ISLAM Q&A

Contridictions
I read these, tell me what you think?:

What was man created from? A blood clot [96:1-2], water [21:30, 24:45, 25:54], "sounding" (i.e. burned) clay [15:26], dust [3:59, 30:20, 35:11], nothing [19:67] and this is then denied in 52:35, earth [11:61], a drop of thickened fluid [16:4, 75:37]

Heavens or Earth? Which was created first? First earth and then heaven [2:29], heaven and after that earth [79:27-30].

Calling together or ripping apart? In the process of creation heaven and earth were first apart and are called to come together [41:11], while 21:30 states that they were originally one piece and then ripped apart.

How many days did Allah need to destroy the people of Aad? One day [54:19] or several days [41:16; 69:6,7]

Just some interesting things.

Hello Austin,


Indeed, the Holy Qur'an says that Man was created from sperm, from dust, from 'alaq', from water. All of these statements are scientifically established.
It is not a Contradiction but a Contradistinction. Suppose I say that in order to make a cup of tea one needs water. One also needs tea-leaves or tea powder. The two statements are not contradictory since both water and tea leaves are required in order to make a cup of tea.
Thus there is no contradiction in the Qur'an when it says that Man is created from sperm, dust and water. It is not a contradiction but a contradistinction. Contradistinction means speaking about two different concepts on the same subject without conflict. For instance if I say that the man is always truthful and a habitual liar, it is a contradiction, but if I say that a man is always honest, kind and loving, then it is a contradistinction.

Exactly (!) the same question you posed can be found here:
What was Man Created From?



Three explanations are given here:
Which was Created first, the Heavens or the Earth



Refuted here:
Were the Heavens and the Earth called together, or ripped apart for Creation
And here:
Calling together or ripping apart?



Your fourth copy/paste question is answered here:
The Time Taken to Destroy the Aad

I welcome any additional questions.

And Allah knows best.

Prophet
So if you say Jesus is and was a Prophet . . which a prophet could only be decided by God right? Why would a Prophet, chosen by God, whom knows all, choose someone who would claim to be his son? Why would a Prophet stray off and create, if this is true then, blasphemy? To have a divine walk with God, but to blaspheme the lord by claiming to be His Son? How do you explain the create of Christ? Was he just simply a man born of this world by natural copulation by Mary?

Very er..prophetic....is Aramaic your first language?

well thank you muslim1

and I hope you understand that all I am seeking is truth

but the website you directed my attention to does not answer my question which is, again,

what happened to all the artefacts on which the original words of God were written?

Language
No and neither is Arabic. So you are saying that I should only follow that which is spoken or written in English? I understand that in translation you loose some context. I guess none of us were around at that time to witness for ourselves. I struggle with faith and find it hard to simply just believe. I feel that Judiasm, Christianity, Muslim . . all of these are the same. They are different by a few simple beliefs. I believe that the "God" or "Allah" or whatever is that of the same. Ahh . . if God/Allah could simply reveal himself to me or show me some miracle to point me in the right direction I would bow down and follow until my death. All that I currently see is death and destruction, hatred and crime, disease and pain, none of which points me to believe in a God.

its still Aramaic to me.

er.. would anyone please provide a critism or at least a "take" on the following article i chanced upon?? -
please let us know which parts of the article are wrong and which are right if any.

from - http://christianactionforisrael.org/sacred_places.html


When the late Israeli Prime Minister, Yitzhak Rabin, and Foreign Minister Shimon Peres signed the Oslo Accords on the White House lawn (September 1993), they initiated a process whereby Israel would lose control of its Sacred Places and its Holy Land. Even before Oslo, Moshe Dayan had surrendered the most sacred of Jewish Holy Places, the Temple Mount, to the Arabs. There is much more involved here than politics as ususal. I believe that there is something terrible dangerous about the removal of the Jews from their Sacred Places.

All over the world, from Stonehenge in England to the great temples of India, one finds Holy Places with great mystical power for the people who inhabit those lands. Some shrines of the East draw believers from across the globe. The power of these places can not be explained scientifically. One only needs to step onto Mount Abu in India to feel the presence of great mystical forces. And then there is Banares, the Hindu's Holy City of Light casting a warm glow over the sacred Ganges river.

Islam arose in the 7th century on the foundation of a pagan (Meccan) religion that worshiped a large black stone, known as the Kaaba. Muhammad learned the rudiments of Judaism from the many Jews living in Arabia. He created the Islamic religion by re-writing the Jewish Holy Scriptures (calling it the Koran) and fusing it with the local pagan customs. One pagan concept became horribly significant as Islam spread both east and west across the world. The reverence for the Kaaba and the belief that Arab power derived from it became a brutal principle in the conquest of other peoples. As Islam was spread by the sword, the Sacred Places of conquered peoples were destroyed and occupied.

It became a standard practice to destroy an Indian, Persian, Zoroastrian, Buddhist, Jewish or Christian temple and build a mosque on its ruins. This was always interpreted by historians as a kind of one upmanship. A way to demonstrate the superiority of Islam and humiliate the defeated. Koenraad Elst in his recent book NEGATIONISM IN INDIA writes: "In all the lands it conquered, Islam has replaced indigenous places of worship with mosques. In Iran, there are no ancient Zoroastrians or Manichean shrines left. In Central Asia, there are no Buddhist temples left. Similarly, in India (except the far South where Islam penetrated rather late) there are practically no Hindu temples that have survived the Muslim period (over 10,000 destroyed). But there are thousands of mosques built on the foundations of Hindu temples (for example, the Ayodhya temple)." In my opinion, this Islamic behavior was more than an exhibition of cruel superiority. It was based on the pagan belief that they would acquire the power of the defeated peoples by absorbing their Holy Places and making them theirs.

Let's see how these forces play out in the Arab war of extermination against the Jewish people (incorrectly called the Arab-Israeli Conflict). After Israel was conquered by the Arabs armies, the Temple Mount was used to build the Mosque of Omar (Dome of the Rock) and the Al Aska Mosque. While Jerusalem is not mentioned even once in the Koran, modern Arabs make great pretense by claiming it as one of their holy sites. This, of course is nonsense.

The Arab claim that each and every Jewish Holy Place is rightfully theirs has become quite common and accepted by the western media. First Jerusalem and the Temple Mount, then Hebron and the Cave of the Patriarchs, and on to the Tomb of Joseph (Nablus), Ramat Rachel and more.

The Western Wall, the last remaining remnant of Solomon's Temple and sacred to Jews for over 2000 years, had been in Jordanian controlled Jerusalem since 1949. The Jordanians, acting with malice aforethought, had denied Jews access to their sacred Holy Place. I visited the Wall for the first time in 1967. When I placed my hands on this magnificent relic of our forefathers, I felt a surge of light and energy the likes of which I had never known. In what had to have been but the flash of a second, I felt at one with Jews from all periods of history. At the Passover seder we are told to thank G-d for delivering us from Egypt as though we ourselves had been brought out of bondage. At that moment in Jerusalem, this seder message was very real for me.

In an instant I saw the continuity of Jewish history and its unbreakable connection with Eretz Yisrael (Land of Israel). I understood how modern Israel is the beginning of the Third Temple Period and the spiritual heir to Joshua, Saul, David, Solomon, the Maccabees and Bar Kokhba. I frequently write about the security reasons for incorporating Judea, Samaria, and Gaza into the body of Israel. There is another side to this issue and that is the spiritual-religious side. The truth, which many find inconvenient, is that the Land of Israel was promised by G-d to Abraham and his seed in perpetuity. The Land of Israel is not speculative real estate to be bartered away for some high sounding (false) promises of peace. The hills and valleys of Judea and Samaria contain the collective memory of the Jewish people. It was here that the Israelites first entered the Holy Land. And it was here they fought the battles, built the towns, elected their kings and were preached to by their prophets and judges. And it was on this soil that they wrote the Holy Scriptures we call our Bible.

In my blinding flash of insight at the Wall, I also understood that Israel on its own soil was more powerful than the sum of its weapons and men. Jews who had wandered the earth powerless for two millenniums attained great power when re-united with the soil of Israel.

What about the Arabs? They are destroying the Jewish people by taking over their Sacred Land. There is something very real and awe inspiring about the Jewish connection to Eretz Yisrael and the Arabs KNOW it and seek to destroy that mystical connection. With profound stupidity and avarice the political Left in Israel is cooperating with this evil project. And worse, some religious Jews and members of the Right are also going along with the dismemberment of Israel. Some say it will save lives to appease the Arabs. Foolishness. The predatory Arabs already smell victory and each new concession makes their lust for Jewish blood grow.

Wouldn't the Arabs object to the removal of the Mosque of Omar (Dome of the rock) and the Al Aqsa mosque from the Temple Mount? Of course they would, but they have no legitimate rights in the area. "There is no reason the sovereign State of Israel, needs to allow this desecration Jewish Holy Places to continue." Today on the Mount, the Arabs are supreme. They are destroying all archaeological remnants of Jewish sites. They are storing weapons in their mosques to kill Jews.

One thing is clear to me: the L-rd has blessed Israel by re-uniting Jerusalem and bringing Judea, Samaria, and Gaza back under its control. It would be a horrendous sin against G-d and common sense for Israel to renounce this inheritance to which it is entitled. Israel holds these lands as a sacred trust for the Jewish people in perpetuity.

It would not only be sinful, but also criminal, to abuse that trust by denying future generations of Jews their Holy Land -- Land of their Fathers; the one tiny spot on planet earth given to them by G-d.

Brahmin

That article just confirms to me how utterly hopeless it is to try and reason with people who are convinced God has given them permission to act unreasonably. Intolerance breeds intolerance, and at the heart of it is religion, some religions being much worse than others. Its time the civilised world stood up and challenged these backward looking, repressive illiberal anti science anti knowledge creeds. We have been far too tolerant of false and dangerous ideas out of a desire not to cause offense. Religious people fall into two categories, the deluded and the dangerously deluded, and the dangerous ones are doing real harm. Its time to fight back at an intellectual level and expose bad ideas for what they are...bad.

we like the leave them be approach and the game of attrition approach.
sort of like how the west forught communism through not a all out war but a cold war. then communism collapsed on its own cos such an economically absurd and unfeasable idea could not go on forever.


the corollary of the motto of india ("Satyameva Jayate' " = the truth will win/the truth wins in the end) is -

"backward looking, repressive illiberal anti science anti knowledge creeds" - WILL FAIL !!


a frontal head on attack on anything fundamental or radical is too pricey for people who have a lot more to live for in their lives (than pushing myopic ideas or settling mediaval scores) and problems on their plates.

the west could not have attacked communists frontally and not harmed itself too in the bargain. they had to beaten in a game of attrition.

a wise move that. and repeatable.

"backward looking, repressive illiberal anti science anti knowledge creeds" - WILL FAIL !!"

You make a good point there brahmin. I just want to give it a little push by pointing out the absurdity of some of their ideas. I'm not sure we can afford to wait around for it to collapse of its own accord.

I was thinking last night of ten questions

here they are

1. What does Islam say about lowering the age of consent for homosexual partnerships to bring it into line with heterosexual unions?

2. Why, if motor cars were invented long after the time of Mohammed, does Islam ban women from driving?

3. What is wrong with eating pork, now we have refrigerators?

4. Why are Muslim women barred from taking part in sporting activities?

5. Can a woman train to become an iman or mullah and preach in a mosque? If not why not?

6. Why has Islam banned the depiction of the human form in art?

7. Why are Muslims not allowed to dance sing drink alcohol or (apparantly) have fun?

8. If there is no compulsion in religion, can a young woman brought up as a Muslim marry a Christian or a Jew and bring up their children as Christian or Jewish without fear of retribution?

9. Does Islam reject the notion of probability and chance, because as I understand it, nothing happens but through the will of Allah?

10. What happened to all the pieces of bone, pottery, papyrus, stones etc. that the scribes used to record the words of Mohammed?

Austin,


Your (and my) Creator, God (Allah in Arabic), answers you: "Allah knoweth best where (and how) to carry out His mission" [Holy Qur'an 6:124]. Indeed, almighty God knows best whom He chooses as a prophet.
Note that Jesus (peace be upon him) never claimed to be the son of God, God forbid, but the people who came after Jesus (peace be upon him) claimed so.
The choice of Jesus (peace be upon him), knowing that there will be people claiming that he's God's son (God forbid), may be a test for humanity: those who love God, those who know God's Majesty, those who know how God is far from any imperfection will never accept such false claim.



As I said, Jesus (peace be upon him) never claimed to be God's son. In Islam, we believe that Jesus (peace be upon him) is one of the mightiest prophets: "Behold! the angels said: "O Mary! Allah giveth thee glad tidings of a Word from Him: his name will be Christ Jesus, the son of Mary, held in honour in this world and the Hereafter and of (the company of) those nearest to Allah." [Holy Qur'an 3:45]
So, to talk about Jesus (peace be upon him) committing blasphemy is illogical.



Your (and my) Sustainer, God (Allah), answers you: "The similitude of Jesus before Allah is as that of Adam; He created him from dust, then said to him: "Be". And he was." [Holy Qur'an 3:59]
The one who created Adam (peace be upon him) without parents is certainly able to create Jesus (peace be upon him) without father.

I welcome any additional questions.

And Allah knows best.

there's 10 above that you can get on with

Steve,


Homosexuality is completely forbidden in Islam.
The people of prophet Lut (peace be upon him) who were committing such evil (homosexuality) are amongst the worst people mentioned in the Holy Qur'an.



You should know, Steve, that Islam gives for Mankind general rules that are applicable in the past, present and future. Islam is needed in any time, any era.
As for women driving, the scholars who ban it (not all of them) say that it is to prevent inter-meeting of men-women and to protect the jewel of Islam (the woman) from sitting with a non-mahram man.
Woman is the source of beauty and the builder of future generations. That's why Islam protects her from any evil.



Already answered here:
Why pork is prohibited



Women can practice sport in a place that no stranger would see them.
If you talk about the world sporting activities where women wear non-Islamic clothings, we are completely against it.



The wife of the Prophet, Aichah (may Allah be pleased with her), was the most knowledgeable person after the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). She used to (from behind a veil) the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them).




In Islam, it is allowed to have human photos (for passport, driving licence...). What is banned are photos which are meant for glorifying a person, as all the glory is to God (Allah) almighty.
As for drawing a human form in art: we believe that "He is Allah, the Creator, the Evolver, the Bestower of Forms" [Holy Qur'an 59:24]. It is not for the created (humans) to compete with the Creator in that field.



We are permitted to have fun with which our Creator allowed us to. If we obey the Sustainer of the universe in this world, He will give us all what we desire in the Hereafter.
This world, Steve, is gonna perish. We all are going to die. I invite you to obey you Creator in this world so that you can have forever, ever-lasting joy and fun in the Paradise.




Allowing a Muslim man to marry a Christian or a Jewish woman, is an exceptional rule applied under special circumstances. And when a Muslim man marries a Christian or a Jewish woman, there is no problem, because he believes in all prophets, and all holy books. There will be no problem between him and his wife in this matter, especially that his religion -Islam- commands him to be fair with his wife even if she were Christian or Jewish. And any Muslim man going through such marriage should have strong belief in his faith, and should strongly abide by his religion.

The reason for forbidding a Muslim woman from marrying a non-Muslim, is that a Christian or a Jewish man believes only in his prophet, and doesn't believe in prophet Mohammad (peace and blessings be upon him).

For example, when this Muslim woman, tries to teach her kids to love and respect all prophets and believe in all of them, her non-Muslim husband will not agree, because he believes only in his prophet. He will interfere in the way she raises her kids, and prevents her from raising them in an Islamic way. And here comes the real problem, because she will have only two options, whether she leaves the whole thing as it is, and does nothing about it -which will be an insult to her religion- or she argues about the matter, and this will sure lead to more marital problems.

On the other hand, there will be no such problems between a Muslim husband, and a non Muslim wife, because if this wife tried to teach her kids to love and believe in her prophet, her Muslim husband will not refuse that because he already believes in her prophet and all prophets. This is why Islam allows the marriage between Muslim man and non-Muslim woman, and forbids the marriage between Muslim woman, and non-Muslim man. Because Islam respects the marital relationship and wants to guarantee its stability, not because it respects men, and disrespects women …




There is a difference between what God knows and what we (humans) know. If probability helps us in maths, physics and other fields, no problem, it is not in contradiction with the FACT that "nothing happens but through the will of Allah".
Imagine that you throw two dices (A and B), in your (and my) limited knowledge, we say that the probability to have a 5 in dice A and 2 in dice B is 1/36. But, since God is all knowledgable, He knows exactly what number will appear in each dice every time you (or I) throw the two dices.
We use propbability to help us because our knowledge is limited. "Of knowledge it is only a little that is communicated to you, (O men!)" [Holy Qur'an 17:85]




As I mentioned before, Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), the first caliph of Islam and the most righteous of the Companions, ordered that the Qur'an be copied from the various different materials on to a common material and place, which was in the shape of sheets. These were tied with strings so that nothing of the compilation was lost.
I don't know what happened to scrapes of leather, thin flat stones, leaflets, palm branches, shoulder blades. But that is not so important for two reasons:
1) We do not worship those pieces of scrapes of leather, thin flat stones, leaflets, palm branches, shoulder blades. What is important is their content.
2) All their content was copied into one material. So nothing was lost.



I would like to ask you one single question: what's your religion (if there is any)? Do you believe in God?
Your answer may help our discussions go forward.
Thank you for your questions.

And Allah knows best.

aah.... but apparently bestiality isnt.

in jordan or lebanon or syria (i need to check this) its perfectly legal to hump animals - as long as the animal is of the opposite sex - islam is really against homosexual bestiality/bestial homosexuality.

and then there's the small matter of insest and paedophillia - didnt someone do it with a completely underage woman, also a blood relation of his .er... His ???

Muslim1. You have given genuine answers to my genuine questions and I thank you for that. At least I have a better understanding of "where you are coming from" - I might not agree with you, but I understand you better.

I asked 10 questions so I suppose its only fair to try and answer the one question you asked of me.

"Do you believe in God?"

This is the most difficult question. I cant give a simple Yes or No answer. (Thats not to say I cant come to a conclusion, just that I have to give an explanation).

I was raised and educated as a Christian. (Church of England....though my mother is a Unitarian). But as a rebellious teenager I rejected religious dogma and became, if this is not too pretentious a word, a "freethinker". For many years I made no demands on religion of any sort, and religion made no demands on me. I studied an applied science degree. But science whilst it provides no evidence for the existence of God, provides lots of evidence for the sheer glory and majesty of the Universe which invokes in me at least a sense of awe and wonder. It is this path that I am interested in.

However I have no time for "organised religion". That is religion which merely involves abiding by a set of rules. Organised religions, and I'm thinking in particular of Christianity, Judaism and Islam..the three main Abrahamistic and monotheistic religions have in my view caused a great deal of suffering for mankind.


....so I reject them. I'm conscious I have not yet answered your question. pushed for time now. more later

and i thought london had enough suicide bombers already.




FACT eh ??
prove it.

btw is it through the will of allah, that i am wanking with my other hand even as i am typing?
is that due to my will or HIS ?

plus, when usa bombs theliving daylihts out of iraq and afghanistan, is that through Dubya's will or HIS ?? if the latter, then i dont see why you should complain. after all "and HE knows best"

Muslim1

Some further comments on your answers.

Homosexuality. Its been with us for ever. It has been tolerated in some societies, less so in others. I dont believe one is fundamentally in charge of one's own sexual orientation, its primarily genetic imo. No matter what you think of it, you will not eliminate it by proclamation or by reference to the people of Lot in the Koran. To condemn someone as "bad" because they are homosexual is grossly unfair and just plain silly imo. You may as well say that all left handed people or all people with ginger hair will go to hell. (unless they become right handed and start growing dark hair).

Women drivers. You know there have been times when I have had great sympathy with the Islamic position on this, but for entirely different reasons.

Preventing women from driving is just discrimination against women. I'm all for protecting vulerable members of society, but I dont see how preventing a woman from driving a car does this. (And further if the Koran provides all the answers, why do Islamic scholars differ on this matter? Either its ok for a woman to drive a car or its not. If a woman drives from Oman into Saudi Arabia, in what way does she offend against Islamic law when she crosses the border?). It doesnt make sense to me.

Eating pork. Pigs are certainly omnivorous. But that does not necessarily make the meat harmful. In the wild, pigs are very clean animals. Obviously eating the meat from a diseased or infected animal of any sort is a bad idea. But I will grant you that pork meat will go bad quickly, especially in a hot climate. (As does shellfish). I thought perhaps this was an area where Islam could say pork was banned because it was difficult to keep in good condition, but now we have refrigeration and use modern hygene methods it is ok to eat it.

Women in sport. Again banning women from taking part because sports clothing is deemed un Islamic makes no sense to me. I dont like to see young women wearing inappropriate clothing, it makes them look stupid and cheapens their own sexuality but that doesnt mean a woman must go around wearing (in public) a black gown from head to foot all the time. There is such a thing as common sense in these matters. And in any case if a woman athlete has a fine physique God gave it to her, I do think it possible to admire the human form, male and female without lust.

Women imans etc. You say Aichah preached in the mosque, or at least thats what I think you said, but I think you dodge the question. The answer is surely no. I cant think that a woman would preach to men in a mosque as Christianity has women priests and Judaism women Rabbis.

Human form in art. I must confess I never thought about art as competing with the glory of God. Its a fair point, but I think art which obviously depicts the sitter in a boastful way would be considered not very good art. But what about architecture. Does that not make big statements about the prowess of Man?

Alcohol, singing etc. Islam gives the impression that it is very dour. Whilst I'm not making excuses for the hedonistic excesses of the few, I dont see what's wrong with a little wine song and dance. I also think its quite wrong to suggest that anyone who has ever enjoyed themselves is somehow destined for hell.

Marrying outside of Islam. Thats a very revealing answer thanks. It seems to me that whilst there may be no compulsion to become a Muslim, once you are muslim you cant change your faith or if you are a woman marry outside of Islam.

Probability etc. We can use all sorts of sophisticated mathematical and statistical techniques some of which are very useful in predicting outcomes. As it is only God who knows for sure, doesn't our use of mathematics offend against God by trying to second guess Him? Moreover if God knows what the throw of two dice will be, surely earnest prayer by many people all wanting God to allow the numbers to be 2 and 5 would have an effect. Unfortunately the chance of those two numbers is 1/36 as you say, and no amount of prayer will make it 1/20 or 1/10. One can very easily devise an experiment to demonstrate this.

Original writings. OK I accept the content is more important for you than the material on which it was written. But dont you find it surprising that all those pieces were lost? On the other hand what if a piece of bone which could be accurately dated to the time of Mohammed, with genuine script from that time did indeed come to light? Would that not become a most sacred relic for Islam?

Your Jewish Post
Not too sure what to think of that. I was told to believe that the Jews were God's chosen people. However, can I ask what must be built/done in order for the Islamic Prophet to come to Earth? Like for the Jew's if part of the Wailing Wall falls or something that is a significant event. What is it for the Muslims? I heard it was something like they had to build a temple on some holy Jewish site or something like that? If that IS the case, then if I were the Jew's I would allow them to build the temple just to see if the Muslims were right after all. I mean if they build it and the Prophet comes, then Muslims win. :wink: