Kamalan ohuesta sukka langasta saa tikutella sukkia taas ikuisuuteen ,kun näitä pitäisi jaksaa tehdä 15 paria( saksaan) ja vasta toinen pari on menossa koko 42 ja sukkapuikot 2mm. Onneksi on loma tulossa.
3 kuukautta sitten
keskiviikkona 16. joulukuuta 2009
Perus sukat
Kamalan ohuesta sukka langasta saa tikutella sukkia taas ikuisuuteen ,kun näitä pitäisi jaksaa tehdä 15 paria( saksaan) ja vasta toinen pari on menossa koko 42 ja sukkapuikot 2mm. Onneksi on loma tulossa.Lapsen sukat
Huovutin sukkat lapselle ihan kokeilu mielessä vai sanoisinko bootsit niistä tuli . lankana Freedom SpiritLife and Death
Shaykh Metwalli : الشعراوي
Life & Death
***
by
, Sheik Muhammad Mitwaly Al-Shaa˜rÃwy
Chapter five
The Life Of This World
~.~.~.~.~.
Allah, praise and glory be to Him, has created the universe for a specific aim. He informed us with it in order to know why the creation has been brought about? What is the aim? And what is the end?
Allah, Whose Majesty reigns most high, says (what means):
“And I (Allah) created not the jinns and humans except they should worship Me (Alone). I seek not any provision from them (i.e. provision for themselves or for My creatures) nor do I ask that they should feed Me (i.e. feed themselves or My creatures). Verily, Allah is the All-Provider, Owner of Power, the Most Strong.†(Az-Zâriyât, 51: 56-58).
The aim behind creating this universe is to worship Allah, praise Him, celebrate His Glory, and exalt Him. In these Qur’anic verses The Truth, praise and glory be to Him, did not assign by name except ‘The jinns and humans’, while excluding the rest of the creatures in the universe, but why?
Because Allah has given freedom of choice only to those two species amongst the creatures: they can believe in Allah and they can, Allah forbid, disbelieve in Him. They can obey Allah and they can, Allah forbid, disobey Him. As for the rest of the species in the universe, they are made to obey and never can disobey. They continually glorify the Praises of Allah, the Exalted and Ever-Majestic; they never forget His Glorification or slacken in it. Recite the Qur’anic verse in which Allah, be He highly blessed and exalted praise, says (what means):
“See you not that to Allah prostrates whoever is in the heavens and whoever is on the earth, and the sun, and the moon, and the stars, and the mountains, and the trees, and Ad-Dawâb (moving living creatures, beasts, etc.), and many of mankind? But there are many (men) on whom the punishment is justified. And whomsoever Allah disgraces, none can honour him. Verily! Allah does what He wills.†(Al-Hajj, 22:18)
The noble Qur’anic verse generalized prostration that include all the creatures, whether in the heavens or on the earth. None of them leave submission, showing obedience, remembering Allah and Glorifying His Praises. But mankind did not attain such a generalization. Instead, they are divided into two parties: one that obeys and believes and the other that disobeys and disbelieves. This division came only when Allah mentioned mankind, why? Because, as aforementioned, Allah, be He highly blessed and Exalted, has given mankind as well as jinn freedom of choice.
Allah has created this great universe to serve man, the viceroy on earth. The entire universe willingly obeyed their Creator, but many among mankind whom Allah has given sovereignty over His universe did not comply!
Allah, Whose Majesty reigns most high, has offered the trust, which is freedom of choice, to all species of the universe, but they were afraid to bear such a responsibility and said, ‘O Lord! We want to be compelled to obey.’ Allah, praise and glory be to Him, says (what means):
“Truly, We did offer AlÂAmânah (the trust or moral responsibility or honesty and all the duties which Allah has ordained) to the heavens and the earth, and the mountains, but they declined to bear it and were afraid of it (i.e. afraid of Allah’s Torment). But man bore it. Verily, he was unjust (to himself) and ignorant (of its results).†(Al-Ahzâb, 33: 72)
This was the first and the last choice that all the species in this universe made. As for man, he chose to bear the trust, because Allah has willed that man should come to Him willingly not compulsorily. Man can disbelieve, but he believes out of loving Allah; he can disobey, but he obeys out of loving Allah. Therefore, mankind and jinn are the species that prove the attribute of loving Allah for His Sake. They willingly choose to follow His Way, out of love not compulsion. Hence, they glorify the Praises of Allah, prostrate themselves to Him, exalt Him, pray to Him and invoke Him as a confession of their love to Allah, praise and glory be to Him.
The Truth, be He highly blessed and exalted, says (what means): “And I (Allah) created not the jinns and humans except they should worship Me (Alone).†(Az-Zâriyât, 51: 56). For worship to be real, it should comprise all the activities of life. In other words, all man’s actions should reflect his love for Allah and every movement in life should be a vivid proof of this love. The Divine Law should be his guiding light, devotion should be his leader and no crookedness should be in the path he follows. Allah should never see him where He prohibited him, nor miss him where He ordered him to be.
True worship and how it should be?
People think that worship is only the five pillars of Islam, “Testifying that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, offering Prayer dutifully and perfectly, Paying Zakâh (Obligatory Charity), fasting Ramadan, and performing Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca) for whoever has the means to do so.†We say that these are the bases on which our religion is established.
Our lord has chosen Islam for us to be always with Him and not to be overtaken by Satan and in order to receive His Blessings, His Bestowments and Generosities all the time. For offering prayer after prayer gives us the power of faith that would guard us against deviation from the right path and draw us closer to Allah, be He highly blessed and exalted. The same applies to Fasting, paying the Zakâh and performing Hajj. Every act of worship amongst them is a Light from Allah, so whenever we feel languor or gloominess in the soul, we should resort to a brand from the Light of Allah that would restore our stability of faith. Same thing when your battery runs low, you connect it to a powerful electric source to get it recharged. Indeed, Islam encompasses the entire course of life, and covers every movement in it.
I do not want to get involved in a futile debate with those who say that the pillars of Islam are just Islam; that so long you offer prayers, pay Zakâh, fast and perform Hajj, you have guaranteed that you are with Allah, so you can do as you please and leave the movement of life uncontrolled by any of the regulations dictated by faith!
I say to all those people that I shall not discuss or debate what you are saying. I will only talk about one of the pillars (of Islam), which is offering prayers (Al-Salat). To perform our prayers we need some basic elements that help us stand between the Hands of Allah
The first thing we must do in order to stand between the Hands of Allah and for our prayer to be valid is to cover the private parts of our bodies. I would not say that I would need a garment or the like, just a piece of cloth to cover our private parts. This piece of cloth needs cotton; the cotton in turn needs someone to cultivate it and the cultivation needs plowing, seeds and irrigation. Seeds could be available or not. In case they were not, we must import them. In order to plow the land there must be a plow made of steel, that simple plow, which the primitive man used.
Further, we may need to search for an iron ore in mountains, which has to be melted for the plow to be made. We will also need a blacksmith to take this melted iron and shape it into a sharp tool, and then someone to bring it for us to use it. After the cotton ripen, we will need someone to harvest it, then someone to carry it to the cotton gin, then someone to take it to the cotton mill where it is spun into thread, then to the weaver who would interlace it into cloth, and then to the merchant who would sell it to us. All these stages are necessary so that I can stand in front of Allah having the private parts of my body covered for my prayer to be accepted.
Who prepares food for us?
In order to be strong to perform prayers I need what sustains me; a mouthful to eat in order to be able to bow and prostrate myself; a mouthful that strengthens me to do so. This loaf of bread that I buy from the grocery store has a long story of work behind it; beginning with the one who cultivated the wheat, then the one who grounded it into flour, then the one who kneaded it and baked it and finally to the one who brought it to the grocery store for me to buy.
We can see thus that much work is actually done in order to perform prayer. Imagine if we all remained praying in the Masjids doing nothing else, who would bring us a piece of cloth to cover our private parts and a loaf of bread to sustain ourselves? Whatever is needed to perform a certain duty is itself a duty. Therefore, worship comprises every action in this universe. So long as Allah, praise and glory be to Him, wants man a worshipper, He wants him a worshipper in his house, a worshipper in his office, a worshipper in the Masjid and a worshipper on the road; he should be a worshipper in every step of his life. Islam exhorts to the observance of decorum, it has even set some proprieties for people to follow while being on the road.
Allah, praise and glory be to Him, has shared out His Reward on the entire movement of life, because the course of Islam comprises all this movement. Thus, He has decreed a reward for he who visits the sick, he who maintains justice in judging between people, he who treats his neighbor kindly, he who removes whatever might be harmful from the road, he who helps a disabled to cross the road, he who spends on his family, he who answers people’s needs, he who puts an end to an act of injustice, he who utters kind words, he who gives a sincere advice, he who seeks to gain his living and that of his children, and he who forbids what is wrong and enjoins what is right. All that besides tens of thousands of other deeds, not included in the pillars of Islam but cause the winning of a great reward.
When we restrict our deeds to the performance of the five pillars of Islam, we deprive ourselves from ninety percent of the reward which Allah has promised us for sincerity in performing the activities of life. So long as The Truth, praise be to Him, has said (what means): “And I (Allah) created not the jinns and humans except they should worship Me (Alone).†(Az-Zâriyât, 51:65), then His entire Ordained Course is worship. This Course controls a believer’s actions in the universe; thus, every single action is an act of worship as long as it is dedicated to the end of earning the Good Pleasure of Allah.
The Divine Law set before creation
Before Allah, praise be to Him, created man, He established a Law for him and assigned his duty in life. As aforementioned, anyone who creates anything must first determine its purpose. As long as life is the capability of a thing to perform its duty, we must know the duty Allah has created us for. Allah, be He highly blessed and exalted, has established the Law of our life to be capable to perform the duty for whose sake we have been created.
It is real strange that the source of the world’s blights is man. Because he has a free will and a reasoning power to choose between alternatives, while the other creatures, that are made to obey Allah, cause no mischief.
They perform the role they were created for compulsorily without choice. But what ruins life and the entire universe are the matters in which man interferes with his power of choice.
Allah, be He highly blessed and exalted, wants us to follow in life the Law of our Creator, whereby we fulfill our duty exactly as the rest of the species of the universe. Allah, praise and glory be to Him, says (what means):
“(And) if you differ in anything amongst yourselves, refer it to Allah and His Messenger (SAW).†(An-Nisâ’, 4:59)
All the creatures in the universe, including inanimate beings, plants, and animals, are all subjugated to perform their duty in life; that is serving man. But what is man’s duty? His sole duty is to worship Allah. Allah, be He highly blessed and exalted, says in the Sanctified Hadith:
“O son of Adam! I have created this universe for you, and created you for Myself, so do not be occupied by what is yours in place of what you are for.â€
What is the essence of worship? Does Allah want us just to say, ‘Subhân-Allâh’ (glorified be Allah), all daylong and that is it? No, actually worshipping Allah is man’s wholehearted occupation with the duty Allah has created him for. Every move in the universe is an act of worship. We resort to the five pillars of Islam to charge the faith ‘battery’ inside us. Therefore, the meaning of ‘worshiping,’ would be obeying Allah in the entire established Divine Law.
Man’s duty in life
All the creatures on the earth, including plants, inanimate beings and animals, are subjugated to you man, servile, obeying you in anything asked of them. Their duty in life is to serve the believer and the disbeliever, the pious and the impious until the Hour of Resurrection is established. Only then, man loses this privilege and this subjugation ends.
In worldly life, the sun does not shine on the believers only; nor does the earth gives forth its plants to the believers and withholds it from the disbelievers. The species of the earth interact for man and through him, regardless of his creed and his faith in his Lord. So, whoever succeed in adopting the means, would receive their yield, without differentiating between he who says, ‘Lâ ilâha ill-Allâh’ (There is no God save Allah), and he who refuses to say it.
But in the hereafter things would be much different. The species would serve the believer alone and would not serve the disbeliever. When the disbeliever would attempt to lie to Allah and claims that he has obeyed Him, his legs would say, ‘No my Lord, he used me everyday to walk to the tavern.’ And his hands would say, ‘No my Lord, he used me to smite the weak’ And his tongue would say, ‘No my Lord, he used me to utter the word of disbelief.’ Thereby, he loses all mastery even over his own body. Recite the Qur’anic verse in which Allah, says (what means):
“Till, when they reach it (Hell-fire), their hearing (ears) and their eyes, and their skins will testify against them as to what they used to do. And they will say to their skins, ‘Why do you testify against us?’ They will say: ‘Allah has caused us to speak, as He causes all things to speak, and He created you the first time, and to Him you are made to return.’†(Fussilat, 41: 20-21)
Thus, man’s freedom of choice and the creatures’ serviceability to him are given to all mankind in worldly life, but in the hereafter it is for the believers only.
If the disbeliever tried to escape on the Day of Resurrection, his feet would not move; if he wanted to run away from hellfire, his legs would drive him towards it in defiance of his will. If he wanted to drink, he would be given scalding water that would tear up his bowels, if he wanted to clothe himself; the angels of fire would cut out for him a garment from hellfire sticking to his body.
The species of the universe would not serve the disbeliever on the Day of Resurrection, but would curse him, burn him and torture him. Allah, praise and glory be to Him, has honored man by granting him another life; a life not given through means, but is directly bestowed by Allah, praise and glory be to Him. A life of delights not to forsake man nor is he to leave it; a life befitting in its bestowments the believer whom Allah has vested with power in the universe; an eternal life that knows no death.
Man’s lifetime does not end by his death after worldly life. He has another life, which is the meant one. But who is to attain such life and such delights? He is the one who fulfills in this worldly life the duty that Allah has created him for. That is, obeying Allah in what to do and what not to do, such obedience that leads man to immortality in heavenly delights.
Allah has created this world to be obeyed in it and to have all the creatures celebrating His Praises. If you joined the creatures of the universe and you became a worshipper of Allah, you would be in harmony with those species in worldly life, and then Allah, glory be to Him, would grant you immortality in the hereafter.
But if Allah, praise and glory be to Him, has created us to worship Him, does this mean that Allah, glory be to Him, needs this worship? We say, ‘With His Graceful Being, Allah stands Rich beyond need of any of His creatures. No sin will do Him the least harm, and He will profit none by any act of obedience. He has created us free to choose, then whosoever wills, let him believe, and whosoever wills, let him disbelieve. Whosoever wills, let him come to Allah willingly and not by force.’ Allah, Whose Majesty reigns most high, says (what means):
“If We will, We could send down to them from the heaven a sign, to which they would bend their necks in humility.†(Ash-Shu‘arâ’, 26: 4)
The Divine Law and the work of the human mind
What did man do after Allah has made him the master of this world and subjugated to him all the species of the universe? Did he justly perceive the meaning of worldly life and hastened to practice the Divine Law? On the contrary, man abandoned the Divine Law and began passing his own laws. Consequently, misery overwhelmed the universe because of the manmade laws that people adopted instead of the Law of Allah. Thus, man became miserable because he deserted the Law decreed by Allah and followed his own intellect.
Certainly, there is sharp difference between having the laws that govern your life established by The All-Knowing, The All-Wise, The Omnipotent and having them established by a human with limited capabilities, understanding and lifetime, who knows some things and is ignorant of many others.
The Divine Laws are stable, neither change nor alter, for the One Who established them knows what would happen in the entire universe till the Last Hour is established. Nothing is unforeseen or unexpected to Him, because Allah, glory be to Him, is the All-Knowing and comprehends everything in His Knowledge.
On the other hand, we see that manmade laws, for their deficiency, undergo many amendments and changes. Hardly a few years pass before we are surprised by the fact that the causes for which the law was established were not remedied; that new unexpected aspects have emerged. Thus, we undergo the painstaking procedure of amending the law. But those who amend the laws are also humans whose knowledge is limited. So, after a few years those laws would require amendment once more. Thus, humanity would continue to suffer the hardship of amending the laws till the Commandment of Allah would come to pass.
Misery in the universe stems from the fact that we did not carry out the duty for which we were created; that is worshipping Allah and adopting His Divine Law, which falsehood cannot come to it from before it or behind it, because it is sent down by The All-Wise, Worthy of all Praise.
We have forsaken the Divine Law, which is the best for us and we began to amend, moralize, and be misled by our human arrogance and belief that we are more capable of reforming the universe than Allah, praise and glory be to Him. But we ruined everything, we wasted our life, we wasted the purpose behind it, and that is the main crime that humanity perpetrates against itself and against the right owed to its Creator.
We deviated from the purpose for which this universe, and ourselves as well, are created and our life became vain. Since we have wasted our first life, then our second life is definitely wasted, as the first life is the path ushering to the delights of the real life in the hereafter, provided that we fulfill our duty in worldly life just as Allah has commanded us. But if we vainly wasted the first life and began moralizing depending on our fallibility, rendering what is lawful unlawful, and what is unlawful lawful, describing those who abide by the Law of Allah as old-fashioned savage people, though real savagery is to abandon the Law of Allah. If we do so then regretfully we have indeed wasted the hereafter too.
Life from a male and a female
When Allah, praise and glory be to Him, has created this life, He established laws for it. Among these laws, is that no life originates except from a male and a female, each of which is created independently from the other. Mankind, plants, animals and all the species on the earth are created from a male and a female, where masculinity and femininity exist independently in two creatures. Unquestionably, no creature springs from another creature, as Darwinism falsely claims. Recite the Qu’anic verse in which The Truth, praise be to Him, says (what means):
“And of everything We have created pairs, that you may remember (the Grace of Allah).†(Az-Zâriyât, 51: 49)
There has also existed another polarity that remained unknown to us and we learned about it only recently. We have learned that in electricity there should be a positive and a negative pole for the spark to be emitted. If both poles were either negative or positive, electricity would not be produced. We have also learned that clouds are bipolar, upon joining together rain falls. We have also learned that the atom contains positive and negative particles. Still, there exist other things we have not known yet. Surely, when Allah reveals their secrets to us, we will learn that all the creatures of the universe, without exception, are from a male and a female.
But, there are two main issues that Allah has revealed His Judgment pertaining to them and ordered us not to subject them to our reasoning, nor to think about them; simply because the human intellect can never gain any knowledge regarding them. The first issue is that you would never know how the universe was created. The second issue is that you would never how you were created.
We say to those who have their own theories concerning the beginning of creation and how the universe seemed before the beginning of life: From where did you deduce your theories and from where did you get such information? Did you witness their creation or have there come to you of knowledge that which did not come to others? Those who say that man evolved from an ape are surely wrong. Anyone who tackles the issue of creation and the origin of the universe is wrong no matter how many false evidences he has gathered, that do not surpass being mere conjectures and guesswork.
We summarize what we have detailed by saying that Allah, praise and glory be to Him, has created this universe to prostrate itself to Him and to celebrate His Praises, glorified be He. The entire universe obeys Allah by forced submission, but Allah, be He highly blessed and exalted, wants to be worshipped out of loving Him.
Allah, praise and glory be to Him, has established a Divine Law revealed through the sent messengers, which comprises every movement in life. Worship is not limited to offering prayers, paying the Zakah (obligatory charity), Fasting and performing Hajj, but every single movement in life is an act of worship and is a law.
Allah wants us to be active in life and populate the earth. In order, for instance, to engage in the worship of offering prayers, extensive activities have to be carried out that comprises many aspects of life. Allah, be He highly blessed and exalted, does not want us to just glorify Him night and day, but He wants us to work and be active. And whatever is indispensable to perform a certain duty is indeed a duty itself.
Man was mischievous on the earth by his free will. He abandoned the Divine laws and began passing his own laws. Humanity became miserable because of manmade laws. Man has forsaken the Divine Law in order to formulate laws based on his reasoning power. He kept arguing about issues that are far beyond his mental capacity. Indeed, no matter how long we debated regarding the origin of the universe and the creation of man we would reach no truth.
That is concerning our worldly life restricted by our short lifetime. As for the life to come, the true one that would not be followed by either death or perishing, the eternal life, that would be the topic of the next chapter.
***
by
, Sheik Muhammad Mitwaly Al-Shaa˜rÃwy
Chapter five
The Life Of This World
~.~.~.~.~.
Allah, praise and glory be to Him, has created the universe for a specific aim. He informed us with it in order to know why the creation has been brought about? What is the aim? And what is the end?
Allah, Whose Majesty reigns most high, says (what means):
“And I (Allah) created not the jinns and humans except they should worship Me (Alone). I seek not any provision from them (i.e. provision for themselves or for My creatures) nor do I ask that they should feed Me (i.e. feed themselves or My creatures). Verily, Allah is the All-Provider, Owner of Power, the Most Strong.†(Az-Zâriyât, 51: 56-58).
The aim behind creating this universe is to worship Allah, praise Him, celebrate His Glory, and exalt Him. In these Qur’anic verses The Truth, praise and glory be to Him, did not assign by name except ‘The jinns and humans’, while excluding the rest of the creatures in the universe, but why?
Because Allah has given freedom of choice only to those two species amongst the creatures: they can believe in Allah and they can, Allah forbid, disbelieve in Him. They can obey Allah and they can, Allah forbid, disobey Him. As for the rest of the species in the universe, they are made to obey and never can disobey. They continually glorify the Praises of Allah, the Exalted and Ever-Majestic; they never forget His Glorification or slacken in it. Recite the Qur’anic verse in which Allah, be He highly blessed and exalted praise, says (what means):
“See you not that to Allah prostrates whoever is in the heavens and whoever is on the earth, and the sun, and the moon, and the stars, and the mountains, and the trees, and Ad-Dawâb (moving living creatures, beasts, etc.), and many of mankind? But there are many (men) on whom the punishment is justified. And whomsoever Allah disgraces, none can honour him. Verily! Allah does what He wills.†(Al-Hajj, 22:18)
The noble Qur’anic verse generalized prostration that include all the creatures, whether in the heavens or on the earth. None of them leave submission, showing obedience, remembering Allah and Glorifying His Praises. But mankind did not attain such a generalization. Instead, they are divided into two parties: one that obeys and believes and the other that disobeys and disbelieves. This division came only when Allah mentioned mankind, why? Because, as aforementioned, Allah, be He highly blessed and Exalted, has given mankind as well as jinn freedom of choice.
Allah has created this great universe to serve man, the viceroy on earth. The entire universe willingly obeyed their Creator, but many among mankind whom Allah has given sovereignty over His universe did not comply!
Allah, Whose Majesty reigns most high, has offered the trust, which is freedom of choice, to all species of the universe, but they were afraid to bear such a responsibility and said, ‘O Lord! We want to be compelled to obey.’ Allah, praise and glory be to Him, says (what means):
“Truly, We did offer AlÂAmânah (the trust or moral responsibility or honesty and all the duties which Allah has ordained) to the heavens and the earth, and the mountains, but they declined to bear it and were afraid of it (i.e. afraid of Allah’s Torment). But man bore it. Verily, he was unjust (to himself) and ignorant (of its results).†(Al-Ahzâb, 33: 72)
This was the first and the last choice that all the species in this universe made. As for man, he chose to bear the trust, because Allah has willed that man should come to Him willingly not compulsorily. Man can disbelieve, but he believes out of loving Allah; he can disobey, but he obeys out of loving Allah. Therefore, mankind and jinn are the species that prove the attribute of loving Allah for His Sake. They willingly choose to follow His Way, out of love not compulsion. Hence, they glorify the Praises of Allah, prostrate themselves to Him, exalt Him, pray to Him and invoke Him as a confession of their love to Allah, praise and glory be to Him.
The Truth, be He highly blessed and exalted, says (what means): “And I (Allah) created not the jinns and humans except they should worship Me (Alone).†(Az-Zâriyât, 51: 56). For worship to be real, it should comprise all the activities of life. In other words, all man’s actions should reflect his love for Allah and every movement in life should be a vivid proof of this love. The Divine Law should be his guiding light, devotion should be his leader and no crookedness should be in the path he follows. Allah should never see him where He prohibited him, nor miss him where He ordered him to be.
True worship and how it should be?
People think that worship is only the five pillars of Islam, “Testifying that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, offering Prayer dutifully and perfectly, Paying Zakâh (Obligatory Charity), fasting Ramadan, and performing Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca) for whoever has the means to do so.†We say that these are the bases on which our religion is established.
Our lord has chosen Islam for us to be always with Him and not to be overtaken by Satan and in order to receive His Blessings, His Bestowments and Generosities all the time. For offering prayer after prayer gives us the power of faith that would guard us against deviation from the right path and draw us closer to Allah, be He highly blessed and exalted. The same applies to Fasting, paying the Zakâh and performing Hajj. Every act of worship amongst them is a Light from Allah, so whenever we feel languor or gloominess in the soul, we should resort to a brand from the Light of Allah that would restore our stability of faith. Same thing when your battery runs low, you connect it to a powerful electric source to get it recharged. Indeed, Islam encompasses the entire course of life, and covers every movement in it.
I do not want to get involved in a futile debate with those who say that the pillars of Islam are just Islam; that so long you offer prayers, pay Zakâh, fast and perform Hajj, you have guaranteed that you are with Allah, so you can do as you please and leave the movement of life uncontrolled by any of the regulations dictated by faith!
I say to all those people that I shall not discuss or debate what you are saying. I will only talk about one of the pillars (of Islam), which is offering prayers (Al-Salat). To perform our prayers we need some basic elements that help us stand between the Hands of Allah
The first thing we must do in order to stand between the Hands of Allah and for our prayer to be valid is to cover the private parts of our bodies. I would not say that I would need a garment or the like, just a piece of cloth to cover our private parts. This piece of cloth needs cotton; the cotton in turn needs someone to cultivate it and the cultivation needs plowing, seeds and irrigation. Seeds could be available or not. In case they were not, we must import them. In order to plow the land there must be a plow made of steel, that simple plow, which the primitive man used.
Further, we may need to search for an iron ore in mountains, which has to be melted for the plow to be made. We will also need a blacksmith to take this melted iron and shape it into a sharp tool, and then someone to bring it for us to use it. After the cotton ripen, we will need someone to harvest it, then someone to carry it to the cotton gin, then someone to take it to the cotton mill where it is spun into thread, then to the weaver who would interlace it into cloth, and then to the merchant who would sell it to us. All these stages are necessary so that I can stand in front of Allah having the private parts of my body covered for my prayer to be accepted.
Who prepares food for us?
In order to be strong to perform prayers I need what sustains me; a mouthful to eat in order to be able to bow and prostrate myself; a mouthful that strengthens me to do so. This loaf of bread that I buy from the grocery store has a long story of work behind it; beginning with the one who cultivated the wheat, then the one who grounded it into flour, then the one who kneaded it and baked it and finally to the one who brought it to the grocery store for me to buy.
We can see thus that much work is actually done in order to perform prayer. Imagine if we all remained praying in the Masjids doing nothing else, who would bring us a piece of cloth to cover our private parts and a loaf of bread to sustain ourselves? Whatever is needed to perform a certain duty is itself a duty. Therefore, worship comprises every action in this universe. So long as Allah, praise and glory be to Him, wants man a worshipper, He wants him a worshipper in his house, a worshipper in his office, a worshipper in the Masjid and a worshipper on the road; he should be a worshipper in every step of his life. Islam exhorts to the observance of decorum, it has even set some proprieties for people to follow while being on the road.
Allah, praise and glory be to Him, has shared out His Reward on the entire movement of life, because the course of Islam comprises all this movement. Thus, He has decreed a reward for he who visits the sick, he who maintains justice in judging between people, he who treats his neighbor kindly, he who removes whatever might be harmful from the road, he who helps a disabled to cross the road, he who spends on his family, he who answers people’s needs, he who puts an end to an act of injustice, he who utters kind words, he who gives a sincere advice, he who seeks to gain his living and that of his children, and he who forbids what is wrong and enjoins what is right. All that besides tens of thousands of other deeds, not included in the pillars of Islam but cause the winning of a great reward.
When we restrict our deeds to the performance of the five pillars of Islam, we deprive ourselves from ninety percent of the reward which Allah has promised us for sincerity in performing the activities of life. So long as The Truth, praise be to Him, has said (what means): “And I (Allah) created not the jinns and humans except they should worship Me (Alone).†(Az-Zâriyât, 51:65), then His entire Ordained Course is worship. This Course controls a believer’s actions in the universe; thus, every single action is an act of worship as long as it is dedicated to the end of earning the Good Pleasure of Allah.
The Divine Law set before creation
Before Allah, praise be to Him, created man, He established a Law for him and assigned his duty in life. As aforementioned, anyone who creates anything must first determine its purpose. As long as life is the capability of a thing to perform its duty, we must know the duty Allah has created us for. Allah, be He highly blessed and exalted, has established the Law of our life to be capable to perform the duty for whose sake we have been created.
It is real strange that the source of the world’s blights is man. Because he has a free will and a reasoning power to choose between alternatives, while the other creatures, that are made to obey Allah, cause no mischief.
They perform the role they were created for compulsorily without choice. But what ruins life and the entire universe are the matters in which man interferes with his power of choice.
Allah, be He highly blessed and exalted, wants us to follow in life the Law of our Creator, whereby we fulfill our duty exactly as the rest of the species of the universe. Allah, praise and glory be to Him, says (what means):
“(And) if you differ in anything amongst yourselves, refer it to Allah and His Messenger (SAW).†(An-Nisâ’, 4:59)
All the creatures in the universe, including inanimate beings, plants, and animals, are all subjugated to perform their duty in life; that is serving man. But what is man’s duty? His sole duty is to worship Allah. Allah, be He highly blessed and exalted, says in the Sanctified Hadith:
“O son of Adam! I have created this universe for you, and created you for Myself, so do not be occupied by what is yours in place of what you are for.â€
What is the essence of worship? Does Allah want us just to say, ‘Subhân-Allâh’ (glorified be Allah), all daylong and that is it? No, actually worshipping Allah is man’s wholehearted occupation with the duty Allah has created him for. Every move in the universe is an act of worship. We resort to the five pillars of Islam to charge the faith ‘battery’ inside us. Therefore, the meaning of ‘worshiping,’ would be obeying Allah in the entire established Divine Law.
Man’s duty in life
All the creatures on the earth, including plants, inanimate beings and animals, are subjugated to you man, servile, obeying you in anything asked of them. Their duty in life is to serve the believer and the disbeliever, the pious and the impious until the Hour of Resurrection is established. Only then, man loses this privilege and this subjugation ends.
In worldly life, the sun does not shine on the believers only; nor does the earth gives forth its plants to the believers and withholds it from the disbelievers. The species of the earth interact for man and through him, regardless of his creed and his faith in his Lord. So, whoever succeed in adopting the means, would receive their yield, without differentiating between he who says, ‘Lâ ilâha ill-Allâh’ (There is no God save Allah), and he who refuses to say it.
But in the hereafter things would be much different. The species would serve the believer alone and would not serve the disbeliever. When the disbeliever would attempt to lie to Allah and claims that he has obeyed Him, his legs would say, ‘No my Lord, he used me everyday to walk to the tavern.’ And his hands would say, ‘No my Lord, he used me to smite the weak’ And his tongue would say, ‘No my Lord, he used me to utter the word of disbelief.’ Thereby, he loses all mastery even over his own body. Recite the Qur’anic verse in which Allah, says (what means):
“Till, when they reach it (Hell-fire), their hearing (ears) and their eyes, and their skins will testify against them as to what they used to do. And they will say to their skins, ‘Why do you testify against us?’ They will say: ‘Allah has caused us to speak, as He causes all things to speak, and He created you the first time, and to Him you are made to return.’†(Fussilat, 41: 20-21)
Thus, man’s freedom of choice and the creatures’ serviceability to him are given to all mankind in worldly life, but in the hereafter it is for the believers only.
If the disbeliever tried to escape on the Day of Resurrection, his feet would not move; if he wanted to run away from hellfire, his legs would drive him towards it in defiance of his will. If he wanted to drink, he would be given scalding water that would tear up his bowels, if he wanted to clothe himself; the angels of fire would cut out for him a garment from hellfire sticking to his body.
The species of the universe would not serve the disbeliever on the Day of Resurrection, but would curse him, burn him and torture him. Allah, praise and glory be to Him, has honored man by granting him another life; a life not given through means, but is directly bestowed by Allah, praise and glory be to Him. A life of delights not to forsake man nor is he to leave it; a life befitting in its bestowments the believer whom Allah has vested with power in the universe; an eternal life that knows no death.
Man’s lifetime does not end by his death after worldly life. He has another life, which is the meant one. But who is to attain such life and such delights? He is the one who fulfills in this worldly life the duty that Allah has created him for. That is, obeying Allah in what to do and what not to do, such obedience that leads man to immortality in heavenly delights.
Allah has created this world to be obeyed in it and to have all the creatures celebrating His Praises. If you joined the creatures of the universe and you became a worshipper of Allah, you would be in harmony with those species in worldly life, and then Allah, glory be to Him, would grant you immortality in the hereafter.
But if Allah, praise and glory be to Him, has created us to worship Him, does this mean that Allah, glory be to Him, needs this worship? We say, ‘With His Graceful Being, Allah stands Rich beyond need of any of His creatures. No sin will do Him the least harm, and He will profit none by any act of obedience. He has created us free to choose, then whosoever wills, let him believe, and whosoever wills, let him disbelieve. Whosoever wills, let him come to Allah willingly and not by force.’ Allah, Whose Majesty reigns most high, says (what means):
“If We will, We could send down to them from the heaven a sign, to which they would bend their necks in humility.†(Ash-Shu‘arâ’, 26: 4)
The Divine Law and the work of the human mind
What did man do after Allah has made him the master of this world and subjugated to him all the species of the universe? Did he justly perceive the meaning of worldly life and hastened to practice the Divine Law? On the contrary, man abandoned the Divine Law and began passing his own laws. Consequently, misery overwhelmed the universe because of the manmade laws that people adopted instead of the Law of Allah. Thus, man became miserable because he deserted the Law decreed by Allah and followed his own intellect.
Certainly, there is sharp difference between having the laws that govern your life established by The All-Knowing, The All-Wise, The Omnipotent and having them established by a human with limited capabilities, understanding and lifetime, who knows some things and is ignorant of many others.
The Divine Laws are stable, neither change nor alter, for the One Who established them knows what would happen in the entire universe till the Last Hour is established. Nothing is unforeseen or unexpected to Him, because Allah, glory be to Him, is the All-Knowing and comprehends everything in His Knowledge.
On the other hand, we see that manmade laws, for their deficiency, undergo many amendments and changes. Hardly a few years pass before we are surprised by the fact that the causes for which the law was established were not remedied; that new unexpected aspects have emerged. Thus, we undergo the painstaking procedure of amending the law. But those who amend the laws are also humans whose knowledge is limited. So, after a few years those laws would require amendment once more. Thus, humanity would continue to suffer the hardship of amending the laws till the Commandment of Allah would come to pass.
Misery in the universe stems from the fact that we did not carry out the duty for which we were created; that is worshipping Allah and adopting His Divine Law, which falsehood cannot come to it from before it or behind it, because it is sent down by The All-Wise, Worthy of all Praise.
We have forsaken the Divine Law, which is the best for us and we began to amend, moralize, and be misled by our human arrogance and belief that we are more capable of reforming the universe than Allah, praise and glory be to Him. But we ruined everything, we wasted our life, we wasted the purpose behind it, and that is the main crime that humanity perpetrates against itself and against the right owed to its Creator.
We deviated from the purpose for which this universe, and ourselves as well, are created and our life became vain. Since we have wasted our first life, then our second life is definitely wasted, as the first life is the path ushering to the delights of the real life in the hereafter, provided that we fulfill our duty in worldly life just as Allah has commanded us. But if we vainly wasted the first life and began moralizing depending on our fallibility, rendering what is lawful unlawful, and what is unlawful lawful, describing those who abide by the Law of Allah as old-fashioned savage people, though real savagery is to abandon the Law of Allah. If we do so then regretfully we have indeed wasted the hereafter too.
Life from a male and a female
When Allah, praise and glory be to Him, has created this life, He established laws for it. Among these laws, is that no life originates except from a male and a female, each of which is created independently from the other. Mankind, plants, animals and all the species on the earth are created from a male and a female, where masculinity and femininity exist independently in two creatures. Unquestionably, no creature springs from another creature, as Darwinism falsely claims. Recite the Qu’anic verse in which The Truth, praise be to Him, says (what means):
“And of everything We have created pairs, that you may remember (the Grace of Allah).†(Az-Zâriyât, 51: 49)
There has also existed another polarity that remained unknown to us and we learned about it only recently. We have learned that in electricity there should be a positive and a negative pole for the spark to be emitted. If both poles were either negative or positive, electricity would not be produced. We have also learned that clouds are bipolar, upon joining together rain falls. We have also learned that the atom contains positive and negative particles. Still, there exist other things we have not known yet. Surely, when Allah reveals their secrets to us, we will learn that all the creatures of the universe, without exception, are from a male and a female.
But, there are two main issues that Allah has revealed His Judgment pertaining to them and ordered us not to subject them to our reasoning, nor to think about them; simply because the human intellect can never gain any knowledge regarding them. The first issue is that you would never know how the universe was created. The second issue is that you would never how you were created.
We say to those who have their own theories concerning the beginning of creation and how the universe seemed before the beginning of life: From where did you deduce your theories and from where did you get such information? Did you witness their creation or have there come to you of knowledge that which did not come to others? Those who say that man evolved from an ape are surely wrong. Anyone who tackles the issue of creation and the origin of the universe is wrong no matter how many false evidences he has gathered, that do not surpass being mere conjectures and guesswork.
We summarize what we have detailed by saying that Allah, praise and glory be to Him, has created this universe to prostrate itself to Him and to celebrate His Praises, glorified be He. The entire universe obeys Allah by forced submission, but Allah, be He highly blessed and exalted, wants to be worshipped out of loving Him.
Allah, praise and glory be to Him, has established a Divine Law revealed through the sent messengers, which comprises every movement in life. Worship is not limited to offering prayers, paying the Zakah (obligatory charity), Fasting and performing Hajj, but every single movement in life is an act of worship and is a law.
Allah wants us to be active in life and populate the earth. In order, for instance, to engage in the worship of offering prayers, extensive activities have to be carried out that comprises many aspects of life. Allah, be He highly blessed and exalted, does not want us to just glorify Him night and day, but He wants us to work and be active. And whatever is indispensable to perform a certain duty is indeed a duty itself.
Man was mischievous on the earth by his free will. He abandoned the Divine laws and began passing his own laws. Humanity became miserable because of manmade laws. Man has forsaken the Divine Law in order to formulate laws based on his reasoning power. He kept arguing about issues that are far beyond his mental capacity. Indeed, no matter how long we debated regarding the origin of the universe and the creation of man we would reach no truth.
That is concerning our worldly life restricted by our short lifetime. As for the life to come, the true one that would not be followed by either death or perishing, the eternal life, that would be the topic of the next chapter.
I know that I am in the right path...
Living through that wonderful experience (of faith), I know that I am in the right path...
„ Human being. A notion as old as Earth, known to everyone of us. A notion which ´hides´ my destiny, your secrets, their personalities ….Humans, that's us … Yes, all of us…. None of us asked to come in this world, however we're already here. Everyone may ask himself: Why am I right now and right here in this place? Why I was born actually? What for? What is my mission? “
I was born on 27-th of February 1989 in a small village in central Slovakia, where everybody knows everybody and where being ´different´ is a problem… My Mom and Dad are Christians. In fact, what other choice could they have as their parents „dictated“ their choice upon them?! I was baptized too, and participated in the first birmation, like everybody who lives here.
In the first year of my primary school my parents registered me in the course of religious education. I knew very little about God then. I remember very well a meeting I had those days with an aunt of mine. She couldn't have children so she treated me like her own daughter. She spent a lot of her time with me. She took me to the church and to every Sunday sermon during the following five years. But I was just a kid so my ´priorities´ were focused just on playing games … As much as I loved her, tried to please her as much as I could. Time passed by and I started to prepare myself for birmation. I started to go more often to the church. I don't have fond memories regarding the ceremony itself because two days before I broke my arm. Maybe this was a sign… I don't know…Indeed I may never know…
Anyway, I took pleasure on the whole event. To tell the truth, I liked playing the role of princess..., wearing beautiful clothes and showing off ... not a nice thing in fact... I know. I don't have anything to remember that day. Pictures were lost I don't know where. I attended church services regularly till the seventh class of primary school. More or less because of the force of habit rather than as necessity. I did not like how after sermon, old women gossiped on everyone they could, boys smoked and hurried to pubs. There was nothing I could do. I just considered it as part of daily hypocrisy. As I grew up, I found new interests. I wanted to try forbidden fruits, too.
My relationship wit my father is far from ideal. It never was. In fact it will never be. We quarrel very often. It can't be otherwise, even if I try my best. I couldn't get used to it. Those days of desperate tears and moments of bitter disappointment left their mark on y personality. I wanted t take revenge. I gave him reasons to shout at me. At least I knew the reason; I knew he was finally right (shouting at me) ad this did not hurt any more.... I stayed late at night with people that may never find their perspective in life. Drugs, alcohol, cigarettes... Now this is all behind me, but those days I felt lost in the wire of vice, in the arms o evil.
My six years older sister tried to give me a helping hand. However she moved to the city of Bratislava, where she found a job and I was left alone. &of course, you might think that my Mom was still there for me, but as it happens often in here, Moms happens to take Daddy's side. So when the time came to choose the secondary school I was decided: I wanted to go to school with a dormitory, far from problems at home. Maybe a cowardly escape from problems, but those days I saw it as the only and correct solution. I didn't want to suffer any more for my relationship or un-relationship with my father.
And here, my new way starts...
The school was located in the city of Nitra. I was away from the people I know. I started from scratch, anew. I felt more quiet, satisfied, equilibrated. I was scared of week-ends, though... The idea that I had to spend two days at home, terrified me. I was looking forward and still look to the day when I will be ´adult´ and will leave all this...
One week-end in January 2005, I went to visit my sister in Bratislava. We went for dinner to a restaurant nearby where a friend of her – a Muslim – joined us. He earned my attention with his talk about Islam. He had an answer about every question I made. I couldn't sleep that night. I wanted to know more. A Muslim? What he believes in? Why is he different from me? Why it is so? Always when TV channels informed about „them“, I heard the remarks that my dad usually used to make in their address. I ignored those remarks as I want to have my own opinion on people based on my own experience with them. My father doesn’t know anybody so he can't understand. Or better to say he knows someone already but hasn't realized it… It's ironic. Even though I tried to narrow that huge gap between us I haven't been successful so far.
The other day I met again with my sister's friend and the topic of our conversation was clear! I learned new and interesting things. He borrowed me books that I read within a week in my dormitory. Deep inside I felt turmoil, I didn't know how to react, enjoying or crying. All I have believed in till then suddenly became inexplicable in my eyes. Different thoughts occupied my mind. Humans are curious and I couldn't have enough yet. I asked him for a Slovak translation of Holy Koran. I am thankful to him for his willingness and patience.
It was January 27, 2005, when I hold The Holy Koran for the first time. I opened it and focused my eyes on the sentence I will never forget:
“And leave Me (alone to deal with) those in possession of the good things of life, who (yet) deny the Truth; and bear with them for a little while.”
I was stunned.
I was scared more than any time before. I felt differently. I belonged to something. I regretted only the fact that I didn't have anybody to share my feelings with. I wanted to erase from my mind all I have believed in, before. It's not easy. Some are still there but I don't believe anymore. I know that this is not necessary anymore. What I believe in, now, is in my heart, not in my mind… I know that this is exactly the thing that I have been looking for, during all my life.
During this short period of my life I've done a lot of stupid things and couldn't resist the vices of this world. I've tried many evil things. But nobody is perfect and I am not an exception. What is most important is to know your mistakes, failures and correct them... I sincerely regret all my wrongdoings. I don't think about my past and hope for a better future. Deep in my heart, I have always believed that there is always something, more important. I found that important thing. I started to believe in One and Only God! Every evening I repeated the same sentence: „Ash-hadu allá illáha illa Alláh, wa ash-hqdu anna Mahammadan rasulu Alláh. “(I bear witness that there is only One God - Allah, and I bear witness that Muhamad is His Messenger)
It's nice to see the real colors of life.
I spent my summer holidays in Bratislava. I met a Muslim woman, who gave me a lot. We spent three days in Czech Republic in a Muslim summer conference. That was an unforgettable experience. An experience that influenced and changed me. For better … That lady was and still is my shining light. She was not the only one to stay by me at the most important moment of my life. Fully convinced about the correctness of my decision I accepted Islam as my religion. Finally!
After 8 months of an uphill way, I declared Shahada (the declaration of faith) full of joy, tranquility and understanding. That feeling of rebirth…startling…moving the wings of that wonderful and until now hesitating butterfly in my heart that got finally free. A chance to live a better and meaningful life!
I wish this to everybody. I feel the same whenever I pray, again and again when I ask God for mercy...
There are just a few people that know about my decision and that's better. My parents couldn't understand it. There were conflicts… They took The Koran from me, took away my books on Islam, my mobile... I felt empty. This way my faith only gets stronger and stronger...
My sister doesn't believe in God. Insha'Alláh (God willing) she will find the truth too, like I did. I pray for her, she deserves it.
I lived through that wonderful feeling and know that I am in the right path even though it is often tricky, full of barriers and misunderstood to many.
What is my mission than? I know the answer: to be a good man, friend, later a good wife... To be liked by God! This is the only thing that matters. I am happy and thankful. For everything.
“To Allah belong the East and the West: whithersoever ye turn, there is Allah's countenance. For Allah is All-Embracing, All-Knowing.”
Your sister Andy, Slovak Republic, 2006
www.islamweb.sk
„ Human being. A notion as old as Earth, known to everyone of us. A notion which ´hides´ my destiny, your secrets, their personalities ….Humans, that's us … Yes, all of us…. None of us asked to come in this world, however we're already here. Everyone may ask himself: Why am I right now and right here in this place? Why I was born actually? What for? What is my mission? “
I was born on 27-th of February 1989 in a small village in central Slovakia, where everybody knows everybody and where being ´different´ is a problem… My Mom and Dad are Christians. In fact, what other choice could they have as their parents „dictated“ their choice upon them?! I was baptized too, and participated in the first birmation, like everybody who lives here.
In the first year of my primary school my parents registered me in the course of religious education. I knew very little about God then. I remember very well a meeting I had those days with an aunt of mine. She couldn't have children so she treated me like her own daughter. She spent a lot of her time with me. She took me to the church and to every Sunday sermon during the following five years. But I was just a kid so my ´priorities´ were focused just on playing games … As much as I loved her, tried to please her as much as I could. Time passed by and I started to prepare myself for birmation. I started to go more often to the church. I don't have fond memories regarding the ceremony itself because two days before I broke my arm. Maybe this was a sign… I don't know…Indeed I may never know…
Anyway, I took pleasure on the whole event. To tell the truth, I liked playing the role of princess..., wearing beautiful clothes and showing off ... not a nice thing in fact... I know. I don't have anything to remember that day. Pictures were lost I don't know where. I attended church services regularly till the seventh class of primary school. More or less because of the force of habit rather than as necessity. I did not like how after sermon, old women gossiped on everyone they could, boys smoked and hurried to pubs. There was nothing I could do. I just considered it as part of daily hypocrisy. As I grew up, I found new interests. I wanted to try forbidden fruits, too.
My relationship wit my father is far from ideal. It never was. In fact it will never be. We quarrel very often. It can't be otherwise, even if I try my best. I couldn't get used to it. Those days of desperate tears and moments of bitter disappointment left their mark on y personality. I wanted t take revenge. I gave him reasons to shout at me. At least I knew the reason; I knew he was finally right (shouting at me) ad this did not hurt any more.... I stayed late at night with people that may never find their perspective in life. Drugs, alcohol, cigarettes... Now this is all behind me, but those days I felt lost in the wire of vice, in the arms o evil.
My six years older sister tried to give me a helping hand. However she moved to the city of Bratislava, where she found a job and I was left alone. &of course, you might think that my Mom was still there for me, but as it happens often in here, Moms happens to take Daddy's side. So when the time came to choose the secondary school I was decided: I wanted to go to school with a dormitory, far from problems at home. Maybe a cowardly escape from problems, but those days I saw it as the only and correct solution. I didn't want to suffer any more for my relationship or un-relationship with my father.
And here, my new way starts...
The school was located in the city of Nitra. I was away from the people I know. I started from scratch, anew. I felt more quiet, satisfied, equilibrated. I was scared of week-ends, though... The idea that I had to spend two days at home, terrified me. I was looking forward and still look to the day when I will be ´adult´ and will leave all this...
One week-end in January 2005, I went to visit my sister in Bratislava. We went for dinner to a restaurant nearby where a friend of her – a Muslim – joined us. He earned my attention with his talk about Islam. He had an answer about every question I made. I couldn't sleep that night. I wanted to know more. A Muslim? What he believes in? Why is he different from me? Why it is so? Always when TV channels informed about „them“, I heard the remarks that my dad usually used to make in their address. I ignored those remarks as I want to have my own opinion on people based on my own experience with them. My father doesn’t know anybody so he can't understand. Or better to say he knows someone already but hasn't realized it… It's ironic. Even though I tried to narrow that huge gap between us I haven't been successful so far.
The other day I met again with my sister's friend and the topic of our conversation was clear! I learned new and interesting things. He borrowed me books that I read within a week in my dormitory. Deep inside I felt turmoil, I didn't know how to react, enjoying or crying. All I have believed in till then suddenly became inexplicable in my eyes. Different thoughts occupied my mind. Humans are curious and I couldn't have enough yet. I asked him for a Slovak translation of Holy Koran. I am thankful to him for his willingness and patience.
It was January 27, 2005, when I hold The Holy Koran for the first time. I opened it and focused my eyes on the sentence I will never forget:
“And leave Me (alone to deal with) those in possession of the good things of life, who (yet) deny the Truth; and bear with them for a little while.”
I was stunned.
I was scared more than any time before. I felt differently. I belonged to something. I regretted only the fact that I didn't have anybody to share my feelings with. I wanted to erase from my mind all I have believed in, before. It's not easy. Some are still there but I don't believe anymore. I know that this is not necessary anymore. What I believe in, now, is in my heart, not in my mind… I know that this is exactly the thing that I have been looking for, during all my life.
During this short period of my life I've done a lot of stupid things and couldn't resist the vices of this world. I've tried many evil things. But nobody is perfect and I am not an exception. What is most important is to know your mistakes, failures and correct them... I sincerely regret all my wrongdoings. I don't think about my past and hope for a better future. Deep in my heart, I have always believed that there is always something, more important. I found that important thing. I started to believe in One and Only God! Every evening I repeated the same sentence: „Ash-hadu allá illáha illa Alláh, wa ash-hqdu anna Mahammadan rasulu Alláh. “(I bear witness that there is only One God - Allah, and I bear witness that Muhamad is His Messenger)
It's nice to see the real colors of life.
I spent my summer holidays in Bratislava. I met a Muslim woman, who gave me a lot. We spent three days in Czech Republic in a Muslim summer conference. That was an unforgettable experience. An experience that influenced and changed me. For better … That lady was and still is my shining light. She was not the only one to stay by me at the most important moment of my life. Fully convinced about the correctness of my decision I accepted Islam as my religion. Finally!
After 8 months of an uphill way, I declared Shahada (the declaration of faith) full of joy, tranquility and understanding. That feeling of rebirth…startling…moving the wings of that wonderful and until now hesitating butterfly in my heart that got finally free. A chance to live a better and meaningful life!
I wish this to everybody. I feel the same whenever I pray, again and again when I ask God for mercy...
There are just a few people that know about my decision and that's better. My parents couldn't understand it. There were conflicts… They took The Koran from me, took away my books on Islam, my mobile... I felt empty. This way my faith only gets stronger and stronger...
My sister doesn't believe in God. Insha'Alláh (God willing) she will find the truth too, like I did. I pray for her, she deserves it.
I lived through that wonderful feeling and know that I am in the right path even though it is often tricky, full of barriers and misunderstood to many.
What is my mission than? I know the answer: to be a good man, friend, later a good wife... To be liked by God! This is the only thing that matters. I am happy and thankful. For everything.
“To Allah belong the East and the West: whithersoever ye turn, there is Allah's countenance. For Allah is All-Embracing, All-Knowing.”
Your sister Andy, Slovak Republic, 2006
www.islamweb.sk
sunnuntaina 13. joulukuuta 2009
Säärystimet (Leg warmers)
Virkatut säärystimet Novita huopasesta (Ruskea keltaiset)
Marks and Kattens teddy langasta neuloin toiset ohuemmat(sinivihreät)
Marks and Kattens teddy langasta neuloin toiset ohuemmat(sinivihreät)
Pakkasia tulossa ilmeisesti siksi vilukissa varustautuu niihin lämpimillä säärystimillä.
Jesus in Islam
The Muslim Jesus
By Reading Islam Team
Reading Islam invites you to watch the movie "Jesus in Islam" which narrates the story of the life of Jesus according to the Muslim belief.
http://www.readingi slam.com/ servlet/Satellit e?c=Article_ C&cid=1237706251372&pagename=Zone- English-Discover _Islam/DIELayout
Watch - Jesus of Islam
Christians who are about to watch this should not take offense to this clip, but may find that the information is not the same as taught in the Bible.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v= RoxvKj-z0_ 0
The Islamic and Christian views of Jesus: a comparison
http://www.soundvis ion.com/Info/ Jesus/inIslam. asp
The person of Jesus or Isa in Arabic (peace be upon him) is of great significance in both Islam and Christianity. However, there are differences in terms of beliefs about the nature and life occurrences of this noble Messenger.
Source of information about Jesus in Islam
Most of the Islamic information about Jesus is actually found in the Quran.
The Quran was revealed by God to Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), and memorized and written down in his lifetime. Today, anyone who calls him or herself a Muslim believes in the complete authenticity of the Quran as the original revealed guidance from God.
Source of information about Jesus in Christianity
Christians take their information about Jesus from the Bible, which includes the Old and New Testaments.
These contain four biblical narratives covering the life and death of Jesus. They have been written, according to tradition, respectively by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. They are placed at the beginning of the New Testament and comprise close to half of it.
Encyclopedia Britannica notes that none of the sources of his life and work can be traced to Jesus himself; he did not leave a single known written word. Also, there are no contemporary accounts written of his life and death. What can be established about the historical Jesus depends almost without exception on Christian traditions, especially on the material used in the composition of the Gospels of Mark, Matthew, and Luke, which reflect the outlook of the later church and its faith in Jesus.
Below are the views of Islam and Christianity based on primary source texts and core beliefs.
ISLAM
1. Do Muslims believe he was a Messenger of One God? YES
Belief in all of the Prophets and Messengers of God is a fundamental article of faith in Islam. Thus, believing in Prophets Adam, Jesus, Moses, and Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon them) is a requirement for anyone who calls him or herself a Muslim. A person claiming to be a Muslim who, for instance, denies the Messengership of Jesus, is not considered a Muslim.
The Quran says in reference to the status of Jesus as a Messenger:
"The Messiah (Jesus), son of Mary, was no more than a Messenger before whom many Messengers have passed away; and his mother adhered wholly to truthfulness, and they both ate food (as other mortals do). See how We make Our signs clear to them; and see where they are turning away!" (Quran 5:75).
2. Do Muslims believe he was born of a Virgin Mother? YES
Like Christians, Muslims believe Mary, Maria in Spanish, or Maryam as she is called in Arabic, was a chaste, virgin woman, who miraculously gave birth to Jesus.
"Relate in the Book the story of Mary, when she withdrew from her family, to a place in the East. She screened herself from them; then We sent to her Our spirit (angel Gabriel) and he appeared before her as a man in all respects. She said: I seek refuge from you in God Most Gracious (come not near) if you do fear God. He said: Nay, I am only a Messenger from your Lord, to announce to you the gift of a pure son. She said: How shall I have a son, when no man has ever touched me, and I am not unchaste? He said: So it will be, your Lord says: ‘That is easy for Me; and We wish to appoint him as a sign unto men and a Mercy from Us': It was a matter so decreed" (Quran 19:16-21).
3. Do Muslims believe Jesus had a miraculous birth? YES
The Quran says:
"She (Mary) said: ‘O my Lord! How shall I have a son when no man has touched me.' He (God) said: ‘So (it will be) for God creates what He wills. When He has decreed something, He says to it only: ‘Be!'- and it is" (3:47).
It should also be noted about his birth that:
"Verily, the likeness of Jesus in God's Sight is the likeness of Adam. He (God) created him from dust, then (He) said to him: ‘Be!'-and he was" (Quran 3:59).
4. Do Muslims believe Jesus spoke in the cradle? YES
"Then she (Mary) pointed to him. They said: ‘How can we talk to one who is a child in the cradle?' He (Jesus) said: ‘Verily! I am a slave of God, He has given me the Scripture and made me a Prophet; " (19:29-30).
5. Do Muslims believe he performed miracles? YES
Muslims, like Christians believe Jesus performed miracles. But these were performed by the will and permission of God, Who has power and control over all things.
"Then will God say: ‘O Jesus the son of Mary! recount My favor to you and to your mother. Behold! I strengthened you with the Holy Spirit (the angel Gabriel) so that you did speak to the people in childhood and in maturity. Behold! I taught you the Book and Wisdom, the Law and the Gospel. And behold: you make out of clay, as it were, the figure of a bird, by My leave, and you breathe into it, and it becomes a bird by My leave, and you heal those born blind, and the lepers by My leave. And behold! you bring forth the dead by My leave. And behold! I did restrain the children of Israel from (violence to you) when you did show them the Clear Signs, and the unbelievers among them said: ‘This is nothing but evident magic' (5:110).
6. Do Muslims believe in the Trinity? NO
Muslims believe in the Absolute Oneness of God, Who is a Supreme Being free of human limitations, needs and wants. He has no partners in His Divinity. He is the Creator of everything and is completely separate from His creation.
God says in the Quran regarding the Trinity:
"People of the Book (Jews and Christians)! Do not exceed the limits in your religion, and attribute to God nothing except the truth. The Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, was only a Messenger of God, and His command that He conveyed unto Mary, and a spirit from Him. So believe in God and in His Messengers, and do not say: ‘God is a Trinity.' Give up this assertion; it would be better for you. God is indeed just One God. Far be it from His glory that He should have a son. To Him belongs all that is in the heavens and in the earth. God is sufficient for a guardian" (Quran 4:171).
7. Do Muslims believe that Jesus was the son of God? NO
"Say: "God is Unique! God, the Source [of everything]. He has not fathered anyone nor was He fathered, and there is nothing comparable to Him!" (Quran 112:1-4).
The Quran also states:
"Such was Jesus, the son of Mary; it is a statement of truth, about which they vainly dispute. It is not befitting to the majesty of God, that He should beget a son. Glory be to Him! When He determines a matter, He only says to it, ‘Be' and it is" (Quran 19:34-35).
8. Do Muslims believe Jesus was killed on the cross then resurrected? NO
"“They did not kill him, nor did they crucify him, but they thought they did.” (Quran 4:156) “God lifted him up to His presence. God is Almighty, All-Wise” (Quran 4:157) .
CHRISTIANITY
1. Do Christians believe Jesus was a human being and Messenger of God? YES & NO
With the exception of Unitarian Christians, who like all the early followers of Jesus, still do not believe in the Trinity, most Christians now believe in the Divinity of Jesus, which is connected to the belief in Trinity. They say he is the second member of the Triune God, the Son of the first part of the Triune God, and at the same time "fully" God in every respect.
2. Do Christians believe he was born of a Virgin Mother? YES
A chaste and pious human woman who gave birth to Jesus Christ, the second member of the Trinity, the Son of God, and at the same time "fully" God Almighty in every respect.
Christians believe however, that while she was a virgin, she was married to a man named Joseph (Bible: Matthew:1:18) . According to Matthew 1:25, Joseph "kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus".
3. Do Christians believe he had a miraculous birth? YES
"Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows. When His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit" (Bible: Matthew 1:18)
4. Do Christians believe he performed miracles? YES
"And now, Lord, look upon their threats, and grant to thy servants to speak thy word with all boldness, while thou stretches out thy hand to heal, and sign and wonders are performed through the name of thy holy servant Jesus (Bible: Acts 4:30).
Christians believe that Jesus performed these miracles because he was the Son of God as well as the incarnation of God.
5. Do Christians believe in the Trinity? YES
With the exception of the Unitarian Christians, who do not believe in the Divinity of Christ, the Trinity, according to the Catholic encyclopedia, is the term used for the central doctrine of the Christian religion. The belief is that in the unity of the Godhead there are Three Persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three Persons or beings are distinct from each another, while being similar in character: uncreated and omnipotent.
The First Vatican Council has explained the meaning to be attributed to the term mystery in theology. It lays down that a mystery is a truth which we are not merely incapable of discovering apart from Divine Revelation, but which, even when revealed, remains "hidden by the veil of faith and enveloped, so to speak, by a kind of darkness" (Const., "De fide. cath.", iv). The First Vatican Council further defined that the Christian Faith contains mysteries strictly so called (can. 4). All theologians admit that the doctrine of the Trinity is of the number of these. The Catholic Encyclopedia notes that of all revealed truths, this is the most impenetrable to reason.
6. Do Christians believe that Jesus was the son of God? YES
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him (Bible: John 3:16).
However, it is interesting to note that the term "son of God" is used in other parts of the Bible to refer to Adam (Bible: Luke 3:38), Israel (Bible: Exodus 4:22) and David (Bible: Psalms 2:7) as well. The creatures of God are usually referred to in the Bible as children of God.
The role of Paul of Tarsus in shaping this belief and the belief in Trinity
The notion of Jesus as son of God is something that was established under the influence of Paul of Tarsus (originally named Saul), who had been an enemy of Jesus, but later changed course and joined the disciples after the departure of Jesus.
Later, however, he initiated a number of changes into early Christian teachings, in contradiction, for instance, to disciples like Barnabas, who believed in the Oneness of God and who had actually lived and met with Jesus.
Paul is considered by a number of Christian scholars to be the father of Christianity due to his additions of the following ideas:
that Jesus is the son of God,
the concept of Atonement,
the renunciation of the Law of the Torah.
Paul did these things in hopes of winning over the Gentiles (non-Jewish people). His letters are another of the primary sources of information on Jesus according to the Christian tradition.
The original followers of Prophet Jesus opposed these blatant misrepresentations of the message of Jesus. They struggled to reject the notion of the Divinity of Jesus for close to 200 years.
One person who was an original follower of Jesus was Barnabas. He was a Jew born in Cyrus and a successful preacher of the teachings of Jesus. Because of his closeness to Jesus, he was an important member of the small group of disciples in Jerusalem who had had gathered together following the disappearance of Jesus.
The question of Jesus's nature, origin and relationship with God was not raised amongst Barnabas and the small group of disciples. Jesus was considered a man miraculously endowed by God. Nothing in the words of Jesus or the events in his life led them to modify this view.
The Gospel of Barnabas was accepted as a Canonical Gospel in the Churches of Alexandria till 325 CE Iranaeus (130-200) wrote in support of pure monotheism and opposed Paul for injecting into Christianity doctrines of the pagan Roman religion and Platonic philosophy. He quoted extensively from the Gospel of Barnabas in support of his views. This indicates that the Gospel of Barnabas was in circulation in the first and second centuries of Christianity.
In 325 (CE), a council of Christian leaders met at Nicaea and made Paul's beliefs officially part of Christian doctrine. It also ordered that all original Gospels in Hebrew script which contradicted Paul's beliefs should be destroyed. An edict was issued that anyone in possession of these Gospels would be put to death.
The Gospel of Barnabas has miraculously survived though.
7. Do Christians believe he was killed on the cross? YES
This is a core Christian belief and it relates to the concept of atonement. According to this belief, Jesus died to save mankind from sin. However, this is not stated explicitly in the four gospels which form the primary source texts of Christianity. It is found, however, in Romans 6:8,9.
Christians believe Jesus was spat on, cut, humiliated, kicked, striped and finally hung up on the cross to endure a slow and painful death.
According, to Christian belief, the original sin of Adam and Eve of eating from the forbidden tree was so great that God could not forgive it by simply willing it, rather it was necessary to erase it with the blood of a sinless, innocent Jesus.
Resurrection
The four Gospels and the Epistles of St. Paul are the main sources of Christianity which discuss the Resurrection of Jesus after his crucifixion. According to St. Matthew, Jesus appeared to the holy women, and again on a mountain in Galilee. Mark's Gospel tells a different story: Jesus was seen by Mary Magdalene, by the two disciples at Emmaus, and the Eleven before his Ascension into heaven.
Luke's Gospel says Jesus walked with the disciples to Emmaus, appeared to Peter and to the assembled disciples in Jerusalem. In John's Gospel, Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene, to the ten Apostles on Easter Sunday, to the Eleven a week later, and to seven disciples at the Sea of Tiberias.
Another account of the resurrection by St. Paul is found in Bible: Corinthians 15: 3-8.
According to Christian belief, Resurrection is a manifestation of God's justice, Who exalted Christ to a life of glory, as Christ had humbled himself unto death (Phil., 2: 8-9). This event also completes the mystery of Christian salvation and redemption. The death of Jesus frees believers from sin, and with his resurrection, he restores to them the most important privileges lost by sin (Bible: Romans 4:25).
More importantly, the belief in the resurrection of Jesus indicates Christian acknowledgment of Christ as the immortal God, the cause of believers' own resurrection (Bible: I Corinthians 4: 21; Phil., 3:20-21), as well as the model and the support of a new life of grace (Bible: Romans 4: 4-6; 9-11). MORE ON ISLAM AND CHRISTIANITY The other Ansar: Companions of Prophet JesusJohn the Baptist: A Prophet of IslamMuslim-Christian Relations, The Good, the Bad For further study of a Muslim view of Jesus and Christianity read the following books:Jesus, Prophet of Islam by Muhammad 'Ata'ur-RahimFor Christ Sake by Ahmad Thomson and Muhammad 'Ata'ur-Rahim
For a unique Christian view of the Islamic contribution to the West read the following book:Islam and the Discovery of Freedom by Rose Wilder Lane
Related Links
Jesus Crucifixion in the Bible: Joy or Sorrow?
Jesus in Islam
Did Jesus Die to Bring Eternal Life to Man?
Any Proofs for Jesus' Divinity?
He Begets Not, Nor Is He Begotten
About Muhammad and Jesus
Jesus the Spirit
Did Jesus Die for Our Sins?
A Canadian's Journey to Islam
Canadian Catholic Discovers Islam
Canadian Deacon Embraces Islam
By Reading Islam Team
Reading Islam invites you to watch the movie "Jesus in Islam" which narrates the story of the life of Jesus according to the Muslim belief.
http://www.readingi slam.com/ servlet/Satellit e?c=Article_ C&cid=1237706251372&pagename=Zone- English-Discover _Islam/DIELayout
Watch - Jesus of Islam
Christians who are about to watch this should not take offense to this clip, but may find that the information is not the same as taught in the Bible.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v= RoxvKj-z0_ 0
The Islamic and Christian views of Jesus: a comparison
http://www.soundvis ion.com/Info/ Jesus/inIslam. asp
The person of Jesus or Isa in Arabic (peace be upon him) is of great significance in both Islam and Christianity. However, there are differences in terms of beliefs about the nature and life occurrences of this noble Messenger.
Source of information about Jesus in Islam
Most of the Islamic information about Jesus is actually found in the Quran.
The Quran was revealed by God to Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), and memorized and written down in his lifetime. Today, anyone who calls him or herself a Muslim believes in the complete authenticity of the Quran as the original revealed guidance from God.
Source of information about Jesus in Christianity
Christians take their information about Jesus from the Bible, which includes the Old and New Testaments.
These contain four biblical narratives covering the life and death of Jesus. They have been written, according to tradition, respectively by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. They are placed at the beginning of the New Testament and comprise close to half of it.
Encyclopedia Britannica notes that none of the sources of his life and work can be traced to Jesus himself; he did not leave a single known written word. Also, there are no contemporary accounts written of his life and death. What can be established about the historical Jesus depends almost without exception on Christian traditions, especially on the material used in the composition of the Gospels of Mark, Matthew, and Luke, which reflect the outlook of the later church and its faith in Jesus.
Below are the views of Islam and Christianity based on primary source texts and core beliefs.
ISLAM
1. Do Muslims believe he was a Messenger of One God? YES
Belief in all of the Prophets and Messengers of God is a fundamental article of faith in Islam. Thus, believing in Prophets Adam, Jesus, Moses, and Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon them) is a requirement for anyone who calls him or herself a Muslim. A person claiming to be a Muslim who, for instance, denies the Messengership of Jesus, is not considered a Muslim.
The Quran says in reference to the status of Jesus as a Messenger:
"The Messiah (Jesus), son of Mary, was no more than a Messenger before whom many Messengers have passed away; and his mother adhered wholly to truthfulness, and they both ate food (as other mortals do). See how We make Our signs clear to them; and see where they are turning away!" (Quran 5:75).
2. Do Muslims believe he was born of a Virgin Mother? YES
Like Christians, Muslims believe Mary, Maria in Spanish, or Maryam as she is called in Arabic, was a chaste, virgin woman, who miraculously gave birth to Jesus.
"Relate in the Book the story of Mary, when she withdrew from her family, to a place in the East. She screened herself from them; then We sent to her Our spirit (angel Gabriel) and he appeared before her as a man in all respects. She said: I seek refuge from you in God Most Gracious (come not near) if you do fear God. He said: Nay, I am only a Messenger from your Lord, to announce to you the gift of a pure son. She said: How shall I have a son, when no man has ever touched me, and I am not unchaste? He said: So it will be, your Lord says: ‘That is easy for Me; and We wish to appoint him as a sign unto men and a Mercy from Us': It was a matter so decreed" (Quran 19:16-21).
3. Do Muslims believe Jesus had a miraculous birth? YES
The Quran says:
"She (Mary) said: ‘O my Lord! How shall I have a son when no man has touched me.' He (God) said: ‘So (it will be) for God creates what He wills. When He has decreed something, He says to it only: ‘Be!'- and it is" (3:47).
It should also be noted about his birth that:
"Verily, the likeness of Jesus in God's Sight is the likeness of Adam. He (God) created him from dust, then (He) said to him: ‘Be!'-and he was" (Quran 3:59).
4. Do Muslims believe Jesus spoke in the cradle? YES
"Then she (Mary) pointed to him. They said: ‘How can we talk to one who is a child in the cradle?' He (Jesus) said: ‘Verily! I am a slave of God, He has given me the Scripture and made me a Prophet; " (19:29-30).
5. Do Muslims believe he performed miracles? YES
Muslims, like Christians believe Jesus performed miracles. But these were performed by the will and permission of God, Who has power and control over all things.
"Then will God say: ‘O Jesus the son of Mary! recount My favor to you and to your mother. Behold! I strengthened you with the Holy Spirit (the angel Gabriel) so that you did speak to the people in childhood and in maturity. Behold! I taught you the Book and Wisdom, the Law and the Gospel. And behold: you make out of clay, as it were, the figure of a bird, by My leave, and you breathe into it, and it becomes a bird by My leave, and you heal those born blind, and the lepers by My leave. And behold! you bring forth the dead by My leave. And behold! I did restrain the children of Israel from (violence to you) when you did show them the Clear Signs, and the unbelievers among them said: ‘This is nothing but evident magic' (5:110).
6. Do Muslims believe in the Trinity? NO
Muslims believe in the Absolute Oneness of God, Who is a Supreme Being free of human limitations, needs and wants. He has no partners in His Divinity. He is the Creator of everything and is completely separate from His creation.
God says in the Quran regarding the Trinity:
"People of the Book (Jews and Christians)! Do not exceed the limits in your religion, and attribute to God nothing except the truth. The Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, was only a Messenger of God, and His command that He conveyed unto Mary, and a spirit from Him. So believe in God and in His Messengers, and do not say: ‘God is a Trinity.' Give up this assertion; it would be better for you. God is indeed just One God. Far be it from His glory that He should have a son. To Him belongs all that is in the heavens and in the earth. God is sufficient for a guardian" (Quran 4:171).
7. Do Muslims believe that Jesus was the son of God? NO
"Say: "God is Unique! God, the Source [of everything]. He has not fathered anyone nor was He fathered, and there is nothing comparable to Him!" (Quran 112:1-4).
The Quran also states:
"Such was Jesus, the son of Mary; it is a statement of truth, about which they vainly dispute. It is not befitting to the majesty of God, that He should beget a son. Glory be to Him! When He determines a matter, He only says to it, ‘Be' and it is" (Quran 19:34-35).
8. Do Muslims believe Jesus was killed on the cross then resurrected? NO
"“They did not kill him, nor did they crucify him, but they thought they did.” (Quran 4:156) “God lifted him up to His presence. God is Almighty, All-Wise” (Quran 4:157) .
CHRISTIANITY
1. Do Christians believe Jesus was a human being and Messenger of God? YES & NO
With the exception of Unitarian Christians, who like all the early followers of Jesus, still do not believe in the Trinity, most Christians now believe in the Divinity of Jesus, which is connected to the belief in Trinity. They say he is the second member of the Triune God, the Son of the first part of the Triune God, and at the same time "fully" God in every respect.
2. Do Christians believe he was born of a Virgin Mother? YES
A chaste and pious human woman who gave birth to Jesus Christ, the second member of the Trinity, the Son of God, and at the same time "fully" God Almighty in every respect.
Christians believe however, that while she was a virgin, she was married to a man named Joseph (Bible: Matthew:1:18) . According to Matthew 1:25, Joseph "kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus".
3. Do Christians believe he had a miraculous birth? YES
"Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows. When His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit" (Bible: Matthew 1:18)
4. Do Christians believe he performed miracles? YES
"And now, Lord, look upon their threats, and grant to thy servants to speak thy word with all boldness, while thou stretches out thy hand to heal, and sign and wonders are performed through the name of thy holy servant Jesus (Bible: Acts 4:30).
Christians believe that Jesus performed these miracles because he was the Son of God as well as the incarnation of God.
5. Do Christians believe in the Trinity? YES
With the exception of the Unitarian Christians, who do not believe in the Divinity of Christ, the Trinity, according to the Catholic encyclopedia, is the term used for the central doctrine of the Christian religion. The belief is that in the unity of the Godhead there are Three Persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three Persons or beings are distinct from each another, while being similar in character: uncreated and omnipotent.
The First Vatican Council has explained the meaning to be attributed to the term mystery in theology. It lays down that a mystery is a truth which we are not merely incapable of discovering apart from Divine Revelation, but which, even when revealed, remains "hidden by the veil of faith and enveloped, so to speak, by a kind of darkness" (Const., "De fide. cath.", iv). The First Vatican Council further defined that the Christian Faith contains mysteries strictly so called (can. 4). All theologians admit that the doctrine of the Trinity is of the number of these. The Catholic Encyclopedia notes that of all revealed truths, this is the most impenetrable to reason.
6. Do Christians believe that Jesus was the son of God? YES
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him (Bible: John 3:16).
However, it is interesting to note that the term "son of God" is used in other parts of the Bible to refer to Adam (Bible: Luke 3:38), Israel (Bible: Exodus 4:22) and David (Bible: Psalms 2:7) as well. The creatures of God are usually referred to in the Bible as children of God.
The role of Paul of Tarsus in shaping this belief and the belief in Trinity
The notion of Jesus as son of God is something that was established under the influence of Paul of Tarsus (originally named Saul), who had been an enemy of Jesus, but later changed course and joined the disciples after the departure of Jesus.
Later, however, he initiated a number of changes into early Christian teachings, in contradiction, for instance, to disciples like Barnabas, who believed in the Oneness of God and who had actually lived and met with Jesus.
Paul is considered by a number of Christian scholars to be the father of Christianity due to his additions of the following ideas:
that Jesus is the son of God,
the concept of Atonement,
the renunciation of the Law of the Torah.
Paul did these things in hopes of winning over the Gentiles (non-Jewish people). His letters are another of the primary sources of information on Jesus according to the Christian tradition.
The original followers of Prophet Jesus opposed these blatant misrepresentations of the message of Jesus. They struggled to reject the notion of the Divinity of Jesus for close to 200 years.
One person who was an original follower of Jesus was Barnabas. He was a Jew born in Cyrus and a successful preacher of the teachings of Jesus. Because of his closeness to Jesus, he was an important member of the small group of disciples in Jerusalem who had had gathered together following the disappearance of Jesus.
The question of Jesus's nature, origin and relationship with God was not raised amongst Barnabas and the small group of disciples. Jesus was considered a man miraculously endowed by God. Nothing in the words of Jesus or the events in his life led them to modify this view.
The Gospel of Barnabas was accepted as a Canonical Gospel in the Churches of Alexandria till 325 CE Iranaeus (130-200) wrote in support of pure monotheism and opposed Paul for injecting into Christianity doctrines of the pagan Roman religion and Platonic philosophy. He quoted extensively from the Gospel of Barnabas in support of his views. This indicates that the Gospel of Barnabas was in circulation in the first and second centuries of Christianity.
In 325 (CE), a council of Christian leaders met at Nicaea and made Paul's beliefs officially part of Christian doctrine. It also ordered that all original Gospels in Hebrew script which contradicted Paul's beliefs should be destroyed. An edict was issued that anyone in possession of these Gospels would be put to death.
The Gospel of Barnabas has miraculously survived though.
7. Do Christians believe he was killed on the cross? YES
This is a core Christian belief and it relates to the concept of atonement. According to this belief, Jesus died to save mankind from sin. However, this is not stated explicitly in the four gospels which form the primary source texts of Christianity. It is found, however, in Romans 6:8,9.
Christians believe Jesus was spat on, cut, humiliated, kicked, striped and finally hung up on the cross to endure a slow and painful death.
According, to Christian belief, the original sin of Adam and Eve of eating from the forbidden tree was so great that God could not forgive it by simply willing it, rather it was necessary to erase it with the blood of a sinless, innocent Jesus.
Resurrection
The four Gospels and the Epistles of St. Paul are the main sources of Christianity which discuss the Resurrection of Jesus after his crucifixion. According to St. Matthew, Jesus appeared to the holy women, and again on a mountain in Galilee. Mark's Gospel tells a different story: Jesus was seen by Mary Magdalene, by the two disciples at Emmaus, and the Eleven before his Ascension into heaven.
Luke's Gospel says Jesus walked with the disciples to Emmaus, appeared to Peter and to the assembled disciples in Jerusalem. In John's Gospel, Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene, to the ten Apostles on Easter Sunday, to the Eleven a week later, and to seven disciples at the Sea of Tiberias.
Another account of the resurrection by St. Paul is found in Bible: Corinthians 15: 3-8.
According to Christian belief, Resurrection is a manifestation of God's justice, Who exalted Christ to a life of glory, as Christ had humbled himself unto death (Phil., 2: 8-9). This event also completes the mystery of Christian salvation and redemption. The death of Jesus frees believers from sin, and with his resurrection, he restores to them the most important privileges lost by sin (Bible: Romans 4:25).
More importantly, the belief in the resurrection of Jesus indicates Christian acknowledgment of Christ as the immortal God, the cause of believers' own resurrection (Bible: I Corinthians 4: 21; Phil., 3:20-21), as well as the model and the support of a new life of grace (Bible: Romans 4: 4-6; 9-11). MORE ON ISLAM AND CHRISTIANITY The other Ansar: Companions of Prophet JesusJohn the Baptist: A Prophet of IslamMuslim-Christian Relations, The Good, the Bad For further study of a Muslim view of Jesus and Christianity read the following books:Jesus, Prophet of Islam by Muhammad 'Ata'ur-RahimFor Christ Sake by Ahmad Thomson and Muhammad 'Ata'ur-Rahim
For a unique Christian view of the Islamic contribution to the West read the following book:Islam and the Discovery of Freedom by Rose Wilder Lane
Related Links
Jesus Crucifixion in the Bible: Joy or Sorrow?
Jesus in Islam
Did Jesus Die to Bring Eternal Life to Man?
Any Proofs for Jesus' Divinity?
He Begets Not, Nor Is He Begotten
About Muhammad and Jesus
Jesus the Spirit
Did Jesus Die for Our Sins?
A Canadian's Journey to Islam
Canadian Catholic Discovers Islam
Canadian Deacon Embraces Islam
Guidance for your Sexual Health
by hathehe sabeli
Guidance for your Sexual Health
One of the rights of human beings is to satisfy their sexual needs. This may be aural, by listening to amorous words; visual, by looking at that which arouses sexual desire; or physical, by engaging in sexual acts of different types. However, the only legal way to satisfy sexual urges is that which occurs between married couples. It is not permissible for a Muslim to engage in sex before marriage. Youths of both sexes must avoid all forms of sexual arousal; they should get married early and not delay it; because this is the safer route for them. Whoever cannot get married should depend on fasting to help curb their desires.
The Purpose of Sex
Islam strives to suppress illicit sexual urges so as to bring good back to human sexual intercourse, and to make its aim the establishment of a family and to have children. Allah said, "And of His signs is that He created for you from yourselves mates that you may find tranquility in them; and He placed between you affection and mercy." (Holy Quran, 30:21)In fact, the Prophet (Peace be upon him) made the relationship between a married couple a source of reward for Muslims in the following wonderful hadeeth. He (PBUH) said "… and in man's sexual intercourse (with his wife) there is Sadaqah (act of charity)." They (the Companions) said, "O Messenger of Allah! Is there reward for him who satisfies his sexual passion among us?" He said, "Tell me, if he were to devote it to something forbidden, would it not be a sin on his part? Similarly, if he were to devote it to something lawful, he should have a reward." (Muslim)Islam acknowledges the existence of sexual desire, and considers it to be one of the pleasures of this worldly life. Allah said, "Beautified for people is the love of that which they desire - of women and sons, heaped-up sums of gold and silver, fine branded horses, and cattle and tilled land. That is the enjoyment of worldly life, but Allah has with Him the best return (i.e., Paradise)." (Holy Quran, 3:14.)Sexual desire is instinctive, and life without pleasure, enjoyment, and happiness becomes miserable, dreary and uninteresting. Is there anything better than the romantic hours spent by a loving married couple in the marital home?
Protection from Sexual Arousal
Islam's philosophy in life is clear and unchanging. It is founded on firm principles, including the great principle that 'prevention is better than cure' and among the applications of this great concept is Islam's recognition of the danger of sexual arousal between the two sexes. For this reason, laws and systems were introduced that prohibit sexual arousal, stirring of desires, and inflammation of passions, other than those between a married couple.If you think about modern day life, you will realize that men flirt in the street, at work, at school, and in the shops. It is a game of cat and mouse. You will find that it is expected of a woman to make herself up and beautify herself with the most splendid finery when she goes out. For this reason, Islam ordered women not to beautify and adorn themselves when they go outside, but to limit their beautification for when they are with their husbands or when they are with other women. In relation to this, two verses of the Quran were revealed, which later came to be known as the two verses of the hijab. They are the following words of Allah, "O Prophet, tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to bring down over themselves (part) of their outer garments." (Holy Quran, 33:59). The second verse is, "… and not to display their adornment except that which (ordinarily) appears thereof." (Holy Quran, 24:31) Islam also warned both sexes about listening to music that arouses passions, because arousing romantic music, which has an immeasurable effect on youths, is unchanging with the passing of the centuries. This prohibition came before the invention of television and its stark portrayals of sexual acts.
The Call for Marriage
When Islam forbade sexual arousal, and prohibited sexual relationships before marriage, it did not just leave youths without an outlet for their natural instincts. Islam invited them in a clear and open way to get married early. The Prophet (PBUH) said, "O young people! Whoever among you can marry, should marry because it helps him lower his gaze and guard his modesty (i.e., his private parts from committing illegal sexual intercourse etc.), and whoever is not able to marry, should fast; as fasting diminishes sexual power." (Bukhari)If a youth does not have the way or means to get married, then what is the solution? The following verse of the Quran has the answer, "But let them who find not (the means for) marriage abstain (from sexual relations) until Allah enriches them from His bounty." (Holy Quran, 24:33)
Repulsion towards Adultery and Homosexuality
It is unfortunate that modern civilization is so eager to turn a blind eye to prohibited sexual behavior, that it gives it different euphemisms so that people are not revolted by it. These euphemisms do not directly signify the word 'adultery' or the term 'illegal sexual relationship' , but rather say that someone is 'sexually active' or 'has multiple partners'. Muslims, on the other hand - even those who are religiously weak -consider extramarital relationships to be adulterous and greatly sinful; sins that would never befit a Muslim. This repulsion, which people feel towards adultery, arises from the many legal texts that condemn adultery and make it unattractive in the eyes of a Muslim. These include: "And do not approach unlawful sexual intercourse. Indeed, it is a Fahishah (i.e. anything that transgresses its limits), and an evil way (that leads one to Hell unless Allah forgives him)." (Holy Quran, 17:32)Abu Hurairah said that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) was asked what most commonly causes people to enter the Hellfire, he said, "The two hollow things, the mouth and the private parts." He was (then) asked about what most commonly causes people to enter Paradise, he said, "Fear of Allah and good character." (Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah)Ubadah ibn-us-Samit said, "I was one of the Naqibs (a person heading a group of six persons), who gave the (Aqaba) Pledge of Allegiance to Allah's Messenger (PBUH). We gave the pledge of allegiance to him that we would not worship anything other than Allah, that we would not steal, would not commit illegal sexual intercourse, would not kill a person whose killing Allah has made illegal except rightfully, and would not rob each other. We would not be promised Paradise if we did the above sins, and if we commit one of the above sins, Allah will give His Judgment concerning it." (Agreed upon)
Conclusion
Islam is an amazing religion that has changed the lives of the Companions and of believers around the world. Once there was a time when adultery was deemed a normal part and acceptable happening in society and Islam rectified that notion by placing clear guidelines on sexual behaviors within a society, thus ridding the complications of liberal sexual behavior - both the physical and mental - of its believers. We can learn much by becoming observers of the heartaches and hardships non-Muslims encounter because of the lack of sexual abstinence amongst non-married couples and how that impacts their lives as individuals and that of their communities. We can take pride and respect ourselves as Muslims by living our lives following the examples of the pious predecessors of the past, who followed the righteous teachings of our Prophet (PBUH). Islam has generously and thoughtfully provided its believers with the prevention to the societal ills of pre-martial sexual relations, where others can spend millions of dollars and many hours seeking in desperation just waiting on the cure. Let us each take a proactive stance in our lives to ensure that our families and ourselves are utilizing the preventive measures our religion has given us so that we may be able to thwart the day when it is too late, and we too, are left in desperation, seeking the cure. [Al Jumuah Vol. 14 - Issue: 8]
Guidance for your Sexual Health
One of the rights of human beings is to satisfy their sexual needs. This may be aural, by listening to amorous words; visual, by looking at that which arouses sexual desire; or physical, by engaging in sexual acts of different types. However, the only legal way to satisfy sexual urges is that which occurs between married couples. It is not permissible for a Muslim to engage in sex before marriage. Youths of both sexes must avoid all forms of sexual arousal; they should get married early and not delay it; because this is the safer route for them. Whoever cannot get married should depend on fasting to help curb their desires.
The Purpose of Sex
Islam strives to suppress illicit sexual urges so as to bring good back to human sexual intercourse, and to make its aim the establishment of a family and to have children. Allah said, "And of His signs is that He created for you from yourselves mates that you may find tranquility in them; and He placed between you affection and mercy." (Holy Quran, 30:21)In fact, the Prophet (Peace be upon him) made the relationship between a married couple a source of reward for Muslims in the following wonderful hadeeth. He (PBUH) said "… and in man's sexual intercourse (with his wife) there is Sadaqah (act of charity)." They (the Companions) said, "O Messenger of Allah! Is there reward for him who satisfies his sexual passion among us?" He said, "Tell me, if he were to devote it to something forbidden, would it not be a sin on his part? Similarly, if he were to devote it to something lawful, he should have a reward." (Muslim)Islam acknowledges the existence of sexual desire, and considers it to be one of the pleasures of this worldly life. Allah said, "Beautified for people is the love of that which they desire - of women and sons, heaped-up sums of gold and silver, fine branded horses, and cattle and tilled land. That is the enjoyment of worldly life, but Allah has with Him the best return (i.e., Paradise)." (Holy Quran, 3:14.)Sexual desire is instinctive, and life without pleasure, enjoyment, and happiness becomes miserable, dreary and uninteresting. Is there anything better than the romantic hours spent by a loving married couple in the marital home?
Protection from Sexual Arousal
Islam's philosophy in life is clear and unchanging. It is founded on firm principles, including the great principle that 'prevention is better than cure' and among the applications of this great concept is Islam's recognition of the danger of sexual arousal between the two sexes. For this reason, laws and systems were introduced that prohibit sexual arousal, stirring of desires, and inflammation of passions, other than those between a married couple.If you think about modern day life, you will realize that men flirt in the street, at work, at school, and in the shops. It is a game of cat and mouse. You will find that it is expected of a woman to make herself up and beautify herself with the most splendid finery when she goes out. For this reason, Islam ordered women not to beautify and adorn themselves when they go outside, but to limit their beautification for when they are with their husbands or when they are with other women. In relation to this, two verses of the Quran were revealed, which later came to be known as the two verses of the hijab. They are the following words of Allah, "O Prophet, tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to bring down over themselves (part) of their outer garments." (Holy Quran, 33:59). The second verse is, "… and not to display their adornment except that which (ordinarily) appears thereof." (Holy Quran, 24:31) Islam also warned both sexes about listening to music that arouses passions, because arousing romantic music, which has an immeasurable effect on youths, is unchanging with the passing of the centuries. This prohibition came before the invention of television and its stark portrayals of sexual acts.
The Call for Marriage
When Islam forbade sexual arousal, and prohibited sexual relationships before marriage, it did not just leave youths without an outlet for their natural instincts. Islam invited them in a clear and open way to get married early. The Prophet (PBUH) said, "O young people! Whoever among you can marry, should marry because it helps him lower his gaze and guard his modesty (i.e., his private parts from committing illegal sexual intercourse etc.), and whoever is not able to marry, should fast; as fasting diminishes sexual power." (Bukhari)If a youth does not have the way or means to get married, then what is the solution? The following verse of the Quran has the answer, "But let them who find not (the means for) marriage abstain (from sexual relations) until Allah enriches them from His bounty." (Holy Quran, 24:33)
Repulsion towards Adultery and Homosexuality
It is unfortunate that modern civilization is so eager to turn a blind eye to prohibited sexual behavior, that it gives it different euphemisms so that people are not revolted by it. These euphemisms do not directly signify the word 'adultery' or the term 'illegal sexual relationship' , but rather say that someone is 'sexually active' or 'has multiple partners'. Muslims, on the other hand - even those who are religiously weak -consider extramarital relationships to be adulterous and greatly sinful; sins that would never befit a Muslim. This repulsion, which people feel towards adultery, arises from the many legal texts that condemn adultery and make it unattractive in the eyes of a Muslim. These include: "And do not approach unlawful sexual intercourse. Indeed, it is a Fahishah (i.e. anything that transgresses its limits), and an evil way (that leads one to Hell unless Allah forgives him)." (Holy Quran, 17:32)Abu Hurairah said that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) was asked what most commonly causes people to enter the Hellfire, he said, "The two hollow things, the mouth and the private parts." He was (then) asked about what most commonly causes people to enter Paradise, he said, "Fear of Allah and good character." (Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah)Ubadah ibn-us-Samit said, "I was one of the Naqibs (a person heading a group of six persons), who gave the (Aqaba) Pledge of Allegiance to Allah's Messenger (PBUH). We gave the pledge of allegiance to him that we would not worship anything other than Allah, that we would not steal, would not commit illegal sexual intercourse, would not kill a person whose killing Allah has made illegal except rightfully, and would not rob each other. We would not be promised Paradise if we did the above sins, and if we commit one of the above sins, Allah will give His Judgment concerning it." (Agreed upon)
Conclusion
Islam is an amazing religion that has changed the lives of the Companions and of believers around the world. Once there was a time when adultery was deemed a normal part and acceptable happening in society and Islam rectified that notion by placing clear guidelines on sexual behaviors within a society, thus ridding the complications of liberal sexual behavior - both the physical and mental - of its believers. We can learn much by becoming observers of the heartaches and hardships non-Muslims encounter because of the lack of sexual abstinence amongst non-married couples and how that impacts their lives as individuals and that of their communities. We can take pride and respect ourselves as Muslims by living our lives following the examples of the pious predecessors of the past, who followed the righteous teachings of our Prophet (PBUH). Islam has generously and thoughtfully provided its believers with the prevention to the societal ills of pre-martial sexual relations, where others can spend millions of dollars and many hours seeking in desperation just waiting on the cure. Let us each take a proactive stance in our lives to ensure that our families and ourselves are utilizing the preventive measures our religion has given us so that we may be able to thwart the day when it is too late, and we too, are left in desperation, seeking the cure. [Al Jumuah Vol. 14 - Issue: 8]
maanantaina 7. joulukuuta 2009
Warning
Dear Friends....!
Please
Be Extremely Careful
Especially if using internet mail such as
Yahoo, Hot mail, AOL and so on.
This information arrived this morning direct from both Microsoft and Norton.
Please send it to everybody you know who has access to the Internet.
You may receive an apparently harmless email with a Power Point presentation
'Life is Beautiful '
If you receive it DO NOT OPEN THE FILE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES , and delete it immediately.
If you open this file, a message will appear on your screen saying: 'it is too late now; your life is no longer beautiful.... .’
Subsequently you will LOSE EVERYTHING IN YOUR PC and the person who sent it to you will gain access to your name, e-mail and password..
This is a new virus which started to circulate on Tuesday afternoon.
AOL has already confirmed the severity and the anti virus software's are not capable of destroying it....
The virus has been created by a hacker who calls himself 'life owner'
PLEASE SEND A COPY OF THIS TO ALL YOUR FRIENDS and ask them to PASS IT ON IMMEDIATELY
From: timothy daniel
Please
Be Extremely Careful
Especially if using internet mail such as
Yahoo, Hot mail, AOL and so on.
This information arrived this morning direct from both Microsoft and Norton.
Please send it to everybody you know who has access to the Internet.
You may receive an apparently harmless email with a Power Point presentation
'Life is Beautiful '
If you receive it DO NOT OPEN THE FILE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES , and delete it immediately.
If you open this file, a message will appear on your screen saying: 'it is too late now; your life is no longer beautiful.... .’
Subsequently you will LOSE EVERYTHING IN YOUR PC and the person who sent it to you will gain access to your name, e-mail and password..
This is a new virus which started to circulate on Tuesday afternoon.
AOL has already confirmed the severity and the anti virus software's are not capable of destroying it....
The virus has been created by a hacker who calls himself 'life owner'
PLEASE SEND A COPY OF THIS TO ALL YOUR FRIENDS and ask them to PASS IT ON IMMEDIATELY
From: timothy daniel
Tilaa:
Blogitekstit (Atom)
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