Regards to all.
Sorry for redirecting the current topic, but after doing a little homework I have arranged the answers/arguments to the questions that Kurt posted. I really wanted to share them with you.
Firstly, I would like to say that I am a Muslim, I will give my view according to the Islamic point of view. Also that there can a lot better answers then these but still, I am making an effort. If you do not agree with me, and in most cases you might not, your problem not mine
.
Secondly, the concept of Allah(the Almighty God), heaven, hell, Satan, angels and soul comes from the religious scriptures. It would be illogical to accept them but not how they are told in the scriptures, what there nature and attributes are, how they work, e.t.c.
Increase in the world religions from 1934 to 1984.
An article in Reader’s Digest ‘Almanac’, year book 1986, gave the statistics of the increase of percentage of the major religions of the world in half a century from 1934 to 1984. This article also appeared in ‘The Plain Truth’ magazine. At the top was Islam, which increased by 235%, and Christianity had increased only by 47%.
Also I want to tell you that the newly converted Muslims are more towards following the commandments of Allah(the Almighty God) and they enjoy doing that. Go to www.lightuponlight.com to see some examples for yourself. I can go no talking about the compatibility of the commandments and laws of Islam and the Holy Qur'an and I hope that the initial question is satisfied.
[3:64]
Say: "O People of the Book! come to common terms as between us and you: That we worship none but Allah; that we associate no partners with him; that we erect not, from among ourselves, Lords and patrons other than Allah." If then they turn back, say ye: "Bear witness that we (at least) are Muslims (bowing to Allah's Will).
The point that is stressed by many scholors and can be followed for peace is 'come to common terms as between us and you'. If two nations are in dispute, then the best way to co-exist in peace is that we come to the common terms. The other issues can be discussed after words, but for now, come to the common terms. I hope that you initial question is satisfied.
[3:59]
Surely the likeness of Isa is with Allah as the likeness of Adam; He created him from dust, then said to him, Be, and he was.
We Muslims do not believe that Jesus(P.B.U.H) or any one is litteraly a son of God. There is a chapter which we(Muslims) regard as the defination of Allah(the Almighty God).
[112:1-4]
Say: He is Allah, the One and Only;
Allah, the Eternal, Absolute;
He begetteth not, nor is He begotten;
And there is none like unto Him.
(The beauty of this defination in comparativeness can be seen from the topic(The Quranic defination of Allah)).
It is clear that Allah(the Almighty God) does not give birth. Allah has created us all and we recieve sustainance from Allah. We can call Allah as our father, but in the sence that Allah created us and is sustaining us.
[34:03]
The Unbelievers say, "Never to us will come the Hour": Say, "Nay! but most surely, by my Lord, it will come upon you;- by Him Who knows the unseen,- from Whom is not hidden the least little atom in the heavens or on earth: Nor is there anything less than that, or greater, but is in the Record Perspicuous:
{
Miracle #5: Atoms can be divided.
There was a theory known as ‘Atomism’ that ‘atom’ is the smallest part of matter, which cannot be divided. This theory was propounded by Democrats, the Greek, twenty-three centuries ago. And it was also known to the Arabs - and the Arabic word for atom, is ‘Zarra’. But today, after science has advanced, we have come to know that though ‘atom’ is the smallest particle of matter, having the characteristic of the element - it yet can be divided, into electrons, protons, etc. The Qur'an by saying - ‘things smaller and greater than the atom’ indicates 1400 years ago that there are things smaller then an atom. So Qur'an is not outdated… it is up to date.
A similar message is repeated in Surah Yunus[10:61]
....Nor is hidden from thy Lord (so much as) the weight of an atom on the earth or in heaven. And not the least and not the greatest of these things but are recorded in a clear record.
}
If you say that you can only see big miracles as an act from God, then it is something that I cannot satisfy. I cannot look into the future. For the past, we can look at the scriptures and confirm the stories from the archeological discoveries.
[2:23,24]
And if ye are in doubt as to what We have revealed from time to time to Our servant, then produce a Sura like thereunto; and call your witnesses or helpers (If there are any) besides Allah, if your (doubts) are true.
But if ye cannot- and of a surety ye cannot- then fear the Fire whose fuel is men and stones,- which is prepared for those who reject Faith.
Thus, if your doubt was true, then this challange would have been successfully completed by the pagens of Makkah(and others who had tried). At the time of the revelation of the Qur'an, the Arabs were very proud of their languge and called every non-Arabic speaker as someone who cannot speak at all. They were very amazed at the Qur'anic literature and its depth, they accepted that it cannot be a work of any human being. It had to be a devine revelation.
Sorry for redirecting the current topic, but after doing a little homework I have arranged the answers/arguments to the questions that Kurt posted. I really wanted to share them with you.
Firstly, I would like to say that I am a Muslim, I will give my view according to the Islamic point of view. Also that there can a lot better answers then these but still, I am making an effort. If you do not agree with me, and in most cases you might not, your problem not mine
.Secondly, the concept of Allah(the Almighty God), heaven, hell, Satan, angels and soul comes from the religious scriptures. It would be illogical to accept them but not how they are told in the scriptures, what there nature and attributes are, how they work, e.t.c.
1. As Christians, Muslims, Jews and other denominations, should we still today use the Torah, Qur’an, Bible and other quotes or writings by prophets as being the "Word Of God" and the only road map to Allah/God, or use these writings as references to newer roads to God which are safer, wider and leads there directly?
I believe that the Qur'an can be followed and as I said, it is through these scriptures that Allah(the Almighty God) had told us the does and don'ts of our life, the commandments we should follow and how to live so that we may recieve salvation. The path is given in the Qur'an. Allah(the Almighty God) had given us the directions. It would be illogical to believe in Allah(the Almighty God) and not to believe and follow what Allah(the Almighty God) had said. The point which I noticed is that you say that Qur'an is outdated. I tried to show people how it's verses are showing great harmony with the discoveries of the modren Science. Several laws and rights that the Qur'an gave at the time of its revelation have been concidered by others in the yester years and in the present time. Also I want to bring a few stats forward.Increase in the world religions from 1934 to 1984.
An article in Reader’s Digest ‘Almanac’, year book 1986, gave the statistics of the increase of percentage of the major religions of the world in half a century from 1934 to 1984. This article also appeared in ‘The Plain Truth’ magazine. At the top was Islam, which increased by 235%, and Christianity had increased only by 47%.
Also I want to tell you that the newly converted Muslims are more towards following the commandments of Allah(the Almighty God) and they enjoy doing that. Go to www.lightuponlight.com to see some examples for yourself. I can go no talking about the compatibility of the commandments and laws of Islam and the Holy Qur'an and I hope that the initial question is satisfied.
2. Is the God Of War who sought revenge, killed the masses through floods and wars, who was the God of Abraham, Noah, Moses, and Muhammad, the same God of today who wants all souls to coexist in peace and tranquility for eternity?
Yes it is. When you call upon God by reffering the names of the Prophets(P.B.U.T), you are reffering to the God mentioned in the Qur'an. One strong attribute of Allah(the Almighty God) is that Allah is just(does justice). If you look at the scriptures again, you will see that only those people were perished who went against the will of Allah(the Almighty God) to the extreame. Also, the Prophet Muhammad(P.B.U.H) was told to go to war only when the pagens of Makkah and other people broke peace treaties, went againt the rules and killed innocent people. Again, look at the scriptures and you will find that war is not what God loves, but in many cases, it is necessary. The Qur'an stresses on peace. It goes one step ahead and suggests a way to how to achieve it.[3:64]
Say: "O People of the Book! come to common terms as between us and you: That we worship none but Allah; that we associate no partners with him; that we erect not, from among ourselves, Lords and patrons other than Allah." If then they turn back, say ye: "Bear witness that we (at least) are Muslims (bowing to Allah's Will).
The point that is stressed by many scholors and can be followed for peace is 'come to common terms as between us and you'. If two nations are in dispute, then the best way to co-exist in peace is that we come to the common terms. The other issues can be discussed after words, but for now, come to the common terms. I hope that you initial question is satisfied.
3. Was the spiritual realm where God exists in another dimension ever breached by a man named Jesus ? Was Jesus the only son of God, or are we, who are children of God, also a son and daughter of God?
This is where there is a difference of belief between Muslims and Christians. Allah says in the Qur'an, [3:59]
Surely the likeness of Isa is with Allah as the likeness of Adam; He created him from dust, then said to him, Be, and he was.
We Muslims do not believe that Jesus(P.B.U.H) or any one is litteraly a son of God. There is a chapter which we(Muslims) regard as the defination of Allah(the Almighty God).
[112:1-4]
Say: He is Allah, the One and Only;
Allah, the Eternal, Absolute;
He begetteth not, nor is He begotten;
And there is none like unto Him.
(The beauty of this defination in comparativeness can be seen from the topic(The Quranic defination of Allah)).
It is clear that Allah(the Almighty God) does not give birth. Allah has created us all and we recieve sustainance from Allah. We can call Allah as our father, but in the sence that Allah created us and is sustaining us.
4. Did God ever, and will God ever in the future, interfere with anything that happens on this earth or is God and the Devil being blamed for our problems and bad decisions ?
Again, Allah(the Almighty God) makes it clear in the Qur'an, the role of the Devil, which is to decieve us and we have been given guidance via the Prophets(P.B.U.T) that we should seek refuge with Allah and guard against evil. About initial point, will God interfere, then guess what, the artistry of God is every where. We can give an explanation for most of the phenomenons, like the functionality of many organs of the human body, wind, water, clouds, earthquakes, waves e.t.c. but most us do not give thanks to God who created them all, and who is sustaining them. Yes, God is running the universe and has knowledge of all things.[34:03]
The Unbelievers say, "Never to us will come the Hour": Say, "Nay! but most surely, by my Lord, it will come upon you;- by Him Who knows the unseen,- from Whom is not hidden the least little atom in the heavens or on earth: Nor is there anything less than that, or greater, but is in the Record Perspicuous:
{
Miracle #5: Atoms can be divided.
There was a theory known as ‘Atomism’ that ‘atom’ is the smallest part of matter, which cannot be divided. This theory was propounded by Democrats, the Greek, twenty-three centuries ago. And it was also known to the Arabs - and the Arabic word for atom, is ‘Zarra’. But today, after science has advanced, we have come to know that though ‘atom’ is the smallest particle of matter, having the characteristic of the element - it yet can be divided, into electrons, protons, etc. The Qur'an by saying - ‘things smaller and greater than the atom’ indicates 1400 years ago that there are things smaller then an atom. So Qur'an is not outdated… it is up to date.
A similar message is repeated in Surah Yunus[10:61]
....Nor is hidden from thy Lord (so much as) the weight of an atom on the earth or in heaven. And not the least and not the greatest of these things but are recorded in a clear record.
}
If you say that you can only see big miracles as an act from God, then it is something that I cannot satisfy. I cannot look into the future. For the past, we can look at the scriptures and confirm the stories from the archeological discoveries.
5. Did the prophets of the past make direct contact with God; did they talk to and receive physical revelations from God, or were these inspirations from God & possibly also misinterpretations of their own mind?
Some of them did, for example Moses(P.B.U.H). Many times, Allah(the Almighty God) sent revelations through angles. The Qur'an confirms that the Torah , Zaboor and the Injeel were infact revealed from Allah(SWT). You analyze these scriptures and you will be sure of divine nature in them. The stories about the prophets receiving revelations comes from the scriptures. About your second comment, were the scriptures a misinterpretation of the prophets minds, I am going to speak about the Qur'an and the best verses satisfing your doubt are .....[2:23,24]
And if ye are in doubt as to what We have revealed from time to time to Our servant, then produce a Sura like thereunto; and call your witnesses or helpers (If there are any) besides Allah, if your (doubts) are true.
But if ye cannot- and of a surety ye cannot- then fear the Fire whose fuel is men and stones,- which is prepared for those who reject Faith.
Thus, if your doubt was true, then this challange would have been successfully completed by the pagens of Makkah(and others who had tried). At the time of the revelation of the Qur'an, the Arabs were very proud of their languge and called every non-Arabic speaker as someone who cannot speak at all. They were very amazed at the Qur'anic literature and its depth, they accepted that it cannot be a work of any human being. It had to be a devine revelation.
