How can a good God allow suffering

Well put, but I may be more optimistic in that I believe people continue to have the chance to repent in the hereafter. Of course, it is better to repent as soon as possible because the longer you put it off, the longer it takes before you can reach the point of becoming aware of the opportunity for salvation, but I think everyone eventually reaches a point of seeking salvation, no matter how much suffering they have to go through before reaching that point.

And they say, "When we are lost within the earth, will we indeed be [recreated] in a new creation?" Rather, they are, in [the matter of] the meeting with their Lord, disbelievers.
Say, "The angel of death will take you who has been entrusted with you. Then to your Lord you will be returned."
If you could but see when the criminals are hanging their heads before their Lord, [saying], "Our Lord, we have seen and heard, so return us [to the world]; we will work righteousness. Indeed, we are [now] certain."
[Quran 32:10-12]

And [for] their saying, "Indeed, we have killed the Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, the messenger of Allah ." And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him; but [another] was made to resemble him to them. And indeed, those who differ over it are in doubt about it. They have no knowledge of it except the following of assumption. And they did not kill him, for certain.
Rather, Allah raised him to Himself. And ever is Allah Exalted in Might and Wise. [Quran 4:157,158]

And [beware the Day] when Allah will say, "O Jesus, Son of Mary, did you say to the people, 'Take me and my mother as deities besides Allah ?'" He will say, "Exalted are You! It was not for me to say that to which I have no right. If I had said it, You would have known it. You know what is within myself, and I do not know what is within Yourself. Indeed, it is You who is Knower of the unseen.

I said not to them except what You commanded me - to worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord. And I was a witness over them as long as I was among them; but when You took me up, You were the Observer over them, and You are, over all things, Witness. [Quran 5:116,117]

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’
Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
[Matthew 7:21-23]

They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules. [Mark 7:7 & Matthew 15:9]

1. What sin is deserving of it?

2. What is Allah's minimum requirement for avoiding Hell?

But we would still have to have a conversation about "in the way He told us."

When you say it is possible to repent in the afterlife, can you elaborate on that? I too believe there is a period after death before the Judgement. It is called 'The thousand years' in the scriptures I follow most closely. Maybe you have an equivalent?

Barzakh literally means a barrier that stands between two things and which does not allow the two to meet. For example, that part or region of the ocean in which waves of both the sweet and the salty waters bounce and yet God has provided between them an invisible barrier whereby one cannot overcome another.

I'm sorry but that's an awful analogy. There is no region of the ocean where fresh and salty water are kept back by an invisible barrier.

The closest you have is a river mouth where fresh water flows into the sea, other than high tide, salt water does not go the other way. It's got everything to do with gravity and nothing whatsoever to do with invisible barriers.

He has made the two seas to flow freely (so that) they meet together: Between them is a barrier, which they cannot pass. (55:19-20)

As for that specific photo, Bruland said that it shows the plume of water pouring out from one of these sediment-rich rivers and meeting with the general ocean water. It's also a falsehood that these two types of water don't mix at all, he said.


"They do eventually mix, but you do come across these really strong gradients at these specific moments in time," he said. Such borders are never static, he added, as they move around and disappear altogether, depending on the level of sediment and the whims of the water.

There is much study being conducted on how this iron influences marine productivity, in particular its effects on the growth of plankton, which Bruland referred to as "the base of the food chain."


But rivers aren't the only way that glacier sediment finds its way into the Gulf of Alaska -- occasionally strong winds can whip up enough silt to create a cloud of dust that's visible even from space as its being carried out to sea.


So next time somebody shares a "really cool photo" of "the place where two oceans meet," feel free to let them know the science behind the phenomenon. After all, in this Internet age, nothing spreads faster than misinformation.

Once we die, we will see all the unseen. We will see angels and we will know that life after death was not just a fairy tale. So when one sees all the unseen then anyone will repent but it is not worth it because we have seen the unseen. Its like a student takes a test and when test is over he/she will have access to the book to look at answer to test questions. But can he go back and change his/her answers in the actual test? No, it will not be Just.

Quran describes this beautifully:

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And they say, "When we are lost within the earth, will we indeed be [recreated] in a new creation?" Rather, they are, in [the matter of] the meeting with their Lord, disbelievers.
Say, "The angel of death will take you who has been entrusted with you. Then to your Lord you will be returned."
If you could but see when the criminals are hanging their heads before their Lord, [saying], "Our Lord, we have seen and heard, so return us [to the world]; we will work righteousness. Indeed, we are [now] certain."
[Quran 32:10-12]

That is an interesting perspective, and I agree that there is value in choosing the righteous path, even in uncertainty. In fact, the reality is that we can never truly know anything with certainty in this world because everything is imperfect, including knowledge. So we must always actively/critically seek revelation about what is not true in order to find truer truth, but everything we believe in the mean time must be taken with faith because we must understand that ultimately we cannot know anything with perfect certainty.

Still, I imagine purgatory a bit like Dante's Inferno with its many levels of hell. When you are reborn into that hereafter, it is indistiguishable to you from this current world we inhabit. In fact, we may already be living in purgatory and not know it. All we can do is seek truth and repent when we discover sin. We must also accept that God is helping us to overcome sin and sanctify.

I believe rejection of Christ's sacrifice and resurrection is a sin of pride that must be purged before sinners can truly begin ascending. I think opposition toward Mohammed PBUH and Islam is a similar stumbling block. There is a human tendency to identify with a particular religion and reject others prejudicially, instead of studying and acknowledging things that ring true, regardless of their source. No religion in this world can be perfect, and it would be a lie to believe that any one is devoid of imperfection and/or the potential to be misinterpreted, misapplied, and twisted in ways that pervert truth. As such, the search for truth in religion or otherwise must always ultimately be a series of leaps of faith based on one's best judgment at the time, and the confession/repentance of sin has to include the sin of failing to give full consideration to certain truth-claims due to prejudice against their source.

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For the rest of your post, I would advise you to read my previous post. I gave examples from the Bible to prove that blood atonement is not a biblical concept. It is made up to justify crucifixion.

Think about what it means when we say Jesus PBUH is crucified in Jewish law? It means he was cursed. Quran denies that Jesus was crucified.

Quran says:

Quote:

And [for] their saying, "Indeed, we have killed the Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, the messenger of Allah ." And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him; but [another] was made to resemble him to them. And indeed, those who differ over it are in doubt about it. They have no knowledge of it except the following of assumption. And they did not kill him, for certain.
Rather, Allah raised him to Himself. And ever is Allah Exalted in Might and Wise. [Quran 4:157,158]

I didn't know about this contradiction of the crucifixion in the Quran. That is very difficult for me to consider, since my experience is that the crucifixion and resurrection teaches us that the world is corrupt and yet killing of the body cannot stop Holy Spirit. It is a very powerful message about materialism being ultimately weaker than spiritual transcendence thereof.

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Quran also says:

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And [beware the Day] when Allah will say, "O Jesus, Son of Mary, did you say to the people, 'Take me and my mother as deities besides Allah ?'" He will say, "Exalted are You! It was not for me to say that to which I have no right. If I had said it, You would have known it. You know what is within myself, and I do not know what is within Yourself. Indeed, it is You who is Knower of the unseen.

Let's look at John 18:36:

36Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world; if it were, My servants would fight to prevent My arrest by the Jews. But now, My kingdom is not of this realm.” 37“Then You are a king!” Pilate said. “You say that I am a king,” Jesus answered. “For this reason I was born and have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to My voice.”…

17“Do not cling to Me,” Jesus said, “for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go and tell My brothers, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God.’”
John 20:17

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“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’
Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
[Matthew 7:21-23]

Now you need to ask this question to yourself who worships Jesus PBUH? It is none other than Christians and Jesus PBUH will reject them on the day of Judgement. What a waste that would be....

You are still stuck in making sense of Trinity, blood atonement and crucifixion of Jesus PBUH after such detailed discussion. I can provide so many quotations from the Bible showing that Jesus did not die from crucifixion but I am guessing it will be waste of my time because you pretty much want to believe in Jesus PBUH to die otherwise in your mind you can't earn forgiveness.

Matthew 27

35 When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots. 36 And sitting down, they kept watch over him there. 37 Above his head they placed the written charge against him: this is jesus, the king of the jews.

38 Two rebels were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. 39 Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads 40 and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!” 41 In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. 42 “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. 43 He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” 44 In the same way the rebels who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.
The Death of Jesus

45 From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. 46 About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli,[a] lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).

47 When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.”

48 Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. 49 The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”

50 And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.

51 At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split 52 and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53 They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and[c] went into the holy city and appeared to many people.

54 When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”

55 Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs. 56 Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph,[d] and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.

God is one, He is not father of anyone. He is Merciful and Just and can forgive anyone who repents and asks for forgiveness. It is that simple for God to forgive. You can believe in Jesus PBUH as your God, I choose to worship the God who created Jesus PBUH.

Matthew 1

The Birth of Jesus
(Isaiah 7:10-16; Micah 5:1-6; Luke 2:1-7)

18This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged in marriage to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with Child through the Holy Spirit. 19Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and was unwilling to disgrace her publicly, he resolved to divorce her quietly.

20But after he had pondered these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to embrace Mary as your wife, for the One conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21She will give birth to a Son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.”

22All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:

23“Behold, the virgin will be with child

and will give birth to a son,

and they will call Him Immanuel”a

(which means, “God with us”).

24When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him, and embraced Mary as his wife. 25But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a Son. And he gave Him the name Jesus.

You shouldn't sow conflict between Christianity and Islam in the way that you are doing. There is no reason to argue over what is God and what isn't,

“My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. And he (Jesus) went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, ‘O my God, if it be possible, let this cup (death) pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.” [Matthew 26:38-39]

“And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.” [Luke 22:44]

“(Jesus), Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto Him (God) that was able to save him from death, and was heard (answered) in that he feared.” [Hebrews 5:7]

“And Jesus saith, for with God all things are possible.” [Mark 10:27]

“For the Scriptures say, ‘He will order his angels to protect and guard you. And they will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’” [Luke 4:10-11]

“For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet. Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name: He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him, and show him my salvation.” [Psalm 91:11-16]