In response to a debate between a muslim and a non-muslim over man being God's viceroy:
If I understand correctly, man is not God's viceroy, but rather Earth's viceroy. God does not need a representative on Earth, but we humans are evidently in charge of the Earth, harnessing its energy and resources, and shaping its environment. We have a certain degree of power over how we use it... responsibly or otherwise, and global warming is a witness to our collective irresponsibilty, as are the so many species of plants and animals becoming extinct.
Consider the following verses together:
Ch2:30 And when thy Lord said unto the angels: Lo! I am about to place a viceroy in the earth, they said: Wilt thou place therein one who will do harm therein and will shed blood, while we, we hymn Thy praise and sanctify Thee? He said: Surely I know that which ye know not.
Ch6:165 He it is Who hath placed you as viceroys of the earth and hath exalted some of you in rank above others, that He may try you by (the test of) that which He hath given you. Lo! Thy Lord is swift in prosecution, and Lo! He verily is Forgiving, Merciful.
Ch7:69 Marvel ye that there should come unto you a Reminder from your Lord by means of a man among you, that he may warn you? Remember how He made you viceroys after Noah's folk, and gave you growth of stature. Remember (all) the bounties of your Lord, that haply ye may be successful.
Ch7:74 And remember how He made you viceroys after A'ad and gave you station in the earth. Ye choose castles in the plains and hew the mountains into dwellings. So remember (all) the bounties of Allah and do not evil, making mischief in the earth.
Ch7:129 They said: We suffered hurt before thou camest unto us, and since thou hast come unto us. He said: It may be that your Lord is going to destroy your adversary and make you viceroys in the earth, that He may see how ye behave.
Ch10:14 Then We appointed you viceroys in the earth after them, that We might see how ye behave.
Ch10:73 But they denied him, so We saved him and those with him in the ship, and made them viceroys (in the earth), while We drowned those who denied Our revelations. See then the nature of the consequence for those who had been warned.
Ch27:62 Is not He (best) Who answereth the wronged one when he crieth unto Him and removeth the evil, and hath made you viceroys of the earth? Is there any Allah beside Allah? Little do they reflect!
Ch38:26 (And it was said unto him): O David! Lo! We have set thee as a viceroy in the earth; therefor judge aright between mankind, and follow not desire that it beguile thee from the way of Allah. Lo! those who wander from the way of Allah have an awful doom, forasmuch as they forgot the Day of Reckoning.
Ch43:60 And had We willed We could have set among you angels to be viceroys in the earth.
http://www.searchtruth.com/search.php?keyword=viceroy&chapter=&translator=4&search=1&start=0&records_display=10&search_word=all
Showing posts with label Holy Books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Holy Books. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Friday, May 14, 2010
Male bias in the Holy Scriptures
Excerpts from a discussion on male bias in the holy scriptures in response to the following comment by GS:
Usually I use male words to describe god when I'm feeling like a lazy typer because the male words tend to be shorter.
The only thing stranger to me than people presuming that god has a gender(more with the monotheist), is that people place such importance on it.
What difference does it make? He/she/it would have to be of sufficient intelligence to create a universe, therefore he/she/it should have some idea that humans are pretty stupid, and he/she/it probably has the wisdom to not really get upset when creatures that cannot even come close to comprehending his/her/it's nature fail to do so.
Perhaps, what one would be better served by focusing on what god/godess/gods/ godesses/ lack-thereof message is (and perhaps separating it from man made alterations) . I think that this would lead to greater unity, and understanding. Why obsess over unimportant details? Enlightenment awaits.
My Comment: This is such a sensible mail... God 'has the wisdom to not really get upset when creatures that cannot even come close to comprehending his/her/it's nature fail to do so' and 'Why obsess over unimportant details? ' Exactly! I agree, God is above and beyond all this gender stuff. The only reason we refer to Him as Him is because that's how it is in the scriptures.
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Y commented: G-d is 'him' in the scriptures and other holy texts because the feminine has been regarded as second-rate for a long time (and still is). Women and men deserve equal respect, and how we refer to the Divine One is one place to make an improvement. I use 'S/He,' and am open to other suggestions. :)
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My Comment: What you say is another angle of looking at it, but as far as the Holy Quran is concerned, we believe the arabic text to be the authentic, untampered word of God. And, in it He has used the male tense to refer to Himself.
In fact, the grammar of the Quran is such that only the specifically female are referred to in the female gender, whereas when speaking generally or collectively, the male tense is employed to cover all. For example, when speaking of / to humans (an-naas), the plural male form is employed.
I feel its basically the grammatical construct of the language, and just to be accepted as is.
Just my two cents.
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Y commented: The problem with male bias is not limited to the Koran; it is also evident in the Torah, the Gospels, and other religions' holy texts. You don't believe that G-d is male do you? If you don't believe that All-h is male, then you ought to be motivated to do something about an obvious problem. If someone were disrespecting your mother, or sister, or wife, would you do nothing? I hope not. :)
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My Comment: Y, the analogy is, I feel, a bit far-fetched. God is nothing like we can ever imagine... we simply do not have the vision or capacity. How does one prove what God is when one is so clueless? When Allah tells me that He cannot be imagined or understood/comprehended by my mortal mind, how do I go about 'solving this obvious problem'?
To quote GS (and myself) again: [God 'has the wisdom to not really get upset when creatures that cannot even come close to comprehending his/her/it's nature fail to do so' and 'Why obsess over unimportant details? ' Exactly! I agree, God is above and beyond all this gender stuff. The only reason we refer to Him as Him is because that's how it is in the scriptures.]
As GS said, [Perhaps, what one would be better served by focusing on what god/godess/gods/ godesses/ lack-thereof message is (and perhaps separating it from man made alterations) . I think that this would lead to greater unity, and understanding.]
May God guide us to focus upon and do the deeds that need to be done
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Y commented: I am glad that you agree that G-d is beyond gender. Holy texts ought to be rewritten to reflect this. And, we ought to change the words we use to reflect this as well. The male bias in referring to G-d has had real world consequences for women (second-class status). This is not trivial.
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My Comment: Y, I'm a woman, and I have no problem with that. God does not degrade or assign second class status to women, He's just created males and females differently to complement and complete each other, and as such the nature of responsibilities assigned are different. Whether the scripture reflects male or female bias or otherwise will have no bearing on how women are treated in society... the weak are oppressed and exploited, its the law of the jungle, and most people can't seem to rise above their base selves to actualize their true potential. If people start following the scripture, in letter and in spirit, these problems would vanish away.
If I may, I was just reading this passage, think it bears some significance to the discussion:
Holy Quran Chapter 4, Verses 116-126
116 Lo! Allah pardoneth not that partners should be ascribed unto Him. He pardoneth all save that to whom He will. Whoso ascribeth partners unto Allah hath wandered far astray.
117 They invoke in His stead only females; they pray to none else than Satan, a rebel
118 Whom Allah cursed, and he said: Surely I will take of Thy bondmen an appointed portion,
119 And surely I will lead them astray, and surely I will arouse desires in them, and surely I will command them and they will cut the cattle' ears, and surely I will command them and they will change Allah's creation. Whoso chooseth Satan for a patron instead of Allah is verily a loser and his loss is manifest.
120 He promiseth them and stirreth up desires in them, and Satan promiseth them only to beguile.
121 For such, their habitation will be hell, and they will find no refuge therefrom.
122 But as for those who believe and do good works We shall bring them into Gardens underneath which rivers flow, wherein they will abide for ever. It is a promise from Allah in truth; and who can be more truthful than Allah in utterance?
123 It will not be in accordance with your desires, nor the desires of the People of the Scripture. He who doeth wrong will have the recompense thereof, and will not find against Allah any protecting friend or helper.
124 And whoso doeth good works, whether of male or female, and he (or she) is a believer, such will enter paradise and they will not be wronged the dint in a date-stone.
125 Who is better in religion than he who surrendereth his purpose to Allah while doing good (to men) and followeth the tradition of Abraham, the upright? Allah (Himself) chose Abraham for friend.
126 Unto Allah belongeth whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is in the earth. Allah ever surroundeth all things.
http://searchtruth.com/chapter_display.php?chapter=4&translator=4
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Y commented: Thank you Samiya for your thoughts. :)
I am glad that you are a woman. :) And I agree with you that G-d does not regard women as second class. G-d created women and men as equal partners, with different gifts.
When the weak are oppressed and exploited, a community is about to self-destruct. The strong must help the weak in order for a community to thrive.
Again I will state that holy texts should be rewritten to remove the male bias. The male bias does cause harm.
Namaste and Salaam and Shalom,
Usually I use male words to describe god when I'm feeling like a lazy typer because the male words tend to be shorter.
The only thing stranger to me than people presuming that god has a gender(more with the monotheist), is that people place such importance on it.
What difference does it make? He/she/it would have to be of sufficient intelligence to create a universe, therefore he/she/it should have some idea that humans are pretty stupid, and he/she/it probably has the wisdom to not really get upset when creatures that cannot even come close to comprehending his/her/it's nature fail to do so.
Perhaps, what one would be better served by focusing on what god/godess/gods/ godesses/ lack-thereof message is (and perhaps separating it from man made alterations) . I think that this would lead to greater unity, and understanding. Why obsess over unimportant details? Enlightenment awaits.
My Comment: This is such a sensible mail... God 'has the wisdom to not really get upset when creatures that cannot even come close to comprehending his/her/it's nature fail to do so' and 'Why obsess over unimportant details? ' Exactly! I agree, God is above and beyond all this gender stuff. The only reason we refer to Him as Him is because that's how it is in the scriptures.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Y commented: G-d is 'him' in the scriptures and other holy texts because the feminine has been regarded as second-rate for a long time (and still is). Women and men deserve equal respect, and how we refer to the Divine One is one place to make an improvement. I use 'S/He,' and am open to other suggestions. :)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
My Comment: What you say is another angle of looking at it, but as far as the Holy Quran is concerned, we believe the arabic text to be the authentic, untampered word of God. And, in it He has used the male tense to refer to Himself.
In fact, the grammar of the Quran is such that only the specifically female are referred to in the female gender, whereas when speaking generally or collectively, the male tense is employed to cover all. For example, when speaking of / to humans (an-naas), the plural male form is employed.
I feel its basically the grammatical construct of the language, and just to be accepted as is.
Just my two cents.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Y commented: The problem with male bias is not limited to the Koran; it is also evident in the Torah, the Gospels, and other religions' holy texts. You don't believe that G-d is male do you? If you don't believe that All-h is male, then you ought to be motivated to do something about an obvious problem. If someone were disrespecting your mother, or sister, or wife, would you do nothing? I hope not. :)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
My Comment: Y, the analogy is, I feel, a bit far-fetched. God is nothing like we can ever imagine... we simply do not have the vision or capacity. How does one prove what God is when one is so clueless? When Allah tells me that He cannot be imagined or understood/comprehended by my mortal mind, how do I go about 'solving this obvious problem'?
To quote GS (and myself) again: [God 'has the wisdom to not really get upset when creatures that cannot even come close to comprehending his/her/it's nature fail to do so' and 'Why obsess over unimportant details? ' Exactly! I agree, God is above and beyond all this gender stuff. The only reason we refer to Him as Him is because that's how it is in the scriptures.]
As GS said, [Perhaps, what one would be better served by focusing on what god/godess/gods/ godesses/ lack-thereof message is (and perhaps separating it from man made alterations) . I think that this would lead to greater unity, and understanding.]
May God guide us to focus upon and do the deeds that need to be done
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Y commented: I am glad that you agree that G-d is beyond gender. Holy texts ought to be rewritten to reflect this. And, we ought to change the words we use to reflect this as well. The male bias in referring to G-d has had real world consequences for women (second-class status). This is not trivial.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
My Comment: Y, I'm a woman, and I have no problem with that. God does not degrade or assign second class status to women, He's just created males and females differently to complement and complete each other, and as such the nature of responsibilities assigned are different. Whether the scripture reflects male or female bias or otherwise will have no bearing on how women are treated in society... the weak are oppressed and exploited, its the law of the jungle, and most people can't seem to rise above their base selves to actualize their true potential. If people start following the scripture, in letter and in spirit, these problems would vanish away.
If I may, I was just reading this passage, think it bears some significance to the discussion:
Holy Quran Chapter 4, Verses 116-126
116 Lo! Allah pardoneth not that partners should be ascribed unto Him. He pardoneth all save that to whom He will. Whoso ascribeth partners unto Allah hath wandered far astray.
117 They invoke in His stead only females; they pray to none else than Satan, a rebel
118 Whom Allah cursed, and he said: Surely I will take of Thy bondmen an appointed portion,
119 And surely I will lead them astray, and surely I will arouse desires in them, and surely I will command them and they will cut the cattle' ears, and surely I will command them and they will change Allah's creation. Whoso chooseth Satan for a patron instead of Allah is verily a loser and his loss is manifest.
120 He promiseth them and stirreth up desires in them, and Satan promiseth them only to beguile.
121 For such, their habitation will be hell, and they will find no refuge therefrom.
122 But as for those who believe and do good works We shall bring them into Gardens underneath which rivers flow, wherein they will abide for ever. It is a promise from Allah in truth; and who can be more truthful than Allah in utterance?
123 It will not be in accordance with your desires, nor the desires of the People of the Scripture. He who doeth wrong will have the recompense thereof, and will not find against Allah any protecting friend or helper.
124 And whoso doeth good works, whether of male or female, and he (or she) is a believer, such will enter paradise and they will not be wronged the dint in a date-stone.
125 Who is better in religion than he who surrendereth his purpose to Allah while doing good (to men) and followeth the tradition of Abraham, the upright? Allah (Himself) chose Abraham for friend.
126 Unto Allah belongeth whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is in the earth. Allah ever surroundeth all things.
http://searchtruth.com/chapter_display.php?chapter=4&translator=4
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Y commented: Thank you Samiya for your thoughts. :)
I am glad that you are a woman. :) And I agree with you that G-d does not regard women as second class. G-d created women and men as equal partners, with different gifts.
When the weak are oppressed and exploited, a community is about to self-destruct. The strong must help the weak in order for a community to thrive.
Again I will state that holy texts should be rewritten to remove the male bias. The male bias does cause harm.
Namaste and Salaam and Shalom,
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Reading Scientific and Mathematical proofs into Holy Books?
Question: I have a deep concern with the practice of reading scientific and mathematical proofs into holy books that were written by persons living in a pre scientific age. Recently in my country it became popular for some biblical scholars to claim that the Old Testament contained secret number codes, and that these number codes could be used to predict future events. Some argued that only God could have inserted these number codes into the old testament, and that this was clearly proof that the old testament had God as its source. Computer modelling has since shown that the appearance of certain numbers within the old testament is purely random, and that it is wrong to read things into the ancient texts that were never intended by the original writers.
I also have major fears of persons insisting that all of THEIR holy texts should be taken literally. I know of some Orthodox Jews who believe that they have the correct understanding of their holy books, and that only they are being faithful to the teachings and commands of God. My Roman Catholic friends believe that Jesus was the son of God, and that only they have a full and accurate understanding of the teachings and commands of God. My Muslim friends believe that only they have the true teachings and commands from God. Now to my mind, something is clearly not right here, which is why I asked my original question about trusting any of the holy scriptures. I have no doubt about the existence of God, anyone who studies the wonders of science would be hard pressed to say otherwise. But I do still see the big religions as being man made and largely male dominated, yet I do not see or sense that God is male. Clearly I have much more to explore and learn !!!!
Answer: We are told by Allah in the Quran that he has sent numerous prophets and revealed various books to mankind, and that as Muslims, we have to believe in them, and respect them.
Having said that, we are also informed that people have over the ages changed the message to suit their interests, so that now they are no longer in their pure form.
We are also told that Allah Himself takes the responsibility of protecting the Quran from changes as it is the final revelation till the end of time, and no other prophet will hence be sent for the guidance of humanity. The Quran is a guidance for all humanity, not just Muslims.
Furthermore, the reader of the Quran is constantly challenged to ponder and reflect upon the message and the signs all around. We are urged to study and evaluate critically, and then believe.
The belief that comes from such understanding and evaluation is naturally one of complete faith and submission…….. it just cannot be otherwise.
I understand your concern, but that is the litmus test……… if it was written by ‘persons living in a pre scientific age’ it is bound to have errors intermixed with some truths that their Prophet informed them of and they were able to record.
Whereas if it is a book from God, protected by God, unadulterated by humans, it should definitely contain no errors as the Creator knows exactly what He created and is not limited in knowledge, nor has any need to lie.
We can theorize all we want based on our knowledge, understanding, intellect and heart ( and we should, as it is an important part of trying to understand), but there has to be some way of testing these theories………. one is to put it to the test of science!
I hope you understand what I’m trying to explain……….. the Holy Quran is a book of Guidance and not a text book of science………… yet since it is from God, whatever scientific phenomenon it refers to should be verifiable……… if not, then we would face the same dilemma other ‘people of the book’ face…. that some of it is from God, some portions written by humans, and it would be a constant challenge sifting out the primary from the secondary.
Were you able to go through the links I sent you earlier…tell me what you think of them?
As far as God being a he or she is concerned, God is above and beyond that. God has created in pairs, males and females for reproductive purposes of moral beings, while God is immortal, has always been and will always be, and thus has no need to be either male or female. Referring to God as He/Him is just a traditional/cultural/linguistical/anthropological way of addressing or referring to God.
I was born in a traditional muslim family which practiced Islam as it is practiced in the sub-continent. Obviously a lot of culture, and influence of Hinduism, Sikhism, etc was also there. Luckily, my dad always believed in critical evaluation while being religious at the same time, thus from a very early age, I was encouraged to understand and separate religious ‘do’ from all other doooos, thus helping me understand how simple and true the original message of Islam was as compared to the complicated practices of ‘evolved’ societies. I was also able to draw upon the works of a lot of scholars who have studied the Quran from different angles and helped establish that it is indeed the true unadulterated word of God. Also, studying other religions and faith systems, I have come to understand that all contain some element of truth, but the message has somehow been distorted over time, something that Allah Himself has already informed us about, as mentioned above. Joining this group was part of the same journey….. I needed to interact with actual people of other beliefs and understand how come they also so strongly believe in whatever they believe in. Its been a wonderful journey, enriching me with new ideas, thoughts and ways of looking at things. This is a great group indeed. Hope your journey here is just as rewarding as mine has been.
I also have major fears of persons insisting that all of THEIR holy texts should be taken literally. I know of some Orthodox Jews who believe that they have the correct understanding of their holy books, and that only they are being faithful to the teachings and commands of God. My Roman Catholic friends believe that Jesus was the son of God, and that only they have a full and accurate understanding of the teachings and commands of God. My Muslim friends believe that only they have the true teachings and commands from God. Now to my mind, something is clearly not right here, which is why I asked my original question about trusting any of the holy scriptures. I have no doubt about the existence of God, anyone who studies the wonders of science would be hard pressed to say otherwise. But I do still see the big religions as being man made and largely male dominated, yet I do not see or sense that God is male. Clearly I have much more to explore and learn !!!!
Answer: We are told by Allah in the Quran that he has sent numerous prophets and revealed various books to mankind, and that as Muslims, we have to believe in them, and respect them.
Having said that, we are also informed that people have over the ages changed the message to suit their interests, so that now they are no longer in their pure form.
We are also told that Allah Himself takes the responsibility of protecting the Quran from changes as it is the final revelation till the end of time, and no other prophet will hence be sent for the guidance of humanity. The Quran is a guidance for all humanity, not just Muslims.
Furthermore, the reader of the Quran is constantly challenged to ponder and reflect upon the message and the signs all around. We are urged to study and evaluate critically, and then believe.
The belief that comes from such understanding and evaluation is naturally one of complete faith and submission…….. it just cannot be otherwise.
I understand your concern, but that is the litmus test……… if it was written by ‘persons living in a pre scientific age’ it is bound to have errors intermixed with some truths that their Prophet informed them of and they were able to record.
Whereas if it is a book from God, protected by God, unadulterated by humans, it should definitely contain no errors as the Creator knows exactly what He created and is not limited in knowledge, nor has any need to lie.
We can theorize all we want based on our knowledge, understanding, intellect and heart ( and we should, as it is an important part of trying to understand), but there has to be some way of testing these theories………. one is to put it to the test of science!
I hope you understand what I’m trying to explain……….. the Holy Quran is a book of Guidance and not a text book of science………… yet since it is from God, whatever scientific phenomenon it refers to should be verifiable……… if not, then we would face the same dilemma other ‘people of the book’ face…. that some of it is from God, some portions written by humans, and it would be a constant challenge sifting out the primary from the secondary.
Were you able to go through the links I sent you earlier…tell me what you think of them?
As far as God being a he or she is concerned, God is above and beyond that. God has created in pairs, males and females for reproductive purposes of moral beings, while God is immortal, has always been and will always be, and thus has no need to be either male or female. Referring to God as He/Him is just a traditional/cultural/linguistical/anthropological way of addressing or referring to God.
I was born in a traditional muslim family which practiced Islam as it is practiced in the sub-continent. Obviously a lot of culture, and influence of Hinduism, Sikhism, etc was also there. Luckily, my dad always believed in critical evaluation while being religious at the same time, thus from a very early age, I was encouraged to understand and separate religious ‘do’ from all other doooos, thus helping me understand how simple and true the original message of Islam was as compared to the complicated practices of ‘evolved’ societies. I was also able to draw upon the works of a lot of scholars who have studied the Quran from different angles and helped establish that it is indeed the true unadulterated word of God. Also, studying other religions and faith systems, I have come to understand that all contain some element of truth, but the message has somehow been distorted over time, something that Allah Himself has already informed us about, as mentioned above. Joining this group was part of the same journey….. I needed to interact with actual people of other beliefs and understand how come they also so strongly believe in whatever they believe in. Its been a wonderful journey, enriching me with new ideas, thoughts and ways of looking at things. This is a great group indeed. Hope your journey here is just as rewarding as mine has been.
Monday, November 24, 2008
I converted to Islam without studying it
Q: When I proposed to my fiancé, she wanted me to convert to Islam, which I did. I realize now that it was not wise to convert to a religion, which I hardly knew anything about. So I converted to Islam without studying it carefully.
A: Well, you’re right but past is past. Now that you have begun your journey of discovery, do study thoroughly and with an open mind. My formula is: first study nature and wonder whether all this is mere chance or is there intelligent design behind it. Then, logically, who designed it? And then, if there is a designer, or can there be more than one? Has the designer chosen to speak to humanity? If yes, search all the holy books of all religions, and test them all on the basis of morality(your God-gifted conscience will guide you there), scientific accuracy, mathematical accuracy, justice, compassion, love, rights and privileges, and all other standards that you can think of.
A: Well, you’re right but past is past. Now that you have begun your journey of discovery, do study thoroughly and with an open mind. My formula is: first study nature and wonder whether all this is mere chance or is there intelligent design behind it. Then, logically, who designed it? And then, if there is a designer, or can there be more than one? Has the designer chosen to speak to humanity? If yes, search all the holy books of all religions, and test them all on the basis of morality(your God-gifted conscience will guide you there), scientific accuracy, mathematical accuracy, justice, compassion, love, rights and privileges, and all other standards that you can think of.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
The original injeel
Q: When the word "Injeel (Gospel)" was used in the Quran, is it referring to the four gospels of the Christians? If yes, why is it stated in the 3rd Sunnah: "48. And He (Allâh) will teach him ['Iesa (Jesus)]the Book and Al-Hikmah (i.e. the Sunnah, the faultless speech of the Prophets, wisdom, etc.), (and) the Taurât(Torah) and the Injeel (Gospel)." when the gospels came to be written after the lifetime of Jesus? If no. Do have a copy of that Injeel?
A: First of all, it is not the 3rd Sunnah. You are referring to Chapter 3 Verse 48 of the Holy Quran.What Allah is saying here is that He will teach Jesus the message of theTaurat (the Book that was revealed to Prophet Moses), and reveal the Injeel to Prophet Jesus. That what we have today as the New Testament is a collection of the Gospels written by people based on their memory of the teachings of Prophet Jesus. The teachings of Prophet Jesus are what we understand to be the "injeel".
Injeel refers to the revelations made to Prophet Jesus (Isa) by Allah. The New Testament that we have today is not the original, exact and complete Injeel, but rather contains portions of it as it 'according to' the memory of Mark, Mathew, Luke, John, Barnabas, and so on. They do contain the teachings of Jesus, but as it is based on the memory of the scribes who compiled it, it obviously contains may errors, omissions, lapses, contradictions, etc which are but human errors. Same is with the Torah, and other sacred texts. The reason why The Holy Quran did not suffer such a fate is because it was memorized by multiple people, word by word, right from the days of Prophet Muhammad upto this day. That is why the message has stayed intact. I do not know if any copy of the original injeel, torah, or any other book has survived to this day.
Hadith is a different story. Hadith books were compiled approximately 300 years after the death of Prophet Muhammad. They are based on the memory of the people that these scribes went to in search of the sayings of the Prophet, which in turn, is based on the memory of those from whom they heard it, and so on. Hence, there are many mistakes and contradictions in this body of work, and as such, this 'writing of men' cannot be taken as anyauthority. We can study it as historical documents, but we need to be careful to always check if a hadith is compatible with what Allah says in the Quran, otherwise it is not acceptable, as Prophet Muhammad lived his life totally in accordance with the injunctions of the Holy Quran, and we cannot imagine him doing or saying anything contradictory to the Quran. I would sincerely advice you to first study the Quran on its own, and then, after you've completed reading it, to branch out into studying the Hadith, Sunnah, historical books, and other sources. The Holy Quran(in Arabic) is the only document that we can vouch for as being authentically from Allah Almighty himself. Best is to study it in Arabic so as to be able to grasp the depth of meaning of each word, but if that is not possible, the next best thing is to comparatively study translations by different people to understand the closest meanings to the original message.
May Allah bless you and guide you, and may you find the true path. Amen.
A: First of all, it is not the 3rd Sunnah. You are referring to Chapter 3 Verse 48 of the Holy Quran.What Allah is saying here is that He will teach Jesus the message of theTaurat (the Book that was revealed to Prophet Moses), and reveal the Injeel to Prophet Jesus. That what we have today as the New Testament is a collection of the Gospels written by people based on their memory of the teachings of Prophet Jesus. The teachings of Prophet Jesus are what we understand to be the "injeel".
Injeel refers to the revelations made to Prophet Jesus (Isa) by Allah. The New Testament that we have today is not the original, exact and complete Injeel, but rather contains portions of it as it 'according to' the memory of Mark, Mathew, Luke, John, Barnabas, and so on. They do contain the teachings of Jesus, but as it is based on the memory of the scribes who compiled it, it obviously contains may errors, omissions, lapses, contradictions, etc which are but human errors. Same is with the Torah, and other sacred texts. The reason why The Holy Quran did not suffer such a fate is because it was memorized by multiple people, word by word, right from the days of Prophet Muhammad upto this day. That is why the message has stayed intact. I do not know if any copy of the original injeel, torah, or any other book has survived to this day.
Hadith is a different story. Hadith books were compiled approximately 300 years after the death of Prophet Muhammad. They are based on the memory of the people that these scribes went to in search of the sayings of the Prophet, which in turn, is based on the memory of those from whom they heard it, and so on. Hence, there are many mistakes and contradictions in this body of work, and as such, this 'writing of men' cannot be taken as anyauthority. We can study it as historical documents, but we need to be careful to always check if a hadith is compatible with what Allah says in the Quran, otherwise it is not acceptable, as Prophet Muhammad lived his life totally in accordance with the injunctions of the Holy Quran, and we cannot imagine him doing or saying anything contradictory to the Quran. I would sincerely advice you to first study the Quran on its own, and then, after you've completed reading it, to branch out into studying the Hadith, Sunnah, historical books, and other sources. The Holy Quran(in Arabic) is the only document that we can vouch for as being authentically from Allah Almighty himself. Best is to study it in Arabic so as to be able to grasp the depth of meaning of each word, but if that is not possible, the next best thing is to comparatively study translations by different people to understand the closest meanings to the original message.
May Allah bless you and guide you, and may you find the true path. Amen.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
The very obvious stupidity contained in every belief system
Question: A thinker wrote:
The very obvious stupidity contained in every belief system is the result of accepting as true the statements of others without checking against personal experience. This is made even worse by the mental laziness that people use in order to take short cuts. All the different classes of belief do the same thing and consequently the world is in a mess caused by lazy, expediency focused thinking.
Answer: Very true about most denizens of planet Earth. The very first, most important thing to do is to observe with all our senses, and use our intellect to determine whether or not this Universe / Multiverse came about itself, or if there is an/are multiple intelligent designs behind it. If there is/are, then what is more plausible: one intelligent creator or multiple creators?? If authority can reside with only One person, then who is this person and how do we find this Creator/ how do we revere and worship/ and is that the purpose of our creation/ what is life, and is there or not a life beyond this Earth/ and if so, will there be a reckoning??? Is there a message that this God has sent, how do we know which is the true message when there are so many multiple faith systems, so many religions, so many claims????? My personal method is to evaluate all Holy Books for accuracy/ truth/ consistency/ evaluation of scientific data/ mathematical data/ moral code/ fairness and justice, and only one Book has met all of these parameters…. The Holy Quran….. so, I believe that it is the Word of God. Since God himself says in the Holy Quran that He is Allah, that Muhammad is His messenger, and that the Quran is a Book without doubt; a Guidance for the Muttaqeen (those who are aware of Allah all the time; love him for his Love for us, and fear Him as He is the only one to be feared; and as the Day of Reckoning will definitely come). May the true God guide us all.
The very obvious stupidity contained in every belief system is the result of accepting as true the statements of others without checking against personal experience. This is made even worse by the mental laziness that people use in order to take short cuts. All the different classes of belief do the same thing and consequently the world is in a mess caused by lazy, expediency focused thinking.
Answer: Very true about most denizens of planet Earth. The very first, most important thing to do is to observe with all our senses, and use our intellect to determine whether or not this Universe / Multiverse came about itself, or if there is an/are multiple intelligent designs behind it. If there is/are, then what is more plausible: one intelligent creator or multiple creators?? If authority can reside with only One person, then who is this person and how do we find this Creator/ how do we revere and worship/ and is that the purpose of our creation/ what is life, and is there or not a life beyond this Earth/ and if so, will there be a reckoning??? Is there a message that this God has sent, how do we know which is the true message when there are so many multiple faith systems, so many religions, so many claims????? My personal method is to evaluate all Holy Books for accuracy/ truth/ consistency/ evaluation of scientific data/ mathematical data/ moral code/ fairness and justice, and only one Book has met all of these parameters…. The Holy Quran….. so, I believe that it is the Word of God. Since God himself says in the Holy Quran that He is Allah, that Muhammad is His messenger, and that the Quran is a Book without doubt; a Guidance for the Muttaqeen (those who are aware of Allah all the time; love him for his Love for us, and fear Him as He is the only one to be feared; and as the Day of Reckoning will definitely come). May the true God guide us all.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Modern Science would have been impossible but for Muslim discoveries?
Question: ....and showing that modern science would have been impossible but for Muslim discoveries
Answer: I do not agree to this part of the statement….. muslims or anyone else can only advance in science if they keep their minds open to question and research, education and the pursuit of the frontiers of knowledge…. Quran is not a textbook of science___ yet whatever it contains is the absolute truth___ we can attempt to understand the various verses commenting on the physical world around us in the light of science, but we cannot ‘do’ science by studying the Quran alone. What Maurice Bucaille and others have done is simply reinterpreted the verses in the light of modern science. That is the difference between our religion and other religions__ while our religion, Islam, is based on truths and facts, other religions are based on baseless beliefs.
We cannot compel anyone to belief in the Islamic belief system, what we can do is fearlessly keep exploring the frontiers of knowledge and truth, discovering and showing just how compatible the two are!
Answer: I do not agree to this part of the statement….. muslims or anyone else can only advance in science if they keep their minds open to question and research, education and the pursuit of the frontiers of knowledge…. Quran is not a textbook of science___ yet whatever it contains is the absolute truth___ we can attempt to understand the various verses commenting on the physical world around us in the light of science, but we cannot ‘do’ science by studying the Quran alone. What Maurice Bucaille and others have done is simply reinterpreted the verses in the light of modern science. That is the difference between our religion and other religions__ while our religion, Islam, is based on truths and facts, other religions are based on baseless beliefs.
We cannot compel anyone to belief in the Islamic belief system, what we can do is fearlessly keep exploring the frontiers of knowledge and truth, discovering and showing just how compatible the two are!
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
The central message is the same of all divinely-inspired religions
Question: Where do you think that the Holy Books of the other world religionsand belief systems came from ? Are they incomplete books written bysincere persons who thought that they knew what God wanted them to write, but failed to correctly understand. Or are they simply theproduct of cunning human minds seeking power and influence?
Answer: In the very beginning of the Quran, we are told that:
http://searchtruth.com/chapter_display.php?chapter=2&translator=4
1. Alif. Lam. Mim
2.This is the Scripture whereof there is no doubt, a guidance unto those who ward off (evil).
3.Who believe in the Unseen, and establish worship, and spend of that We have bestowed upon them;
4And who believe in that which is revealed unto thee (Muhammad) and that which was revealed before thee, and are certain of the Hereafter.
5These depend on guidance from their Lord. These are the successful.
So, you see, we are required to believe in all the sacred, holy books of religions before Islam as the source and message were essentially the same…… Allah sent His messengers from time to time to guide humanity. What happened, we believe, is that, with time, part or most of the essential message was lost, varying from nation to nation, people to people. The Holy Books came to contain a mixture of Divine revelation and human interpolation. The result was a parting of ways from the original, true spirit and teachings of the Prophets. The Quran came as a confirmation of the prophets and prophecies of old, and as a ‘sift or seive’…. To distinguish between ‘the truth and the false’ in what people among different religions had come to believe. Thus, you will find, in the Quran, mention of the prophets of old, but how and what the Quran relates is quite different from accounts given in the other scriptures. Sometime earlier, a muslim brother had posted the passages about Prophet Jesus……….. did you read it? Wasn’t it so different?Also, reading any of the divine books, whether it is the Old Testament, the New Testament, the Vedas, etc, doesn’t the radiance, the brilliant sparkle of the divine message shine through certain verses, while at other places one wonders could the Prophets or God/gods have spoken and behaved so and so, can this actually be true, is this actually of divine origin? Whereas, when you read the Holy Quran, morally and ethically it is so sound, so perfect, and all Prophets have been mentioned with such respect that…. it is so easy to believe in it!
So, Yes, the central message is essentially the same of all divinely-inspired religions.
Answer: In the very beginning of the Quran, we are told that:
http://searchtruth.com/chapter_display.php?chapter=2&translator=4
1. Alif. Lam. Mim
2.This is the Scripture whereof there is no doubt, a guidance unto those who ward off (evil).
3.Who believe in the Unseen, and establish worship, and spend of that We have bestowed upon them;
4And who believe in that which is revealed unto thee (Muhammad) and that which was revealed before thee, and are certain of the Hereafter.
5These depend on guidance from their Lord. These are the successful.
So, you see, we are required to believe in all the sacred, holy books of religions before Islam as the source and message were essentially the same…… Allah sent His messengers from time to time to guide humanity. What happened, we believe, is that, with time, part or most of the essential message was lost, varying from nation to nation, people to people. The Holy Books came to contain a mixture of Divine revelation and human interpolation. The result was a parting of ways from the original, true spirit and teachings of the Prophets. The Quran came as a confirmation of the prophets and prophecies of old, and as a ‘sift or seive’…. To distinguish between ‘the truth and the false’ in what people among different religions had come to believe. Thus, you will find, in the Quran, mention of the prophets of old, but how and what the Quran relates is quite different from accounts given in the other scriptures. Sometime earlier, a muslim brother had posted the passages about Prophet Jesus……….. did you read it? Wasn’t it so different?Also, reading any of the divine books, whether it is the Old Testament, the New Testament, the Vedas, etc, doesn’t the radiance, the brilliant sparkle of the divine message shine through certain verses, while at other places one wonders could the Prophets or God/gods have spoken and behaved so and so, can this actually be true, is this actually of divine origin? Whereas, when you read the Holy Quran, morally and ethically it is so sound, so perfect, and all Prophets have been mentioned with such respect that…. it is so easy to believe in it!
So, Yes, the central message is essentially the same of all divinely-inspired religions.
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