Thanks for your info, Layth. peace I do have a couple more questions, though...

1. If Masjid-al-Haram is what we now call Al-Aqsa, then where is the real "most distant mosque" that God took Muhammad to by night? If it's in another universe / on another plane of existence, does that not contradict the verses of the Qur'an that say Muhammad never ascended to heaven in any form? If so, and it must be on Earth, then where did he go?

2. Regarding Krishna, etc., are the Vedas and so on not revelation, albeit corrupted ones? If they aren't (and I can accept either premise), whose revelation - that is, what earlier Prophet - were they following?

3. Also, on another matter, how could Jesus raise anyone from the dead, even by God's permission, if there is a barrier / partition separating the deceased from the living until the Last Day? Also, did Allah violate His own laws when he resurrected others mentioned in the Qur'an?

Thanks for your input. Have a good day!

In the sense of "You must seek out these historical details as a matter of faith"? No, probably not. I mean, belief in God trumps where Muhammad was born.

However, the act of seeking out these details should not in any way contradict or weaken the Qur'an. In short, if the Qur'an is true, it will be proven true every time, no matter how deep you dig into history, no matter how much corroborating evidence you look for, and even no matter how hard you might try to disprove it.

So I'm still hoping for answers to this.

Right now, all I am is confused. lol

Thanks! Looking forward to more input. Have a good day everybody!

First, thanks to everyone for your help (and patience lol). Second, I'm with Ayisha... this forum has a strange way of sending you through a time warp. You look at the clock once and it's 8 am.... look again and it's midnight. p

So Muslims can eat prasad then, as long as you say bismillah? Prasad, for those who are unaware, is food offered to a deity (again, like Krishna or Saraswati), then distributed to worshippers / the poor / random people who happen to be around.

Does "dedicate" simply mean that if you make your own dedication to God, it "cancels" anybody else's, and if so, why? Does it work for everything, meat included? Why or why not?

confused

Hi, and thanks for your help everybody. )

I may not have made myself clear. Let's say I'm a Hindu, and I own a farm. It's planting season, and before I plant my crops, I pray to Krishna and Ganesh to bless me with a good harvest. Can a Muslim in India eat these crops, given the prohibition against eating anything dedicated to someone/thing besides God?

Again, let's say I'm a Muslim living in India, near the Ganges river. The river is considered divine by loads of Hindus, and as such, it is the site of perpetual ritual prayers, offerings, temple ceremonies, and so on. This water also happens to be the municipal water supply for a large population. Can a Muslim drink this water?

I know it might sound silly to ask something like this, but this IS a Qur'an discussion forum, soooo....

Thanks for your help!

<<Posting this again because I think I had it in the wrong spot before...>>

Salaam everybody! I just stumbled upon the idea/hypothesis that what we know today as Mecca, and the rituals associated with it, might be entirely wrong. I have been content for a while that the Qur'an is from God, but this has really throw me. Maybe you guys can help me with this

1. Was Muhammad born in, and did he live around Jerusalem, more specifically in the Bacca / Bakkah area of Israel?

1a. Is Bacca/Bakkah a neighborhood in Jerusalem, or is it a valley, or both?

2. If Muhammad was born in Israel, would that not mean that the Quraish (sp?), all of Muhammad's family, his wives, and so on were also? I thought they were an Arab tribe based in Arabia?

3. Is Petra Sodom? If so, then Muhammad couldn't have lived there... it was destroyed, only remaining in ruins that, as the Qur'an says, he "Passed morning and night". Also, how can Petra be "the people of the elephant"? Again, the city was in ruins if it was Sodom.

4. If, as Layth suggests, and the Qur'an seems to affirm, the Qibla was changed, then

*Where was it at first? Jerusalem? What's your proof?

*When it changed after Hijra, WHERE did it change to, if not Mecca / "the kaaba" in SA? Just a random direction (it was a test, after all), or some actual point?

*When it changed AGAIN ("...We see you turning your face toward heaven.... here's a Qibla that will please you...&quot, where did it change to? Al-Aqsa / DOTR was bult after Muhammad's death, so how could that be Masjid al-Haram, aka "the real qibla"? Is the actual qibla / MAH the ruined Jewish temple? Evidence, please. )

*If it IS the Jewish temple ruins, then what about the fact that Christians, Jews, & Muslims won't ever / don't use the same qibla, according to the Qur'an? Is this not a contradiction?

5. If pilgrimage / hajj is a continuous rite with all religions being, before their corruption, Islam (with perhaps some cultural variance), then did figures like Krishna and the Buddha, who I believe are likely Prophets, make hajj to Jerusalem (or wherever the Kaaba truly is)?

I know this is a lot to ask all at once, but I'd really appreciate any help you all can give. Thanks! )

Salaam everybody! I just stumbled upon the idea/hypothesis that what we know today as Mecca, and the rituals associated with it, might be entirely wrong. I have been content for a while that the Qur'an is from God, but this has really throw me. Maybe you guys can help me with this

1. Was Muhammad born in, and did he live around Jerusalem, more specifically in the Bacca / Bakkah area of Israel?

1a. Is Bacca/Bakkah a neighborhood in Jerusalem, or is it a valley, or both?

2. If Muhammad was born in Israel, would that not mean that the Quraish (sp?), all of Muhammad's family, his wives, and so on were also? I thought they were an Arab tribe based in Arabia?

3. Is Petra Sodom? If so, then Muhammad couldn't have lived there... it was destroyed, only remaining in ruins that, as the Qur'an says, he "Passed morning and night". Also, how can Petra be "the people of the elephant"? Again, the city was in ruins if it was Sodom.

4. If, as Layth suggests, and the Qur'an seems to affirm, the Qibla was changed, then

*Where was it at first? Jerusalem? What's your proof?

*When it changed after Hijra, WHERE did it change to, if not Mecca / "the kaaba" in SA? Just a random direction (it was a test, after all), or some actual point?

*When it changed AGAIN ("...We see you turning your face toward heaven.... here's a Qibla that will please you...&quot, where did it change to? Al-Aqsa / DOTR was bult after Muhammad's death, so how could that be Masjid al-Haram, aka "the real qibla"? Is the actual qibla / MAH the ruined Jewish temple? Evidence, please. )

*If it IS the Jewish temple ruins, then what about the fact that Christians, Jews, & Muslims won't ever / don't use the same qibla, according to the Qur'an? Is this not a contradiction?

5. If pilgrimage / hajj is a continuous rite with all religions being, before their corruption, Islam (with perhaps some cultural variance), then did figures like Krishna and the Buddha, who I believe are likely Prophets, make hajj to Jerusalem (or wherever the Kaaba truly is)?

I know this is a lot to ask all at once, but I'd really appreciate any help you all can give. Thanks! )

Hi guys! I'm a long-time lurker and a big fan of Qur'an-alone - in my opinion, the only way to do Islam properly and with your morale and sanity intact - but (at present, anyway) a non-Muslim. I'll get around to introducing myself properly later (after I've had a nice long sleep lol), but I have a quick question before I crash. Here it is

How is there a single living Muslim left in India?

Here's what I mean

If eating food "which has been dedicated to other than Allah/God? is wrong/forbidden, as the Qur?an says in 53 (and elsewhere), then how do Muslims living in India not die of hunger and thirst by the millions?

A lot of you probably already know this, but for the ones that don't, the vast majority of Indian farmers perform puja (prayers) before they plant their crops. They ask the blessings of their preferred deity/deities, and they do it every single time they plant anything, let alone at harvest-time. This means anything you eat that contains plant/vegetable material, from nan to daal, is technically forbidden.

Also, the Ganges, perhaps the most famous and beloved river in all of India, is the water source for countless multitudes of people, a large amount of Muslims among them. It also happens to be considered a god(dess) by many Hindus, and is the site of perpetual pujas (again, ritual prayers) to the gods of the Hindu pantheon.

If you take these two things into consideration, that means that the great majority of Muslims have two choices, Qur?anically speaking Leave India and live someplace where you won?t starve to death, or stay there and die because you can?t eat or drink anything.

Now, I've heard that the "other than Allah/God" dietary prohibition only extends to animals (because you're taking a life). In fact, it even says that in the Qur'an translation I use. But if that's true, then can we eat vegetarian food offered to, for example, Krishna? What about Sikh langars (free communal kitchens)? I think Sikhs are monotheists, but I've heard they kind of semi-deify their gurus.

I really appreciate any help / insight you guys have, as I have lots of Muslim & Hindu friends, and this issue is bound to come up eventually haha. Anyway, that's all for now. Have a good day!