Islamic Collection: Download full Quran Para wise

Islamic Collection: Download full Quran Para wise

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SOURCES CITED

The Five Gospels: The Search for the Authentic Words of Jesus, New Translation and Commentary. Robert W. Funk; Roy W. Hoover and The Jesus Seminar. Polebridge Press. 1993. 553 pages.

Forty Hadith. An-Nawawi. The Holy Koran Publishing House, Beirut, Lebanon. Translated by Ezzedin Ibrahim and Denys Johnson-Davies. 1976. 127 pages.

Interpretation of the Meanings of The Noble Qur'an in the English Language. Muhammad Taqi-ud Din Al-Hilali and Muhammad Muhsin Khan. A summarized version of At-Tabari, Al-Qurtubi, and Ibn Kathir with comments from Sahih Al-Bukhari. Maktaba Dar-Us-Salam, Saudi Arabia. 1993. 955 pages.

Islam at the Crossroads. Muhammad Asad. Arafat Publications. 1975 reprint. 160 pages.


The Meaning of the Holy Qur'an. Abdullah Yusuf Ali. Amana Corporaton, Maryland. 1989. 1758 pages.

The Reliance of the Traveller – A Classic Manual of Islamic Sacred Law. Ahmad ibn Naqib al-Misri. In Arabic with facing English text, commentary and appendices edited and translated by Noah Ha Mim Keller. Sunna Books. 1991.

Struggling to Surrender: Some Impressions of an American Convert to Islam. Jeffrey Lang. Amana Publications, Beltsville, Maryland. 1994. 245 pages.

Towards Understanding Islam. Sayd Abul A'La Maududi. Islamic Teaching Center, Indianapolis, Indiana, 1977. Translated and edited by Khurshid Ahmad. 134 pages.

"The Truth About Jesus." Maneh Al-Johani. From the Sunnah Islamic page at website http://www.al-sunnah.com/truth_aboutjesus.htm (current as of February 2000).

Webster's 9th New Collegiate Dictionary. 1985.

What Everyone Should Know About Islam and Muslims. Suzanne Haneef. Library of Islam, Des Plaines, Illinois. 1985. 202 pages.

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NO OBLIGATION FOR THOSE WHO DO NOT RECEIVE THE MESSAGE

Ahmad ibn Naqib al-Misri (from "The Reliance of the Traveler – A Classic Manual of Islamic Sacred Law"), circa 1360 C.E (pg 3 a1.5):

According to this school (Shafi'i), a person is not morally obligated by God to do or refrain from anything unless the invitation of a prophet and what God has legislated have reached him. No one is rewarded for doing something or punished for refraining from or doing something until he knows by means of God's messengers what he is obligated to do or obliged to refrain from.

So whoever lives in such complete isolation that the summons of a prophet and his Sacred Law do not reach him is not morally responsible to God for anything and deserves neither reward nor punishment.

And those who lived in one of the intervals after the death of a prophet and before a new one had been sent were not responsible for anything and deserve neither reward nor punishment.

This view is confirmed by the word of God Most High in the Qur'an 17:15 ("The Journey by Night"):


"We do not punish until We send a messenger."

Final words: I ask Allah to forgive any mistakes in this writing, which are my own; and I thank Allah for any good in this writing, which is from Him, and from His Wisdom, with which He guides men.

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THE ABROGATION OF PREVIOUSLY REVEALED RELIGIONS

(Imam Baghawi:) The Prophet (pbuh) said:


"By Him in whose hand is the soul of Muhammad (pbuh), any person of this Community, any Jew, or any Christian who hears me and dies without believing in what I have been sent with will be an inhabitant of hell."

This is a rigorously authenticated (sahih) hadith that was recorded by Muslim (Sharh al sunna, 1.104-5).


(Ibn Kathir:) God Most High says in the Qur'an 2:62 ("The Cow"):

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
"Surely those who believe, those of Jewry, the Christians, and the Sabaeans – whoever has faith in God and the Last Day, and works righteousness, their wage awaits them with their Lord, and no fear shall be upon them, and neither shall they sorrow."


Suddi states that the verse "Surely those who believe, etc." was revealed about the former companions of Salman the Persian when he mentioned them to the Prophet (pbuh), relating how they had been, saying, "They used to pray, fast, and believe in you, and testify that you would be sent as a prophet." When he finished praising them, the Prophet (pbuh) replied, "Salman, they are the denizens of hell," which came to discomfit Salman greatly, and so God revealed this verse.

The faith of the Jews was that of whoever adhered to the Torah and the sunna of Moses (upon him be peace) until the coming of Jesus. When Jesus came, whoever held fast to the Torah and the sunna of Moses without giving them up and following Jesus was lost.

The faith of the Christians was that whoever adhered to the Evangel and precepts of Jesus, their faith was valid and acceptable until the coming of Muhammad (pbuh). Those of them who did not then follow Muhammad (pbuh) and give up the sunna of Jesus (pbuh) and the Evangel were lost.

The foregoing is not contradicted by the hadith relating that the verse,


"Surely those who believe, those of Jewry, the Christians, and the Sabaeans – whoever has faith in God and the Last Day …"

was followed by God revealing in the Qur'an 3:85 ("The Family of Imran"),


In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
"Whoever seeks a religion other than Islam will never have it accepted of him, and he will be those who have truly failed in the hereafter."

for the hadith merely confirms that no one's way or spiritual works are acceptable unless they conform to the Sacred Law of Muhammad (pbuh) now that he has been sent with it. As for people prior to this, anyone who followed the messenger of his own time was guided, on the right path, and was saved (Tafsir al-Qur'an al-Azim (y60), 1,103).

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MUHAMMAD IS THE LAST PROPHET AND MESSENGER (pbuh)

MUHAMMAD IS THE LAST PROPHET AND MESSENGER (pbuh)


(Ibn Kathir:) God Most High says in the Qur'an 33:40 ("The Confederates"):

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
"Muhammad (pbuh) is not the father of any man among you, but the Messenger of God and the Last of the Prophets. And God has knowledge of everything."


This Qur'anic verse is an unequivocally decisive primary text establishing that there will be no prophet after him. And since there will be no prophet (nabi), it follows a fortiori that there will be no prophetic messenger (rasul). The Prophet (pbuh) said:


"Messengerhood and prophethood have ceased. There will be no messenger or prophet after me."

"My likeness among the prophets is as a man who, having built a house and put the finishing touches on it and made it seemly, yet left one place without a brick. When anyone entered it and saw this, he would exclaim, 'How excellent it is, but for the place of this brick.' Now, I am the place of that brick: through me the line of the prophets (peace be upon them) has been brought to completion."
"I have been favored above the prophets in six things: I have been endowed with consummate succinctness of speech, made triumphant through dread, war booty has been made lawful for me, the whole earth has been made a purified place of worship for me, I have been sent to all created beings, and the succession of prophets has been completed in me."

God Most Blessed and Exalted has stated in His Book, as has His Messenger (pbuh) in hadiths of numerous channels of transmission (mutawatir) that there will be no prophet after him, so that everyone may know that whoever claims this rank thereafter is a lying pretender, misled and misleading, even if he should stage miracles and exhibit all kinds of magic, talismans, and spells (Tafsir al-Qur'an al-Azim, 3.493-4)

Now the end result of the finality of the Prophet's (pbuh) Message is .....

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Afterword: Finality of Prophet Muhammad's Message

Source: Ahmad ibn Naqib al-Misri's "The Reliance of the Traveler – A Classic Manual of Islamic Sacred Law", circa 1360 C.E.

"This section has been translated to clarify some possible confusion among Muslims as to Islam's place among world religions. The discussion centers on three points:


(1) Muhammad (pbuh) is the last prophet and messenger. Anyone claiming to be a prophet or messenger of God after him or to found a new religion is a fraud, misled and misleading.

(2) Previously revealed religion were valid in their own eras, as is attested to by many verses of the Holy Qur'an, but were abrogated by the universal message of Islam, as is equally attested to by many verses of the Qur'an. Both points are worthy of attention from English-speaking Muslims, who are occasionally exposed to erroneous theories advanced by some teachers and Qur'an translators affirming these religions' validity but denying or not mentioning their abrogation, or that it is unbelief (kufr) to hold that the remnant cults now bearing the names of formerly valid religions, such as "Christianity" or "Judaism" are acceptable to God Most High after He has sent the final Messenger (pbuh) to the entire world. This is a matter over which there is no disagreement among Islamic scholars, and if English-speaking Muslims at times discuss it as if there were some question about it, the only reason can be that no one has yet offered them a translation of a scholarly Qur'anic exegesis (tafsir) to explain the accord between the various Qur'anic verses, and their agreement with the sunna. The few passages translated below will hopefully be of use until this has been done.

(3) Islam is the final religion that God Most High will never lessen or abrogate until the Last Day

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Prophethood

Prophethood
Need for Prophets

A'La Maududi (from "Towards Understanding Islam," published in 1977) raises the question as to why mankind needs prophets:
"Is the fundamental need of human culture confined to the need of experts and specialists in the fields of law and politics, science and mathematics, engineering and mechanics, finance and economics and the like, or does it need men who may show man the Right Path – the way to God and salvation? Other experts provide man with the knowledge of what is in the world and of the ways and means to use that, but there must be someone to tell man the purpose of creation and the meaning of life itself. What man himself is and why he has been created? Who has provided him with all the powers and resources and why? What are the proper ends of life and how are they to be achieved? What are the proper values of life and how can they be attained? This is the most cardinal need of man and unless he knows this he cannot erect the edifice of culture on sound foundations and cannot succeed in life here and the hereafter. And our reason refuses to believe that God Who has provided man with even the most trivial of his requirements would ignore to provide for this greatest, most paramount and most vital need. Nay, it can never be so. And it is not so. While God has produced men of distinction in arts and sciences He has also raised men with deep vision, pure intuition, and highest faculties to know and understand Him. To them, He Himself revealed the way of godliness, piety, and righteousness. He gave them the knowledge of the ends of life and values of morality and entrusted with them the duty to communicate the Divine Revelation to other human beings and to show them the Right Path. These men are the Prophets and Messengers of God."
Prophethood in Islam
Jeffrey Lang (from "Struggling to Surrender) compares Christian and Muslim appreciation of revelation :
"The majority opinion of Christian scholars today is that the Bible is a synthesis of different levels of holy inspiration. When the Muslim speaks of revelation [on the other hand], he is usually referring to the most direct kind: the Prophet as the human instrument through which God literally "speaks" or reveals His Will, as in the Biblical descriptions: "I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and I will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command them" (Deuteronomy 18:18) and "Howbeit when he, the Spirit of Truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself: but whatever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he shall show you things to come" (John 16:13). The Muslim does acknowledge, however, that this [direct revelation] is not the only type of divine communication.


Qur'an 42:51 ("The Consultation"):
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
"And it is not given to mortal man that God should speak unto him otherwise than through sudden inspiration, or from behind a veil, or by sending a messenger to reveal, by his leave, whatever He wills: for verily, He is exalted, wise."


A'La Maududi (in his book "Towards Understanding Islam") describes the extraordinary aspects of a prophet:
"The Prophets distinguish themselves in the human society by their special aptitudes, natural bents of mind and a pious and meaningful living, more or less in the same way as other geniuses in art and sciences distinguish themselves by their extraordinary capacities and natural aptitudes. Every such talent distinguishes itself by its remarkable power and extraordinary achievements. Others cannot stand a match to it. The same is true of a prophet. His mind grasps problems which defy other minds; he speaks and throws rare lights on subject on which no one else can speak; he gets insight into such subtle and intricate questions that no one else would have even understood after years of deep thought and meditation. His nature and disposition are so good and pure that in all affairs his attitude is that of truthfulness, straightforwardness, and nobility. He never does or utters wrong, nor does he commit any evil. He always inculcates virtue and righteousness, and practices himself what he preaches to others. No incident of his life shows that his life is not in accordance with his ideal. His character is without blemish and even the minutest scrutiny fails to reveal any flaw in his life. And all these facts, all these attributes, make it evident that he is the Prophet of God and faith must be reposed in him."

Maududi continues, "When it becomes quite clear that such and such a person is the true Prophet of God, the natural dictate of this realization is that his words should be accepted, his instructions followed, and his orders obeyed. It is quite unreasonable to accept a man as God's true Prophet, and yet not believe in what he says or not follow what he ordains; for your very acceptance of him as God's Prophet means you have acknowledged that what he says is from God, and that whatever he does is in accordance with God's Will and Pleasure."

"It is noteworthy that in very important worldly affairs an expert is needed for advice, and when you turn to the expert you thereafter trust his advice and entirely depend upon it. You rather surrender your own right of judgment and inference and follow him gracefully. Every ordinary man cannot be a master in all arts and crafts of the world. The proper way for an average human being is to do what he can and, in respect of things he cannot do, to use all his wisdom and shrewdness in finding out the proper man to guide and help him, and after finding such a man to accept his advice and follow him. When you are sure that a certain person is the best man available for your purpose, you solicit his advice and guidance, and have complete trust in him."


25 prophets mentioned in Qur'an, 5 of strong will

According to the teachings of Islam, there are many Prophets and Messengers of God, about 25 of them are mentioned in the Qur'an, out of these 25, only five are of strong will, namely Muhammad, Noah, Abraham, Moses and Jesus - son of Mary (peace be upon them all). This is referred to in the following verses of the Qur'an:

Qur'an 33:7 ("The Confederates")
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
"And (remember) when we took from the Prophets their covenant, and from you (O Muhammad), and from Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus son of Mary. We took from them a strong covenant."

Previous Messengers – Qur'an 4:163-164 ("The Women) & 57:26-27 ("Iron")

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
"Verily, We have inspired you [O Muhammad (pbuh)] as We inspired Noah and the Prophets after him; We (also) inspired Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and Al-Asbat (the twelve sons of Jacob), Jesus, Job, Jonah, Aaron, and Solomon, and to David We gave the Zabur (Psalms).

And Messengers We have mentioned to you before, and Messengers We have not mentioned to you,-and to Moses God spoke directly."

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
"And indeed, We sent Noah and Abraham, and placed in their offspring Prophethood and Scripture, and among them there is he who is guided, but many of them are Fasiqun (rebellious, disobedient to God).

Then, We sent after them, Our Messengers, and We sent Jesus - son of Mary, and give him the Injil (Evangel). And We ordained in the hearts of those who followed him, compassion and mercy. But the Monasticism which they invented for themselves, We did not prescribe for them, but (they sought it) only to please God therewith, but that they did not observe it with the right observance. So We gave those among them who believed, their (due) reward, but many of them are Fasiqun (rebellious, disobedient to God)."

Previous Books – Qur'an 5:44-48 ("The Table Spread")

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
"Verily, We did send down the Torah (to Moses), therein was guidance and light, by which the Prophets, who submitted themselves to God's Will, judged the Jews. And the Rabbis and the priests (too judged the Jews by the Torah after those Prophets) for to them was entrusted the protection of God's Book, and they were witnesses thereto. Therefore fear not men but fear Me (O Jews) and sell not My Verses for a miserable price. And whosoever does not judge by what God has revealed, such are the Kafirun (i.e. disbelievers – of a lesser degree as they do not act on God's Laws).

And We ordained therein for them: "Life for life, eye for eye, nose for nose, ear for ear, tooth for tooth, and wounds equal for equal." But if anyone remits the retaliation by way of charity, it shall be for him an expiation. And whosoever does not judge by what God has revealed, such are the Zalimun (polytheists and wrong-doers - of a lesser degree).

And in their footsteps, We sent Jesus - son of Mary, confirming the Torah that had come before him, and We gave him the Evangel, in which was guidance and light and confirmation of the Torah that had come before it, a guidance and an admonition for Al-Muttaqun (the pious). Let the people of the Evangel judge by what God has revealed therein. And whosoever does not judge by what God has revealed (then) such (people) are the Fasiqun (the rebellious i.e. disobedient of a lesser degree to God).

And We have sent down to you (O Muhammad (pbuh)) the Book (this Qur'an) in truth, confirming the Scripture that came before it and Mohayminan (trustworthy in highness and a witness) over it. So judge between them by what God has revealed, and follow not their vain desires, diverging away from the truth that has come to you. To each among you, We have prescribed a law and a clear way. If God willed, He would have made you one nation, but that (He) may test you in what He has given you; so strive as in a race in good deeds. The return of you (all) is to God; then He will inform you about that in which you used to differ."

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What are the characteristics of the true religion?

If there is such a thing as a true religion, what does it look like?

Jeffrey Lang (from "Struggling to Surrender") offers his thoughts:
"True religion does not promote such a separation (spiritual from material, sacred from profane), but promotes a way of life, as directed by the Creator through information transmitted through Prophets and Messengers."

This, according to the teachings of Islam, is the reason God sends divine inspiration to prophets, to convey the true way of life to men.


Qur'an 49:13 ("The Dwellings")
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
"O Mankind! We have created you from a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know one another. Verily, the most honorable of you in the sight of God is that (believer) who fears God much (abstains from all kinds of deeds which He has forbidden) and loves God much (performs all kinds of deeds which He has ordained). Verily, God is All-Knowing, All-Aware."


Muhammad Asad (from "Islam at the Crossroads"):
"What we call the 'religious attitude' is the natural outcome of man's intellectual and biological constitution. Man is unable to explain to himself the mystery of life, the mystery of birth and death, the mystery of infinity and eternity. His reasoning stops before impregnable walls. The human being with all the intricate mechanism of his soul, with all his desires and fears, his feelings and his speculative uncertainties, sees himself faced by a Nature in which bounty and cruelty, danger and security are mixed in a wondrous, inexplicable way…on lines entirely different from the methods and the structure of the human mind. Never has purely intellectual philosophy or experimental science been able to solve this conflict. This exactly is the point where religion steps in. The [truly] religious man knows that whatever happens to him and within him can never be the result of a blind play of forces without consciousness and purpose; he believes it to be the outcome of God's conscious Will alone, and therefore, organically integrated with a universal plan."

Mr. Asad continues, "Thus, the conception of "worship" in Islam is different from that in any other religion. Here it is not restricted to the purely devotional practices, for example prayers or fasting, but extends over the whole of man's practical life as well. If the object of our life as a whole is to be the worship of God, we necessarily must regard this life, in the totality of all its aspects, as one complex moral responsibility. Thus, all our actions, even the seemingly trivial ones, must be performed as acts of worship: that is, performed consciously as constituting a part of God's universal plan. Such a state of things is, for the man of average capability, a distant ideal; but is it not the purpose of religion to bring ideals into real existence?"


Qur'an 22:34,35,37 ("The Pilgrimage")
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

"And for every nation We have appointed religious ceremonies, that they may mention the Name of God over the beast of cattle that He has given them for food. And your God is One God, so you must submit to Him Alone. And give glad tidings to the obedient (who obey God with humility)."

"Whose hearts are filled with fear when God is mentioned; who patiently bear whatever may befall them; and who offer prayers perfectly, and who spend (in God's Cause) out of what We have provided them….It is neither their meat nor their blood that reaches God, but it is piety from you that reaches Him."

Qur'an 2:177 ("The Cow")
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
"It is not piety and righteousness that you turn your faces towards east and west, but piety is (the quality) of the one who believes in God, the Last Day, the Angels, the Book, the Prophets and gives his wealth, in spite of love for it, to the kinsfolk, to the orphans, and to the poor who beg, and to the wayfarer, and to those who ask, and to set slaves free, and offer prayers perfectly, and gives the Zakat (prescribed charity) and who fulfill their covenant when they make it, and who are patient in extreme poverty and ailment and at the time of fighting. Such are the people of the truth and they are the pious."

Qur'an 98:5 ("The Clear Evidence")
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
"And they were commanded not, but that they should worship God, and worship none but Him Alone (abstaining from ascribing partners to Him), and to offer prayers perfectly and give Zakat (prescribed charity) and that is the right religion."

Piety is in the heart [from An-Nawawi's "Forty Hadith," (hadith #35)]
On the authority of Abu Huraira (may God be pleased with him), who said: the Messenger of God (pbuh) said: "Do not envy one another; do not inflate prices one to another; do not hate one another; do not turn away from one another; and do not undercut one another, but be you, O servants of God, brothers. A Muslim is the brother of a Muslim; he neither oppresses him nor does he fail him, he neither lies to him nor does he hold him in contempt. Piety is right here – and he pointed to his breast three times. It is evil enough for a man to hold his brother Muslim contempt. The whole of a Muslim for another Muslim is inviolable: his blood, his property, and his honor."
It was related by Muslim.

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Are all religions man-made?

So how did we get to such a state in the West?

Jeffrey Lang, (from his book, "Struggling to Surrender") states that:
"Religion (in the West) today is a product, a creation of man, of the state that chooses to compartmentalize spiritual from material, sacred from profane."

Maneh Al-Johani (from his article, "The Truth About Jesus (pbuh)") explains that:
"…distortion and misunderstanding in the history of Christianity drove people away not only from Christianity, but from other religions, including Islam, which is not affected by these problems. This is due to the fact that many people think that because Islam is a religion (the meaning of the very word is limited in Western languages) it must be similar to Christianity. Very few people will have the interest and the ability to discover the falsehood of this assumption."

Mrs. Zahra Aziz (an English Muslim convert) offers her hypothesis of the man-made origins of Christian doctrine:
"Christianity became built around the personality of Jesus himself. By laying more and more stress upon the magnetic and wonderful personality of Jesus and unable and unwilling to describe the Prophet's effects upon all who came to him in everyday terms – more and more attributes are added to his reputation – a man who could perform miracles, bring back the dead to life, heal the leper, cure the blind – all by God's Will, is indeed a wonderful man – blessed by God – born by God's will to do His service. But after his death, the 'magical' personality must be kept alive and 'Son of God' appears to suitably qualify all his actions. Living in a society, strongly favored by the Greco-Roman gods, all 'super human,' the educated early Christians must surely also have been influenced in thought by their surroundings. Paul himself, one of the great teachers of Christianity, was a Hellenized Jew, who never saw or met Jesus in his lifetime. Yet, many of his reported sayings show the influence of the times in which he lived. "The Living Lord" was very real to him."

In his article, Mr. Al-Johani reports that Dr. Robert Alley, a former University of Richmond Professor, lost his post as chairman of the Department of Religion because he holds the view that Jesus never claimed to be the son of God. Al-Johani quotes Dr. Alley as saying, "The (Bible) passages where Jesus talks about the Son of God are later additions… what the church said about him. Such a claim of deity for himself would not have been consistent with his entire lifestyle as we can construct. For the first three decades after Jesus' death Christianity continued as a sect within Judaism. The first three decades of its existence of the church were within the synagogue. That would have been beyond belief if they (the followers) had boldly proclaimed the deity of Jesus."

According to the findings of the gospel scholars making up the Jesus Seminar, eighty-two percent of the words ascribed to Jesus in the four canonical gospels were not actually spoken by him. To further state the findings of the book, "The Five Gospels: The Search for the Authentic Words of Jesus", published in 1993, "…the church appears to smother the historical Jesus by superimposing this heavenly figure on him in the.…so-called Apostles' Creed…."

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What is religion? What is the source of religion?

As we are living in a country that has Christian roots, it may be appropriate to look at Christianity as an illustrative example of just what makes up a religion. My only qualification for this task is that, before I became a Muslim, I was a Christian. In Christianity, as with any other system of belief or ideology, I believe, each of us should at some point, take at least some level of "ownership" or responsibility in his or her beliefs. What do I mean by ownership? What I mean is that each one of us, at some point in our life, should examine the source, validity, and appropriateness of what we were taught about religion. Perhaps each of us should start by asking ourselves the basic question, what is religion?

Is religion an experience or a doctrine? Or is religion so defined that it can be referred to as both experience and doctrine. In other words, as a commitment to a belief, as well as the belief itself (whether personal or institutionalized). Both of these definitions, in fact, are very close to those found in "Webster's 9th Collegiate Dictionary." Now, concerning the experience of religion, each person must speak to his own personal experience. Concerning religious doctrine, however, we can and should make some examination into the source of these doctrines.

Over the centuries, the sources of doctrinal Christianity have been put to task by numerous thinkers and Biblical scholars, from Thomas Jefferson to Albert Schweitzer. The doctrines of Christianity have outlived them all so far. Unfortunately, according to the 1993 book, "The Five Gospels: The Search for the Authentic Words of Jesus," "The level of public knowledge of the Bible [today] borders on the illiterate. ..church and synagogue have failed in their historic mission to educate the public in the fourth "R", religion." The authors continue, "Many English-speaking people are not even cognizant that the original languages of the Bible were Hebrew (Old Testament) and Greek (New Testament). As a consequence [of the version authorized by King James in 1611], the English Bible has rapidly become the only version of the Bible known to most English-speaking people, including many clergy. Many Americans do not know there are four canonical gospels, and many who do, can't name them. The public is poorly informed of the assured results of critical scholarship, although those results are commonly taught in colleges, universities, and seminaries."

If these assertions are true, for such a group of people there is little likelihood they will be able to ask the tough questions needed to critically examine the source of their religious doctrine. In all likelihood, many may well be ignorant of what Christian doctrine proposes to teach them. Aside from those individuals who have made their faith an integral and dynamic part of their lives, I believe religious ignorance and apathy have become the tragedy of Christianity in the West, at least as I have observed it.

Muhammad Asad, formerly Leopold Weiss, an Austrian statesman, journalist and author, writes (in his book "Islam at the Crossroads", 1947) about the loss of the religious orientation in the West, an outcome that has its roots in the so-called Middle Ages:
"The liberation of the European mind from the intellectual bondage to which the Christian Church had subjugated it took place in the time of the Renaissance and was to a very large extent due to the new cultural impulses and ideas which the Arabs had been transmitting to the West for several centuries."

"The Middle Ages had laid waste Europe's productive forces. Sciences were stagnant, superstition reigned supreme, the social life was primitive and crude to an extent hardly conceivable today. At that point the cultural influence of the Islamic world – at first through the adventure of the Crusades in the East and the brilliant universities of Muslim Spain in the West, and later through the growing commercial relations established by the republics of Genoa and Venice – began to hammer at the bolted doors of European civilization. Before the dazzled eyes of the European scholars and thinkers another civilization appeared – refined, progressive, full of passionate life and in possession of cultural treasures which Europe had long ago lost and forgotten. What the Arabs had done was far more than a mere revival of old Greece. They had created an entirely new scientific world of their own and developed until then unknown avenues of research and philosophy. All this they communicated through different channels to the Western world; and it is not too much to say that the modern scientific age in which we are living at present was not inaugurated in the cities of Christian Europe, but in Islamic centres as Damascus, Baghdad, Cairo, Cordova, Nishapur, Samarqand."

"The effect of these influences on Europe was tremendous. With the approach of Islamic civilization, a new intellectual light dawned on the skies of the West and infused it with fresh life and thirst for progress. It is no more than a just appreciation of its value that European historians term that period of regeneration the Renaissance – that is, "re-birth." It was, in fact, a re-birth of Europe."

"These movements were sound in their way, and, if they had met with real spiritual success, they might have produced a certain reconciliation between science and religious thought in Europe. But, as it happened, the wrong caused by the Church of the Middle Ages was already too far-reaching to be repaired by mere reformation, which, moreover, quickly degenerated into political struggles between interested groups. Instead of being truly reformed, Christianity was merely driven into defence and gradually forced to adapt an apologetic attitude. The Church – whether Catholic or Protestant – did not really give up any of its mental acrobatics, it incomprehensible dogmas, its world-contempt, its unscrupulous support of the powers-that-be at the expense of the oppressed masses of humanity: it merely tried to gloss over these grave failings and to "explain them away" by means of hollow assertions. No wonder, therefore, that, as the decades and the centuries advanced, the hold of religious thought grew weaker and weaker in Europe, until in the 18th century the predominance of the Church was definitely swept overboard by the French Revolution and its cultural consequences in other countries."

"At that time again it appeared as if a new spiritual civilization, freed from the tyrannical gloom of the scholastic theology of the Middle Ages, had a chance of growth in Europe. In fact, at the end of the 18th and the early 19th century we encounter some of the best and spiritually most powerful European personalities in the domain of philosophy, art, literature and science. But this spiritual, religious conception of life was and remained restricted to a few individuals. The great European masses, after having been for so long a time imprisoned in religious dogmas which had no connection with the natural endeavors of man, could not, and would not, once those chains were broken, find their way back to a religious orientation."

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Humans have basic needs

Humans have basic needs

Physical or natural needs
1. Need for food
2. Need for shelter
3. Need for rest
4. Need for safety
5. Need for procreation



All of the above are physical needs which man's nature requires of him, and without which he will be unsatisfied and restless. Along with man's physical needs, he has other needs.

"Other" needs

We may call them psychological, emotional, spiritual, or inner needs. Our concern right now is not to assign a name to these often unspoken needs, but only to recognize that man has more than just the need for physical satisfaction.

Jeffrey Lang (from his book, "Struggling to Surrender: Some Impressions of an American Convert to Islam", written in 1994) offers a very personal reflection on this matter:
"…the life-long tension –more unconscious than conscious-between the desire to return to the comfort of the womb and breast and the need to strike out independently on one's own is a primal catalyst for the development of the self. These two unavoidable upheavals in our lives originate through an irrepressible will to love. Similarly, our earthly separation from God and the inner conflict that creates between our spiritual, often unconscious, desire to return to Him and our innate drive for personal autonomy, fires our total spiritual and personality development. It is in this way that the sacred love of mother and child is a sign of the supreme mercy that brought us into the world."

Suzanne Haneef (in her book "What Everyone Should Know About Islam and Muslims," 1985) states her belief on this subject:
"…for human beings, due to their very nature; need, want and in fact do submit to something. The only relevant question then is, To whom or to what? To be a Muslim is to answer this most fundamental of all questions….by submitting one's life to God…alone, following the guidance of Islam, which consists, in essence, of the instructions of the Lord of the universe to His creatures….both past and present, concerning how to submit to Him."

A verse from the Qur'an actually offers an intriguing explanation as to why the true nature of all men, women, and children is to worship God.


Qur'an 7:172 ("The Heights")
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
And (remember) when your Lord brought forth from the children of Adam, from their loins, their seed (or from Adam's loin his offspring) and made them testify as to themselves (saying): "Am I not your Lord?" They said; "Yes! We testify," lest you should say on the Day of Resurrection: "Verily, we have been unaware of this."

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Revelation In Islam

Presentation by
Mark Hamza Dougherty
Blacksburg, VA - Dzul-Qa'idah 1420 A.H. - February 2000 C.E.

In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most javascript:void(0)Merciful. - Peace be upon him who is rightly guided.

Dr. Maneh Al-Johani (from his article, "The Truth about Jesus", available on the internet) states quite clearly:
"Islam considers itself the final link in the long chain of revelation. It promises the followers of previous faiths great rewards if they add belief in Islam to their belief in their previous faith."

According to the Hadith from the collection, Sahih Al-Bukhari, Vol. 7, Hadith No. 20, The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said, "And if any man of the people of the scriptures (Jews and Christians) believes in his own Prophet and then believes in me, too, he will (also) get a double reward."

Christians will likely recognize the similarity of the following hadith to their own scripture, but with perhaps a more "completed" meaning to the parable.

According to Sahih Al-Bukhari, Vol.3, Hadith No.471, narrated Abu Musa, r.a.: The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "The example of Muslims, Jews and Christians is like the example of a man who employed laborers to work for him from morning till night for specific wages. They worked till mid-day and then said, 'We do not need your money which you have fixed for us and let whatever we have done be annulled.' The man said to them, 'Don't quit the work, but complete the rest of it and take your full wages.' But they refused and went away. The man employed another batch after them and said to them, 'Complete the rest of the day and yours will be the wages I had fixed for the first batch.' So, they worked till the time of Asr (afternoon) prayer. They said, 'Let what we have done be annulled and keep the wages you have promised us to yourself.' The man said to them, 'Complete the rest of the work, as only a little of the day remains,' but they refused. Thereafter, he employed another batch to work for the rest of the day and they worked for the rest of the day till sunset, and they received the wages of the two former batches. So, that was the example of these people (Muslims) and the example of this light [Islamic Monotheism, the Qur'an, the Sunna (legal ways of the Prophet (pbuh)) and the guidance which Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) brought] which they have accepted willingly."

The topic I have been given is "Revelation in Islam," but before we can discuss this topic, we should try our best to place the subject in its rightful context. That is..

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SOURCES CITED

SOURCES CITED


The Five Gospels: The Search for the Authentic Words of Jesus, New Translation and Commentary. Robert W. Funk; Roy W. Hoover and The Jesus Seminar. Polebridge Press. 1993. 553 pages.

Forty Hadith Qudsi. An-Nawawi. The Holy Koran Publishing House, Beirut, Lebanon. Selected and translated by Ezzedin Ibrahim and Denys Johnson-Davies. 1980. 151 pages.

Interpretation of the Meanings of The Noble Qur'an in the English Language. Muhammad Taqi-ud Din Al-Hilali and Muhammad Muhsin Khan. A summarized version of At-Tabari, Al-Qurtubi, and Ibn Kathir with comments from Sahih Al-Bukhari. Maktaba Dar-Us-Salam, Saudi Arabia. 1993. 955 pages.

Islam at the Crossroads. Muhammad Asad. Arafat Publications. 1975 reprint. 160 pages.

Jefferson's Extracts from the Gospels "The Philosophy of Jesus" and "The Life and Morals of Jesus." Adams, Dickenson W. (Ed.). Princeton University Press. Princeton, NJ. 1983. 438 pages.

The Meaning of the Holy Qur'an. Abdullah Yusuf Ali. Amana Corporaton, Maryland. 1989. 1758 pages.

Mere Christianity. C.S. Lewis. A revised and enlarged edition, with a new introduction, of the three books, The case for Christianity, Christian Behavior, and Beyond Personality. Phoenix Press, N.Y. 1987. 349 pages.

The Myth of God Incarnate. Written by seven theological scholars in England. Edited by John Hick. Westminster Press, Philadelphia. 1977. 211 pages.

The Reliance of the Traveller – A Classic Manual of Islamic Sacred Law. Ahmad ibn Naqib al-Misri. In Arabic with facing English text, commentary and appendices edited and translated by Noah Ha Mim Keller. Sunna Books. 1991.

The Translation of the Meanings of Summarized Sahih Al-Bukhari. Al-Imam Zain-ud-Din Ahmad bin Abdul-Lateef Az-Zubaidi. Translated by Dr Muhammad Muhsin Khan. Maktaba Dar-us-Salam. 1994.

"The Truth About Jesus." Maneh Al-Johani. From the Sunnah Islamic page at website http://www.al-sunnah.com/truth_aboutjesus.htm (current as of February 2000)

What Everyone Should Know About Islam and Muslims. Suzanne Haneef. Library of Islam, Des Plaines, Illinois. 1985. 202 pages.

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Conclusion: "Come to a word that is just between us"

Conclusion: "Come to a word that is just between us"

In closing, I would like to offer a verse from the Qur'an that speaks to the people of the Scripture (the Jews and Christians). The verse is from the 3rd chapter of the Qur'an, Al-Imran ("The Family of Imran"), the 64th verse:


In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Say (O Muhammad, pbuh): "O people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians): Come to a word that is just between us and you, that we worship none but God, and that we associate no partners with Him, and that none of us shall take others as lords besides Allah. Then, if they turn away, say; "Bear witness that we are Muslims."

Afterword: I ask Allah to forgive any mistakes in this writing, which are my own; and I thank Allah for any good in this writing, which is from Him Alone, and from His Wisdom and Mercy, with which He guides men.

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Salvation in Islam

Salvation in Islam


Islam teaches that all persons are born sinless. According to Islam, we are only responsible for the sins we commit intentionally. Recognizing our human nature, God the Most Merciful, is the One who accepts sincere repentance and forgives sins.
Forgiveness hadiths

My mercy prevails over my wrath, (Hadith Qudsi #1)

On the authority of Abu Huraira (may God be please with him), who said that the Messenger of God (may the blessings and peace of God be upon him) said: "When God decreed the Creation He pledged Himself by writing in His book which is laid down with Him: My Mercy prevails over My Wrath."
It was related by Muslim (also by al-Bukhari, an-Nasa'i and ibn Majah)

O son of Adam, (Hadith Qudsi #34)

On the authority of Anas (may God be pleased with him), who said: I heard the Messenger of God (pbuh) say: God the Almighty said: "O son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and ask of Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not mind. O son of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky and were you then to ask forgiveness of Me, I would forgive you. O son of Adam, were you to come to Me with sins nearly as great as the earth and were you then to face Me, ascribing no partner to Me, I would bring you forgiveness nearly as great as it (i.e. as the earth, meaning that God will forgive in like measure to man's sins)."
It was related by at-Tirmidhi (also by Ahmad ibn Hanbal). Its chain of authorities is sound.


To enhance and maintain the relationship between God and the humans, Islam prescribes various forms of worship for us to perform. Worship in Islam serves the needs of humans both spiritually and physically in a balanced yet integrated manner. And yet….


Muslims are not saved by good deeds

Sahih Al-Bukhari, Vol. 8, Hadith No. 470:
Narrated Abu Huraira r.a.: God's Messenger (pbuh) said, "The deeds of anyone of you will not save you [from the (Hell) Fire]." They said, "Even you (will not be saved by your deeds), O God's Messenger?" He said, "No, even I (will not be saved) unless and until God bestow His Mercy on me. Therefore, do good deeds properly, sincerely and moderately, and worship God in the forenoon and in the afternoon and during a part of the night, and always adopt a middle, moderate, regular course whereby you will reach your target (Paradise)."


Salvation hadith

Sahih Al-Bukhari, Vol. 4, Hadith No. 644:
Narrated Ubada r.a.: The Prophet (pbuh) said, "If anyone testifies that La ilaha ill Allah (none has the right to be worshipped but God Alone) Who has no partners, and that Muhammad (pbuh) is His slave and His Messenger, and that Jesus (pbuh) is God's slave and His Messenger and His Word ("Be!" – and he was) which He bestowed on Mary and a spirit (Ruh) created by Him, and that Paradise is the truth, and Hell is the truth, God will admit him into Paradise with the deeds which he had done even if those deeds were few." (Junada, the sub-narrator said, "Ubada added, 'Such a person can enter Paradise through any of its eight gates he likes.' ")


Therefore, from the above hadith, we conclude that it is the correct belief that can save a person. Not just words, but correct belief. And God knows best.

Forgiveness in the Qur'an
"Do not ascribe purity to yourselves"

Qur'an 53:32 ("The Star"):
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Those who avoid great sins and illegal sexual intercourse except the small faults, - verily, your Lord is of vast forgiveness. He knows you well when He created you from the earth (Adam), and when you were fetuses in your mother's wombs. So ascribe not purity to yourselves. He knows best him who fears God and keeps his duty to Him.

"If Allah were to punish mankind for his sins, there would not be a living creature left on the face of the earth"

Qur'an 35:45 ("The Originator of Creation"):
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
And if Allah were to punish men for that which they earned, He would not leave a moving (living) creature on the surface of the earth, but He gives them respite to an appointed term, and when their term comes, then verily, Allah is Ever All-Seer of His slaves.

Qur'an 16:61 ("The Bee"):
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
And if Allah were to seize mankind for their wrong-doing, He would not leave on it (the earth) a single moving (living) creature, but He postpones them for an appointed term and when their term comes, neither can they delay it nor can they advance it an hour (or a moment).

"Do not give up of the Mercy of your Lord"

Qur'an 39:53 ("The Groups"):
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Say: "O 'Ibadi" (My slaves) who have transgressed against themselves (by committing evil deeds and sins)! Despair not the Mercy of Allah, verily Allah forgives all sins. Truly, He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

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The Death and Ascension of Jesus (pbuh) in Islam

The Death and Ascension of Jesus (pbuh) in Islam

Dr. Al-Johani (from his article, "The Truth About Jesus (pbuh)") writes:
"It is a sad fact of history that not many follow "the straight path"….. called by Jesus (pbuh). He was followed by a few disciples who were inspired by God to support him. Not only that, but the non-believers plotted (as they did to Muhammad six centuries later) to kill Jesus (pbuh), but God had a better plan for him and his followers."

Suzanne Haneef, in her book "What Everyone Should Know About Islam and Muslims" states:
"Finally, when he (Jesus) was in danger of being killed by his own people, God raised him up to himself without his experiencing death. As the Qur'an tells us in the English meaning of the following verses:"


Qur'an 4:155-158 ("The Women"):
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
155. (They have incurred divine
Displeasure): in that they
Broke their Covenant;
That they rejected the Signs
Of God; that they slew
The Messengers in defiance
Of right; that they said,
"Our hearts are wrappings
(Which preserve God's Word;
We need no more)" – nay,
God hath set the seal on their hearts
For their blasphemy,
And little is it they believe-

156. That they (Jews) rejected Faith;
That they uttered against Mary
A grave false charge (that she was unchaste);

157. That they said (in boast),
"We killed Christ Jesus
The son of Mary,
The Messenger of God" –
But they killed him not,
Nor crucified him,
But so it was made
To appear to them,
And those who differ
Therein are full of doubts,
With no (certain) knowledge,
But only conjecture to follow,
For of a surety
They killed him not-

158. Nay, God raised him up
Unto Himself; and God
Is Exalted in Power, Wise –


The momentous impact of the words, specifically verse 157, are perhaps difficult for a non-Christian to appreciate.

Footnotes by the translator, Abdullah Yusuf Ali, on the above verses 4:157-158.

"The end of the life of Jesus (pbuh) on earth is as much involved in mystery as his birth, and indeed the greater part of his private life, except the three main years of his ministry. It is not profitable to discuss the many doubts and conjectures among the early Christian sects and among Muslim theologians. The Orthodox Christian Churches make it a cardinal point of their doctrine that his life was taken at the Cross, that he died and was buried, that on the third day he rose in the body with his wounds intact, and walked about and conversed, and ate with his disciples, and was afterwards taken up bodily to heaven. This is necessary for the theological doctrine of blood sacrifice and vicarious atonement of sins, which is rejected by Islam. But some of the early Christian sects did not believe Jesus (pbuh) was killed on the Cross. The Basilidans believed that someone else was substituted for him. The Docetae held that Christ never had a real physical or natural body, but only an apparent or phantom body, and that his Crucifixion was only apparent, not real. The Marcionite Gospel (about A.C. 138) denied that Jesus (pbuh) was born, and merely said he appeared in human form. The Gospel of St. Barnabas supported the theory of substitution at the Cross. The Qur'anic teaching is that Christ was not crucified nor killed by the Jews, notwithstanding certain apparent circumstances which produced the illusion in the minds of his enemies; that disputations, doubts, and conjectures on such matters are vain; and that he was taken up to God."

Yusuf Ali continues in the following footnote:
"There is difference of opinion as to the exact interpretation of this verse (4:158). The words are: 'The Jews did not kill Jesus (pbuh), but God raised him up (rafa'a) to Himself. One school holds that Jesus (pbuh) did not die the usual human death, but still lives in the body in heaven, which is the generally accepted Muslim view. Another holds that he did die but not when he was supposed to be crucified, and that his being "raised up" unto God means that instead of being disgraced as a malefactor, as the Jews intended, he was on contrary honored by God as His Messenger. The same [Arabic] word rafa'a is used in association with honor in [another verse of the Qur'an] 94:4."

There are two difficulties encountered when common Muslims or non-Muslims try, by themselves, to interpret all that is contained in these verses; one is in the flawed use of a translation, which can never hope to duplicate exactly the original Arabic, and the other is the sense (which Yusuf Ali implies in his first comments) that the verses in question, so momentous to those holding the Christian faith, are devoid of exacting detail for a reason known only to the author of these words. In fact, there is from the Qur'an itself an admonition to those who dig too deeply into things which we are not given to know.


Qur'anic verse "some verses in Qur'an are clear, and some are not clear"
Qur'an 3:7 ("The Family of Imran"):
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
"It is He Who has sent down to you (Muhammad, pbuh) the Book (this Qur'an). In it are Verses that are entirely clear, they are the foundations of the Book; and others not entirely clear. So as for those in whose hearts there is a deviation (from the truth) they follow that which is not entirely clear thereof, seeking Al-Fitnah (trials), and seeking for its hidden meanings, but none knows its hidden meanings save God. And those who are firmly grounded in knowledge say: "We believe in it; the whole of it (clear and unclear Verses) are from our Lord." And none will receive admonition except men of understanding."


Concerning this point, Dr. Al-Johani writes:
"Who was the person crucified instead of Jesus (pbuh)? The Qur'an does not elaborate on this point nor does it give any answer to this question. The interpreters of the Qur'an have suggested a few names. But all these are individual guesses not supported by the Qur'an or the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)."

"To sum up," in the words of Dr. Al-Johani, "Islam considers Jesus (pbuh) as one of God's great prophets. His mission was to preach the Oneness of God and to lead man to his Lord. [According to the Qur'an] he never claimed to be other than a servant and a Messenger of God…. The Muslims do believe in and are awaiting the Second Coming of Jesus (pbuh). Muslims believe he will come back not as God ..., but as Jesus (pbuh), God's servant. His coming will, according to Muslim belief, correct the misconception which people have developed about his personality and his mission."


Qur'an 3:55 ("The Family of Imran"):
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
And (remember) when God said: "O Jesus! I will take you and raise you to Myself and clear you of those who disbelieve, and I will make those who follow you ( who worship none but God) superior to those who disbelieve (in the Oneness of God, or disbelieve in some of His Messengers, or in His Holy Books) till the Day of Resurrection. Then you will return to Me and I will judge between you in the matters in which you used to dispute."


As this ends our presentation regarding the life and mission, death, and ascension of Jesus, son of Mary, Christians may ask the question, "Then how are Muslims saved?"

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The Mission of Jesus (pbuh) in Islam

The Mission of Jesus (pbuh) in Islam

Suzanne Haneef ("What Everyone Should Know About Islam and Muslims," 1985) offers an introduction to the Muslim concept of the life and mission of Jesus (pbuh):
"In Islam, Isa Maseeh – Jesus the Messiah, God's peace and blessings be on him – is one of the greatest of the prophets whom Muslims hold in very deep love and respect. The Qur'an confirms that Jesus (pbuh) was born of a virgin mother (Maryam) through the same Power which brought Adam into being without a father, and that by God's permission during his prophethood he wrought many compelling miracles among his people. He was given the power to speak coherently in infancy, to heal the sick, to raise the dead, and to reach the hearts of men by the words which God revealed to him."


Qur'an 3:48-51 ("Family of Imran"):
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
And He (God) will teach him (Jesus (pbuh)) the Book and Al-Hikmah (i.e. the Sunna, the faultless speech of the Prophets, wisdom etc.), (and) the Torah and the Evangel.

And will make him a Messenger to the Children of Israel (saying): "I have come to you with a sign from your Lord, that I design for you out of clay, as it were, the figure of a bird, and breathe into it, and it becomes a bird by God's permission; and I heal him who was born blind, and the leper, and I bring the dead to life by God's permission. And I inform you of what you eat, and what you store in your houses. Surely, therein is a sign for you, if you believe.

And I have come confirming that which was before me of the Torah, and to make lawful to you part of what was forbidden to you, and I have come to you with a proof from your Lord. So fear God and obey me.

Truly! God is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him (Alone). This is the Straight Path.

Worship the One True God

Qur'an 43:63-65 ("The Gold Adornments"):
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
And when Jesus (pbuh) came with (Our) clear Proofs, he said: "I have come to you with Al-Hikmah (Prophethood), and in order to make clear to you some of the (points) in which you differ, therefore fear God and obey me, "Verily, God! He is my Lord (God) and your Lord (God). So worship Him (Alone). This is the (only) Straight Path ". But the sects from among themselves differed. So woe to those who do wrong (by ascribing things to Jesus (pbuh) that are not true) from the torment of a painful Day (i.e. the Day of Resurrection)!


Dr. Al-Johani, in his article, "The Truth About Jesus (pbuh)" states:
"Jesus (pbuh) was a link in a long chain of prophets and messengers sent by God to various societies and nations whenever they needed guidance or deviated from the teachings of God. Jesus (pbuh) was especially prepared by God to be sent to the Jews who had deviated from the teachings of Moses and other Messengers. As he was miraculously supported by God in conception, birth and childhood, he was also supported by numerous miracles to prove that he was a messenger from God. However, the majority of the Jews rejected his ministry. The Qur'an tells us more about Jesus' (pbuh) mission in the following "

Qur'an 5:116-118 ("The Table Spread"):
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
And (remember) when God will say (on the Day of Resurrection): "O Jesus (pbuh), son of Mary! Did you say unto men: "Worship me and my mother as two gods besides God?" He will say: "Glory be to You! It was not for me to say what I had no right (to say). Had I said such a thing, You would surely have known it. You know what is in my inner-self though I do not know what is in Yours, truly, You, only You, are the All-Knower of all that is hidden and unseen.


The verses continue….

"Never did I say to them aught except what You (God) did command me to say: 'Worship God, my Lord and your Lord', And I was a witness over them while I dwelt amongst them, but when You took me up, You were the Watcher over them, and You are a Witness to all things.

"If You punish them, they are Your slaves, and if You forgive them, Verily You, only You are the All-Mighty, the All-Wise".

Confirm Torah & give glad tidings of a Messenger to come after him
Dr. Al-Johani states that "In another verse of the Qur'an, Jesus (pbuh) confirmed the validity of the Torah which was revealed to Moses and he also brought the glad tidings of the coming of a final messenger after him. This is clearly indicated in the following verse:


Qur'an 61:6 ("The Ranks"):
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
And (remember) when Jesus, son of Mary, said: "O Children of Israel! I am the Messenger of God unto you confirming the Torah (which came) before me, and giving glad tidings of a Messenger to come after me, whose name shall be Ahmed. But when he (Ahmed, i.e. Muhammad, pbuh) came to them with clear proofs, they said: "This is plain magic."

Ahmed, we find in the meaning of the word, is another of the names of Muhammad (pbuh), which means "one who is praised".
Closeness of Muhammad to Jesus (peace be upon them both)

According to a hadith from the collection of Sahih Al-Bukhari, Vol. 4, Hadith No. 651: Narrated Abu Huraira, r.a.: I heard Allah's Messenger (pbuh) saying, "I am the nearest of all people to the son of Mary, and all the Prophets are paternal brothers, and there has been no Prophet between me and him (i.e. Jesus (pbuh)."

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Jesus (peace be upon him): A Prophet In Islam

Jesus (peace be upon him): A Prophet In Islam
Presentation by
Mark Hamza Dougherty
Blacksburg, VA - Dzul-Qa'idah 1420 A.H. - February 2000 C.E.


In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful - Peace be upon him who is rightly guided.

I have been given a topic of some importance to both Christians and Muslims, namely, the teachings of Islam regarding the life, mission, and death of Jesus (peace be upon him). Before entering the topic, I would like to address the doctrines of Christianity against the backdrop of modern Western thought. My perspective is one who was brought up as a Christian in the US. I am not a scholar of either Islam or Christianity. In fact, my only qualification for standing in front of you is that I was once a Christian and now I am a Muslim. I would like to share selected passages from another Westerner, the former Leopold Weiss, statesman, journalist, and author, an Austrian Jew who converted to Islam. He wrote a book called "Islam at the Crossroads" under his adopted Muslim name, Muhammad Asad. Although the book was originally written in 1934, Mr. Asad's comments regarding the historical background of Christian thought within the Western framework are insightful.

Muhammad Asad (from "Islam at the Crossroads"):
"Perhaps the most important intellectual factor which prevented Europe's religious regeneration was the current conception of Jesus Christ as the Son of God. Philosophically-minded Christians, of course, never took this idea of sonship in its literal sense; they understood by it a manifestation of God's Mercy in human form. For the overwhelming majority of Christians [however] the expression "son" had and has a very direct meaning, although there was always a mystical flavor attached to it. …This belief naturally led to an anthropomorphisation of God Himself who assumed the shape of a benignant old man with a white flowing beard…this shape, perpetrated by innumerable paintings….remained impressed upon European's subconscious mind. …With the intellectual shackles of the Middle Ages….broken, the thinking among the Europeans could not reconcile themselves to a humanized God/Father.….After a period of enlightenment [at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th century], European thinkers instinctively shrunk back from the conception of God as presented in the teachings of the Church; and as this was the only conception to which they had been accustomed, they began to reject the very idea of God, and with it, religion."

I would now like to move from Europe to America. Thomas Jefferson, the great proponent of religious freedom, was a child of this period (late 18th and early 19th century), having ties to enlightened European thinking through France. According to the 1983 book, "Jefferson's Extracts from the Gospels," which is the second in a published series called "The Papers of Thomas Jefferson," Jefferson reached a religious crisis at some point during the 1760's, and came to denounce the Anglican doctrine of his heritage. His personal views on religion were kept strictly private, except for members of his immediate family and close correspondents, for the most part, until after his death in 1826. According to the book's 39-page introduction, written by Eugene Sheridan, foremost among Jefferson's reasons for denouncing the Christian doctrine of his upbringing was the concept of the Trinity, which he found non-compatible with reason. A letter written by Jefferson in 1788 recounts his inability "from a very early part of my life" to accept the Christian doctrine of the Trinity owing to the "difficulty of reconciling the ideas of Unity and Trinity."

Based on Jefferson's correspondence and personal compilation of the four Gospels in an attempt to demythologize the man, Jesus, the following outline is offered by the authors about his religious beliefs. (And of course only God knows what is in men's hearts). Thomas Jefferson was, according to his writings, an unwavering monotheist, who believed that God created the universe and all that is in it, sustaining it with mathematically precise natural laws. He also believed that God benefited man with an innate moral sense, as well as the intellectual capacity to rationally explain and deduce all that he needed for successful life on earth and hopefully in the next life. Jefferson did not accept the divinity of Jesus (pbuh), nor did he accept the belief that revelation from God to man is a part of God's plan. Rather, he believed that God revealed Himself through the natural and majestic wonders of the universe. He accepted Jesus (pbuh) as the greatest of moral reformers, and devoted a great deal of time to critical examination of the four Gospels. At the end of his life, in retirement, after two terms as President of the United States, he produced a critical analysis of the Gospels by cutting and pasting together, in Greek, Latin, French, and English, a concise compilation called the "Life and Morals of Jesus." A copy of Jefferson's little book is presently housed in the Smithsonian Institute.

The reason I am relating this information about Thomas Jefferson is not to expose his religious views. God Alone knows what resides in any man or woman's heart. I am relating this information, ostensibly from verified sources of Jefferson's own writing, because it provides to me an example of a man who had the courage to disavow himself of doctrines that he found incompatible with the reason he believed his Creator had endowed him with. He rejected the religious doctrines of his upbringing, yet at the same time rejected the so-called enlightened rationalist's outright denial of God. I personally see Thomas Jefferson as a man who struck his own path, trying to seek the truth somewhere between two extremes. In the end, according to the authors of the book "Jefferson's Extracts from the Gospels," Jefferson probably best described his own faith when he observed, somewhat somberly in my opinion, "I am a sect by myself, as far as I know."

Although I see Jefferson as a man of strong faith and principle, it appears to me from what I have read that he didn't hold a belief in Jesus (pbuh) that was wholly satisfying. What do I mean by this? In Jefferson's day, I believe, much as in our day, two choices were offered to many people concerning Jesus (pbuh);


1. he was who he said he was, (according to the words attached to him in the Bible) God, and son of God, human, yet divine, sent to save the world from sin, or
2. he was, (God forbid), a madman or worse, a liar.



Thomas Jefferson refused both choices. In the end, he concluded that Jesus (pbuh) as a young person was the greatest moral teacher in history, a man who believed he was divinely inspired by God, but who never himself claimed to be God. Because of Jefferson's twin beliefs that Jesus was merely a man, and that God does not speak to man through inspiration, Jefferson felt obliged to excuse Jesus' claim to divine inspiration as the inevitable result of his having been brought up among superstitious people who regarded "fumes of the most disordered imaginations…as special communications of the deity." May God protect all of us from this type of error. I only relate this story as an example of how one man, and only God knows, appears to have reconciled himself to one of the most passionately debated personalities in the history of religion, the one we are discussing tonight, Jesus, the son of Mary, peace be upon him.



I was presented with the two above choices concerning Jesus (pbuh) some 20 ago when I read the book "Mere Christianity," by C.S. Lewis. My response, unlike Thomas Jefferson, was to accept the whole of the Christian doctrine (choice number 1). How could I do otherwise given the alternative that Jesus was, (God forbid), a madman, or worse, a liar? The point I would like to make is that many people it seems simply aren't presented with any other choice but these two rather stark "all-or-nothing" alternatives regarding the person of Jesus (pbuh). We who have taken part in discussing these issues have tried to present a third choice regarding the life and mission of Jesus (pbuh). This is the Islamic alternative. As the Qur'an tells us in the 75th verse of Surah Al-Maidah ("The Table Spread"):


In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
"The Messiah (Jesus), son of Mary, was no more than a Messenger; many were the Messengers that passed away before him. His mother (Mary) was a believer. They both used to eat food (as any other human being). Look, how We make the Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, etc.) clear to them, yet look how they are deluded away (from the truth)."

In one sense, this verse from the Qur'an is really all that need to be said concerning the Islamic belief regarding the person of Jesus (pbuh).

Dr. Maneh Al-Johani (from his article "The Truth About Jesus (pbuh)"), which is available on the internet, states: "The controversy about the personality of Jesus Christ is the major difference between Islam and Christianity. This difference keeps the followers of the two religions apart. Muslims look at Jesus Christ as a great Prophet of God and love and respect him as much as they love and respect Abraham, Moses and Muhammad (peace be upon them all). Christians on the other hand consider Jesus (pbuh) as God or son of God, a concept that Muslims cannot accept. Islam teaches that Jesus (pbuh) never made such a claim for himself. As a matter of fact all the cardinal doctrines of Christianity that are rejected by Islam center around the personality of Jesus (pbuh). Specifically these are:


1. The Trinity
2. The Divinity of Jesus
3. The Divine Sonship of Christ
4. Original Sin, and
5. Atonement

Dr. Al-Johani continues, "Unfortunately, the differences focusing on the personality of Jesus (pbuh) have overshadowed the many similarities between Christianity and Islam. Some examples are the emphasis on the moral system and on human principles [shared by both Islam and Christianity], Muslim beliefs affirming the Virgin Birth of Jesus (pbuh), being able to speak in the cradle, performing miracles, and [his] second coming."



"The Islamic view of Jesus (pbuh) lies between two extremes. The Jews, who rejected Jesus (pbuh) as a Prophet of God, called him an impostor. The Christians on the other hand, consider him to be the son of God and worship him as such. Islam [as we have stated] considers Jesus (pbuh) as one of the great Prophets of God ..."

"Although the Qur'an does not present a detailed life-account of Jesus (pbuh), it highlights the important aspects of his birth, his mission, his ascension to heaven and passes judgements on the Christian beliefs concerning him."

"The Unitarian concept and the humanness of Jesus (pbuh) is not only held by Muslims but also by Jews and by some early groups of Christianity such as the Ebonite's, the Corinthians, the Basilidians, the Capocratians and the Hypisistarians to name several early sects. The Aryans, Paulicians and Goths also accepted Jesus (pbuh) as a prophet of God. Even in the modern age there are churches in Asia, in Africa, the Unitarian church, and others who do not worship Jesus (pbuh) as God."

In present Christianity, Dr. Al-Johani continues, "the personality of Jesus (pbuh) … is completely misunderstood. Jesus' (pbuh) nature, mission and claimed death and resurrection, have all been challenged by studies in the field. One of those is a book entitled "The Myth of God Incarnate," which appeared in 1977 (edited by John Hick) and written by seven theological scholars in England. Their conclusion is that Jesus (pbuh) was "a man approved by God, for a special role within the divine purpose, and … the later conception of him as God incarnate … is a mythological or poetic way of expressing his significance for us."

Continuing to read from Al-Johani's article, "The best George Carey could say in his attempt to refute the findings of those theologians is that unless one takes Jesus (pbuh) as God Incarnate one won't be able to understand Jesus' (pbuh) mission or explain its impact on people. This definitely is a very weak argument because all great prophets such as Abraham, Moses, and Muhammad have had a tremendous impact on people and none of them claimed that he was God or a son of God."

Dr. Al-Johani cites a January 5, 1978 article in the Washington Post, reporting that Dr. Robert Alley lost his post as the chairman of the Department of Religion at University of Richmond because of his view that Jesus (pbuh) never claimed to be the son of God. Reportedly, Dr. Alley's conclusions were that: "The (Bible) passages where Jesus (pbuh) talks about the son of God are later additions.... what the church said about him. Such a claim of deity for himself would not have been consistent with his entire lifestyle as we can reconstruct. For the first three decades after Jesus' (pbuh) death Christianity continued as a sect within Judaism. The first three decades of its existence of the church were within the synagogue. That would have been beyond belief if they (the followers) had boldly proclaimed the deity of Jesus (pbuh)."

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WOMEN IN ISLAM

WOMEN IN ISLAM

Aicha Elshabini-Riad



Women in Islam is a multidimensional and a complex topic. The
teachings of Islam are based essentially on the Qur'an (God's
revelation) and Hadeeth ( elaboration by Prophet Mohammad, peace
be upon him ). The Qur'an and the Hadeeth, when properly and
unbiasedly understood, provide the basic source for any position
or view which is attributed to Islam.

I am not an expert or a religious scholar. I am speaking from
my personal convictions and experience as a mother, a wife, and
an educator.

It is rare in the west that someone should ask the Muslim woman
about her opinion, experiences and feelings as she fulfills her
role in life. We as human beings unfortunately tend to
misjudge, that which does not meet our standards or that which
we do nor understand, yet do we ever stop to think how
superficial that may be? Do we ever think to look deeper and
learn, and then judge? To the common lay person an uncut diamond
may look like a stone, but to a jeweler it is a treasure beyond
comparison. Such is Islam to a Muslim and all who care to
learn. To set the stage for the subject of Islam and Women, we
have to understand two basic Islamic concepts. These two
concepts are:

* Islam is not a common religion in the popular understanding
of most people, rather Islam is a way of life to be practiced
constantly and be reflected in all of our actions. The basis of
these actions is the strong belief in God's commands in total
obedience to his role. What our Creator commands is not for us,
as his creations, to question. If one thinks of these commands,
one does not find them insulting to his or her intelligence but
rather they serve to enrich and improve humanity's well being.
In this context, a Muslim man or woman understands their mutual
role in society.

* The status of woman in Islam is something unique, something
novel, something that has no similarity in any other system.

Islam acknowledges women as equal partners to men in fulfilling
God's purpose for our existence on this earth. Men and women
are to complement each other and not to compete with each other.
According to Islam, all and each one of us, men and women
should only have one reason for doing whatever we do, and that
reason is satisfied by God. In Islam, men and women are equal,
yet they are not identical. It therefore follows that the

rights and responsibilities of a woman are equal to those of a
man but they are not necessarily identical. Equality and
sameness are two quite different things. People are not created
identical but they are created equal.

Contrary to popular misconception, Islam has long recognized
that man and woman are equal, equal spiritually and mentally.
It is to Islam's credit that it does not commit hypocrisy and
claim them to be identical.

The fact that Islam gives the woman equal rights, but
recognizes her as an individual, shows that it takes her into
consideration, acknowledges her, and recognizes her independent
personality.

What Islam has established for woman is that which suits her
nature, gives her full security and protects her against
disgraceful circumstances and uncertain channels of life.

God says in His Holy Book Qur'an: "Every soul will be (held) in
pledge for its deeds" (Qur'an 74:38). The Qur'an also states
that: "... So their Lord accepted their prayers, (saying): I
will not suffer to be lost the work of any of you whether male
or female. You proceed one from another..." (Qur'an 3:195).

The woman is recognized by Islam as a full and equal partner of
man in the procreation of humankind. He is the father; she is
the mother and both are essential for life. Islam acknowledges
and emphasizes the importance of the woman's role in her family
and society as a mother. A mother whose function can not be
substituted by any others. The man's function as a father can
not be substituted by the woman. Both are there to complement
each other. Islam respects both functions and calls on both men
and women to fulfill their responsibilities in this regard.
Neither men nor women should degrade the other party's function
or look down to his or her own.

Among the greatest gifts God has blessed womankind with is the
motherhood. God says in His Holy Book, the Qur'an: "Oh Mankind!
Obey your Lord, who created you from a single person and creates
from like nature his mate, and from both derived countless men
and women. Obey God, whom you turn to and obey the wombs that
bore you, for God is ever-watching you."

In a single verse God establishes the status and high rank of
women as demonstrated by the most beautiful and incomparable
role of mother in Islam, the place of the woman in general and
mother in particular has no equal.

Like everything, Islam seeks to accomplish in our lives, it
harmonizes between the physical, the mental and the spiritual.
In other words, it treats the individual as a total being and
does not ignore part. That is why rather than push man or woman
to the denial of their nature, it instructs them to take
advantage, to nurture and develop what God has given to them.

God says in His Holy Book, the Qur'an: "Your Lord has decreed
that you worship none save Him, and that you be kind to your
parents..." (Qur'an 17:23). Moreover, the Qur'an has a special
recommendation for the good treatment of mothers: "And we have
enjoined upon man (to be good) to his parents: His mother bears
him in weakness upon weakness..." (Qur'an 31:14).

The Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) said: "Everyone of you
is shepherd and everyone of you shall be asked about those under
his (or her) guard. The king is a shepherd and shall be asked
about his subjects, the man is shepherd and shall be asked about
his family, and the woman is a shepherdess in the house of her
husband and shall be asked about those under care."

In fact, the role of mother is given a higher position in
importance, in responsibility and in respect, as illustrated in
the following story bout the Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon
him). A man came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and asked
him to advise him on whom should he takes into consideration.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) answered "your mother", the man
said "then", the Prophet (peace be upon him) said "your mother",
the man said "then", the Prophet (peace be upon him) said "your
mother", the man said "then", the Prophet (peace be upon him)
said "your father". and yet again the Prophet (peace be upon
him) said: "Paradise lies at the feet of mothers" which means
that the woman's role as a mother is a sacred one. Islam has
emphasized this fact in great fashion by instructing us to
respect and care for our mothers for more than what we do for
our fathers.

In the light of the important function that mother serves,
Islam has gone so far as to advice parents to pay extra
attention and devote time and efforts in the up bringing and
raising of their daughters. The Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon
him) said: "Whoever takes care of three daughters will enter
Paradise." So a man asked how about two daughters, the Prophet
(peace be upon him) said "he, too, will enter Paradise," so the
man asked how about one daughter and the Prophet (peace be upon
him) answered "he, too, will enter paradise."

The role of mother in Islam is no less in importance or social
impact than the role of man as protector and provider. Islam
has given the wife all what it takes to protect her rights and
to create the adequate environment for a healthy family life.
In an Islamic family, the man is responsible for supporting his
family's needs. If the wife has income, it is her privilege to
decide what to do with it independently. Family related
decisions are to be discussed jointly.

The role of mother in Islam is so majestic and noble that women
in general and mother in particular have been called the "School
of the Nation". From our mothers new generations have sprung
forth and from today's mothers, new generations will spring
forth again. A blessing and trust given to us to nurture,
protect, guide and educate. The first seeds of knowledge and
the first knowledge of God is planted and developed at home
under the guidance and loving care of the mother. It is a role
God has gifted her with the capabilities to accomplish, the
sense of giving and ability to inspire a sense of belonging.

The torn families of our days, and our social problems can be
all avoided if the motherhood is taken as a serious
responsibility and a respectable duty. Islam does not ask of
the women to stay at home, have children, and be limited to
raising them. Islam emphasizes the importance of this task to a
healthy family and a healthy society. If a woman is capable of
taking other tasks of life without abandoning such an important
and vital task, she is not only allowed to do so, but she is
requested to do just that. Every person, man or a woman, is
requested to do his utmost to be a positive productive useful
member of his or her own society. Talking about my personal
experience, God have blessed me with the ability to be a caring
mother of two young boys, a house wife with a content husband,
and a productive career as a university professor. I do all
that because God gave me the capability to do them all, not
because I am in competition with any body, and not to prove that
women can do it. I do it all in the way of God, and for his
sake. There is no feeling of being threatened or a need to
compete. Each man and woman recognizes their capabilities and
their limitations.

So much can be said about the rights of women in Islam. But to
be fair, we would not be talking about that if it were not for
the other societies which denied women of their fair share of
rights and equality. Islam gives women this fair share. It is
all logical and obvious, and can be summarized on one simple
statement. In the words of Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him)
"Women are men's mothers, sisters, and daughters".

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Nationalism vs. Brotherhood

Nationalism vs. Brotherhood!!! Which way are we headed???



Dear Reader: Before you read this article, I would like to ask
you a simple favor: Take a deep breath, close your eyes for a
moment, and think how fortunate you are. You can read!!! A
very simple thing that we living here in this country and other
industrialized nations of the world are taking for granted.



In fact, this is not the only aspect of fortune that most of us
enjoy, there are many more. We have plenty to eat and we do
not go to bed hungry at night, we have a roof over our heads,
and we have a fairly high standard of living compared to other
nations. Not to trivialize, but some of our daily decisions are
to pick what we eat, how we dress, and in sometimes the color of
car we drive. In the meantime, there are those "others" in a
far less fortunate situations who are dying of thirst and
hunger. I hate to tell you that they exist, and there are quite
a few of them, some even in this country. They do not have the
choice of what food to eat or going to bed at night with even
their basic needs provided for. The people in need have the
same desires as we do; to be able to provide for themselves and
their family.



There are two questions we need to ask ourselves. The first one
is: what responsibility do we bare in these cases not only in
this country but in other countries? The second is: If we do
have a responsibility, what role can we play to fulfill this
responsibility?



To address the first question, we must ask ourselves, what is
our relationship with each other. In principle, it is supposed
to be one of brotherhood. Thinking globally, we all belong to
the same race of human beings. We all descended from the same
origin and we have so much in common. We all share the same
earth in the short time between our birth and death. Yet, we
are all unique, not one of us is the same. This individualism
and diversity are what gives the human race its great strength.
In the mean time, this individualism and this diversity can also
be to the detriment not only to the people of one community
country but to the world at large. Individuals as well as
nations have to look past the differences in culture,
background, and heritage, to look past their backyards and
territories, to get to know their neighbors near and far.



Unfortunately, as individuals and as nations, our local
attitudes and our near-sided heritage decide how far we stretch
our hands. Our tribal and nationalistic ideology acts as a
barrier between us and those in need. Rather than thinking of
our neighbors as brothers in humanity, we think of them as
limitation and restriction to our freedom. Instead of sharing
with the needy we claim that we can't afford to contribute of
ourselves. A rich nation borders a poorer one, and a new born
on one side of the border has so many resources while his
counter on the other side is entitled to almost nothing.



Worst of all is that we are serious about this attitude. We
believe as individuals that we are entitled to all what we have.
Very little we can give away. As nations, it is even worst.
Each nation is so protective of its resources and the strong
overtakes the weak. Moreover, instead of uniting forces and
integrating resources, many countries are being divided into
hatred and wars and more suffering and starvation goes on.
Worst of all is that we defend such divisive and individualistic
attitude by giving it a name; we call it nationalism and we call
it patriotism.



We must all take the time to think about the life we live.
Although we can argue the point that we are where we are by
chance, it can be stated that most of those who are less
fortunate than we have no control of the situation they are in.
A child would not choose to live in a country in which there is
no food to eat. We must realize that although we have
constructed all of these man-made artificial barriers such as
race, heritage, national borders, etc. we are one. We all
inhabit the same world, humanity is one nation, if you will call
it that, on this earth. In order to make this world a better
place we must look at our fellow man as a brother, no matter
what their background or nationality. We are all responsible
for not only those less fortunate, but the welfare of all other
and the world we live in.



The second question, is more important, how will we exercise our
responsibility. Many times talk of needy and those less
fortunate elicits monetary contribution to provide for those in
need. In this regard, one may ask, are we doing enough. Have
we gone as far as the meaning of brotherhood implies? Or are we
thinking of those in need as true brothers? I am sure that we
all can do more. I am certain that if we take the meaning of
brotherhood seriously, there will never be a human in need on
this earth.



Although monetary contributions are worthwhile and do help in
providing services, food and shelter, this is not the only way
we can help. A man may be rich financially, but very poor,
whereas a man may be very rich but have no money. There are
many needs in this and other countries, not only financial, but
social and spiritual needs as well. The best place to start is
in your own backyard. Look around and see what the needs are of
those around you. You can provide help in a variety of ways,
from helping an adult read, spending time with children and
sharing your experiences with those who have no one to talk to,
spending time with the elderly in nursing homes, helping to
build needed housing, etc. Monetary contributions to various
causes can be very worthwhile, but you cannot put a price on
many simple experiences such as: the smile of a child who has
gone camping or seen a baseball game or a zoo for the first
time, the self esteem an adult has gained by learning to read
for the first time, the pride a family has in living in their
first house or apartment, or even the joy elders have in someone
sharing time with them. All of these are intangibles for which
all of the money in the world cannot buy.



We must remember that there are needy all over the world, in our
country and other countries. The future of our world, will be
in how we provide for the needs of all peoples. We are people
made up of many nations, races and background, but above all we
are a brotherhood of human beings on this earth.

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Mukadimah

"katakanlah : Dialah ALLAH, Yang Maha Esa ( Tunggal )". ALLAH adalah Tuhan yang bergantung kepada-Nya tiap - tiap segala sesuatu.
Dia tidak beranak dan tidak pula diperanakkan. dan tiada seorang juapun yang setara dengan Dia. Al - Ikhlas : 1 - 4

Maka saudara - saudariku, demikianlah segala daya dan upaya mereka untuk menyesatkanmu. tiada suatu carapun yang terlepas daripadanya,
permutadan melalui jin dan pemaksaan terhadap kaum muslimin tiadalah luput daripadanya. sekalipun engkau hendak berdamai dengan mereka, namun
sekali - kali tidak baginya sebelum kamu masuk pada agama mereka.

Firman ALLAH Subhana wa Ta'ala :
"Kami benarkan atas kamu akan kitab - kitab yang Kami turunkan sebelum kamu ( Zabur, Thaurat dan Injil )"

demikianlah, Al - Qur'an sendiri membenarkan kitab - kitab mereka oleh karena kesemua daripadanya datangnya adalah dari ALLAH Subhana wa Ta'ala jua.

dan Firman ALLAH Subhana wa Ta'ala yang lain :
"sesunguhnya diantara mereka (pendeta) yang beriman kepada Kami

( ALLAH dan para pesuruh-Nya (malaikat) ), ada yang menyendiri di gereja untuk beribadah kepada Kami
sedang Kami tiada memerintahkan yang sedemikian itu atas mereka. akan tetapi, sesungguhnya..tiadalah akan Kami sia - siakan segala upaya mereka itu".

artinya : bahwa sebelum  turunnya Nabi Muhammad Shallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam, para pendetya itu adalah orang - orang yang beriman kepada ALLAH dan ada yang menyendiri di gereja untuk beribadah kepada ALLAH Subhana wa Ta'ala walau tiada diperintahkan atas mereka. Inilah Qur'an, yang telah menyempurnakan kitab - kitab (Zabur, Thaurat dan Injil).
yang telah ALLAH turunkan sebelumnya.

Islam sedari diturunkan Al - Qur'an adalah menjadi rahmat bagi sekalian alam, tiada suatu perkara juapun yang terlepas daripadanya melainkan telah
termaktub apa - apa yang tiada engkau ketahui agar engkau ketahui didalamnya.Islam mengakui bahwasanya semua ajaran agama itu adalah baik perkaranya, akan tetapi suatu perkara yang terlebih fatal namun sedikit memikirkannya adalah perkara keTuhanannya. barangsiapa yang menyembah selain daripada ALLAH, layaknya manusia, hewan dan tumbuhan atau yang selain daripadanya. maka sesungguhnya tiadalah ia menyembah Tuhan melainkan adalah makhluk daripada Tuhan itu sendiri.
jika Tuhan berwujud lagi dapat dipandang oleh mata, niscaya Tuhan itu bukanlah Tuhan dengan sebenar - benar Tuhan, melainkan adalah makhluk semata jua, tidakkah kamu memeikirkan??

maka bagimu wahai orang - orang murtad dari islam, tiadalah daya dan upaya kami atas kamu melainkan kepada ALLAH tempat kami kembali. dan bagimu yang non muslim yang turut membaca artikel ini, ketahuilah..bahwa kami tiada pernah mengadakan permusuhan atas kamu atau seumpamanya. maka janganlah sekali-kali segolongan kamu mencoba untuk menyesatkan sebahagian golongan atas kami dengan jalan yang aniaya. dan lagi bagi kami ( muslim ) hanya berkata "laa kum dinukum waliadiin" (bagiku agamaku dan bagimu agamamu).

ALLAH Subhana wa Ta'ala berfirman didalam Qur'an :
"jika mereka berkehendak berdamai, maka berdamailah..agar kamu tiada aniaya antara segolongan kamu dengan yang lain."

sedang bagimu wahai saudara - saudariku sekalian yang seiman dalam islam, jagalah dirimu, anak-anakmu, karib kerabatmu dari upaya mereka itu. sebab ini bukanlah suatu hal yang kecil perkaranya, oleh karena sekali kamu sesat maka sesatlah kamu selamanya.
sedang sanksi daripada kesesatanmu itu tiada lain adalah neraka.

sekumpulan artiekl ini saya kutip dari ebook Forum swaramuslim.net

Dan belum kesemua dari artikel ini saya salin oleh karena waktu yang cukup terbatas. pada artikel aslinya lengkap dengan gambar - gambar artikelnya. akan tetapi, saya lebih mengutamakan artikel ini karena gambar - gambar artikelnya harus di upload dahulu dan tak bisa hanya di copas saja.
untuk itu bagi yang ingin mengkoleksi ebooknya silahkan kujnjungi ddan download di www.pakdenono.com atau http://ebook-harunyahya.blogspot.com, karena masih terbungkus dalam ebook, maka saya salin satu persatu agar dapat dikonsumsi masyarakat muslim diseluruh belahan bumi ini.

Semoga Bermanfaat Bagi Ummat Muslim diseluruh dunia..Amiin

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