?

I think you are getting into semantics here. Iman is the Arabic word and that word can either be translated as ?belief? or ?faith? and if one chooses to translate Iman as ?belief? then the English word ?belief? does not possess the connotations from which you have mentioned up above. In one of my responses to you I have illustrated using Qur?aan that our Iman is not a blind, rather Allah wants us to search for truth, knowledge, evidence, etc. etc. Iman is an intelligent faith or belief where something is proven beyond doubt.

Qur?aan 1736
You shall not accept any information, unless you verify it for yourself. I have given you the hearing, the eyesight, and the brain, and you are responsible for using them.

Qur?aan 3918
They are the ones who examine all words, then follow the best. These are the ones whom Allah has guided; these are the ones who possess intelligence.

In Qur?aan 2111 addresses the Jews and Christians when they make this foolish claim that they are the only ones who will enter Paradise and Allah tells us in the Holy Qur?aan to ask them to show/bring/produce their proof

Qur?aan 2111
They said, ?No one will enter Paradise unless they be a Jew or a Christian!? Such is their wishful thinking. Say, ?Show us your proof, if you are truthfull.?

Allah also gives us Muslims the GREEN light to DEBATE in (16125). Debate is a format which civilized people use to address their differences. In Debate falsehood and truth clash, thus, this is a process that we take in order for truth to shine by presenting evidence to refute falsehood. Blind faith has no life in this process

Qur?aan 1781
And say ?Truth has (now) arrived, and falsehood perished for falsehood is (by its nature) bound to perish,?

Whether you want to use the English word ?faith? or ?belief?, if that person does not search to ?prove?, then it is blind no matter if you use the English word ?faith? or ?belief?. As we all know Allah does not want us to exist in darkness or simply put

Qur?aan 218
Deaf, dumb, and blind; they fail to return.

This is relative truth right here

?Just on the surface, things appear in one way. Deep down it is totally different. On the surface, people show trust and confidence in each other. Deep down, there is doubt. On the surface, love; deep down, there is hatred. On the surface, people are so nice; deep down, they are really bitter and poisonous. This duality has to be dropped. Faith arises only when you have become one. Faith is the fragrance of oneness.

If a person can remain silent for a few hours every day he will become aware of his whole phoniness, because he will see his real face again and again. If you continuously talk and continuously relate with people you forget your original face, because you have to wear masks continuously. For twentyfour hours you are talking, using words. And when you continuously use words, slowly slowly you start believing in those words, in the sound of those words."

Now Alpha I would like to ask you this question. Are you the type of person who believes that there are many true religions stemming from the same Divine Source (Allah) or is there just only ONE that Allah called Islaam?